I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 870: The Capitalists’ Counterattack

Similar corruption incidents, if they had occurred in the previous France, the authorities would have gone to great lengths to suppress them rather than investigate, let alone report them in the newspapers.

The reason is that the interest groups involved are too immense, which would shake the entire ruling class and provoke unrest.

Just like the Panama Canal scandal of the past, everyone knew what was happening, but there was nothing that could be done against the capitalists and politicians.

The military and civilians seemed only capable of taking to the streets in protests or "mutinies."

But now that France is under Shire's control, he certainly doesn't need to and won't treat these hidden capitalists kindly, immediately reporting the corruption cases in Merit Newspaper one by one.

No extra edition, just normal reporting by the next morning.

Shire hoped to create a psychological suggestion of "business as usual."

The citizens' reactions pleased Shire; they hated the capitalists, but did not stage large-scale protests and strikes.

This was also a test by Shire on the citizens.

"Look, only Shire's factory has no quality issues; some of his equipment is even new."

"New equipment should have more 'reliability' issues, but they are far more reliable than the old ones."

"Only Shire truly cared for this country and its citizens, we can rest assured entrusting the country to him."

...

They did not delve deeper: if "Shire will rectify this country" or "entrust the country to him," it also means supporting "Shire's dictatorship."

Some people knew this, as citizens of France at this time cherished freedom of speech and were keen on discussing the system.

But they chose not to reveal it.

Because these people were also pondering:

Could it be worse than now?

Where are the benefits of the so-called "checks and balances" of a republic?

Ultimately, don't the capitalists control the regime through various corruptions, leaving citizens powerless?

If Shire did not have power, how could he remove these parasites?

This silence was broken two days later.

The opposition came from the Peggy family, the very family of Colonel Depaul who colluded with the military boot supplier.

Seemingly to save his son, 51-year-old Funik stood in court and raised his arms, shouting:

"We do not acknowledge these crimes, this is political persecution."

"Can't you see? Everything is Shire's plot."

"To eradicate dissidents and achieve dictatorship, he fabricated these crimes using his intelligence unit. This is all concocted by Shire, not just against us!"

...

Though Funik was kicked out of court, it seemed pre-arranged, as a dozen newspapers reported the incident:

"Funik accuses this of political persecution, though we cannot confirm it, Shire's power has indeed reached uncontrollable extremes."

"Is this Shire's plot? I'm not sure. But I believe there are many similar corruption cases in other armies as well, so why does Shire only rectify the Eastern Army Group? Is this a biased choice?"

"Though I want to trust Shire, it seems we are on the path to dictatorship."

...

When Shire saw these remarks, he merely smiled lightly; the capitalists' counterattack had begun, they wouldn't willingly sit idle.

The problem with the republic is that concentrated power is original sin, whether gained through public support or seized through manipulation.

Take Shire for instance, he established a military industrial system creating countless job opportunities, won battles on the battlefield time and again, saving France numerous times from crisis... shouldn't he have gained citizen trust and thereby power?

However, according to the "checks and balances" principle of the republic, such an individual must be suppressed, must be checked, even self-destruct, otherwise it's dictatorship.

Yet the capitalists were too inexperienced, using well-worn modern tactics, how would Shire not know how to respond?

He published evidence against Colonel Depaul in Merit Newspaper, then casually added a sentence: "They are merely trying to exonerate the parasites."

Nothing else was said, seemingly disdainful of debating with the capitalists.

Yet the citizens understood Shire's message:

"Yes, everything Shire does is for France, he hasn't done anything wrong, yet he suffers baseless suspicion from the capitalists."

"Shire's evidence is conclusive, while the capitalists have none; all they say is 'Shire's power is too great'."

"They shamelessly splash dirt on Shire only to absolve themselves, those cursed bastards, they should be punished."

...

Angry citizens surrounded Peggy Manor, demanding Funik provide evidence, otherwise confess and apologize to Shire.

However, this was just the initial rational state.

Funik was unwilling to back down, standing upstairs and delivering a speech to citizens attempting to change their ideas, with prepared speech notes.

Initially, Funik could remain calm, but as someone threw a stone shouting at him shamelessly, he angrily reprimanded: "You fools, you've all been deceived by Shire, you just don't know..."

The citizens' anger instantly exploded:

"Shut your mouth, Shire never deceived us, he saved this country, including you and your family."

"And you deceived countless people, we all know, some of the shoddy military boots were manufactured by you."

"You should be brought to court and admit your crimes!"

...

People grew angrier, soon using a tractor to smash open the gate, flooding into the manor like a dam breach, holding the entire family including Funik captive.

Coincidentally, they indeed found much evidence of Funik producing substandard military boots and food: it was a corruption chain, Funik responsible for production, and Colonel Depaul in the military took charge of "inspection" and "promotion."

Funik was beaten black and blue, almost burned to death, in the end Gallieni sent someone to save him to complete the evidence chain.

On the other hand, the newspapers that previously sided with Funik and doubted Shire also suffered.

Stone attacks were common, newspapers were boycotted, offices faced paint splashes or graffiti with derogatory words like "capitalist lackeys," "shameless liars," reporters were beaten in the streets...

It's easy to foresee these newspapers will soon incur losses and eventually go bankrupt.

Everyone overlooked one detail:

How could Funik be dumb enough to leave evidence at home?

Even if at home, it should be hidden in secret, not easily found, yet he left it in a desk drawer.

People only knew it was a servant of Funik who reported it, shouting to the crowd: "I know where Funik hid the secrets, let's find out!"

Thus the evidence became public.