I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 772: The Fall of Fajin Han

The Second Bureau led by Major Durra is not dispensable for Shire.

Although the "Lady in White" is secretive and has a vast army, their weakness is that the vast majority of members come from the civilian sector, particularly the middle and lower classes.

It's extremely difficult for them to obtain secrets of the government, officials, or the upper echelons.

But for the "Second Bureau," this is quite easy.

Thus, the two can complement each other: one in the open and one in the dark, one in high places and one among the people.

On the other hand, Shire does this to sideline Clemenceau.

One day Clemenceau becomes Prime Minister, he would be the direct superior of the "Second Bureau."

If the "Second Bureau" is under his control, he would have chips to bargain or even confront Shire.

But if the "Second Bureau" accepts Shire's command, Clemenceau loses his last dependence and can only look up to Sherma.

Shire is very generous: "From now on, I will be responsible for the funding and equipment of the Second Bureau, report directly to me, understand?"

"Yes, General." Major Durra readily agreed.

Shire is a god of wealth, and the Second Bureau will certainly be more affluent than before, not just a little.

Shire then asked, "You know how to handle Briand's matter, right?"

"Of course, General." As Major Durra answered, he had already stood up: "I will take care of it immediately."

...

More than half an hour later, Major Durra appeared in the Prime Minister's office at Paris City Hall. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Briand, shaken by the continuous "harassment" from citizens, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Major Durra and the two guards behind him: "Thank you for coming, Major, I really need manpower."

"Is that so?" Major Durra scanned the messy office expressionlessly, increasingly certain that his choice was correct.

His gaze locked onto Briand, saying coldly: "You are under arrest, Prime Minister, I believe you know the reason."

Briand was startled, suddenly shouting in anger:

"No, you can't do this, you don't have the authority to do this."

"I am still the Prime Minister, understand?"

"As long as I am Prime Minister, you must follow my command, not arrest me..."

Major Durra interrupted Briand: "You are correct, but treason is an exception, Prime Minister."

The Second Bureau certainly cannot accept directives from a Prime Minister who committed treason.

As he spoke, Major Durra waved his hand, and the two guards promptly stepped forward to seize Briand without a word.

...

Two days later, the dust settled.

Considering the nation must have a Prime Minister, the parliament accepted Briand's "resignation" at top speed and elected the next Prime Minister.

Clemenceau ascended to the podium at the Bourbon Palace amidst cheers, delivering his speech.

Shire did not attend.

As the behind-the-scenes "boss," he had to distance himself from these matters, openly he was just a General, adhering to commands from the parliament and government, only considering how to defeat the enemy.

He arranged to meet with Lucia at Aus Park.

In fact, Lucia very much hoped to stroll with Shire or watch a movie.

"This is what normal couples would do," Lucia said.

"Are you sure?" Shire responded.

Then Lucia understood, Shire couldn't stroll or watch movies like a normal person.

Once he steps onto the street without guards maintaining order, he would immediately be surrounded by thousands of citizens.

Watching a movie is even a far-fetched fantasy, it might even cause a stampede leading to casualties, after all, a cinema is a closed space and densely populated.

So Lucia no longer made similar requests, opting for the sparsely populated Aus Park.

"One piece of good news and one piece of bad news." Lucia lay leisurely on the green lawn, staring afar at the Seine River below.

With the arrival of summer, numerous boats carrying seasonal fruits appear on the river, from this time each year until winter sets in, it's the busiest period for fruit farmers.

"Is there good news that I don't know?" Shire sat beside Lucia, the lawn pricking a bit due to the lack of trimming.

"Your old adversary has been dismissed." Lucia said.

"Old adversary?" Shire said: "Are you talking about Briand?"

Do I need you to tell me?

Lucia laughed, turning to Shire, with a tone of mockery: "Not your fault, General, it's my fault, you have too many adversaries."

She then provided the answer: "It's Fajin Han, the German Army Chief of Staff. Specifically, not dismissed, but reassigned as the Commander of the Ninth Army Group, directing the war against Romania."

Shire let out an "oh": "For what reason was the dismissal?"

As soon as he said it, Shire realized it was a foolish question.

Fajin Han has been failing continuously on the Western Front, so managing to hold on till now before getting dismissed is not easy.

Yet Lucia gave another reason: "It's not due to the war, it's because he changed the originally planned strategy from 'West First, then East' to supporting 'East First, then West.'

William II remains committed to 'West First, then East,' he had a contention with Fajin Han in the General Staff.

"We cannot win on the Western Front, Your Majesty." Fajin Han said, "Because Shire is on the Western Front, we can only consider winning first on the Eastern Front, and then go all out against Shire."

"I understand." William II replied, "But do you know what this means? Shire has already reached Metz, he just needs to take another step to enter Germany. If we further mobilize forces to the Eastern Front, do you know what will happen?"

Fajin Han laid out the map, analyzing to William II: "We can retract the front line, deploying forces along the border. For some reason, I believe Shire will pause his attack."

"Some reason?" William II looked at Fajin Han puzzled.

"Shire doesn't want this war to end so quickly." Fajin Han said, "He has just achieved political victory, his position isn't solid yet, and capitalists are still targeting him. If the external threat is lost, his adversaries might make a comeback."

"This, is absurd!" William II denied Fajin Han's thoughts without second thought: "Unbelievable, you place hope on the enemy, expecting Shire won't launch an attack, that's impossible!"

"As long as we don't take action." Fajin Han confidently replied, "I believe Shire currently wouldn't want to apply too much pressure on us."

...

The two had differing views on this point, William II believed perhaps they could reach a tacit understanding with Shire at sea, but there was a fundamental conflict of interest on land.

Why believe the French Army wouldn't invade Germany after the German Army invades France?

The result of the debate was Fajin Han's dismissal, and Hindenburg succeeded as Chief of Staff.

William II didn't realize one point: Fajin Han was his most steadfast "ally," and Fajin Han's loss of power almost signified the German Emperor's loss of power.

In the near future, Germany will see its power fall, under the military dictatorship of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

Both the enemy and our side are under military control, what kind of clash will this bring?