Chapter 873 This is a good thing
The fortress was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. All the officers, including Gamlin, looked as if they had lost their souls. They stared at Charles with horror and a hint of pleading in their eyes, fearing that he would call out to them next.
If someone else does this, they don't care at all. No one can take them away from here, and even those who do this cannot leave this fortress.
But that man was Charles, the all-powerful Charles. He controlled the military, the government, and public opinion.
Even though there were congressmen and capitalists behind the officers, Charles only needed to publish the names and evidence of the corrupt officers through newspapers, or even without newspapers.
The officers were immediately sent to prison to receive the most severe punishment.
Members of Parliament and capitalists?
Forget it, they will cut ties with the officers immediately, or else even they will be hanged by the angry soldiers and civilians.
Several officers subconsciously reached for their guns at their waists, but were immediately stopped by other officers with their eyes.
When we looked outside the fortress, we saw armed guards everywhere. Tasini's troops had already taken control of the place.
To be precise, Tasigny's troops had already controlled the Eastern Army Group: he gained the support of all grassroots soldiers by promoting grassroots officers based on his military merits. At this time, Tasigny and his staff group had become a powerful force in the army.
Only then did the officers realize that their future and destiny were in Charles' hands.
Life and death are just a word from Charles.
"Major General Gan Molin." Charles took out a document from his briefcase and turned to walk towards Gan Molin.
Gan Molin's face turned pale in an instant.
Is there still me?
I actually imagined that Ciel would show some leniency, but I didn't expect it to come to this...
"Major General." Charles handed the document to Gamelin. "This is the new promotion list to fill these vacancies. Take a look and see if there are any problems."
Gan Molin was stunned, took the document hesitantly, and suddenly felt much more relaxed.
"Oh, no problem." Gamelin flipped through the list pretentiously: "This is signed by Minister Gallieni. Of course, I have no problem."
He secretly rejoiced, then realized that all this was premeditated.
All the officers on the list were selected from the reserve army group and were the newly reinforced 9th Army.
Therefore, Gan Molin thought that these reinforcements could enhance the strength of the Eastern Army Group, but he did not expect that they would be used to take over the Eastern Army Group.
But Gan Molin felt strange. Why didn't Charles just "get rid of" himself?
The next second he understood that it was for the Algerian Legion. Currently, he was the only one who could command this army belonging to the colonial consortium.
Thinking of this, Gamelin stood up and saluted Charles: "I obey your command, Lieutenant General. I believe that under your command, we will surely achieve a remarkable victory."
Seeing that Gan Molin had given in, the officers quickly responded with a flurry of comments:
"Yes, of course, we follow the command of the lieutenant general."
"Please give the order, Lieutenant General."
"We will firmly carry out your orders."
Someone shouted: "For France!"
A uniform shout immediately rang out from the fortress:
"For France!"
"Long live France!"
…
The weather in Paris in October was slightly chilly. The plane trees on the street lost all their leaves overnight. The bare trunks with rugged lines pointed to the gray sky, like hands reaching out to the sky for help.
People in Paris seemed to be used to all this; they went out in the dim morning light, stepping on the fallen leaves all over the streets, thinking that today might be another busy day.
But it's all worth it. The hard work is to get bullets, shells and supplies to the soldiers on the front line. The soldiers need them.
They would also comfort themselves: soldiers are giving their blood and lives for France, and citizens should work hard to provide them with the conditions for fighting.
There were more and more pedestrians on the street, and long queues formed at the tram station. Everyone's face was filled with anxiety and fatigue.
(The picture above shows a tram. During World War I, most buses and drivers were converted to ambulances and troop carriers, so most of the buses in Paris stopped running. Only a few trams were in normal operation. Due to energy shortages, horse-drawn trams even appeared.)
Suddenly, the newsboy's childish and loud voice rang out:
"Extra, Extra!"
"Charles reorganized the Eastern Army Group and arrested 37 corrupt senior officers, most of whom were lieutenant colonels and colonels."
"The Eastern Army Group's command was almost paralyzed!"
…
People looked at each other in bewilderment. Corrupt military officers? What was going on?
Someone did not hesitate any longer, took out lunch money from his pocket and exchanged it for a newspaper from the newsboy. Before he could even open the newspaper, a group of people gathered around him.
Then, a bunch of scary headlines came into everyone's eyes:
More than half of the senior officers of the Eastern Army Group Command were arrested
"Most military officers are from wealthy families. They collude with suppliers to pass off inferior goods as good ones."
"Corruption involves almost all military supplies, except for the military-industrial enterprises operated by Charles"
…
Take a closer look at the content:
"The quality of the shells was shockingly poor, but they still passed the inspection. There were many duds and explosions during use."
"We have produced so many military boots, but why are they still extremely scarce on the battlefield? We have always thought it was because of the harsh battlefield environment, but in fact it is not. The real reason is that illegal suppliers are selling inferior products as good ones, and a pair of military boots can only be used for a few days."
"Do you know what the army eats? They fill cans with a lot of rotten vegetables and meat. Is this the only food that the soldiers fighting for France on the front line deserve to eat?"
…
The citizens were shocked. They didn't expect that they worked so hard thinking they could deliver supplies and ammunition to the soldiers to share some of the burden with them, but in the end they were completely infiltrated by the unscrupulous capitalists' inferior products.
But more people think about themselves:
"We work hard all day and only get a pitiful 5 francs, and these officers can get tens of thousands of dollars just by nodding their heads?"
“We can’t even get enough to eat, and yet they are exploiting the soldiers on the front for their own benefit.”
"These bastards completely disregard the interests of the country and citizens. They are parasites of France. But fortunately, someone finally punished them!"
…
This time, surprisingly, there were no large-scale demonstrations and strikes as usual. There were only a few small-scale marches, demanding severe punishment for corrupt officials.
Although the citizens were angry, they also saw hope: Charles was helping them to reorganize the country, commanding the army in battle, and winning the war.
If we march and strike now, won't that cause trouble for the Shire?
What are you protesting?
Protesting the Charles' arrest of corrupt officers?
No, they have existed for a long time, and many people know about it, but there is nothing they can do about it.
So, that’s a good thing!
(End of this chapter)
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