Chapter 234: 48-Hour Truce

In the town of Davaz, every house has lights on, the Christmas tree decorated with colorful lights is constantly changing colors, and laughter and laughter can be heard from time to time in the house.

The same goes for the Charles family, who received a very special gift: a horse.

It was a real horse. Djoka and Camille started preparing for this day half a month ago. They bought neighbor Daniel's utility room and transformed it into a horse porch. They even used monthly Madame Daniel was hired to look after the horse for 30 francs.

Charles saw this horse in the afternoon. It was white and very strong, and the sound of its hoofs on the ground was clear and sweet. Dejoka equipped it with a beautiful set of harness, brand new and sparkling. Charles even tried to climb on the horse and walk around.

Charles understood what Djoka and Camille were thinking.

After this Christmas, it means that Ciel has come of age and may go to war.

And Charles hasn't learned to ride a horse yet, which is a big problem for a commander. What if there are horses around when the troops are trapped, but Charles doesn't know how to ride?

Charles wanted to tell them that in an era with cars, motorcycles, three-wheelers and even airplanes, escaping on horseback was often more dangerous than on foot, especially when the person on horseback was an officer.

But Ciel didn't say anything because it would disappoint them.

At that time, the Charles family was enjoying Christmas dinner: roast turkey, foie gras, cream cake, smoked fish... It was rich and delicious, but the taste of the turkey left Charles speechless.

It's not that Camille is not good at cooking, but the meat is dry and hard, which tests the bite strength. Charles thinks that this thing itself is not suitable for grilling.

"This is a magical year." Djoka looked very happy. He drank a few more drinks and expressed his emotion through a little drunkenness: "A few months ago, Charles was a high school student. Look at him now..."

Djorka raised his glass to Charles: "I am already a colonel and a hero. Everything is like a dream!"

Camille glanced at Charles with a proud smile, raised his glass and said, "For Charles!"

"For Charles!" Djoka responded by raising his wine, and the two of them drank it down in one gulp.

Charles looked at the wine glass still on the table. They seemed to have ignored him.

At this time, the sound of car braking was heard outside the door. The expressions of Djoka and Camille changed. From the sound, they could guess that it was Laurent, and Laurent would probably not do anything good if he came to them at this time.

Camille frowned and muttered softly: "They won't want Ciel at this time..."

Djoka stopped Camille from talking with his eyes. He got up and opened the door before Laurent knocked.

Laurent rushed in. He hurriedly nodded to Djoka and Camille to apologize, and finally fixed his anxious eyes on Charles: "Emergency, Colonel, the general wants you to return to the headquarters immediately!"

Charles was wondering, could it be that the Germans had launched an attack?

At this time?

When Charles was in the car, he realized that he had guessed completely wrong. It was not the Germans who attacked, nor the French.

Instead, the war ceased, and the entire front ceased fighting!

…

Paris City Defense Headquarters, the headquarters was quiet.

This was not because they were lazy, but because there was nothing to do and they had not received a telegram from the front for several hours.

Even if there is, it is a very perfunctory "everything is normal".

Gallieni did not panic. He drank coffee leisurely. When he saw Charles walking up the stairs, he put down his coffee cup and said, "I'm sorry to call you here, Colonel, but the matter is related to the "Leader of Merit"."

"I heard there was an armistice?" Charles asked.

"Yes." Gallieni nodded and replied: "We are not sure where it started, but it infected the entire front like a plague. There was not a single gunshot or sound on the hundreds of kilometers of front. The sound of artillery, the correspondents were unwilling to report what happened, some directly answered 'radio failure', we have lost command and communications to the front line."

Charles turned his attention to Khovd who was buried in a pile of newspapers at his desk.

The meaning is obvious. He is worried that Khovd will call for an armistice in the newspaper. This is not a trivial matter.

"No, Colonel." Kobdo stood up and said, "Don't worry, I checked the newspapers for the past ten days and there was nothing said."

Ciel nodded, a little relieved.

"You misunderstood, Colonel!" Gallieni tapped his fingers on the table twice: "The commander-in-chief is not satisfied with the current situation. He is very angry about it. We have received intelligence that the front line may have reached an agreement. Unofficial agreement is that the soldiers intend to call it quits for 48 hours."

Charles thought this was quite interesting, and he was even thinking that the two governments might take this opportunity to sit down and negotiate, and discuss why they were fighting this war, or whether there was a possibility of an armistice.

For example: the Germans withdraw from their own country, and Britain and France do not settle their accounts.

If the war ended like this, it would obviously be much better than millions of people dying in the end.

But obviously, this is impossible.

Although soldiers on both sides are unwilling to fight, the senior officials who do not need to sacrifice or fight do not think so. They all believe that they can defeat their opponents and gain huge benefits from it.

"The Commander-in-Chief thinks it's time for La Meritorious Service to play its role." Gallieni looked at Charles with complicated eyes: "He hopes that you will speak out in La Meritorious Service and let them abolish this ridiculous truce! "

Ciel refused without thinking: "No, I won't do that!"

Gallieni was a little helpless, and he emphasized his tone: "This is an order, Colonel."

"General." Kobdo jumped up: "This will not have any effect, and it will destroy the "Report of Merit"."

Then Kobdo explained: "The Meritorious Service is a newspaper. It should stand on the side of the soldiers at all times. Only in this way can it gain the trust of the soldiers and accept its propaganda. If we treat it as a tool of the military Naked orders to front-line soldiers, the soldiers will soon boycott the "Report of Merit", it will have no meaning, it will be nothing more than a piece of paper."

Gallieni nodded slightly in agreement.

He seemed to understand the true intention of the Commander-in-Chief's order, and took this time to attack the "Leader of Merit" and even Shire.

If Ciel came forward to call the soldiers to fight at this time, the soldiers would also be disgusted with him.

But this is an order...

When Gallieni was in trouble, Charles spoke.

"I have different ideas, General." Charles replied calmly: "I am very willing to carry out the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, but I think... the person who spoke should be the Commander-in-Chief. He is the Commander-in-Chief of France. If he cannot Who has the ability to call on soldiers to fight?"

Gallieni's eyes lit up, and he knew how to answer Joffre.