Inside the Chamber of Deputies at the Palais Bourbon, General Gallieni stood patiently on the podium, awaiting questions from the assembly mbers.
The parliantary questioning system, established in 1869, allows any deputy to direct questions to a minister or official, who has the right to respond or not, as they see fit. In practice, however, almost no official can refuse to respond without risking their position—just like a job interview, where one can stay silent, but at the cost of losing the job.
Gallieni, however, was sothing of an exception. As the hero who had turned the tide of war, he could have ignored these questions, and no one would dare or be able to remove him from his post. Yet, he had accepted the inquiry, and he explained his reasons with evident disdain:
"Those vile journalists have taken baseless rumors from the streets and turned them into headlines!" he began.
"They imagine that a 17-year-old could single-handedly change the course of a war. Do they think war is a ga or a child's toy?"
"This notion is an insult to the soldiers, to the army, and to the martyrs who have died!"
"I will not allow such a disgraceful narrative to stand!"
In the rows, both Amand and Grevy sat quietly, refraining from asking questions themselves. They were mindful not to make it too obvious that they were orchestrating the entire spectacle.
The first questions ca from mbers who could not resist their curiosity after reading the news, both from the left and the right, though they knew such queries would lead nowhere.
"General Gallieni, is what's in the paper true? Did the German First Army really expose its flank because of Charles?"
Gallieni snorted dismissively. "Shouldn't you ask Charles himself?" he retorted.
"But the fact that Francis bought up food and a machine gun factory is indisputable, right?"
"Of course. But how does that prove Charles made the Germans turn? You have quite an imagination."
"Charles's invention of the tank is also real!"
"What does that prove? Do we owe him sothing for it? No, we paid him!"
Gallieni's responses were airtight. Yes, these events happened, but none proved that Charles had deliberately lured the Germans to the D'Oise.
Amand couldn't hold back any longer. He raised his hand and took a small step forward to address Gallieni with a calm, asured tone.
"General, I am only concerned with one thing: a talent like Charles's should surely be serving the military. Perhaps he could save many lives and even defend France from peril!"
Amand's opening set the tone, positioning himself as the voice of morality, appealing to "saving lives" and "protecting France." If Gallieni dismissed him, it would imply a disregard for the safety of soldiers and the nation. And if Gallieni agreed, then Charles should join the army.
Unbeknownst to Amand, Gallieni did want Charles in the army. But he was trying to avoid having Charles treated like an ordinary soldier. His current stubbornness was rely a negotiating tactic.
"Oh, really?" Gallieni sneered, eting Amand's gaze. "Are you suggesting that we need a 17-year-old boy to save us? I suppose you'd like all our soldiers to be teenagers, so we can all sit back with our coffee and watch from the rear?"
The chamber burst into laughter, and Amand's face took on a slight tinge of embarrassnt as he realized how shrewd an opponent Gallieni was.
"No, General!" Amand responded, attempting to recover.
"I am only talking about an exception. I wouldn't demand other minors serve in the army."
"Charles is unique, and we all know he has extraordinary talent for military matters, whether it's inventing equipnt or sothing else."
"I believe, as do many here, that it would be a waste to let him remain unutilized, especially in such a crucial ti."
This sentint resonated with many deputies. Even if the rumors weren't fully credible, Charles's inventions had indeed helped defeat the Germans, and not just once, which proved that it was not a fluke.
"An innovative idea, sir!" Gallieni scoffed, wasting no ti in countering.
"So you want to take a man who invented the tank and the sidecar in his factory and give him a rifle on the front lines, calling it 'nurturing talent'? Let's face it, you're not trying to preserve his potential—you're trying to bury him!"
Laughter rippled through the room once more.
Amand couldn't respond. Charles had indeed invented the tank and sidecar in a factory, not on the battlefield.
"I feel obligated to remind you all," Gallieni continued, "that only in a factory can one work with tractors and motorcycles, and in a controlled environnt, develop tanks and sidecars. In the army, one only has three concerns: eat, sleep, and die."
"No, no, we could create a suitable environnt for Charles…" Amand insisted.
"I'm sorry, but there is no such environnt in the army. You're welco to try it for yourself."
"Then let's make him an advisor in the command center!" Amand suggested desperately.
"You may not know this, but command centers on the front lines are frequently greeted with enemy artillery," Gallieni shot back.
"Well, then we simply shouldn't send him to the front!"
"Do you an we should keep an entire army in reserve just to safeguard one man?"
The deputies erupted in laughter again. Amand, though skilled in rhetoric, was clearly outmatched in this debate due to his lack of military experience.
Then, Grevy stood up, this ti addressing the deputies behind him rather than Gallieni on the podium.
"Why don't we let Charles join General Gallieni as an advisor?" he proposed.
"General Gallieni is the commander of the Paris defenses, so Charles would be very safe at his side!"
"This way, he could contribute to the army's strategies while continuing his work in his factory at D'Oise!"
The assembly mbers applauded this suggestion with enthusiasm.
"An excellent idea!"
"Exactly, Paris is perfectly safe!"
"He could continue inventing as well!"
On the outside, Gallieni remained composed, though he was grinning on the inside. These fools had walked straight into his trap!
Amand glanced at Grevy in surprise; this hadn't been their original plan. Their true goal had been to send Charles to a dangerous post. But Grevy simply gave Amand a subtle shake of his head, and then Amand realized Grevy's intent: if they couldn't send Charles to the front, the next best option was to get him into the army first.
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