Chapter 167 Military News

This is indeed a problem. 44 divisions with millions of troops need to learn to use grenades in a short period of time.

Although grenades are very simple to use, in principle, you only need to pull the fuse and throw it out.

But if there is no strict set of usage specifications on the battlefield, and millions of grenades are used by millions of people at a time, more accidents will undoubtedly occur.

Charles proposed a plan that he thought was feasible: "We can turn the soldiers of the tank troops into instructors. As long as they are sent to the battlefield to train the troops, they can quickly teach them how to use them!"

The troops led by Colonel Browne have more than a thousand people. They have grenade throwing training and even actual combat experience. They are dispersed to the front line to train a group of troops.

But this plan was quickly rejected by Gallieni.

"How long do they train?" Gallieni asked slowly.

"Two weeks, General!" Charles stepped forward to answer.

Gallieni asked again: "Did they conduct grenade training in these two weeks?"

Charles was stunned.

He understood what Gallieni was going to say: these two weeks are mainly about infantry-tank coordination. Lieutenant, they spend no more than two days on grenade training. Do you plan to let the soldiers who have trained for two days be instructors? And then let them teach the front-line soldiers how to use them?

"Do you know what the consequences of this might be?" Gallieni stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth and took a while to swallow it. He even picked his teeth with his little finger without caring about his image, and continued: "Not only will we not achieve our goal, but we may also lose our only tank unit. I don't think they can all come back after being sent to the front!"

This is the truth. No one is sure where the shells and bullets on the front line will hit.

Charles thought in his mind that he could only pull the troops back for training.

But Charles didn't say it out loud, because this was impossible. No gaps in the defense line were allowed, otherwise the enemy would rush in like a tide.

Suddenly Charles had an idea: "Why don't we publish a military newspaper?"

"Military newspaper?" Gallieni's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" Charles said, "A newspaper for frontline soldiers. We can publish the use specifications of grenades in the military newspaper, and even take photos of the correct throwing posture and serialize them!"

Galieni thought for a while and nodded slightly, "It's an interesting idea. In the future, we may have a lot of similar knowledge that needs to be popularized, or we need to convey certain tactical ideas to the entire army. These things are basically impossible to do in a short period of time. But if there is a military newspaper..."

However, Gallieni thought of another question. He looked up at Charles: "Do you think the soldiers on the front line will be willing to spend money to buy these newspapers?"

Charles was speechless.

Some soldiers may be willing to buy them because the knowledge published in the military newspaper may save their lives.

However, the soldiers on the front line will think like this: Isn't this what the government should do? We pay blood and lives for the government on the front line, but the government asks us to spend money to buy a newspaper? Does the government want to use newspapers to exploit the money we risk our lives like capitalists?

But if the military waved its hand: free.

The problem came again. If one million copies were issued every day, the cost of one copy would be two centimes, which is 10,000 francs.

10,000 francs a day!

"Well, this is not feasible!" Charles rejected the plan with a frustrated look on his face.

This is not true. Charles knew that this was the only effective and quick way to solve the problem. He also knew that Gallieni would not give up easily.

Sure enough, Gallieni was fooled.

Gallieni thought for a while and said, "No, this might work!"

"We may not be able to recover the cost!" Charles objected, "No one will be willing to do this!"

In fact, Charles was willing to do this. This was not a matter of money, but a more important right to speak than money, and a right to speak for the army.

As long as there is a little tendency, it may cause a huge response from the army.

This is power, and it is also the influence on the army that the right wing dreams of!

But not everyone can run a military newspaper. Without a military background, there may be no way to intervene.

"If..." Gallieni said thoughtfully: "If we are not only facing the army, but also facing the public!"

"Facing the public?" Charles pretended to be confused: "The public will not want to see how to throw a grenade!"

Galieni turned his eyes to Charles, with a strange look in his eyes: "But what if there is the latest news about Charles? Our military newspaper will definitely get the latest news about Charles, don't you think, and it is quite accurate! I believe the public is very interested in these!"

Charles was stunned. He didn't expect this. He just thought: the military newspaper can also publish military camp life, battlefield conditions, etc. There are many military families among the public who would like to learn about the situation on the front line from the military newspaper.

Who would have thought that Gallieni was planning to use Charles as a gimmick.

However, this coincides with Kobdo's idea, using Charles' popularity and prestige to support a newspaper.

At the same time, this is a military newspaper with a military background, so it will not push Charles to the forefront. Perfect!

"I guess so!" Charles said calmly, "If we don't consider the issue of leaks..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Fernan will tell you which are leaks and which are not!" Gallieni interrupted Charles.

"What do you mean?" Charles pretended to be surprised: "General, you are not..."

"Perhaps only you can do this, Lieutenant!" Gallieni spread his hands: "Others don't have the experience and resources in this area, who else can do it except you?"

"But in terms of funds..."

Galieni interrupted Charles: "I will apply to the parliament. There is a need to publish a military newspaper. However, the funds may not be enough to publish it. I need to find a capitalist to cooperate..."

Charles asked cautiously: "The capitalist you are talking about is not Charles, right?"

"You guessed it, Lieutenant!" Gallieni stood up with a smile on his face: "I guess he will be willing to cooperate with us, what do you think?"

"I'll think about it!" Charles answered reluctantly.

In fact, he was laughing in his heart. This old fox thought he had a plan and could do everything by paying part of the money. He didn't expect Charles to have the same idea: paying part of the money but getting most of the control, why not?

Charles was still worried if he didn't pay, which meant that Charles would not have a share and no control, and would just work for the military newspaper.

"By the way, General!" Charles added a question: "If we need help from outside the army, is that a problem?"

Galieni replied impatiently: "Then send him a conscription order!"

Charles said "Uh", it was a simple and direct solution!