Chapter 510: Two Conditions
"Minister of the Navy" saw Charles in a pensive state, both surprised and uncertain: "It seems you really have a solution!"
General Winter remained calm. He always believed that there was no problem Charles couldn't solve.
Then the "Minister of the Navy" seemed to remember something. He relaxed and said, "If the solution is 'depth charges,' then you might be disappointed. Their effectiveness is not as great as you think."
The "Minister of the Navy" quickly stopped talking and glanced at Charles. Seeing that Charles had no significant reaction, he felt slightly reassured.
Ever since Charles had used depth charges in the Dardanelles, the British Navy had copied them and put them into combat.
Their greatest flaw was that they couldn't see the submarines underwater. The bombing was entirely based on guesswork, which made the destruction rate very low.
Charles knew about the British's shameless imitation, but he didn’t plan to argue with them.
Depth charges were too simple. It was just a delayed fuse and explosives, with no technical threshold. The innovation wasn’t in the bomb itself, but in using this type of bomb to target submarines.
This made it very difficult to protect the intellectual property, especially for cross-border rights protection during wartime.
The "sonar," however, was different. It was a device that used sound wave reflection to detect objects. At this time, it was still considered high-tech, and it would take several years to surpass it.
Thinking of this, Charles nodded and said,
"I understand the problem with 'depth charges,' Captain."
"But if we know the enemy submarine’s position and even its depth, using 'depth charges' would be a completely different story."
The "Minister of the Navy" chuckled, "That's the key, Brigadier General. We have no way of knowing..."
Before he could finish, the smile froze on his face. He suddenly understood what Charles was implying: "You don’t mean... you can detect the submarine’s position and depth, do you?"
Even General Winter looked at Charles with a puzzled expression.
Submarines were underwater, usually operating at depths of several dozen meters. The idea of seeing them or determining their depth seemed like a fantasy!
Charles, however, replied slowly and calmly:
"We call it the 'echo locator.'"
"After the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg, some scientists tried to create instruments to detect icebergs in the water."
"And they succeeded."
At first, the "Minister of the Navy" didn't feel anything significant. He had heard of iceberg detection, but he thought it was just a rumor.
Then, he suddenly realized what Charles meant. He jumped up from the couch with an exclamation, his tone full of excitement: "You mean... you’ve modified this instrument to detect submarines?"
General Winter stared at Charles in disbelief. This indeed seemed like a feasible solution. How did he come up with this idea?
"To be precise, it wasn’t me," Charles answered unperturbed. "It was the scientists I employed."
Charles particularly emphasized the words "I employed."
"That's incredible!" The "Minister of the Navy" nearly lost control, waving his fists enthusiastically.
"If we can know the submarine's position, the depth charges would be targeted, and they could break the submarine into pieces."
"And the Germans don’t know about this. They might be lying at the bottom of the sea, waiting for us to leave, completely unaware that they’ve become our target."
"The Navy will return to its position. This is a major breakthrough, one of humanity’s greatest inventions. It’s practically designed for us!"
...
The "Minister of the Navy" became increasingly excited, laughing heartily, and gave Charles a big hug, nearly planting a kiss on his cheek.
"But there are two conditions, Rear Admiral, Captain." Charles gave them both a glance.
The "Minister of the Navy" made an effort to calm himself down. He sat back on the couch, smiling broadly, and nodded at Charles. "Of course, Brigadier General, of course there are conditions. I mean, no matter how many there are, as long as we can make it happen!"
"The first is the issue of technical confidentiality," Charles replied. "We will not export the 'echo locator' because it represents our most advanced technology."
General Winter asked, "If we don’t export it, how can it be effective?"
The "Minister of the Navy" guessed Charles' meaning: "You mean, you want the French Navy to participate in anti-submarine operations?"
"Yes," Charles said firmly. "The 'echo locator' can only be installed on French warships, and the French Navy must cooperate with you on anti-submarine operations."
Charles wanted the French Navy to participate more in combat. Otherwise, it would just be a decorative piece docked at the port. In the future, whether it was the "Crossbow Cannon" or the "Toulon Blockade," they would be helpless in the face of it.
(Note: "Crossbow Cannon Operations" refers to a series of attacks initiated by the "Minister of the Navy" after France's surrender during World War II. Fearing French warships would fall into German hands, he acted preemptively against the French Navy.)
"But that would cause a lot of unnecessary problems," General Winter objected. "We don’t speak the same language, and our tactics are different. Just coordinating communications would be a huge challenge. It’s easy for the fleet to fall into chaos."
He had experienced this in the Dardanelles, where most of the operations had been bombings across the straits, which didn’t require much coordination.
Charles shrugged and said plainly, "It’s up to you whether you want it or not!"
General Winter and the "Minister of the Navy" fell silent.
After a while, the "Minister of the Navy" made his decision: "Of course, we want it, Brigadier General. That’s no problem. We just need to solve the communication and coordination issues between the British and French navies."
Charles gave a grunt of agreement. That was his bottom line; he would not back down.
This wasn’t just a matter of money and industrial rights—it was about controlling the "Minister of the Navy."
One day, if the British Navy, with Charles' help, regained its peak and suppressed the Army, and the "Minister of the Navy" failed to return the favor to Charles, what would he do?
The British Navy might even ally with the Army to suppress Charles, after all, they didn’t want him to grow too strong.
But with control over the "echo locator," things were different. Charles could withdraw it at any time, forcing the British Navy back into a situation where German submarines would harass them.
It was a balance—using the Germans to limit the British Navy, and using the British Navy to counter the British Army.
The world was truly strange!
The "Minister of the Navy" seemed to have realized that this was a strategy Charles had devised specifically for him. Though it was a bit unpleasant, he needed the "echo locator" to survive and could only swallow his pride.
"And the second condition?" the "Minister of the Navy" asked expressionlessly.
Charles sighed, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I need the manufacturing process for rocket propellant, gentlemen. I hope you don’t mind sharing that technology as well?"
The "Minister of the Navy" and General Winter were both stunned before chuckling.
The process for making rocket propellant existed in France, but Charles was asking the British for it?
However, this seemed normal. The technology in France was controlled by Schneider, and perhaps Charles had run into obstacles there.