Chapter 905 Allied Conference
Eventually, Gueprat became the undisputed French Minister of the Navy.
At that time, Geplat was still commanding the war in the North Sea in Antwerp. He was stunned when he heard the news.
Secretary of the Navy? That seemed remote, even impossible, to him.
The reason is that the Minister of the Navy can appoint and dismiss naval officers, which is "nepotism". It is in the hands of the powerful, and the Brest faction has little chance of promotion.
If this continues, the demise of the Brest faction is inevitable. They will gradually be replaced by the Toulon faction, even if the appearance of Charles injects a shot of adrenaline.
However, he suddenly received a telegram: "Lieutenant General Gaybrat, the parliament has voted to appoint you as the Minister of the Navy. Please rush to Paris to take office today. Glory to France!"
Lieutenant General Gabrat was totally unprepared and couldn't wrap his mind around it for a while.
After a while, a relieved smile appeared on his face: "That guy won, he won again!"
But after thinking about it, Lieutenant General Gabrat felt that there was nothing strange about it. Who in France now could fight against Charles?
The Secretary of the Navy is just the last ditch effort of the powerful capitalists.
Then, Gablatt received another telegram from Charles.
The message was short: "Do you know what to do?"
Gablatt replied: "Of course, please rest assured, Lieutenant General!"
Geblatt certainly knew how to do it.
The Toulon shipyard and fleet were full of capitalist nepotism, which led to a series of problems:
Nepotism creates factionalism because officers come from different families and prioritize family interests over the country.
The result was constant infighting and low combat effectiveness, with virtually no coordination between the warships.
Because factional struggles often result in a certain warship being controlled by one family, and the warships controlled by another family will certainly not be able to cooperate with it, let alone sacrifice themselves to cover others in battle.
Gueprat had made up his mind that he would learn from Charles's approach in the Eastern Army Group and use the war to transform the Toulon fleet.
In short, the Toulon Fleet was transferred to the Atlantic Ocean for combat, and those with capabilities and achievements were promoted, while the incompetent ones took this opportunity to be kicked out of the command unit.
After a period of cleansing, nepotism and even factions will disappear.
…
Charles had no part in these matters.
If Charles had to do everything himself, he would definitely be overwhelmed and he must learn to let things go and delegate them to others.
This is not just true in politics, but also in economics and scientific research.
What is more important about cleaning up the powerful factions is that it will help enhance citizens' trust in the Charles, which can open up a path for citizens to rise up.
Before this, the upper class was basically monopolized by capitalists and aristocrats, and ordinary citizens could not enter no matter how hard they tried, and the senior military officials were no exception.
But the appearance of Charles changed all that.
Therefore, this is not just Charles's struggle against the capitalist elite.
Instead, he led all the middle and lower classes in France to attack the existing old society and old system.
This is the main reason why Charles was able to achieve its current achievements and status and ultimately win.
…
Just steps away from the famous Champs Elysees and the Louvre, the ancient and luxurious Hôtel de Crillon is an ideal place for those who want to experience the romantic style and leisurely life of Paris.
Even though it was now covered in a thick layer of white snow, even though she was still in the midst of a war, there were even fighter planes flying through the air with a whistling sound.
(The above two pictures show the exterior and interior of the Hôtel de Crillon. It was built in 1758 and was originally a government agency. In 1909, the building on its west side was converted into a luxury hotel, mainly used to receive foreign guests, senior officials of the Allied Powers and a meeting place for diplomatic missions)
On this day, there were suddenly many more cars driving into the hotel from the airport and train station, one team after another.
The welcoming team always receives them politely and leads them to their respective rooms to rest.
This was a meeting organized by Clemenceau on Christmas Eve, and Britain and the United States were also invited.
The British came with the Minister of Munitions and General Winter, while the Americans came with Secretary of War Baker and Pershing.
The Minister of Munitions walked into the conference room and naturally walked with Baker. After all, they were natural partners and had common interests in this war.
Amid the gentle sound of the violin, the two of them each took a glass of red wine and chatted:
"Please rest assured, Mr. Minister." The Minister of Munitions assured Beck: "We do not think that now is a good time to cease fire. The Germans will not give up so easily. They obey William II instead of the parliament."
The Quartermaster General was "making his stand" to Baker.
Otherwise, the United States might cut off supplies and loans to Britain.
Then the Minister of Munitions added: "I believe France will do the same. They will soon realize their mistakes."
If not, then we will join forces to cut off France's supply of materials.
"I hope so." Baker nodded, a hint of worry between his brows.
He hoped that Charles could join the attack on Germany. From the failure of the last Saarbrücken offensive, Beck understood one thing: without Charles' help, Britain and the United States might never break through the Hindenburg Line.
This was Pershing's conclusion. After the battle, Pershing handed Baker a document:
"Look at these, General. I have compiled the records since the beginning of the war. I have summarized each battle as briefly as possible."
"Look at what the English did, and what the French did. Then you'll see that almost none of them knew how to fight before the Charles showed up!"
"He is unique and if we want to win, we must have Charles in our team."
After reading the report, Baker finally understood Pershing's approach.
Then he came to the same conclusion: if he didn't want to suffer another disastrous defeat at Saarbrücken, he had to convince Charles.
However, how to convince him?
Like the British said, impose a material blockade on France to force Charles to join?
No, Baker rejected that plan.
Under Charles' leadership, France's economy is recovering at an astonishing rate.
Agriculture flourished because of the Shire's offer of "1% rent and no land tax".
Industry has entered a virtuous circle under the stimulation of the "super defense line".
The colonies also changed from frequent riots to active cooperation because the Charles allowed them to be independent.
…
It would be unwise to impose a blockade of supplies on France under these circumstances, as it would most likely have no effect and would only further alienate it.
If Charles was angered, he even had the power to drive the British and American troops out of France.
At this time, the Minister of Munitions glanced around and said puzzledly: "I thought this was an Allied meeting."
Baker followed the gaze of the Minister of Munitions and saw Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Standing in front of her was King Constantine I of Greece, who had not yet surrendered to the Allies.
(End of this chapter)
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