I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Mortar

At this time, mortars already existed.

The Germans used a large-caliber short-barrel mortar with a curved trajectory that could fire shells into the trenches of the Entente forces.

However, while it resembled a mortar, its concept was entirely different.

In reality, it was a type of howitzer, a breech-loading artillery piece with a trigger and requiring the loading of gunpowder. It was a fixed artillery position on the battlefield, making it extremely difficult to move.

The design that Charles provided was the true mortar in its real sense: the Stokes mortar invented by the British in 1915.

Charles knew that Steed had not fully understood; mortars were not as simple as he thought.

But that was not important; Charles didn’t need to explain everything in detail.

"We need to keep its weight under 50 kilograms!" Charles briefly introduced the design. "The wartime requirement is that it should be transportable by two men, and during marches, it can be disassembled into three parts to be carried by three soldiers."

Looking up at Steed, Charles asked, "Your arms factory should be able to produce this artillery, right?"

"Of course!" Steed nodded quickly. "Certainly, it won’t take too much time!"

Steed was telling the truth. This weapon had ready-made blueprints and a very simple structure. The barrel didn’t even need a trigger mechanism—just a firing pin at the base of the chamber.

If they couldn't produce something so simple, then Saint-Étienne would not be qualified to cooperate with Charles.

"So, does that mean you agree to produce this artillery?" Charles asked.

"Of course!" Steed nodded with significance, leaning forward to shake Charles’ hand. "I’ll be happy to, and I’ll have it ready as soon as possible!"

"Excellent!" Charles replied. "I will persuade the military to purchase it; I estimate the procurement will be in the thousands!"

The two men smiled at each other.

...

After the car left the Ritz Hotel, Djoka suddenly remembered something. He abruptly swerved the car to the side, turned to Charles, and said, "We forgot something, Charles! You haven’t given Steed an answer yet!"

"Answer to what?" Charles asked.

"His first question," Djoka reminded him. "I believe he’s hoping for a commitment from us, a long-term partnership!"

"No, Father!" Charles replied softly. "I already gave him an answer."

"Did you?" Djoka paused in confusion, tilted his head, and skeptically returned the car to the road. He thought he might have missed something, but after thinking it over, he realized he hadn’t heard Charles give an answer.

...

In the hotel conference room, the butler Luka asked Steed the same question.

"Sir!" Luka said, somewhat worried. "It seems Charles is deliberately avoiding your question. He might not have any intention of a long-term partnership with us. Should we consider other options?"

Steed, who was holding the mortar design and savoring it, chuckled and raised the paper in his hand. "No, Luka, Charles has given a much better answer!"

"Is this it?" Luka asked, confused. "Another invention? What does this mean?"

Luka was concerned that Steed, eager to find talent, might be distracted by this invention and overlook the more important issue.

Steed smiled and shook his head. "Do you think this is just an invention? No, Luka, this is the foundation of our alliance with Charles!"

"Alliance foundation?" Luka looked perplexed.

Steed nodded, explaining with deep meaning, "I’m worried that Charles will ally with other capitalists, and Charles is just as concerned about me allying with others. So, there’s only one way for us to come together and trust each other. Do you know what that is?"

Luka still looked confused, but as his eyes turned to the artillery design, he suddenly understood. "Is it declaring war on Schneider by producing the artillery?"

Steed laughed, "Not declaring war, because this artillery has not yet directly competed with Schneider. But it’s already showing our position. Think about it—if there’s an artillery piece produced by Saint-Étienne’s arms factory in collaboration with Charles, how do you think others will perceive it?"

Luka suddenly realized, "This shows everyone that we are standing with Charles against Schneider!"

"Exactly!" Steed stood up slowly, a smile on his face and chest out. Confident, he said, "Saint-Étienne used to be like a sick, aging patient, but now, with Charles, we can rival Schneider! Wait for us, James!"

Luka suddenly noticed that Steed, in contrast to the man before the meeting, now seemed much younger.

...

The next day, Paris Defense Headquarters.

Charles was half an hour late today, not by choice, but because the enthusiastic citizens of Paris somehow found out that he was starting an hour earlier than usual and had gathered early on the streets to surround him.

Charles had no choice but to delay by half an hour and sent out word that "Charles has entered the headquarters," causing the crowd to disperse in disappointment.

This might be the romanticism of the French people—they were willing to spend time on such meaningless things.

Charles thought that if they truly loved him, they should donate to him, even if it was just a franc a day from each person; it would be enough for him to lay back.

That would be meaningful—or they could just convert the flowers they gave him into cash!

"General!" Charles walked straight into the command center and toward Gallieni. "I need a unit!"

"What?" Gallieni teased. "You want to use them to kill the Parisian citizens blocking you?"

The officers in the command center laughed and one after another said: "Be satisfied, Charles; we didn’t have that many people blocking you!"

"Hey, Lucchini, if it weren’t for Charles working here, you’d probably be one of the blockers, right?"

"Of course, Carne! I’m Charles’ number one fan!"

...

Charles ignored them and handed Gallieni the mortar design, explaining, "I need a unit so we don’t repeat the same mistakes as with the hand grenades."

Gallieni took the blueprint and flipped through it with interest. "How about Browning’s unit? They are training right now..."

"No!" Charles interrupted Gallieni. "This is a piece of equipment that needs to be widely distributed to front-line soldiers. If I use Browning’s unit for training, we’ll face the same problems as before."

Gallieni immediately understood. Once they learned, they would have to return to the front and teach others. Browning’s tank unit was clearly not suitable for this.

After thinking for a moment, Gallieni nodded and said,
"I think what you need is not just a regular unit, Lieutenant. What you need is an officer unit!"

"I’ll select two officers from each division and have them report to you."

"You teach them, and they’ll go back to their units and teach the others!"

That seemed like a good idea!

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