I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 903: Condemning England

Shire was not actually interested in upholding justice and saving the world; he knew that the unchanging rule of international relations was interest.

However, if France wanted to become the "world police," it had to "love peace" and "champion justice" for other countries.

Only in this way could it gain the universal recognition of the international community, and only then would countries around the world possibly seek France’s "mediation" in disputes.

And France could thus gain more and greater benefits in this "mediation" process.

Shire invited the British Minister of Military Supplies to the meeting because he knew the minister would be shortsighted and only consider immediate interests.

He would become a negative example in front of everyone, highlighting France’s "justice" and "greatness" through Britain’s ugliness and shortsightedness.

Sure enough, the next second the Minister of Military Supplies couldn’t hold back; he stood up with a "thud" and said in protest:

"Regrettably, I cannot agree with your point of view, Prime Minister."

"Although this is indeed a meaningless war, I also hope it can be stopped as soon as possible."

"But we should understand a simple truth: to stop this war, we must completely defeat the Germans, otherwise, it will only give them time to catch their breath and start another war."

The Minister of Military Supplies glanced over all the guests:

"I believe that stopping the war through negotiations now is extremely shortsighted."

"We may be able to gain a moment of peace. But trust me, as long as the Germans remain under dictatorship, they will certainly start over."

"So what is the meaning of this ’truce’? We might even miss this opportunity, an opportunity for complete victory."

"One day, when war breaks out again, we may be defeated. Imagine how terrifying that would be, the Germans defeating all of us!"

...

The Minister of Military Supplies’ words were quite inflammatory; he also used people’s fear of future wars to call upon them to seize the present opportunity to "hit the drowning dog hard."

But Shire knew the facts were not so.

Historically, the British and Americans indeed achieved what they wished; they successfully democratized Germany by "hitting the drowning dog hard," obtaining huge reparations, and imposing restrictive treaties on Germany.

But it was precisely these harsh treaties that forced German resistance, leading to the outbreak of another world war not long after.

Clemenceau was no saint either; he calmly replied:

"You are right, Minister."

"I also believe that under a dictatorial regime, the Germans may start another war."

"But must we force Germany to be ’free’ through war? If ’freedom’ is obtained under the compulsion of war, is it still ’freedom’?"

The guests expressed agreement; their countries were also undergoing transitions from a king to a parliament, especially Constantine I, who firmly opposed external interference.

Clemenceau continued:

"I believe the German public will make the right choice, and there are even signs of this now."

"We all know that it’s Hindenburg, not William II, who now controls the German military."

"Otherwise, you should be facing the William II Line rather than the Hindenburg Line!"

The guests let out some laughter, knowing that Clemenceau was taking the opportunity to satirize the British and American failures before the Hindenburg Line.

The Minister of Military Supplies and Baker were somewhat embarrassed and angry; they didn’t like being exposed in such a setting.

Clemenceau continued, fearlessly making eye contact with the Minister of Military Supplies.

This was unimaginable before; no one dared to be so disrespectful to the Minister of Military Supplies of the world’s greatest power:

"Besides, I’m not sure what you’re worried about."

"Isn’t England an island nation?"

"As long as the Royal Navy is strong enough, you never need to worry about a German invasion!"

The Minister of Military Supplies found a new moral high ground in this topic and spoke angrily:

"Yes, as you said, we don’t need to worry about a German invasion."

"But we still did it; out of responsibility and obligation as Allies, we dispatched troops to France, and to date, countless soldiers have lost their lives here."

"But you choose to make peace at this time, which would render those soldiers’ sacrifices meaningless."

The conference room erupted with sneers.

Everyone knew that Britain went to war for its own interests; it did not want a superpower on the continent of Europe to become an opponent it couldn’t handle.

If one day France became stronger than Germany, Britain would choose to help Germany instead of France.

What the Minister of Military Supplies did not expect was that this was precisely the trap Clemenceau had set for him:

"Thank you, Minister."

"But frankly, you haven’t been much help here."

"You could even say..."

Clemenceau spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

The guests burst into laughter.

The performance of the British Expeditionary Force in this war was too poor, to the point of dragging hindrance.

As long as Shire was around, France could completely rely on its power to defeat Germany.

The face of the Minister of Military Supplies turned red and white with anger, yet he couldn’t refute; because Shire was sitting there, diagonally opposite, watching in this direction with a smile.

Baker couldn’t even get a word in; the US Army had just recently joined the war, and its victories under Shire’s command; the moment Shire left, there was a massive defeat, and their role was minimal.

Clemenceau turned his gaze to the whole room: 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Additionally, Shire is constructing a ’super defense line’ on the border."

"We believe that the ’super defense line’ can withstand any possible German attack."

"More importantly, as long as Shire is there, France is safe, don’t you think?"

The guests responded with a chorus of agreement, and some clapped spontaneously.

Then Clemenceau added one more thing: "Finally, I need to point out that Shire is only 19 years old, gentlemen!"

The guests understood the implication; Shire would be able to protect France for a long time, so the Minister of Military Supplies’ concerns were unwarranted.

Just as the Minister of Military Supplies was sulking over France’s "arbitrary decision," Clemenceau dropped another bombshell: "So we have decided, France will withdraw its troops from Greece!"

The room instantly erupted in applause, gaining widespread support because no one was sure whether it would be their turn after Greece.

At this time, the Anglo-French Allies indeed had a free hand on the European continent.

Amidst the applause, Clemenceau raised his voice:

"For no other reason, because Greece is a country, her sovereignty should be respected."

"The decision to send troops to Greece was a mistake made by the former Minister of the Navy, and we must correct it."

"This is the world we hope to create; this is the spirit of France!"

The applause was thunderous and unending.

The Minister of Military Supplies’ entire face wrinkled up, eyes almost ablaze; it was a wonder he didn’t overturn the table and leave.

If the previous "peace talks" were a "backstab" to Britain, the "withdrawal from Greece" was placing Britain on a roasting spit.

Because every reason Clemenceau mentioned for the withdrawal was condemning Britain!