I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 995: In the "Tiger’s Den

The Minister of Military Supplies glared fiercely, threatening Shire:

"Do you know what this means?"

"War, Vice Admiral, war."

"You'll regret this decision!"

Shire remained unruffled, as if discussing a trivial matter: "I happen to disagree with you, Minister. If I agreed to your terms, I would regret it."

The Minister of Military Supplies snorted coldly, tapping heavily on the tabletop:

"Do you think France has the capability to challenge the British Fleet at sea?"

"On what grounds? Torpedo planes?"

"No, stop dreaming. We will regain control of Malta and use it as a base to dominate air superiority over the Mediterranean!"

Without Malta and its air superiority, the French Army's torpedo planes cannot threaten British warships.

This fellow doesn't know what's good for him, thought the Minister. If he were smart, he would surrender to England while there's still time.

"Malta?" Shire seemed to have just remembered this name:

"Oh, yes."

"England just granted it independence."

"Yet your influence remains deeply entrenched in Malta, even controlling the parliament, right?"

The Minister of Military Supplies responded with a sneer, as if saying: You know it well!

Shire turned his gaze to General Winter: "You should contact Malta and see what has happened!"

The Minister of Military Supplies and General Winter were taken aback—does this mean Shire is prepared?

...

Malta Island.

As the Minister of Military Supplies thought, most of the parliament clamored, demanding that Prime Minister Joseph side with England:

"We have no choice. France cannot protect us."

"England has a mighty fleet. If we don't choose England, the British Fleet will bombard us tomorrow."

"We can only drive the French out of here; that's reality!"

...

"Gentlemen." Joseph, standing on the podium, tried to calm the lawmakers down:

"The English have no reason to do that."

"We are a neutral nation. We support no side, including France."

"But if we easily compromise, it means returning to our previous colonial state. That will certainly be the outcome."

...

Yet no one supported Joseph's statement.

Pro-English factions still held the majority among the lawmakers, sharing interests with England, while some lawmakers feared the might of the British Fleet and dared not oppose.

The civilians in Malta were also divided: one faction believed they should maintain independence following France, while the other thought they should bow to England for self-preservation.

Malta was too small. Their army consisted only of the "Royal Malta Artillery" established during the colonial era, with over 300 troops, and the "Royal Infantry Regiment" with over 2,800 troops.

Another "Royal Navy" existed, but it couldn't even be called a navy as most were logistics staff and shipbuilders for maintaining and supplying British warships.

Malta had no defense against the threat from powerful nations.

As the parliament showed overwhelming bias, the secretary hurriedly approached Joseph with a telegram.

Joseph read the telegram, his face showing surprise before fluctuating expressions, unsure if it was good news or bad.

After a while, he spoke to the lawmakers in resignation: "Gentlemen, just now, France airlifted over two thousand soldiers to Malta's airport using transport planes."

Then he added: "They are fully armed, and many transport planes brought ammunition."

The conference room instantly fell silent.

They hadn't anticipated that a civilian airport could play such a role, airlifting over two thousand soldiers at once.

Moreover, those were French infantry who could defeat German troops and put British and American infantry to shame.

Malta's infantry only maintained island defense, lacked combat experience, were undertrained, and equipped poorly, so how could they fight the French army?

What's more, this was just the first batch of French infantry airlifted here, with more continually arriving via transport planes.

This would be a battle concluded before it even began.

After contemplating long, Joseph made a conclusion anxiously: "The only thing we can do is remain neutral."

The lawmakers nodded in agreement:

"That's a good idea."

"Malta loves peace; we don't wish to be involved in any war."

"We are willing to open our airport and ports and evacuate civilians. The battle occurring there is unrelated to Malta!"

...

Even the pro-English faction had no choice but to agree to this plan.

Otherwise, it would be announcing to everyone: I want Malta to be under the French army's gunpoint.

...

The news quickly reached the hands of the Minister of Military Supplies via telegram.

The Minister didn't get angry but laughed: "Do you think this can control Malta? You're too naive!"

The Minister of Military Supplies took out a cigar from his pocket, with General Winter's assistance lighting it, then arrogantly exhaled a puff of smoke at Shire.

It was contempt, provocation, and mockery.

"You've overlooked something." The Minister's gaze locked on Shire, word by word:

"Malta's airport is only 5 kilometers from the coastline."

"While the Royal Navy's 15-inch naval gun has a range of 21 kilometers."

"Our battleships will bomb your fighter jets and airport out of existence, leaving nothing!"

This was one of the reasons England agreed to Malta's independence; they believed aviation posed limited threat to battleships.

"Is that so?" Shire's voice was soft, but his words were weighty:

"In that case, Minister."

"I must inform you that your naval vessels may not come within 150 kilometers of Malta." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Otherwise, we will sink them, including battleships."

The Minister of Military Supplies chuckled, thinking Shire was bluffing.

But seeing Shire's serious expression, the chuckle gradually vanished.

General Winter never laughed from beginning to end, knowing Shire is someone who does what he says; if he says he can sink, then he surely can.

Shire added another sentence:

"Furthermore, I must inform you."

"Trade with Algeria and other countries is France's freedom, and you have no right to inspect or detain France's merchant ships."

"If similar situations occur again, we will view it as an act of war and will sink your naval vessels."

The Minister of Military Supplies let out a sneer: "Are you serious?"

But even General Winter detected the total lack of confidence when the Minister said this.

Shire issued an expulsion order: "You are brave indeed, not worried at all that I might seize this opportunity to detain you!"

The Minister of Military Supplies and General Winter showed expressions of fear.

They assumed the Royal Navy could suppress Shire, making him cautious, thus daring to "venture into the tiger's den" to negotiate.

But if Shire could confidently defeat the Royal Navy, it meant they really were in the "tiger's den" now!