1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 80

Scrooge wrote a letter to Prince Albert, telling him that own company has launched another magic drug. At this time, Albert was in a good mood because the sulfonamide produced by the new pharmaceutical factory was making money. He immediately became interested, so he sent Lawrence Knights to United States, hoping to learn from history under similar conditions as the last time. Gao Zhi’s new medicine is taking a share.

But this time, Scrooge’s attitude was much tougher. This change is not surprising. For one thing, in the past few months, Scrooge’s pockets have become a lot more plump, and when he has money in his pocket, he naturally has more courage. Secondly, it is because heroin is different from sulfonamide. Sulfonamide is a new drug, but it is an old dye. When Scrooge took it out, it was easy for people to find out what was going on, and then produce imitations in the underground factory. But few people know what “heroin” is, and it is more difficult to imitate it. Therefore, Scrooge was more confident in the negotiation. He was a talkative and non-talking attitude, and he almost ran away the proud English gentleman.

However, the Lawrence Cavaliers were still not in a hurry, because the last cooperation with Scrooge did bring them a lot of benefits. And in the face of interests, what is anger or something?

“Mr. MacDonald, this time your asking price is indeed a little higher.” Knight Lawrence said, “His Royal Highness did not give me such a big authorization. And is the effect of this drug really as good as you said? We don’t know how good its sales are. As far as I am concerned, its prospects will not be better than sulfa. Why is your offer higher?”

“Ah, then you can ask your Royal Highness for instructions, can we wait.” Scrooge replied nonchalantly.

Carol explained to the side:

“Your Excellency Lawrence, you know that His Royal Highness, they were able to occupy such a large proportion in the last transaction, not only because they paid, but also because they wanted to use their own influence to ensure that no illegally produced drugs were used to disrupt the transaction. Market. This is a huge contribution they made, so it is reasonable for them to get a larger share. But this time is different. The secrets of heroin production are all in our hands. If we don’t sell the patent, anyone wants to. It is very difficult to imitate. In this way, there is no need for His Royal Highness to deal with those illegal activities so troublesomely. Therefore, the Prince wants to discuss this business according to the past conditions, that is not enough. Sincerity. As for the effects and sales of this medicine, if your Royal Highness and Knight Lawrence are not in a hurry, you can wait a few months in United States to see our sales in United States, and then make a decision. .”

“But I want to tell you that the price of buying futures is different from the price of buying spot.” Scrooge interjected coldly.Due to the large gap between the prices offered by the two parties, Lawrence had to write to Prince Albert to explain the situation. However, in that year and month, Maxwell had not had time to complete his equations, radio waves or something, and no one knew its existence. There is no cable between the two sides of the Atlantic, so the exchange of information between the two sides of the strait has to be transmitted by correspondence. Lawrence’s letter was mailed, and the Prince’s reply was sent back. It would take a month for this to come and go.

During this month, Lawrence witnessed the crazy expansion of the new drug “heroin” in the United States market. In just one month, in the north of United States, this universal medicine called heroin has been sold madly. Although MacDonald Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals is fully engaged in production, it is still in short supply. Lawrence saw that dealers blocked the doors of McDonald Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals every day. In many places, it is still hard to find a medicine even at high prices.

Lawrence felt that maybe he should really agree to Scrooge’s terms, but looking at the current sales situation, I am afraid that the appetite of the greedy United States guy will become even bigger. At this time, he finally got a reply from Prince Albert. In the reply, the Prince authorized Lawrence to determine the appropriate transaction method and price based on what he saw.

Lawrence, who was authorized, finally reached an agreement with Scrooge: McDonald Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, licensed the heroin patent to United Pharmaceuticals (the company led by Prince Albert) 15% Of shares. In this way, Scrooge’s shares ascending to about 23% (because there is still a percentage point to be confirmed after the outcome of the war in Italy), becoming the company’s second largest after the British royal family. shareholder.

In Italy at this time, the taste of war is becoming more and more full. In the original history, Austria only declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia in April 1859. But in this time and space, Sardinia has not only reached an alliance with France as in history, but its own strength has also been strengthened. Therefore, Sardinia’s international provocations against Austria have become more and more powerful. And the Austrians are also concerned that Sardinia is getting more and more support, worrying that if this situation is allowed to continue, it will become more difficult to deal with in the future.

So on October 12, 1858, Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Second Italian War of Independence finally started. As in history, the Austrians appointed Guiule as commander-in-chief, led 170,000 troops across the Ticino River and entered the Piedmont region, and their troops were on the front line of Turin, the actual capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. The well-prepared King Emmaruel II immediately led an army of 56,000 people who had been prepared to meet him, and at the same time sent representatives to ask for help from King Napoleon III of France.

As the first unit to be equipped with the McDonald’s 1857 rifle, Neville’s regiment was of course included in the battle. King Emaluel II’s strategy is very clear, that is, resisting, retreating, trading space for time, and waiting for reinforcements from the French army. The strategy of Commander Guiule is also very clear, that is, to defeat the Sardinian army in one fell swoop before France is fully involved.

“The enemy has 170,000, and we only have 56,000.” In the military tent, King Emaluel II is analyzing the situation with his staff. “From the comparison of strength, we are at a disadvantage. However, we must first fight a battle with the Austrians. Although the French have promised to help us, you must know whether the French aid or not, and the strength of the aid is closely related to our own performance. “The Gospel of Matthew” There is a sentence in it:’Whoever has it, let him be more; whoever doesn’t, even his original will be deprived of it.’ This is the case in this world, if you want to get help, you must show your value The weak, who knows nothing and can’t do well, will not only get no help, but will be stomped severely. Although the French have formed an alliance with us, if they find that we are too incompetent , They will step on us severely without hesitation in perfidy.

I know that we will fight with few enemies in this game, and it will be difficult for us to win. In fact, what I need is not a complete victory, but our army can show the determination to fight to the end in this battle, and at least not inferior to the Austrians’ combat effectiveness. Only in this way can we get the support of our allies. Remember ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves’.

In fact, the situation of this battle is not so pessimistic. “King Emaluel II continued, “Our weapons are much more advanced than the Austrians. We now have 20,000 people equipped with the most advanced rifle in the world, and its firepower is at least five times that of the Austrians. Times. So when we count it this way, the ratio of our firepower to the Austrians is 13.6 to 17, which is far less scary than it seems in terms of numbers. Positioning on defense should be enough. ”

If Scrooge was there, he would have heard the speech of King Emaluel II about the “Heaven Helpers”, he would definitely appreciate it. In fact, allies are like investors. Which investor is willing to invest in a company that is constantly losing money and seeing no improvement? Scrooge knew that in World War II in the original time and space, the Soviet Union received a large amount of United States aid, but when was that aid finalized? It was not when the Soviet Union was most dangerous when the German army had just annihilated the Kiev Front Army of the Soviet Union and approached Moscow, but when the Soviet army launched a counterattack, driving the German army back 150 kilometers from the outskirts of Moscow. Why not finalize the aid plan when the Soviets are most at risk? Because at that time, the Soviet Union was facing bankruptcy and liquidation. At this time, investment is not a problem with the head? And when did the aid from United States begin to enter the Soviet Union in large quantities? Well, after Kursk, the Soviets achieved a decisive victory over the Germans. Because at this time, the trend of the market is quite obvious. If there is no additional investment at this time, when will the additional investment be made?

Compared with the large-scale assistance to the Soviet Union, the assistance of the United States to the ChinaKMT government is much stingy. Although there are reasons for inconvenience in transportation, the bottom line is that the KMT government’s performance is too ugly. While the United Nations continued to launch counter-offensives against the Axis powers and succeeded in succession, the KMT government was still in a state of collapse. Even in August 1945, a few days before Japan’s surrender, it lost a series of cities. How can there be investors with such performance? So when Chang Kaishen and the armed poet Kunlun fought a civil war, and when they faced a full-scale collapse and urgently needed 300 million US dollars to save their lives, the United States guys were nothing. The reason is simple. Investing in you not only doesn’t make money, but also always loses money. It would be silly if I add additional investment to you.

It was also a Chinese. When the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea first started, they asked the Soviet Union for weapons and air cover. The Soviets always pushed three and four, and ignored them. But when the battle of World War II was over, all the weapons and planes of the Soviets arrived. Why was there no assistance in the most difficult and critical battles during the first and second battles, and only when the second battles were over, the aid came? Does the Soviet Union really need time to prepare? Whoever wants to believe, who is a fool. To put it bluntly, it is not that the performance is good, and the investment can make money. Similarly, when China and the Soviet Union turned their faces and leaned on a little ping-pong to cast a wink at the United States people, China and the United States, who were still beating and fighting just now, were immediately healed, and the President of the United States even condescended. I came to visit a country that has not even established diplomatic relations. Poor KMT, kneeling and licking his father for so many years, signed the “China-US Business Agreement” in the open territorial waters and airspace, and has never seen the President of United States come to visit. This is really bad, even if it is a traitor, it can’t sell it. (This paragraph of Tucao has been taken away a bit, but fortunately, it is not on the shelves, so you don’t need to count the money. Adding more than a thousand words later will be a completion.)

After King Emaluel II finished his pre-war mobilization, formal combat research began. Well, because the goal of this battle is not to defeat the Austrian army in one fell swoop, but to give the Austrian army enough damage, and then retreat in an orderly manner. Therefore, the focus of the research is on how to retreat in an orderly manner. You must know that in a war, the most difficult thing is to retreat in an orderly manner in front of the superior enemy.

“Your Majesty, in order to be able to retreat in an orderly manner, here, here, and here, these points must be controlled.” An officer-like figure pointed out these positions to King Emaluel II on the map. . The king looked around and nodded.

“Your Majesty, control these few commanding heights, and the safe retreat of the army will be guaranteed. But then, the enemy’s attack on these commanding heights will be very fierce. Therefore, I implore your Majesty to place the most elite troops in these positions. .”

“You mean these elite troops can’t be used in frontline battles?” King Emaluel II frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with this.

“Your Majesty, these troops are to be used in a decisive battle to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. This battle is not such a decisive battle.” A general replied, “After the French army arrives, our elite troops can be used. Yu attacked.”King Emaluel II thought for a while and said: “Your considerations are reasonable. This battle is not a decisive battle. We have to grasp this measure. Well, yes, the kind provided by the United States How effective is the powerful pill that is said to inspire courage?”

“The effect is good, my majesty, it’s just a little bit less.”

“Is Houtian’s battle enough?” King Emmaruel II asked.

“Enough, Your Majesty, it’s just that when Houtian runs out, there will be no more.” A quartermaster replied.

“It doesn’t matter, two days later, there will be a new ship arriving.” King Emaluel II gritted his teeth and said, “Damn the United States guy, the price is so high!”

On a high ground, Lieutenant Neville watched his army dig trenches.

“Brothers, work harder and dig deeper into the trenches!” Watching the zigzag trenches continue to stretch around the high ground, Neville was nervous and full of expectations. For this new defensive tactics, no one in the Italian army has more research and confidence than him. This made him feel a little nervous again.

“Lieutenant Colonel, my brothers all know that this is a matter of life and will not be lazy.” Captain Andy, who was standing not far away, replied. Then he asked: “Lieutenant Colonel, is there any kind of powerful pill that’refreshes the brain and replenishes energy’? If you have that, you can dig faster.”

Neville’s troops were also the first troops to have access to this powerful pill. On one side of this kind of packaging box is printed the slogan “refreshing brain, replenish physical strength”, and on the other side is a picture of a sailor holding up two sturdy arms. There is a line next to it saying that it is a drug that “does a miracle vigorously”. It is indeed very effective. When digging trenches with it, the soldiers don’t even know that they are tired. How about training? All kinds of dangerous projects that they didn’t dare to play before, as long as they took Dali pills, even the stupidest and timidest Tommy could complete without changing his face. What a miracle! It’s just that now that thing is running out of stock, it can only be used until the war starts tomorrow.

“Tomorrow, what will happen to this battle tomorrow?” Standing on the high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Neville thought as he looked into the distance.