Chapter 737: One step closer to controlling public opinion
The Meuse River defense line was completely closed at around six in the morning of the next day.
It should have been faster, as it was only 60 kilometers from Buzanci to Mézières.
This section of the road was different from the previous ones. Tijani's mechanized division had been active in this area and there were basically no enemies that could resist. There were also friendly forces cooperating along the way. In order to speed up the march, Foch ordered the troops to borrow bicycles or even take taxis.
The reason it has been delayed until now is that German troops surrendered along the way.
Foch sent a telegram last night, expressing his excitement:
"I have never seen so many prisoners in my decades of military service, nor have I seen such docile Germans."
"They suddenly jumped out in the darkness and surrendered. Their numbers were several times greater than our vanguard troops."
"God, they had the opportunity to kill all the vanguard troops and break out of the encirclement, but they chose to surrender."
"I don't understand why they are like this. Are these still the Germans I know?"
…
Because this was judged to be a low priority telegram, Charles only saw it when he got up in the morning.
He smiled softly.
Foch had been the principal of the military academy for too long and he didn't know there was such a thing as "fear of the unknown."
The Germans, who were in fear of a breakout, had no idea what was waiting ahead.
Their first thought when they saw the French soldiers was:
Have the French troops arrived here yet?
And they are infantry, does that mean the bridge ahead has been occupied by the French army?
If this is the case, what is the point of fighting?
Unless we can swim the Meuse, we must surrender.
They might even think: Don't shoot. If we kill these French soldiers in front of us, we might be subjected to crazy revenge from the French army, who might refuse our surrender!
Simply put, the surrounded German troops were like a frightened bird. They could no longer use normal thinking to judge everything they saw.
The news was published at around seven o'clock, and the "Meritorious Newspaper" was once again ahead of other newspapers.
What happened at around six o'clock could never be released on the market at seven o'clock.
But Kobdo has its own way.
He had typeset two newspapers last night: one with the news of victory and one without, and both were put into the printing process and printed overtime.
Finally, when the news of victory comes out, he only needs to choose to send the one with the news of victory to the market.
Other newspapers were stunned for a moment. They had to wait at least ten hours to publish the supplement, and the information was not yet complete. They could only watch as the "Meritorious Newspaper" was snapped up in the market while no one was interested in their own newspapers.
They couldn't help but complain:
"This is simply cheating. The Meritorious Newspaper can obtain much more intelligence than us, and faster."
"I even suspect that Ciel intentionally closed the encirclement at this point in time."
"Yes, our newspapers report after the victory, but the military almost fights according to the schedule written by the "Meritorious Newspaper"!"
…
Charles was wronged. Even though Charles usually took good care of his newspaper, he would not fight according to the schedule set by the newspaper.
However, he would like to see Le Merit successfully break through 3.5 million copies and become the best-selling newspaper in France.
Add to that the sales of 800,000 copies of the Le Petit Journal, and Charles is one step closer to controlling public opinion.
(Note: The sales of the Petit Journal were also declining due to the influence of the Meritorious Newspaper, but Charles sometimes deliberately released some news that the Meritorious Newspaper did not have to keep it alive.)
At breakfast time, Charles put on a clean military uniform and ate apple crisps with milk. He also got a copy of the "Merit Report".
Camille bought the newspaper. She bought three copies today so that the family wouldn't have to fight over them.
Charles opened it and saw the front-page headline in large letters: "The most breathtaking interlaced victory in history has ended."
It was accompanied by a photo of the 1st Armored Division on the march, as well as the entire combat march route.
The text reads:
"While we were still marveling at the greatness of the Antwerp and Hasselt cross-court battles and treating them as classics, an even more astonishing cross-court battle appeared before the world."
"Our army will march through the Ardennes, capture Mezieres, and emerge behind the Germans, then advance along the Meuse River to Verdun."
"It's unbelievable that the German army of hundreds of thousands was usurped by Charles's 20,000 troops, and the Germans, who had the advantage in numbers, were powerless to fight back."
"The only one who can defeat Ciel is Ciel himself. No one could have imagined that he would do this before. No one."
…
Camille was excited, but she was more concerned about her neighbors than the war itself.
She was doing three things at once in the kitchen.
Making breakfast with her hands, staring at the newspaper, she shouted to Dejoka and Charles at the table, her voice full of pride:
"Did you see the guards at the door? Lieutenant Colonel Laurent sent more men early this morning."
"Otherwise the neighbors would have surrounded us."
"Lieutenant Colonel Laurent was worried that this would affect Charles, so he insisted on persuading those neighbors who wanted to see Charles to leave."
"It's the same outside the town. Many people are coming from all directions. Lieutenant Colonel Laurent complained to me that he needed at least an infantry division to handle it all."
…
Charles joked: "That's just an excuse for Lieutenant Colonel Laurent to get promoted."
Deyoka laughed, "Yes, I heard from Lieutenant Colonel Laurent that he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel because there were not enough soldiers protecting Charles."
Camille didn't understand. She walked out of the kitchen and handed the two of them hot milk, and objected: "No, Lieutenant Colonel Laurent is not that kind of person. He loves his job and does it well."
Djokovic and Charles smiled but said nothing.
Humor can only be understood but not expressed in words. Even if you explain it clearly, it loses its meaning.
"So, you've already thought of this plan?" Djoka raised the newspaper in his hand. "I mean, through the Ardennes Forest and then along the Meuse River."
"No, father," Charles answered. "Some of it was planned, such as the attack on Mezières through the Ardennes Forest, because the Germans were not prepared at the time. I could plan."
Djokovic understood: "After this, you can't plan because you don't know how the Germans will respond or if there will be any special circumstances."
"Yes." Charles nodded. "The advantage of armored and mechanized forces is that they are fast and can respond quickly according to different situations."
Djokovic nodded thoughtfully: "This is similar to business. We are the same. Many times we don't have a plan and have to adapt to the situation."
Charles was a little surprised. He thought Djoka didn't understand, but he didn't expect that he could understand it so thoroughly.
Charles believed that if Djokar were allowed to lead his troops in battle as a commander, he would probably be better than most of the generals in the army, many of whom were more stubborn than stone.
What Charles didn't know was that Djokovic was frightened by this ordinary sentence.
Making a mistake in business will only result in losing some money, but making a mistake on the battlefield, even just once, can cost you your life.
I really don't understand how this guy Charles has continued on this path until now.
(End of this chapter)
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