I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 757: Gallieni Interview

Salpêtrière Hospital.

Gallieni could now walk a few steps with the support of the guards, though his movements had to be limited, and his abdomen still ached faintly.

"The doctor said the surgery was very successful," Major Fernan said. "Most of the shrapnel left in the body has been removed, and as long as you take good care of yourself, there shouldn’t be any problems in the future."

Gallieni responded with a hum. Despite the tearing pain at the wound, it indeed felt much better than before.

He sat slowly on the edge of the bed and asked, "Where is Shire, where is he?"

Gallieni wasn’t upset that Shire hadn’t visited him in the past few days; he was more worried about whether Shire had gone too far after being given free rein.

"He’s in Bicangxi," Major Fernan replied. "I heard he’s busy forming new troops, something called the Motorized Division."

Gallieni nodded slowly. Just hearing the name, he could guess what was going on.

Having been closely following Shire’s battles, he knew that Shire’s armored and mechanical units often faced issues of insufficient troop strength during their maneuvers.

The Motorized Division was likely to address this shortcoming!

Good, this wasn’t over the top.

In fact, it was quite proper and beneficial to both the army and the country.

However, the next second, a communication soldier came in with a report:

"Minister, General Fuxu has submitted an appointment request to the government."

"He proposes appointing Wei Gang as the commander of the Northern Army Group and Petain as the commander of the Central Army Group."

"Additionally, he suggests creating a Heavy Armored Army Group with Shire as the commander."

Gallieni and Major Fernan exclaimed in unison, "What?"

These matters should be managed by the parliament; everything should be arranged by the parliament and the government. Since when do the military make such decisions?

Even submitting an application or a suggestion was overstepping authority.

If this continues, France won’t be far from military dictatorship!

"When did Fuxu become so bold?" Major Fernan asked, puzzled. "He’s an old general; he should know that this isn’t within his authority to apply for or suggest."

Gallieni seemed to be infuriated. He coughed a few times and said with difficulty, "Do you think this is Fuxu’s idea?"

"Then..." Major Fernan suddenly realized, "Is this Shire’s idea?"

Gallieni snorted in displeasure:

"Who else could it be?"

"If it were just Fuxu, the parliament would make a decision to dismiss him as the commander-in-chief tomorrow."

"But with the support of Shire and Petain, and with me as the commander of the Reserve Army Group and the Minister of the Army, the parliament would have no choice but to compromise."

Fernan was enlightened.

This would benefit Fuxu, Petain, and Shire, and Gallieni had just expressed full support for Shire a few days ago.

Thus, it was the three Army Groups using their military achievements and strength to force the hand of the government.

Parliament, to avoid a repeat of past mutinies and for the overall conduct of the war, would have no choice but to agree to this "application."

"Heavy Armored Army Group!" Gallieni said expressionlessly. "Shire’s move is to seize the elite troops. One day, if he brings these tanks, armored vehicles, and planes back to Paris, who will be able to stop him?"

"Minister," Major Fernan asked cautiously, "So, do you support this application?"

Gallieni was silent.

In his own intention, Gallieni would never support this application. It was not good for the long term, at least that’s what he thought.

But he had promised Shire a few days ago; he couldn’t go back on his word so quickly?

At this moment, the communication officer delivered another telegram, sent by Shire.

Gallieni opened it and read: "General, it’s either Shire or Bourgeoisie; the choice is yours."

Gallieni was stunned, then slowly nodded.

Shire was right. The control of the country could only rest in the hands of one party; it couldn’t be shared by several factions.

The competition among the several parties of the French Republic was just an appearance; the real control of the country had always been in the hands of the big capitalists behind the scenes.

Now Shire had reached a point where he could challenge the big capitalists for control of the country.

When two tigers fight, one must be injured; there was no perfect solution.

So either Shire would ultimately succeed, or he would face a tragic end like Bourgeoisie, there was no third way.

After thinking for a while, Gallieni nodded at Major Fernan: "Bring Kobudo here."

...

A few hours later, the Merit Newspaper released an emergency supplement.

Unlike previous editions, this supplement wasn’t about Shire’s war reports, but an interview with Gallieni:

"General Gallieni, I heard that the military has submitted an application for the position of Army Group Commander, is that true?"

"Yes, I just found out about it recently as well."

"Do you think this application is reasonable? I mean, such appointments have always been decided by the parliament."

"I think it’s reasonable. The reason is simple: we are at war, facing a powerful enemy."

"But many people think the war is almost over, so we don’t need to worry too much about this issue."

"No, it is far from over. The Germans have stabilized on the Eastern Front and have started to counterattack. They have also achieved local victories in the direction of Romania and Italy. This means, only a victory in France can stabilize the situation."

"But what does this have to do with the military’s application?"

"Of course, it is related. In special times, special methods should be used, just like the wartime rationing system we implemented to make life better. The same goes for the military; we should consider actual combat more."

"Do you mean that the decisions made by parliament and the government are often not in line with actual combat?"

"Of course. Parliamentarians and politicians may be good at rhetoric and debate, but they are not good at fighting wars. They don’t know which generals can command battles, how to organize troops, how to train them, or how to ensure logistics. Their decisions often lead to unnecessary casualties."

Then Gallieni added pointedly, "And these casualties are often unrelated to parliamentarians and politicians but are related to the military and citizens. I believe this application by the military is to achieve better victories and reduce casualties."

...

As soon as the newspaper hit the stands, it immediately caused a strong social reaction.

Especially since Gallieni pointed out a few key facts in the report: "Parliamentarians and politicians don’t understand war," "Military adjustments can reduce casualties," and "Casualties are unrelated to parliamentarians and politicians."

Citizens easily linked these to themselves and reality:

"Yes, under the command of parliamentarians and politicians, we always suffer heavy casualties."

"Only Shire can win with very few casualties, yet he has to follow the parliament’s arrangements."

"The children of politicians and parliamentarians hardly ever go to the battlefield; they don’t care about our lives and deaths, but the military is different, Shire is different!"

...

Gallieni stood by the second-floor window of the hospital, looking at the citizens below who were furious. He muttered to himself, "I hope this is the right decision."