I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France.

Gallieni did not refuse, but he also did not agree.

He smiled slightly and said: "If you can prove that they are worth the price, I am willing to pay 10% interest on them, otherwise..."

Charles originally wanted to protest. This had nothing to do with him. The money he spent on the military should be reimbursed.

But Gallieni added: "And I will also consider the Flying Club's evaluation price of 300,000 francs!"

Charles immediately threw up his hands and surrendered. The 200,000 price difference was unreasonable, although it was also in compliance with the procedures.

Seeing Charles' helpless look, Gallieni nodded with satisfaction and brought the topic to the war: "Antwerp was lost. Just last night, the Germans blew up Wavre Castle and destroyed the water supply system. People panicked and had to evacuate Antwerp!”

This was expected by Charles, so he just asked: "Where is the king?"

"He left Antwerp and moved to Ypres!" Gallieni dragged his finger on the map along the sea and said: "He is a respectable king! He could have gone to England, but he insisted on joining the war with his people. Germans fight!”

Charles agreed with a "hmm". As a king, it was indeed rare for Albert I to do this, but he didn't know whether to call this behavior stupid or wise.

"He wants to see you!" Gallieni said with a hint of amusement on his face: "He wants to apologize to you in person, but in my opinion, he wants to keep you in Ypres, which is the last piece of land in Belgium. I don’t want the Germans to take it under any circumstances!”

"You must have refused for me again!" said Charles.

Gallieni nodded slightly: "No one will be stupid enough to send you to the front line, even if it is on the second line with the king. This may even be detrimental to the battlefield!"

"It's not good for the battlefield?" Charles didn't understand what he meant.

Gallieni raised his head and looked at Charles: "Why do you think the Germans completely blocked Antwerp when you were in Antwerp last time?"

Ciel understood: "I might become a fish bait!"

Gallieni smiled noncommittally. This little guy actually thought he was just "bait"? ! He is clearly the ultimate weapon that both warring parties are desperate to seize!

But Gallieni didn't point it out. He didn't want to waste too much time on other aspects. Now he needed to let the little guy understand what the battlefield was like as soon as possible, so that he could come up with a way to deal with it.

"I don't think we can achieve our goal of outflanking the enemy!" Gallieni pointed to the map and continued his analysis: "We have lost the opportunity to outflank the enemy. Now, even if we have the upper hand in a certain position or can assemble faster than the enemy, Even faster, it’s just pushing the defense line towards the Germans!”

Charles agreed with this statement. Gallieni's judgment was very accurate. A stalemate was now forming: the defense line was there, reinforcements from both sides met, and then there was an extension line on the map.

"And it's difficult for both the enemy and us to break through each other's defenses!" Gallieni frowned slightly: "The war may be more cruel than we imagined. With trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, and artillery, the attacking side is bound to pay a heavy price. !”

Gallieni's eyes turned to Charles again: "Even your tanks can't function!"

"Yes!" Charles admitted this generously.

The French army is currently using the original tanks produced by Francis. A tank of that level can block bullets and scare the enemy on the plains, but it can only be a target when facing the enemy's complete trench fortifications.

"We also found that the Germans were gathering here!" Gallieni pointed to Ypres on the map and said: "The characteristic of Ypres is that the terrain is flat and full of swamps and mud. It is difficult to build trench fortifications here. The Germans are very Maybe I’ll choose this as my breakthrough point!”

Gallieni made this judgment because the German military quality was generally stronger than that of the French army. On such terrain where it was difficult to build trenches, the quality of the German army was better reflected and victory was more likely.

France, on the other hand, is seriously short of troops and can only deploy untrained recruits to block this breach... Once the gap in Ypres cannot be blocked, the entire defense line may collapse.

Charles listened quietly and said nothing.

Gallieni looked at Charles suspiciously, with a somewhat dissatisfied tone: "What do you think?"

Charles replied softly: "General, have you heard of 'asymmetric warfare'?"

Gallieni's eyes lit up, the new term sounded very powerful.

"No, I haven't heard of it!" Gallieni answered straightforwardly, his eyes full of desire.

But after waiting for a while, he didn't see Ciel continue speaking. His eyes gradually turned to confusion and a hint of urging.

Charles curled his lips: "10%!"

Gallieni was stunned and immediately understood that this little guy was bargaining.

"No, 6%!" Gallieni answered simply. He wanted to take away all the interest with just one word. Don't even think about it!

"Okay!" Charles replied helplessly: "'Asymmetric combat' means that we have to suppress the enemy at another level, trying to cause the enemy to form a domino-like collapse, rather than purely using infantry against infantry. , artillery versus artillery, this is obviously not good for France, and there will be huge casualties!”

Gallieni made a "hmm" sound, which was interesting: "But, how can we achieve this level of suppression?"

"Nine percent!" said Charles.

"No, no... at most 7%!" Gallieni's tone was unquestionable. His nickname of "stingy" was not undeserved.

Charles rolled his eyes. Such an advanced tactic is only worth "1%"?

But Charles had no choice. He had to say it anyway. Any profit is a profit.

"Specific implementation!" Charles said: "We can use aircraft to fully suppress enemy aircraft. After having absolute air superiority, we can use air superiority to suppress the enemy's artillery and make it chaotic. And our artillery can free up their hands to deal with the enemy infantry with confidence... This layer by layer will put the enemy in a state of being fully passive and beaten!"

Gallieni looked at Charles in shock. He had never heard of such a tactic, but it seemed feasible.

It is not like a conventional battle where infantry fights infantry and artillery fights artillery. Instead, it staggers each other and pursues a step-by-step victory: aircraft suppress enemy artillery, and artillery easily suppresses enemy infantry... God, the result is likely to be a huge victory with minimal casualties!

"But!" Gallieni asked again: "How can our planes achieve a complete victory and even suppress the enemy's artillery?"

Use the "Congreve" rocket?

It may be useful for hitting balloons and bombing artillery, but it is powerless against high-speed flying aircraft!

"10%, interest paid monthly!" Charles said firmly: "And the flying club is calculated at a purchase price of 300,000 francs!"

Charles is not worried that Gallieni will not agree, because in this "asymmetric warfare", the aircraft is the key. If you don't agree, I will turn the table over!