CHAPTER 251: CHAPTER 251: APPORTIONING COSTS

Shire proposed a complete air combat system.

First, fighter jets equipped with machine guns would be used to gain air superiority.

Once air superiority was achieved, reconnaissance planes could fly freely over the enemy’s heads, easily and quickly scouting the enemy’s real-time movements. Many pieces of intelligence that couldn’t be obtained from the ground, even with heavy casualties, could be gathered with just one flight of a reconnaissance plane.

Then came the bombers.

After the reconnaissance planes gathered intelligence, the bombers could strike wherever they wanted, easily bypassing the enemy lines to deliver devastating blows to key targets behind enemy lines. This had already formed another kind of "asymmetric warfare" during trench warfare, enough to impact enemy morale.

The Germans had also thought about this model, but their development direction was "airships."

The Germans’ dream was shattered by Shire with a small rocket in Antwerp.

...

The first to find Shire was Russia.

To be precise, it wasn’t Russia that found Shire, but Russia through the French Government, and the French Government through Gallieni found Shire.

Gallieni called Shire over after receiving a phone call, frowning as he asked, "They want to know your price for production authorization."

"Production authorization?" Shire asked in confusion. "I’m already producing for the military in France, I can produce as much as needed, why would I...?"

Then Shire paused: "Could it be Schneider? No, this can’t be, I won’t agree! No amount of money will do!"

Shire thought that Schneider had used the parliament to force the government to make this absurd decision.

"No!" Gallieni shook his head: "It’s not Schneider, it’s Russia!"

Gallieni explained:

"Russia has this need. Their transportation is inconvenient, and in winter, ice and snow make it difficult, and when spring comes, the melting snow turns the land into mud."

"Moreover, the Russian army is very large, requiring much more supplies than Germany, and the recent blockade of the Dardanelles Strait has further added to their supply pressures."

"Therefore, they very much need bombers capable of effectively targeting enemy supply lines or key targets behind enemy lines."

There was one reason Gallieni didn’t mention.

Ever since Russia entered the war, they had been worried about the pressure on their domestic population. They needed bombers to bring more victories and boost morale.

But even without Gallieni mentioning it, Shire knew.

Because less than two years later, the Russian populace would be overwhelmed and withdraw prematurely from this war.

This made no difference to Shire; business was business and it didn’t matter who he sold to, as long as it wasn’t a competitor like Schneider.

But Shire hesitated at this point, putting on a troubled expression:

"General, we know the Russian military’s organization and management are very chaotic. Production authorization means our secrets might leak out."

"This means our opponent, Germany, might very well have similar bombers."

"Can the Allies afford such a cost?"

Gallieni nodded slightly; he too had this concern. Shire had hit the nail on the head.

What Gallieni didn’t know was that Shire’s words were actually a diversion.

The Caproni Bomber didn’t have any real secrets. Aircraft of this era were simple, and copying one was easy, especially for industrial powers like Germany.

What mattered always was the engine technology.

Therefore, Germany didn’t need to go through Russia for blueprints; they had the capability to replicate it themselves, so there was no real issue of leaking secrets to the enemy.

"Moreover!" Shire continued: "This poses a significant risk to my business; I could suffer huge losses."

Gallieni nodded in agreement.

If Russia leaked the bomber’s blueprints or secrets, Shire would lose his monopoly on this bomber, and potential customers might bypass Shire to replicate it.

After thinking for a while, Gallieni said seriously, "I hope you understand, Colonel, this is not just about money; it’s also about national security..."

"I understand," Shire interrupted: "Russia needs bombers to stabilize the Eastern Front, and the Allies need Russia to hold off the Germans on the Eastern Front; otherwise, all German forces will press on the Western Front!"

Shire knew this and had the confidence to negotiate with the government.

As the saying goes, "Rare goods are valuable," and the nation’s fate had nothing to do with him. The more urgent they were, the more relaxed he could be as a capitalist.

"But General," Shire smiled and shook his head: "No capitalist would do something so foolish. If someone did, they might soon go bankrupt because that’s inviting trouble."

Gallieni couldn’t find words to refute. Shire seemed to be stating a fact.

After pretending to consider for a while, Shire finally said: "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Gallieni showed a hint of expectation in his eyes.

As a general considering France’s interests, he surely wanted to facilitate this deal.

"Unless I can be compensated for the potential losses," Shire named his price: "The condition for production authorization is that for each bomber produced, Russia must pay a licensing fee of 70,000 francs!"

"My God!" Gallieni exclaimed: "That’s impossible, Shire, that’s even more than the purchase price! Russia might as well buy directly from you!"

"Of course." Shire had considered this: "Russia can choose to do that too."

Gallieni immediately understood the key issue: the Dardanelles Strait was blockaded, and Russia could only transport planes from Shire’s hands via the Atlantic Ocean.

And the large size of bombers likely required disassembly and reassembly in Russia. This didn’t include the issue of Russian ports freezing over in winter, halting transport.

Accounting for these transportation costs, buying directly from Shire might not be cost-effective.

Gallieni suddenly realized that Shire was calculating a business deal, and it seemed the price Shire proposed was something Russia couldn’t refuse.

Gallieni smiled lightly: "You’re very thorough, Colonel. But you seem to have overlooked one point: Russia’s economy is not ample, and they may be unable to afford this."

"I know," Shire replied unhurriedly: "But aren’t France and Britain allies with Russia? Shouldn’t they provide some economic support to Russia?"

Gallieni was taken aback: "You mean..."

Before Gallieni finished his sentence, he understood.

France and Britain should jointly share this expense, to support Russia’s war on the Eastern Front, but the money would actually go into Shire’s pocket.

What a cunning fellow, this was his real intention all along.

But the plan seemed workable. After all, until the Dardanelles Strait was cleared, France and Britain could barely offer Russia any substantial help.

Sharing some of the costs for bombers could be seen as contributing to the ally’s effort.