Chapter 784: Paris Cannon
In the end, Charles successfully obtained $30 million in research and development funds from Parliament.
Strictly speaking, this is money the government must spend because it is related to national security.
Charles was telling them a message: I have no money and can't hold on any longer. The country's affairs can't all be blamed on the Bernard Group, right? The Bernard Group has no ability to confront a country, especially that country is Germany!
So lawmakers have only two choices: either fall behind or pay.
Giving money is inevitable. There are usually no surprises in a parliament controlled by the Charles. This is more of a formality to tell the capitalists and the public why the money is given.
And this is just the first step. R&D funds can be increased at any time. In addition to tanks, there are also airplanes, warships, cannons, etc., and all aspects require financial investment.
This may not be enough to cover the cost of buying the land, but it doesn’t matter. We can just mortgage the factory in Darwaz to the government to get a loan.
There is a saying that goes, poor people save money and rich people borrow money.
The current Charles is the latter.
The money owed to the country was so much that even the country would not let anything happen to the Bernard Group, otherwise she would not be able to recover the loan.
And these were just some formalities for Charles at this moment.
It just so happened that the Germans were very cooperative at this time, and they provided unexpected assistance to Charles in raising funds and suppressing land prices.
…
Now it is June, and the summer in Paris is sunny but not too hot.
Although supplies were scarce during wartime, the trees on both sides of the street were lush and green, and the leaves swayed freely in the breeze, as if the ongoing war had nothing to do with them.
Suddenly, there was a sharp whistling sound in the air, followed by a loud bang on the banks of the Seine. In an instant, thick smoke billowed, the trees were blown to pieces, and the broken branches and fallen leaves were scattered everywhere.
The frightened Parisians screamed and ran around, several cars collided with each other, but fortunately only a few people were injured.
The calmest of them immediately ran to the phone booth and called the police station.
…
Charles was in the town of Darwaz, sitting in the office of the tractor factory, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.
Dejoka was busy with his mortgage.
If it weren't for Charles' neat and clean military uniform, at first glance he would look like a typical 996 listed company.
The defense line on the east bank of the Meuse River had been handed over to the British Expeditionary Force, which used Metz as a base to launch an attack on the flank of the German troops stationed in Alsace and won the victory to great fanfare.
The British press rejoiced, and Haig paid to have the French press publish the story of the victory:
"The British Expeditionary Force proved their bravery and worth."
"The French army has not been able to conquer Alsace, which has been the wish of the French people for 46 years."
“Today, the British Expeditionary Force has helped the French people achieve this.”
“This is our honor, pleasure and pride!”
…
Everyone knew that Haig was secretly telling the French that the British army was stronger than the French army, especially Charles.
But the French people had enough confidence, the confidence given by Charles.
When they saw these reports, they either shrugged them off or laughed them off.
Even if there is discussion, it is all ridiculed:
"Look at this guy. He seems to have forgotten that the Mace was given to him by Charles."
"If it weren't for Ciel, he would have probably been swimming in the ocean, but now he's trying to outdo Ciel."
"He should study for a few more years!"
…
When Charles read Haig's remarks in the newspaper, he just smiled. This was just Hindenburg's strategy of "showing weakness to the enemy."
He deliberately misled the British into believing that the German army would "strategically retreat" on the Western Front and that there would be no counterattack.
After all, this is in line with Hindenburg's attitude. He has always emphasized "East first, West later." Now that he is the Chief of the General Staff, he must shrink the Western Front and shift the focus to the Eastern Front.
As a result, the British army strode forward, transferring more than 500,000 troops to the east coast, and supplies were transported all night long, preparing to follow the German army and march into German territory in one go.
Charles could even imagine Haig and Kitchener's conversation:
"As long as we can counterattack and enter Germany, we will win. After all, we have taken the first step."
"Yes, this way we can ignore those clowns at home who look down on us, and let them know that we can defeat the Germans even without Ciel!"
…
They had no idea that Hindenburg was secretly gathering strength to launch a counterattack.
When the time comes, when the two armies, both intending to attack, collide with each other, it is unknown what kind of sparks will be produced.
Charles couldn't wait any longer!
Just as Charles was imagining that scene, the phone rang.
Djokovic picked up the phone, listened for a while, and looked at Charles in astonishment: "There was an explosion in Paris. They said it was a German bomber."
"Bomber?" Charles was stunned. Was there a loophole in the air defense?
Before Charles could figure out what was going on, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and then Lieutenant Colonel Laurent pushed the door open and said, "General, General Gallieni wants you to go back to Paris. It's an emergency."
…
Charles met Gallieni at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, where he was then the Minister of War.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Fernando always followed him and was his most capable assistant.
The office looked busy, with calls constantly coming in and assistants running around with documents. Gallieni was sitting at his desk comparing some photos.
As soon as he saw Charles come in, Gallieni raised his head and motioned Charles to come forward.
"It's a bit strange." Gallieni handed the photo to Charles:
"Lieutenant Colonel Dura said it was possible that an enemy pilot managed to cross the border from high altitude and attack Paris."
"We are contacting frontline troops and aviation regiments to find loopholes in air defense."
"If necessary, you should send out air forces to shoot them down."
Charles took the photo and looked at it, and immediately made a judgment: "No, this is a shell."
"Cannonballs?" Gallieni was stunned.
"Yes." Charles pointed to the crater and said to Gallieni, "An aerial bomb cannot have such a deep crater. It usually explodes on the surface of the soil. Only artillery shells can do this."
Lieutenant Colonel Dura worked in intelligence. Both he and Gallieni had combat experience before airplanes became popular, so they didn't know these things.
Gallieni suddenly realized: "You said before that the Germans might have a cannon that could hit Paris?"
The air in the office froze instantly, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Charles at the same time, as if the pause button had been pressed.
"Yes." Charles nodded.
Gallieni's expression changed instantly.
Lieutenant Colonel Fernando was so shocked that he was speechless.
The others looked at each other in bewilderment, not even noticing that the documents in their hands had fallen to the ground.
(End of this chapter)
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