I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 227

Chapter 227

In the 6th arrondissement of Paris, at the Lutetia Hotel, the warmth of the conference room was accompanied by the crackling of the fire in the hearth.

Colonel Johnson, smoking a cigar, nervously glanced at his pocket watch. The hands had already pointed to 10 o'clock, but there was still no sign of anyone. Was he once again not going to make the cut this time?

Colonel Johnson was the head of the American Tank Research Laboratory.

Since the first tank appeared on the battlefield and achieved victory, the U.S. military had become deeply interested in this weapon, which could reduce casualties. Colonel Johnson, a Princeton graduate, was tasked with establishing the Tank Research Laboratory.

The military hoped to develop an American-made tank, but after more than a month of effort, Colonel Johnson regrettably found that they could only produce a tank like the CLB75.

The chassis of a tractor with added steel plates—this was all that Colonel Johnson understood about tanks.

Once built, it resembled an ironclad warship from the American Civil War, only scaled down and adapted to run on land.

What else could there be, he thought? It was simply a bulletproof shield, so the shape must be right.

Soon, Colonel Johnson realized his mistake. The French had already left them far behind.

First, there was the "Mark I," which had an incredibly powerful trench-crossing capability and achieved an unexpected victory on the battlefield.

Then came the "Char A1," which was even more astonishing. It was compact enough to be operated by just two people and featured a rotating turret.

After much consideration and finding himself at a loss, Colonel Johnson had no choice but to report to General Smith:

"I believe part of the reason is that they are in the fight; they know what the battlefield needs."

"We, who are not involved, are bound to fall behind. Therefore, I suggest we purchase tanks from France or be authorized to manufacture them."

"After we learn their technology, we can consider innovation, so that we do not fall too far behind!"

General Smith agreed, and so Colonel Johnson made the long journey to France.

Upon arriving, he soon discovered that there were too many countries waiting to buy the "Char A1" tank. Spain, Switzerland, Romania... numerous countries hoped to bolster their armies with this tank.

The French government representative awkwardly told Johnson, "We have operational needs, Colonel. Of course, we must prioritize producing tanks for ourselves; the military has already placed large orders. You may need to wait for some time."

Colonel Johnson could not tolerate "waiting," as this would mean falling behind for the United States.

Eventually, the French representative, unable to handle Johnson's persistence, could only reply, "Unless you can convince Charles."

...

As time ticked by, Johnson looked at his watch. It was already ten minutes past the agreed-upon time.

His mood sank gradually. It seemed that everything was unrealistic.

His assistant Nathan remarked, "Perhaps they won't come. If it were me, I wouldn't be in a hurry to sell the most advanced equipment."

Johnson grunted, his thoughts turning to the wartime context. If they sold the "Char A1" tank everywhere, the Germans could easily obtain crucial data and even technology.

However, as long as there was a one percent chance, Johnson was willing to wait. After all, it was just a matter of spending more time.

At that moment, the door to the conference room opened.

A young colonel, dressed in military uniform, entered, followed by an assistant in civilian attire. The colonel quickly approached Johnson and shook his hand. "Sorry, Colonel Johnson, I’m late!"

Charles was not intentionally delayed. He had spent some time with General Winter, discussing more pressing military matters, and could not interrupt the conversation midway.

"No problem, Colonel... Colonel Charles!" Colonel Johnson said, somewhat flustered. He awkwardly motioned for Charles to take a seat.

"I received the message passed on by the government," Charles said straightforwardly. "I hear you are interested in purchasing the 'Char A1' tank?"

"Yes!" Johnson nodded eagerly.

"But you know," Charles said with some difficulty, "we are in the middle of a war, and we just received an order for 500 tanks from the military. If we are to produce the tanks you need, it may take..."

Charles turned his gaze to Djoka.

Djoka understood immediately and chimed in, "With our current production capacity, it may take about six months. This tank is not as simple as other tanks."

Charles turned his attention back to Johnson. "We will prioritize production for you. How many tanks do you need?"

The hope Johnson had just rekindled was immediately dashed.

Six months. With the current speed of tank upgrades and iterations, by then, they would likely be even further behind.

"Actually," Johnson hesitated, "I am considering an alternative. Could we cooperate through an authorized production agreement?"

As previously considered, authorized production carried the risk of leaks, so this was much more difficult than simply purchasing.

Johnson was merely asking as a last-ditch effort, thinking there was no harm in trying.

He expected Charles to outright reject the idea. To his surprise, Charles furrowed his brow and began to think. "Hmm, that wouldn't add pressure to our production capacity."

Johnson perked up. This could be promising. He quickly retrieved the cooperation proposal from his briefcase and handed it to Charles. "Rest assured, the confidentiality measures can be handled by your intelligence personnel in the U.S. We will cover all costs. Additionally, we are willing to pay a $1 million licensing fee, with the intellectual property fee to be negotiated separately!"

Djoka's eyes immediately lit up. One million dollars was a huge sum at this time. According to the exchange rate, that was 43 million francs, instantly multiplying their wealth several times over.

But Charles pushed the proposal back. "What I need is not this, Colonel Johnson."

Before Johnson could feel disappointed, he heard these words and his eyes suddenly brightened. "Then what do you need? Anything we can do!"

"You know," Charles replied calmly, "the Germans have occupied France's northeastern industrial zone, which houses 68% of our steel industry. We are in desperate need of steel, especially the special steel used for tank production..."

"Not a problem!" Johnson immediately responded. "We will export special steel to you unconditionally!"

"No!" Charles said. "If I authorize your country to produce tanks, you can directly send us the completed tank armor. This will speed up our production. What do you think?"

"Of course!" Johnson nodded quickly. For the United States, this was a trivial matter, and he would not refuse.

What he didn’t know was that this was a big deal for Charles.

At this moment, the forging of special steel was controlled by Schneider, which would become the leverage Charles could use to restrain him.

But now, that concern was gone.

In fact, later on, Charles could continue to expand cooperation with the United States in the field of special materials.

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