I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

The predicament Xia Fei was in was exactly what Shire hoped to see.

The struggle for power often involved more than just money.

The widespread deployment of the 37mm cannon could indeed bring economic benefits to Shire, each one selling for 1500 francs, and after splitting the profit with "Saint Etienne," Shire could earn over three hundred francs per unit.

Even if ten thousand units were sold, it would amount to just over three million, which at this time was but a drop in the ocean for Shire.

On the other hand, mainly used to counter tanks, the ammunition consumption of this cannon was much less than that of ordinary artillery. In the long run, its profit was less than that of mortars, machine guns, grenades, or even military uniforms.

But if it could further advance in the field of anti-tank artillery, create some discord or fracture the relationship between Xia Fei and Schneider, or perhaps secretly lay out some plans, then it would be a different story.

...

Police Training Base, Command Post of the 105th Infantry Regiment.

Upon receiving a telegram, Tijani cheered: "Great, they handed over the task of anti-gas training to the 89th Infantry Regiment."

Shire stared at the map in a daze and didn't respond. Tijani passed by and patted his shoulder while continuing to complain:

"You don't know how tedious it is to repeat those simple steps over and over again."

"I'd rather take the soldiers and run a few laps on the training field."

Shire responded casually: "What? Gas masks don't suit your aesthetic?"

"That's not what I mean." Tijani walked to the desk and sat down, casually picking up a pencil from the desk and shaking it toward Shire: "It's like a sword should emit a chilling light on the battlefield that terrifies the enemy, not be showcased in a museum."

"Then you should take your soldiers to run on the battlefield," Shire said.

Tijani shook his head with a smile: "I mean the repetitive wearing of gas masks, which is of no help to the war."

Shire did not continue the conversation; he did not intend to delve into Tijani's concept of the Art of War, which seemed a bit abstract to him.

Dominic knocked and entered, excitedly saying to Shire: "General, Xia Fei has placed an order with 'Saint Etienne' for a batch of 37mm cannons, the first batch being ten thousand units."

Shire acknowledged with a "Hmm," as he had expected.

"How has Schneider reacted?" Shire asked.

Dominic pursed his lips: "I don't have much information, but I heard Schneider has slowed down the production of the 105 howitzers."

A good strategy, Shire silently praised.

The 105 howitzer was also urgently needed by Xia Fei, and slowing down the production pace was putting pressure on him.

A silent action spoke louder, indicating that Xia Fei and Schneider were already tussling secretly.

Tijani interjected: "This seems detrimental to the war; the military badly needs the 105 howitzers, not just Xia Fei."

This was Tijani's unique perspective; he always considered the overall aspect of the war and did not care about whether it made money or whether it could strike Xia Fei or Schneider.

"Then it depends on what is more important, the 37mm cannon or the 105 howitzer," Shire replied.

Tijani stared at Shire in surprise: "You think the 37mm cannon is more important than the 105 howitzer?"

Most people wouldn't arrive at this conclusion; the 105 howitzer could combat German artillery, but the 37mm cannon clearly couldn't.

"You ought to think in this manner," Shire said. "Until now, the monthly production of the 105 howitzers has been only about five units. What impact can these cannons have when deployed in the battlefield? What can they change? Yet, the 37mm cannon has a large inventory and a much shorter production cycle, which can be quickly deployed in the battlefield and make an impact."

The inventory of the 37mm cannon was a preparation of the "Saint Etienne" arsenal, and Steed was very sure this unique item would be a big hit, thus had released it for production from the start.

Tijani pondered for a moment and then understood: "Production capacity, production capacity is also a deciding factor."

A new variable, excitement shone in Tijani's eyes.

He had seldom concerned himself with production capacity, assuming it was just a matter of investing manpower and money, followed by time, but it was not so, especially in times of war.

Dominic, standing by, thought of the "Saint Etienne 2" machine gun, which had been put into mass production before it was launched, with a monthly production of 3000 units.

This production was not as high as "Chauchat's" monthly output of 10000 units, but considering its quality and service life, "Saint Etienne 2" would undoubtedly crush "Chauchat."

Shire still gazed at the map: Xia Fei's order for the 37mm cannon signified that he was utterly unaware that Shire had led him into a trap, this fool!

At this moment, a staff officer rushed out of the telegraph room hurriedly, his voice tense: "General, the Germans have launched an attack at Combray. They concentrated over two hundred tanks, attempting to tear through our defense line under the cover of warplanes and artillery!"

Everyone was shocked, over two hundred tanks and warplanes; the Germans were obviously long prepared, and France had not gotten wind of it at all.

Only Shire remained calm; this was exactly what he hoped to see.

Shire had known from the start: in this competition for Italy, the Allies needed a "remarkable" victory, and Germany needed one too.

Thus, it wasn't difficult to surmise that France was preparing to attack, and Germany was preparing to counterattack.

If the French Army took the lead, the more flexible tactics of the German Army were unlikely to encircle and besiege the main force; they would opt to use the "infantry + anti-tank rifle + K bullet" mode to thwart the French main force while the main force followed the original plan to attack the French defense line.

This would evolve into "you fight yours, I fight mine," and finally, they would compare who had the greater battle achievements.

If the German Army initiated the attack first, it would be different.

Due to Xia Fei's obstruction, the 37mm cannon failed to be widely adopted by the French Army, and French soldiers had no anti-tank rifles or K bullets; infantry had nothing to counter tanks, turning them into easy targets.

Thus, the only way to block the German main force was the First Specialized Artillery Division.

This would make the tanks from both sides collide head-on, bull against bull, a thrilling spectacle!

Shire wasn't gloating; he just wanted such a battle to learn more detailed data about the German Army's new tanks, like armor thickness, tank speed, armor-piercing power, advantages, and so on.

Of course, he was also pleased to see units equipped with "Saint Chammon" tanks being defeated by the German forces under Xia Fei's command.

This would be a dual blow to Xia Fei and Schneider, why not relish it?

Tijani busied himself with reading the telegram and analyzing the battle situation with the staff officer, not noticing Shire's expression.

But Dominic did notice, and he thought:

These things couldn't be within Shire's predictions, could they?

No, it's not a prediction.

It's his scheme; the release of the 37mm cannon was not for making money or competing in the artillery field but to delay Xia Fei's offensive timing!

Xia Fei should have launched the attack long ago but hesitated over the issue of the 37mm cannon.

By the time he finally decided to place the order, he had already lost the early advantage!