Chapter 181 German Tanks
At Bled Manor, Francis changed into a brand new suit and appeared in the living room of the villa in high spirits.
He seemed like a different person, holding his head high and greeting everyone: "Hello, Mr. Grevy, Mr. Armand, sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Then, without waiting to be called, he sat down on the sofa and took the red wine brought by the servant.
There was a flash of anger in Armand's eyes. This guy took himself too seriously!
There was disdain in Grevi's eyes all the time, and he didn't even frown, staring at the "Meritorious Newspaper" in his hand.
In Grevy's opinion, Francis is a person who does not know how to hide his inner thoughts. Once he gains power, he immediately becomes arrogant and loses sight of his own position. Such a person will hardly achieve great things.
Francis didn't feel anything unusual. He took a sip of red wine with a calm smile on his face. "Gentlemen, the situation is like this. He hopes to reach some kind of consensus with us."
"We?" Armand asked back with a sarcastic snort.
"He" refers to Schneider, and "we"... Francis should be one of "him" now, right?
"Yes, us!" Francis waved his wine glass at the two of them, as if to show that he had not abandoned them, his brothers in distress.
Francis didn't know that his so-called "fellow sufferer" still didn't take him seriously.
"That's how cooperation works." Francis continued, "He hopes we can support the Saint-Chamond tank and get it back on the battlefield..."
Grevy interrupted Francis coldly: "This is not easy, Francis. Everyone knows that Saint Shamon is not up to the challenge. It has already failed!"
"Yes, that is true," Francis replied, "but we have the Parliament, sir, and with him and our cooperation we shall certainly have a majority in the Parliament..."
Grevy hummed, "But the parliament cannot make a decision that goes completely against the will of the citizens. People have already accepted Charles' tanks. Everyone wants to buy more Mark I tanks instead of Saint-Chamond. If we force our way through Saint-Chamond, do you know what will happen?"
Armand smiled and continued: "Strikes, demonstrations, even the army will be involved, and then some MPs will be forced to step down. I don't think he can accept this either."
"That's right, gentlemen!" Francis asked confidently, "but what if we have a legitimate reason?"
Armand crossed his legs and raised his hand generously to Francis: "Tell me his reasons!"
Armand emphasized the word "he".
Francis heard the irony in this, and he cleared his throat with a little embarrassment: "It's like this, they made a series of improvements to the Saint-Chamond, including the engine, the thickness of the armor, and especially found a way to improve its trench-crossing ability."
Grevy put down the newspaper and finally glanced at Francis. "But this is not enough to convince the public. After all, Charles' tanks have been proven to be the most effective in actual combat. People will wonder why we have to use those failed things? Even though it has been improved!"
“You’re right, sir.” Francis nodded. “But they also thought of this, and they gave a reason, a perfect reason.”
Grevi raised his hand slightly and made a gesture of invitation, indicating that he was all ears.
"German tanks, Mr. Grevy." Francis came closer, his tone filled with mystery and excitement: "If the Germans also developed tanks, and they were developed to target Charles' Mark I, and the Germans even installed cannons on their tanks, while Charles' tanks only had machine guns, then..."
Grevi understood when he heard this.
It's a good idea. This way, people will worry that Charles' tanks will not be able to deal with the Germans' new tanks.
It is easy for them to have the following image flashing through their simple minds: the machine gun of the "Mark I" cannot penetrate the armor of the enemy tank, while the artillery of the enemy tank can blow the "Mark I" into the sky with one shot after another.
Armand asked with interest: "Are the Germans really developing tanks?"
Francis smiled profoundly and answered, "Maybe, maybe not!"
It doesn't matter whether there is one or not. What matters is that as long as there is such an "opponent", Charles' tanks will become obsolete, and "Saint-Chamond" will naturally receive orders again and return to the battlefield.
Grevi smiled. Schneider did not disappoint him. His methods were unusual.
He simply spread a "rumor" to exaggerate the enemy, and used people's sense of crisis to turn defeat into victory and allow "Saint Shamon" to return to the battlefield.
The point is that this "rumor" makes sense.
The Germans could not sit idly by. After feeling the shock and power brought by the "Mark I", they would definitely have targeted countermeasures. Otherwise, they could only watch their land defense lines being breached by the "Mark I" again and again.
In this way, "rumors" are no longer "rumors". Not only are they not rumors, but they provide accurate intelligence to France.
Perfect, meticulous, and impeccable!
Grevi thought for a while and then asked calmly, "So, what good does this do for us?"
"CA-1 tank!" Francis replied. "He is willing to provide us with support, such as installing a more powerful engine to make it faster, as well as a more reasonable design and improvement."
Armand raised his eyebrows, seeming to be quite moved.
Colonel Estiny "defected", Francis and his tractor factory were handed over to Schneider, and the CA-1 tank project was almost impossible to develop further.
If there is a strong ally like Schneider to help, CA-1 might be able to come back to life.
But Grevy refused without a second thought: "I'm not interested."
Francis looked at Grevi in surprise: "But Mr. Grevi, this is a tank, please think about it again..."
"Besides!" Grevi interrupted Francis coldly: "Tell him to send someone else."
Francis was stunned, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.
He immediately thought of the consequences. If Grevi did not intend to talk to him, he would not be able to become the middleman between the right wing and Schneider. He would be nothing and might even be ruthlessly abandoned by Schneider.
so……
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Grevy, Mr. Armand!" Francis swallowed hard and looked at the two men with a look of panic: "Please believe me, I am always on your side, and I have always tried my best to fight for your interests..."
Armand smiled contemptuously. This guy finally realized his position.
(End of this chapter)
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