I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 865: Shire Knows How to Do Business

French Algeria line of defense.

In a raincoat, Haji and two others crouched as they shuffled through the rain-soaked trenches.

They were quite familiar with the terrain here, and even though the trenches all looked similar and a few new ones had been dug, they could still easily find Abram's location.

Abram was in a bad state, his face pale as he curled under his rain cloak, breathing with difficulty, occasionally letting out faint moans.

After the sound of wading through water, Haji appeared in front of him, the rain splashing from his head onto Abram's face, waking him from his murkiness.

"Have you seen Shire?" Abram asked.

"Yes." Haji touched Abram's forehead, which seemed to be burning with fever.

"The situation, the situation is bad, isn't it?" Abram's heart sank, sensing something off in Haji's expression: "It's okay, we, we can rely on ourselves."

But Abram knew this was just self-comfort.

If France did not have Shire, Algeria might have been able to achieve "independence" by its own strength.

But France had Shire, who, like a war god, led France to another height, a height colonial countries dared not look up to.

Tanks, planes, rocket launchers, armored army, and so forth, coupled with all sorts of bewildering tactics.

They easily defeated the Germans, triumphing with few over many every time.

Faced with such a France, with such a Shire, Algeria seemed to have no choice but to submit, any resistance appeared meaningless.

Therefore, Abram pinned his hopes on Shire.

Only by gaining Shire's support, only if Shire treated everyone equally, only if Shire truly embraced "equality" and "fraternity" could Algeria possibly achieve freedom.

But now...

"No, the situation is fine." Carefully, Haji took something wrapped in oiled paper from inside his raincoat and, opening it, placed a pill in Abram's mouth.

"What is this?" Abram swallowed the pill.

"Aspirin." Haji replied, unscrewing a water flask to give Abram water: "From Shire."

(Note: Aspirin was invented in 1897 and was a new medication during WWI, used for fever reduction and mild pain relief, and was in scarce supply.)

Abram immediately choked, coughing a few times before turning his painful moans into gasps of cool air.

Yet his eyes glimmered with hope, and his previously sallow face gained some color.

"You said this was..." Abram asked: "given by Shire?"

"No need to be so surprised." Haji smiled and nodded, carefully glancing around before speaking in a lowered voice: "You were right, Shire is a perfect person, unlike what I thought, he supports us."

Abram's breathing quickened instantly, his chest heaving violently as he stared incredulously at Haji.

"Hey, don't get too excited, my friend." Haji opened his raincoat and took out carbolic acid to clean Abram's wounds.

(Note: Carbolic acid, also known as phenol, was widely used during WWI for disinfecting wounds but has a strong irritant nature.)

"Listen to me." Haji, hands busy and speaking rapidly:

"Shire arranged for you to get a bed in the field hospital, I'll take you there to recover."

"Then you'll be sent back to Algeria, you must survive, do you understand?"

"Once back, you should form a political party, just like what France did, a republic!"

Abram looked at Haji incredulously: "A political party? Like France?"

Abram was puzzled; if they gained independence, shouldn't they establish their own system?

Why imitate France?

Haji nodded firmly: "I'll explain it to you later, but for now, you just need to know one thing: survive!"

Haji finished bandaging and covered Abram again with the raincoat.

The two behind took out a stretcher, skillfully moving Abram onto it, nodding slightly to Haji before leaving along the trench.

Abram looked up at Haji, who returned a confident smile.

"Everything will be alright, my friend." Haji murmured: "With Shire's support, nothing is impossible!"

...

Prime Minister's Residence, Ottawa, Canada.

Prime Minister Borden stared in a daze at the list in his hand.

M1 rifles for 100,000 Canadian dollars, mortars for 50,000 Canadian dollars, submachine guns for 150,000 Canadian dollars...

All together, it only took just over a million Canadian dollars to acquire a whole set of light equipment.

The most eye-catching was the "Camel" fighter, getting its production license surprisingly costing only 300,000 Canadian dollars.

(Above image shows Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada during WWI)

Borden raised the list towards the Minister of Defense, half doubting: "Do you think this list can be trusted?"

The Minister of Defense, Hughes, looked envious: "If this list comes directly from Shire, we have no reason not to trust it, Your Excellency."

"But, why would he sell it so cheap?" Borden frowned: "He should have added a zero at the end."

Even with an extra zero, there would be plenty of buyers, especially wealthy nations like the United States.

Hughes explained: "Just as Shire said, our mass production of equipment aligns with the Allies' interests. Besides, I think there's another crucial reason—maybe the equipment is becoming outdated."

"Outdated?" Borden looked surprised at Hughes.

These were equipments envied on the battlefield.

"To Shire." Hughes added: "For example, for the airplane, we have intel that France is already using more advanced 'Hoon' models; the 'Camel' fighter has gradually been phased out by the French Army."

Borden was too shocked to close his mouth.

Canadian aircraft were still stuck at the level of the "JN-4" and "Aphro", without even mounted machine guns, and yet Shire had already phased out the "Camel".

This gap made Borden feel hopeless.

(Note: The "JN-4" is the unarmed aircraft mentioned earlier, produced under license from the United States, mainly for training, and providing pilots for the British air corps. The "Aphro" is produced under license from England.)

Borden wanted to acquire these equipments, but he still hesitated, as taking back mineral resources from the British was no trivial matter, especially during wartime, when Britain needed minerals greatly.

On one hand, were the production rights to equipment that could instantly elevate Canada's combat prowess several tiers.

On the other hand, there was the risk of tearing the relationship with British apart!

Borden, anxious, rose to his feet, paced a few steps, and stood in front of the window, attempting to clear his mind.

Hughes, seemingly understanding Borden's predicament, approached carefully and said:

"Your Excellency, precisely because it's wartime, the British wouldn't dare to sever relations with us."

"Moreover, the British Army is always losing on the battlefield; their army is weaker than ours, and it seems we might take the risk to try."

"Besides, we are only taking back some of the minerals, not all of them; just enough to purchase these equipments and…"

Borden smiled and shook his head:

"You're oversimplifying things, Hughes."

"Have you noticed, the list doesn't include tanks, armored vehicles, or artillery—those heavy pieces of equipment?"

"Shire knows business; the prices for the follow-on equipments surely won't be this low!"