Chapter 334 French Dignity
The military uniform incident broke out two days later.
After three days of discussion, the House of Representatives ultimately voted down the proposal to change military uniforms.
Many lawmakers were surprised by the result. They thought that the passage of the bill was not a big deal as it only affected the interests of a small number of garment factories, and only partial interests: the military uniforms piled up in the warehouses became waste.
But ultimately it was rejected.
Because it was a secret ballot, no one was sure who cast the veto vote, and it just felt a little weird.
But even so, the lawmakers did not take it seriously. It was just a change of military uniforms and there would not be much difference.
The news had just come out of Parliament and there was no movement in society. Many people thought it was just a rumor and did not take it seriously.
The next day, major newspapers wrote with eye-catching headlines:
"The House of Representatives voted down Charles' proposal, as members of parliament believed that military uniforms represented the dignity of France and could not be replaced."
"Does this mean that the 'offensive theory' is still undefeatable?"
"Or rather, this is the Parliament hinting something to Ciel."
…
France, which had been calm before, was suddenly ignited.
The loudest voices came from the soldiers fighting on the front lines. After all, their lives were at stake. They protested again and again:
"What right do those who don't have to fight have to decide what uniforms soldiers who fight on the battlefield wear?"
"If one day they decide that we should fight the enemy with a knife or a stick, should we obey?"
"Those guys, do they know what French dignity is? It comes from winning battles, not from wearing military uniforms!"
…
The complaints of soldiers at the front soon affected people in the rear, because they were all parents or siblings of the soldiers.
That afternoon, people took to the streets holding banners and waving small flags to protest:
"We support Charles. He is the officer who understands war!"
"Change your uniforms, victory is the dignity!"
"Victory comes from protecting the lives of soldiers!"
…
Charles was coming out of the city defense headquarters, his destination was the police training base.
The car had only been driving for a few minutes when it unexpectedly ran into a parade. The streets were blocked by huge crowds of people, and passing cars could only take a detour or stop by the roadside to wait for the parade to pass.
The demonstrators actually intended to block traffic, which would cause a larger chain reaction, and then the government and parliament would understand the seriousness of the matter and pay enough attention to it.
Suddenly someone noticed Laurent's car and found Charles in the back seat. He exclaimed: "That's Charles, Charles is here..."
The crowd cheered, shouting Charles' name and rushing forward to shake his hand:
"We've got your back, Colonel!"
"We think you are right. You are the only one who would consider the lives of the soldiers on the front line."
"Lead us, we are willing to follow you to rebel against the parliament!"
…
Charles was almost frightened by the last sentence. Rebellion against the parliament? That would make him a target of public criticism, and Steed, who he had just won over, might even become his enemy!
Charles pretended not to hear and waved at them in a friendly manner with a smile on his face.
Laurent was understanding. He honked the horn and started the car, shouting, "Make way, gentlemen, the colonel is on a mission!"
People consciously made way for Charles, waving and cheering to let his car pass. A car behind tried to follow Charles' car, but was immediately blocked by the crowd.
The line was so long, with at least tens of thousands of people, that it took the car more than ten minutes to get away from the hustle and bustle.
Laurent breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion: "They are all your supporters, Colonel."
"They're for a change of uniforms, Laurent," Charles corrected.
"That's true on the surface," Laurent replied calmly.
"On the surface?" Charles looked at Laurent in confusion.
Laurent tilted his head slightly, glanced at Charles in the rearview mirror, and nodded: "You can think of it this way, if it wasn't you who proposed the issue of 'changing military uniforms' but someone else, there wouldn't be a parade of this scale, and it might not even cause any waves!"
Charles felt that what Laurent said made some sense.
To spontaneously organize such a large parade in such a short period of time is definitely not something that can be achieved simply by "changing military uniforms". It requires a core force and a spiritual leader.
And Charles is most likely this force and their spiritual leader, even though Charles did and said nothing except protesting in parliament.
…
The car slowly drove into the police training base.
The scene that came into his eyes made Charles feel deeply gratified. He saw that the officers and soldiers of the 105th Infantry Regiment were still training step by step on the playground.
This is what professional soldiers should be like; their mentality cannot be influenced by the outside world.
But soon, Charles realized that he was wrong. He found a team without pants marching on the playground. Some of them were wearing shorts and some were simply wearing nothing. April in Paris was not so cold and they had the conditions to do so.
The point is, they practiced in an orderly manner under the command: forward, turn left, jog in small steps...
Everyone had a serious expression on their face, as if they were facing the enemy on a battlefield.
Tijani stood in front and looked at the team with a helpless look on his face, as if he couldn't do anything about them.
Charles motioned Laurent to stop the car next to Tijani, and he jumped out and asked, "What's going on?"
Tijani then noticed Charles, and his frown relaxed as he replied, "That's my support for you, Colonel."
"Support for me?" Charles was puzzled.
Tijani responded with a single word: "Red Army pants!"
Charles immediately understood that they were expressing their rejection of the Red Army trousers through "physical actions".
“I gave them orders,” Tijani said, “but do you know how they responded?”
Ciel shook his head slightly.
Tijani imitated the soldier's tone: "General, we think such a situation may occur on the battlefield. In order not to expose the target, we have to take off the eye-catching red military pants. We are conducting targeted training, and we think it is very meaningful!"
After saying that, Tijani spread his hands and said, "Can you say they are wrong? If it were you, how would you answer them?"
This is a good idea, Charles praised it secretly, they neither disobeyed the order nor made their position clear.
But it's not very elegant.
But if you can save your life on the battlefield, what does elegance matter?
Perhaps this is what the soldiers wanted to say.
Soon, this method spread rapidly in the army, and other troops followed suit, even soldiers fighting on the front lines were no exception.
For a time, France was full of naked soldiers.
"This is what is called 'French dignity'!" someone joked.
(End of this chapter)
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