I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 736: Follow or Not, As You Wish

Vice Admiral Denou, the principal, warmly welcomed Shire and shook hands with him.

Facing all the students, he made a brief introduction and then gave the floor to Shire.

Shire stood at the podium; the applause gradually subsided.

Many were guessing what kind of shocking opening remarks Shire would make.

Unexpectedly, Shire said, "I guess most of you are thinking about how to kick me off this stage, right?"

Everyone was stunned. They were used to official speeches and never expected Shire to "deliver" his speech in this manner.

It’s not lofty reasoning, but it is indeed the truth, exactly what the students were thinking.

Someone couldn’t help but laugh.

Shire immediately pointed at that student, "See, I guessed right!"

The laughter increased, and the atmosphere, originally tense and even hostile, unknowingly relaxed quite a bit.

"Let’s be relaxed, soldiers," Shire continued, "If you don’t want to listen, you can interrupt me. I hope this is just an ordinary conversation. Respect or disrespect doesn’t matter because these are insignificant on the battlefield, understand?"

Several daring students responded, "Alright, General."

Shire nodded with satisfaction:

"Today’s topic is the Battle of Verdun and the River Somme."

"The former belonged to the French Army’s battlefield, and the latter was a joint battlefield for the British Army and the French Army."

"Their common point is a lot of casualties, of which the British Army had 100,000 casualties in one day."

"I have witnessed such a battlefield many times."

"Soldiers struggling among the corpses and blood, dying in pain, crying for help helplessly, their voices filled with panic and despair."

"But no one can help them because the enemy machine guns have aimed at every corner of the battlefield."

"As long as someone goes up, they will be mercilessly killed."

...

A student shouted:

"We’ve heard these battle examples, General."

"We understand every process, including everything you did on the Verdun battlefield."

"Verdun was defended more by Petain, and the River Somme was attacked by General Fuxu."

...

The last sentence was clearly from a critic trying to use Petain and Fuxu to negate Shire’s achievements.

Shire patiently waited until they finished speaking, then continued with a dismissive expression:

"Do you think I’m talking about battle examples? Military theory?"

"No, gentlemen, I’m talking about the future, your future."

"Those who died on the battlefield are your future. I just want you to think about what you will be like in the future."

The students were stunned.

Shire used the term "gentlemen," implying they didn’t deserve to be called "soldiers."

Shire ignored them and continued:

"Let’s look at some data. The casualty rate on the Verdun battlefield was two-fifths, meaning two out of every five were killed or injured."

"The casualty rate on the River Somme battlefield was three-fifths, not including those sent to the rear for treatment but died."

"It means that as long as one doesn’t die on the battlefield but on a hospital bed, he is ’wounded’ instead of ’killed.’"

"So, if you think you’re beyond saving, better not let them carry you back. This might affect your pension!"

The students couldn’t laugh; these figures were rarely discussed because they were believed to "affect morale."

But the students knew Shire was telling the truth; the newspapers published it, but the school selectively ignored it.

Shire held the podium with both hands, his expression serious:

"Most importantly, despite paying such a huge price in casualties, they still couldn’t achieve victory."

"Guess which army ultimately won and took Verdun and the River Somme?"

"Yes, my First Armored Army."

"Its casualty rate was 6%, only over a thousand out of more than twenty thousand were casualties, yet we recovered vast lands, captured substantial supplies, and took in hundreds of thousands of prisoners."

At this point, Shire puffed out his chest and proudly said to the students:

"Believe me, I don’t care whether you believe my military theory or not, not at all."

"I just want to ask you, two paths are in front of you."

"One is failure plus death, the other is victory plus survival, which one will you choose?"

"It’s very simple, isn’t it? Just make a decision."

"My speech is over, thank you!"

The playground was dead silent; everyone stared at Shire walking down from the podium.

At this moment, time seemed still, only Shire was moving.

Principal Denou hadn’t reacted, is this all?

Less than ten minutes in total, he was prepared for a lengthy speech, even envisaging a fierce final question session.

Didn’t expect nothing at all.

Kobudo was utterly shocked, Shire was using outcomes to justify himself.

This might not work in a debate, but in war... yes, it definitely works in war.

Because war is real, it’s the path these military cadets will inevitably walk in the future, cannot be avoided.

Only then did Kobudo understand the statement Shire made in the car: "Follow me or feel free not to."

Kobudo thought Shire was just speaking impulsively, but didn’t expect it to be the theme of today’s speech.

Follow me or feel free not to.

But not following means failure and death, it’s that simple.

Lieutenant Pan Wan sat beside the podium with instructors and educators behind the principal, also fascinated by Shire’s speech.

Smart and cunning guy.

Even if Shire expounded on military theory, he couldn’t convince thousands of students holding prejudices against him.

But he bypassed this and used battlefield data to perform a dimensional reduction attack on these students with no war experience.

Students couldn’t refute because the data was real, and their future choices were imminent.

Ultimately, all questions boiled down to:

You may disbelieve Shire’s military theory, not fight according to Shire’s tactics, or not join Shire’s army.

But the cost is: death!

Unexpectedly, sparse applause began in the playground.

Students deep in thought suddenly woke up and began applauding one after another.

Meanwhile, they quietly discussed:

"That guy is right, if it were you, which path would you choose?"

"I would choose Shire because I want to win, and more importantly, live."

"No one wants to die, especially in failure."

"If we now deny Shire’s military theory but have no choice but follow him on the battlefield or fight according to his tactics, isn’t it ironic?"

...

Principal Denou looked puzzled, did the situation change?

Could a few simple words dismantle the decades-old foundation and entire theoretical system of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy?

Did I hear it wrong?

Lieutenant Pan Wan seized the moment and said to Shire, "General, I’ll take you to the rest room. Next, we will visit the museum!"