Chapter 749 Internal Division
Thank you for the reward from "Yearning for Poetry and Distant Places". It's too late to update today. I will try my best tomorrow!
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Clemenceau was obviously moved, and he hesitated for a long time with a gloomy look on his face.
But he soon reacted, smiling and mocking:
"It's a good plan, General. You've used your military strategy to divide us."
"You just didn't consider one thing. You are our biggest enemy now."
"As long as you are here, no matter which of us becomes prime minister, we will only be puppets."
At this time, Charles had become a giant integrating military, politics, and business.
Although he cannot be said to have all the power in the government, he has only been in the military, political and business circles for less than two years at the age of 19. If he continues to develop, no one will be his match.
Charles did not deny this.
But of course he had considered this situation. He smiled gently and asked calmly: "Mr. Commissioner, you, the former Prime Minister, and Briand, the current Prime Minister, aren't they puppets?"
Clemenceau was stunned, then nodded slowly.
The ones who actually control the political situation are the big capitalists behind the scenes, and the prime minister and the cabinet have been puppets from beginning to end.
Charles added: "If you are destined to be a puppet, what difference does it make whose puppet you become? The key is who becomes the prime minister. Do you agree?"
Clemenceau was silent.
Charles was right. What did the interests of France, the life and death of civilians, a republic or a dictatorship have to do with Clemenceau?
What Clemenceau wants is profit, his own profit!
If things continue like this, the chances of Clemenceau becoming prime minister again will be almost zero.
But it would be different if he could get Charles' support. He, who was originally at a disadvantage in the parliament, would be able to gain the upper hand in an instant.
Seeing Clemenceau was hesitating, Charles continued to add fuel to the fire: "You know, I can't resign from the army, so I won't threaten your position as prime minister. In this respect, I am not your enemy."
Clemenceau nodded slowly.
In principle, he had no conflict of interest with Charles. The reason he was Charles' enemy was that he was pushed by the capitalists and Briand.
However, Clemenceau said awkwardly: "I have been Briand's think tank for a long time, General. Many things were decided by me after discussing with him. I can't blame him for anything."
Clemenceau was an accomplice.
If Briand's scandal was exposed, Briand would certainly have to step down, and Clemenceau would also not be able to compete for the position of prime minister.
Ciel replied calmly: "So, you need something new to rely on."
"A new reliance?" Clemenceau seemed to be thinking about something. After a while, he sighed softly and shook his head secretly.
He could find nothing by which he could overthrow Briand without injuring himself.
Charles walked to the French window with his coffee in hand, his eyes cast into the void in the rain, and said calmly, "I heard that France has opened two refineries in Romania, is that right?"
That was around 1850. After oil was discovered in Romania, Britain, the United States, France and other countries successively opened refineries in Romania to ensure their own gasoline supplies.
"Yes," Clemenceau replied, "but since the Dardanelles was blocked, their gasoline could not be shipped out and had to be stored in warehouses. Now production has stopped."
Clemenceau didn't know why Charles brought this up.
Charles continued: "One of them is the Fidel Refinery, in which Briand owns a large share, a considerable one, isn't it?"
Clemenceau nodded again: "Yes, I'm not sure exactly, but I estimate that I own 10% of the shares."
Charles turned back to look at Clemenceau: "So, what if the Fidel refinery sells all the gasoline stored in its warehouse to the Germans?"
Clemenceau's eyes lit up: "If that's the case, Briand is suspected of collaborating with the enemy."
Gasoline was a strategic material that was in short supply in Germany. It was absolutely not allowed for a company that was a member of the Allied Powers to sell gasoline to the enemy.
“But it’s not easy,” said Clemenceau. “They won’t be stupid enough to sell gasoline to the Germans…”
The Fidel Refinery will not be fooled easily, after all, it will be accused of treason.
“Of course they won’t,” Charles interrupted Clemenceau. “But what if they don’t know?”
Charles had already thought of arranging a Russian shell company operated by the "Lady in White".
Russia is an ally, so there will be no problem buying cars.
Then it was sold to the Germans through this Russian company.
Briand was not aware of the crime, and even the Fidel Refinery was innocent.
But who cares?
People will think:
"The so-called 'selling to Russia' is just a cover."
"In order to prevent their own refineries from going bankrupt, the capitalists sold the gasoline that was piled up in their warehouses to the enemy through Russia."
"They know the truth, but they pretend not to know to avoid responsibility!"
…
That's how politics works.
People don't care what the truth is, and they can't find out the truth.
Because the only people who know the truth and can testify are the "Lady in White" and the middleman, and the middleman will disappear without a trace, and even the body cannot be found.
Even if people knew the truth after a while, Briand's resignation was a fact and irreversible.
And Charles can also use this batch of gasoline to sustain Germany's life.
Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Clemenceau silently calculated in his mind, and he thought that this would indeed drive Briand out of office, so he nodded and agreed to this plan: "Very good, then, I will wait for your good news."
"Mr. Commissioner." Charles stopped Clemenceau who was about to leave and said, "I think it's better for you to have a 'disagreement' with Briand now. You know, this will give you more bargaining chips."
Clemenceau uttered a "hmm".
Charles was right. If nothing was done, when the bomb exploded, Clemenceau, as his think tank, would inevitably be implicated.
“What shall we do?” asked Clemenceau.
Charles' answer was simple: "You can start as the commander of the reserve army group."
Clemenceau suddenly realized that Charles wanted to keep Gallieni's position as commander of the reserve army group.
This is a good excuse, an excuse to break with Briand and win the support of the military and civilians.
Because Gallieni had great prestige among the military and civilians, and he was also a general of Charles's line and was deeply loved by the people.
Clemenceau could not help but have a new understanding of Charles' political wisdom. He actually considered this point and solved the problem of the "reserve army group commander" just right.
Even though I knew I was being used, I had no choice but to agree.
"No problem!" Clemenceau said solemnly, "But once I draw a line between myself and Briand, I will have to face 'Game 2'..."
"I'll take care of it." Charles was very confident about this.
This result was exactly what he wanted.
With the threat of a "second game" there was no turning back for Clemenceau.
It can even be said that his life and death are in Charles' hands.
(End of this chapter)
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