Chapter 506: Chapter 506: 2 Conditions
"Minister of the Navy" saw Shire deep in thought, both surprised and suspicious: "You really seem to have a solution!"
General Winter remained calm, always believing there wasn’t a problem Shire couldn’t solve.
Then the "Minister of the Navy" seemed to think of something, relaxing as he spoke: "If the solution is ’deep water bombs’, then you might be disappointed, their effectiveness isn’t as great as you think."
The "Minister of the Navy" quickly stopped talking, stealing a glance at Shire and relaxed slightly when he saw no reaction from Shire.
Since Shire used deep water bombs in the Dardanelles Strait, the Royal Navy has been replicating them and putting them into actual combat.
The biggest issue with them is not being able to see submarines underwater, thus the bombing relies entirely on guessing, leading to a very low destruction rate.
Shire was aware of the British shameless replication, but he didn’t plan to argue with them.
Deep water bombs were too simple, consisting merely of a delayed fuse and explosives with no technical threshold; its innovation wasn’t the bomb itself but using such bombs against submarines.
This made it very difficult to protect intellectual property rights, especially in transnational conflicts during wartime.
"Sonar" is different; it’s a device using sound wave reflections for detection purposes, still considered high-tech at this time and impossible to surpass within a few years.
Thinking about this, Shire nodded and said:
"I know the issues with ’deep water bombs’, Captain."
"But if we know the enemy submarine’s location and even its depth, using ’deep water bombs’ combined with that information would be different."
The "Minister of the Navy" laughed: "That’s the key, Major General, we have no way of knowing..."
Before finishing his sentence, the smile froze on the "Minister of the Navy’s" face, suddenly realizing Shire’s meaning: "You couldn’t possibly know the submarine’s location and depth, could you?"
Even General Winter looked at Shire with puzzlement.
Submarines are underwater, usually cruising at depths of tens of meters; seeing them or knowing their depth seems like pure fantasy!
Shire answered calmly:
"We call it ’Echo Detector’."
"Since the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank, some scientists have been trying to create devices to detect icebergs underwater."
"They succeeded."
Initially, the "Minister of the Navy" didn’t feel much, having heard about iceberg detection, but thought it was a rumor.
Then he suddenly realized something, swiftly standing up from the sofa, speaking excitedly: "You mean, you’ve altered these devices into submarine detection units?"
General Winter looked at Shire in astonishment, indeed, it seemed like a viable method; how did he think of this?
"To be precise, not me," Shire remained calm: "It’s the scientists I hired."
Shire specifically emphasized "I hired" those scientists.
"Amazing!" the "Minister of the Navy" waved his fists like a madman:
"If we can know the submarine’s location, deep water bombs will hit accurately, breaking the submarines into pieces."
"And the Germans are unaware of this; they might sit stranded at the seabed waiting for us to leave, completely unaware they’ve become our targets."
"The navy will return to its rightful status, this is a major innovation, the greatest invention for humanity, designed just for us!"
...
The "Minister of the Navy" grew happier, laughing and giving Shire a big hug, almost kissing him on the cheek.
"But there are two conditions, Vice Admiral, Captain." Shire glanced at both.
The "Minister of the Navy" tried to calm down, returning to the sofa, smiling at Shire: "Of course, Major General, conditions are expected. I mean, no matter how many conditions, as long as we can achieve them!"
"First, the issue of technical confidentiality," Shire replied: "We won’t export this ’Echo Detector’, because it represents our most advanced technology."
General Winter asked curiously: "If not exported, how can it be effective?"
The "Minister of the Navy" guessed Shire’s thoughts: "Do you mean having the French Navy参与反潜作战?"
"Yes," Shire’s tone was firm: "’Echo Detectors’ will only be installed on French warships, then these warships will cooperate with you in anti-submarine warfare."
Shire hoped the French Navy would engage in more combat; otherwise, they’d be ornamental docked at the ports, unable to face challenges like "crossbow cannons" or the "Toulon blockade" in the future.
(Note: "Crossbow Cannon Operation" was initiated by the "Minister of the Navy" after France’s surrender during WWII to prevent French warships from falling into German Army hands.)
General Winter voiced opposition: "But this will cause many unnecessary issues. We face language barriers and differing tactics; even basic communication would be immensely challenging, easily leading the fleet into chaos."
He felt this during the Dardanelles Strait operation, where most tasks involved bombarding the opposite shore, requiring minimal coordination.
Shire shrugged decisively: "Accept, or reject, the choice is yours!"
General Winter and the "Minister of the Navy" fell silent.
After a while, the "Minister of the Navy" made a decision: "Of course we’ll accept, Major General, this isn’t a problem; we just need to solve the communication and coordination issues between the British and French navies."
Shire acknowledged with a sound, this was his bottom line, he wouldn’t back down.
This wasn’t just about money and industrial property; it was more about restraining the "Minister of the Navy".
If one day, the Royal Navy, under Shire’s help, regained superiority over the Army, what if the "Minister of the Navy" breaks his promise to repay Shire?
The Royal Navy might even join forces with the Army to suppress Shire, as they wouldn’t want Shire to grow too big and powerful.
But if Shire controlled the "Echo Detector", the situation would be different; he could withdraw it at any time, putting the Royal Navy back under threat from German submarines.
It’s a balance, using the Germans to restrain the Royal Navy, then using the Royal Navy against the British Army.
The world is truly fascinating!
The "Minister of the Navy" seemed to realize Shire’s tactics against him, feeling somewhat unhappy inside, but needing the "Echo Detector" for survival, he swallowed his discomfort.
"What’s the second condition?" the "Minister of the Navy" asked expressionlessly.
Shire sighed, looking slightly awkward: "I need the production technology for rocket propellants, gentlemen, you don’t mind providing this tech, do you?"
The "Minister of the Navy" and General Winter were stunned, then chuckled lightly.
France also possesses the rocket propellant technology, yet Shire requested it from Britain?
But this seemed normal; the technology in France was controlled by Schneider, and maybe Shire faced obstacles there!