I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 213: Original text - The Navy’s 3rd Faction Modified:

Chapter 213: Original text: Chapter 213 The Navy’s 3rd Faction Modified:

Shire finished his breakfast, downing his milk in one gulp as usual.

Forced by Camille to drink up his milk, it had become a habit over time; not finishing it left him uncomfortable.

Putting down his cup, Shire resumed the earlier topic: "I guess you think the army is different from the navy because of construction cycles."

The navy’s construction cycle is long; a warship takes years to complete.

Thus, for the navy to know if a concept or an attempt is correct, it could take years, especially if there are prolonged periods without war, it could take even longer.

But the army measures in months. For example, using a tractor chassis with added steel plates to make a tank prototype could take just over ten days, and if rushed into mass production for immediate deployment, results could be seen in a month.

"No, Major," Tijani gently shook his head: "I don’t think so. You know the army is quite stubborn; they are often blinded by ingrained thinking, unable to see right from wrong, or they are driven by interests, fame, or other motives, leading them to continue down the wrong path."

This is quite true; for instance, many actually know that one-sided offensive theories are flawed, yet few are willing to admit it.

Another example is the red army hats and pants. Most know they are not beneficial for war, and soldiers are eager to replace them, but it still took a year to change them.

Especially when changing uniforms doesn’t require much technology or cost, just stopping production of the old ones and switching to another style or simply changing the color.

But they still won’t do it!

"Why is that?" Shire asked.

Tijani, like a starving ghost, started on another piece of pizza, chewing as he responded: "Because of you, Major!"

Shire replied with a blank expression: "You don’t need to flatter me because of the breakthrough mission. As a soldier, you should know it was a duty, you owe me nothing!"

"I know." Tijani responded calmly: "But that’s how I feel."

Seeing Shire still unbelieving, Tijani explained: "You have defeated everyone who opposed you with facts, Major. You’re always right, time and time again, and each time overwhelmingly, from tanks to rocket planes, machine gun aircraft, and recently the ’Shire A1’ on the battlefield. Do you know what this means?"

Tijani looked at Shire, holding the pizza: "You will unify the army’s equipment, and soon everyone will get used to one thing: Shire is always right. Even if you handed a revolver to front-line soldiers, they would believe they could win the battle with it!"

Tijani stuffed the last bit into his mouth, summarizing in a self-questioned and self-answered manner: "Then, will we still need to consider what equipment the army selects? No, there will be only one option – Shire’s equipment!"

Shire laughed: "You’re thinking too naively; you’ve completely overlooked Schneider..."

Suddenly realizing something, Shire looked up at Tijani and asked: "You’re not here representing yourself this time, are you?"

Tijani nodded faintly, with a smirk: "You could say that, or not!"

...

Tijani did speak the truth.

After safely returning to Paris with the troops for rest, Tijani immediately wanted to visit Shire, but he was too nervous to act.

This was unprecedented for Tijani; he didn’t know why he was anxious but felt an inexplicable fear.

What if Shire looked down on a "useless" person like himself?

What reason could he use to find Shire?

Would it be a waste of Shire’s precious time to disturb him?

At that moment, Wells approached Tijani, expressionless: "I need you to talk to Shire, Tijani. This might be the only way the army benefits from you!"

...

Shire understood; Tijani had become the bridge between Wells and Shire.

Wells, as the owner of Brest Shipyard, couldn’t maintain too much personal contact with Shire.

But Tijani was different; he was a member of the military, an army officer – a Major General who had just been rescued by Shire could meet him to express gratitude and then become friends – that was natural.

"What does Wells want?" Shire asked.

Shire knew well; Wells wouldn’t unconditionally stand by his side – businessmen only speak of interest.

Tijani took a napkin to wipe his mouth and answered: "An answer. He hopes you can dispel the navy’s confusion; the navy’s confusion leads to chaotic directions for the shipyard. My father believes your military genius might help the shipyard out of the predicament."

Then Tijani added with some implication: "In fact, I think he’s just like the navy – in confusion."

The double meaning was not just about the shipyard’s future but also Wells’ relationship with Shire: if Shire couldn’t provide significant help to the shipyard, Wells’ support would likely remain superficial.

Shire pondered for a while, thinking he should win Wells over to avoid being wholly passive when facing Schneider and Grevy in the council.

With that in mind, Shire replied, "Hmm," and asked: "If I provide an answer, can you persuade both the Green Water Navy and the traditional navy?"

Tijani answered: "That’s our problem! At least knowing the development direction, the shipyard won’t just follow the navy’s chaotic decisions and make mistakes!"

Shire agreed, direction is equally important for a company.

If Wells knew which equipment would prevail in the future, he could concentrate resources on the relevant research direction.

Naval research and construction must be visionary; years, decades, even several decades are not exaggerations. Once the wrong path is taken, everything could fall behind, and all investments would be fruitless.

Moreover, Shire’s research for the army would not compete with Wells’ warships, and sometimes Shire’s sudden ideas might help Wells defeat his competitor Schneider.

This is why Wells needs Shire, and it is the basis for their cooperation.

Shire felt he was entering the threshold of dividing up the French Army’s equipment, at least negotiating with Wells from the shipyard now.

After deciding, Shire asked: "You just said the navy is divided into two factions?"

"Yes, Green Water Navy and traditional navy." Tijani replied casually.

Shire continued: "What if the third faction is the right one?"

Tijani laughed: "There’s no third faction..."

Before finishing, Tijani understood Shire’s point: "You mean, neither faction is the future direction?"

Shire gently nodded.

"But why?" Tijani looked puzzled: "I’m just curious. Also, what does the third faction mean?"

Shire replied calmly: "The torpedo boat of the Green Water Navy, while theoretically feasible, is limited by tonnage to only coastal operations. The battleship of the traditional navy has large guns and armor but its speed remains a shortcoming. The third faction should combine the advantages of both!"

Tijani suddenly realized and exclaimed: "Torpedo boat destroyer, the third faction is the torpedo boat destroyer!"

(The above image shows the first destroyer in the real sense; initially its function was to expel torpedo boats, thus called "torpedo boat destroyer." Displacement 275 tons, produced by Britain in 1893, equipped with a 76MM main gun and 3 47MM cannons, capable of carrying 3 450MM torpedoes, with a maximum speed of 27 knots.)

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