I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 58 They Helped Gallieni

On an ordinary morning, Shire woke up naturally.

He opened the curtains to look outside. The weather didn’t seem too good, gloomy with a bit of drizzle.

After dazing for a while, he quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and went downstairs.

Camille was busy in the kitchen. When she saw Shire, she served him a large plate of apple pastries and a cup of hot milk.

"You must finish it all!" Camille’s tone allowed no dispute.

The French word for "breakfast" also means "small meal," indicating that the French don’t pay much attention to breakfast. Just a little something to fill the stomach is usually enough, and sometimes they don’t even eat it.

But Camille believed that Shire, who was still growing, needed to eat more.

"Where’s father?" Shire asked while munching on the crispy apple pastry, "Is he not up yet?"

Usually, Dejoka would have breakfast with Shire at this time before driving to work. Shire was a little worried that he might have to stay home all day again, just like last time.

"He just went out!" Camille peeked her head out from the kitchen, her eyes gleaming with pride, "To buy the newspaper. He heard that there’s news about you in the paper again!"

Shire didn’t think much of it.

Ever since he invented the tank and the sidecar, big and small newspapers in Paris had been reporting on Shire nonstop. The Little Daily, the Morning Paper, the Little Paris Daily, The Daily, and so on, one story after another painstakingly. Occasionally, reporters would even show up at the house or factory to interview Shire and take photos.

(Note: The four newspapers mentioned above were the four major popular newspapers of that time in France, with The Little Daily having the highest circulation.)

Shire had gotten used to it. At first, he would deal with them, after all, the reporters were just trying to make a living. But soon, he became annoyed. He felt it was a waste of time and never-ending.

But Dejoka and Camille enjoyed it immensely. Whenever a newspaper reported on Shire, they would eagerly buy a copy, read it over and over, then discuss, comment, and compare it with similar stories, and finally, collect them all.

Just then, Dejoka returned. Camille saw him from afar through the window, immediately walked to the door, and eagerly called out, "Is it true? Is there more news about Shire? What’s it about this time?"

Dejoka only nodded, handed a newspaper to Camille after entering, and sat silently in front of Shire.

Shire noticed some worry in Dejoka’s eyes and couldn’t help but ask, "Did the newspaper write something bad about me?"

"No!" Dejoka slightly shook his head and remained silent.

Camille unfolded the newspaper, walking with small steps as she read, then suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "This time it’s in Figaro, and it’s on the front page. They said you..."

Camille suddenly looked at Shire in shock:

"A new story!"

"They said you deliberately led the Germans to Davaz to expose their flank, and that’s how we defeated the Germans!"

"Is it true, Shire?"

"Why didn’t you ever tell me?"

Shire instantly understood why Dejoka had that expression.

Dejoka gave Shire a meaningful look. Shire understood and put on an innocent face, replying, "I don’t know about this, Mom. They’re just making things up!"

Camille was taken aback but then laughed:

"These reporters, they’ll say anything to increase sales!"

"But this is a good thing, right?"

She placed the newspaper on the dining table and went back to the kitchen, "It’s definitely a good thing. Our Shire has become a hero again!"

Dejoka had a bitter expression, lowering his voice to ask Shire, "Is it Francis?"

Shire nodded.

Only three people knew about this: Francis, Gallieni, and Dejoka.

Gallieni and Dejoka would never leak this information, so it had to be Francis.

Dejoka had actually guessed it too but was unwilling to admit it. After all, Francis was his father, Shire’s grandfather.

"This might be related to our new tractor factory!" Shire said.

He hoped to give a reason so Dejoka would feel a bit better.

"Even if that’s the case, does it justify what he did?" Dejoka suddenly became agitated, forcefully poking at the newspaper. His voice almost grating through his teeth, "On the surface, he’s praising you, making you a hero, but his real intention is to send you into the army, so you won’t become his competitor!"

Shire didn’t deny it; this was indeed Francis’s intent.

"He’s a coward!" Dejoka cursed softly, "He doesn’t dare to face your challenge, using such underhanded methods. Doesn’t he worry that you might..."

Dejoka bit back the rest of his words, considering them inauspicious.

Shire didn’t know how to comfort Dejoka, so he could only say, "Maybe it’s not just him, Father!"

"What?" Dejoka looked at Shire in confusion.

Shire hinted, "The Figaro."

Dejoka exclaimed "Oh" in realization.

The Figaro was a newspaper targeted at the nobility, owned by Nikola, who was a member of the traditional nobility, along with Grevy and Arman, representing the traditional noble class and party leaders.

And the tank patents were sold to them.

If Shire’s tractors were to develop, it could potentially threaten the sales of the tanks or even replace them...

Connecting all these dots, the situation became clear.

The anger in Dejoka’s eyes gradually turned to fear: "Although their political influence isn’t immense, their relationships are deeply rooted and they possess considerable power, holding a certain sway in the House of Representatives, besides being exceedingly wealthy..."

At that moment, Camille came out with a plate of apple pastries for both Dejoka and herself, curiously asking, "What are you two talking about?"

Dejoka was a bit flustered. If Camille found out that Francis and the traditional nobility were conspiring against Shire, it would terrify her.

Shire calmly answered, "Nothing, Mom. Just a small issue with the car!"

Camille didn’t suspect a thing, glancing at Dejoka with a smile, "That car is your father’s treasure, Shire. No wonder he looks so upset!"

Shire smiled but said nothing.

This situation was entirely unexpected for Shire.

He had always tried not to antagonize the capitalists, but in the end, he still entangled with the traditional nobility.

At the same time, he found it somewhat amusing; it seemed the traditional nobility had done Gallieni a favor.

Before this, Gallieni had always wished for Shire to serve as a military advisor but couldn’t openly request him due to Shire’s arms dealer status, even avoiding discussing issues with him.

Now, with the traditional nobility stirring things up, Gallieni could conveniently fulfill this wish. Lauren wouldn’t have to debase himself so much!

No, that old sly Gallieni would put on a show of extreme reluctance, only to reluctantly agree when he had no other choice!

That drama queen, old sly fox! It’s your turn to perform again!