"Dad, if these things in this plan are really used, I am worried about two things, the first is whether the French will be defeated soon, and the second is that if the war is stalemate, the Germans will not be able to support it for long. Also, I note that these studies all ended around 1914. Dad, do you think that at this time, there may be war? Gladstone asked.

"Ah, I think it should be around this time." "But you know for sure that even if Europe fights, we won't go to war right away." War requires a lot of supplies, and we can make a lot of money by selling them in the middle. Coupled with the recent events that we have done in Alaska, I think it is still possible to drag the war on until around 1914. As for the quick defeat of the French, which you feared, this is, of course. So you see, here we developed the 'Sand. Lin' and 'Soman', these two poisonous gases are different from those poisons that were previously prevalent, they are dermatotoxic and can poison people through the skin. Therefore, it is useless to use gas masks or something against them, and it is necessary to have chemical protective suits with full body protection against them. Moreover, these agents can remain lethal for more than ten hours when contaminated with the target area. A soldier's uniform or something will also absorb a large amount of these poisons. Improper handling can easily cause secondary poisoning. In particular, the second 'Soman' has almost no specific drugs that can be used for treatment. It is indeed a very desirable weapon of mass destruction. It's a pity that it's difficult to obtain. Until now, we have not fully overcome some of the technical problems of mass production. If it really comes to the point where the French can't stand it anymore, we can get the French to get some 'sand in some way. Lin' was enough for them to withstand the Germans. Of course, we still hope that this kind of thing doesn't happen.

As for Germany, with their current strength, they will be able to hold out for a long time before the last drop of blood is shed. Because, as long as they are well controlled, their opponents, France and England, will also look like they are about to shed their last drop of blood. Also, did you notice anything mentioned in this document? ”

"Dad, are you talking about the 'mustard gas' mentioned here?" Gladstone asked.

"Yes, you can look at its various properties and then and sand. Lin and Soman make a comparison. Scrooge said.

Gladstone took a few documents together, looked at them carefully for a while, and then replied, "Although this poison is not bad, in terms of performance, it seems to be similar to 'sand. Lin' and 'Soman' are a lot worse. However, compared to 'Soman', which is easy to prepare, it is also a pretty good poison, at least more than light. It's much better to be angry. But it's still not as good as 'sand. Lin'. ”

"This kind of thing was developed backwards by our intelligence agents after they got some information from Germany." "The Germans already had such a thing in their hands," Scrooge said. They made it in 1822, but at that time, it was just a by-product and of low purity. Didn't get too much attention. By 1886, Mr. Meyer of Germany had invented a method for mass production, but it was not taken seriously at the time. However, in recent years, with the use of chemical weapons in wars and wars, especially after the British used chemical weapons against the Boers in large quantities, almost all the industrial countries of the world have been mad at researching various poisons. It was rediscovered by the Germans and protected as top secret. If we hadn't discovered the value of those things before the Germans, it would have been very difficult to get information about them. Depending on the capabilities of the German chemical industry, they have a lot of mustard gas in their hands, and they will certainly be able to produce more quickly if needed. So, what happens on the battlefield? ”

"You mean that if the Germans can't stand it, they're going to use it in large quantities? And then the British and the French will suffer heavy losses, making it difficult to attack? Gladstone asked.

"That's one thing, too." Scrooge handed another document to Greystone, "This is what we have learned about some of the artillery of the Germans. The Germans had a clear advantage over the French and British in large-caliber artillery. However, these guns are difficult to move, which will also slow down the speed of their army. But if it is used for defensive operations. That's really powerful. Also, this is some of our research materials on submarines and escort tactics, of course, because it is impossible to actually test them, they can only be operated on the map. But here's a document on submarine tactics, it's interesting, you can take a look. Throw it to the Germans if necessary, and it might have a good effect. ”

"Dad, how are these projects going?" Gladstone asked.

"Sand. The forest is fully formed, and so is the mustard gas. Soman is hard to say. But even if it can't be done, there is sand. Lin can basically be used. The design of a standard transport ship of the Sherlock type is nearing completion. By the time of the big war, there was no problem with it. The study of fighters and bombers will take time. The current bomber efficiency is not good enough. Of course, we have a clear advantage in this area compared to European countries. In addition, research on sonar is progressing steadily, and samples are available, but they are still very unreliable and the effectiveness is mediocre. Tests we did with our submarines showed that this thing is basically useless right now. But there's no rush for this, and by that time, it should be able to barely be used. As for the rest, I guess it can be progressed according to the time. There are also relevant backup schemes for important things. In general, if we use around 1914 as a node, there is basically no problem. ”

"According to the progress on the Alaskan side, oil production will start in about 1912." "So, Dad, we have to prepare for the bubble to burst, and to have it burst at the end of 1913 or early 1914, so that war is not far off." Dad, you see that once the war starts, it will be difficult for the German transport ships to come in handy anymore. Can we create an opportunity to get more German transports trapped in the United States by the time the war begins. Then we were able to buy the boats at a fairly cheap price. ”

"It's a good idea, and it's a possibility. The key is how to control the timing of the outbreak of war. "Do you have any ideas?" ”

"To create public opinion, to disclose the so-called scoop, just as Bismarck did in the war between France and Prussia?" Greystone started out in the propaganda department, so this was the first thing that came to mind.

"Is there any other way?" Scrooge asked again.

"Arm the Serbs, provoke them to a conflict with Turkey. What do you think? Gladstone asked again.

Today's Balkans are the place where the European powers are most fiercely competing for hegemony. Because nowadays, for some land powers, such as Germany and Russia, the easiest and most likely last colony to win is Turkey. Back then, the iron hooves of Ottoman Turkey once made the whole of Europe tremble, but after the Industrial Revolution, the Turks failed to keep up with the wave of the Industrial Revolution and gradually weakened, so they became the target of a large number of European continental powers.

Under the banner of the heirs of the Byzantine Empire, the Russians declared that they would protect the rights of those Orthodox brothers under Turkish rule, waged war after war against Turkey, gained land after land from Turkey, and even almost "recovered the great capital of Byzantium". If it weren't for the intervention of the British and the French, perhaps the Ayasophia Mosque would have been called Hagia Sophia again, and the flag of the double-headed eagle would have been flying over Hagia Sophia again.

But the British and French are not here to volunteer. They took advantage of the pressure that the Russians brought to Turkey and received numerous benefits from Turkey. Today, the entire province of Egypt and much of the Arabian Peninsula have become colonies under the de facto control of the British, and the Balkans, which were originally under Turkish control, have sprang up with a lot of rebellion and created a whole lot of small states.

For Russia, controlling these small countries would give it a much-needed market for its struggling economy, and a better support point for continuing its offensive against Turkey. Similarly, for the emerging Germany, those lands far from Europe, those that had to rely on naval power, for the time being, were still a bit out of reach, and only Turkey and the Balkans were within reach.

In order to confront Germany, Britain and France were forced to change their attitude and become allies with Russia, and the Germans naturally took advantage of the situation and replaced Britain and France as the protectors of Turkey - this was really just playing the old wisdom of the British, using Russian pressure to force the Turks to give them more privileges.

"That's the same way." "You can go and talk to your brother Donald, who has a more detailed study of the Balkans and Turkey," Scrooge said. He had made a similar suggestion to me before, but he had targeted the Armenians. You know, in 1876, the Turks launched a massacre against them. In the Turks' territories, there are probably not many people who hate Turkey more than the Armenians, and there are not many people who are hated by the Turks as much as the Armenians. Perhaps it would be a good idea to provoke a revolution among the Armenians, and then to provoke the Turks to launch a massacre. ”