Chapter 723 Another Asymmetric Warfare
The benefits of money are fully reflected at this time.
Charles combines the military, politics, and commerce. Although this has caused some trouble for itself in the past, with its development to the current level, the benefits it can bring far outweigh the troubles.
How powerful is the Secretary of the Navy?
Then crush him with money!
Charles may not have as much political power as him, but he is richer than him.
Shire's assets may not be as strong as Schneider and Windel, but Shire has military power.
Charles may not have as much military power as Foch, the commander-in-chief, but Charles has supplies.
In short, it’s like playing Go with the chess champion, and playing chess with the Go champion, and finally defeating them one by one!
This is another kind of asymmetric warfare.
…
Paris City Hall, the Minister of the Navy's office is on the third floor.
In front of the warm fire, the Minister of the Navy and the Japanese military attaché Ming Yuan Jiro drank and chatted happily.
"On behalf of France, I would like to express my gratitude to you, Mr. Mingyuan." The Minister of the Navy sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, and raised his glass casually to the Japanese military attaché: "Thank you for lending a helping hand to us when France was in trouble."
Ming Yuanjiro stood up quickly: "You are welcome. This is what we should do. We are willing to contribute to this war."
His French was a little stiff, and he still maintained the habit of speaking in neon, speaking word by word.
"But." The Navy Minister changed the subject: "You should know that the war has entered a critical stage. We are in urgent need of warships. They mean the safety of our supplies."
"Yes, I understand." Ming Yuanjiro nodded and bowed: "Please rest assured, we will complete the work as quickly as possible."
“In terms of price…”
"Please rest assured, Your Excellency." Ming Yuanjiro nodded again: "The cost will not exceed the price quoted by your country for self-production. The excess will be borne by our country."
The Minister of the Navy nodded with satisfaction. In this way, all problems were solved, and the production capacity of the Brest Shipyard was eliminated in its infancy.
Everything is so perfect.
He casually pulled out a cigar, and Ming Yuanjiro hurriedly leaned forward to light it for him.
Just as the Navy Minister exhaled a puff of smoke, the staff officer came forward and handed him a telegram.
The Minister of the Navy took a look and immediately frowned. He put the cigar aside and turned to ask the staff officer with a hint of anger: "Is it from Charles?"
"No, Minister," the staff officer replied, "It was a telegram from Mr. Wells, who also said that this was an order from Charles. If you want to cancel it, please talk to Charles in person."
The Navy Minister rubbed his forehead and took a deep breath.
He knew that he couldn't discuss this matter with Charles. Charles only needed one sentence to withstand all his pressure: "If you don't agree, then you will pay the money, Mr. Minister."
Originally, the Minister of the Navy could have threatened Charles on the grounds of national interests:
"Please consider France, General."
"Building warships requires a lot of steel and manpower, which means the army has less ammunition and equipment, which will cause the army to suffer more casualties. We must consider the overall situation."
"At the same time, we will deliver the warships you need to you, and the army's ammunition and equipment will not be lacking."
Charles had no reason to disagree. If he disagreed, it would be "ignoring the overall situation and national interests."
But now…
Charles directly increased the order: on the basis of ensuring 10 warships for the Brest Shipyard, it would purchase an additional 10 warships from Japan.
So the ball was passed back to the Minister of the Navy and it became an offer that the Minister of the Navy could not refuse.
After thinking for a while, the Navy Minister looked up and asked Ming Yuanjiro: "Can you accept more orders?"
The Minister of the Navy hopes to use Neon's production capacity to overwhelm Shire.
Isn't Charles rich? Then buy all of Neon's production capacity!
But Ming Yuanjiro's answer disappointed the Minister of the Navy.
"I'm very sorry, Minister." Ming Yuanjiro bowed 90 degrees in panic: "To produce these 10 warships, we need to invest all the shipyards. We can't accept more orders at the moment. Please forgive me!"
The Minister of the Navy said "hmm", hesitated for a while, and then said with helplessness in his tone: "You have heard of Charles, Mr. Mingyuan?"
"Yes, of course." Ming Yuanjiro replied: "I have heard a lot about him. He is a very good commander..."
Halfway through his words, he noticed that the Navy Minister looked unhappy and stopped talking in time.
Is this something wrong?
By the way, the Minister of the Navy is jealous of Charles.
The Navy Minister once again held up his cigar, as if to hide his embarrassment with the smoke: "He paid for the order of the warships, and he hopes to talk to you."
Ming Yuanjiro was flattered. He stared at the Minister of the Navy with wide eyes in disbelief: "You mean, Vice Admiral Charles? He wants to talk to me?"
It is said that Lieutenant General Charles is the most powerful general in France. Now it seems to be true. Even the Minister of the Navy is helpless against him!
It's great to meet him. This is a great opportunity for the Empire to join the civilized world.
My hard work finally paid off, I’m so happy!
The Navy Minister glanced at Ming Yuanjiro coldly.
Ming Yuanjiro immediately realized that he had been rude, and quickly put away his joy, saying hypocritically: "This, is it? It doesn't seem reasonable. Obviously, the Minister is the most suitable candidate..."
"He's at the city defense headquarters." The Navy Minister interrupted Ming Yuanjiro and said, "After you finish talking to him, we will have a follow-up discussion!"
"Yes, I'm very sorry! Goodbye." Ming Yuanjiro trembled like a child who had done something wrong, bowed and carefully walked out the door.
…
At the city defense headquarters, Charles was discussing the Meuse offensive with Gallieni.
"In one day and one night, Foch's army only advanced 36 kilometers." Gallieni pointed to the map and said, "This speed does not seem to be ideal."
Lieutenant Colonel Fernan explained: "The Germans sent out the Storm Troopers. They adopted General Charles' tactics and used sidecars to weave through the forests and paths, constantly attacking General Foch's logistics. This forced General Foch to take a cautious approach and send troops to garrison along the way to ensure the safety of the supply line."
This is the disadvantage of not having mechanized and armored forces. It is difficult for infantry to arrive at the location attacked by the enemy in time.
The result was that they had hundreds of thousands of troops but were struggling to move forward.
Gallieni was a little worried: "If this continues, the main force of the German army is likely to jump out of the encirclement."
But Charles was not worried. He confidently concluded, "The speed will increase from now on."
Gallieni was stunned, but when he saw Bizansi on the map, he understood: "Bizansi has the First Mechanized Division?"
"Yes." Charles nodded. "There are rivers all around Bizangsi, and most of the bridges and roads are blocked by the mechanized division. Even the Storm Commandos can hardly do anything."
The Storm Troopers were still infantry after all, and were no match for Tijani's mechanized division.
At this time, the guard came forward and reported: "General, the Japanese military attaché is downstairs, he wants to talk to you!"
(End of this chapter)
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