CHAPTER 245: CHAPTER 245: LEGION OF HONOR

Shire has been particularly busy lately. He hasn’t had a break since Christmas.

The reason is that the aerial battle situation on the front lines is uncertain, and air battles often occur suddenly and last briefly. If Shire were on leave at home, by the time he received the notification and arrived at the command center, the battle might already be over.

Every once in a while, Shire would mention this to Gallieni: "General, I want to know if all the leave days I’ve missed are being recorded."

Gallieni replied cryptically, "The New Year has already passed, Colonel!"

The New Year was the fifth day after Christmas. That day, Shire was busy in the command center, working from dawn till dusk.

Gallieni’s comment implied that as soon as the New Year passed, Shire became an adult. As an adult and a colonel, it’s normal not to have any holidays during wartime.

...

As the sky darkened and the city lights began to shine.

Shire had been busy all day organizing the air force.

During this era, even airplanes were a new novelty to people. Therefore, the structure, deployment, and coordination of the air force all required Shire’s hands-on teaching.

He stretched and rubbed his sore neck, complaining in his heart: despite no increase in allowances, the workload has increased significantly. Becoming an adult doesn’t seem like a good thing!

"Colonel!" Gallieni nodded at Shire while chewing on a piece of bread.

Shire knowingly came forward reluctantly, assuming that the old man was dissatisfied with something and wanted him to fill in some gaps.

Recently, all Gallieni did was pick holes in Shire’s reorganization plans, sometimes even asking Shire to explain the arrangements and how to counteract potential enemy measures.

But this time, Shire was mistaken...

As Shire approached the desk, Gallieni took two boxes and a document from the drawer, handing them over calmly: "These are yours, for your contributions to France!"

Curious, Shire took one of the boxes and opened it, revealing a neatly arranged medal inside.

Shire looked at Gallieni in confusion, but Gallieni just shrugged and continued signing the papers on the desk, while still eating his bread.

At that moment, Major Fernan happened to pass by Shire. One glance at the medal and he froze: "My God, the Legion of Honor, you’ve been awarded the Legion of Honor!"

Major Fernan quickly grabbed the medal and excitedly announced to everyone: "Look, the colonel has been awarded the Legion of Honor, Knight’s Rank!"

The command center erupted in cheers. One after another, people came forward to shake Shire’s hand and offer their congratulations, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the medal.

Suddenly someone asked:

"Where’s Kobudo? Shouldn’t he be here taking some pictures?"

"He’s already back at the agency."

"Call him back immediately. He’ll be thrilled. This must be the front-page headline!"

...

Shire opened the other box, and there was another medal inside that he did not recognize.

Major Fernan enthusiastically explained, "This one is the War Merit Cross. If the Legion of Honor is awarded for combat achievements, this medal, representing the highest military honor of France, is automatically awarded as well!"

Shire merely said "Oh," thinking there were so many rules.

Shire’s reaction was very calm. As a capitalist, he didn’t value these honors. He thought these medals were akin to the old days when knights were enfeoffed, and the emperor could make knights pledge lifelong allegiance and even sacrifice their lives with just a verbal promise or title. Wasn’t that foolish?

You could say the medals were similar. He would rather receive something practical, like several thousand francs in bonuses.

Gallieni noticed the expression on Shire’s face and nodded quietly in his heart.

As someone who’d been through it all, Gallieni understood that this was just the capitalists’ way of winning people’s hearts. Giving Shire these medals and honors was merely a response to public protests, intended to satisfy the citizens’ expectations and stabilize morale.

Perhaps people didn’t know much about it now, but Gallieni remembered clearly: 27 years ago, not only did the President of the Third Republic’s son-in-law, who was also Congressman Wilson, collude with the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army to sell large quantities of Legion of Honor medals.

This medal, considered the highest honor by both the French military and civilians, something worth sacrificing their lives for, was sold for just a few thousand francs.

After the scandal broke, Wilson was only found guilty of a minor offense and was soon acquitted. Subsequently, he was even reelected as a congressman, and many of the involved congressmen and ministers were never punished.

With such incidents, how could the Legion of Honor medal still hold any honor!

"Hey, Shire!" Someone called out at this moment: "Don’t you think we should celebrate?"

The question snapped Shire out of it, and he responded tactfully: "Right, this does call for a celebration. How about the officers’ club? The expenses tonight are on me!"

The command center immediately burst into cheers, the staff more excited than if they had won a major battle.

"Will you join us, General?" Shire asked Gallieni.

"No," Gallieni shook his head. "Just bring me a cup of coffee."

Shire responded with a smile.

Gallieni actually didn’t lack coffee, as the orderlies could bring it to him at any time. He just didn’t want Shire to feel he owed him anything.

...

It was Monday, and the club was sparsely populated.

Most officers wouldn’t choose to visit the club on this day, as many documents and issues requiring negotiation with the government needed solving today.

But as soon as Shire’s group arrived, they filled the club. As soon as they entered, they eagerly called out to the bartender:

"A cocktail, Lucia!"

"Maybe we should get some champagne."

"Good idea, it’s a day worth celebrating!"

...

Female bartender Lucia was skillfully pouring drinks into the shaker and asked curiously, "What’s the good news today? Did Shire win another battle?"

"No, no!" Major Fernan nodded towards Shire, who had followed him in: "The most worth celebrating today is..."

Major Fernan paused intentionally, then surprisingly said: "That Shire is covering all the expenses, let’s party, gentlemen!"

The staff erupted in cheers, some even shaking and popping open champagne to spray over everyone. The previously quiet and dull club instantly came to life.

Lucia glanced at Shire, surrounded by everyone, then nodded at another bartender: "Garell, take over for me."

Garell took the shaker from Lucia, giving her a meaningful look and a subtle smile: "Isn’t he too young for you, Lucia?"

"I heard he’s already an adult!" Lucia answered generously, "Who would refuse a hero, especially a wealthy hero!"

(Above: Legion of Honor Medal)

(Above: War Merit Cross)