I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 76 The Important Lieutenant

"You don’t know Shire?" General Winter looked at General Gis with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Then General Winter quickly realized that ever since the German Army breached Belgium, he and the others here had been surrounded by the German Army. Outside phone lines were cut off, and communication could only rely on telegrams—it seemed normal not to have heard of Shire.

"But you should have heard of tanks!" General Winter asked again. Even German captives would say a few words about them.

General Gis nodded, "I have heard of them. Are they real?"

General Gis thought it was just a rumor, or a lie spread by German captives for some purpose.

"Of course they’re real!" General Winter replied, "Shire is the person who invented tanks!"

General Gis uttered an "Oh," but he still remained half-skeptical.

General Winter laughed, "If it weren’t for these things, Paris might have already been occupied by the Germans. But now, France is chasing the Germans! It’s said that the Germans’ defeat was also a trap set by Shire. If that’s true, this Shire is truly incredible!"

General Gis began to believe, as General Winter was outside the encirclement and had more informative news, and he spoke so convincingly without any logical flaws.

However, General Winter then turned his eyes to the letter in his hand, with a hint of confusion, "But... what does this have to do with us? Why do they want me to hand over Shire?"

While speaking, the adjutant delivered another letter, still sent by Bessler.

If it wasn’t for confirming Bessler’s handwriting, General Gis would even suspect this was some kind of prank!

Who would send two letters in such a short time?

This is the battlefield; delivering letters to the enemy’s commander isn’t that convenient. Someone might risk their life for it!

Why didn’t he write the entire content and send it all at once?

General Gis thought as he opened the letter, Bessler must have been very anxious when writing these letters. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.

This time, General Gis directly read the content of the letter aloud:

"Please cherish the civilian power, Victor (General Gis’s nickname)! Don’t put the entire city’s Belgian population under the flames of war again. It is meaningless and extremely foolish. I am not asking you to surrender; we will recognize Belgium’s neutrality. We just hope you will hand over Shire to us, that’s all!"

Before finishing the reading, General Gis was already exceptionally shocked.

Since Belgium rejected the German Army’s "harmless passage," Germany no longer recognized Belgium’s neutral status. This was Germany’s excuse for attacking Belgium, saying Belgium sided with the enemy and thus couldn’t be considered neutral.

However, now they were willing to recognize Belgium’s neutrality because of Shire!

"Is Shire really that important? That he can make German generals give up their principles so humbly?" General Gis wondered, could this be a trap set by the Germans, or another excuse of theirs.

General Winter nodded affirmatively, "He might be much more important than you imagine, General! I don’t know how to describe it, because what I know are also rumors. Those who truly know Shire’s importance should be France and Germany."

Then he added, "The German Army once suffered defeat at Shire’s hands, now it seems..."

General Gis understood. The fact that Germans valued Shire so highly explained everything.

At that moment, a communications soldier rushed in to report, "General, the Germans launched an attack, in the Scheldt River direction!"

General Gis’s face became somber. He located the Scheldt River on the map, "West of the fortress, if the Germans capture this, our only retreat route will be cut off by them!"

After a pause, General Gis straightened up, frowning, "They have never done this before. They always hope to force us to abandon Antwerp!"

This is a ’besiege three, leave one’ tactic, besiege on three sides leaving one open to create panic among the enemy and incite retreat. If completely besieged, it would force the enemy into a desperate fight.

But now, why would the Germans violate this principle, just as they are about to achieve victory?

Moreover, the German Army with artillery superiority choosing to attack at night clearly isn’t wise either!

General Winter knew the reason, "It’s for Shire; they don’t want Shire to escape!"

General Gis was left speechless. Is this true? To give up their strategic and tactical advantages for one person? Is Bessler crazy!

"General!" Another communications soldier came to report, "Holland notified us that due to German threats, they have to stop accepting refugees!"

General Gis looked incredulous.

Since the war began, the neutral northern country Holland has been taking in Belgian refugees, and Germany has never opposed it. Now they were threatening Holland to close its borders!

This time, General Winter didn’t need to explain. General Gis knew the reason, "Again, for Shire!"

General Winter nodded in agreement.

If Holland could continue accepting refugees, who can ensure Shire wouldn’t escape to Holland among them?

General Gis couldn’t sit still. He got up and paced anxiously by the desk. Fighting like this would lead not only to military and soldier casualties, but also affect a large number of innocent civilians, who wouldn’t be able to evacuate!

"But where is Shire exactly?" General Gis lost patience, "Why do they want me to hand him over, when I haven’t even seen him!"

Just then, the adjutant pushed the door open.

Without waiting for him to speak, General Gis sternly asked, "Are you here to request Shire again?"

The adjutant hesitated before answering, "No, General! A telegram from General Gallieni of France. He says he made a mistake by sending a very important Lieutenant adjutant to Antwerp. He hopes you can immediately send a plane to take him back to Paris. He will be immensely grateful and will fully assist our army. He also emphasizes that you can make any request, and he will do his utmost to fulfill it, including reinforcements!"

General Gis gave a bitter smile, "Everyone’s coming to ask me for personnel. Shire is important, a small Lieutenant adjutant is important. Are there any unimportant people left..."

As he finished speaking, his voice gradually weakened. General Gis suddenly realized something, and General Winter understood too. They exchanged glances, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes!