CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 431 CAN’T YOU SPARE THE GERMANS?

The battle of Mons reached its fifth day. After arduous combat resulting in thousands of casualties, the German Army finally gained the upper hand, controlling most of the area.

Fajin Han believed these sacrifices were worthwhile, as it opened a gap in Shire’s encirclement and ensured the retreat of the remaining 110,000 soldiers.

At the same time, Fajin Han also made full preparations for Shire’s impending attack.

Every street and alley in Mons was blocked by obstacles set up by the German Army. It was not difficult to achieve this in the city; piling stones and debris between buildings would suffice, and with the addition of barbed wire, an infantry company could block a street, making it impenetrable to the enemy.

Even on the streets left passable for the German Army, Fajin Han ordered soldiers to plant explosives in the buildings on both sides.

Once Shire’s armored units advanced, directional blasting could be used to collapse the buildings and block the streets, making it impossible for the tanks to move an inch.

Fajin Han thought he had found a way to deal with the tanks. Cities were the tanks’ graveyards, which was why Shire always hoped to draw the main forces of the German Army to open and wide-open terrain.

For this, Fajin Han gave Colonel Moritz full affirmation: "You did very well, Colonel. If anyone can defeat Shire, it’s you."

"Thank you, General." Colonel Moritz responded, his exhausted face showing a hint of excitement: "But we must not underestimate Shire. He remains the most troublesome opponent for us, and the outcome is still undecided."

"Yes." Fajin Han agreed, leaning back in his chair, his eyes fixed on Mons on the map, his tone relaxed: "But now, we can relax for a moment."

Colonel Moritz nodded. The battle had reached this point, and even Shire could not stop the German Army from breaking through.

He felt immense pride in this. That was Shire, the one known as the "Mars of France." He was actually outmatched by him.

This meant that after this battle, his name would soon be known to the world, just like Shire’s name was famous worldwide.

(The image above is Mars, the Roman god of land, war, agriculture, and spring, one of the twelve main gods of Rome, Venus’ lover, and the most important deity worshipped by the Roman legion)

While Colonel Moritz was immersed in his own world, a communications soldier suddenly ran out of the telegraph room, nervously reporting: "General, Colonel, Shire’s armored units have appeared in the village of Pouville."

"The village of Pouville?" Colonel Moritz and Fajin Han bent simultaneously over the map to find its location.

When their fingers finally stopped on Pouville’s location, their faces changed dramatically, and they looked up at each other, seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

"It, it’s outside Mons." Moritz’s eyes were filled with fear.

"Shire has created a new encirclement." Fajin Han’s eyes were dazed: "He has surrounded us once again!"

...

Not only did Fajin Han and Moritz not expect it, but even Tijani, who had been following Shire, did not expect it.

As the fuel supply gradually improved, Tijani’s tense nerves slowly relaxed.

He, who had been closely monitoring the battle, threw the telegram in his hand and glared at Shire: "Confess, you liar, what other underhanded things have you done?"

"What?" Shire was baffled by the sudden question from Tijani.

"It’s obvious. You’re an expert in deception." Tijani said seriously: "The Germans haven’t woken up from your lies even now, and the British telling them the truth didn’t help either."

Then he pointed a finger at Shire in the air, as if seeing right through him:

"So, I have every reason to suspect you have deceived us in some way."

"And we know nothing about it, just like the Germans now!"

Shire rolled his eyes and half-jokingly replied: "Alright, I admit, I deceived your feelings, everyone’s!"

Tijani laughed heartily: "That’s far more serious than deceiving the Germans!"

Shire pondered Tijani’s words and asked: "You seem certain the ’Minister of the Navy’ told the Germans the truth?"

This was something even Shire didn’t know, and the "Lady in White" hadn’t gathered any information.

Tijani nodded proudly: "It seems you have forgotten my father. Matters related to the navy seldom escape his notice."

Shire let out an "Oh," understanding the situation.

Wells had deep connections with the navy, and the "Minister of the Navy" was likely in contact with the French Minister of the Navy, so Wells could obtain first-hand information.

In this regard, the newly established "Lady in White" was somewhat inadequate. After all, it was a civilian organization, and most of its members were commoners, with an insurmountable gap to the upper echelons of society.

As if flaunting in front of Shire, Tijani explained the situation: "Although the ’Minister of the Navy’ said nothing, a double agent mysteriously disappeared a few days ago. We knew about this because we discovered this agent and informed the British. The Second Bureau has been tracking his movements."

Shire gave an "Mmm," understanding that this double agent had become a victim of this "shadow war."

There were two possibilities:

The "Minister of the Navy" had him eliminated to silence him.

Or it was the Germans, after discovering his double agent identity.

Shire believed it was the latter, as the Germans were still attacking Mons, indicating they hadn’t believed the truth provided by the "Minister of the Navy."

"Would you like to know how my father praised you?" Tijani asked.

"Wells?" Shire smiled: "He rarely praises anyone."

"Not rarely, almost never." Tijani complained: "Think about it. I grew up in that oppressive environment, which might be why I always oppose him now."

Saying this, Tijani’s eyes showed some envy: "But he praised you. He said if you focused on business or aimed for politics, no one would be able to compete with you, and all of France would be yours."

Shire nodded seriously: "He was right, General. He has great foresight!"

Tijani let out an exaggerated "Ha," his eyes turning disdainful, and cursed: "Shameless!"

Then Tijani looked at the map, pretending to be unconvinced: "In any case, you still succeeded. We have gathered enough fuel. Now, when do you plan to attack Mons?"

"Attack Mons?" Shire shook his head: "I never said I would attack Mons!"

"Then we..." Tijani’s eyes wandered on the map: "Could it be you’re only satisfied with reaching Tibet?"

Then Tijani answered his own question: "Maybe you’re right. Mons really isn’t suitable for armored units to fight. That’s something for Fuxu to consider."

"No, General." Shire replied: "What we want to attack is Pouville, a small village with less than a hundred households."

Tijani quickly found Pouville on the map. He looked up at Shire in astonishment: "My God, can’t you just give the Germans a break? They’ve just broken out of the encirclement!"