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

"You can buy whatever you want." Charles said, "They won't mind."

Charles felt ashamed. He had always taken Dejoka and Camille's love for granted, but never responded.

Lucia seemed to understand something. Instead of asking further questions, she glanced at Charles and asked, "One last question, is this a chore or a task?"

Charles hesitated and answered, "You can treat it as a task!"

This is done to avoid suspicion, so it is a task, Charles thought, there is nothing wrong with it.

What Charles didn't notice was that Lucia's eyes flashed with a trace of loneliness and disappointment.

She hoped that Charles would answer that it was because of "housework". She had met the girl's parents before, and now of course she had to meet the boy's parents.

...

Charles was very busy during this holiday.

He hadn't been to the factory for a long time. After a quick breakfast the next morning, Charles and Dejoka rushed to the tractor factory together.

Charles went to the R\u0026D department. When he walked into the gate, he found Matthew who was discussing with the technician.

Matthew put on a prosthetic limb and looked like a one-legged pirate. He also had a beard and looked much more mature. His hair hadn't been taken care of for a long time and was messy like a chicken coop. He also wore a pair of glasses on his nose.

Matthew also saw Charles. He took off his glasses and limped over to greet him, laughing and giving Charles a hug.

"Look at you." Matthew jumped back a step and looked Charles up and down: "A general who defeated the Germans again and again, it's amazing! People are talking about your achievements everywhere, I can't believe they are talking about you."

Charles raised his head at the glasses in Matthew's hand: "When did you become nearsighted?"

Matthew shrugged indifferently: "This is the price of developing tanks."

Later, Charles learned that Matthew studied engine technology day and night, and sometimes stayed in the factory at night instead of going home. It's not an exaggeration to say that he forgot to eat and sleep.

It's hard to imagine that someone who used to have a headache when reading books in school has now become a research and development talent.

"You're just in time." Matthew waved at Charles, took Charles to a desk and said to the spread-out blueprint, "This is my idea for a new tank. Let's see if it satisfies you."

Charles came closer and saw that it was actually the "Charles 2C" tank.

(The above picture shows the "Charle 2C" super-heavy tank developed by France in 1921, which is driven by two 250-horsepower engines, 10.27 meters long, and has a double turret)

Charles frowned and asked Matthew: "Why did you think of designing such a tank?"

Matthew replied: "I hope to produce an invincible tank that can destroy everything on the battlefield, and nothing can penetrate its armor."

Then, he danced and talked about the tank's data: "I plan to equip it with a 75MM gun and a 45MM front armor. We have tested it. This thickness of armor can block the German 77MM infantry gun..."

"Matthew." Charles interrupted him: "This is not suitable."

"Why?" Matthew asked, with disappointment on his face. He couldn't believe that his efforts were rejected by Charles at a glance.

"No tank is invincible. This kind of tank does not exist." Charles replied.

"How do you know if you don't try?" Matthew was unwilling.

"Let me put it this way." Charles replied: "Its weight is one of the problems."

"The result of the calculation is 40 tons." Matthew searched on the table, turned out a piece of manuscript paper full of data from the scattered documents and handed it to Charles: "Two engines can fully drive it, and it can also guarantee a speed similar to the 'Charr A1'."

With powerful firepower, thick armor, and speed, Matthew didn't understand why it would be inappropriate.

However, Charles knew that this super-heavy tank was an idealized thing.

Imagination is always beautiful, but reality is cruel.

"Charr 2C" has been continuously improved from the original 40 tons to 70 tons.

The "Tiger" during World War II was only 56 tons, and it was still a nightmare for logistics with a 650-horsepower engine.

However, the "Charr 2C" is based on the level of engines during World War I, weighing 70 tons and driven by two 250-horsepower engines with a total of 500 horsepower. This is not a nightmare but a fantasy.

"Or we can think of it this way." Charles said: "You use two 250-horsepower engines to carry 40 tons of weight and see how long it can run normally."

Matthew seemed to understand: "Are you worried about its reliability?"

"You can say that." Charles nodded: "Two engines mean the failure rate will be twice as high, Matthew."

This is different from airplanes. Aircrafts use twin engines to improve safety: if one engine fails, the other engine can still ensure flight, but it loses speed and performance.

Tanks are completely different. As long as any of its two engines fails, the tank cannot continue to move forward.

Matthew thought for a while and nodded slowly: "Large equipment like tanks is almost impossible to repair on the battlefield. Once a failure occurs, it almost means scrapping."

Charles "hmm" to agree.

This is the fate of "Charle 2C" in actual combat. They were not destroyed by the enemy, but because they were too clumsy or the failure could not be taken away, the French army did not want to be used by the enemy and had to self-destruct them.

Then Charles provided a feasible plan. He picked up a pencil and cut and subtracted on the sketch, saying as he drew: "Single turret, single engine, reduce the overall size and reduce the weight."

(The above picture shows the "Charles B1" heavy tank equipped by the French army in 1931. It has a single engine with 250 horsepower and a total weight of 31.5 tons. It was called the "Battlefield Giant" because of its outstanding performance during World War II)

Matthew looked at the design of the tank and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "It actually has two guns? You added two guns to this small tank?"

But he raised another question: "Is the freedom of this 75MM gun on the body too low? Its firing angle is very limited."

"That's not a problem." Charles replied: "We can use it to attack enemy bunkers or tank frontal armor."

If you are responsible for attacking the front, you don't need too much freedom.

Matthew looked at the sketch thoughtfully.

The turret equipped with a small-caliber gun determines that the turret can be miniaturized, and the gun body equipped with a large-caliber gun can increase firepower. The two work together to form a kind of complementarity, and ultimately achieve an increase in overall firepower.

Then he compared it with his own design and exclaimed: "My God, its firepower is not even much worse than my design, but the weight and volume are much smaller. And because it uses a single engine, it is foreseeable that the cost and failure rate will be reduced."

Matthew looked at Charles in disbelief: "I am beginning to envy you, Charles, your casual drawing has surpassed all my efforts."

Charles smiled lightly. This is not just his casual drawing, but the improvement of the tank that the French army will achieve in the next ten years through exploration.