In Joseph's office, Napoleon was arguing with Joseph. The reason for the quarrel was simple, because Joseph actually demanded that all the cannons of the French team be replaced with iron.

"If you get cheap steel right now, that's fine, but your steelmaking is still in the lab, and you want to replace the bronze cannon with a damn cast iron cannon. No, never, never! I, Napoleon, will never do anything that harms the combat effectiveness of the army in exchange for benefits! "Napoleon and his eldest brother are rarely shouting about this.

"Napoleon, although the iron cannon is a little bulky, it is not completely unusable. In a short period of time, we won't have any large-scale expeditions, will we? "Now we are really short of copper, very, very short of copper. ”

"If you lack copper, find a way to buy it!" Napoleon said.

"Hell yes! If I could solve the problem by taking the test, I wouldn't be in a hurry at all! Napoleon, did you know that in recent months, the price of copper has almost doubled across Europe. The countries around us have begun to use paper coins in large quantities, because the people in those places have already sold copper coins directly to us as copper.

All over Europe, from Tsarist Russia to England, we are eating a lot of copper that can be bought on the market. The British had already begun to restrict the export of copper, and the Spaniards and Austrians, of course, did not dare, but they also raised prices very quickly. As for France, almost all the copper items in the homes of the common people have been stolen by themselves or by thieves and sold to us, and even the bells in the churches have been replaced with iron. However, copper is still not enough!

Napoleon, you have to think that your damned cannons have gone up a lot in terms of price. If you agree to give us those bronze cannons, I'll ...... I'll give you two of each of my bronze cannons, not two and five iron cannons of the same size—what do you think? ”

"Even in normal times, one copper cannon is worth two iron cannons." Napoleon sneered, "No! Add money! I have to make the military feel that I am strengthening, not weakening. One for four, and you must ensure the quality, and you cannot fool our army with the kind that was exported to Prussia! ”

"Oh, Napoleon, how can you slander our exported iron cannons like this? Because of the application of new technologies, although the iron cannons we exported are not as good as the copper cannons in terms of performance, they already have performance advantages compared with the British iron cannons.

A while ago, the Prussians replaced all the army's bronze cannons with iron cannons because they wanted to repay the money. They compared the British iron cannon with ours, and they concluded that our iron cannon was no worse than the brass cannon, and even better than the British iron cannon. How can you say that about our iron cannons? ”

"You liar! The Prussians now have to deal with the unfashionable Poles. Of course they can use iron cannons, and those Poles don't have any cannons anyway. And besides, they're happy with the performance? What performance requirements do they have? They have only one requirement for performance, and that is cheapness. Right? ”

"Oh, Napoleon, why are you so stubborn? This iron cannon is a pure over-the-top product, and after a while, when Lavoisier's cheap steelmaking comes out, it will become a waste to be returned to the furnace. It is not impossible to make the performance better, for example, the composite barrel of cast iron and wrought iron, except for a little heavier, it is really not much worse than the copper cannon. But that price, well, is not much different from the copper cannons of the past, and the output cannot be increased all of a sudden, unlike ordinary iron cannons, which can be used directly in Prussia...... Napoleon, don't be so dead-eyed. Soon, I promise you'll be able to use the steel cannon soon. Joseph patted his chest and said.

"Come on, you've promised me many times during this time." Napoleon said, "I don't understand, that copper mine of the Consortium in Prussia will soon be ready for production - that's what you say; It's a huge copper mine, and with it, and our new technology, I can easily double the copper production of all of Europe – that's what you said; And ...... "Napoleon's spit was almost splashed in Joseph's face."

"Hell, I need an N95 mask." Joseph thought to himself.

Then he tried to defend himself, "But Napoleon, it will take time, and we don't have time to wait now." ”

"Why don't you have time to wait? Isn't it just those power plants of yours, what's the big deal to keep them waiting? Napoleon said.

"Napoleon, have you forgotten that soon the time will come when the wheat needs to be watered the most. We promised farmers across the country, especially those villages where veterans were village chiefs, that they would be able to live a good life without worrying about food and drink. How did this good day come about? It must be obtained by increasing the yield of wheat. How can wheat yields be increased? Of course, it depends on more water to water the ground to make a big increase. How can the area of irrigated land be expanded?

The veterans, with the support of the army, led the village's farmers to dig more canals. This played a role. But this alone is not enough. The water in the canals cannot flow into the wheat fields on its own, and it is limited by human power or livestock. In order to expand the water area on a large scale, it is necessary to rely on electric water pumps to pump water. Electric water pumps, on the other hand, must rely on electricity from the power plant.

And you know, generators, motors, and wires all need copper. If we are to have an unprecedented bumper harvest this year, we must quickly build as many electric pumps as possible before the wheat needs to be watered on a large scale.

Moreover, Napoleon, more than half of our soldiers, in turn, were peasants from the countryside. If they see the changes that the electric pump has brought to their hometown and their loved ones, their support for us will grow further.

Yes, you took them around on a campaign, and you made a lot of money with them, making them people who own their own land. That's enough to make them grateful. Add to that the fact that you can make their crops abundant, and ensure that their children and grandchildren will have enough to eat, not to mention a crown, and they will even be willing to build a temple for you. ”

This last sentence made Napoleon's heart a little moved. He thought for a moment and asked, "How many electric pumping stations can be built now?" ”

It was his words that Joseph was waiting for. As soon as I heard him say this, I knew that Napoleon was tempted. So he said, "Wait a minute, I'll ask your sister-in-law to bring the map." Let's look at the map. ”

Joseph went outside and saw Fanny playing chess with Pollina, who was dressed in men's clothes. Polina's situation is not good at this time, and she is about to let Fanny's one of her soldiers go down to the bottom line to become the queen. (Anyway, I've never been able to understand why pawns in chess can become queens, did they have Mulan so early?) When Joseph and Napoleon came out, she quickly stood up and said, "Is there anything you can help with?" At the same time, he pushed the chessboard and said, "No, no, it's time to work." ”

"Oh, Polina, we need to find that water plan." Joseph said.

Polina turned around and searched for a while in a filing cabinet, then pulled a file bag from top of it and took it, "It should all be here, see for yourselves." ”

Fanny came over at this point, took the file bag, opened it, and spread out the map inside on a table large enough to make a bed for a platoon of soldiers in Joseph's office. When that was done, she smiled and pulled Polina out.

Napoleon looked at Polina, who was exiting, and frowned slightly.

"Joseph, you don't have to discipline Polina well, and see what she looks like. She's always dressed in men's clothes now—what is this? ”

"What's this? Men's clothes are indeed much more convenient, aren't they? You see me get up and get dressed, five minutes is enough, but Fanny, hell, I can wear it for an hour. Is...... It's a waste of life. ”

Napoleon knew what Joseph meant by "wasting life". When Joseph taught him, he said, "Life is made of time, and to waste time is to waste life." Later, Napoleon often used this phrase for his generals, officials in the government. So much so that if someone were to write a famous quote or something at this time, it would probably go under Napoleon's name.

But at this time, Napoleon did not agree with Joseph's opinion: "Women, why should you cherish your time so much?" When they have more time, they will make a lot of mess. Hell, there's something I want to tell you, but don't get excited—Fouché told me a few days ago that he saw Polina dressed in a man's outfit and going with Lucien to inspect the entertainment industry in Paris, well, that kind of entertainment industry. ”

"What?" Joseph jumped up when he heard this, "When did it happen?" Why didn't you tell me? ”

"Just the other day, after you went to the Saar coal mine." Napoleon said, "I went and asked Lucien, and he confessed that it was true." But Lucien said that they didn't do much about anything, that is, to find out about the situation on the spot. Because Polina is writing a book, she needs to know about this kind of situation......"

"Whatever he says, you believe? This stinky boy is completely itchy......" said Joseph.

"I don't believe it, but Polina is really writing, and it's pretty good. I've seen it, and many scenes are written with a very live feel, such as ...... No, Lucien, the bastard, probably took Polina to the casino. ”

。 I want to talk about "The Fox of France" with more like-minded people, and pay attention to "excellent reading literature" on WeChat, talk about life, and find confidants~