Outside New York City, on the side of a wide road, two simple flying machines were trying to fly unsteadily.
Napoleon I and Quincy Adams watched with a group of guards.
Napoleon held the telescope and watched the plane try to get slightly off the ground, and then quickly fall down again.
The flying height shall not exceed one meter and the flying distance shall not exceed five meters.
Napoleon put down his telescope, frowned and asked Adams next to him:
"Your Excellency, Earl of Boston, why can planes fly?"
John Quincy Adams had already been created an earl, and the title was directly chosen in Boston, the capital of Massachusetts.
His father, John Adams, was the Duke of Massachusetts.
Quincy Adams heard Napoleon's question and recalled the information he had seen and answered:
"According to the introduction in the newspaper, the patent applied by Prince Dashi said it was the reaction force of the air flow.
"The engines drag the plane forward, and the airflow under the wings blows the plane upward.
“So the key lies in the power of the engine, which allows the aircraft to move as fast as possible. The faster it goes, the easier it is to fly.
“The Ming Dynasty’s engine had the greatest advantage, so it was the first to succeed.
"Our engine technology is far different from that of the Ming Dynasty, so it is understandable that it is difficult to fly."
Napoleon looked noncommittal as he watched the plane try to take off again, and then tried to express his thoughts:
"According to previous research results and Bernoulli's principle, different shapes of wings will also affect lift, right?
"A higher-power engine can obtain better lift, but it must also have an optimal airfoil shape.
"It can provide the highest possible lift while the engine and speed are fixed, right?"
Quincy Adams nodded slightly:
"That's the theory. So let our craftsmen work separately?
"Part of us continues to research and explore ways to increase engine power.
"Part of the study is the airfoil that is most suitable for flying and can provide the most lift."
Napoleon nodded directly:
"Just do this. I'll leave things here to you and your son. I'm going to the front line.
"Looking at the current state of the aircraft, it cannot be used on the battlefield."
Quincy Adams asked subconsciously:
"Our aircraft are indeed not good enough. Should we try to import aircraft or engines from Ming Dynasty?
"Then we can refer to the Ming Dynasty's wing and engine design to imitate..."
Napoleon thought for a moment and said:
"You can try it, but I guess Daming will not agree, or it will be delayed indefinitely.
"Our union, our mutual independence, and our strength are not in the interests of Ming Dynasty.
"If we all only had land in one state, Ming might open up its support.
"Because if we don't support it, we will be quickly wiped out by Britain and France."
Quincy Adams is also a person who can be the president. Of course he understands the logic of this and nodded helplessly:
"If you think about it this way, I hope Ming Dynasty will not sell mature aircraft and engines to Britain and France.
"Otherwise we will be in trouble on the battlefield."….
Napoleon said quite firmly:
"No, it won't. If Britain and France really can't defend the Yinzhou colony, then Ming Dynasty will definitely mediate.
"Split us into several countries, or go to war personally and turn us into a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty..."
Quincy was obviously taken aback, and then said rather tangledly:
"Becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty...this form and identity are actually not objectionable to the American people.
"But from being dumped by the British and French mainland to being dumped by the Ming Dynasty, our war of independence was in vain..."
Napoleon laughed dryly and said:
"Place
We must act quickly.
"Before the British and French allied forces landed, before the Ming Dynasty reached an agreement with the British and French royal families and directly sent troops to intervene, before the new era of aircraft and tanks arrived.
"Unify the United States as quickly as possible.
"Then we will fight local guerrilla warfare with the British and French forces and the Ming Dynasty troops.
"Let the British and French think that the war of conquest is not worth the gain, and they have to admit that we as a whole are independent of the world."
Quincy remained silent, knowing that this was the only way out, but the difficulty could be imagined.
There was a slight silence at the scene. At this time, a signal soldier rushed to the scene on horseback and handed a report to Quincy.
Quincy took a look and immediately handed it to Napoleon in surprise:
"Western Virginia, the mining region west of Appalachia, has officially decided to secede from Virginia and receive orders from the Kingdom.
"There are more than thirty counties and cities there, and the total area is almost half of Virginia.
"My father proposed to directly establish a state of West Virginia and ennoble their leader as the Duke of West Virginia."
Napoleon also looked happy:
"The progress of the troops is pretty good, but West Virginia is originally mainly industrial and mining, and is an important coking coal producer, so our interests are originally consistent.
“When soldiers are pressing down on the border, it’s easy for them to compromise, but it’s not so easy in other areas.
"Just follow the advice of His Excellency the Duke of Massachusetts. I'll leave the rear to you. I'll leave first."
Napoleon gave simple instructions, mounted his horse and left the scene, heading for the Maryland front.
The west would circle back and attack the troops in Kentucky and Tennessee. After achieving results, they would draw the attention of the eight southern states to the west.
Napoleon would launch an attack on the Virginia region on the eastern coast of the United States at this time.
The two countries in this world, the United States and Canada, are almost the eastern part of the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Most of the area is plain, bisected by the sloping Appalachian Mountains.
However, the mountains do not extend to the remote southernmost point. The southern end of the mountains is the connected Great Plains.
Napoleon's troops were now divided into two groups, attacking south simultaneously on the east and west sides of the mountains.
If all plans go well, the two sides will meet at the end of the mountain range.
News of Napoleon and Adams's intention to purchase aircraft was transmitted directly back to the Old World via undersea cables.
Without any further processing, it was delivered directly to Zhu Jingyuan.
After Zhu Jingyuan received Adams' request, he put it together with requests for purchase and authorization intentions from other countries. ….
The military and the imperial court have successively sent applications for purchase intentions in these days.
Coupled with the semi-independent United States, all countries except the Ming Dynasty want to buy aircraft.
The situation and goals of each country are slightly different, but they are generally the same.
Buy a few first and use them as design reference and imitation objects.
It's just that some countries are more urgent, want more aircraft, and are more inclined to use them themselves.
Some countries are stingy and want two or even one, purely for imitation.
After comprehensive consideration, Zhu Jingyuan ordered his staff Niu Jian to give them a unified response:
"Tell them that the local branch of Daming Airlines has just been registered and has not officially started operations.
"Our local branches in various countries do not have any production capacity yet.
“Workers need to be recruited and trained, and production materials and accessories need to be imported from Daming.
“So it will take six years at the earliest before local factories in each country can provide the first aircraft to the host country.
“After that, we can provide one aircraft per month, and starting from next year, we can provide three aircraft per month, and we will increase production depending on the situation.
"The price of aircraft assembled in various countries is uniformly 80,000 silver notes per aircraft.
, full payment must be made directly in advance, and the minimum price is ten racks.
"If you want to import the entire aircraft directly from Daming, the price will increase to 100,000 silver coins per aircraft.
"Both the local military and civilians in Ming Dynasty need aircraft, so import orders must be paid in full one year in advance and queued up.
"Delivery will begin one year after payment is made. After that, ten units can be supplied every three months, with sales starting from one hundred units.
"At the same time, in some countries, the patent for Ming's flying machine has not yet been issued.
"In order to protect its own patent interests, Daming Airlines cannot sell flying machines publicly or privately in this country.
"The time when aircraft delivery starts in the corresponding country is calculated based on the time when the flying machine patent is issued.
“The types of aircraft we sell directly are the same types of aircraft that have applied for patents in the corresponding countries.
"The warranty period is three years. Any modification by yourself will void the warranty qualification.
"At the same time, if you purchase a patent license for civilian flight machines, it will be calculated based on 30% of the sales price.
"If you purchase a patent license for military flying machines, the calculation will be temporarily based on three million banknotes per year, and will be adjusted every year based on the popularity of the aircraft.
"Because the selling price of military aircraft is difficult to calculate, the licensing fee cannot be calculated based on the share of the sales unit price."
Niu Jian, who was in charge of recording, had a rather strange expression.
The aircraft used to apply for a patent is very simple, and even if it is produced purely by hand, the cost will not exceed two thousand silver coins.
Now Zhu Jingyuan directly sells one for 100,000 yuan.
The latest combat aircraft used by Ming Dynasty only costs 50,000 silver coins, and can be reduced to 40,000 after mass production.
This clearly shows that people who want planes are being taken advantage of.
Moreover, the total sales volume must be limited, and full payment must be made in advance six months to one year in advance.
This also makes it clear that we do not want large-scale sales in Thailand and the West.
It's best for you not to buy it. It's best to pretend that airplanes don't exist. ….
But this was obviously impossible, so Niu Jian asked worriedly:
"Your Highness, if we control sales volume and price in this way, will it encourage manufacturers to purchase authorizations and design and develop aircraft for various purposes on their own?"
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and nodded and said:
"Yes, under normal circumstances, this result will occur with a high probability.
“My plan is to wait until these manufacturers have completed their design and development and bring their products to the market, then we will attack them.
"Let our factories be freed up to produce more aircraft with better performance and quality.
“Sell in their market at a lower price than them.
"These self-developed manufacturers lost all their money and had to file for bankruptcy liquidation.
"When the time comes, we will sell the factories they used.
“When our factory was the only one left on the market, we again reduced production and raised sales prices.
"It should be a new cycle after that.
"Of course, we have to control the intensity of this behavior based on the relationship between each country and us.
"Under certain circumstances, small, low-end aircraft factories in various countries can be allowed to survive."
Niu Jian was speechless when he heard this plan.
This operation is absolutely simple and crude, but for it to be truly effective, it depends on the international status of the country behind it.
Otherwise, if the corresponding country directly introduces trade protection and conducts anti-monopoly investigations and penalties, these plans may become ineffective.
But Ming Dynasty happened to have this status.
Niu Jian sighed in his heart and spoke again to confirm:
"Your Highness, as for the United States, will you respond according to the same standards?"
Zhu Jingyuan thought about it:
"Now that Napoleon has the advantage, it stands to reason that we should not give him the plane directly.
"But the advantage now does not mean that it will still be the advantage in the future, and the British and French local forces are not just a matter of fact.
"Also, it is not appropriate for us to reject Napoleon directly, so we can agree to export flying machines to them, but the delivery period must be extended, for example, to two years later.
[To be honest, I have been using @@ recently to read and catch up on updates, change sources, and have many reading sounds. It can be used on both Android and Apple. 】
"Then we will decide whether and how to supply them based on the war situation in Beiyinzhou.
"If the British and French local counter-insurgency troops arrive at Yinzhou and quickly suppress Napoleon's offensive, then we will supply the goods in advance.
"If they withstand the attack by the British and French counter-insurgency forces, then our supply period will continue to be delayed.
"Furthermore, we can use the excuse that they are an unrecognized country, so we ask them to go to Ming Dynasty to pick up the goods themselves.
"If by chance, Britain, France and our Ming Dynasty all take action, and we still have to recognize their independent status, then we will deal with it in accordance with the strategies for other countries."
Although Zhu Jingyuan did not want Napoleon to lead the United States and Canada to independence, he had already made plans for Napoleon to finally succeed. This can be regarded as the worst plan.
Niu Jian finally fully understood what Zhu Jingyuan meant, and completed eleven very similar response messages in sequence, and asked the telegraph department to send them to the corresponding countries in turn. .
Wang Zixu
