Hasselt City Hall, Albert I has been commanding the placement of prisoners and constructing defense lines here recently.

Shire's armored army is more suited as a mobile force, in principle they should wait for infiltration on the second line rather than construct trenches and confront the enemy on the first line.

Therefore, as soon as the battle stabilized, the defense line was handed over to Albert I.

At this moment, Albert I was deeply entrenched in a pile of documents. The supply issues for prisoners have been giving him a headache recently.

In the battle of Antwerp, Shire captured over a hundred thousand German Army soldiers, and in the Hasselt infiltration another two hundred thousand were captured. Adding the usual captives, there are more than half a million prisoners detained in Belgium.

This is not a small burden for Belgium, which is in a state of wartime material shortage.

Especially since a considerable portion of these prisoners are those that Shire promised to "treat well."

"I think the British should share part of the pressure." Albert I frowned and complained, "They control the sea routes and materials but ignore the supplies needed for the prisoners."

"I have conveyed this request to Marshal Kitchener," Major General Eden responded helplessly, "but the Marshal thinks we can organize prisoner labor to make them feed themselves."

"Easy to say," Albert I snorted coldly, "It is wartime, and we can hardly feed our front-line soldiers, let alone the fact that crop harvests cannot be achieved in a short time."

If those guys don't plan to provide supplies, I'll send the prisoners back to Germany.

At this moment, a staff officer handed over a telegram: "Your Majesty, a telegram from Antwerp. It's said that Shire commanded the air force and the French Navy and won a victory in the North Sea."

"Really?" Albert I responded casually.

He thought it was just a small victory, considering it was the French Navy.

The Royal Navy couldn't deal with the German Navy, so what could the French Navy possibly achieve?

However, he glanced at the telegram and his eyes widened instantly, then looked up at the staff officer in astonishment: "Are you sure this is true? Sunk seven German ships, including a battlecruiser?"

"Confirmed, Your Majesty." The staff officer replied, "I specifically sent someone to verify with General Shire."

"Then..." Albert I still couldn't believe it: "How much did the French Fleet lose?"

If the French Fleet's losses were greater, it couldn't be called a "victory."

"I heard that only three ships were injured." The staff officer answered, "One cruiser severely damaged, two destroyers slightly damaged."

Albert I was stunned for quite a while without reacting.

"No, this is impossible." Major General Eden also couldn't believe it; he stepped forward and looked at the telegram, but it was indeed true.

"How did Shire achieve this?" Albert I looked in amazement.

He knew naval battles were different from land battles; naval tactics were often much simpler, apart from the "T" formation to maximize fleet firepower, it mostly involved direct clashes of armor and artillery.

Therefore, Albert I couldn't understand why the result would be like this, even though the battle was commanded by Shire.

"It was Shire's bombers," the staff officer provided the answer, "He used bombers to carry torpedoes and attacked the German battlecruiser from the air. The Germans were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses."

Albert I and Major General Eden looked at each other.

Actually brought torpedoes to the air?

That's Shire for you!

Suddenly, Albert I burst into laughter: "I knew he could do it, he did it, facts proved my choice was right, General, absolutely correct!"

Major General Eden was puzzled: "Your Majesty, it's just one naval battle, Shire has achieved many victories, this is only one of them."

"This is a naval battle, General, it's a naval battle!" Albert I gripped Major General Eden's shoulders and shook him vigorously, as if trying to wake him up: "Do you know what a victory in a naval battle means? Do you realize what the appearance of bombers carrying torpedoes means?"

Major General Eden looked blank, as an army man he thought more about Belgium's territory, he didn't understand the importance of the ocean.

"Look at this," Albert I excitedly pulled over a map and placed it in front of Major General Eden, pointing at the English Channel: "Belgium's coastline is entirely blocked within the English Channel, Major General, haven't you thought of anything?"

Looking at the map and considering for a while, Major General Eden seemed to understand.

"Your Majesty means," Major General Eden's tone was somewhat hesitant, "we are always under control of the Royal Navy?"

"Yes," Albert I nodded:

"We have already decided to fully support Shire, but Shire has some irreconcilable conflicts with Britain, including us with the British."

"Until now, I have always been worried about threats from the sea."

"Although we have fortresses, and the defense system developed by Shire, these defense systems can only defend against land attacks but cannot withstand threats from the sea."

Staring at the map, Major General Eden expressed agreement: "Yes, the last route out of Antwerp is even a sea escape route, once blocked by enemy warships, our fortresses are targets under the battleships' guns."

"Additionally, there are the material supplies," Albert I added, "and foreign trade."

"Of course," Major General Eden nodded.

Foreign trade is the foundation of Belgium's economy. Its development model is to import large amounts of raw materials from abroad, process them, and then export them all over the world. More than 50% of its industrial products need to be exported by sea.

So, the sea routes are equivalent to Belgium's lifeline.

"Not anymore," Albert I laughed heartily, "Shire brought torpedoes to the sky and has an airport in Antwerp..."

Albert I pointed at Antwerp's position on the map and drew a circle to demonstrate the control range of bombers.

Major General Eden suddenly understood.

In the near future, the control of the English Channel will no longer be Britain's, but France's, to be precise, Shire's.

Originally, Albert I had some trepidation towards Britain; he worried that if Britain put down its face and placed the world's strongest navy on Belgium's coastline, Belgium, a small country without strategic depth, could collapse instantly.

Even if not militarily, economic blockade would be unbearable for Belgium.

But now, Albert I had no last bit of trepidation.

The future English Channel would be Shire's domain; Britain's powerful navy might not even be able to enter the Channel.

Hugging Shire alone's thigh is far better than looking at the faces of England, France, and Germany, and being stuck in the middle feeling awkward!

Albert I's mood improved: "Prepare the car, we are heading to Antwerp immediately!"