I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France.

While Charles and Matthew were further discussing the details, a secretary walked into the R\u0026D department and came to Charles: "General, Mr. Djorka asked you to go to the office. Someone wants to see you!"

"Okay." Charles replied, "Come right away."

At the same time, I was wondering, who could have such a big reputation to actually make an appointment with me through Djoka.

friend?

reporter?

Or someone else?

Charles didn't think much about it. After giving Matthew a few words, he followed the secretary to the office building.

…

Walking into the office, Charles saw a middle-aged man in his fifties. He was wearing a suit and tie. He seemed to be a wealthy man.

The middle-aged man was talking to Djorka. When he saw Charles in military uniform, he stood up to greet him. He said in an excited tone: "You, you are General Charles, right? It's an honor to meet you, General!"

Ciel cast doubtful eyes on Djoka.

Djorka stood up and introduced: "This is Mr. Stokes, the owner of the British Scott Machinery Company. Most of the parts for our tractors are provided by his company."

It turned out to be a business partner. Charles kept smiling and shook hands with Stokes: "I'm honored too, Mr. Stokes."

Vaguely, Charles felt that the name seemed familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere.

A few people sat back on the sofa. Djoka picked up the sketch on the coffee table and raised it to Charles. He smiled and said, "Do you believe it? Stokes coincides with you. He also designed a pressing machine." Shooting the cannon just gives you a head start."

Charles was stunned, took the sketch and saw that it was indeed a mortar.

The next second Charles thought: Stokes? The guy who actually invented the mortar in history?

(The picture above shows Stokes, the boss of a machinery company. He knew nothing about artillery. He accidentally heard from a reporter that the army lacked direct-fire artillery, and spent several months inventing the mortar. He was 55 years old at the time of the article. )

(The picture above shows Stokes testing the mortar he invented)

"I designed this last year." Stokes was a little nervous: "Unfortunately, I made some mistakes. Because I didn't know much about armaments, I always used powdered black powder to make propellant. Later I realized that I should use granular Black powder. When I presented my invention to the military, guess what they said?"

(Note: Powdered black powder will cause the gunpowder to be squeezed together. When ignited, it will not be fully burned due to lack of oxygen, resulting in a situation similar to the continuous burning of solid propellant. However, there are gaps between granular black powder, which can ensure instantaneous ignition. Burning bursts out with powerful impact)

Stokes shook his head and looked at Charles in disbelief:

"This is what they said to me: 'Sorry, Stokes, Shire was one step ahead of you. His mortars have been in use on the battlefield for some time. Didn't you hear? He even used mortars. The gun won!"

"I can't believe there is such a coincidence in this world."

Immediately afterwards, Stokes was a little embarrassed:

"But please don't get me wrong, I have no intention of competing with you for industrial property rights."

"You have absolute property rights, there is no doubt about it. Your mortars are older and more advanced than mine."

"Please believe that I just want to express my... emotion."

Charles nodded: "I believe it, Mr. Stokes."

Charles felt a little guilty. He turned his eyes to the drawing in his hand and praised from the bottom of his heart: "What a great idea. I believe that if you know more about military affairs, or if you are a soldier, you may be more knowledgeable than me. Invent it long ago.”

Stokes couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Charles said: "Thank you very much, general, for your trust and recognition."

Charles did not answer, but asked: "Why don't we cooperate, Mr. Stokes?"

"What?" Stokes was stunned: "What are you referring to?"

tractor?

They already have a cooperative relationship.

Mortar?

Shire's mortars are very mature and require no cooperation at all.

"Artillery." Charles shook the drawing in his hand: "You have research and interest in artillery, and more importantly, you are creative. You know, now is a war period, and we need such talents very much."

Shire's words made Stokes ashamed:

"No, General, I think you misunderstood."

"I am not an expert in artillery design. I can even say that I know nothing about artillery."

"I am just a mechanical designer. Although I am willing to cooperate with you, but..."

Charles interrupted Stokes: "I know, Mr. Stokes. But what many things on artillery require more is not artillery knowledge, but mechanical knowledge. Its essence is a kind of machinery."

Although Stokes agreed with this, he still didn't understand: "For example..."

He hoped that Ciel could give him an example to let him know where he still had room to perform.

"For example, we need to shorten the breech block." Charles replied.

"Shorten the breech block?" Stokes looked confused. Does the military still need this?

"Yes." Charles explained unhurriedly: "Ordinary artillery may not have such a need, but if we want to stuff this artillery into the turret of a tank..."

Stokes said "Oh" and suddenly realized, and then his eyes lit up instantly:

"You're right, General, that's exactly what we can do."

"God, this will be a great invention. All tanks will have similar needs. Its prospects are simply unimaginable!"

"Oh my god, we are going to get rich, great project, General! This is great!"

...

Charle B1 was proposed because of the breech block problem. There was no dedicated tank gun at that time, and the overly long breech block made it impossible for large-caliber guns to fit into the turret.

If you must use large-caliber guns, you will inevitably need an incredibly large turret.

And to drive this turret, you need more power, and the turret needs thick armor, so you need two engines...

Then it's like "add more water to flour, add more flour to water", and finally there is a super-heavy tank like "Charle 2C".

The only solution is to install large-caliber guns in the car body, just like "Charle B1".

Although this loses some of the freedom of the gun, it solves the problem of whether there is or not.

"So," Charles asked, "Do you agree?"

"Of course!" Stokes nodded heavily, stood up and shook hands with Charles: "Of course I agree, General, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity!"

(The two pictures above show the situation when the breech block moves up and down. This is a special tank gun with a shortened breech block. During World War I, there were no special tank guns, so either a rotating turret with a small-caliber gun or a large-caliber gun without a turret. The layout of the "Char B1" is the best choice for firepower without a special tank gun.)