I Became a Tycoon During World War I: Saving France from the Start

Chapter 620: Does the Navy Have a Chance to Win?

Charles stepped in front of General Winter, his tone laced with sarcasm: "Greetings, General. Is this how you collaborate with me?"

This was likely what the "Minister of Munitions" looked like when devouring resources—he never cared what his allies thought, only chasing benefits at all costs.

General Winter's expression didn't change. He calmly responded, "Is this not cooperation, Lieutenant General? It benefits both of us."

Professor Fessenden, unaware of the power play involved, looked at Charles in confusion. "General, what General Winter is proposing isn't a purchase of the patent, but a production license."

"This isn't simply about a production license, Professor," Charles replied. "Once the British acquire the rights to produce the 'echo detector,' the Royal Navy will, just like before, abandon the French Navy entirely."

Professor Fessenden was momentarily stunned, then suddenly jolted awake to the implications.

The Royal Navy had the world's largest fleet, and Britain had tremendous industrial capacity. If they wanted to, they could mass-produce the echo detector in a short period and equip their fleet with it.

At that point, the Royal Navy would have no further reason to cooperate with the French Navy. The French would once again be sidelined, left with nothing to do, even if they had the echo detector.

And "nothing to do" also meant no sea control and no combat opportunities.

(Note: This is akin to why aristocratic youths eagerly joined wars during WWI. European nobility traditionally monopolized the right to wage war, making it a domain for knights and nobles. Without training or equipment, dozens of commoners couldn't defeat a single knight, which allowed the nobility to maintain power. The advent of firearms and their development broke this monopoly—WWI ended it entirely, not some chivalric ideal or patriotic nobility.)

Without sea control, one also loses control over supplies.

At that point, command over French army logistics would shift from the British Army to the Royal Navy!

Professor Fessenden was dumbfounded. He hadn't imagined this could be a trap—let alone one with such serious consequences.

It took him a while to recover, and then he looked at Charles in horror. "I'm sorry, General. I… I didn't realize…"

"I understand, Professor," Charles nodded. "Can I take full charge of this matter?"

"Of course," Professor Fessenden agreed immediately. "You'll have full control over the patent and production rights—I won't interfere."

Everything had been granted by Charles, and Fessenden believed that if Charles wanted, he could take it all back.

Then, Fessenden cast a guarded glance at General Winter and quietly left the meeting room.

General Winter, however, remained relaxed, showing not the slightest sign of embarrassment. He opened his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Apologies, Lieutenant General. But from where I stand, I had no choice."

There was nothing wrong with what he said. As he'd stated before, both men represented different national interests.

This is why, as the Chinese saying goes: "Those not of our kind must have different intentions."

Charles nodded in acknowledgment. "Which is why I also have no choice but to refuse."

"Of course," Winter replied, then added with feigned regret, "We should've acted sooner."

"What stopped you from acting sooner?" Charles was genuinely curious.

The first victory, more than ten days ago, had already proven the value of the echo detector. General Winter should have shown up at Professor Fessenden's door back then.

"It was the war," Winter answered.

"The Hasselt flanking battle?" Charles asked.

That had been one of the reasons he couldn't return earlier, but it seemed unrelated to the Royal Navy.

"No," Winter shook his head. "The German navy made some new moves. It worried us, so we had to temporarily put the submarine success on the back burner."

Charles understood. After suffering heavy losses in the submarine war, the Germans were likely shifting focus to breaking through with their surface fleet.

…

Berlin, Germany. The once-picturesque Palace of Forgetting Woes was now buried under snow. Even the fountains on the statues were frozen into icicles, like teardrops hanging on terrified, sorrowful faces.

Inside the palace, Emperor Wilhelm II sat in a salon with two generals. Though wine and pastries were placed on the table before them, none of it had been touched. The atmosphere was stifling despite the firelight.

After a long silence, Wilhelm II finally asked in a gloomy tone, "With over 200,000 troops captured, do you still trust Nicholas and Erwin?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied one of the generals—General Falkenhayn. His face was grim and mournful, but his voice was firm.

"Why?" Wilhelm II asked.

"Because," Falkenhayn replied, "their opponent was Charles."

Wilhelm II had no retort.

Charles—the man who had led the French army to easily advance five kilometers at the Somme. The one who had executed the Antwerp maneuver. The one who time and again turned the German army into a cautionary tale by performing miracles.

To lose to him wasn't shameful.

Falkenhayn added, "At least in Erwin's plan, there was once hope of defeating Charles."

Wilhelm nodded in agreement.

Most others, upon hearing that Charles was the opposing commander, would simply lose their nerve. They didn't even dare face him directly.

But Erwin and Nicholas had dared to challenge Charles. They had even studied his tactics and boldly applied them on the battlefield.

For that alone, they deserved respect and trust.

However…

Wilhelm sighed. "The battlefield doesn't care about reason, General. We're out of room for failure in Belgium."

Belgium had only one key position left: the Fortress of Liège.

Liège was the gateway to Belgium. Once Charles took it, all remaining Belgian forces could be concentrated there for defense.

Then Charles and his troops could move southward and outflank the German army on the Western Front—leading to a total collapse of that front.

"That won't happen, Your Majesty," Falkenhayn replied. "We've stationed heavy forces at Liège and reinforced the fortress."

But in his heart, he feared that Charles would still find a flaw in the defenses and break through—Liège might not be an exception.

"It had better be so," Wilhelm said flatly. He wasn't confident either.

After a moment of silence, Wilhelm asked again, his voice low, "Looking at our current situation—does it mean victory on land is essentially impossible?"

Falkenhayn hesitated, then nodded slowly and painfully. "As long as Charles and his army remain, we can only remain on the defensive."

He didn't want to admit it—but he had to.

Verdun, Belgium, even the Somme—all saw German troops retreating.

Only at the Somme could they still claim a semblance of victory by using defense to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy.

So victory on land was essentially out of reach.

"Then…" Wilhelm turned to the other general. "Should we consider whether the navy has a chance to win?"

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1