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

Chapter 47 Wartime Procurement Regulations
The wartime emergency procurement regulations are actually a result of capitalists’ concerns that they may get out of hand.

For example, if the Germans are advancing towards Paris victoriously, if the capitalists are still greedy and force the army to buy equipment at high prices, and the army is unable to afford it, the end result will be that the entire country will be occupied by the German army and nothing will be gained.

This is obviously not in the interests of capitalists.

In order to avoid this situation, the capitalists finally "found their conscience" and thought that they should be more restrained in a state of war, otherwise it would not benefit anyone, so they delegated some power to the military.

"In short!" Gallieni put away the cigarettes on the table and calmly put them back into the cigarette box: "If the military has a demand and the Senate cannot provide other alternative products, they have no right to interfere with the military's purchase."

Gallieni looked up at the two of them and reminded them, "For example, the sidecar you invented is currently unique, and we obviously have a need for it. It has even proven useful in actual combat! I can include it in the wartime procurement regulations and purchase it directly, bypassing the Senate!"

Deyoka's eyes lit up instantly. This meant an order from the military, and it was most likely a large order!
But Charles heard the key point in Gallieni's words: "'Unique at present'? What if it is not in the future?"

Gallieni was silent. As expected of Charles, he could grasp the key points in the shortest time.

When Djokovic was reminded by Charles, he immediately realized that this was the most important thing.

"General, can you guarantee our rights?" Deyoka expanded the question: "I'm talking about industrial property rights. It may be bypassed or imitated by capitalists, and we can't do anything about it! This forces us to sell the property rights!"

"No, I can't!" Gallieni shook his head.

At this time, there was a consensus in France: if the military also held political power, they would be no different from the emperor, which would easily overthrow the republican system and restore the monarchy. They advocated the separation of powers and mutual checks and balances.

So politics is the military’s forbidden zone and they cannot get involved in it!

"Then..." Djokovic said, "If there are counterfeits, can you guarantee to purchase our products?"

Gallieni hesitated, then shook his head again: "No, I can't!"

Dejoka glanced at Charles, then turned to Gallieni, his face full of embarrassment: "General, although we want to support you, we cannot guarantee rights and sales, but we want to guarantee a low price. In this situation, we may not be able to survive, so... this may not be realistic!"

Gallieni answered calmly:

"If counterfeit products appear, we can apply for testing!"

"I'll take the Hotchkiss machine gun as an example. The specific process is roughly like this: we apply to the government to compare the Hotchkiss and St. Etienne machine guns in all aspects. The government randomly selects soldiers from the army to operate the two machine guns in various environments and finally obtains the test data."

At this time, Camille came up with a tray and brought everyone a cup of steaming coffee.

This surprised Djokovic and Charles. Their family did not have the habit of drinking coffee. If they wanted to drink it occasionally, they would go to the small shop in Osses across the street to buy it.

Gallieni thanked him, and after Camille left, he continued, "Once we conclude that the Hotchkiss machine gun is better than the Saint-Etienne machine gun, the military can veto the Senate's proposal to equip us with the Saint-Etienne machine gun and equip us with the Hotchkiss instead!"

Gallieni picked up the coffee and blew it gently. He raised his chin and looked at Charles with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes: "What I can do is to ensure that every piece of your equipment can be included in the wartime procurement regulations."

Charles sorted out his thoughts and understood Gallieni's idea:

Once someone copies it, let them copy it. When copying, there will inevitably be some redundant designs to circumvent the property rights, just like the Saint-Etienne machine gun, and the result is that the copy is useless. When the time comes, just put the original and the copy into the wartime procurement regulations for comparison and testing, and the original will be able to defeat the copy and enter the army with a dignified appearance.

After thinking for a while, Charles asked again: "But the capitalists have more advanced equipment and more abundant funds. What if their imitations are better than our originals?"

Gallieni smiled slightly. "Of course we will choose the better one. We are the army, Charles! The army only cares about the results!"

This is the reality. So what if it is authentic?
If you are defeated by imitations, it just means that the imitations have gone one step further!
The army is all about the law of the jungle, "survival of the fittest", especially the army in wartime!
"General!" Charles said again, "So it seems that the military has done nothing! If our product is better, you should have included it in the procurement regulations and compared it with the imitations, am I right?"

"No!" Gallieni shook his head, a trace of helplessness hanging on the corner of his mouth: "It's not as simple as you think, Charles. The Hotchkiss machine gun was obtained by me in accordance with the procurement regulations for entering the war. I put a lot of thought into it!"

Charles was stunned, then nodded.

Gallieni is not the only one in the military. Its top brass has been infiltrated by capitalists. It is no exaggeration to say that they are in cahoots with the capitalists and form a community of interests. This is the main reason why the Saint-Etienne machine gun, a terrible piece of equipment, is so popular in the army.

Gallieni was an outlier in the army. He worked hard to make the army better and more powerful.

If it were peacetime, he, as an alternative, would have been kicked out by the capitalists long ago, just like he had no choice but to choose to retire before.

It is an irony that it is so difficult for the army to obtain a better equipment, even though it has been produced and is within reach, and the soldiers still want to use it in combat, but are blocked by the capitalists!

Gallieni looked at the two people's expressions and seemed to understand something. He nodded silently:

"I know this is a little hard to ask, Mr. Djoka, and Charles."

"This is unfair to you. I ask you to ignore the high price offered by the capitalists. All you can get in exchange is a wartime procurement regulation!"

"But... this is all I can do!"

"If you refuse, I completely understand. After all, if it were me, I would probably make the same choice, so..."

Gallieni spread his hands: "Nice to meet you..."

He stood up to shake hands and say goodbye.

But Charles said:
"I think we can continue the discussion, General. Let's discuss a price that both parties can accept!"

"what?"

"what!"

Gallieni and Deyoka exclaimed in unison and cast shocked glances at Charles.

(End of this chapter)