At noon, the town's church bells chimed twelve times. Major Browning had just arrived in town and grabbed a sandwich from a street vendor, eating it quickly as he made his way toward the motorcycle factory. When he reached the gate, he wiped the crumbs from his mouth and explained his purpose to the guard.
Charles looked surprised to see Major Browning. "Major, I thought you'd be pursuing the Germans by now!"
"No, Young Master Charles," Browning replied with a look of helplessness. "We're stuck waiting for tanks."
Browning then explained what had happened and asked, concerned, "Have you been treated unfairly? Those scoundrels actually kicked the inventor out of the tractor factory?"
"No, no," Charles reassured him. "There's been a bit of unfairness, but this is mostly just business."
"Let me explain," Dejorcas interjected. "We were forced to sell the tank's industrial patent rights."
Charles looked at Dejorcas, surprised. Selling the rights hadn't been entirely "forced," but Dejorcas gave Charles a meaningful look, signaling that this story would help Charles's supporters feel justified.
Browning didn't question it for a moment; he even suspected he understood exactly what was happening. Soldiers knew all too well about the longstanding disputes between the Saint-Étienne and Hotchkiss machine gun manufacturers. Browning's eyes filled with anger. "I had a feeling it was something like that. Those people care only about profit—they couldn't care less about the country, let alone the lives of the soldiers!"
He hesitated, then leaned in closer and whispered, "Would you like our help? Perhaps a little… robbery?"
This wouldn't be a mutiny, just a few well-placed soldiers robbing the capitalists' homes, ransacking them, maybe even "accidentally" hurting a few people before vanishing into the night. Who would care about that in times like these? Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
"No, Major!" Charles immediately declined. "We've already found a new path."
"A new path?" Browning asked, curious.
"Let me ask you this, Major. Do you really need tanks right now? I mean, even if you had tanks, could you actually make use of them?"
Browning considered the question and shook his head. "Probably not. They're too slow; we'd never catch up to the retreating Germans."
"Exactly!" Charles said. "Tanks are ideal for assaults, but not for chasing down the enemy." Charles then stepped aside, revealing a three-wheeled vehicle to Major Browning. "I believe you need this more."
Browning eyed the strange machine, taking a moment to recognize it. "Is this… a motorcycle? You added an extra wheel?"
"Not just a wheel, Major!" Charles replied. "Do you see the support column beside the side wheel?"
Browning spotted the column and his eyes lit up. "Is that where we mount the machine gun?"
"Exactly," Charles replied. "But unfortunately, we can't provide the machine guns themselves…"
"No, no, that's fine!" Browning replied, his excitement growing as he inspected the vehicle. "We just won a battle, and we've got plenty of machine guns!"
These were the German Maxim guns captured in the recent battles—better than the French Saint-Étienne and Hotchkiss machine guns. However, the army didn't mix them with their regular forces, as the German ammunition didn't match the French standard. Most of these captured guns were stored away as trophies, along with the ammunition.
"Perfect," Charles said. "If it's a Maxim, we can even mount an extra ammunition rack on the rear, allowing you to carry more rounds."
Browning nodded, practically envisioning himself driving this machine across the battlefield, spraying bullets as he advanced.
After admiring it a while longer, Browning asked, "How many of these do you have?"
"Just one," Charles answered. "This is the only one at the moment."
The enthusiasm in Browning's face dimmed slightly. "Young Master Charles, we'll need at least fifty."
Charles looked to Guillaume, who nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "If I gather a team of workers, we can modify the existing motorcycles. We should be able to produce a hundred within a day. All we need to do is add the extra wheel and a few support columns."
"A hundred? That would be enough to outfit my entire battalion!" Browning exclaimed, reinvigorated. His battalion had been reduced to just over two hundred men. With three soldiers per vehicle, a hundred of these sidecar motorcycles could carry three hundred soldiers, leaving ample capacity for supplies and ammunition.
"What do we need to do?" Browning asked.
"Bring your men over so they can learn to drive these," Charles replied.
"Understood, Young Master Charles!" Browning said, preparing to depart. But after a few steps, he stopped, looking sheepish. "But… we don't have the money to pay for this…"
"Don't worry, Major," Charles replied generously. "Everything is free. You and your men are risking your lives for France—I couldn't possibly charge you."
Browning opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he held back. Instead, he gave Charles a formal salute and left.
Once Browning was gone, Dejorcas sighed. "Charles, we have very little money left in our accounts. If we keep this up…"
"I know, Father," Charles replied, cutting him off. "But every franc we spend will save lives, and that makes it worthwhile."
Dejorcas nodded silently.
Standing nearby, Guillaume had been deeply moved by their conversation. With tears in his eyes, he stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, Young Master Charles. There are others who will help you see this through. This isn't just your burden alone!"
With that, he mounted his old motorcycle and sped off to rally his former coworkers, determined to bring back the best they had to offer.
As Guillaume's silhouette faded in the distance, Dejorcas murmured, "We did deceive him. Is that really okay?"
"As long as our intentions are good, there's no harm in it. Right, Father?" Charles replied.
Dejorcas nodded quietly.
This was the marketing strategy that Charles and Dejorcas had devised. They would provide the army with a batch of free sidecar motorcycles, allowing the military to experience their usefulness firsthand. This would open up the market for motorcycles and potentially even raise their price.
At the same time, this plan would help build Charles's reputation among both the military and the general public.
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