In the warm conference room of the Lutetia Hotel in Paris's 6th District, the fire crackled cheerily. Colonel Johnson, smoking a cigar, glanced anxiously at his pocket watch. It was already ten o'clock, but no one had shown up. Was he being passed over again?
Colonel Johnson was the head of the Arican Tank Research Laboratory. Ever since the first tank had appeared on the battlefield and proved effective, the U.S. military had taken a keen interest in this new weapon that could reduce casualties. Colonel Johnson, a Princeton graduate, had been tasked with setting up a tank research lab.
The military hoped to develop an Arican-made tank, but after more than a month of effort, Colonel Johnson was disappointed to find that they could only manage to build sothing like the CLB75—a tank that amounted to nothing more than a tractor with so steel plating. This design reminded him more of a scaled-down ironclad warship from the Civil War than a modern battlefield weapon.
To Colonel Johnson, there seed no other option. What else was a tank if not a ans to deflect bullets? Thus, it made sense that this design would be effective. But it wasn't long before he realized he was wrong. The French were leaps and bounds ahead of them.
First ca the "Mark I," a tank with astonishing trench-crossing abilities that achieved unexpected success on the battlefield. Then there was the "Charles A1," a shockingly advanced tank that required only two operators and introduced the novel concept of a rotating turret.
After so consideration, Colonel Johnson ultimately reported back to General Smith:
"I believe that part of France's advantage is that they're actively engaged in combat and understand battlefield needs firsthand."
"Our lack of combat experience puts us at a disadvantage. I recomnd that we purchase tanks from the French or secure a production license."
"Once we have studied their technology, we can explore our own innovations without falling too far behind."
General Smith agreed, and so Johnson hurriedly traveled to France. Once he arrived, however, he quickly discovered that nurous countries—Spain, Switzerland, Romania, and others—were all clamoring to purchase the Charles A1 tank to strengthen their armies.
A French governnt official politely explained to Johnson, "We have our own needs, Colonel. With our army placing a large order, we have to prioritize dostic production. It would be best if you could wait a while."
The word "wait" was intolerable to Johnson, as it signified falling behind for Arica.
Eventually, after relentless persuasion, the French representative could only say, "Unless you can convince Charles."
...
Minute by minute, the ti crept past. Johnson glanced at his watch, which showed that the eting was already ten minutes late. His hopes were sinking. Perhaps the deal was unrealistic after all.
His aide, Nathan, murmured, "They might not be coming. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't be in a rush to sell such advanced equipnt either."
Johnson nodded grimly. They were at war, and selling the Charles A1 to other countries could easily lead to the Germans obtaining critical data—or worse, the technology itself.
Still, Johnson was willing to wait, even if it took up so extra ti.
Just then, the conference room door opened.
A young colonel in uniform entered, accompanied by a civilian assistant. The colonel quickly approached and shook Johnson's hand. "My apologies, Colonel Johnson, for keeping you waiting."
Charles hadn't intended to be late, but eting with General Winter had taken longer than expected. The topics discussed were crucial military matters, and he couldn't just pause halfway.
"No problem at all, Colonel Charles," said Johnson, surprised and a little flustered. He awkwardly gestured for Charles to take a seat.
"I received the ssage forwarded to by the governnt," Charles said, getting right to the point. "I understand you're interested in purchasing the Charles A1 tank?"
"Yes, we are!" Johnson nodded eagerly.
"However, as you know," Charles said, appearing hesitant, "we are in the middle of a war. The military has just placed an order for 500 tanks. If we prioritize production for you, it could an a long wait…"
Charles glanced over at Deyoka.
Deyoka picked up the cue and added, "Given our current production capacity, it could take around six months. The Charles A1 is no simple machine."
Charles turned his gaze back to Johnson. "But we would prioritize production for you. How many units do you need?"
Johnson's spirits, which had lifted, sank again. Six months was far too long; with tank technology advancing so rapidly, Arica would likely be left behind.
"Actually," Johnson said cautiously, "I was considering an alternative: Would it be possible to collaborate through a production license?"
Just as he expected, licensing carried a higher risk of leakage, which made it even harder to secure than a purchase deal. Johnson was grasping at straws, half-expecting Charles to refuse outright.
Instead, Charles rely frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm, that would reduce the pressure on our production capabilities."
Encouraged, Johnson promptly pulled a detailed proposal from his briefcase and slid it across the table to Charles. "You can rest assured, Colonel. We'll have French intelligence personnel stationed at our facilities to oversee everything, and we'll cover all related costs. Additionally, we're prepared to pay a licensing fee of one million dollars, not including royalties."
Deyoka's eyes lit up. At this ti, one million dollars was a substantial sum—the equivalent of 43 million francs, multiplying their fortune several tis over.
But Charles pushed the proposal back toward Johnson. "That's not what I need, Colonel Johnson."
Johnson's eyes widened with renewed hope. "Then, what do you need? Whatever it is, we're willing to comply."
"You know as well as I do," Charles replied steadily, "that Germany has seized France's northeastern industrial zone. That area housed 68% of our steel industry, so we're now severely short on steel—especially the specialty steel required for tank production…"
"Consider it done!" Johnson agreed instantly. "We'll be happy to export specialty steel to you unconditionally."
"No," Charles said, shaking his head. "If I grant you the production license, you can send us ready-made tank armor instead. That way, we can speed up our production. What do you think?"
"Of course!" Johnson nodded vigorously. For Arica, this was a trivial matter—there was no reason to refuse.
But for Charles, this was a significant breakthrough.
Currently, Schneider held a monopoly on the manufacturing of specialty steel, a power it could wield to stymie Charles. Now, however, that concern was gone.
And beyond this agreent, Charles could continue developing a partnership with Arica in the field of specialty materials.
(End of Chapter)
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