Chapter 510 Two Conditions

The "Minister of the Navy" was surprised and suspicious when he saw Charles' thoughtful look: "You seem to have a solution!"

General Winter remained calm. He always believed that there was no problem in the world that Charles could not solve.

Then the "Secretary of the Navy" seemed to have thought of something, and he relaxed and said: "If the solution is 'depth charges', then you may be disappointed. It will not work as much as you think."

The "Minister of the Navy" stopped talking in time and glanced at Charles at the same time. He was relieved when he saw that Charles didn't react.

Since Charles used depth charges in the Dardanelles, the British Navy has copied them and put them into actual combat.

Its biggest drawback is that it cannot see submarines underwater, and bombing is entirely based on guesswork, so the destruction rate is extremely low.

Charles knew about the British's shameless imitation behavior, but he didn't intend to make a fuss about it.

The depth charge is too simple. It is just a delayed fuse plus explosive. There is no technical threshold. Its creativity is not the bomb itself but using this bomb against submarines.

This makes it very difficult to defend rights, especially cross-border rights defense during wartime.

"Sonar" is different. It is a device that uses the reflection of sound waves for detection purposes. It was still high-tech in that era and could not be developed within a few years.

Thinking about it, Charles nodded and said:

"I know about the 'depth charge' problem, Captain."

"But if we know the location and even the depth of the enemy submarine, and use 'depth charges' together, things will be different."

The Navy Minister laughed. "That's the point, Rear Admiral. We have no way of knowing..."

Before he finished speaking, the smile on the "Admiralty's" face froze. He suddenly understood what Charles meant: "You can't know the position and depth of the submarine, right?"

At this time, even General Winter cast a puzzled look at Charles.

Submarines are in the water, they usually dive at a depth of tens of meters. It is simply a fantasy to think of seeing them or even getting their depth!

Charles replied calmly:

"We call it an 'echo sounder.'"

"Since the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, some scientists have tried to produce some instruments to detect icebergs in the water."

“They did it very successfully.”

The "Secretary of the Admiralty" didn't react at first. He had heard about iceberg detection a long time ago, but he thought it was a rumor.

Then he suddenly realized something, and stood up from the sofa with a thud, and said excitedly: "You mean, you changed this instrument into a device for detecting submarines?"

General Winter looked at Charles in astonishment. This seemed to be a feasible solution. How did he come up with this idea?

"To be exact, it wasn't me." Ciel remained calm: "It was a scientist, a scientist I hired."

Charles particularly emphasized the three words "I hire".

"Great!" The "Secretary of the Navy" waved his fist like crazy:

"If you know the location of a submarine, you can use depth charges to blow it to pieces."

"The Germans didn't know that. They could be stranded on the seafloor waiting for us to leave, not realizing they were a target."

"The navy is going to be back in its place. This is a great innovation, the greatest invention of mankind. It is simply designed for us!"

…

The "Secretary of the Navy" became happier and happier as he spoke. He laughed and gave Charles a big hug, almost kissing him on the cheek.

"But there are two conditions, Lieutenant General and Captain." Charles glanced at the two of them.

The "Secretary of the Navy" tried to calm himself down. He sat back on the sofa and nodded to Charles with a smile on his face: "Of course, Major General, of course there are conditions. I mean, no matter how many conditions there are, as long as we can do it!"

"The first is the issue of technology confidentiality." Charles replied: "We will not export this 'echo sounder' because it represents our most advanced technology."

General Winter wondered, "How can it work if it's not exported?"

The "Minister of the Navy" guessed Charles's idea: "You mean, let the French Navy participate in anti-submarine operations?"

"Yes." Charles said in an unquestionable tone: "The 'echo sounder' can only be installed on French warships, and then the French warships will cooperate with you in anti-submarine operations."

Charles hoped that the French Navy would participate in more actual combat, otherwise, they would be just vases parked in the port, and they would be unable to face either the "ballista" or the "Toulon blockade" in the future.

(Note: Operation Ballista was a series of attacks launched by the Minister of the Navy against the French Navy after the surrender of France during World War II because he was worried that French warships would fall into the hands of the German army.)

"But this will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble." General Winter objected: "We don't speak the same language and have different tactics. It will be difficult to communicate, which will easily cause the fleet to fall into chaos."

He had experienced this in the Dardanelles, and most of the time the Dardanelles campaign was carried out by bombing the other side, which basically did not require coordination.

Charles spread his hands and said simply: "Yes or no, the decision is up to you!"

Admiral Winter and the Lord High Lord were silent.

After a while, the "Secretary of the Navy" made a decision: "Of course, Rear Admiral, this is not a problem. We just need to solve the communication and coordination problems between the British and French navies."

Charles hummed. This was his bottom line and he would never give in.

This is not just a question of money and industrial property rights, but also a constraint on the "Secretary of the Admiralty".

If one day, with the help of Charles, the British Navy returns to its peak and suppresses the army, what will happen if the "Secretary of the Admiralty" goes back on his word and does not give back to Charles?

It is even possible that the British Navy will join forces with the Army to suppress Shire. After all, the British Navy also does not want Shire to become too big and powerful.

But it was different because Charles had control of the "echo sounder". He could withdraw it at any time and put the British Navy into the dilemma of being harassed by German submarines again.

This is a balance, using the Germans to restrict the British Navy, and then using the British Navy to deal with the British Army.

The world is so wonderful!

The "Secretary of the Navy" seemed to have guessed that this was Charles's move against him. Although he felt a little unhappy, he needed the "echo sounder" to save his life, so he had to swallow his anger.

"What about the second condition?" asked the "Secretary of the Navy" expressionlessly.

Charles sighed, with an embarrassed look on his face: "I need the manufacturing process of rocket propellant. Gentlemen, do you mind giving me this technology?"

The "Secretary of the Navy" and General Winter were stunned, and then laughed.

France also has the technology to make rocket propellant, but Charles wants it from Britain?

But this seems normal. The one who mastered this technology in France was Schneider, and Charles might have hit a wall there!

(End of this chapter)