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

Chapter 50 Improvisation
What Charles didn't know was that Djokovic had a fierce "battle" with Gallieni when registering industrial property rights in Paris.

Gallieni acted very quickly, as he said to his staff: "The Germans are retreating, gentlemen! We urgently need three-wheeled vehicles to catch up with the Germans, not tanks that can block bullets. This matter cannot be delayed, because as long as the enemy is given a few days, they will build a line of defense that our three-wheeled vehicles cannot cross!"

Therefore, Gallieni submitted the application for purchasing sidecars to the government early the next morning and followed up the entire process.

The process went smoothly, thanks to the uniqueness of the sidecar and the fact that there was only one motorcycle factory, Charles. Therefore, Gallieni's application was approved soon, and Gallieni obtained the authority to independently purchase sidecars on behalf of the military.

Then, Gallieni learned that Dejoca had applied for industrial property rights at the city hall, and he immediately rushed to discuss the purchase of the sidecar.

"We may need two thousand or even more. You should go cheaper, Mr. Deyoka!"

"No, General!" Dejoka refused bluntly: "800 francs a car, not a centime less, this is already very cheap!"

"Cheap? Do you think I'm a fool?" Gallieni gnashed his teeth in hatred. He tapped the table with his fingers excitedly: "A sedan only costs 900 francs. Sir, you actually sell the sidecar at the same price as a sedan!"

"You can buy a sedan, General!" Djokovic said, "It's expensive because it's worth the money. Nothing can replace it, including a sedan!"

Deyoka was telling the truth. The passability and off-road capability of a sedan cannot be compared with that of a sidecar. Moreover, the front-mounted engine of a sedan makes it very large, and any bullet can paralyze it on the battlefield.

"I know the motorcycle only costs 220 francs, and you just added a sidecar to it, which costs at most 300 francs..."

"The point is that we are the only ones who have it, General!" Djoka emphasized proudly, "If you are not satisfied with the price, I suggest you go ask somewhere else!"

Gallieni was furious: "Do you know what this is, sir? You ignore the safety of the soldiers, the danger of the army on the battlefield, and the danger of France..."

"I am a member of France, General!" Deyoka objected, and he began to list the good things he had done: "We raised food for the French army out of our own pockets, invented the tank to help France win the war, helped the wounded in the field hospital, and even donated 100 sidecars to the military for free to repel the Germans who tried to counterattack... You actually accuse me of ignoring the army, ignoring the soldiers, and ignoring France?"

Gallieni retorted: "Then you shouldn't raise the price of the sidecar to 800 francs at this critical moment. This price will make all the good reputation you have earned go down the drain. Now you are no different from those profiteers!"

"Okay!" Djokovic gave in: "700 francs, no less!"

"It's still too expensive. We need a lot!"

After a heated argument, General Gallieni finally lowered the price to 550 francs.

It was all a play, and 550 francs was the price Charles and Gallieni had agreed on last night.

The cost of the sidecar was about 270 francs. Perhaps in order to compensate Charles, Gallieni offered a purchase price of 800 francs.

"This is acceptable to the military!" Gallieni said, "It's much better than the capitalists multiplying it four or five times!"

Deyoka's eyes lit up instantly, the profit was considerable, 530 francs for one sidecar, of them was over francs, and the military's purchase volume was definitely more than , which was much more profitable than selling industrial property rights.

However, Charles thought for a moment and said: "550 francs a car!"

"What?" Gallieni felt that this was unreal.

"Charles..." Djoka thought he had misheard. Charles turned his eyes to Djoka and said, "Too much profit will bring us a lot of trouble, father!"

Djokovic looked confused. A businessman would only complain about the profit being too small. Why would he worry about the profit being too big?
Charles analyzed: "If the profit of a sidecar reaches 530 francs, there will definitely be capitalists ready to move. They can import motorcycles from overseas and transform them into sidecars to compete with us. Even if this requires freight and high import prices, they can still make money!"

Dejoka suddenly realized: "If we lower the price to 550 francs, the profit will be compressed to 280 francs. They will not be able to import motorcycles to compete with us because they will not make any money!"

"Yes!" Although Charles' voice was childish, his tone and actions were quite mature. "In addition, if the capitalists want to copy, they must build a factory and a production line in France, and finally bypass our industrial property rights. In the case of small profit margins... after comprehensive consideration, they may choose to give up instead of following and becoming our competitors!"

"Excellent strategy, Charles!" Gallieni praised. "Now I know where your strategic and tactical talents come from. The business world is simply another battlefield!"

The price of 550 francs was thus set.

What happened the next morning at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris was not planned in advance, as Dejoka and Gallieni put on an impromptu performance.

Paris is well-informed. The big capitalists will soon learn about this and think:

"That's what Gallieni is like, this fool always quarrels with capitalists over military money."

"A sidecar for only 550 francs? This loser Dejoka has cut off everyone's source of income!"

……

The Ritz Hotel on Place Vendome in central Paris.

In a luxurious conference room, Francis leisurely enjoyed his favorite Algerian coffee, looked at the military representative sitting opposite him with a smile, and picked up a cigar and lit it.

Francis was responsible for negotiating the price of the tanks with the military. He was pushed to the negotiating table by Grevey in order to make others mistakenly believe that the ownership of the tanks was still in Charles' hands.

Grevy promised Francis a 1% commission.

Francis did the math: one tank could be sold for 6000 francs, 900 would be 9 million, which means his commission would be 9 francs, !
The military representative looked anxious, and he sighed helplessly: "Mr. Francis, it is difficult for us to accept the unit price of 6000 francs. If you can..."

Francis didn't even bother to reply. He just raised the smoking cigar in his hand to indicate that there was no possibility of a price reduction.

It's not me who is anxious, but you, Francis thought. Every minute we wait here, countless soldiers will die because of the lack of tanks. This is my bargaining chip!
At this time, a communications soldier came in, glanced at Francis, then walked towards the military representative, bent down and whispered something in his ear.

The military representative's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up and said to Francis, "Sorry, sir, I have to go answer a phone call!"

Francis sensitively realized that things were changing, and were moving in an unfavorable direction.

What could it be?

While he was wondering, an attendant hurriedly pushed the door open, came closer and said to Francis: "Mr. Grevy's instructions are 5000 francs, and the contract must be signed immediately! Immediately!"

Francis's face changed. Things might be worse than he thought!
(End of this chapter)