Chapter 58: There's nothing to be afraid of for a 17-year-old?

Armand's Bride Manor is only three kilometers away from Paris, and because it is well connected in all directions, it has become a gathering place for the "Tank Alliance".

Unlike before, this time it was Francis who summoned the others.

Nikolai was reluctant to come. The excuse he gave was that the tank business had nothing to do with him. All he had to do was receive payment and publish the news through "Le Figaro". He could be told what to do and there was no need for him to participate. What meeting.

The real reason is that Nicholas does not think Francis is a nobleman.

In Nikolai's eyes, Francis is just a businessman selling tractors, and Nikolai does not need to waste time on such a person.

But soon Grevi called Nicholas: "Francis thinks you should be there, Mr. Nicholas!"

"Oh, what big thing could it be?" Nicholas laughed.

"Who knows? But if he insists..."

"Okay, I will be there. But I may leave early, he'd better keep his story short!" Nicholas' tone was full of contempt for Francis.

When Nicholas arrived at the manor, others had already arrived. Instead of apologizing, he handed the cane and hat to the servants in a dusty manner, and sat down on the sofa without even taking off his coat: "Gentlemen, I just If you can stay for a while, I made an appointment with Mr. Abel to meet in an hour!”

"I won't waste too much of your time, Mr. Nicholas!" Francis nodded to Nicholas.

Nicholas was quite surprised to see Francis's energetic look. Usually he was always submissive and seemed to have lowered his head, but now he looked like a host.

Nicholas glanced at Armand and Grave in confusion, and they just responded with smiles.

"Here's the thing!" Francis said: "I just learned not long ago that Charles built a tractor factory next to his motorcycle factory!"

There was silence in the living room for a few seconds, and then laughter suddenly broke out.

Armand handed Nicholas a glass of red wine and said: "As far as I know, Charles is your grandson, Mr. Francis, are you planning to let Mr. Nicholas advertise your grandson's new factory? "

There was a trace of sarcasm on Nicholas' lips, but he said humbly: "I am very willing to serve you, Mr. Francis!"

His exaggerated behavior once again brought laughter to others.

Francis ignored their ridicule. He just emphasized: "Tractor factory, gentlemen, and it is a 'Holt 75' that is more advanced than my tractor. It has a horsepower of 83 horses and a top speed of 24 kilometers per hour. My tractor only has 61 horses and a top speed of 15 kilometers per hour! What did you guys think of?”

Armand didn't take it seriously and continued to drink wine indifferently.

Nicholas's smile turned into helplessness. He thought that Francis was talking about the content of the advertisement seriously, so he wouldn't take it seriously, right?

Only Grevi stopped smiling.

"You mean, Ciel intends to compete with you?" Grevi asked.

"They are competing with us, gentlemen!" Francis corrected: "If Charles uses the 'Holt 75' to modify the tank, there is no doubt that it will have higher speed and more power than the 'Holt 60'. Which one do you think the military prefers to have a larger load capacity?”

Only then did the others realize the seriousness of the problem, and at the same time they also understood that they had gone astray. The Charles in Francis's mouth was not a grandson, but a competitor!

Armand hesitated for a while, then laid down his hands indifferently: "What can he do? The industrial property rights of the tank are in our hands!"

"Yes!" Nicholas said, "We still have the right to speak!"

This is the advantage of newspapers. Once Charles dares to infringe on their industrial property rights, he will immediately be attacked by public opinion and law, even if he is the inventor.

Grevi said nothing. He seemed to have guessed what the problem was.

Sure enough, Francis smiled and shook his head: "You are underestimating Charles. If it were what you think, he would not build this tractor factory!"

"Tell me about his abilities..." Armand said with disdain on his face: "Do you think we should be afraid of a 17-year-old child?"

Francis was speechless for a moment. He glanced at Armand in disbelief. He was a veritable fool. He was actually the leader of the party and a member of parliament!

Of course, these words cannot be said. Francis leaned back on the sofa, took a deep breath to relax himself, and said unhurriedly:

"Gentlemen, I have a story!"

"The German 1st Army originally marched into Paris. It only needed to encircle Paris from the west, and Paris would be finished."

"However, I bought food and a machine gun factory, and told Gallieni that he would provide supplies to the French 5th Army for free!"

"The French 5th Army therefore changed its retreat route and assembled in Darouz."

"The German 1st Army changed its direction of march in pursuit of the French 5th Army, thus exposing its flank to Paris..."

Armand smiled and interrupted Francis: "You want to say that you are the savior of Paris?"

"No, Mr. Armand!" Francis sat up straight and stared at Armand, answering word for word: "Charles is the one, he is the savior of Paris, these are all what Charles asked me to do! "

Everyone looked at each other, they never knew there was this story behind it, or that it was not a "story".

Because the protagonist of the story is "Char", Charles is Francis's enemy, and Francis will not praise his enemies, so this "story" is probably true.

Grevy seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Francis in shock: "So, Charles has already converted a tractor into a tank and is waiting for the Germans in Lavas?"

Francis nodded: "Not only that, he also trained a group of soldiers to use tanks and commanded this unit to defeat the Germans!"

Everyone was shocked. They had always thought that these were just folk rumors.

The official propaganda is that Major Browne trained the troops and led his men to defeat the Germans, while Charles was just the inventor of the tank.

Francis added: "I saw with my own eyes that Major Browne just did what Charles said. I think the same is true for three rounds and one battle!"

"Unbelievable!" Grevi stood up unconsciously.

Ciel is just a 17-year-old boy, but he has such a strategy, such a city, and those amazing inventions and ideas. How did he do this?

Grevi had always known that Ciel was outstanding and excellent, but he did not expect that he would be so outstanding. This was far beyond his imagination.

He muttered to himself: "If Ciel is an opponent, he is a formidable opponent!"

This is what Francis wants to say:

"Now, do you understand what kind of enemy you are facing?"

"Do you still think he is just a 17-year-old kid with nothing to be afraid of?"

Without waiting for anyone else to answer, Francis continued:

"Tank ownership is nothing to him, gentlemen!"

"If what I predict is correct, he will soon develop a new tank, a new tank based on the 'Holt 75'."

"This tank will most likely bypass all industrial property rights, or even be a completely new tank, whatever it is, it will definitely be much more advanced than our tanks!"

Grevi nodded slightly: "Then, our tanks will be eliminated, and we may not be able to sell any of them!"

Armand sat on the sofa in a daze. He thought about the consequences. Losing money is a trivial matter. If things really develop like this, the right wing's plan to increase influence and control in the army will undoubtedly come to nothing.