Chapter 869: Charles knows how to do business
French Algerian Defense Line.
Haji, wearing a raincoat, led two people and moved back and forth in the trench in the rain, crouching down.
They were very familiar with the terrain here. Even though the trenches looked similar in every place and there were even a few newly dug trenches, they could still easily find Abram's position.
Abram's condition was very bad. He was pale and curled up under a raincoat, breathing with difficulty, occasionally uttering a barely audible groan.
After a sound of wading, Haji appeared in front of him. The raindrops flying above his head hit Abram's face, waking him up from his confusion.
"Have you seen Charles?" Abram asked.
"Yes." Haji touched Abram's forehead and seemed to have a fever.
"The situation is not good, is it?" Abram's heart sank. He felt that Haji's face was not right. "It doesn't matter. We can rely on ourselves."
But Abram knew it was just self-consolation.
If France did not have Charles, Algeria might have been able to achieve "independence" through its own capabilities.
But France had Charles, who, like a god of war, led France to another height, a height that the colonies dared not look up to.
Tanks, planes, rocket launchers, armored troops, etc., plus various incredible tactics.
They easily defeated the Germans, each time with fewer troops.
Faced with such a France and such a Charles, Algeria seems to have no choice but to surrender, and any resistance is meaningless.
Therefore, Abram placed his hopes on Charles.
Only with the support of the Charles, only if the Charles treats everyone equally, only if the Charles is truly "equal" and "fraternal", can Algeria be free.
But now…
"No, everything is fine." Haji carefully took out something wrapped in oil paper from the inner pocket of his raincoat, opened it, took out a pill and fed it to Abram.
"What is this?" Abram swallowed the pill.
"Aspirin," Haji answered, turning on the kettle and feeding Abram water. "Char gave it to me."
(Note: Aspirin was invented in 1897. It was a new drug during World War I and was used to reduce fever and relieve mild pain. It was in short supply.)
Abram was choked instantly. He coughed a few times, which immediately turned into painful groans and gasps.
But his eyes were bright now, and his originally pale face had some color.
"You said this was..." Abram asked, "Was it given by Ciel?"
"Don't be so surprised." Haji smiled and nodded, then carefully looked to both sides and said in a low voice: "You are right, Charles is a perfect person. He is not like what I thought. He supports us."
Abram's breathing suddenly became rapid, his chest heaving violently, and he looked at Haji in disbelief.
"Hey, don't get excited, my friend." Haji lifted his raincoat and took out carbolic acid to clean Abram's wound.
(Note: Carbolic acid, also known as phenol, was widely used to disinfect wounds during World War I, but it is highly irritating)
"Listen to me." Haji was busy with his hands and spoke quickly:
"Ciel has secured a bed for you in the field hospital. I will send you there to recover."
"Then you will be sent back to Algeria, and you must survive, understand?"
"When you go back, you should form a political party, just like France did, a republic!"
Abram looked at Haji in disbelief. "Political party? Like France?"
Abram doesn't understand, if they become independent, shouldn't they establish their own system?
Why learn French?
Haji nodded confidently: "I will explain it to you later. Now you just need to know one thing: survive!"
Haji finished bandaging and put the raincoat back on Abram.
The two men behind him took out a stretcher and stepped forward, skillfully transferring Abram onto the stretcher. They nodded slightly to Haji and left along the trench.
Abram looked up at Haji who was standing there, and Haji gave him a confident smile in return.
"Everything will be fine, my friend." Haji murmured to himself: "With Charles' support, nothing is impossible!"
…
Office of the Prime Minister, Ottawa, Canada.
Prime Minister Boden stared at the list in his hand.
M1 rifle 100,000 Canadian dollars, mortar 50,000 Canadian dollars, submachine gun 150,000 Canadian dollars...
All in all, it only costs more than 1 million Canadian dollars to get a complete set of light equipment.
The most eye-catching of these is the "Camel" fighter, for which the production license only costs 300,000 Canadian dollars.
(The picture above shows Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada during World War I)
Borden raised the list in his hand to the Secretary of Defense and said doubtfully: "Do you think this list is credible?"
Defense Minister Hughes looked envious: "If it is a list given by Charles himself, we have no reason not to believe it, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."
"But why is he selling it so cheap?" Boden frowned. "He should add a zero at the end."
Even if you add a zero, some people would still rush to get it, especially the wealthy United States.
Hughes explained: "As Charles said, it is in the interest of the Allies that we can mass-produce equipment. In addition, I think there is another important reason, these equipment may be outdated."
"Behind?" Borden looked at Hughes in surprise.
These are the equipment that others on the battlefield covet.
"For Charles," Hughes added, "for example, aircraft, the intelligence we received is that France has already used the more advanced 'Sniper', and the 'Camel' fighter has been gradually phased out in the French army."
Borden was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.
Canadian aircraft were still at the level of "JN-4" and "Avro", without machine guns installed, and Charles actually eliminated the "Camel".
This gap made Boden feel desperate.
(Note: The "JN-4" is the unarmed American aircraft mentioned above, produced under license from the United States and mainly used for training, and then providing pilots for the British Air Corps. The "Avro" is produced under license from the United Kingdom.)
Borden really wanted to get these equipments, but he was still hesitant. Taking back mineral resources from the British was no joke, especially during wartime, when Britain was in great need of minerals.
On one hand, there is the right to produce a complete set of equipment that can instantly increase Canada's combat effectiveness by several levels.
The other side would risk falling out with the British!
Boden stood up anxiously, paced a few steps, stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, he wanted to get some fresh air.
Hughes seemed to understand Borden's dilemma. He stepped forward and said cautiously:
"Mr. Prime Minister, it is precisely because it is wartime that the British dare not break off relations with us."
"Besides, the British army always fails on the battlefield. Their army is weaker than ours. It seems we can take a chance."
"What's more, we only take back part of the minerals instead of all of them. We only need enough to buy these equipment..."
Boden smiled and shook his head:
"You're oversimplifying things, Hughes."
"Did you notice that there are no heavy equipment such as tanks, armored vehicles and artillery in this list?"
"Char is good at doing business. The next equipment will definitely not be priced like this!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
