I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 771: Major Durra

However, even this small wish of Briand could not be fulfilled, and it even went in the opposite direction that he had never expected.

Major Durra returned home very late that day.

There were too many things happening that day, and Major Durra could only work overtime.

On the dark street, Major Durra skillfully drove his "Peugeot" car under the beam of the headlights, thinking in his mind about the reasons for the current situation.

(Pictured above is a car introduced by France's "Peugeot" before the outbreak of World War I)

Major Durra believed that the reason Briand was at a disadvantage was ultimately because it was wartime, and France was at war with the Germans.

In this context, many tactics of the parliament could not be used or were even ineffective.

In peacetime, all it took was finding an excuse to hold a meeting and then initiate a vote to easily decide Shire's future.

But during wartime, everyone, including Briand, had to consider what impact "eliminating" Shire would have on the war, whether French citizens would agree, how the military would react, and whether there would be issues with supplies...

Shire was very clever, in fact, he could no longer be described with the word "clever"; even calling him a "genius" was an insult to him.

In less than two years, he had made himself an unshakeable giant in the military, political, and business sectors.

Many parliamentarians and capitalists had not yet realized this.

Because the means Shire used were gentle and subtly influential, growing without people being aware.

Others only saw Shire winning victory after victory on the battlefield, but in reality, he used these victories to successfully win over people's hearts and control public opinion, military industry, the military, and supplies...

What left Major Durra speechless the most was that he also controlled the intelligence system.

As the director of the second bureau, Major Durra did not even know when Shire's intelligence system developed to such a pervasive degree.

The car made a turn, followed the street into the 7th district, and soon stopped in front of Major Durra's house.

The light through the windows indicated that his wife was still awake.

This was not her usual habit.

Was she waiting for me to come home?

When he opened the door, Major Durra felt something unusual because there was a conversation coming from the living room, clearly indicating a guest was present.

At this time?

It was already eleven o'clock at night.

When Major Durra pushed the door open and saw who was sitting opposite his wife, he was stunned.

It was Shire!

Major Durra glanced at his wife in horror.

This fool, she certainly didn't know that Shire was his opponent, the kind of opponent who spied and even assassinated each other.

Sure enough, when his wife saw Major Durra coming in, she excitedly stood up to greet him, glimpsing at Shire with admiration, her voice filled with excitement:

"Abel, look who has come, it's Shire, Shire!"

"Incredible, I just heard recently that he recaptured Metz, and now I've met him."

"He said he hoped to talk to you, isn't this your opportunity?"

...

Major Durra's expression was somewhat unnatural, he looked around cautiously, as if searching for an assassin hidden in the shadows, his hand unconsciously moving to his waist.

"I came alone, Major." Shire said in a relaxed tone, perfectly at ease: "I hope you don't mind my intrusion."

Major Durra's wife quickly answered for him:

"We don't mind, General, we certainly don't mind."

"In fact, your presence is an honor for us."

"You are welcome at any time, I mean it…"

Major Durra interrupted his wife: "Fenny, I have some matters to discuss with the General!"

His wife was taken aback, then immediately responded, awkwardly saying: "Oh, of course. Yes, I, then I'll, not disturb you."

Just after taking a few steps, she retraced her steps: "General, I hope you can give me an autograph…"

"Fenny!" Major Durra glared at his wife, emphasizing his tone.

Only then did his wife leave with regret.

Major Durra slowly walked over to Shire, taking a position he deemed advantageous, and asked in a deep voice: "What instructions do you have for me, General?"

Shire picked up the coffee on the table with a leisurely demeanor and took a sip: "Relax, Major, I'm here to discuss cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?"

Shire hummed a response: "You're a smart person, you should know that Briand is finished."

Major Durra didn't respond, there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

He wanted to say that it's still uncertain who would win until the last moment.

But at the same time, he knew these were insincere words, unless he could solve the problem of the Fidel Refinery in a short time.

Shire looked up at Major Durra, and although he was sitting and looking up at the standing Durra, his aura completely subdued the other: "Think a little further, Major. Who do you think is most likely to come to power after Briand steps down?"

Major Durra understood the implication in Shire's words.

Without a doubt, it was Clemenceau.

And Clemenceau was cooperating with Shire, or rather under Shire's control, his very life even in Shire's hands.

Thinking of this, Major Durra suddenly wilted like a cabbage hit by frost, his tone filled with helplessness: "Then you become my superior, is that right?"

The second bureau is a government department, of course, it must obey the prime minister's orders, and Shire is the prime minister's behind-the-scenes boss.

Shire raised a hand holding the coffee cup towards Major Durra, indicating that this is what he wanted to convey.

Then Shire added: "You can become my subordinate before I take office, you know there's a difference between the two."

The former is an uprising, abandoning darkness for light, and standing on the side of justice for the country and people, fighting against the evil traitor.

The latter is a defeated general, a surrender without any glory.

Seeing Major Durra still hesitating, Shire added more pressure:

"I don't see anything in Briand that merits your loyalty, he's a Frenchman, and so am I."

"Your loyalty is to the country, not an individual. So it's nothing disgraceful, wouldn't you say?"

"Or let's think of it this way: do you think loyalty to Briand is more beneficial to the country, or to me?"

Major Durra said nothing.

The answer was undoubtedly Shire.

Shire was a genius in military affairs, understood politics and business, and importantly, he cared about ordinary citizens and stood with them against capitalists, rather than mingling with them.

Briand only knew politics, his political philosophy was only 'divide and conquer', which meant trying to split the internal unity of France, leaving it in a state of internal struggle.

The obstacle in Major Durra's heart was that he had difficulty accepting Shire's dictatorship, believing it was wrong and seeing himself as a tool in Shire's dictatorship.

Shire reminded him: "I would love to give you more time to consider, but your time to consider is running short, as Briand won't hold on much longer."

Major Durra slowly sat on the sofa, knowing what Shire said was true.

After a moment of silence, Major Durra let out a long sigh: "You win, General, I agree!"

Whether Shire was dictatorial, what was more important than the safety of himself and his family?