Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

Chapter 220 Krupp

As one of the most powerful Western countries in the present era, Germany has a well-developed industrial level, especially its military industry, and its industrial production ranks second in the capitalist world after the United States.

Even after a few months, Germany was defeated during the First World War and the economy was hit hard, but the military industry was still able to make a lot of war money in the First World War, and even its level was still lower than before the outbreak of the First World War. grows.

而程诺此行目标之一的德国军事工业巨头克虏伯公司，更是抓住这个机会获利颇丰，在1913~1914年获利7500万马克，1916-1917年增至17500万马克。

In a sense, although Germany was defeated, and the army was reduced, limited to 10 people.

But the entry standard has also been raised to a very high level: Soldiers must have more than 12 years of service experience, and officers must have more than 25 years of service experience, which means that once a war breaks out, the army can be rapidly expanded.

The reason why the Germans are so confident is because their Krupp company still has the advantages of military technology and production equipment.

The Krupp company produced steel and weapons as early as the 19th century. During World War I, Krupp's production increased greatly, and it produced more war materials than all other factories in Europe.

In addition to military products, the announced industrial products it produces also include various civilian products, ranging from locomotives to cash registers, printers, watering cans and other things.

The reason why Cheng Nuo has such high expectations for Krupp is that in addition to steelmaking technology, there are also various machines, equipment, molds, lathes, etc.

If Cheng Nuo didn't buy some of these things in time, it would be difficult to escape the liquidation of the Allied Powers after the war, and they would be destroyed in the end.

Of course, there will be a deeper reason during the period, and this reason is related to whether the Cheng Nuo Industrial Park can be successfully built and not over-infested by warlords during its operation.

One day after the deal with Hubble was concluded, Cheng Nuo was sorting out the information he had collected in the house, when suddenly there was a rush of footsteps from outside the door, followed by a violent knock on the door.

Out of caution, Cheng Nuo quickly hid the documents, quietly drew a pistol from under the table, tiptoed to the door, and carefully observed the outside against the wall.

It wasn't that Cheng Nuo was too cautious, but that the second Battle of the Marne was about to break out, and now that Germany was putting all the weight on it, it was either life or death, and there was almost no second choice.

At present, the whole of Berlin has fallen into a frenzied and very depressing atmosphere at the same time. It is not impossible for outsiders to suffer a little if they are not careful, and even lose their lives.

In order to protect his personal safety, he bought a pistol from the black market to protect himself.

Of course, if Cheng Nuo's own shooting ability is really discussed, for him who has never touched a gun, the symbolic meaning may be greater than the actual meaning.

"Who is it?" Cheng Nuo asked softly.

"It's me, I'm Captain Haber, my dear friend from the Far East, I'm here to bring you good news today." Haber's rough voice came from outside the door.

"Okay, wait a minute." Through the crack in the door, Cheng Nuo made sure that no one else was following the door, so he put the gun on his belt and hid it, dipped some water on purpose to mess up his hair, and opened the door for a while. The appearance of just waking up: "Call me so early in the morning, what good news do you have?"

The door was suddenly opened, which embarrassed Haber who was still knocking on the door. He simply took off his hat and said with a smile, "Of course it's very good news, and there's more than one. It's definitely worth getting you up early."

"Really? Then I have to listen carefully." Cheng Nuo raised his eyebrows, turned half of his body to let Haber come in, looked outside to make sure no one was following him, and then closed the door: "Let me guess, it's Captain Haber Convinced Krupp to transfer the steelmaking technology over?"

Haber's face was a little embarrassed: "No, you also know that although I am the director of the research institute, I am also a Jew, and I speak lightly. The Krupp company has not yet agreed to this plan, only saying that it is still considering it."

Cheng Nuo shrugged: "That's a pity. Apart from this, other news is hardly good news for me."

Haber hurriedly explained: "No, no, of course not. Although I didn't persuade Krupp to transfer technology directly, the compliments to you made their boss, Gustav Krupp, appreciate you very much. They said they wanted to talk to you face to face, and if they had a good discussion, they would share more advanced technologies."

Cheng Nuo was secretly happy, but on the surface there was only a hint of surprise: "Oh, this is barely a small piece of good news."

Gustav Krupp, formerly known as Gustav von Pollen Under Halbach, was originally a Prussian diplomat, but was later appointed as Krupp by German Emperor Wilhelm II. Husband of Beta Krupp, the only daughter of King II, and joined the Krupp family.

Harper felt that there was something interesting, so he took the initiative to persuade: "Mr. Krupp is rarely interested in young people, and it is even rarer for people from foreign countries. I believe that with your talent, you will be able to negotiate smoothly. , to achieve better results than expected.”

Cheng Nuo was noncommittal: "It's hard to say whether it's good or bad, but you must have put in a lot of hard work to get things to the present level. It's really hard work, Captain Haber."

Haber waved his hands again and again: "I'm doing this for everyone's sake, it's nothing more than a little effort."

The reason why there was such a big difference in attitude was that the chemical weapons provided by Cheng Nuo had achieved good results after the experiment, even far exceeding Haber's expectations.

Reminiscent of the results of using it on the battlefield, Haber couldn't help but feel moved, and he had unprecedented expectations for the massive chemical weapons Cheng Nuo said, so he rushed to Cheng Nuo as soon as possible to negotiate. One step cooperation.

Thinking of this, Haber put the bag he was carrying on the table, took out a document and handed it to Cheng Nuo: "Here are the experimental results and various experimental data of your chemical weapons. I hope you can continue to improve."

Cheng Nuo nodded, took a look at the document and put it aside: "Don't worry, Captain Haber, we will continue to improve in the future and strive to develop more powerful chemical weapons."

Haber shook his head: "I'll talk about that later. What you have provided is enough for now. I believe it can surprise those who are in the Allied Powers. The second news I bring this time is about its private invitation."

"Private invitation?" Cheng Nuo was a little puzzled.

There was a hint of madness in Haber's eyes: "Yes, I have calculated carefully, the chemical weapons you provided are enough for several small-scale battles, and the German Imperial Army will soon put them on the battlefield, but in order to better understand the use effect , I formally invite you to fly with me,
Come to the sky above the battlefield, go to the sky and look down on it all, and feel the charm brought by our "invention achievements".Just imagine that there are thousands of enemy positions shrouded in thick colorful and bitter poisonous gas, and many soldiers struggle desperately among them. At this moment, you and I are the gods who judge everyone! "

Looking at Haber who was almost insane, Cheng Nuo couldn't help shaking his head, thinking that with the current comparison of air power, if he dared to take off in a German plane, it would definitely be an old birthday boy who hanged himself - he thought he had lived too long.

"I'm sorry, Captain Haber, I can't accept this invitation." Cheng Nuo refused.

"Why? Don't you want to experience the charm of this weapon for yourself? The power of science is enough to make you addicted." Haber was puzzled.

It is naturally impossible for Cheng Nuo to tell the truth: "No, no, this reserve cannot meet the needs of large-scale battles at all. At this moment, I need to devote more time to transporting chemical weapons to support your country's war .”

Hearing this, Haber was very moved, and stepped forward to hold Cheng Nuo's hand tightly: "My dear friend, don't worry, not only will we pay for the chemical weapons this time, but we will also pay for the chemical weapons next time." And make a reservation, the empire needs a friend like you."

Cheng Nuo quietly withdrew his hand and said excitedly, "With Captain Haber's words, our weapons will only become more and more powerful!"

In the following period, Cheng Nuo not only sold the chemical weapons that had been shipped to Europe at a high price, but also ordered a larger batch of chemical weapons and charged a generous deposit.

As for whether it can be delivered normally, it is naturally impossible, and what Cheng Nuo earns is the deposit.

Anyway, I traded as a Japanese, so if you have the ability, you should settle accounts with the Japanese.

Seeing Haber's high interest, he even regretted that the second deposit was not enough, saying that the batch could be further expanded, and the delivery could be carried out by German submarines during the transportation.

Cheng Nuo, on the other hand, was worried that the amount would be too large, and that it would attract too much attention and cause twists and turns in the transaction. Not only would there be nowhere to get the deposit, but even personal safety might be in danger, so he had to flatly refuse.

But overall, both parties are very satisfied with the transaction.

The next day, Cheng Nuo followed Haber's guidance and came to Krupp Company early in the morning.

It's just that he didn't expect that the other party gave him a blow before he showed up - it was half an hour past the agreed time, and Cheng Nuo was the only one left in the living room.

Except for someone delivering water, no one else came over.

In the next room, Gustav Krupp was playing chess with his son Alfred Krupp.

Still young, Alfred played chess without thinking at all, picked up the chess piece and sent a step forward, but unfortunately, he just fell into the trap of his father and lost a chess piece in vain. I should have seen this step a long time ago, otherwise I wouldn't have lost it in vain."

With a pipe in his mouth, Gustav shook his beard and said proudly: "So before the battle, I said that you can beat you with a few chess pieces, but you still don't believe me, should you believe me now? "

Alfred said dejectedly: "I believe it now, Dad is much better than me."

Gustav exhaled a smoke ring beautifully, and said with a smile: "Well, this move allows you to regret the move, and let you make another decision."

Alfred immediately turned from sadness to joy: "Thank you, Dad, but Dad, you have to be responsible for your decision. I just thought of a wonderful trick, which can not only save the day, but also turn the tables. Dad, don't regret it later. "

Every father is unwilling to admit that he is worse than his son, let alone such a young son. Gustav is one of them. He took down his pipe and said with great interest, "Are you telling the truth?"

Alfred nodded sharply: "Of course, Dad, just watch it."

It's a pity that Jiang is still old and spicy. In the end, his son was killed by his father and he was disarmed and begged for mercy.

For the sake of enjoying himself, Gustav will deliberately let his son go before the lore, until the end of the mountain, seeing that his son is almost suffering, he will give up.

Feeling unprecedented joy, Gustav smiled and said, "How about it, are you convinced?"

Alfred turned his head to the side, deliberately refusing to answer his father's words: "Father, why don't you greet the guests from the next reception room, it's too impolite."

Gustav put away his smile and picked up his pipe again: "Because it's not time yet?"

"Why isn't it time yet? Didn't Dad often tell me that strict punctuality is a virtue of our Germans, but today Dad didn't do this." Alfred said seriously.

Gustav fondly rubbed his son's head: "That's a custom between us Germans and our friends. Naturally, there is another standard for treating others."

Alfred asked curiously: "So the person next door is not our friend, but our enemy?"

Speaking of this, Alfred couldn't help waving his little hands: "To deal with the enemy, we must beat them all away, and Dad must punish him well."

Gustav laughed loudly, and then said seriously: "An enemy is not necessarily an enemy, but it may also be a friend."

Looking at his watch, Gustav felt that the time was almost up, so he instructed the secretary to take the child away, went to the mirror to tidy up his clothes, and asked while tidying up, "How is that young man doing? What, is there any special performance?"

The waiter behind him bowed his head and said in a deep voice: "This person did not show any signs of anxiety when he entered the meeting room. Even after the appointed time, he just acted a little surprised, but then he returned to calm. head."

Gustav couldn't help turning his head, and asked curiously, "Isn't there any sign of impatience?"

The waiter shook his head: "No."

Gustav asked, "Did you drink the coffee?"

The waiter said: "Not only did you drink, but there was more than one cup, and you also made some suggestions for our coffee technology?"

Gustav opened his eyes slightly: "Really, it's really interesting."

As he spoke, Gustav straightened his bow tie, tilted his head to confirm that he was perfectly dressed in the mirror, and then walked straight towards the reception room.

"Go, let's meet our 'enemy' friend from the Far East, and see what kind of surprise he will bring us."

In the reception room, although Cheng Nuo had long been prepared for the unfriendliness of the Germans, he never thought it would be so long late.

But that's good too, Cheng Nuo can observe the other party in detail to see what kind of person he is.

After inspecting for a long time, I finally set my sights on a row of bookcases for display: above it is a group photo of Li Hongzhang and Krupp's previous lives, all smiling.

If you take a closer look, there is actually Li Hongzhang's handwriting on it, which is really surprising.

"I didn't expect Li Da Papermaker to still have works here, it's really surprising.

But after careful calculation, is this a good start? "

(End of this chapter)