Chapter 498: After modification: Chapter 498 Enemies and Friends
Everything was not Shire’s intention, but Albert I’s deliberate actions.
He received the telegram appointing the Allied commander almost at the same time as Shire.
At that time, he was enjoying afternoon tea with Colonel Eden in the manor while enthusiastically discussing the cooperation between "Saint-Étienne" and "FN" arsenals.
"God, why didn’t I think of this." Albert I excitedly popped open a bottle of champagne and personally poured a glass for Colonel Eden: "I should have facilitated the cooperation between these two arsenals earlier, fortunately, they reached a willingness to cooperate on their own."
Colonel Eden stood up in astonishment to accept the wine, expressed his thanks, and then agreed: "Yes, this not only deepens Shire’s interests in Belgium but also further enhances our military equipment."
"Further enhancement of equipment?" Albert I froze while holding the wine bottle.
"Of course, Your Majesty." Colonel Eden replied: "If the cooperation between the two arsenals further strengthens, any new equipment Shire develops in the future, FN arsenal will certainly have more opportunities to obtain production rights."
Albert I suddenly understood, "Aha," he exclaimed, nodding enthusiastically: "You’re right, Colonel, I didn’t think of this. Indeed a good thing, very, very... very good thing!"
He raised his glass and lightly clinked with Colonel Eden: "This is worth celebrating, I even want to set a commemorative day for today, today might be the turning point for Belgium to become prosperous!"
At this moment, a signalman handed a telegram to Albert I: "Your Majesty, a telegram from the Allied Supreme Command."
Albert I took the telegram and looked at it:
Shire promoted to Major General.
Another good thing worth celebrating, Shire absolutely deserves this rank. Additionally, Eden can finally be promoted to Brigadier General.
Nivelle appointed as Commander-in-Chief.
He had no particular thoughts on this, or rather Albert I didn’t care, he only cared if Shire was in Belgium.
Looking further down, the smile on Albert I’s face gradually disappeared, soon turning into coldness, even with a hint of anger in his eyes.
Colonel Eden, sensing something wrong, hurriedly put down his glass and cautiously asked: "Is it bad news?"
Albert I snorted coldly without saying anything and handed the telegram to Colonel Eden, with a glint of coldness in his eyes.
Colonel Eden took the telegram and frowned deeply:
"They are deploying the British Expeditionary Force to the Antwerp defense line?"
"God, these troops were supposed to coordinate with Shire’s armored and mechanized units."
"Do they understand these?"
"Besides, the language, guns, ammunition, everything is different..."
Albert I interrupted Colonel Eden: "Is that all you’re worried about?"
"Then, what else is there?" Colonel Eden asked in confusion.
Albert I shook his head lightly: "They are sending a Vice Admiral to command the Antwerp defense line, while Shire is just a Major General."
Colonel Eden said "Oh," and exclaimed: "Shire will lose command."
In the next second, he widened his eyes in shock and shouted: "What? Shire will lose command? Being commanded by the British? Then our fortress defense system..."
"Not just that, Colonel." Albert I said coldly: "This is a conspiracy. The British don’t want to see France rise again, don’t want Belgium to fully lean towards France, they are trying to weaken Shire’s military achievements, even dragging him into a quagmire!"
Colonel Eden suddenly realized: "This is a conspiracy against Shire, and possibly appointing the pro-British Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief was part of it."
Everyone knew that Nivelle got the position with British support, Colonel Eden was no exception.
Then Colonel Eden asked in confusion: "But, would the French allow the British to target Shire like this?"
Albert I lightly smiled with sarcasm: "This is exactly what France likes to see, Colonel, specifically, what the French Parliament and a bunch of generals are happy to see."
Colonel Eden, unfamiliar with politics, was instantly dumbfounded. The British wanted to target a French hero, and the French Parliament and military not only didn’t help but were happy to see it? This didn’t make sense!
Colonel Eden looked at Albert I half-believingly.
Albert I seemed to see through Colonel Eden’s thoughts, he slowly analyzed: "Shire’s achievements are too dazzling, Colonel, so dazzling that they overshadow all other leaders, making Shire a barrier to their promotion."
Colonel Eden said "Oh," nodded in agreement.
Except for Gallieni being Shire’s strong supporter, all others had different tactical concepts from Shire, they were either "attackers" or "defenders," including Fuxu.
While Shire was the "adaptable one."
If Shire was right, it proved all others wrong, they needed to learn from Shire, adopting Shire’s tactics as the standard.
This was intolerable for the old French generals who had to abandon decades of military theories to submit to an 18-year-old boy.
However...
Colonel Eden asked again: "Then what about the Parliament? Parliament doesn’t have such conflicts, Your Majesty, and they stood by Shire in kicking out Xia Fei."
Albert I snorted disdainfully:
"They stood by Shire because they knew Xia Fei was finished."
"But this doesn’t mean Parliament supports Shire, you didn’t understand, Colonel."
"Parliament, at any time, doesn’t want a powerful figure in the military!"
Colonel Eden instantly understood, stunned, with his mouth half-open for a long time without closing.
The French system was designed to curb the rise of a military dictatorship, and now Shire had a great reputation both in the military and among civilians, especially in the army, there were no grassroots soldiers who did not support Shire.
One day, if Shire waved to the soldiers and shouted: "Soldiers, the time to liberate France has come!"
The soldiers would follow Shire into Parliament without hesitation and dissolve it, and the French people would cheer for this.
Moreover, Shire also had his own forces in Parliament, which were growing stronger...
All of this made other parliamentarians extremely anxious and sleepless.
Colonel Eden even thought, Shire hadn’t been thrown into jail and sentenced to the guillotine for some charge only because of a formidable enemy: Germany!
"I, I didn’t expect it to be like this." Colonel Eden was a bit flustered: "This is too surprising, everywhere are Shire’s enemies."
"No." Albert I refuted: "Everywhere are his friends, Colonel. France’s military and civilians, Belgian military and civilians, and us. It is because he has so many friends that Parliament is apprehensive about him!"
Colonel Eden firmly nodded: "Yes, we will stand by Shire at any time, without question."