CHAPTER 324: UPDATED: CHAPTER 324 HELMET

The parliamentary questioning concluded with some monotonous queries, such as:

"Colonel, do you believe your military abilities have surpassed those of Fuxu and Petain?"

"You think their military theories are wrong, so why do they also achieve victories on the battlefield? How do you explain this?"

"Are you using your military talent to benefit your business?"

...

Shire responded unhurriedly to each question:

"This is not a question of military talent, sir. We are all exploring in the midst of war. I certainly don’t think I’ve surpassed them."

"Everyone has different ideas, and that’s normal. Which military theory is correct, I don’t think I should be the one to answer; it should be answered by the battlefield, the facts, and the soldiers. This is important, as it concerns the lives of the soldiers, who have the right to choose what tactics they fight with."

"Am I seeking benefits for my business? No, sir! I don’t think so. I have always been seeking benefits for the people of France!"

...

Shire’s answers skirted around the core issues.

The purpose of the representatives’ questions was not really to get answers.

They are smart people who know that military theory is about "practicing to find the truth." Discussing right and wrong is useless and meaningless, as it has to be applied on the battlefield and proven victorious to be confirmed.

But they still asked, intending to make Shire offend both Fuxu and Petain at the same time.

The former is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of France and the Commander of the Northern Army Group. Although his power is not as great as Xia Fei’s, his influence is much greater, because the entire army is currently fighting under his offensive ideas.

The latter, although lesser-known, was beginning to show promise at this time.

Petain had always advocated defense theory, so he was a Lieutenant for five years, a Lieutenant for another seven years, and a Captain for ten years. Before the war broke out, he was still a Colonel commanding just a regiment, and he was already 58 years old.

As they say, events create people. The trench warfare of World War I perfectly matched Petain’s defense theory. On the battlefield, he led his troops to repeated successes, rising through the ranks to Brigadier General and then to Major General in just a few months, and is now the commander of the Thirty-third Army.

Offending both of these veterans at the same time had no benefit to Shire and would make him look headstrong and disrespectful to his seniors.

As for whether Shire was seeking benefits for his enterprises, the members of parliament were trying to depict Shire as a capitalist who wanted to monopolize the arms market and control the country.

Although this is exactly what Shire was thinking, he couldn’t say it openly. Otherwise, the newspapers would immediately launch a verbal attack on Shire the next day.

Shire sighed inwardly: this is a war, just a war without smoke. Every word, every question is a trap, and one might fall into a pit at any moment. The capitalists are like holding a magnifying glass to Shire, ready to latch onto any mistake and magnify it infinitely.

Fortunately, Shire knew how to handle it. He just had to play dumb, speak ambiguously, as if he answered without really answering, and he would have succeeded.

...

After finally managing to escape from parliament, Shire returned to the City Defense Headquarters not far from the House of Representatives.

As if waiting for him, Gallieni looked Shire over as soon as he appeared in the hallway and said, "You seemed to handle that with ease, Colonel. I underestimated you!"

"Not quite," Shire replied helplessly. "I feel more exhausted than a battle!"

Shire was speaking the truth. The April weather was still cold, but Shire was already in a cold sweat when he stepped out of the House of Representatives.

Shire then asked in confusion, "They didn’t tell me the result, General. Was it approved or not? No one let me know."

"You think there would be an immediate decision?" Gallieni said with a smile and a touch of helplessness in his eyes, "They need at least a few days, maybe even longer to discuss it, Colonel. If it’s approved, it still has to be sent to the Senate, and the Senate has the right to veto it."

"If it’s vetoed, that’s the end?" Shire asked.

"No," Gallieni gently shook his head. "The House of Representatives can resubmit the proposal. If the Senate vetoes it three times, the House of Representatives can pass it on the fourth, and it won’t need to be submitted to the Senate again."

Shire understood. The Senate’s "veto" was merely a delay tactic. The decision-making power ultimately rested with the House of Representatives. If the House insisted on passing an issue, it would eventually be approved; it was just a matter of time.

No wonder countries that learned this system are so inefficient. Different parties in the two houses have different interests, pulling each other down and digging holes for each other. Even if a decision is eventually passed, it may have missed the timing and become useless.

It’s like changing uniforms. If the whole procedure takes six months quickly or a year or two slowly, the war would be over by then, and passing it smoothly would be meaningless.

"That’s why we need wartime procurement regulations," Gallieni explained. "They can bypass parliament to procure equipment, except changing uniforms involves more than just equipment procurement."

Shire nodded to show understanding. As the representatives mentioned, it also concerned the dignity of France and whether the soldiers were willing to fight.

Those idiots who actually hoped red trousers and caps could stimulate the soldiers to charge the enemy.

Shire recalled the red fezzes of the Ottoman Army. Did the red stimulus make them so brave?

This might provide a perfect argument for the representatives supporting this view.

Then Shire thought of helmets. His eyes turned, and he asked Gallieni, "General, if changing uniforms is too sensitive to include in the wartime procurement regulations, what about equipping steel helmets?"

"Steel helmets?" Gallieni looked at Shire in confusion. "Do you think they’re useful?"

During this period, equipping steel helmets was hardly considered. People believed they couldn’t stop bullets and were therefore useless, wasting resources and adding to the soldiers’ burden.

But this idea was clearly wrong.

"Of course they’re useful, General," Shire replied. "I have deep experience on the battlefield. Soldiers get injured not just by bullets but by shrapnel and even stones blasted up by shells."

In fact, helmets could do more than that; they can actually stop bullets.

As long as the bullet didn’t hit the helmet dead center, the helmet’s curved surface would cause most of the bullets to skid off, just like how shells can ricochet off the sloped armor of a tank.

Gallieni considered for a moment and said:

"If you think so, you can give it a try."

"Not replacing the cap does indeed not count as changing uniforms."

"You can try producing a batch and see the response from the soldiers and the battlefield. If it proves effective, parliament can’t stop it!"

If it had already been proven effective, anyone trying to block it would be tantamount to telling everyone they wanted the frontline soldiers dead.

Shire replied confidently, "Yes, General!"