Chapter 153 Price Trap

Gallieni glanced at the quotation sheet. The price of a grenade was 2 francs, and 10,000 grenades were only 20,000 francs. He signed his name without thinking.

He didn't realize that he had fallen into the price trap set by Charles:

The cost of wooden-handled grenades was very cheap. At the same time, Saint-Antienne had ready-made production lines for gunpowder, woodworking, and casting. Putting them together, a grenade factory was quickly formed.

Therefore, the final cost of a grenade was only 35 centimes. According to the usual practice, 75 centimes would be enough to double the price, and there would still be a 100% profit.

But Charles knew that Gallieni had no concept of grenades, otherwise he would not have blurted out "10,000" before.

This is not a matter of "10,000", but millions or even tens of millions of grenades will be consumed in a month.

If Gallieni knew this, he would sit down and carefully evaluate every sou or even every centime and push it down bit by bit.

Because the number is too large, every centime will become an astonishing number in the end.

Just because Gallieni didn't understand, he thought that 10,000 pieces were enough for the troops to use for a while, with a unit price of 2 francs, and a total price of only 20,000 francs! A conscientious capitalist, there was no need to bargain, and he signed with his eyes closed.

Charles was very happy. The profit of 165 centimes, divided equally with the Saint-Etienne Arsenal, was 82.5 centimes. At the least, the front line consumed one million pieces every month... That was 825,000 francs of profit, every month!

This is almost catching up with selling 100 "Mark I" vehicles every month.

Moreover, the data of actual combat consumption may be ten times, dozens of times, or even dozens of times!

Charles was almost scared by the numbers. Isn't this a bit unfair?

But on second thought, if the military doesn't make money, leave it to the capitalists to make money. He has already been a conscientious business, selling things that are useful on the battlefield! Unlike those capitalists, they are both seeking money and killing people!

Thinking of this, Charles felt at ease and had a clear conscience.

Gallieni never took the grenade to heart. He handed the signed contract back to Charles and asked, "So, you and Saint-Etienne are some kind of alliance?"

"You can say that!" Charles raised the contract in his hand: "He is very experienced in producing light weapons, and the factories, workers, and machines are all ready, but I have nothing! Cooperation is beneficial to both parties, and the same is true for the military!"

Galieni nodded, which means that the military can get what they want quickly, and once the battle is fierce, there will be no shortage of supply.

Then Gallieni secretly praised Steed in his heart. This old guy still has a good vision. As long as he grabs Charles's life-saving straw, his Saint-Etienne Arsenal will not only not weaken, but will create glory again and even be much stronger than before!

"Now!" Gallieni raised his hand to the map beside him: "Lafox is in your hands. No matter what plan you have, put it into action!"

"Yes, General!" Charles responded. He saluted Gallieni and turned to his desk. Before he even reached his mouth, he had already given an order to Lieutenant Colonel Fernan: "Reconnaissance aircraft and fighter squadrons are dispatched, Lieutenant Colonel!"

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Colonel Fernan responded and immediately gave the order over the phone.

...

Carter Flying Club.

The sky was still drizzling, and the club was empty with no shelter and no food. However, it still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the reporters. They braved the cold wind and rain and endured hunger to wait outside the club, and looked up at the sky with binoculars from time to time.

When bored, they would chat with their colleagues around them:

"Do you think Charles will deploy rocket planes?"

"Maybe, but I don't think the effect will be very good!"

"Why?"

Reporters who know something about the military or have more information will analyze it at this time:

"Because it is the rainy season, rockets hanging on the wings are easily damp, even if they are waterproof!"

"What is more fatal is the low visibility. Rocket planes need to dive at the target when bombing targets, but as long as the rain is a little heavier, the pilot cannot see the target or even the ground clearly."

"The result of the dive is likely to be that you and the plane will crash into the ground!"

...

Reporters exclaimed "So that's it".

Military reporters looked satisfied. These rookies reporting news in this area are not as professional as themselves anyway, so it doesn't matter if they know a little bit of fur.

At this time, a faint "rumbling" sound of the motor came from the airport, and the reporters suddenly became nervous, raising their binoculars and cameras one by one to get ready.

Soon, planes took off one after another, flying into the air in formation like a swarm of bees.

The reporters cheered, and then shouted in panic:

"What type of plane is it? Avro? How many are there?"

"Are there any rockets? Has anyone seen any rockets?"

"No, they are fighters. I saw the machine guns on the nose!"

"And reconnaissance planes, 'Gaudron' reconnaissance planes, and 'Dove'."

...

The first batch of planes released was 6 Avro from a fighter squadron, and the two reconnaissance squadrons were "Gaudron" and "Dove".

Usually, Charles would not send out fighter squadrons and reconnaissance squadrons together, especially "Dove" reconnaissance planes.

The reason is that the Germans also equipped a large number of "Dove" reconnaissance planes, and it was difficult for fighters to distinguish whether the "Dove" they encountered was their own or the enemy in rainy days.

This is a means of distinguishing between the enemy and us, and it can also increase the combat efficiency of fighters.

However, it seems that there is no need to fight now.

Carter reported the current situation to Charles: "Lieutenant, as long as there is an "Avro" in the sky, all German planes will stay in the airport and dare not take off! We have not had any work for a long time!"

Therefore, the fighters took off just for the sake of formality. During this period, the sky belonged to France until one day the Germans discovered the secret of the "machine gun firing coordinator".

...

The German defenders in La Foulkes immediately became nervous.

"Enemy planes!" The lookout standing on a high place held a telescope in one hand and pointed to the sky with the other hand and shouted: "Enemy planes are coming!"

Khalil got out of the command center and saw the vague figures of several "Avro" in the sky.

"Order the artillery to camouflage!" Khalil lowered his head and shouted to the command center: "No firing without orders!"

"Yes, sir!" The signalman immediately passed the order down.

Khalil turned his eyes to the sky again, with confidence on his face: Is Charles still planning to bomb the artillery with planes? Then this time, he will definitely be disappointed!