I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

This day was Shire's holiday, given by Gallieni.

Gallieni specifically called Shire and said, "Go home and take a look, Brigadier. Your fans are protesting downstairs at the headquarters!"

That was indeed the case.

Initially, someone from Davaz Town brought the news: "Shire hasn't been home since he blocked the Germans' poison gas."

Soon it spread, and the more it spread, the more legendary it became, even rumors said that Shire hadn't been home since the Gelibolu Campaign.

People naturally thought it was Gallieni not giving him leave, so thousands spontaneously gathered outside the City Defense Headquarters with banners protesting:

"We should let Shire balance work and rest, he's only just eighteen."

"If you need Shire during battle to win, we understand, but now the war is at a stalemate, do you still have places that can't do without Shire?"

"Is France so short-handed that only Shire is usable? Must all the burdens fall on him?"

...

Gallieni had no choice but to personally call Shire and give him a day's holiday.

At the same time, Gallieni secretly gave Shire some support, standing on the balcony to explain to the people:

"Gentlemen, ladies, I need to explain."

"I have never held Shire back or refused him leave."

"The only reason Shire hasn't come home is that he believes he should lead by example and be with his troops, this is voluntary!"

People exclaimed:

"What an excellent child!"

"Shire is the hope of France, we can't do without him."

"If all officers were like him, France would be great again!"

...

Shire felt speechless after hearing this, maybe public protests for small things like holidays were a feature of this period in France.

...

In Davaz Town, Shire's car had not yet stopped when Camille ran out from inside the house, exclaiming and hugging Shire tightly as he got out of the car.

Then she suddenly woke up, pushing Shire away a bit to examine him from top to bottom, then looking seriously into Shire's eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming nothing was wrong.

"I heard that poison gas hurts the eyes." Camille was still scared, "Several people in our town are blind because of it."

"Don't worry, mom." Shire comforted, "I have a gas mask."

Dejoka patted Shire's shoulder and walked him inside, with a proud smile on his face, "So, you did indeed defeat the Germans in the poison gas?"

"Yes." Shire answered, glancing at Camille, worried she might be anxious because of this.

"Don't worry." Dejoka said, "She's already come to terms with it."

Shire looked at Camille skeptically.

Camille shrugged helplessly, "Everyone is in danger, Shire, we can't be spared either, I understand."

Camille decided not to be the same as before because of a conversation with Dejoka.

"Do you know why Shire didn't dare come back?" Dejoka said, "He might be worried you'd stop him from going to the battlefield."

Camille stopped washing dishes.

Dejoka continued:

"This is his mission, Camille."

"He's a born military man, his going to the battlefield means victory, it means saving many lives, including ours!"

"Yes, when the Germans reached Davaz Town, Shire invented the tank, saving our lives and those of our neighbors."

"We can't stop him, shouldn't stop him!"

Camille thought of the neighbors' children, many of whom survived because Shire held off the Germans' poison gas troops, though some were already blind.

Neighbors came by one after another to express their gratitude, tearfully.

All this was earned by Shire on the battlefield, if she stopped him from going to the battlefield, it might have a different outcome.

Thinking this, Camille decided not to have the same negative attitude as before, but rather actively support Shire.

After knowing this, Shire suddenly felt more relaxed, at least not worrying like before, indeed he had been reluctant to come home due to this.

...

"Motorcycle factory, 570,000."

"Tractor factory, 1,210,000."

"Aircraft manufacturing plant, 3,290,000."

...

At the dining table, Dejoka held the account book, counting.

The final calculated figures shocked Shire, including industrial intellectual property income and the proceeds from the "Saint-Etienne" weapons factory, Shire's net monthly profit had reached 21,870,000 francs, total assets nearing 100 million.

"If we hadn't bought the steel mill last month for 30 million, we'd have broken 100 million." Dejoka said with some regret.

But Shire felt the opposite, having so much money in hand made him a bit uneasy.

Not because of the large amount... Shire admitted, that might be one of the reasons.

"We need to spend it." Shire said.

"What?" Dejoka looked at Shire in confusion, who would feel money burning in their hand, anxiously wanting to spend it?

"Money will depreciate, father." Shire reminded, "Now it's wartime, labor goes to the battlefield, materials are massively consumed in the battlefield, prices will inevitably rise."

Dejoka exclaimed in understanding, "You're right, by that time this 100 million won't be worth a 100 million, it might be halved or even less."

Then Dejoka felt troubled, "But... how should we spend it?"

Shire didn't hesitate, "Convert it to US Dollars."

The United States was the country least affected by the war among the participating nations, its domestic economy was always unaffected.

More importantly, she was going to create "Dollar hegemony" needing to continuously enhance dollar credibility, thus the dollar would appreciate for a long time.

(Note: Dollar hegemony began in January 1918 after WWI, when US President Wilson proposed the "Fourteen Points" plan, intending to establish a US-led international trade and alliance system after the war. Many thought it started after WWII when the US pegged the dollar to gold and established the Bretton system, actually it was already formed by then.)

Dejoka also found this plan feasible, nodding in agreement.

"Additionally," Shire said, "I heard the insurance industry isn't doing well lately?"

"Yes." Dejoka nodded, "It's because the Germans bombed Dunkirk causing a big fire, this fire led to the collapse of two insurance companies, and three others struggling."

Germans had learned something from France, aviation bombs, then they eagerly bombed Dunkirk.

Then Dejoka added, "Just as you said, now it's wartime, insurance has become a high-risk industry."

Shire didn't respond, just quietly looked at Dejoka.

Dejoka seemed to understand something, looked at Shire in shock, "You don't want to invest in the insurance industry, do you?"

"Why not?" Shire asked back, "If I know the military plans, the risk is much smaller!"

This wasn't the real reason.

Shire really meant: If I know how the war will develop, wouldn't investing in the insurance industry be all profit, no loss?