Chapter 326 The Age of Aerial Battleships (Second update, please subscribe)

There are so many freeloaders!

The great French Empire also got something for free. Aren’t they afraid of losing face and being embarrassed if this gets out?

Zhu Xianhai mocked in his heart,

But on the other hand, it must be said that Reseb Bonaparte was indeed a very good negotiator, and he offered a bait that was difficult for Zhu Xianhai to refuse - recognizing the expansion of Nanhua.

This is tantamount to admitting that Germany annexed Czechoslovakia and occupied Poland. Oh, no, it should be said that the Pineapple Three Countries joined Russia.

In a word, as the most powerful imperialist powers of this era, recognizing South China's annexation of Chile and Argentina is of self-evident benefit to South China, which is equivalent to the old European powers endorsing South China.

In comparison, what are a few airships?

However, Zhu Xianhai did not agree immediately. After thinking for a while, he said.

"Reseb, do you know how expensive an airship is?"

How expensive is it?

Reseb Bonaparte looked at Zhu Xianhai with some confusion.

"First of all, its raw materials are very expensive. Its airbags require a lot of rubber. Rubber, as you know, is not only expensive but also very rare. In order to produce these airships, we imported a lot of rubber from Brazil. What I can tell you is that the cost of an airship is not even inferior to that of a warship!"

This is of course a bit exaggerated, but it is also true!

Because rubber was expensive in that era, each ton of rubber was worth 6,500 pounds, which was almost 30,000 silver pesos.

"At present, we need to use not only a large amount of aluminum but also several tons of rubber to build an airship. The cost of this raw material alone is as high as hundreds of thousands of silver dollars. Adding the production cost, the actual purchase price of an airship exceeds 650,000 silver dollars!"

In reality, it’s definitely not that high!

However, the quote given to others cannot be low, as it also includes technical costs. The cost of international arms has never been the cost of raw materials.

"Wow! It's so expensive!"

Reseb Bonaparte couldn't help but gasp. Originally, he didn't think the airship was that expensive, but when he heard that it was made of aluminum and rubber, he not only didn't think that 650,000 was not a lot, but it might even be a lot cheaper. After all, the value of a rubber condom is... well, a silver dollar.

It's made of rubber...how can it not be expensive!

"My brother, sending away such an expensive airship, ..."

Shaking his head, Zhu Xianhai said.

"It's hard to convince others just for an illusory promise, but,"

After a pause, Zhu Xianhai continued.

"But what? If France can recognize our annexation of the two places at the appropriate time, as you said, I think in the future, for example, on the emperor's birthday next year, we can give it to France as a birthday gift. Of course, we can also give it to France as a New Year's gift."

"Well, I'm afraid I need to communicate with Paris first!"

Reseb Bonaparte's answer was within Zhu Xianhai's expectations. For Zhu Xianhai, who was used to not giving up until he got what he wanted, he was not generous enough to exchange real money for a promise. If you want the airship, you have to give something first.

The two men exchanged pleasantries for a while, and after Reseb Bonaparte said goodbye and sent him out of the office, the smile on Zhu Xianhai's face turned into a sneer almost as the guy entered the elevator and disappeared downwards.

"This idiot."

Zhu Xianhai finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

"My Lord, it seems that Ambassador Bonaparte has made a request that makes you very unhappy."

Zuo Zongtang asked.

"airship!"

Zhu Xianhai sneered.

"That guy has taken a fancy to our airship."

"What? Airship? My lord, an airship is a powerful weapon of our military, we can't give it to anyone easily!"

Zuo Zongtang muttered,

"None of these foreigners are quiet. As soon as they mention Zhang, they want an airship. They don't even consider what they can give us..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly closed his mouth.

"My Lord, he must have made an offer!"

"Yes, they want to exchange the airship for recognition of our annexation of Chile and Argentina."

"If you put it that way, it seems acceptable..."

Zuo Zongtang nodded slightly and agreed.

"My lord, although airships are a powerful weapon for the military, if they can be recognized by France, it would be... well, not very appropriate. After all, airships are our trump card, a powerful weapon for the military. How can we let them go so easily?"

"Although airships are powerful, they are not a military state..."

Zhu Xianhai raised his eyebrows and stopped talking. He knew the weaknesses of the airship better than anyone else. The seemingly huge airship was not as "indestructible" as it seemed.

In fact, it is vulnerable.

hydrogen!

That thing explodes easily.

But the British and French don’t know!

They only see the benefits of airships now!

In today's world, there is no air force that can compare with it. The French have seen the benefits of airships, and the British must have seen them as well. When the French want to get airships, the British will definitely also try their best to get them.

After all, they had witnessed in Argentina how devastating the dimensionality reduction attack of airships from the air to the land was.

A blimp combined with a small aerial dart can take the lives of tens of thousands of Argentine soldiers!

What if it was a bomb?

The mode of warfare was completely changed by airships.

In this case, how could they possibly ignore the airship?

"In this age of the survival of the fittest, no one wants to be the passive victim. They will definitely try every possible means to get airships, whether by researching them themselves or purchasing them. I am sure that in the next ten or twenty years, the airship forces of countries around the world will achieve unprecedented development..."

When he finished speaking, Zhu Xianhai almost whistled - every household in the world's powers has hundreds of airships, this is simply the arrival of the Kirov era!

"My Lord, what you said is very true. After reading the report of the airship unit, I also think that the size of the airship unit should be expanded, and we should also build larger airships so that we can carry more weapons. Since countries like Britain and France have also set their sights on airships, we must pay more attention."

Even Zuo Zongtang realized the importance of spacecraft, so the British and French would certainly not ignore him.

Zhu Xianhai nodded.

"Pay attention? There is no need to pay attention to anything anymore. Like I said just now, the problem now is not whether we sell it or not, but that we cannot stop the world from entering the airship era. After all, airships are the battleships of the new era, "battleships in the sky"!"

(End of this chapter)