Chapter 751 Why is he walking with Charles?
Clemenceau walked slowly onto the podium with a heavy heart.
All the way there were boos from the Charles party, and some shouted at him:
"Come on down, you bastard."
"You are the mouthpiece of the capitalists, you only speak for them."
"You are a lying traitor!"
(Refers to Clemenceau's many inconsistent methods. He proposed an eight-hour workday, but when workers launched a general strike to fight for the eight-hour workday, he mobilized 25,000 troops to bloodily suppress it. He proposed freedom of the press, but vigorously suppressed freedom of the press during his tenure. He also stipulated that pensions should be after the age of 65. At that time, few people could live to this age, so it was called a "corpse pension.")
…
The opposition lawmakers looked expectantly, as they knew that Clemenceau could almost represent Briand. There were many things that Briand, as Prime Minister, was not convenient to speak for, so Clemenceau would speak for them.
Only Steed smiled without saying a word, sitting in his seat and looking coldly at Clemenceau.
What will he choose?
I believe there is no suspense anymore, unless he is a fool!
Clemenceau glanced around the room and the room gradually became quiet.
"Gentlemen, one thing is certain," said Clemenceau: "The appointment and removal of military officers is the power of Parliament, and no other power, no matter who it is, has the right to interfere."
Opposition lawmakers agreed:
"Yes."
"That's right!"
…
Clemenceau continued:
"If every time we make a decision, people take to the streets or protest, then parliament compromises and changes the decision."
"Do you know what this means?"
“The parliament’s decision-making will no longer be pure or even impossible, because every decision made will be met with protests and opposition, because there will always be a group of people who are dissatisfied with the decision.”
The opposition cheered in support, while Charles's faction loudly objected, and the meeting room was in chaos.
However, Clemenceau changed the subject:
“But is this decision really the right one?”
"We all know that Gamelin has been the head of the Operations Department. We think he is the smartest staff officer in France and he is good at commanding the battles on the front line."
"As for the reserve army group, that's where new soldiers are trained and logistics are guaranteed."
Everyone was stunned.
The opposition is wondering, is there something wrong? Something doesn’t seem right!
Charles and his party looked at each other in bewilderment. Did they hear wrongly? Clemenceau agreed with our point of view?
Could this be a trap? Was he setting a trap for others to fall into?
Only Steed knew what was going on, and he smiled and nodded slightly.
Ciel won, again.
Clemenceau continued:
"I don't doubt the ability of Major General Gamelin, but I think he belongs on the battlefield, gentlemen. He has never trained soldiers."
"We all know that being able to do something is different from being able to teach others, and that's why we need instructors."
"As we know, those who can do the exercises may not necessarily become qualified teachers."
"Similarly, the director of the operations department may not be a qualified instructor, and he also does not know what issues need to be paid attention to in supporting logistics."
The meeting room was very quiet, and everyone was speculating about Clemenceau's true intentions, both the pros and cons.
Finally, someone couldn't help asking, "So, who do you think is more suitable for this position?"
Clemenceau spread his hands and said, "Of course it is General Gallieni. He has done a great job."
One member of parliament then asked: "But what about his health problems?"
"I heard that he is getting better," Clemenceau replied. "He is no longer in danger, is he? Who else could be more suitable than him? And until he recovers, I think Major-General Maunoury can take over."
Then Clemenceau added: "Major General Monoury is more experienced than Gamelin. I heard that he used to be an instructor and did a good job."
Major General Monouri often brings soldiers from the reserve army group to reinforce the front line. He is unmatched in experience and is indeed a more suitable candidate.
But the point is that he is Gallieni's man, Gallieni's old subordinate and his confidant.
The opposition was confused; they did not understand what Clemenceau's purpose was.
As for Charles's faction, some people have begun to suspect whether Major General Monouri has been bribed by capitalists.
…
Paris City Hall.
Briand was in his office signing documents as usual.
His workload now is much less than before because many things in the military do not require government approval, including the allocation of supplies.
The Minister of Logistics once complained:
"We have no supplies, sir. Gallieni has them and arranges them for us."
"The logistics department personnel need Gallieni's approval to transfer supplies. This is ironic. Our existence is completely redundant."
“Who would take our logistics department, which has no supplies, seriously?”
Briand didn't like this situation where power was falling into someone else's hands, but he could do nothing about it.
Most of France's supplies were shipped from the United States and needed the protection of Charles's fleet to cross the Atlantic.
If the Parliament pushed Charles too far, he would only have to withdraw the destroyers with the echo sounders and France would gain nothing.
Fortunately, the government can still control the appointment and removal of some generals, such as the commander of the reserve army group.
Gallieni might have been unable to move before he fell ill, but now it is another matter.
At this time, the secretary stepped forward and reported to Briand with a confused look on his face: "Mr. Prime Minister, Clemenceau proposed in the parliament that General Gallieni continue to serve as the commander of the reserve army group, and Major General Monouri will take over temporarily until General Gallieni recovers."
Briand turned his head sharply to look at the secretary, suspecting that he had heard wrongly.
After a while he asked, "Who is Major General Monuri?"
"He is a close confidant of General Gallieni, Your Excellency the Prime Minister," the secretary replied.
Briand was completely confused. He was just wondering whether Clemenceau would take this opportunity to place one of his own people named "Monnouri" next to Gallieni.
That doesn't appear to be the case now.
"Tell him to come to me," said Briand. "At once."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."
Soon, Clemenceau appeared in front of Briand with his head held high.
Briand looked at Clemenceau expressionlessly: "Don't you have anything to explain to me?"
Clemenceau pretended to be ignorant: "Do I need to explain anything?"
Then he seemed to remember something, and said "Oh", and answered righteously:
"You are talking about the commander of the reserve army group. I don't think this needs any explanation."
"I think this is the best arrangement, Your Excellency."
"Please believe that no one is more suitable for this position than General Gallieni and Major General Maunouri. They will do a better job than we can imagine."
“In fact, they’ve proven it.”
Briand looked at the masked Clemenceau in front of him and suddenly realized that he had joined Charles.
Asshole, what's going on?
Why is he walking with Ciel? !
(End of this chapter)
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