CHAPTER 686: CHAPTER 686: THE FINAL PUNITIVE EXPEDITION

Happy Lantern Festival to everyone!

Since I have relatives coming over today, I could only manage to write one Chapter. I will make up for it tomorrow. Sorry!

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While the battle raged fiercely on the front lines, an intense war was also playing out in the House of Representatives at the Palais Bourbon in France.

The parliamentarians were issuing their final condemnations to the faction led by Gallieni and Shire:

"We don’t have time to delay any longer. The Germans have reached Dunkirk. We must immediately order Shire to provide reinforcements!"

"This is their goal. They want to delay until Dunkirk is occupied. They are traitors to France."

"Shire is abusing his power to protect his own interests. He treats the army as his personal property. We cannot tolerate such reckless behavior. This is shameless dictatorship!"

...

Gallieni looked coldly at the parliamentarians below, his eyes filled with disdain and anger.

These parliamentarians, who couldn’t stop talking about "national interests," were actually contemplating how to seek personal gains. Gallieni couldn’t imagine how they had the audacity to say such things.

However, Gallieni said nothing. He knew arguing with these people was pointless. He quietly awaited the outcome.

At this moment, Major Fernan walked in from outside and whispered a few words into Gallieni’s ear. A faint smile appeared on Gallieni’s lips as he nodded in satisfaction.

Briand stepped up from the audience area and stood in front of Gallieni.

He remained calm, not shouting like the others. He believed that doing so would only make others think he was targeting Shire, a war hero and symbol, thus escalating the conflict between the parliament and the military.

Glancing at the crowd below, he said to Gallieni with a look of helpless resignation, "I am sorry, Minister, but I think we should respect the parliamentarians’ decision since they represent the citizens of France."

"Yes." Gallieni nodded calmly.

"Their decision is to reinforce Dunkirk." Briand reminded, "I think a vote is unnecessary; it would be a waste of time, don’t you agree?"

"I agree, Prime Minister." Gallieni replied.

"So," Briand’s face showed a barely perceptible smile, a victor’s smile, as he handed over a document, "this is the order to reinforce Dunkirk. You just need to sign it..."

"I don’t think that’s necessary, Prime Minister." Gallieni interrupted Briand, his tone harsh.

"What?" Briand was stunned, his expression gradually turning severe, his voice carrying a hint of threat, "You cannot defy the parliament’s decision, Minister, otherwise I will have no choice but to remove you..."

Gallieni stared directly into Briand’s eyes, unafraid, and said clearly and steadily, "You might not know, but Shire has already won!"

Briand’s face changed.

Shire has won?

What victory?

Did he capture the Liege Fortress?

Impossible...

Suddenly, someone burst in, out of breath, shouting, his voice trembling with excitement, "He... he won! Shire, Shire won! He captured Mezieres."

The room was in an uproar.

Mezieres is a well-known industrial city in France. The parliamentarians had heard of it, and some even owned shares in its factories. They all knew this city was behind the German Army’s lines, and Shire had actually captured it.

Briand was stunned as well. He knew Mezieres. He had gone there several times to give speeches to workers and understand their difficulties when organizing the Socialist Party.

(Note: The Socialist Party organized by Briand mainly consisted of the working class.)

Thus, Briand knew that Mezieres was a major transportation hub. Even without a military background, he understood its importance.

"No, it’s impossible." After a while, Briand shook his head, "Shire couldn’t have captured Mezieres. He’s still in Namur, in Belgium."

Though he said this, Briand couldn’t shake a feeling of unease within himself.

That’s Shire. For Shire, nothing was impossible.

Prompted by Briand, the parliamentarians echoed:

"Yes, Shire is in Belgium. How could he have captured Mezieres, separated by the Arden Mountains?"

"Did he fly over there?"

"I get it. You’re trying to use this false information to delay, to avoid sending reinforcements to Dunkirk!"

...

Ignoring Briand’s hesitations, Gallieni stepped to the front again, his head held high, his face bearing a confident smile:

"Gentlemen, you’re correct; Belgium and Mezieres are separated by the Arden Mountains."

"But you forget, Shire has already captured Charleroi."

"While we were debating whether to send reinforcements to Dunkirk, Shire’s First Armored Army has already crossed the Arden Mountains and reached Mezieres."

Once again, the room was abuzz.

An armored unit crossed the Arden Mountains—was that even possible?

Even Wells and Steed looked shocked.

They had only been cooperating with Gallieni to block the parliament’s resolution, unaware of the detailed plan.

They had truly thought Shire was protecting his interests in Belgium. But clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Arman just smiled indifferently.

He didn’t care much who won—the Germans, the French, or the British. It didn’t really matter to him.

He just confirmed one thing: Shire was an unstoppable force, and no one would be able to shake his position in the future.

In this light, following Shire was undoubtedly the right choice!

Gallieni was in no rush. He waited for the parliamentarians to discuss a while before adding, "If you want to know whether this is true, just observe the Germans’ reaction."

Many parliamentarians, lacking military knowledge, blurted out without thinking:

"What will the Germans’ reaction be?"

"Are we supposed to ask the Germans if this is true?"

...

"Gentlemen!" Major Fernan couldn’t help but interject, "If Shire has really occupied Mezieres, the German attack on Dunkirk becomes meaningless. Because Shire has encircled the Germans from the rear, including Dunkirk!"

The parliamentarians finally realized:

"So, the Germans will retreat?"

"What happens if they don’t retreat?"

"If they don’t retreat, they will die because they won’t be getting any more ammunition or reinforcements!"

...

Just at that moment, someone burst in, shouting, "The Germans are retreating! Dunkirk is safe! We’ve won!"

There was no cheering, no applause. The room was so silent that even the drop of a pin could be heard.

Then, someone, no one knew who, started clapping slowly.

Soon, more people joined in, and the applause quickly filled the room, even from those parliamentarians who didn’t want Shire to win.

Shire’s victory wasn’t good news for them, but they couldn’t help but admire his accomplishment in this battle.

Gallieni turned to look at Briand and glanced at the document in his hand, "Prime Minister, do I still need to sign?"

Briand quickly snapped out of it, "Oh, no, of course not. That’s clearly unnecessary."