I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 229: Revised - Merry Christmas

In Ypres, Belgium, the sky, already devoid of sunlight, gradually darkened.

The weather grew increasingly cold, and the once wet and muddy ground had turned into solid ice. A shovel struck down would only create a small white spot.

Captain Claude hoped to carve out a "ladder" on the side wall of the trench. That way, it would be easier for him to poke his head out and take a look at the situation.

But he eventually gave up, throwing the entrenching tool aside and crawling into the tunnel while rubbing his hands and complaining: "We might just have to hope that the Germans’ shells help us complete those damned fortifications."

The soldiers crowded in the tunnel laughed, passing around the few remaining cigarettes under the dim and flickering candlelight.

One good thing about winter is that the fortifications become much harder, and the German artillery would often freeze up, lowering the intensity of the war.

Or one could also say that after more than three months of fighting, those who had thought the war would end quickly were now tired of it.

Lieutenant Deni handed Captain Claude a newspaper: "Take a look at this; it might warm you up a bit!"

Captain Claude took the newspaper with shivering hands, spread it out towards the candle, squinting to see what was written on it: "Shire will distribute ten thousand military blankets to frontline soldiers on Christmas Eve."

"Indeed, good news!" Captain Claude said, but his reaction was very flat: "There are too many people on the front line. By the time these blankets reach our hands, there might not be much left."

The soldiers laughed again:

"Shire is a good officer who always brings victories to France."

"He also sends us supplies, never failing."

"But he’s just one person, and other capitalists see him as an enemy and rival simply because he is different..."

"No, no." Captain Claude shook his head: "You fools!"

Seeing his subordinates’ puzzled faces, Captain Claude explained: "You think the other capitalists see Shire as an enemy just because he’s different?"

"Why is that?"

"What else do you know, Captain?"

The soldiers crowded around curiously; in the boring, harsh, and dangerous tunnels, new and interesting topics were always the most welcomed.

Captain Claude responded with a question: "Think about it. Capitalists would rather dump milk than give it to the hungry. Do you know why?"

The soldiers were stumped. They knew that capitalists indeed did that, but didn’t know why.

It was indeed inconceivable. On one hand, capitalists were dumping unsellable milk into rivers, and on the other, there were people starving to death.

Why not give the milk to those starving people? That would even earn them a good reputation.

Captain Claude answered in a deep voice: "The reason is simple. Among those hungry people, there might still be 1% who can afford to buy milk, or a hundred people who can pool their money to buy a cup. But if the capitalists give the milk away, they won’t need to buy it anymore. Once the demand pressure decreases, the already rock-bottom price of milk will drop further, and that would be against their own interests!"

The soldiers suddenly realized:

"That would stop them from making money."

"It’s really disgusting. These capitalists would rather watch people starve to death for the sake of a bit of money."

"They only care about making money; if others lose their lives, that’s someone else’s problem!"

Soon they thought of Shire, and someone asked: "But what does this have to do with Shire?"

Captain Claude just hummed, smiling without answering.

Soon someone figured it out:

"Shire uses his own funds to send large amounts of supplies to the frontline for free, reducing the demand on the front lines."

"Yes, this prevents the capitalists from raising prices and making money."

"Good God, the capitalists are against Shire because of his good deeds!"

Soon, the tunnel was filled with soldiers cursing the capitalists and feeling indignant for Shire.

Suddenly, Captain Claude gave a sharp order: "Silence, silence!"

The soldiers instantly fell silent, then grabbed their weapons and rushed out to the front of the trench, readying for battle. They thought the enemy was about to launch a sneak attack.

But upon listening closely, they heard some singing coming from the darkness on the other side.

Lieutenant Deni cautiously poked his head out to listen and then withdrew with a strange expression on his face: "The Germans are celebrating Christmas. These bastards, what a memorable Christmas it is, may they have the same one every year!"

The soldiers chuckled quietly, but their laughter was tinged with bitterness, as they were also experiencing this "memorable Christmas."

Someone jokingly cupped his hands and shouted towards the other side: "Hey, Germans, Merry Christmas!"

The humorous gesture caused the surrounding soldiers to burst into laughter, and someone even joked: "Andre, your words are more effective than artillery!"

However...

From the darkness on the other side came a response, "Merry Christmas," in French.

Soon, more and more voices were shouting "Merry Christmas," some clearly just learning the phrase, with distorted pronunciation.

Captain Claude realized that the Germans had taken his subordinates’ humor seriously.

But, why couldn’t it be real?

"Merry Christmas!" Captain Claude called out, his tone filled with sincerity.

The soldiers were stunned for a moment but then also began shouting "Merry Christmas" back.

Soon, a small fire rose on the German side, bright at first but soon dimming.

But the French soldiers could still see that it was a Christmas tree, decorated with candles, though many extinguished from just peeking out of the trench...

My God, it was a German officer shielding the flame from the wind with his hand.

The French soldiers should have shot. He was the enemy, an officer, exposed in the firelight with his upper body completely out of the trench, less than a hundred meters away!

One shot, and he would be dead!

But no one fired, as if some understanding had been reached.

The German officer shouted over: "Everything all right, Frenchies? We’re freezing to death over here!"

Captain Claude chuckled softly, understanding the German officer’s humor: they didn’t need anyone to fight them; they’d freeze to death on their own.

"Everything’s fine, Germans!" Captain Claude responded, "We just need to see who lasts the longest, don’t you think?"

Both sides laughed.

Then everyone understood; in such an environment, it seemed unnecessary to continue trying to kill each other!

Humans have this tendency—in times of danger and hardship, they wish to unite to overcome the difficulties. Christmas just served as the catalyst.

They started shouting conversations across the trenches, and soon some boldly ran into the "no man’s land" to exchange gifts.

This action opened Pandora’s box, with more and more people exchanging gifts—cigarettes, candy, chocolate, everything.

In the end, they even invited each other into their trenches for a drink, the atmosphere incredibly harmonious.

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