Chapter 808: Buying is worse than Making

Pershing sat upright, his muscles tense.

Charles played the role of a good host and took the coffee from the orderly and handed it to Pershing.

Pershing quickly stood up and took it with both hands, bowing slightly: "Thank you very much, Lieutenant General."

Hubbard, sitting nearby, dared not breathe. He took the coffee from the orderly's tray without waiting for Charles to hand it to him.

He also bowed to Charles and thanked him: "Thank you very much, Lieutenant General!"

Charles took a piece of sugar and threw it into the coffee, stirring it gently, and looked at Pershing who was sitting opposite him: "Are you having any trouble, General?"

Charles tried not to refer to Pershing by his rank.

Because Pershing's military rank was only "Brigadier General", but his position was commander of the American Expeditionary Force, the two were not quite consistent.

Pershing was holding the coffee cup and about to put it into his mouth, but when he heard Charles' words, he stopped and put the coffee back on the table.

"Yes, Lieutenant General." Pershing said sincerely, like a student asking a teacher: "You know, we are ready to join this war, but we have not received any relevant war training, nor have we seen such a battlefield, so..."

"So there's something wrong with the direction of training?" Ciel asked calmly.

"Yes, Lieutenant General." Pershing felt more and more that he had come to the right place.

Charles hit the point home with just one sentence.

As for Kitchener, he just wanted to train the American army like the British army and then send them to the battlefield to die.

"Do you have a training plan?" Charles asked casually, as if he was discussing something insignificant.

Pershing turned his gaze to Hubbard, who immediately took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to him. Because he was too nervous, the briefcase fell to the ground when he stood up.

Ciel took the document and looked at it, then raised his eyebrows: "So, you plan to train in the United States for two months first?"

"Yes." Pershing explained, "I think they should first master some basic shooting skills and experience in building fortifications. Only in this way can they protect themselves..."

"General," Charles interrupted Pershing, "Don't you think the more difficult thing for American soldiers is their psychological state?"

Pershing opened his mouth slightly, and after a pause, he nodded immediately: "Yes, General, that's exactly what I thought."

Charles asked back, "So, do you think that training the troops in the United States can help their mental state?"

Then he added: "This is a very strange approach. The most difficult part is the mental state, but you let them train in the United States."

Pershing immediately understood what Charles meant: "You are right, Lieutenant General. We should send troops to France as soon as possible to let them feel the pressure of the battlefield."

Hubbard nodded in agreement: "We should even let them go to the battlefield to take a look, so that they understand what they are facing from the beginning. Only in this way can they be mentally prepared and have the possibility to adapt!"

Charles continued to flip through the pages, and soon looked at Pershing with a puzzled look on his face.

Pershing looked embarrassed:

"I'm very sorry, Lieutenant General. Most of my training plans and equipment directions come from your armored forces."

"I tried to alter it a little so you wouldn't recognize it."

"But I found that they cannot be changed, because any change will destroy the coordination of the various arms."

This is one of the reasons why Pershing was amazed at Charles's talent.

Infantry, tanks, and artillery work together, and with the addition of air force, multiple arms are combined together through tactics to form a whole, ultimately cultivating a force that is fast, highly combat-effective, and has timely and sufficient intelligence.

This is not only a tactical elite, but also a strategic force.

Ciel nodded slightly as he looked at the document.

Pershing could be said to be the general with the most thorough understanding of tactics, even surpassing Tijani who had always been by his side.

This may be related to the fact that Tijani pays more attention to the "artistic value" of the equipment itself, which limits his vision to the tactical level.

However, Pershing knew that with such a force, he could carry out "surgical" combat against the enemy and transform the trench-style war of attrition into a breakthrough by mobile forces of both sides.

But problems also arise.

"It's not easy to build such an army, General." Charles put down the document: "It requires not only tactics, but also a lot of equipment."

Charles slowed down his speech: "And these equipments can be said to be the most advanced war weapons in the world."

Pershing nodded and replied, "I understand, General. This is also one of the purposes of my visit. I hope you can agree to the sale of these equipment."

Hubbard took another document from his briefcase and handed it over.

Charles took it and saw that it was a list of equipment.

The list starts with the most important "Charle B1" tank, then goes to armored vehicles, 75 truck-mounted guns, Saint-Chamond, armored bridge-laying vehicles, fighters, bombers...almost covering all the equipment of armored and mechanized divisions.

There is only one thing except the rocket launcher.

The United States looked down on rocket launchers until World War II, preferring something more precise, and the Pershing was no exception.

Buying equipment was something that Charles had expected a long time ago.

Charles thought it had to be sold.

We should keep things secret from Britain because hiding things is effective.

Because Britain's industrial and technological strength has been declining, they cannot produce many things unless Shire sells them.

To be precise, it is not that Britain cannot produce it, but that Britain, as the world's most powerful country, is arrogant, stubborn and pedantic by nature.

They knew that Charles's equipment and tactics were correct, but for the sake of their reputation they were unwilling to "follow the trend" and insisted on developing a multi-turret tank like the "Independence" and taking the wrong path of "infantry tank" tactics.

It’s different in the United States.

At this time, the United States was trying hard to surpass Britain, so it had an attitude of humility and was always striving to be the best.

Pershing in front of him put aside his airs and learned from Charles. The thirst for knowledge in his eyes was a true reflection of Americans of that era.

For a country like this, if Charles keeps it secret, it won't take long for the United States to copy a piece of equipment similar to Charles's.

The French one is called "Charle B1" and the American one is called "Pershing B1".

Using "industrial property rights" to sue?

Even if you wait for several years, there may not be any result, and you have to provide evidence part by part!

The correct approach is to actively cooperate and first pull the United States into the vortex of Bernard's equipment.

They also created the illusion that "it is better to buy than to make" to suppress the US research and development team, and ultimately made the US dependent on the equipment produced by the Bernard Group.

This is the method the United States has used against other countries in modern times. Charles is now "returning the favor".

But of course, Charles will not let go of the "God of Wealth" America.

He frowned in embarrassment:

"General, I'd love to sell this equipment though."

"Because selling to anyone is business and making money. It makes no difference to the Bernard Group. Besides, you are all allies."

"However, from a national perspective, these are top military secrets and even relate to the future and destiny of France!"

(End of this chapter)