I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: "Allies"

The harassment tactics achieved tremendous success on the battlefield. After all, during this era, the primary means of mobility were horses, mules, and even dogs. During World War I in Europe, dogs often pulled machine guns and ammunition to alleviate the burden on human soldiers.

Under these circumstances, Charles developed a harassment strategy using motorcycles with sidecars, delivering a technological blow to the German forces' mobility.

Although this did not directly inflict casualties on the Germans, it significantly reduced their marching efficiency and combat capability. On the other hand, it improved the French military's communication and intelligence capabilities. This indirect loss to the Germans, combined with the French gains, was incalculable.

The direct impact of this tactical success was the substantial profits it brought to Charles.

He received massive orders from the military: an initial batch of 3,000 sidecars, followed soon by another 3,000. For motorcycles, the first order alone amounted to 5,000 units.

The profit per sidecar was 280 francs, while each motorcycle brought in a profit of 180 francs (with the military purchasing motorcycles at 360 francs each).

Preliminary estimates suggested that just the initial orders from the French military would yield Charles a profit of 2.58 million francs.

Soon after, the motorcycle factory received orders from the British military, and even Russia, far on the other side of the continent, sent representatives to place orders.

The Russians intended to purchase an initial batch for testing. If the vehicles proved suitable for their terrain, they hoped to establish a factory in Russia for mass production.

Charles was highly confident in this endeavor. The communication issues plaguing the Russian military were severe, already hampering coordination and becoming a glaring weakness in their combat capabilities. The introduction of motorcycles could partially address these shortcomings.

While Charles thrived, Francis felt immense pressure.

...

In Francis' private villa, he was dining with his family under the warm glow of candlelight.

Dinner consisted of steak. Several family members, napkins around their necks, silently focused on their food. The normally lively table was unusually tense due to Francis' silence.

As everyone speculated quietly about what might have happened, Francis suddenly asked in a somber tone, “Did you know that Joseph resigned?”

Pierre froze mid-motion, realizing that the question was directed at him.

“Yes, Father!” Pierre replied.

“Do you know where he went?” Francis asked again.

Pierre hesitated, then awkwardly answered, “No, I don’t.”

“And Thomas? Do you know where he went?” Francis pressed.

Pierre shook his head slightly. By now, he realized these were not questions but accusations.

Sure enough, the next moment, Francis lifted his head and glared at Pierre. His voice, heavy with anger, deepened as he said, “Joseph, Thomas, Victor, Parrett—seventy-seven of our best technicians—all resigned over two weeks ago, and you know nothing about it!”

Without waiting for Pierre to respond, Francis supplied the answer himself:

“They all went to the new tractor factory Charles opened, Pierre!”

“And you—you're completely unaware that Charles built a tractor factory next to his motorcycle plant and imported the ‘Holt 75’ from Britain!”

Pierre’s head snapped up in shock as he looked at Francis. Indeed, he had no idea. As the eldest son, his attention was more focused on which beautiful young dancer had joined "Foley Trevis" in the Ninth District of Paris.

(Note: Foley Trevis is the most popular nightclub in Paris.)

Francis angrily cut a piece of steak, forked it into his mouth, and chewed forcefully while saying:

“The motorcycle factory we dismissed as worthless has turned into a goldmine in Charles' hands in less than a month!”

“The orders he received are reportedly booked through next year. With three shifts of workers producing day and night, even the increased output can't meet the demand.”

“And now, he’s opened a tractor factory with tractors a generation ahead of ours!”

Francis stopped cutting his steak and glared fiercely at Pierre, his tone full of scorn: “And what have you been doing, Pierre? Perfecting your skills in chasing women? Or improving your performance in bed?”

Pierre’s wife, Amber, sitting beside him, instinctively lowered her head. She knew about Pierre’s affairs but never interfered. To her, as long as she lived her own life well, Pierre's activities outside their home were irrelevant.

Francis, however, found this attitude infuriating. He believed Amber should rein in her husband. Her indulgence, in his view, was one of the reasons Pierre was so lost in debauchery.

Pierre, on the other hand, remained calm. He seemed used to Francis’ tone, and no matter how angry his father became, Pierre continued cutting his steak and gracefully putting it into his mouth.

“Don’t you plan to do something about it?” Francis growled, glaring at Pierre with disappointment. “If you can’t solve this problem, your good life will soon come to an end, Pierre!”

Pierre understood what this meant. His lavish lifestyle was funded by the tractor factory. If Charles’ tractors rendered their factory obsolete, his financial resources would be cut off.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand, Father,” Pierre responded calmly. “Since Charles has already sold the industrial rights for tanks, why would he open a tractor factory? Could it be just to drive us out of business?”

It didn’t make sense.

Charles should have known that civilian tractors wouldn’t sell, and the rights to convert them into military tanks belonged to Grevy. Francis’ tractor factory was responsible for that production. Who, then, would buy Charles' tractors?

Francis snorted and replied:

“Do you think Charles would do unprofitable business? That boy is nothing like his father!”

“His head is full of cunning ideas. If he could invent the first tank and the sidecar motorcycle, he could invent a second tank!”

“If he succeeds, we’re finished, Pierre!”

Pierre nodded. He had indeed underestimated Charles. The young man was far from ordinary and seemed determined to crush Francis’ tractor factory on both civilian and military fronts.

“He’s almost there!” Pierre admitted. “But…”

“But what?” Francis shot back. “Do you have a way to stop him?”

Francis believed the situation was already hopeless. Recently, he had focused entirely on tank production, completely ignoring Charles’ activities. As a result, Charles had outpaced him in technology, workforce, and even capital.

It was unbelievable—less than a month had passed, and decades of hard work were on the brink of ruin. How had that boy done it?

But Pierre saw it differently. He reminded his father, “The industrial rights for tanks are held by Grevy, Father, so…”

Francis suddenly understood. He had been so caught up in the situation that he’d overlooked this crucial point. Charles’ actions would infringe on Grevy’s interests, effectively making Grevy and the nobles aligned with him their “allies.”

After a moment of thought, Francis nodded and said, “You’re right.”

Then he raised his glass to toast Pierre, who calmly returned the gesture.

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