I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Kanes looked somewhat embarrassed, knowing he could not justify himself, especially in front of Shire.

But what could he do?

Surrender?

His fate was tied to Xia Fei.

If Xia Fei were dismissed, his future as the Deputy Chief of Staff, who had always been by Xia Fei's side, would also come to an end.

No, this cannot happen, at least he had to give it a try!

"Gentlemen." Kanes tried to uplift his head: "I believe General Joffre should not bear all the blame. We all know he made his decisions based on the advice of the staff, including General Fuxu..."

Fuxu was a good scapegoat; he was the founder of French military theory.

The implication of this sentence was: If even Fuxu could make mistakes on this issue, wouldn't it be normal for Joffre to misjudge?

Moreover, Fuxu had already paid the price for his mistakes, so similar issues wouldn't happen again!

Shire responded calmly: "I don't truly understand, General, but I know who would benefit if it were a victory!"

The congressmen were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, they understood.

Back when Gallieni successfully defended Paris and repelled the Germans, during the merit awards session, Joffre had said: "I don't truly understand, but I know who would bear the responsibility if it were a defeat."

Joffre used this very sentence to steal Gallieni's credit as the "Guardian of Paris."

Today, Shire echoed that sentence back at Joffre, who was trying to evade responsibility.

Sitting on the side, listening, Gallieni revealed a relieved smile; Shire had finally helped him vent this anger that had been pent up for a year.

Then a congressman shouted:

"Right, responsibility and honor should be unified. Joffre steals victory's honor from his subordinates but pushes the responsibility for defeat onto them."

"God, I never realized Joffre was such a shameless person, and he is our Chief of Staff, leading all our troops!"

"How can such a Chief of Staff lead the troops to victory? It's time to make a decision!"

…

Major Jules sat beside Gallieni, staying silent.

Gallieni had instructed him that military personnel should not participate in politics; hence he usually couldn't express opinions in the House of Representatives unless a congressman initiated an "inquiry."

But he couldn't hold back. He stood up and addressed those around him:

"Gentlemen, I am the aide to Colonel Delion."

"On September 3rd, Colonel Delion ordered me to report the battle situation to Joffre at the headquarters."

"When I arrived at the headquarters, the Germans had already launched their attack, and thousands of cannons were bombarding Verdun fiercely."

"But I was stopped outside the headquarters, told that 'the Chief of Staff is asleep; I cannot disturb him'!"

Speaking louder now, Major Jules' voice escalated from narration to an angry accusation:

"Is the Chief of Staff's sleep more important than France's fate?"

"Or more important than the victory of the battle, the lives of the soldiers at the front?"

"I do not understand, can you provide me with an answer, General!"

The last sentence was directed at Kanes, who stood at the podium.

Major Jules stared directly at Kanes, eyes ablaze; his hand, though unarmed, moved towards his waistband, seemingly wanting to draw a gun and turn Kanes into a sieve.

Kanes, intimidated by his momentum, averted his eyes, not daring to respond.

The congressmen's opposition once again peaked, some booed at Kanes while others shouted:

"Step down, with your Joffre together!"

"We do not need such incompetent people standing there."

"Neither do the French people!"

…

Kanes turned pale, struggling to make a last-ditch effort: "General Joffre is currently commanding the battle at the front. I don't know if now is the appropriate time to replace the Chief of Staff."

Shire interrupted him: "But Joffre hardly commands, General. All he does is order troops to attack before he goes to sleep, then turn off the lights. Even when German poison gas bombs are slaughtering French soldiers at the front, Joffre only learns about it the next day after waking up. All he does is order soldiers to attack!"

"No, that's not true." Kanes, answered, but lacked confidence.

Everyone could see he was lying; Joffre had always bragged about his "calm command," boasting he could remain composed at any moment, flaunting his ability to maintain normal routines at all times, now denying it.

This time, the congressmen ceased their noise, as they had already reached a conclusion in their minds.

Kanes seemed to sense this; he simply wrecked everything and raised his head again, speaking with a hoarse voice:

"Gentlemen, is ordering soldiers to attack not what we should do? This is war!"

"Moreover, anyone facing such circumstances wouldn't have better solutions."

"Think about it, we are facing enemies with artillery, troops, and new poison gas bullets outnumbering ours."

"Who can achieve better results under such circumstances?"

…

A congressman shouted: "Shire can!"

Kanes glanced at Shire in front of him, refuting:

"I don't think so."

"His troops are far in Belgium, equipped with tanks and planes. Germany launched the attack on Verdun because of this."

"Don't you understand? The Germans deliberately avoided Shire's troops; only then could they gain an advantage!"

"So, this is unfair to Joffre!"

The opposition in the conference room diminished slightly, at least this point was true; the Germans indeed concentrated their forces to attack Verdun to avoid Shire.

The congressmen's silence regained Kanes' confidence, he shouted:

"If Shire couldn't do it, how could we expect Joffre to do it?"

"Trust me, gentlemen, Joffre may not be the best, but we can't find anyone else..."

Shire slowly stood up, countering: "Who said I can't?"

The congressmen cheered, endorsing Shire loudly, some even stood up, facing Shire's direction, and clapped.

Kanes, bewildered:

"No, you misunderstood me, Brigadier."

"I meant, without bringing your troops back..."

Shire promptly answered: "I don't need to bring back my troops."

"Including the aviation troops?" Kanes added.

"Including the aviation troops." Shire nodded.

"Use only the existing troops at Verdun." The panicked Kanes increased the restriction.

The congressmen started in a commotion:

"Step down, Kanes. Those troops are even under Joffre's command."

"Joffre would intentionally sabotage Shire to prove he couldn't do it."

"Before that, we should first remove Joffre's command!"

…

Shire turned to look at Steed in the back row, Steed smiled lightly, nodding in response.

Shire then turned his gaze back to Kanes, replying word by word: "No problem, with the existing troops at Verdun."

The congressmen were taken aback, such harsh conditions being accepted?

Gallieni sighed inwardly.

Only then did he realize, Shire's aim wasn't just to pull Joffre down from the Chief of Staff position; he wanted Joffre to suffer utter disgrace!