I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 60 Thinker

The meeting went on until the afternoon, with a one-hour recess at noon, and the left and right wings continued to pull at each other in the session, even though the few topics discussed were insignificant.

Walking out of the House of Representatives and looking at the sunset under the thin mist, Grevy and Arman greedily took a few breaths of fresh air.

Arman wore a victorious smile on his face and turned to ask, "What’s your plan next?"

Grevy remained expressionless. He didn’t think sending Shire to Gallieni’s side was a major victory, although it was indeed the military.

After all, Shire could juggle both the military and the factory, meaning Shire was still their competitor!

After hesitating for a moment, Grevy said thoughtfully, "I think I should have a talk with Shire!"

Arman looked at Grevy in surprise, "You don’t still want to pull him to our side, do you? There’s no way; he’s a capitalist!"

"Francis is also a capitalist!" Grevy responded, "Besides, we have nothing to lose!"

More importantly, it was Shire’s talent that made Grevy feel that even a 1% chance was worth a try, otherwise, he wouldn’t even bother to glance at him.

"Alright then!" Arman replied reluctantly, "I’ll wait for your good news. I also don’t really want to deal with a kid!"

Grevy said nothing, waved his hand, and the coachman drove the carriage to a stop in front of them.

Grevy opened the door, bent down, and got in to sit down, then coldly stated the destination, "Motorcycle Factory!"

"Yes, sir!" The coachman flicked the reins, and the carriage turned around and headed towards Lavaz Town.

...

Grevy’s carriage was stopped outside the factory, which surprised him.

Grevy stuck his head out to see a few French soldiers standing outside the factory gate, and an officer with four gold stripes on his sleeve approached the carriage politely, "Your credentials, sir!"

Grevy took out his credentials from his pocket and handed them over.

Grevy was a noble and a member of parliament, which was clearly stated on his credentials, so he confidently expected to be allowed through.

But surprisingly, the officer only glanced at the credentials before coldly saying, "Sorry, sir, I can’t let you through. Please go back!"

Grevy frowned, his noble composure suppressing his inner anger, and he coldly explained, "I know Mr. Shire; I want to talk to him!"

"Sorry!" The officer returned the credentials to Grevy, "This is an industrial area of importance. We have orders that no one unrelated to the factory is allowed in or out at will!"

Grevy seemed to understand, the military was worried about equipment leakage. freēnovelkiss.com

What he didn’t know was that this was actually special "protection" by Lauren for people like them, the nobles.

Gallieni also guessed that Francis had united the traditional nobility to deal with Shire. If Dejoka could see through it, Gallieni certainly could as well.

He immediately instructed Lauren not to allow any nobles to get close. They were key subjects of vigilance.

And it wasn’t just the factory; a troop was stationed in Lavaz Town to patrol, with checkpoints set up on the road between the town and the factory, ostensibly to root out spies, but in fact to protect Shire’s safety.

Grevy made a sound of acknowledgment, maintaining his poise, instructing the driver to park the carriage by the side of the factory.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they halted, Lauren came over to chase them away again, "Sorry, sir, please leave here!"

This time Grevy couldn’t hold back, and he replied sternly, "You have no right to chase me away, Major. No one does!"

Grevy held a seat in the House of Representatives and didn’t believe there wasn’t a place to stop at this small factory.

"Sorry, sir!" Lauren replied, "If I suspect you of spying on the military equipment production here, would you still think I have no right?"

Grevy was at a loss for words. If a member of parliament like him were suspected of being a spy by the military, it would be a severe blow to his political career.

Just then, a car slowly pulled out of the factory. Grevy noticed Shire in the back seat and quickly jumped out of his carriage, stepping onto the road to block the car, "Mr. Dejoka, I am Grevy, the purchaser of the property. I would like to talk to Shire!"

The coachman behind them stared in shock at this scene. For a man of Grevy’s status to stop someone’s car to seek a conversation, if this got out...

But Grevy didn’t care. He looked at Shire with a gaze that even carried a hint of pleading.

Loren held his sidearm warily, ready to draw his gun, knowing that the nobles posed a threat to Shire. He couldn’t allow any danger to Shire.

Dejoka recognized Grevy and immediately refused, "No, there’s nothing to talk about!"

"Wait a moment, Mr. Dejoka!" Grevy turned his attention to Shire, "It will only take a few minutes!"

Shire nodded to Dejoka, who looked back over his shoulder, and said, "It’s okay, father! Nothing will happen!"

Grevy wasn’t foolish enough to harm Shire in this situation as a member of parliament.

Shire got out of the car, and Grevy breathed a sigh of relief, expressing his gratitude.

He led Shire along the open ground towards the Marne River not far from the factory, where there were even remnants of the blood from the clashes between the German and French armies.

Dejoka drove closely behind, and Lauren followed anxiously with a team of guards.

Grevy turned back to look and said with a smile, "They are protecting you well!"

"I produce sidecar motorcycles for them!" Shire explained, "They don’t want any problems with the production!"

Grevy nodded, finding the explanation reasonable.

"Did you seek me out just to talk about this?" Shire asked.

"No, of course not!" Grevy stopped, lifting his gaze to the Marne River, and said thoughtfully, "You are a smart man, Shire. I believe you see further, clearer, and understand more. Am I wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Shire didn’t understand.

Grevy’s gaze turned to the grassy open land by the river, "This was once fertile land planted with potatoes, but within a few years, it turned into this. Do you know why?"

Shire looked behind him at the row upon row of factory buildings, "You mean the factories?"

Grevy nodded slightly:

"After the factories appeared, large parcels of land turned into factory buildings. Farmers became workers, and capitalists bought up land piece by piece. What will become of this country at this rate?"

"One day, capitalists will own all the land and control everyone’s fate. With just one word, workers will lose their jobs, be impoverished, and even starve to death!"

"Isn’t this another form of control? Is this the human rights and freedom proclaimed by the capitalists?"

"They say you are a conscientious capitalist, Shire. You don’t want this to be the final result, do you?"

Shire suddenly understood what Grevy meant by "further," "clearer," and "understand more."

Thinkers!

France seemed to have a lot of them—Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau...