I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 219: It’s Time to Develop Bombers

Albert I left in high spirits.

He took Shire’s "advice" as hope for restoring his kingdom. What he needed to do next was to use Shire’s advice to persuade others, which was Albert I’s specialty.

Shire felt a pang of guilt. Albert I regarded Shire as a friend and placed all his hopes on him, but Shire had used him.

After Albert I left, Gallieni asked meaningfully, "Do you really think we are more suitable for a landing in the north?"

Gallieni understood Shire; he could read Shire’s expressions. Shire might have talent in military affairs and equipment, but lying was not his strong suit.

Shire did not answer and instead asked, "General, which faction do you belong to?"

Gallieni shook his head lightly, "They have been working to end the war quickly, but I think things may not be as optimistic as they believe. You said before that the war wouldn’t end so soon, and the situation seems to be developing in that direction."

Shire nodded lightly; this idea was correct.

Gallieni was somewhat surprised, "Do you mean that landing from any direction is wrong?"

"I had to choose one," Shire replied, "because if I didn’t, they would continue to argue and still come to a conclusion they thought was right and do what they needed to do."

Gallieni nodded; not choosing would be the equivalent of giving equal support to both sides, and the balanced scale would remain in the middle.

"So you chose the north?" Gallieni said.

The north was a more aggressive landing approach, directly facing the powerful German Army, likely the elite forces.

Shire did not respond and said to Gallieni, "You should rest, General!"

He stood up, saluted Gallieni, and turned to leave.

Watching Shire gently close the door, Gallieni was somewhat puzzled. Shire should have at least answered "yes," it wouldn’t have taken much time, but he did not.

Then Gallieni understood; Shire had likely chosen the south rather than the north, and he had deceived Albert I.

The reason he didn’t answer was that he couldn’t say it and didn’t want to deceive Gallieni.

Gallieni’s mouth showed a hint of a smile, and he complained, "This little fellow, he shouldn’t avoid it!"

This is a military situation that should not involve emotions. If Shire was setting a trap for the enemy, he should do what needs to be done, even if it meant deceiving Gallieni.

However, somewhere deep in Gallieni’s heart, he agreed more with Shire’s current approach.

Then Gallieni frowned again.

Commander-in-Chief Xia Fei and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fuxu were part of the third faction. They held a disdainful attitude towards the British opening a new front at sea, believing that victory on the Western Front was imminent, "as long as the French Army launches a more determined and comprehensive offense."

This was also why the military planned to order 500 "Sherma A1" tanks in one go. They believed the "Sherma A1" tanks would bring them victory.

Gallieni felt he should try to prevent Xia Fei from pushing soldiers to the front for needless sacrifice.

...

The next morning, Shire got up and lifted the curtain a bit to sneak a peek at the outside scenery. The snow was falling heavier, and the accumulated snow had stabilized, no longer melting repeatedly as before.

Actually, Shire preferred this kind of weather; at least it wouldn’t make the ground look wet and muddy, but the soldiers freezing on the front might not think the same.

While washing up, Shire looked in the mirror and found a pimple on his face, likely from eating too many apple tarts.

He put on his uniform and walked out of the dormitory, glanced at the clock on the wall—it was exactly 7:40.

Major Fernan was up earlier than Shire.

Since Shire was promoted to Colonel, it was no longer his task to organize intelligence; it was handed back to Major Fernan.

Shire’s job was to do the final screening of the intelligence, leaving the unnecessary or easily resolvable ones to Major Fernan, while he sorted the rest by urgency to report to Gallieni.

"Nothing special, Colonel!" Major Fernan handed Shire a stack of intelligence reports, "The Cape Town front has stabilized, and the Germans seem to have copied our grenades, as well as mortars!"

Shire took the telegram and muttered "hmm." This was expected; once something proved useful on the battlefield, the enemy would soon have similar equipment.

The key was they didn’t pay for the patents, Shire cursed in his heart: they were just robbers!

Shire sat in the chair, flipping through the telegrams. He set aside the important ones and shuffled the rest like cards, not bothering to sort them individually.

At this moment, a telegram caught Shire’s attention: two reconnaissance aircraft confirmed missing in the River Somme area.

Initially, it was an ordinary intelligence report. Reconnaissance aircraft going missing happened almost every few days, but when Shire read it, he paused.

Just then, Gallieni, dressed in his uniform, came out, and Shire immediately stepped forward with the report, "General, two reconnaissance aircraft went missing in the River Somme area!"

Gallieni muttered "hmm" and asked, "Anything special?"

Before the words finished, Gallieni understood. He stopped and turned around, taking the report from Shire’s hand while asking, "You mean, this was done by the enemy?"

Shire nodded, "Two reconnaissance aircraft went missing in the same area, although they carefully separated, the timing was very concentrated. I suspect the Germans are either testing or practicing."

Gallieni, with a serious expression, muttered "hmm."

If the Germans had obtained the "machine gun synchronization gear," they wouldn’t foolishly fight to the death with the French First Flying Squadron right off the bat.

After all, the French First Flying Squadron’s pilots had already accumulated much combat experience, although it was not plane-to-plane, it still gave them an advantage.

If the Germans struck rashly, they might quickly lose all their excellent pilots.

The best choice would be to train for a while first or secretly hunt down enemy reconnaissance aircraft in the skies. Once accustomed to the rhythm of the machine gun, they would then compete with the French First Flying Squadron for air supremacy.

Gallieni walked back to his chair, his steps heavy. He sat down slowly, his face expressionless, "At least one thing is certain; the Germans already know the secret of the ’machine gun synchronization gear.’ What do you plan to do?"

Shire considered for a while and replied, "Standardize the aircraft types, equip all planes with ’machine guns,’ and turn all pilots into fighter pilots!"

Gallieni nodded in agreement.

Now that it was no longer a secret, there was no need to keep it confidential. Machine gun-equipped planes should be deployed comprehensively, and the range and number of pilots should be expanded.

However, Shire had another thought: It’s time to develop bombers!

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