I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 183: After modification - 183 Propaganda War

Chapter 183: After modification: Chapter 183 Propaganda War

At the headquarters of the "Little Daily," Bonnet received the order from Steed and immediately realized that the time had come to reclaim sales.

God, this exclusive interview with Shire, helping him fight against other newspapers, would make the "Little Daily" Shire’s spokesperson. If they succeeded, they would be seen as heroes by the French people!

Bonnet did not dare to delay. He rushed to the editorial office like a whirlwind and shouted to the busy journalists, "Emergency, positive publicity about Shire!"

Dozens of journalists halted their activities. Some agile ones had already started packing their bags and cameras for interviews.

Since the sales of the "Little Daily" had been squeezed, Bonnet started internal reforms, intending to increase photo content instead of using all cartoon images. He thus added many field reporters.

"What are the positive stories?" Bonnet asked loudly.

"Battlefield victory!" A reporter responded, as that was what Shire was most impressive for.

"No!" Bonnet immediately rejected this proposal: "It should be about his life, countering the high-price issue of ’Holt 75’!"

Although brief and vague, the reporters understood.

This was to build a positive image of Shire, in response to other media attacking Shire for selling ’Holt 75’ at high prices to the army.

After a moment of silence, a reporter answered, "Field hospitals, Shire has always been funding them!"

Bonnet quickly pointed to the direction of the voice, "Antoine, in charge of the field hospital interview!"

Antoine responded and rushed out the door with several assistants, like soldiers charging at the enemy on the battlefield.

"Welfare institution, Sir!" Another reporter shouted, "I know Shire has an institution, and he has been taking care of injured soldiers!"

"August!" Bonnet pointed with a large gesture, "You are in charge of the welfare institution!"

August cheered and excitedly led his assistants out the door.

"And volunteers! They support the transport of supplies and rescuing injured soldiers, with a portion of their funding from Shire!"

"Baptiste!"

"In Davaz Town, Shire’s family has a great reputation!"

"Boudouan!"

...

The teams of reporters were sent out, searching in every possible place for the good deeds done by Shire.

Some of these even Shire himself did not know about.

For instance, providing funds to volunteers was a result of a discussion between Dejoka and Camille, who believed they should do something as capitalists.

...

At the Fifth Field Hospital, Dr. Hebra tearfully accepted the interview:

"Yes, Shire is a conscientious capitalist, no doubt about it!"

"Anyone who doubts him has ulterior motives and should be sent to the gallows!"

"I still remember Shire’s appearance at that time, he couldn’t bear what he saw, soldiers wounded in battles with the enemy yet dying here due to inadequate supplies."

"Shire angrily shouted at me, ’All the needs are on me, I will give you everything you need!’!"

"Then he really did it, he wasn’t just talking, he really fulfilled it!"

The reporter asked, "Can you talk about Shire’s expenses at the field hospital?"

Dr. Hebra took out a thick stack of documents and placed them on the table, lightly patting them as he answered:

"Of course, every expense is recorded."

"At first, eight thousand francs daily..."

The reporter exclaimed, "Eight thousand francs? Daily?"

Dr. Hebra nodded:

"That’s just the beginning."

"Afterward, everyone heard about the Fifth Field Hospital, they knew it had the highest survival rate due to Young Master Shire’s funding, so the injured were continuously sent here."

"Some wounded were even sent from a hundred miles away, can you imagine?"

"This also brought larger expenses to the hospital, now it needs about thirteen thousand francs daily to just barely sustain it!"

The reporter gasped again, "Thirteen thousand francs? Daily? God, that’s not a small sum!"

"That’s definitely not a small sum!" Dr. Hebra’s eyes turned red, his voice grew heavier: "But Shire has no complaints! This isn’t about money, Sir, it’s about life. Young Master Shire used his money to buy living lives, it’s a magnificent act! I’m proud of him! I’m very willing to serve him!"

...

At the Welfare Institution for Veterans, as soon as the reporter entered the factory and explained his intention, he was immediately surrounded by the informed veterans:

"Most of us were saved by Young Master Shire, he’s the only one willing to help us."

"Yes, we’ve done so much for the country, we risked our lives on the battlefield. Now with broken hands and legs, no one is willing to glance at us, except Young Master Shire!"

"He gave us jobs, allowed us to have our own lives here, we even managed to save money, he not only saved us but also gave us the courage to live!"

...

Neighbors in Davaz Town:

"They are all good people, Camille joined us as a volunteer."

"Yes, she was busy at the field hospital for several days, during the busiest time she didn’t sleep for an entire night."

"They live simply, their family has no servants, you can’t even tell they’re capitalists!"

A neighbor pointed to Dejoka’s house: "Look, that’s where they live, do you see any difference from us?"

The reporter snapped several rounds of photos of Dejoka’s rather humble dwelling.

...

The volunteers were originally devoted admirers of Shire, and during the interview, they praised Shire endlessly:

"Shire’s family has already provided us with thousands of francs in funding!"

"Madam Bernard is kind, she has contacted us several times, telling many things about Shire."

"We originally organized because of Shire, so in a way, everything we do is actually done by Shire!"

"Yes, it’s Shire’s influence!"

...

Soon, the "Little Daily" published these interviews along with photos in the newspaper and finally raised a series of soul-searching questions: "Is Shire doing all this for himself? What have other capitalists done? What is their purpose in slandering him without scruple?"

The "Merit Newspaper" remained silent on this issue, displaying the military’s usual calm, seemingly disdainful of getting involved in such self-defeating rumors.

The "Little Daily" didn’t reveal the truth either.

The truth cannot be spoken, it’s the unspoken rule of transactions between capitalists and the military. Once exposed, the "Little Daily" would become the target of many capitalists because it would block their financial avenues.

However...

Some "rumors" still emerged among the people:

Capitalists have always sold supplies to the army at four to five times the price, while Shire insisted on selling at the lowest price of twice.

The reason Schneider’s tractor was sold so cheaply was due to an accident, and capitalists used this accident to hype it massively.

Citizens instantly understood:

"God, they want to defeat Shire!"

"Once Shire is defeated, they can sell tractors at four or five times the price again without fear."

"It’s a capitalist conspiracy; we almost got fooled!"

...

Gallieni heard these "rumors" and smiled without commenting.

He knew that only by protecting Shire could the military continue to obtain supplies at double the low price, or even at parity.

For example, the "Holt 120" that Schneider is currently selling!

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