I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 134: The Talented Colonel

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: The Talented Colonel

It has been the fifth consecutive day, and the autumn rain is still drizzling. Now no one doubts whether France has entered its rainy season.

The road was full of puddles and mud. Laurent slowed down, carefully maneuvering the steering wheel to avoid obstacles, and took a moment to complain to Shire sitting in the back, "This is just the beginning, Lieutenant. It’s training me on how to drive on the battlefield!"

Shire responded with a smile, thinking Laurent probably had never been on a battlefield, where it was more than just small puddles.

The car drove into Davaz, and the town in the rain looked much quieter than usual. There were no pedestrians on the street, and the small vendors by the roadside were gone. However, the guards were still dutiful, standing in pairs at intervals.

Shire was a bit curious about how Aunt Elisa, who always sold croissants by the street, was doing her business during this time. And Uncle Aito, who sold potatoes, he might be hiding in a small shelter bargaining with others.

Aunt Denaf, who sold pizzas, was clever. She had converted her home into a shop and was thus unaffected by the rain.

Shire saw Aunt Denaf lean out and wave at him. He hurriedly reached out to greet her!

Suddenly, the car made a sudden stop, nearly causing Shire to bump his head. He looked ahead in confusion and saw a soldier with an umbrella blocking the way. Judging by his sleeve rank and attire, he was an artillery colonel, and a car not far away must be his ride.

Given that his rank was two levels higher than Laurent’s, Laurent showed appropriate respect. He asked in a low tone, "Hello, Colonel! What can I do for you?"

The artillery colonel ignored Laurent and walked straight to Shire, speaking with hesitation, "You must be Shire? May I have a word with you?"

Shire examined the impulsive artillery colonel, noting that he, like most Frenchmen, had a mustache and prominent cheekbones.

"You are..." Shire glanced at the rain outside, implying that the weather seemed unsuitable for a conversation.

The artillery colonel extended his hand to Shire, "My name is Estiny. You may not have heard of me, but you must have heard of my tank. The CA-1 tank, which recently won the bid, was designed by me. I..." *BANG!*

Laurent pounced and threw the artillery colonel into the mud, shouting to both sides while trying to subdue the struggling colonel on the ground, "You rascals, get over here and help!"

Several guards heard the call and immediately ran over from both ends of the street. Someone even blew a whistle to summon the patrol, causing neighbors to poke their heads out to see what was happening.

Major Laurent, along with the guards, hurriedly disarmed the colonel, taking away his gun and sword. Laurent cursed at the guards, "How did you let this guy in? He even brought weapons!"

The guards responded aggrievedly, "He’s a soldier, Major, and a colonel at that..."

"So what if he’s a colonel?" Laurent interrupted the guard, "Does that mean you don’t check his identity?"

Soon, Dejoka and Camille also heard the commotion and rushed over. They seemed to understand the situation upon seeing it and hurriedly tried to take Shire away.

The artillery colonel, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, struggled and shouted at Shire, "Wait, Shire! I want to talk to you. I mean no harm!"

Shire gave the artillery colonel a once-over and then nodded.

He reassured the frightened Camille and the still vigilant Dejoka, "It’s okay. If he wanted to harm me, he wouldn’t reveal his identity first!"

Laurent recalled the earlier scene and felt Shire was right. The artillery colonel could have directly pulled out his gun.

However, Laurent was still uneasy. He personally searched the artillery colonel again, even taking the cigarettes out of his pockets.

...

In Dejoka’s small house, the artillery colonel had changed into Dejoka’s civilian clothes since his own were drenched and mud-spattered. Because of his slender build, he looked rather awkward in Dejoka’s clothes.

Laurent stood at the door with a few guards, not daring to change out of his soaked uniform, fearing that the "suspect" might take advantage of the time to change.

The artillery colonel shivered, touched the swollen corner of his mouth, and nodded to Dejoka and Camille, "I’m terribly sorry for the impromptu visit, causing this misunderstanding!"

Shire asked, "Are you here to see the opponent you defeated, Colonel?"

"No, Lieutenant!" the artillery colonel replied, somewhat embarrassed, "I hope... I want to know your thoughts on tanks, Lieutenant!"

Dejoka laughed, "You seem to forget we are rivals. This is the first time I hear of using such a method to gather intelligence!"

The artillery colonel shook his head dispiritedly:

"I think I was wrong, Mr. Dejoka!"

"I’m just an ordinary artillery colonel. I like to do some modifications and inventions in my spare time."

"One day, I heard about Shire’s tank invention and wondered if I could mount artillery on it!"

"Many times I wanted to visit Shire, but..."

Shire nodded in understanding. There existed a delicate tension between "original" and "improved" inventions, with the latter often bearing the suspicion of plagiarism.

For example, the CA-1 was built on a tractor chassis, which was remarkably similar to the original tank, both using the "Holt 60" tractor chassis.

The differences were the addition of a 75mm short-barreled cannon and a pointy nose with a shield at the front to cut through barbed wire.

Because of these reasons, it was natural that the artillery colonel would not want to meet Shire.

"Then, Mr. Grevy found me!" continued the artillery colonel, "He said he was willing to help me, even to buy my industrial property and produce it. Moreover, he owns the tank’s industrial property, so..."

Dejoka’s face lit up in sudden realization. Since Grevy owned the tank’s industrial property, with his consent, the artillery colonel’s "improvements" would not be a problem.

The artillery colonel looked embarrassed, tightened his coat, and then relaxed, "I should have come to you directly from the start!">

Camille handed the artillery colonel a steaming cup of coffee, believing that proper hospitality was due once she was sure he meant no harm.

The artillery colonel gratefully glanced at her and sincerely thanked her.

Shire suddenly remembered something and asked, "Colonel, you said your name was..."

"Estiny, Lieutenant!" replied the artillery colonel.

"Estiny?" Shire nodded slightly.

He seemed to recall that the artillery colonel, who usually enjoyed designing and inventing things, was the one known as the "Father of French Armor," Estiny.

Ironically, Germany’s blitzkrieg should have originated from him, with his "swarm tactics" possibly being the precursor to blitzkrieg.

Unfortunately, the tanks during World War I couldn’t support such advanced combat theories.

Should this talented colonel be recruited to their side?!