Chapter 217 The Third Faction of the Navy

Charles finished his meal, and as usual he finished his breakfast by drinking the milk.

Camille forced me to finish the milk, and it became a habit after a while. I felt uncomfortable if I didn't finish it.

Putting down the cup, Charles continued the previous topic: "I guess you think the army and navy are different because of the construction cycle."

The construction cycle of the navy is long, and a warship takes several years to complete.

Therefore, it may take several years for the Navy to know whether an idea or an attempt is correct, and even longer if there is no war for a long time.

The army, on the other hand, calculated its calculations in months. For example, during this period, a prototype tank could be built using a tractor chassis and steel plates in just over ten days. If it was put into production and used in combat without testing, the results would be known in a month.

"No, Major." Tijani shook his head gently: "I don't think so. You know the army is very stubborn. They are often blinded by their inherent ideas and can't see clearly what is right and what is wrong. They make mistakes for the sake of interests, reputation, or something else."

This is true. For example, many people now know that the one-sided offensive theory is wrong, but they are unwilling to admit it.

For example, the Red Army caps and trousers. Most people knew that they were not conducive to war, and the soldiers were eager to replace them, but they still gritted their teeth and used them for a year before replacing them.

In particular, replacing military uniforms does not require any technical content or cost much. All that needs to be done is to stop the production of the original uniforms and replace them with another style or just change the color.

But they just don’t do it!

"Why is that?" Charles asked.

Tijani, like a hungry ghost, began to work on another slice of pizza, chewing it while responding, "Because of you, Major!"

Charles replied expressionlessly: "You don't need to flatter me for the breakout, General. As a soldier, you should know that this is a mission, and you don't owe me anything!"

“I know,” Tijani replied calmly, “but that’s what I think.”

Seeing that Charles still didn't believe it, Tijani explained: "You have defeated all those who disagree with you with facts, Major. You are always right, time and time again, and every time you are right, from tanks to rocket planes, machine guns, and machine gun planes, and recently the performance of 'Char A1' on the battlefield. Do you know what this means?"

Tijani looked at Charles, holding a pizza in his hand: "You will unify the army's equipment. It won't be long before everyone gets used to it: Charles is always right. Even if he takes out a revolver and hands it to the soldiers on the front line, the soldiers will believe that they can win the battle with it!"

Tijani stuffed the last point into his mouth and concluded by asking himself: "At that time, do we still need to consider what equipment the army chooses? No, there will only be one option at that time, and that is the equipment of the Shire!"

Charles laughed: "You are too naive. You completely ignored Schneider..."

Charles suddenly realized something. He looked up and asked Tijani, "You are not here to represent yourself this time, right?"

Tijani nodded with a half-smile: "You can say yes, and you can say no!"

…

Tijani was telling the truth.

After Tijani and his troops returned safely to Paris to rest, he wanted to visit Charles as soon as possible, but he was too nervous to take action.

This was a situation that Tijani had never experienced before. He didn't know why he was nervous, but he felt an inexplicable panic in his heart.

What if Charles looked down on a "waste" like him?

Why would you look for Charles?

Would it be a waste of his precious time to disturb him?

At this time, Wells walked up to Tijani and said expressionlessly: "I need you to talk to Charles, Tijani, this may be the only use of your choice of the army!"

…

Charles understood that Tijani became the bridge between Wells and Charles.

Wells was the owner of the Brest shipyard and in principle could not have too many personal contacts with Charles.

But Tijani is different, he is a military man, a member of the army, a major general. He just got rescued by Charles, met with Charles to express his gratitude, and then became friends, which is normal.

"What does Wells want?" asked Charles.

Charles knew very well that Wells would not stand on his side unconditionally, as businessmen only care about profits.

Tijani took the napkin and wiped his mouth, then replied, "One answer, he hopes you can solve the confusion of the navy, which has caused confusion in the direction of the shipyard. My father believes that your military genius may help the shipyard out of its predicament."

Then Tijani added meaningfully: "In fact, I think he is as confused as the navy."

As a double entendre, confusion refers not only to the future of the shipyard, but also to the relationship between Wells and Shire: if Shire is of no help or of little help to the shipyard, Wells' support for Shire may be superficial.

Charles thought about it for a while and felt that he should win over Wells so that he would not be in a completely passive position when facing Schneider and Grevi in ​​the parliament.

Thinking of this, Ciel hummed and asked, "If I give you an answer, can you convince the Green Water Navy and the Traditional Navy?"

Tijani replied: "That's our problem! At least if we know the direction of development, the shipyard will not always follow the navy's chaotic decision-making and go the wrong way!"

Xiaer agrees that direction is equally important for a company.

If Wells knew what equipment would prevail in the future, he could concentrate resources on related research and development.

The navy's research and development and construction must be forward-looking. It is not an exaggeration to say that it may take several years, more than ten years, or even decades. If we make a wrong move, we may fall behind and all our investment will be wasted.

In addition, Charles's research and development in the army would not compete with Wells's warships, but Charles's occasional inspiration might help Wells defeat his rival Schneider.

This is what Wells needs from Shire and the basis of his cooperation with Shire.

Charles felt that he was on the threshold of dividing up the equipment of the French army, and at least he was now negotiating with Wells of the shipyard.

After making the decision, Ciel asked back, "You just said that the navy is divided into two factions?"

"Yes, the Green Water Navy and the Traditional Navy," Tijani answered casually.

Charles asked again: "What if the third group is right?"

Tijani laughed: "But there is no third faction..."

Before he finished speaking, Tijani understood what Charles meant: "You mean, neither faction is the direction of the future?"

Ciel nodded slightly.

"But why?" Tijani looked puzzled. "I'm just curious. Also, what does the third faction refer to?"

Charles answered calmly: "The Green Water Navy's torpedo boats are theoretically feasible, but due to their tonnage, they can only fight near the coast. The battleships of the traditional navy, although they have cannons and armor, their speed is always a shortcoming. The third faction should combine the advantages of both!"

Tijani suddenly realized it and exclaimed: "Torpedo boat destroyers, the third group is torpedo boat destroyers!"

(The picture above shows the first real destroyer. Its original function was to destroy torpedo boats, so it was called a "torpedo boat destroyer". It has a displacement of 275 tons and was produced in Britain in 1893. It is equipped with a 76MM main gun and three 47MM guns, and can carry three 450MM torpedoes. The maximum speed is 27 knots)

(End of this chapter)