I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France Chapter 448: This is not a Coincidence

FN company indeed has the idea of improving the "Shao Sha" to compete with the "Saint-Etienne 2" machine gun.

Because Bo Yata pondered deeply, he believed that in the future, the only conflict Shire might have with FN company would be over light machine guns.

In terms of rifles, Belgium has always been equipped with the German "Mauser", while the rifles produced by Shire’s arsenal are "Lebel".

There is no conflict between the two, especially since "Mauser" is superior to "Lebel", making it unlikely for the Belgian Army to switch.

Handguns are Browning, which is also more advanced than the French revolver.

These two aspects need not worry about being replaced by Shire’s arsenal, at least for now.

However, other weapons such as machine guns, artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, etc., could all be controlled by Shire, and even if one tried extrely hard, one might not be able to break in!

No, it cannot be this way!

Thus, Bo Yata imported the "Shao Sha" machine gun from France, which was considered a failure and facing elimination, hoping to improve it and compete with Shire.

One of Bo Yata’s confidences is that FN company possesses a gun design genius nad Browning.

This is a competition between two geniuses, Bo Yata thought, how can one know the outco without trying?

"Let’s be straightforward." Albert I put down his coffee cup and looked at Bo Yata expressionlessly: "Under usual circumstances, I would absolutely support your competition because it brings progress. But now it’s warti, Mr. Bo Yata, our troops are waiting for the weapons from the arsenal to reach the battlefield. I hope you can cooperate with Shire."

"Cooperate?" Bo Yata was stunned: "Your Majesty, what level of cooperation do you expect between and Shire?"

"Shire plans to produce machine guns in Belgium." Albert I said: "But unfortunately, even with our full support, it might take several months to select a site, build the factory, set up the production line, and finally mass-produce the machine guns. We can’t wait that long; the enemy is right in front of us, and we need to drive them out of our territory!"

"You an..." Bo Yata’s face turned pale: "You hope our arsenal can produce machine guns for Shire?"

Albert I nodded: "I will secure the ’authorized production’ permission from Shire, and your arsenal will be responsible for production. This only requires so modifications to the rifle production line, and we can imdiately enter mass production. It’s beneficial for both of us, what do you think?"

Bo Yata’s face was gloomy and uncertain, as if finding it difficult to make a decision.

Albert I gave Colonel Edison a look.

Colonel Edison understood and carried on: "The army urgently needs this type of machine gun, Mr. Bo Yata. The biggest flaw of heavy machine guns is their weight; it’s difficult to move them quickly on the battlefield. Facing the Germans, we are always at a disadvantage in artillery fire, making heavy machine guns almost synonymous with death, while light machine guns can solve this problem well."

This was the awkward situation of the Belgian Army; they faced this problem when fighting the German Army at the outbreak of World War I.

At that ti, the Belgian Army was equipped with only 102 Maxim heavy machine guns.

Initially, these heavy machine guns were treasured, but soon they found that they could hardly function effectively on the battlefield: as soon as the heavy machine guns fired, they were targeted by the Germans’ 77 cannons, and soon a barrage of shells would obliterate them along with the machine gunners.

The disparity in strength was vast; the weaker side was unsuitable for using equipnt with poor mobility, they should resort to guerrilla tactics.

Thus, the need for light machine guns beca urgent.

"Your decision will save many lives." Albert I pleaded: "It might even save Belgium and your factory, esteed Mr. Bo Yata."

Bo Yata hesitated and responded: "I will seriously consider it, Your Majesty. Please give so ti."

"Of course." Albert I smiled and nodded.

Watching Bo Yata’s departing figure, Colonel Edison was sowhat puzzled.

"What is there to hesitate about?" Colonel Edison said: "That’s Shire, everyone wants to cooperate with Shire."

"He thinks he has a chance to beat Shire." Albert I smiled: "If he can monopolize the Belgian arms market, why share profits with Shire? Capitalists always strive to maximize their interests, regardless of the urgency of the war, the potential increase in casualties, or even putting the country in danger—those are not their concerns."

In fact, the more perilous the country is, the more they profit, because then the country has no choice but to buy at high prices.

"Is he crazy?" Colonel Edison still couldn’t believe it: "Beat Shire? Beat ’Saint-Etienne 2’? That is recognized as the best machine gun..."

"Because he has Browning, colonel." Albert I replied.

Colonel Edison suddenly fell silent, showing a look of realization.

...

Actually, Bo Yata’s confidence was not solely because of Browning.

Upon returning to his arsenal in Ghent, he first sought out Browning.

(The above image is of John Moses Browning, an Arican, chief gun designer at FN, who designed many famous guns)

By then, Browning was already 60 years old, a white-haired old man like Bo Yata, except Browning’s head was balder.

Browning was testing the improved "Shao Sha" at the shooting range, with a few "Saint-Etienne 2" machine guns placed nearby.

"How is it?" Bo Yata stepped forward and asked: "Is it possible to beat the ’Saint-Etienne 2’?"

Browning shook his head helplessly: "Almost impossible, the design of ’Saint-Etienne 2’ is near perfect, the rotating drum magazine effectively solves the issue of ammunition capacity and bullet taper. Unless we use the sa design, otherwise..."

"Then minimize its malfunction rate as much as possible." Bo Yata said solemnly.

Browning saw sothing wrong with Bo Yata’s expression and asked curiously: "What happened?"

"Hmm." Bo Yata turned his gaze to the few "Saint-Etienne 2" machine guns in the corner: "They want us to produce this type of machine gun."

Browning’s face darkened.

This was almost an admission of defeat by FN, an admission of his defeat, a sign of giving up on developnt.

"What’s your opinion?" Bo Yata asked with a trace of sorrow, could no one truly beat Shire?

After thinking for a while, Browning calmly replied: "We still have an advantage, FN is a local enterprise; as long as the performance difference is not big, the Belgian Army will still choose our machine guns."

Bo Yata nodded in agreent.

This is a matter of national security; dostic arms enterprises are easier to control, while Shire is French.

Therefore, as long as the "Shao Sha" machine gun’s malfunction rate is minimized, it can still compete with the "Saint-Etienne 2".

But at this mont, a secretary approached and said to Bo Yata: "Sir, we just received a notice from the interim governnt, due to docunts being destroyed in the war, we need to reapply for a gun production permit!"

Bo Yata stared dumbfounded at the secretary, believing this was no coincidence.