I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 738: Sorry, Petain

Kobudo detailed his report on the speech situation.

Gallieni listened carefully, then repeated it once more so his assistant could write it down.

After hanging up the phone, Gallieni looked over the speech notes again and again, with a satisfied smile on his face, yet cursing under his breath: "Cunning bastard, he always knows how to strike at the enemy’s weak point and deliver a fatal blow!"

After a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, holding the speech notes proudly and said to his assistant:

"Ten minutes, he only took ten minutes."

"What we couldn’t solve in over a year, he needs just ten minutes!"

"And he solved it thoroughly because he made the students think for themselves about what is right and what is wrong."

The assistant didn’t quite understand Gallieni’s words; he just reminded him: "Minister, the Salpêtrière Hospital called, asking if you have time for surgery."

Gallieni glanced at the speech notes in his hand, took a deep breath, as if he let go of the last burden, and said in a relaxed tone: "It’s okay, let Dr. Boucher prepare!"

"Yes, Minister."

...

After leaving the military academy, Shire did not return to Paris; he went directly to the airport to fly to Bicangxi.

It was not the front-line battle that Shire was concerned about, but rather he wanted to transfer Pan Wan.

An excellent cryptographer is always a scarce resource on the battlefield, Shire did not want any accidents.

But before that, Shire made some considerations:

It was definitely not feasible for him to personally go and transfer Pan Wan; Parliament and the government were very wary of him. Doing so would be tantamount to sentencing Pan Wan to death.

So he had to rely on someone else.

Fuxu?

Seems inappropriate.

The day the parliamentarians discover that Lieutenant Pan Wan is working for Shire, they will realize that Fuxu and Shire are in cahoots.

From this aspect, the most suitable candidate is undoubtedly Petain.

Sometimes Shire felt quite sorry for Petain, always using him as a target.

...

At this moment, Petain was fortifying positions along the Meuse River near Bicangxi.

Defense was what he was best at.

Fuxu’s troops were attacking at the front, and his troops were following up behind, constructing fortifications, mainly targeting the bridges.

French generals of this era always liked to shout a slogan to represent their combat philosophy.

Petain’s slogan was "They shall not pass."

Which meant defense, defense, and more defense; no one would get through.

Fuxu’s, on the other hand, was "Everyone fights."

Meaning mobilize all available personnel, including soldiers, civilians, logistics personnel, etc., use maximum force to launch an attack, and you will win.

Foolish tactics, Petain couldn’t help but complain as he read the telegram about Fuxu reaching Mezieres smoothly: "If it weren’t for Shire’s troops breaking through the German lines beforehand, how long would it have taken Fuxu, and how many soldiers would he have lost to stand there?"

Then he couldn’t help but wonder, what would Shire’s slogan be?

They can’t win?

Or they can’t stop me?

Or armored warfare?

Suddenly, Petain had a terrifying thought:

What if Shire’s troops attacked his own defensive lines?

Could he hold them?

Petain didn’t want to admit it, but he already had an answer in his heart.

Petain’s defense wasn’t necessarily stronger than the Germans, but the Germans couldn’t withstand Shire’s attacks.

The terror of Shire’s tactics lay in the fact that you have no idea where he would strike, and when you found out, it was already too late.

Just as Petain was holding the telegram deep in thought, a familiar voice came from behind: "Major General, is there anything you can’t handle?"

Shire was subtly complimenting Petain.

Perhaps because of his late realization of success, Petain was eager for others’ acknowledgment.

This had become an untouchable pain point in his sensitive nerves; it couldn’t be touched lightly, or he would argue with you until his face turned red.

When Petain turned around and found it was Shire, he was delighted and came up to embrace and shake hands with him: "No, Vice Admiral, you’ve solved all the tough problems."

"Major General," Shire opposed: "If it weren’t for your frontal assault, the Germans might have already divided their forces to surround me tightly."

The truth is quite the opposite; when Petain didn’t attack, the Germans didn’t dare to move, but when he did, it put Shire at risk of being surrounded.

But Petain didn’t know, and certainly didn’t think so.

He enjoyed Shire’s words very much, shrugging his shoulders and responding: "I mean the road ahead is smooth sailing, your mechanized units are still in action, Vice Admiral, they are like guides, leading the tour group effortlessly to Mezieres."

As he spoke, Petain waved the telegram in his hand.

Shire knew Petain was sarcastically comparing Fuxu’s troops to a "tour group" needing guidance.

Shire maintained a smile and didn’t comment, seemingly agreeing with Petain.

This was what he hoped for, Petain and Fuxu becoming rivals.

"Are you here for an inspection?" Petain then asked, proudly pointing to the riverbank defense line not far away: "Don’t worry, Vice Admiral, no one can get through my defense, even if they build tanks that can cross the river like you."

Petain laughed.

Shire nodded in agreement.

Using rubber pontoons to cross the river with tanks was a risky move, easily blocked by the enemy because it was very unstable, a little wind and waves would cause the pontoons to take in water and sink.

Just setting up a few 75mm guns on the riverbank could easily sink all these "Amphibious Tanks" in the river.

"No, General," Shire replied, "I trust your ability, so I am not worried about this at all. This time I came, hoping you could help me transfer some personnel."

"Personnel?" Petain looked at Shire suspiciously.

With Shire’s current status, what personnel would he lack, why would he need me?

Shire gave his answer: "I need some people who can decipher the German Army’s codes. You know, the Germans frequently change their ciphers, and we need to grasp more and more accurate information, including from the navy."

Shire spoke the truth, and it was also a strategy; he didn’t want Petain to notice a particular cipher operator.

"Hmm, of course," Petain understood: "This is a very tricky problem, cryptographers would be very helpful to the war."

What Petain thought of was actually supplies.

Shire seeking cryptographers was "public duty for private benefit," using cryptographers to avoid potential German submarine attacks on his merchant ships.

"You know," Shire added, "Parliament and the government are not very friendly to me, hence I can’t get people from the Cryptography Bureau."

Petain suddenly understood and straightforwardly agreed:

"No problem, Vice Admiral, a small matter."

"I will get the personnel you need."

"Moreover, my troops also need such talents. I want to know from where the Germans will attack, after all, the Meuse River is very long."

The last sentence was to tell Shire: Don’t worry, I will transfer them in my name, they won’t suspect anything!