Chapter 406 National Day
July 14th is France's National Day.
On this day in 1789, the citizens of Paris launched an armed uprising and attacked the Bastille. This event had great symbolic significance and was therefore established as a civic holiday.
On both sides of the Champs-Elysées in the center of Paris, crowds of people surged like a tide. Holding the red, white and blue flags in their hands, they talked and looked towards the other side of the street with expectant eyes.
A few days ago they saw the news in the newspaper that Charles would lead his 1st Tank Brigade and the 105th Infantry Regiment to be reviewed by the people of Paris.
This instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the French people, and people flocked to Paris from all directions, hoping to catch a glimpse of Charles' elite troops.
Residents of the town of Darvaz also came, including Deyoka and Camille. They wanted to see Charles fully armed and with his troops.
"That must be very handsome." Camille's eyes sparkled with excitement: "Maybe some girl will like him."
Camille dressed up today, changing her usual plain attire. She wore a black silk cloak trimmed with fine fur and a long gauze skirt with red and white lace. She looked a few years younger. Charles might not recognize her if he saw her.
Djokovic was wearing a black suit, which he bought for 1,500 francs and which he usually didn't wear.
Although Djokovic's income at this time is no longer comparable to before, he still maintains a frugal lifestyle.
He often said to himself: "I am not qualified to spend lavishly, these are all earned by Shire."
Therefore, every time Djokovic spends money, he feels a sense of guilt.
While waiting, Dejoka felt the gazes from across the street. He looked up and saw Grevi and Armand looking over here, both wearing suits and top hats, with canes under their arms.
Grevy grabbed his hat and nodded to Djoka, smiling in greeting.
Armand snorted disdainfully. "You don't have to do this, Grevi. It's his son you want, not him."
"The fact that he was able to raise such an outstanding son is enough to win the respect of others," Grevi replied.
Armand smiled: "Hearing you say that, I suddenly want to have more children."
"No matter how many children you have," Grevy replied, "they will all inherit your romantic qualities."
Armand laughed.
Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves hitting the stone road caused a slight commotion among the crowd.
The French dragoons were marching in formation along the street, dressed in black uniforms, holding sabers and wearing red feathered helmets. The first row was three white horses, followed by several leading horses, and a square formation of cavalry a few steps away.
The horse team marched in neat steps, looking well-trained and majestic.
(The picture above shows the French dragoons. Due to the outstanding performance of the dragoons during the Napoleonic Wars and the continued tradition, the dragoons are not only a branch of the French army, but also a symbol of the nation and strength. Therefore, France has always retained a dragoon team of several hundred people for ceremonies such as military parades until modern times.)
At this time of day in the past, people would always greet this cavalry, the symbol of France, with warm cheers, and the cavalry would always accept the honor as a matter of course.
But this time, people were uncharacteristically silent, as if they wanted to save all the cheers for Charles and his troops.
However, they soon discovered that there was nothing behind the cavalry except an open car, which was moving slowly behind the cavalry.
The sharp-eyed people recognized Gallieni sitting in the passenger seat of the car, and they whispered:
"What happened? Why wasn't Ciel here?"
“Is the military parade cancelled?”
"We see no troops, let alone tanks!"
…
Camille looked around nervously and unconsciously held Djoka's hand tightly.
Dejoka comforted him softly: "Don't worry, he will be fine, he should be with the troops."
At this time, Gallieni's car stopped in front of the crowd. He stood up, glanced to both sides, and said with pride:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry that Ciel and his troops are not here."
"Because at this moment, the Second Battle of Cambrai has begun!"
"Yes, the reason Ciel and his troops didn't come is because they were on the battlefield attacking the enemy."
"Charles intends to use this method to present the most special military parade to the French people!"
The crowd was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly burst into cheers.
Many people ran to Djokovic and Camille to shake their hands, saying:
"Thank you, Charles is the hope of France."
"You have a wonderful son!"
"I envy you, sir, ma'am, and I'm so happy for you."
…
Djoka and Camille responded with a smile, but it was a little bitter because it meant that Charles was on the battlefield again.
Grevy, on the other side, turned pale instantly after hearing Gallieni's words. He glanced at both sides vigilantly, put down his hat, and whispered to Armand: "Let's go."
Then he turned and squeezed out of the crowd.
Armand was a little confused, but he didn't think much about it and turned around and followed Grevi.
"What's wrong?" Armand caught up with Grevi.
"The Ciel took advantage of us," Grevy said.
"What?" Armand looked confused.
"Information." Grevi walked faster and faster: "Don't you understand? Charles knew that the information would be leaked, and he used us!"
Armand froze in place for a moment.
The reason is that Shire's training period for workers is three months.
The training period is three months, which means that Charles plans to take back the steel mill before then, so there must be an operational plan against the steel mill.
Greve thought this was a good opportunity, so he passed the information to the Germans.
Now, Charles suddenly launched an attack, not three months later but one month later, and on the Bastille Day, when everyone thought that Charles' troops would be reviewed, they launched an attack at Cambrai!
Did Charles intentionally mislead Grevi and then mislead the Germans through him?
Armand swallowed his saliva, quickly caught up with Grevi, and whispered: "If Charles used us, does it mean that he knows us..."
Before he could finish his words, several men in black surrounded him. They had one hand in their pocket, and it was obvious that they were holding a pistol under their clothes.
The leader, a man in a suit and a mustache, came up to them leisurely, took out an ID from his pocket and waved it in front of Grevi:
"Mr. Grevy, Mr. Armand, I'm from the Second Bureau of the General Staff, my name is Dura."
"Please come with me. There are some things I need to verify with you."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
