I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 129: After modification - 129 Grenade

Chapter 129: After modification: Chapter 129 Grenade

After the family finished dinner by candlelight, Dejoka took advantage of Camille’s time in the kitchen washing dishes to persuade Shire.

"I don’t oppose your persistence with the tank, Shire!" Dejoka said with some anxiety, "I even don’t oppose your ’non-competition’ stance, but you seem to need allies. You can’t fight the whole world alone, even if you are excellent!"

Then he added, "The methods the enemy can use are likely beyond your imagination, they are indefensible. Sometimes you have to choose a side!"

"I understand, Father!" Shire picked up a plum from his plate and stuffed it into his mouth.

Camille had said that plums are almost out of season, so they should seize the chance to taste them, otherwise, they would have to wait until next year.

"Moreover..." Dejoka hesitated, "sometimes we shouldn’t dwell on the past, we should look at the current situation and the future!"

Dejoka was referring to Shire being tricked into going to Antwerp. Grevy indeed wanted to harm Shire, but alliances and rivalries are rampant in the business world. He thinks that it would be advantageous now to form an alliance with Grevy.

More importantly, Dejoka knew that these aristocrats like Grevy are very skilled in intrigue and internal strife, something ingrained in their blood.

If allied with them, there wouldn’t be worries about unexpected "accidents" like last time.

This is an acceptance based on fear, similar to Stockholm Syndrome!

"I won’t ally with Grevy!" Shire responded without any hesitation, "They will eventually be eliminated by the times. Allying with them is not a wise choice!"

"So, who can we ally with?" Dejoka retorted.

Forming an alliance with Schneider is obviously impossible. The discord between Xia Fei and Gallieni is well known; choosing Gallieni means not choosing Xia Fei. Moreover, military giants like Schneider won’t take Shire seriously; trying to form an alliance would only bring humiliation.

Shire hesitated for a moment, then said calmly, "Don’t worry, Father, I will make allies come to me."

"What?" Dejoka didn’t understand Shire’s meaning.

"You will understand, Father!" Shire stood up to end the conversation and grabbed a few more plums.

He found the taste quite good, he just hadn’t included them in his choices before. Sometimes one should expand their options.

Returning to his room, Shire took out paper, pen, and a ruler to draw a sketch.

Wood-handled grenade, the principle is very simple. It can be made by hand and divided into offensive and defensive types based on the amount of explosive charge.

He soon finished the sketch. Though it’s not very accurate, it doesn’t need to be.

Then he added a page of text with simple annotations, made a copy for himself, and clipped them together with a pin before going downstairs to hand it to Dejoka, who was still dazed at the table.

"Father, take this to register the industrial patent tomorrow!"

Dejoka flipped through the documents, wanting to say something but ultimately nodded silently.

Shire understood Dejoka’s thoughts:

"What we lack is not industrial patents, Shire, nor money. We have plenty of money now! But there are things money can’t buy!"

Shire didn’t explain. Time would make things clear.

...

The next day, Paris enjoyed a rare sunny day. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun tore through the clouds, casting long shadows behind speeding cars.

"Do you believe it, Lieutenant?" Lauren said, "It’s pouring rain in Ypres now!"

"Oh?" Shire asked curiously, "You received information from Ypres?"

"Of course!" Lauren nodded, "Every detail. The General hopes you can understand the battlefield on your return! Everything is normal now; nothing has happened."

Shire realized this was Gallieni’s way of managing his vacation.

Battlefield information would continuously be passed to Lauren. If any special situations required Shire’s handling, it would be sent to him immediately.

A very good approach!

Ypres should remain uneventful for now.

The issue of air control hasn’t been resolved. The German Army’s attacks will undoubtedly be thwarted by France’s 75 Artillery.

On the hillside terrain, the German Army holds the advantage. The French Army, positioned in the muddy plains, would be suicidal to launch a counterattack!

Shire realized he might have saved many lives.

In history, this battle between French and German armies on the Ypres plain had cost tens of thousands of lives (German losses: 130,000; Allied losses: 100,000). Now, with just over ten thousand casualties, it was over.

The outcome is the same, but the casualties reduced by over 200,000!

To stop war by waging war and save lives by taking lives, is it a kind of irony?

...

Perhaps because the battlefield is relatively stable, the headquarters isn’t as busy as usual. General Gallieni sits at his desk, gnawing on bread while staring at the map, his mind already on the front line.

This has been his habit for years. He almost never goes to the cafeteria, even though it’s just downstairs.

"General!" Shire handed over the backup sketch of the grenade, saying, "I think we need this equipment!"

Gallieni glanced at the sketch but didn’t give much attention to it, looking back at the map and asking, "What is this?"

"Grenade!" Shire replied, "It replaces the explosives thrown by grenadiers!"

Gallieni raised his head with a serious expression.

After a moment, he put the bread aside, holding the sketch in one hand and the explanatory text in another.

After a while, he raised the document and somewhat dubious, asked Shire, "You mean it doesn’t need to be ignited, just pull the string to detonate?"

"Yes, General!" Shire answered, "A few seconds delay to allow soldiers to throw it out!"

Gallieni instantly understood the importance of this device; he nodded affirmatively, "You are right, Lieutenant! We indeed need this. Do you have samples?"

"No, General!" Shire replied, "I just designed it and am registering the industrial patent. If the army needs it, I can immediately start production. It’s not difficult..."

"We need it!" Gallieni nodded repeatedly, "Of course, we need it!"

Gallieni is a practical General who frequently sends staff to the front lines to understand the actual conditions, ensuring command remains grounded.

Thus, he knows the frontline soldiers are currently digging up explosives from the grenadiers’ era to throw at the enemy in the trenches.

But explosives have many drawbacks such as being prone to moisture and requiring ignition.

Yet Shire designed a specialized grenade for throwing, which doesn’t need ignition and is convenient to throw... It’s practically designed for trench warfare!

"We need at least ten thousand..." General Gallieni nodded affirmatively.

Shire couldn’t help but burst into laughter, ten thousand?

With France’s frontline army of millions, if each soldier gets five, that’s five to six million grenades, even ten million wouldn’t be enough, not counting future consumption!

(The image above shows the simplified grenades made by the Allies in WWI from cans. The German Army had already created prototype grenades, like spring or pull-activated spherical grenades. But initially, the Allies were in a state of self-made grenades, before urgently producing grenades for frontline supply a month later)