Chapter 862: Ciel got there first
The White House, Washington, D.C., Oval Office.
President Wilson is discussing the Fourteen Points of Peace with his secretary.
Wilson was well aware of the importance of this peace program. On the surface, it was just a document, a call to advocate peace and fight for the interests of all mankind, but the strategies, tactics and means that followed were related to the future of the United States.
"Don't destroy the old weapons removed from the battlefield." Wilson pointed his finger in the air: "We will also purchase a large number of obsolete weapons on the Western Front, especially light equipment."
The secretary asked in confusion, "But most of those equipments are not very useful, Mr. President. Even if they are repaired, they are prone to problems."
"Don't worry." Wilson smiled, "They are not for us."
The secretary immediately understood that the president was preparing to support the colonies.
It was a very clever move, and the secretary secretly praised it.
People in the colonies don't care about the quality of weapons, they just want to have guns in their hands.
And these guns are of British and French make. The British and French will only think that they were brought back from the war by the colonies and hidden away, and will not suspect the United States.
Then, combined with "national self-determination" and foreign aid, the British and French will be deeply involved in colonial wars.
(Note: The foreign aid program is the predecessor of the United States Agency for International Development)
And it's not just Britain and France, but also Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and other European countries.
Times are changing.
Not long ago, the number of colonies was a symbol of each country's strength and could provide the great powers with massive amounts of manpower and wealth.
Who would have thought that soon these colonies would not only fail to bring them wealth, but would become a burden and even cause them great distress.
The United States will sit idly by and watch European countries become mired in war, and take this opportunity to surpass them and become a superpower with its powerful industrial strength!
At this time, the head of the Public Intelligence Committee, Creel, opened the door holding a document and called out in panic, "Mr. President, can I talk to you?"
(The above picture shows George Creel, a senior journalist who is well versed in guiding and controlling public opinion and a close confidant of Wilson)
(The picture above shows George Creel [far right] and his Committee on Public Intelligence, or CPI, which was established a week after the United States declared war. It was a wartime propaganda agency that shaped public opinion through propaganda and published a large number of press releases and advertisements in the media to influence public opinion)
Wilson nodded and gave his secretary a look to signal her to pause.
The secretary understood, put away his notebook, stood up, greeted and left.
Wilson was very careful in this regard. He believed that people who did not need to know should not know things outside the scope of their work, even if Creel was his confidant.
However, he soon realized that the things he regarded as "secrets" and even elevated to the level of "strategy" were worthless.
"Mr. President." Creel quickly stepped forward and handed a document to Wilson:
"My department has been in close contact with the European front. Do you know what I heard?"
"Charles actually raised the slogans of 'freedom', 'equality' and 'fraternity' to the colonial army."
"What is even more puzzling is that the French government supports his approach, saying it is the French spirit and is correct at all times and in all places, including for people in the colonies."
Wilson was stunned on the spot. It took him a while to react. He looked at Clear and then at the document:
"No, this, this... this is impossible!"
"France has its own colonies, and the area of the colonies is even dozens of times the size of the mainland."
"France needs colonies right now. Doing this is tantamount to destroying its own Great Wall..."
Creel interrupted Wilson: "But they already did it."
Wilson stood up anxiously and paced in front of his desk, muttering to himself, "Something must have gone wrong. There's no reason for them to do this."
Then he paused, turned his head and looked at Krill, raising the document in his hand: "Are you sure? This is not Ciel's whim?"
Krill shook his head slightly:
"I thought so at first. This might just be Charles' personal behavior. After all, the supplies he gave to the colonial soldiers were his personal property."
"I even believe that his behavior is unsustainable because the British and French capitalists are afraid of this happening."
"However, French Prime Minister Clemenceau and Minister of War General Gallieni have issued separate statements expressing their support for Charles's actions, and also said that the supplies Charles 'donated' to the colonial army will be borne by France."
"They call it the glory of France."
This changed the nature of the matter; it became a national act rather than Charles' personal "Madonna complex."
It’s just that this matter was initiated by Charles, so most of the credit will still go to Charles.
Wilson felt as if he had eaten a fly.
All of this originally belonged to him and to America!
He will stand at the top of the world and receive cheers from all mankind. His initiative will go down in history, and the United States will gain a great reputation and eventually become a superpower.
But now everything has come to nothing. France has taken the lead and is willing to "disarm itself".
Do the French politicians see the benefits and prospects of doing so?
Impossible, those short-sighted guys even used usury and stocks to cheat citizens of their money.
How can those who are foolish enough to consume the government's public trust in exchange for wealth see the benefits of "common interests of mankind"?
It's Charles, it must be Charles!
He saw the weaknesses of colonial policy, the dangers in Europe, and even saw through the intentions of the United States.
"What about the French capitalists?" Wilson asked. "How did they react? No one objected to Charles's actions?"
Wilson knew that France had a colonial consortium that controlled most of the resources of the colonies.
However, Charles's actions touched upon the interests of the colonial consortium and would inevitably lead to resistance.
But Creel replied:
"Mr. President, almost everyone supports Charles."
"The same is true of French citizens, people in the colonies, and even domestic capitalists."
"The colonial consortium doesn't dare to raise too many voices of resistance, otherwise, they might be targeted by the people in the colonies..."
Wilson was speechless for a moment; he had not expected this.
Come to think of it, the colonial consortium became rich by exploiting the colonies, and their only reliance was the French army's suppression and intimidation of the colonies.
If they lost the support of the French army and openly rebelled against Charles's "equality" and "fraternity", they would be hanged on trees by the angry colonial people in the blink of an eye!
(End of this chapter)
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