Charles had minimal involvent in the new party's formation and knew it wouldn't be appropriate to interfere much. As long as the party was built on his foundation and supported him in the future, that was all he needed.
With that settled, Charles turned his attention back to tank developnt.
He instructed Estigny not to disclose the "direction of tank developnt" to anyone, including the military.
Initially, Estigny was confused. "But Colonel, if we don't inform the military, won't they risk going in the wrong direction?"
Estigny quickly realized Charles's intent: he didn't want competitors like Schneider learning the future of tank developnt and possibly getting ahead.
After so thought, Estigny nodded in agreent. Since Charles's tractor factory was responsible for producing tanks for France, as long as Charles and Estigny knew the developnt direction, France would stay on course.
What Estigny didn't realize was that his thinking was a classic example of "judging a noble heart with a petty mind."
…
The next day, Charles's first order of business at the Garrison Command was to make a request to Gallieni.
"General," Charles said earnestly, "I'd like to request a technical advisor from the naval shipyard to assist us."
"The shipyard?" Gallieni looked at Charles quizzically. "You're not planning on building a battleship, are you?"
"No, General," Charles replied. "In fact, I'm thinking about tanks. You're aware that I currently have two tank models."
Gallieni nodded, acknowledging the "Mark I" and the "Charles A1."
"But…" Gallieni seed puzzled. "Isn't the 'Mark I' going to be retired?"
"No, General," Charles responded confidently. "On the contrary, we'll be upgrading it."
"Upgrading?" Gallieni was baffled. "Are we really going to continue using the 'Mark I'?"
"Absolutely," Charles explained with a straight face. "Each model has its strengths: the 'Charles A1' is faster and more mobile, but its armor is thin, and it lacks space for a large-caliber cannon. The 'Mark I,' while slower and logistically more demanding, can support thicker armor and possibly mount a large-caliber gun, which would be useful for breaching or destroying enemy bunkers."
Gallieni accepted this explanation imdiately—it made sense.
But after a mont's pause, Gallieni asked, "What does this have to do with a technical advisor from the shipyard?"
"We need to make the 'Mark I' larger, General," Charles explained. "Its size and weight may be several tis that of the current 'Mark I,' making it more like a ship. There will be issues with weight distribution, structural integrity, and more, all of which are similar to shipbuilding."
Gallieni nodded in understanding, then readily agreed. "I'll contact the shipyard…"
"No, General," Charles interrupted. "For confidentiality, it would be best if this advisor were soone from the military."
Gallieni found this reasonable and nodded again. "Understood. I'll notify the Naval Departnt to assign soone."
Charles let the matter proceed from there.
He wasn't truly planning to upgrade the "Mark I."
With the "Charles A1" already featuring a turret, upgrading the "Mark I" would be redundant.
But Estigny had given him an idea—or rather, Schneider's "light tank" had reminded him. If Schneider was developing light tanks in response to the "Charles A1," could the Germans have similar ideas?
The Germans had strong reasons to pursue a light tank.
They had poured resources into developing the A7V, equipping it with cannons, machine guns, and an 18-person crew, only to be bested by smaller tanks crewed by just two people.
And since the Germans were France's enemy, they had no "industrial property" constraints to worry about.
What was stopping them from copying the "Charles A1"?
The Germans were undoubtedly a more formidable threat than Schneider, with a stronger industrial base, a greater talent pool, and a more focused research direction. They had even incorporated suspension into their A7V.
Any tanks developed by the Germans would be used on the battlefield against the "Charles A1."
Thus, Charles saw a need to lay a "trap" for the Germans.
The most convincing "trap" was undoubtedly the lure of a "super-heavy tank."
The Germans seed to have a peculiar fascination with oversized weaponry. Examples included the "Big Bertha," the "Paris Gun," and later, in World War II, the massive "Gustav" gun. In tank design, they even developed the "Maus" super-heavy tank.
Considering this, Charles believed it wouldn't be difficult to guide the Germans' tank research toward "super-heavy" designs. The challenge would be to subtly convey this information to the Germans.
Charles thought of the spy Hali.
He also thought of the Naval Minister.
If he could arrange for soone from the Naval Departnt to assist, would the information about this "super-heavy tank" eventually make its way to the Germans?
This was what led Charles to make the request to Gallieni.
He didn't know if his plan would succeed. "Man proposes, God disposes." He would just have to wait and see what kind of tank the Germans ultimately brought to the battlefield.
Interestingly, Gallieni was a bit puzzled by Charles's request.
He was aware of Charles's connection with Wells. Not long ago, Charles had saved Wells's son, Tijani, and Wells held a privileged position within the Navy. It would've taken only a single call to have soone assigned. Why go through him and the entire Naval Departnt?
However, this thought quickly passed through Gallieni's mind.
He simply assud Charles wanted to keep a professional distance from Wells.
…
Soon, Charles discovered that things weren't going quite as he had planned.
That very afternoon, Tijani appeared in his office, much to Charles's surprise.
Tijani was slightly out of breath, as if he had sprinted up the stairs. He grinned as he said, "Reporting for duty, Colonel!"
"What are you doing here?" Charles asked, baffled.
He glanced at the guards nearby, wondering why they'd let Tijani in.
Since the "restructuring" at headquarters, unauthorized personnel, even officers, were no longer allowed to enter freely.
Tijani chuckled, producing a docunt and handing it to Charles. "It's my transfer order, Colonel! You needed a naval technical advisor, right? Well, here I am!"
"You're the technical advisor the Navy sent?" Charles stared at Tijani, astonished.
No doubt he had pulled so strings to land this role. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense to send an Army major general as a "technical advisor" for the Navy.
Tijani shrugged cheerfully. "Don't underestimate , Colonel. I'm what you'd call a well-rounded advisor."
Then he added with a grin, "Whatever problems you have, I can find the right people to help solve them!"
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