I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 996: It’s Time for the Aircraft Carriers to Shine

If the Minister of Military Supplies and General Winter were talented, Shire might put aside his pride and detain them in Belgium at any cost, even at the expense of losing prestige.

But General Winter is mediocre, and the Minister of Military Supplies is even a "reverse talent," who in the future will single-handedly bring down the Sun Never Sets Empire, so not only will Shire not harm him, but he will secretly protect him.

However, Shire's words did indeed scare the Minister of Military Supplies and General Winter out of their wits.

Belgium holds no goodwill towards England, and now backed by a strong France, detaining these naval dignitaries to hit at the Royal Navy isn't entirely out of the question.

Thus, they hurriedly galloped to Antwerp, not daring to take a plane.

The reason is that the skies during this period belonged to France, and there were no radios on planes; if they were shot down over the sea and sank to the bottom, no one would know, and later an excuse could be made that it was due to weather conditions.

Under such circumstances, they could only trust in warships.

Thus, they took several turns by ship and car, until safely returning to London the afternoon of the next day.

Although the Minister of Military Supplies was quite exhausted from the journey, he did not dare to rest. He, along with General Winter, hurried to the war office to convene an emergency meeting.

Also in attendance were Prime Minister George, Minister of the Navy Belfort, and Chief of Staff of the British Royal Flying Corps, Major General Trunchard.

(Note: After Kitchener's death, Prime Minister George assumed the role of Minister of the Army for a considerable period. Also: The British Royal Air Force was established in 1918; prior to that, it was the "British Royal Flying Corps," in principle an auxiliary force for the army and navy.)

(Pictured above is Major General Hugh Trunchard of the UK, the first Chief of Staff of the "British Royal Flying Corps," abbreviated as RFC)

Prime Minister George had already gotten wind of things, knowing that Shire had announced to the world that Britain was coercing France to increase compensation.

He glanced at the Minister of Military Supplies with dissatisfaction, with a mocking tone: "It seems your negotiations did not go smoothly, Minister."

"Yes, Your Excellency," the Minister of Military Supplies said somewhat dejectedly.

"Do you know what this means?" Prime Minister George complained:

"This hasn't just had no positive effect, it has had the opposite effect."

"The Germans now know we plan to raise compensation together with France. They intend to stand together with France against us."

"Including the Navy, the German Navy, they are preparing to leave port to engage our forces!"

The Minister of Military Supplies was stunned: "The German Navy?"

"Yes," Prime Minister George nodded:

"You should have thought of this, Minister."

"If we plan to sacrifice Germany's interests to win over France, that means Germany will completely side with France."

"Because Germany is more worried that France will agree to our terms, and at the same time, will not allow France to be defeated by us!"

Under the Minister of Military Supplies' operation, Germany is no longer in a position to watch from the sidelines.

Once France nods, or if France is defeated and forced to surrender, Germany will face huge compensation payments that won't be repaid in a hundred years.

So, the Minister of Military Supplies has essentially tied the interests of Germany and France together.

"There are other countries," Belfort said:

"Greece, Holland, Sweden, etc."

"Both neutral countries that have joined the 'International Alliance' and those that have not are supporting France."

"While the colonies haven't spoken up, we've received intelligence that their armed forces are gathering."

France is the country standing up daring to resist British hegemony, openly representing the weak countries of the world against British oppression, and striving for human peace, the 'freedom' of other countries, and to eliminate war.

In principle, all countries have a common interest with France; they won't just watch France be defeated by England.

The Minister of Military Supplies suddenly understood Shire's purpose in making the negotiation contents public: to unite European countries, including Germany, to resist England.

He awkwardly glanced at the others, changing the subject:

"None of this is important, gentlemen." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"The Germans are just putting on a show, and other countries are merely offering support. The most important thing is always France, Shire, and the Mediterranean."

"As long as we can swiftly and suddenly defeat the French Navy and crush Shire, nothing will change."

The Minister of Military Supplies was well-versed in the strategy of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey," knowing that as long as you suppress the most important 'leader,' other countries won't dare to move recklessly.

Chief of Staff of the "Royal Flying Corps," Major General Trunchard said calmly: "You may be right, Minister. But the question is how can this be done? How can we defeat Shire?"

The Minister of Military Supplies looked at Trunchard confusedly: "Why not? We've already drawn up battle plans."

"Yes," Trunchard replied:

"But the battle plans didn't include Malta."

"And now Malta Island is under French control, while Shire's planes are continually reinforcing Malta."

"Fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo aircraft."

The Minister of Military Supplies was skeptical: "Is Malta Island that important? It's just a small island!"

The Minister of Military Supplies remained doubtful. Although he was scared back by Shire's self-confidence, he and General Winter discussed extensively on the way back, yet couldn't figure out what method Shire could use to prevent the British Fleet from controlling the Mediterranean.

"Not just Malta Island," Major General Trunchard gently shook his head: "We discovered the Italians have built an airfield on Sardinia and stockpiled fuel there; I have reason to believe they were instructed by France."

(The red circle in the image above shows the location of Sardinia and Malta Island)

Major General Trunchard pointed at the map on the table and said:

"Look at this, gentlemen."

"With Sardinia as the center, to the top left is France, to the bottom left is Algeria, and to the bottom right is Malta Island."

"What does this suggest to you?"

Not waiting for others to answer, Major General Trunchard drew a circle on the map:

"Shire's aircraft control the entire Mediterranean."

"He can use the 'Camel' and the 'Snipe' to vie for air dominance, and then use 'torpedo aircraft' to bomb our warships."

"With what can we oppose them?"

The Minister of Military Supplies suddenly understood Shire's reason for his "boastfulness"; he planned to use "torpedo aircraft" to sink British warships one after another.

General Winter was still unwilling to concede: "But we have the S.E.5a, they are faster than the 'Camel' and 'Snipe,' and more numerous than the 'Jenny A.'"

Major General Trunchard retorted: "But where will our fighters take off from? Our airfields are far away in Greece and Egypt, and with over 400 kilometers of range, the fighters can't even fly to Malta Island to engage in combat."

The Minister of Military Supplies and General Winter exchanged a glance.

They knew it was time for aircraft carriers to come into play; only they could assist the navy in knocking out Shire's airfields on these islands one by one!