I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 215: Revised - A Pure Gold Gift

Shire had two purposes for proposing the seemingly plausible "naval maneuver warfare" to Tijani:

First, to use this theory to ensnare Wells, thereby securing cooperation with the Brest Shipyard.

Second, Shire intended to leverage Wells’ hand to develop torpedoes.

The current torpedoes were too primitive; even if they could be suspended from aircraft to bomb enemy warships, hitting the target was extremely difficult, making the improvement of their performance urgent.

Shire believed he was likely to succeed.

This wasn’t just because Tijani left with a face full of admiration and satisfaction, but also because Shire’s theory of "naval maneuver warfare" was seventy percent true and thirty percent false:

Destroyers will become the main force in the future, this is true;

Torpedoes will have a longer range than cannons in the future, this is true;

Naval maneuver warfare to some extent is also true.

The problem lies in...

Once aircraft carriers come out, naval battles turn into air battles; no matter how fast destroyers are, they can’t be faster than aircraft, making maneuver warfare centered on destroyers unfeasible!

But at least for now, as the navy is yet unaware of aircraft carriers and hasn’t recognized the importance of aircraft, this theory is still viable.

After Tijani left, Camille curiously opened the gift Tijani brought. She exclaimed with delight, "A sailing ship, it’s so beautiful! We just needed such an ornament!"

Saying this, Camille placed the sailing ship on the table in the living room, but complained, "It seems a bit heavy, at least four or five pounds!"

Shire glanced at it—it was a three-deck sail warship, some were loading, some aiming, and many sailors and musketeers were bustling on the deck, all appearing in a tense state of preparation for battle.

The key point was it glittered with a golden light.

Shire thought of something and reminded Camille, "Mother, you’d better not place it there."

"Why?" Camille didn’t turn around, her eyes remained fixed on the sailing ship. She stepped back a few steps to stand straight and examine it, "I think placing it here is just right, it matches our living room well!"

Shire rolled his eyes and glanced at the room full of cheap furniture.

Dejoka noticed Shire’s expression, walked over curiously to touch it, then picked up the sailing ship and weighed it, exclaiming, "Oh my god, it is... it’s made of pure gold!"

Camille was taken aback, then laughed, "What kind of joke is this? Who would give a pure gold gift, weighing four or five pounds..."

But seeing Dejoka’s serious face, Camille asked half-believingly, "Really, is it really made of pure gold?"

Dejoka nodded; being a capitalist, he had this kind of ability.

"It’s probably worth sixty to seventy thousand francs!" Dejoka looked at the sailing ship and gave an approximate value, "If considering only the gold price without the artistic value, but its craftsmanship is very detailed, it’s probably worth far more than this!"

Camille gasped softly, turned her head to Shire, "We should return it to the General, Shire, we can’t accept such an expensive gift."

"Don’t worry, Mother!" Shire calmly replied, "This is just a trinket to him, he won’t care."

"A trinket, a sixty to seventy thousand franc trinket?" Camille looked at Shire in disbelief.

Dejoka, however, caught the deeper meaning in Shire’s words and stood up to ask, "This General, he isn’t an ordinary officer, right?"

"Of course!" Shire replied, "He is Wells’ son, his only son!"

Dejoka and Camille exchanged glances, could it be that the visitor just now was Wells’ son?

...

In the 15th arrondissement of Paris, by the Seine River, the distant church bell struck once, it was exactly ten-thirty in the morning.

In a five-storied building by the river, Wells, as usual, sat in a rocking chair by the window wearing a bathrobe, enjoying the cold breeze while watching the boats coming and going on the river and the snowflakes falling from the sky and disappearing into the river water.

He liked watching boats; he thought they were fascinating, existing between life on the water and death below, always ripe for sudden mishaps.

To stay alive, one must be well-prepared and consider every possibility in advance.

But today, Wells found it hard to calm his mind. Though his eyes were fixed on the river, his thoughts were occupied with the meeting between Tijani and Shire.

What would be the outcome?

Surprise or disappointment?

Probably no way out, after all, it’s the navy, relying on tonnage and cannons, the entire French Navy can’t do anything about it, what could Shire come up with!

He too would choose battleships; no one would reject the cannons and defenses of a battleship, especially not a war-loving infantry major.

Wells found himself somewhat ridiculous, pinning hopes on a 17-year-old boy.

The sound of footsteps "thump thump" on the stairs outside signaled Tijani’s return.

Perhaps because Wells had no hope for Shire, he continued to gaze quietly at the end of the Seine River without any expectation.

"Father!" Tijani cautiously pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and walked to Wells’ side.

Dressed in his uniform, he looked spirited, although a naval uniform might have looked better.

Wells made a sound of acknowledgment, signaling Tijani to sit beside him, casually asking, "How did the discussion go?"

"I’m not sure." Tijani replied, "That’s for you to decide."

In this respect, Wells had the authority, while Tijani knew he had given up on the navy, hence he had no right.

Wells got up and walked to the wine cabinet to pour himself a glass of wine.

Only one glass, as he didn’t intend to pour any for Tijani, believing their relationship hadn’t repaired to that extent.

"What did he choose?" Wells asked, facing away from Tijani.

"He didn’t choose anything!" Tijani replied.

Wells turned back in confusion, "Chose nothing? He gave up?"

"No, Father!" Tijani replied, "He chose torpedo boat destroyers, he said it was a third option!"

Wells paused, intrigued, "Torpedo boat destroyers? Interesting, what was his reasoning?"

He turned his back again, holding the wine, as if pondering Shire’s intentions.

"Naval maneuver warfare!" Tijani briefly explained, "He believes torpedo boats can protect the coastline, while torpedo boat destroyers can venture out to confront enemy fleets. As long as we’re fast enough, we’re invincible!"

Wells, about to lift his wine glass to his mouth, stopped and coldly asked, "What else?"

"So, we need to develop torpedo boat destroyers!" Tijani responded, "We need to enhance the firepower and defense of torpedo boat destroyers while ensuring their speed, so we can quickly eliminate enemy destroyers instead of being entangled by them."

Tijani added, "The key is the torpedo; as long as the torpedo has a long range and high accuracy, destroyers can sink battleships from beyond their range!"

Wells remained silent.

After a moment of contemplation, he quietly picked up another wine glass, poured a glass of wine, and turned to hand it to Tijani.

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