I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 228

Chapter 228: Weaver-Style Revolver Shooting

In the Schneider armaments factory office, James was leisurely sitting in front of the fireplace, sipping on wine.

Just a moment ago, he had reached an agreement with Wintail to double the price of special steel, and that was just the beginning. Soon, the price would rise to two or three times as much, and depending on the situation, it might even go higher.

The reason was simple: rarity makes things valuable.

During the war, France desperately needed steel, especially since 68% of its steel industry had been occupied by the German army. With steel in short supply, price increases were inevitable.

Special steel, in particular, was essential. It was originally used for battleship armor, but now there was another use: tank armor.

Before this, James hadn’t realized the importance of special steel for tanks until he heard about the Battle of Cape Town, where the German tanks used regular steel.

(Note: The German A7V tank used regular steel for its 15mm thick side and rear armor, which was equivalent to 11mm of special armor.)

James keenly realized that while the demand for special steel for tanks wasn’t high, it was absolutely critical.

Without special steel, to achieve the same level of protection, thicker steel plates would be required.

Thicker steel plates would lead to greater weight.

And greater weight would consume more engine power and affect the tank's mobility!

Charles didn’t have steel mills or the forging technology for special steel, and that was his weakness.

So, by raising the price of special steel, even if Charles secured military orders for his tanks, there wouldn’t be much profit margin.

Profit was secondary, though. More importantly…

Schneider only needed to bypass the patent and imitate the "Char A1" tank to achieve nearly the same performance, but at a much lower cost than Charles’ tank.

Which tank would the military choose, given that Schneider's version would be cheaper?

Thinking of this, James took another sip of wine, a smug smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

However, Pauline quietly stood next to James and softly called out, "Sir!"

James turned in confusion, recognizing that tone—it signified bad news.

Sure enough, Pauline reported, "Charles has signed a contract with the United States. He has authorized the U.S. military to produce the 'Char A1,' and in return, the U.S. military will provide Charles with special steel at a reasonable price..."

James raised his hand to stop Pauline from continuing, his face darkening.

As soon as he heard "America," he realized what had happened. Charles had used his technological advantage to secure overseas resources. This made James’ plan to strangle Charles' ambitions with materials a moot point. From now on, it wouldn't work.

Seeing James in distress, Pauline almost wanted to advise him to give up.

It was hopeless. After the "Char A1" tank appeared, everyone else was left far behind. No one could compete with Charles in the tank field, including Schneider.

Who exactly was this Charles, to the point that Schneider had no way of dealing with him?

However, Pauline knew James wouldn’t easily give up.

Because giving up would mean admitting Charles’ rise: Charles could survive solely on tank orders, no matter how Schneider tried to suppress him.

Sure enough, the next moment, James said, "Call Eugene, we need to further discuss the new tank!"

If other methods didn't work, they would have to force a breakthrough!

...

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Bang, bang!"

At the police training base's indoor shooting range, Charles held a revolver, aiming at the half-chest target.

This was preparation for going to the battlefield as an adult. If he couldn’t even use a revolver, it wouldn’t be just a matter of reputation—his life could be at risk.

Charles chose the indoor shooting range because he was worried that poor shooting skills might damage his image.

Fame and reputation were like the shadow of a tree; once you carried a name, it wasn’t as carefree.

"Let your arms naturally hang down, focus on the sights!" Dominique, standing behind Charles, looked at him, then ordered, "Fire!"

"Bang!" Once again, he missed the target.

Missed the target at twenty meters?

Dominique quickly spotted the issue: "Colonel, try to keep the pressure even when you pull the trigger. Otherwise, the gun will shake when you fire."

"I understand," Charles responded.

But it wasn’t entirely Charles’ fault. The trigger was a bit heavy.

This was a characteristic of the revolver. To pull the trigger, it not only needed to activate the hammer but also rotate the cylinder. Therefore, the trigger had a long stroke and required more force. This was not very friendly to Charles, who was still a teenager.

After reloading the revolver, Charles thought of something: In movies, police officers often shoot with both hands. Maybe that would suit him better?

Thinking that, Charles placed his left hand on top of his right hand, steadying the gun, and started pulling the trigger continuously at the target.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

He found the rhythm. Two shots hit the target.

Then, he fired a few more shots, finishing the rest of the bullets, with all three hitting the target, and one even hitting the bullseye.

Charles felt a sense of continuity in this rapid-fire shooting. If a shot went off-target, he would instinctively adjust. As long as he wasn’t like a machine gun, frantically pulling the trigger, it felt like he was in control of the pace.

Dominique, standing beside him, was quite surprised. After a long while, he asked in astonishment, "Why, Colonel… Why did you use that shooting method?"

"Is there something wrong?" Charles asked, thinking it might be his posture.

"No, no problem," Dominique replied. "It's just that this method… is quite novel. I’ve never seen such a shooting posture before. Did you invent this yourself?"

Then Charles understood. In this era, there wasn’t a shooting style like holding the gun with both hands. Everyone used the one-handed braced stance, like the western cowboys.

(Note: The "Weaver-style revolver shooting" was created in 1959 by a sheriff in California to win a shooting competition. His shooting stance beat out others who relied on faith to hit their targets.)

"Well, I guess so!" Charles said, a bit sheepish. He added, "It just came to me in the moment."

Dominique swallowed hard, looking at Charles with a peculiar gleam in his eyes.

As a test shooter, Dominique had spent his whole life dealing with firearms. He could tell at a glance that this shooting posture had advantages like small exposed area, fast targeting, good stability, and great aim.

This was especially useful on the battlefield, where speed often meant survival.

And this? It was something Charles had accidentally invented.

He had only practiced for a little over half an hour, and he’d never even fired a gun before!

What a pity—Dominique had never thought to change his method. He always followed the standard posture, repeating it over and over...

Dominique couldn’t understand: Was he too foolish, or was Charles just too smart?

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