Chapter 338 That’s Ciel
In response to his neighbors' requests, Charles could only half-perfunctorily tell them that he would try his best.
Even so, the neighbors thanked Charles profusely, as if as long as Charles agreed, he would be able to defeat the Germans and rescue their sons from the defense line.
Only Charles knew that there were many uncertainties on the battlefield and no one could guarantee victory, even with adequate preparations.
…
Due to the urgent military situation, Charles only stayed at home for half an hour before returning to the city defense headquarters.
After a brief preparation, the 105th Infantry Regiment took a train to the Ypres front, just two hours after the Germans launched the gas warfare.
Since the police training base is located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, although it is far away from the city center, it is still within the city of Paris. Therefore, the movements of the 105th Infantry Regiment were no secret at all, and people knew at the first time that the 105th Infantry Regiment had rushed to the front line.
However, Charles played a trick. He did not go with the troops. He still went in and out of the city defense headquarters under the attention of fans. He even took some time to face the public and say a few words to reassure the people.
Naturally, people were certain that Charles would not go to the front line this time, but would command at the city defense headquarters as usual.
The French people had mixed reactions to this war. Some were optimistic but many were pessimistic:
"Look, Charles' troops are here, they're going to teach the Germans a lesson!"
"But even if it's Ciel's troops, what can they do? Are they immune to poison gas?"
"Yes, it seems unwise to send Charles' troops up there. It seems to be the same whether they are elite troops or not in the face of poison gas."
…
At the same time, people understood why Charles did not go to the battlefield in person. After all, poison gas was too dangerous, and no suitable way to deal with it had been found yet.
However, what no one knew was that Charles secretly flew to Ypres that night to join the 105th Infantry Regiment.
In this regard, even Gallieni said: "You don't have to go in person, Colonel, people can understand that the parliament doesn't even dare to make this suggestion!"
This being the case, if the Parliament suggested that Charles go to the battlefield himself at this time, it would be almost like telling the world that they wanted to kill Charles at the hands of the enemy.
But Charles felt that he had to go.
Charles asked back:
"General, what will the soldiers of the 105th Infantry think if I don't go?"
"They'll hold up the gas mask and say that Ciel invented it, but he himself has no confidence in it. Otherwise, why wouldn't he dare to be with us?"
"They will think that the gas mask is just a psychological comfort to trick them into going to the battlefield and let them fight the enemy in poisonous gas!"
This is indeed not asking Charles to go to the battlefield, but it will make him suspicious of the gas mask.
Once they became suspicious of the gas masks, the 105th Infantry Regiment, like all front-line troops, would collapse and flee at the slightest sign of trouble.
This is the tradition of European troops. If they feel that their existence is meaningless or unable to change the situation of the war, they will choose to escape. This is natural and not a shame.
Gallieni was not unaware of this. He knew that the front-line troops would be greatly encouraged to know that Charles was fighting with them on the front line, and would quickly stabilize the defense line to avoid being broken through by the German army.
But this is poison gas!
But after thinking for a while, Gallieni nodded and said, "This seems to be good for you. The French people know that you are with them when they are in the most dangerous time and need you the most. They will remember this."
"Yes, General," Charles answered.
This was actually one of the reasons why Charles asked to go to the battlefield himself.
True love is revealed in times of crisis. When the entire Allied Powers were in panic and the French military and civilians felt that disaster was imminent and even thought of surrender, if Charles could go against the current and withstand the danger on his own, his position in the hearts of the people would be irreplaceable. This would become Charles' greatest military and political capital, and even Foch would be unable to defend it.
Otherwise, since his life was his own, Charles would not risk his life to fight the poison gas, even with a gas mask.
…
It was past ten o'clock in the evening, and the Ypres Airport, which should have been calm, was in chaos. Many soldiers and civilians who were seriously poisoned were waiting to be rushed to Paris for treatment.
Since the Germans launched the gas warfare, tens of thousands of casualties occurred in just one hour, which caused the Ypres medical system to collapse instantly.
More importantly, almost everyone, including doctors, were helpless against the symptoms of poisoning. They could only try to send the wounded to Paris in the hope that they would have a solution.
However, Ypres is too far away from Paris. It may take more than ten hours or even longer to travel more than 400 kilometers by train, which is not much different from waiting to die.
Therefore, some qualified or senior military officers could only find ways to hire planes.
At this time, a two-seater "Avro" slowly landed at the airport under the guidance of indicator lights.
People cast curious glances at the plane. Shouldn't the plane landing at this time be the "Benowa"?
(The picture above shows the earliest civil transport aircraft "Benova", which began operation on January 1, 1914. It can only carry two people, the pilot and a passenger. The ticket price is expensive, costing $5 per trip. The first ticket was sold at a sky-high price of $400)
Before the plane came to a complete stop, several cars drove up to meet it. The people in the cars were all French soldiers armed with live ammunition. At the same time, there were police officers blowing whistles to keep people within the cordon.
Someone shouted, "They must be sending some wealthy capitalist to flee from here."
The crowd suddenly became chaotic, shouting and rushing towards the police and soldiers who were stopping them, but the crowd soon stopped.
They found that the police and soldiers had drawn their pistols from their waists.
"Don't come over here!" The leading guard held a revolver in his hand. He carefully pointed the muzzle of the gun at the ground and warned loudly: "We will shoot, I promise!"
People were stunned, a situation that only occurred when workers demonstrated for the implementation of an eight-hour workday and the government sent in troops to suppress it.
Then, someone whispered, “Is it a military secret?”
The angry people suddenly understood that if it was because of military secrets, it was normal for the soldiers to behave like this, and their actions just now almost threatened national security.
Then, people turned their eyes to the plane, wondering who it was going to carry away.
Soon, they found out that they were wrong. It was not about transporting someone away, but about transporting someone here.
Under the dim light, a slightly thin figure jumped out of the cabin and got into the car surrounded by guards.
Someone exclaimed: "God, that's Charles, it's Charles! I know him!"
Everyone was stunned. Charles? He came to Ypres? At this time?
After a long while, someone said, "No, that's not Ciel, you must have made a mistake!"
The others understood and responded in unison:
"Yes, you must have made a mistake. Ciel can't be here."
"Charles is in Paris."
"We saw nothing!"
…
(End of this chapter)
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