The journey starts from the Titanic

There is a saying, "Men conquer women by conquering the world, and women conquer the world by conquering men." Perhaps this is also the case!

The next day, one sunny morning, Situ Nan hurriedly rushed to the testing ground behind the steel plant. This was the second time he saw the test firing of a mortar.There was also an important guest who accompanied Situ Nan: Charlie Filald, a partner of Situ Nan, a buyer from Europe. In the past year, he purchased a large amount of meat from Situ Nan. The front line of canned food supply.At first it was canned meat. Later, as the cooperation deepened, his scope of procurement gradually expanded to steel, petroleum, medicine, etc., and he bought almost what Situ Nan produced.

After several successful cooperations, Situ Nan and Charlie Filald established a good relationship. This time Situ Nan obviously wanted to sell the mortars to the front lines of the European War through Charlie Filald.

"Charlie, I have something interesting for you to see today." As soon as I met Situ Nan, he hugged Charlie.

"Oh, is it?" Charlie said, he was a little curious about what was interesting in Situ Nan's mouth.Charlie and Situ Nan got to know each other through a business deal. As the deal progressed, Charlie slowly discovered that Situ Nan, a "little fellow", was really not easy.Not only does it have a large number of industries in Los Angeles, but it also heard that it has a close relationship with a certain oil company in the United States, so Stuart also began to pay attention to it.Charlie was a munitions supplier for the British Army. Due to insufficient local production capacity in the United Kingdom, Charlie was sent to the United States to purchase war supplies. His previous transactions with Situ Nan were mostly food, lighters and other gadgets. Today, Situ Nan was taken to the steel plant. .Charlie has some doubts, is Situ Nan selling steel?Charlie thought.

Situ Nan took Charlie to the test site. According to Situ Nan's instructions, a trench was dug in the middle of the test site and a machine gun position was built with some barbed wire on it, which was a bit similar to the front line of the European war.

"Oh, my goodness, this is the damned trench fortification!" Charlie said in surprise.Charlie from Europe is no stranger to this, every day countless young soldiers are devoured by these trenches.

"Charlie, look good! I think you will like it!" Situ Nan smiled mysteriously and said to James White next to him, "It's time to start!"

So everyone saw a place 100 meters away from the trench. Several testers took out a tube and a few pieces of iron to assemble it. In less than a minute it became a small cannon with a bracket. This is today The protagonist: Mortar!

After aiming the mortar, a tester stuffed a cannonball into the barrel and squatted down with his ears covered.Almost at the same time, there was a "swish" sound, the shell was fired, and it fell to a place seven or eight meters before the trench, and smoke from the shell explosion came out.

The testers then adjusted the scope and fired a second cannonball. This time the cannonball accurately landed on the machine gun position in the trench, and the wooden machine gun had been blown to pieces.

The testers adjusted the shelling distance to two hundred meters, three times the meter, and the results were satisfactory.At present, Situ Nan produces 40-caliber and 60-caliber mortars. Tests have proved that the effects of these two mortars are very good.

"Charlie, isn't this good?" Situ Nan touched the stunned Charlie with his hand.

"It's really great! This thing is specially designed to deal with trenches and other fortifications. It can not only destroy the enemy's machine gun and suppress the opponent's vitality, but also attack the enemy behind the obstacle! With this kind of weapon, the British boys will A lot less death, Stoneney, I want this thing!" Charlie said eagerly.

Well, that's it!Charlie's performance was expected by Situ Nan, so Situ Nan smiled and said, "After all, I am still a citizen of the empire. I would like to be able to serve the country!" The ghost knows what Situ Nan, a semi-foreigner, has to the British Empire. feeling!

Making money is the real thing, and he also hopes that Europe will play harder, so many products are sold.But it doesn’t cost much to say something flashy, why not?

The mortar aroused Charlie's interest. He followed Situ Nan to find out the details of the weapon. In some cases, Situ Nan didn't know much about it, so he had to send the mortar designer Lyman Suker to explain.

After getting the information, Charlie couldn't sit still, and rushed away!This will be a big business for him. The dense trenches on the European continent need such a light and flexible mortar. This is an astronomical demand!Thinking about all kinds of business opportunities makes Charlie excited.

There is a saying among these purchasers, "God is on the side of the big factories and the big army!" The Allies are searching for supplies all over the world to arm their huge army, ranging from aircrafts and cannons to underpants. Nothing they don't need!The consumption of war was beyond people's imagination, and Britain, France, and Russia were unable to meet the needs of the front after they were mobilized.

If possible, the arrogant John Bull could not wait to put the Royal Navy on land and end this damn war.In short, the Verdun meat grinder, the Somme slaughterhouse, not only the German Hans's attack was contained, but also the sadness of the British John Bull and the French Gallic Chicken!

After sending off Charlie, Situ Nan left the steel plant's general manager James White. He said to James: "You have seen the effect just now. This is a weapon that is about to sell well. I now inform you to change the original The relevant departments for research on mortars were independent and set up an arsenal to produce these mortars. I want to see the finished products as soon as possible.

There may also be people coming from Europe soon. I hope you can take charge of the negotiation. The price of each mortar should not be less than 500 US dollars, and the authorized patent fee should not be less than 5 million US dollars!The investment in the mortar factory this time will be as high as 5 million US dollars. I will give you 5% of the shares, 5% to the management of the factory, and reward 100,000 US dollars to the mortar research team. At the same time, you are also The head of the mortar factory.Now you leave the work of the steel plant to your deputy. The steel plant must fully cooperate with the production of mortars. Remember to do the mortar work first. Time is running out, so prepare quickly!We all have to make a lot of money!"

Throughout the morning, Situ Nan taught James face to face in the office, and he did both kindness and power, wishing to make James look like a cow.

As Situ Nan said, after Charlie went back to report the mortar situation to the British side, less than a week, the British military came to the door!

A large number of British boys have been killed in the war. Poor John Bull is more dead than Uncle Sam, and he is enlisting in large numbers from the colonies of Canada, Australia, and South Africa.In particular, the soldiers transferred from colonial India dumped the rubbish on the Germans' machine gun positions, but they couldn't stop the crumbling front line.

Hearing that the United States had produced such a light and flexible mortar that could suppress enemy machine guns and attack enemies in the trenches, the British military could not help but become enthusiastic.

James, who was instructed by Situ Nan, was very smooth in the negotiations with the British military, and finally reached an agreement. The California Arms Company authorized the British to produce the L15 model named after the designer Lyman Suker at a price of 5.5 million US dollars. Firing.At the same time, the British military also placed an order for the first batch of 500 L15 mortars to the California Arms Company. Each L15 mortar is priced at $1,000, with 50 shells attached, and the other shells are priced at $5 each. Another count.

The British are really rich!With a patent license of US$5.5 million, 500 L15 mortars are priced at US$1,000 each for US$500,000, and there are 100,000 shells. US$10 per shell is US$1 million, which adds up to US$7 million!

What a big cake this is!This is the first batch of orders. When the French, Russians, and possibly Americans see the effect of the L15 mortar, they will come to the door and count the money and cramp!

Situ Nan, who received the report, said with a smile, the British Empire has been a pirate for two to three hundred years, and the family background is really solid!Such a large sum of money went down without blinking.

Tut tut...

While the California Arms Company was busy expanding the production of mortars, within a month, the first $2 million deposit had been paid to the California Arms Company’s account. Situ Nan was almost equivalent to spending no money. An arsenal was built.

Because the initial investment of the California Arms Company was borrowed from the bank, after seeing the huge order received by the California Arms Company, the bank immediately approved the application of the California Arms Company.

This time the excellent play of the empty glove white wolf was also planned by Situ Nan and executed by James, the general manager of the California Arms Company!With his superior performance in California Steel Company and California Arms Company, James has not only become a limelight in California, but also a millionaire!

Think about it three years ago, when I was the head of a small steel plant in the Bot Fort Laus family, with an annual income of only 100,000 US dollars.

Now with the start of the First World War, the young proprietor Situ Nan suddenly invested heavily in expanding the scale of the steel plant, and James' status has also risen. Now he is also the general manager of the California Arms Company, the largest local munitions company. Shareholders, with an annual salary of several hundred thousand, are even well-known in the US arms industry.

This kind of success came a bit too quickly and suddenly. For James, who has always been diligent, he admires his boss Situ Nan more and more. This year ago, people seemed to have a pair of eyes to see through the future, and they were always easy to find. The investment project with the easiest and most lucrative return.

Chapter 24 Mortar (Part 2)

To be honest, this L15 mortar does not have too sophisticated technology technically, but the military of various countries did not pay much attention to it before, until the cruel battle, the two sides suffered heavy losses in the battle of positions, ordinary artillery It can only shoot directly and cannot destroy the enemy under the trench at all. Therefore, a mortar that can launch a curve and strike the enemy in the trench meets the needs of positional warfare.

The mortar is mainly composed of four parts, namely the barrel, bracket, sight, and plate.The deconstruction is very simple, so after constructing the factory intensively, within two months, the California Arms Company delivered the first batch of 5000 L15 40-caliber and 60-caliber mortars to the British forces on the European front. After a simple training, this type of L15 mortar caught the German army by surprise. The British army not only destroyed the German machine gun, but also suppressed the German army in the trench. The British army took the German army with a very small payment. Position.

The good effects of the mortars made the British army very excited. They hadn't won the contest with the Germans for a long time. So on the one hand, the British army increased the research and production of its own domestic mortars, and on the other hand, to make up for its own lack of production capacity. , Placed the second batch of orders with the California Arms Company. More mortars and more shells were produced from the American factory and sent to Europe, called to the hands of frontline soldiers, and then killed each other.

This time, the French and Russians followed the British. The French couldn't wait to find James. He opened his mouth and smashed a big order worth more than tens of millions of dollars, making James very happy.

The French are even more "excessive", their only requirement is delivery within two months!

"Oh my God! In such a hurry, why not let me rush to the German with a dynamite bag!" James was painful and happy!

Since the Battle of the Western Front was basically in France, the industry in northern France would either fall into the hands of the German army or be destroyed, so the French industrial production was stretched out. In order to prevent the German offensive, countless French boys who love romance have Sleeping under the crushing mountains and rivers, the French wanted this new type of mortar that caught the Germans by surprise more than the British.

There was no rejection of the door-to-door business. In a blink of an eye, it was the end of 1915. After several months of continuous construction, the production capacity of the California Arms Company could basically meet the order.

The only uncomfortable thing is that the Russians have no money and want to buy mortars. Fortunately, the French guarantees that James did not refuse the Russians' request.

A sharp weapon is not enough to change the outcome of the war, but it can change the fate of a company and some people until the end of World War I. Except for the domestically produced mortars in Britain and France, almost all mortars used by their soldiers were American companies. Especially those produced by the California Arms Company. Of course, the Germans did not count as counterfeiting. They infringed the California Arms Company's patents.

Huge interests will always attract covets. Many arms dealers in the east are looking at the emergence of the California arms company with surprise and even jealousy. Fortunately, the mortar is a new type of artillery, and there is no conflict with their products. Since the eastern arms dealers cannot reach Los Angeles on the west coast, the California Arms Company has the support of the local government without the suppression of the eastern traditional forces, and it has developed smoothly from the beginning.

Affected by the European war, the U.S. military began to be armed. The good performance of the L15 mortar naturally fell into the eyes of the U.S. military. Recently, a U.S. Army logistics staff also came to the door and told the U.S. Army that it has been Include the L15 mortar in the list of American weapons and equipment!This is really good news!

Situ Nan knew that the United States would join the war sooner or later, and American young men have always been known for their adequate logistics.

Situ Nan once heard a saying that Americans can tolerate the failure of the general's command error, but absolutely cannot accept that the American boy is killed because of insufficient supplies!

Imagine that the United States will have more than one million troops landing in Europe, and the L15 mortar that is included in the US Army's weaponry list is also in great demand!

This is not only a successful transaction, but the main thing is to build a good relationship with the US military, and the benefits it brings are not all in a few words.

For these reasons, Situ Nan personally came forward to receive Major Ben Hamilton from the U.S. Army staff and invited him to his home as a guest.

Under Situ Nan’s intention to please him, Ben Hamilton and Situ Nan became good friends and won many US military orders for Situ Nan, and even "selling the stolen goods" with Situ Nan!However, these plots will be brought up in the future.

In terms of the moral army, it was caught off guard by the mortars used by the Allied forces at first. The powerful German army suffered a lot in the battle with the British and French army, because the German army did not have a damn mortar!

This simple thing invented by the United States has been crippled by the Germans!Due to the blockade of the Allies, it was impossible for the German army to purchase a large number of mortars, so they had to copy!

After getting the mortars left by the British and French soldiers from the battlefield, the German side organized personnel to copy L15 mortars!

The Germans really have nothing to say about this. Not long after, with their strong industrial capabilities, the Germans began to equip their own mortars!