Chapter 552 Tell the Truth
It rains less than three times in winter, and you have no worries.
The French troops on the Somme River front were in this state of detachment, not concerned with worldly troubles.
It was drizzling in the early morning, the air was filled with the stench of rotting corpses, there was muddy water underfoot, and occasionally a few shells would fly over our heads with a whistling sound, and the mud and water stirred up by the explosions would surge in like waves.
However, the soldiers were enjoying themselves in the trenches.
Some of them were sleeping soundly in the tunnels, some were hiding under raincoats and carving something on the wood in their hands with bayonets, and some were turning their helmets upside down to catch the rain and shaving carefully in front of a small broken mirror.
(The picture above shows the "Whippet" tank carved out of hardwood by French soldiers during World War I. Making "trench art" with hardwood, shell casings and other objects was the most common pastime for soldiers, who could also use these "artworks" to exchange cigarettes with their comrades.)
Captain Jérémie was playing cards with several of his men under the shelter of their raincoats.
They called this "the last joy" because the cards would soon turn into a paste due to moisture, and they had to try to play a few more rounds before that.
They were very careful and used two rain ponchos to cover their heads and another on the table to prevent moisture.
"If we keep going like this, we might be able to play all day long," Captain Jérémie said optimistically.
But before he could finish his words, the clumsy orderly Leo dropped two cards while shuffling, and they were instantly made dirty and wet by the stagnant water and yellow mud.
This caused the soldiers to complain:
"You should bleat more often, Leo."
"You are worse than those officers who drove us to the battlefield."
"Well, we're going to have another boring day!"
…
Leo picked up the cards and his expression changed. He stared at the other end of the trench and shouted softly, "Look, the sheepherder is coming."
The soldiers compared themselves to "sheep" and the senior officers who ordered them to charge to "sheep herders."
Several people were stunned and turned their heads to look in the direction Leo was looking. Sure enough, they saw several officers walking slowly up in the puddles under the protection of the guards. The leader was thin and his features and rank could not be seen because he was wearing a raincoat. Only a tube hat could be seen.
Captain Jérémie snorted. "Ignore them. If all the sheep don't obey, there will be nothing for the shepherd to do."
The soldiers laughed quietly, with some pride.
Leo carefully wiped the stains off the cards with a towel, fanned his hands with it and said, "Maybe we can continue after we let them air out."
They thought the officer would just walk by, but he stopped beside them and asked, "What are you guys playing at? Count me in!"
Everyone was stunned.
This was not what they had in mind, as they had expected officers to yell at them to take up combat positions or to pick up rifles and attack.
"We're playing barbu, sir!" Leo replied.
But Captain Jérémie glared at them, telling them that they should not talk to their superiors easily.
Leo shrank his neck and dared not say anything more.
"Okay." The officer lifted the raincoat on his cap a little. "It seems that I am not welcome here."
Captain Jérémie replied without thinking: "Yes, sir..."
He was stunned before he finished speaking, staring at the officer with his eyes fixed, and it took him a while to react: "Charles? Are you Charles?"
The nearby soldiers all stopped what they were doing and looked over here in shock.
Charles nodded, looked around, and asked, "Gentlemen, is everything okay?"
If it were someone else, the soldiers would think this was ironic. Is there anything good here? They would even beat up the officer who asked this question and let him go back, or let him experience it with them for a few days.
However, since the person asking the question was Charles, they felt it was natural and even a little bit friendly.
Everyone present had benefited from Charles to some extent. Charles' company had been donating supplies to the front lines and popularizing various tactics and survival knowledge in the "Meritorious Newspaper".
In their hearts, Charles is hope, the hope of winning the battle and surviving.
Someone answered with a choked voice:
"You are here at last, General!"
"Are you here to command us?"
"We're all right, General!"
…
But someone immediately retorted: "No, General, we are in a bad situation and we need your help!"
Ciel nodded and replied calmly, "I know. This is the purpose of my trip."
There was silence all around, with only the "ding-dong" sound of rain hitting the puddles.
Jérémie was in shock for a moment. He couldn't believe that Charles was right in front of him. After a while, he suddenly came to his senses, stood up and shook hands with Charles.
"General," said Jérémie, "you may consider me their representative."
There was a flash of surprise in Charles' eyes: "You are very brave."
Another meaning of mutiny is execution, regardless of whether the negotiations are successful.
Jérémie smiled softly: "No, General, it will make no difference."
Charles understood what he meant. He wouldn't live long anyway, and being shot was just another way to die.
Then Jérémie brought the topic to the point:
"I respect you very much, we all do, General."
"But I'm sorry, we can't pick up our guns and go back to the battlefield just because of your words."
“That’s not what we want.”
Charles nodded: "Of course."
Then he added: "Tell me, what are your conditions?"
Brothers should settle accounts clearly, and now is the time to settle accounts.
Jérémie replied:
"First, we refuse to attack."
"But I hope you don't mistake us for Confucian scholars and deserters."
"It's fine to hold our position, we just don't want to die meaninglessly at the hands of the enemy."
Charles raised his eyebrows, without any hesitation:
"This is a difficult matter, Captain."
"In war, there must be offense. It is impossible to just defend the position."
"But I can promise that we will try our best to avoid any more meaningless attacks!"
Jérémie was stunned. He didn't expect that Charles would deny his first request.
He looked around in embarrassment. More and more soldiers were gathering, including a few representatives.
Jérémie decided to discuss it with them. With a glance from Jérémie, several people gathered at the other end of the trench:
"I believe Ciel's words are credible, not just because he is Ciel."
"Yes, in order to appease us, other officers will definitely agree to all the conditions first and then regret it later. He can do that."
"But he didn't. He accepted our conditions to a limited extent and also stated his bottom line: war cannot be fought on defense without offense."
…
This was the decision Charles made before he came. He believed that only by telling the truth could he gain the trust of the soldiers.
(End of this chapter)
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