I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 1: Turning to military industry is the best way out
On September 1914, 9, exactly one month after Germany declared war on France, the German army adopted the Schlieffen Plan of "first west and then east" to quickly penetrate Belgium and invade France.

At this time, the German vanguard was only about 30 kilometers away from Paris, and all efforts made by the main force of the French army to block the German right wing had failed.

Paris is in danger!

……

About ten kilometers east of Paris, there is a small town called Darvoise on the Marne River.

Old Francis sat on the sofa with his clothes on, holding a lit pipe in his right hand and silently watching the flames dancing in the fireplace. His eyes were empty and deep, as if he was making a difficult decision.

Sitting around him were Bernard's two sons, the eldest son Pierre and the second son Djokovic.

But they didn't speak, darkness and silence occupied most of the living room.

Francis' expression was a little stiffer than usual. He slowly put the pipe to his mouth and smoked lightly. His two scimitar-like white beards danced rhythmically in the firelight.

The eldest son, Pierre, could no longer hold back. He stood up and said:
"Make a decision, father. Staying here is not a wise choice."

"The government officials have already left Paris, which means they have given up on this place. Now everyone is fleeing. It will be too late if we don't leave now!"

The second son Djokovic, who had been sitting next to him, turned sideways and leaned forward slightly, asking in his tone:

"Pierre is right, father. Leave, you can't stop the Germans, nothing is more important than staying alive!"

Francis calmly moved his pipe away and exhaled a long puff of smoke, then responded in a hoarse but firm tone:

"You didn't go through that period. I was only 20 years old!"

“Although he is young, he already owns a textile factory, the largest one in Paris.”

"Do you know what happened?"

"Just like today, the Germans came, they took everything they could, and then they were crowned in Paris with great pride!"

At this point, Francis coughed a few times, and Djoka kindly handed him a glass of water.

Pierre frowned, he knew his father was talking about the Franco-German War 43 years ago. He had certainly not experienced it since he was just born then, but every French person knew about that war and always regarded it as a shame.

(Note: The French called the Franco-Prussian War the "Franco-German War")
After all, France paid 50 billion francs in compensation and ceded Alsace and Lorraine.

From then on, everyone in France, from top to bottom, wanted to defeat the German army and avenge their previous humiliation!

however……

"There's no point in bringing this up now!" Pierre said impatiently, "The point is that the Germans are coming again. They'll attack Paris like they did last time and take our factory away again!"

Francis took a sip of water, put the cup on the coffee table next to him, and said calmly:
"Last time, I abandoned my factory and left. This time I plan to stick with it until the end!"

After the Franco-German War, Francis started from scratch again and spent nearly half his life painstakingly running an agricultural tractor factory.

Now, the factory has more than 2,000 employees and can produce more than 500 tractors every month.

This is Francis' life's work, and he will not give up easily.

no way!

Pierre looked at Francis in disbelief. This might be what people often call the generation gap.

He even thought that his father dared to stay because he was selfish.

My 63-year-old father doesn't have much time to live anyway, but it's not worth it for the younger generation. They can just sell everything they have and enjoy the rest of their lives.

Djokovic patiently persuaded:

"Father, if you lose your life, there is no point in keeping the factory and the machines, and even the money is meaningless..."

Francis just snorted and lowered his face.

They won't understand.

He is not just looking for money over his life. This may be an opportunity, a chance to double his assets.

The greater the risk, the higher the reward, which is an immutable rule of business. Now is the time to take a risk and bet!
Unfortunately, his two sons did not consider this point. They did not have the courage and vision. They simply regarded him as a stubborn old man...

At this time, a slightly childish voice sounded softly:

"Mr. Francis, if you plan to stay here, why don't you bet bigger?" Francis was stunned. Someone actually saw through his thoughts?
Turning his head to look at the corner where the voice came from, it was the grandson that he did not acknowledge.

Djokovic quickly stopped him:
"Shut up, Ciel. This is an adult matter!"

Djokovic turned his gaze back to Francis and explained carefully:

"Camille went to take care of her mother, so I took Charles..."

Eighteen years ago, Djokovic married Camille, a maid, despite Francis's objection. Francis has always been upset and unwilling to acknowledge the marriage.

This is why Ciel calls Francis "Sir" instead of "Grandpa".

Francis ignored Djokovic and asked the boy, "So, how do you think we can make the bet bigger?"

Deyoka looked at Francis in panic. His father took Charles' words seriously.

Djokovic was about to say something, but Francis stopped him with his eyes: "Let him speak!"

Charles, who was originally sitting on a chair covered with a blanket, exhaled, stood up slowly, and said in a mature tone that was very inconsistent with his age:
"Sir, as far as I know, adjacent to your tractor factory is a fairly large motorcycle factory, which was recently temporarily converted to produce machine guns, is that right?"

Francis' eyes immediately lit up:

“Yes, Sidachi Motorcycle Factory!”

It was only half a month ago that it switched to producing machine guns.

After the outbreak of the war, the government found that the ammunition and firearms could not meet the supply of the front line, so it transferred part of the firearms and ammunition to private enterprises for production. Sidachi Motorcycle Factory was one of the private enterprises that was fortunate enough to receive government orders and equipment support.

Charles walked slowly to the fireplace, squatted down, calmly added two sticks of firewood, and said:

"During wartime, the most profitable thing is arms. Do you have any objection, sir?"

Francis hummed, which was obvious, but then he frowned:

"What if my nest egg is nowhere near enough to buy this motorcycle factory and its machine gun production line?"

He was reluctant to admit that he had little liquidity, even though that was what he meant.

Charles didn't expose Francis, but he knew what the tractor factory was facing.

Two months ago, when a gunshot rang out in Sarajevo, the whole of Europe was shrouded in the suspicion of war.

Farmers or ranch owners don’t know who the land will belong to in the future, nor do they know whether they will be drafted into the army and go to the battlefield. Of course, no one is willing to buy a tractor to farm.

Tractors have been unsold since then and a large number of orders have been cancelled, which has put the tractor factory in a difficult situation.

Turning to military industry is the best way out for Francis!

Charles turned around, half of his handsome face was illuminated by the firelight, but the side facing Francis was getting darker. He made a suggestion:
"I heard that you have two branches in the south. Why don't you use these two branches to exchange for it?"

Francis looked shocked:
"These two factories combined don't even cover half of what we need..."

Charles interrupted Francis:
"He will be willing to do so, sir. This is Paris, and the Germans will not advance further than this."

"That is to say, the two branches in the south are safe!"

Francis immediately understood what Charles meant.

Although the two branch factories are only half as valuable as the motorcycle factory, the key point is that they are safe.

What could be more valuable than safety in times of war?
Francis hesitated for a moment, then stood up with a bang, and quickly walked to the clothes rack to take down his bowler hat and coat:

"Give me the flashlight, Dejoka!"

"I should go talk to Sidachi. Later, that guy might abandon the factory and run away!"

Pierre wanted to stop him, but Francis had already taken the flashlight, opened the door and walked out without looking back.

Pierre and Djoka looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't expect that their father was still thinking about business at this time, and was willing to put the only remaining safe assets on the gambling table.

Djoka turned his gaze towards Charles, his eyes full of confusion, he almost didn't recognize his son!

(End of this chapter)