I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 230: After Modification - - 48-Hour Ceasefire

In Davaz Town, every household had their lights on, with Christmas trees adorned with colorful lights constantly changing colors. Laughter and joy could be heard from inside the houses.

The same was true for Shire’s home, where he received an incredibly special gift: a horse.

It was a real horse. Dejoka and Camille had been preparing for this day for half a month. They bought their neighbor Daniel’s storage room and converted it into a stable. They even hired Madam Daniel for 30 francs a month to take care of the horse.

That afternoon, Shire had seen the horse. It was snow-white and very strong, its hooves making a crisp and pleasing sound on the ground. Dejoka had equipped it with a beautiful set of tack, brand new and gleaming. Shire even tried climbing on the horse’s back and took a lap around.

Shire understood Dejoka and Camille’s intentions.

After this Christmas, Shire would become an adult, and he might have to go to the battlefield.

And Shire hadn’t learned to ride a horse yet. This was a big problem for a commander. What if the troops became trapped and there was a horse available, but Shire couldn’t ride?

Shire really wanted to tell them that in an era with cars, motorcycles, sidecars, and even planes, escaping on horseback was often more dangerous than walking, especially if the person on the horse was an officer.

But Shire didn’t say anything because that would have betrayed their intentions.

At that moment, Shire’s family was enjoying Christmas dinner: roast turkey, foie gras, cream cake, smoked fish... Delicious and plentiful, though the taste of the turkey left Shire at a loss for words.

It wasn’t because Camille’s cooking skills were bad but because the meat was dry and tough, which was quite a test of chewing strength. Shire believed that turkey itself wasn’t very suitable for roasting.

"This has been a magical year," Dejoka said happily, having had a few more drinks and with a bit of drunkenness expressing his feelings. "A few months ago, Shire was still a high school student, and now look at him..."

Dejoka raised his glass towards Shire: "He is already a colonel, a hero. It’s all like a dream!"

Camille, with a proud smile, glanced at Shire and raised her glass: "To Shire!"

"To Shire!" Dejoka responded, raising his glass. Both of them drank it all at once.

Shire looked at the wine glass still holding red wine on the table; it seemed like they had overlooked him.

Just then, the sound of car brakes came from outside. Dejoka and Camille’s faces changed; just from the sound, they could guess that it was Lauren, and if Lauren came at this time, it was probably not good news.

Camille frowned and muttered softly: "They wouldn’t be asking for Shire at this time..."

Dejoka stopped Camille from continuing with a look, getting up and opening the door just before Lauren could knock.

Lauren rushed in, nodding hurriedly to express his apology to Dejoka and Camille. Finally, his anxious gaze locked onto Shire: "Emergency, Colonel. The General wants you to return to headquarters immediately!"

Shire was puzzled. Could the Germans be launching an attack?

At this moment?

When Shire got in the car, he realized he was completely wrong. It wasn’t the Germans launching an attack, and it wasn’t the French launching an attack either.

It was a ceasefire. The entire front line had ceased fire!

...

Paris City Defense Command, the command room was quiet.

It wasn’t because they were lazy, but because there was nothing to do. They hadn’t received any telegrams from the front line for several hours.

And even if there were, they were perfunctory "everything is normal."

Gallieni wasn’t flustered; he leisurely drank his coffee. When he saw Shire climbing the stairs, he put down his coffee cup and said: "Sorry to call you here, Colonel, but this matter concerns the Merit Newspaper."

"I heard there’s a ceasefire?" Shire asked.

"Yes," Gallieni nodded, "we’re not sure where it started, but it spread like a plague across the entire front line. Hundreds of kilometers of the front lines are silent, not a sound of gunfire, not a sound of artillery. The communicators are unwilling to report what happened, with some directly answering ’radio malfunction.’ We’ve lost command and communication with the front line."

Shire turned his gaze to Kobudo, who was buried in a pile of newspapers at the desk.

The meaning was obvious. He was worried that Kobudo might have advocated for a ceasefire in the newspapers, which was no small matter.

"No, Colonel," Kobudo stood up, "Rest assured, I’ve checked the newspapers from the past ten days; nothing was said."

Shire nodded, feeling a little relieved.

"You misunderstood, Colonel!" Gallieni tapped his fingers on the table twice: "The Commander-in-Chief is not pleased with the current situation. He is very angry. We’ve received intelligence suggesting that the frontline might have reached an unofficial agreement, and the soldiers are intending to cease fire for 48 hours."

Shire found this interesting. He even thought that the governments of both sides might take this opportunity to sit down and negotiate, to discuss why they were fighting this war or whether a ceasefire was possible.

For example, the Germans withdrawing to their own country, and the English and French not seeking retribution.

If this was the outcome of the war, it would clearly be much better than the eventual deaths of millions.

But obviously, this was unlikely.

Although the soldiers on both sides were unwilling to fight, the high-ranking officials who didn’t have to sacrifice or fight didn’t think so. They all believed they could defeat their opponents and reap great benefits from it.

"The Commander-in-Chief thinks it’s time for the Merit Newspaper to play a role." Gallieni looked at Shire, his eyes somewhat complex: "He wants you to voice out in the Merit Newspaper, telling them to abolish this ridiculous ceasefire agreement!"

Shire refused immediately: "No, I won’t do that!"

Gallieni was somewhat helpless. He emphasized: "This is an order, Colonel."

"General," Kobudo jumped up, "This will not work at all, and it will ruin the Merit Newspaper."

Then Kobudo explained: "The Merit Newspaper is a newspaper. It should always stand on the side of the soldiers, only then can it gain the trust of the soldiers and make them accept its propaganda. If we use it as a naked tool of the military to order the soldiers, the soldiers will quickly resist the Merit Newspaper. It will have no meaning, just a piece of paper."

Gallieni nodded slightly in agreement.

He seemed to understand the real intention of the Commander-in-Chief’s order, to take this opportunity to suppress the Merit Newspaper and even Shire.

If Shire called on the soldiers to fight at this time, the soldiers would resent him as well.

But an order is an order...

While Gallieni was in a dilemma, Shire spoke.

"I have a different idea, General," Shire calmly replied, "I am very willing to carry out the Commander-in-Chief’s order, but I think... the person who should speak should be the Commander-in-Chief himself. He is the Commander-in-Chief of France. If he can’t call the soldiers to fight, who else has that ability?"

Gallieni’s eyes lit up. He knew how to respond to Xia Fei.

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