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Scrooge wrote a letter to Prince Albert, telling him about the launch of another miracle drug from his company. At this time, Albert, who was in a good mood because the sulfonamides produced by the newly built pharmaceutical factory began to make money, immediately became interested, so he sent Lawrence Knight to the United States, hoping to get a piece of the pie from Scrooge's new drug on similar terms as the previous time.

This time, however, Scrooge's attitude was much tougher. This change is not surprising, firstly, in the past few months, Scrooge's pockets have plumped up a lot, and with money in his pockets, he will naturally be more courageous. The second reason is that heroin is different from sulfonamides, which are new drugs, but they are an old dye. When Scrooge took it out, it was easy to figure out what it was all about, and then produce a replica in an underground factory. But few people know what "heroin" is, and it is even more difficult to imitate it. Therefore, Scrooge was more confident in the negotiations, and with an attitude of talking and not talking, he almost didn't get angry with the arrogant British gentleman.

However, the Lawrence Knight still didn't take it personally, because the cooperation with Scrooge last time did bring them a lot of benefits. And in the face of interests, what is the spirit or something?

"Mr. MacDonald, your asking price is indeed a little higher this time." Lawrence Knight said, "His Royal Highness did not give me such a great authority. And we don't know if the effect of this drug is really as good as you say, and whether its sales can be so good that it is really good. In my personal opinion, its prospects will not be better than sulfonamides. Why is your offer even higher? ”

"Ah, then you can go and ask His Royal Highness the Prince, we can wait." Scrooge replied nonchalantly.

Carroll explained:

"Your Excellency, you know that His Royal Highness was able to occupy such a large proportion of the last transaction, not only because they contributed money, but also because they wanted to use their influence to ensure that there were no illegally produced drugs to disrupt the market. It's a huge contribution they've made, so it's only natural that they get a bigger share. But this time is different, the secrets of heroin production are all in our hands, and if we don't give up the patent, it will be very difficult for anyone to imitate it. In this way, there is no need for His Royal Highness to deal with those illegal activities so troublesomely. Therefore, His Excellency the Prince still wants to negotiate this business according to the conditions of the past, but it is not sincere enough. As for the effect and sales of this medicine, if His Royal Highness the Prince and Knight Lawrence are not in a hurry, you can wait a few months in the United States to see how we sell in the United States, and then make a decision. ”

"But I want to tell you that the price of buying futures is not the same as the price of buying spot." Scrooge interjected coldly.

Because the difference between the two bids was so great, Lawrence had to write to Prince Albert to explain the situation. However, in those years, Maxwell had not yet had time to complete his system of equations, radio waves and so on, and no one knew about its existence. And there is no cable between the two sides of the Atlantic, so the exchange of information between the two sides of the strait has to be transmitted by letter. Lawrence's letter was sent and the Prince's reply was returned, and it took a month to come and go.

During the month, Lawrence witnessed the frantic expansion of the new drug "heroin" in the US market. In just one month, in the northern United States, this universal drug called heroin has been sold insanely. MacDonald Chemical & Pharmaceuticals is at full capacity, but demand is still outstripping supply. Lawrence saw that distributors were blocking the doors of McDonald Chemical & Pharmaceuticals every day. In many places, even if you buy it at a high price, it is still difficult to find a drug.

Lawrence felt that perhaps he should have agreed to Scrooge's terms, but looking at the current sales, he was afraid that the greedy Yankee's appetite would grow. It was at this time that he finally received a reply from Prince Albert. In reply, the Prince authorized Lawrence to determine the appropriate transaction method and price based on what he had seen.

Lawrence, who was licensed, eventually reached a deal with Scrooge: McDonald Chemical & Pharmaceutical Company acquired 15 percent of the shares of United Pharmaceuticals (the company led by Prince Albert) for the licensing of heroin. As a result, Scrooge's stake rose to about 23 percent (as one percentage point would have to wait for the outcome of the war in Italy), making him the company's second-largest shareholder after the British crown.

At this time, in Italy, the smell of war was becoming more and more sufficient. In its original history, Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia only in April 1859. But in this time and space, Sardinia not only reached an alliance with France as it did in history, but also strengthened its own power, so Sardinia's various international provocations against Austria became more and more serious. The Austrians were also concerned that Sardinia was gaining more and more support, and feared that if this situation was allowed to continue, it would become more and more difficult to clean up in the future.

On 12 January 1858, Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Second Italian War of Independence finally began. As in history, the Austrians appointed Giullet as commander-in-chief and led an army of 170,000 men across the Ticino River into the Piedmontese region, where they marched into Turin, the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. King Emaroel II, who had been prepared, immediately led an army of 56,000 men who had already prepared to meet the attack, and at the same time sent representatives to ask for help from King Napoleon III of France.

As the first unit to be armed with MacDonald's 1857 rifles, Neville's regiment was certainly among the fighters. King Emaroel II's strategy is very clear, that is, to resist step by step, retreat step by step, exchange space for time, and wait for reinforcements from the French army. Commander Guiulet's strategy was also very clear, that is, to defeat the Sardinian army in one fell swoop before France was fully involved.

"The enemy has 170,000, and we have only 56,000." In the military tent, King Emaroel II was analyzing the shape with his staff, "In terms of the comparison of strength, we are at a disadvantage. However, we must first fight a meeting with the Austrians. Although the French have promised to help us, you must know whether the French help us or not, and the strength of the assistance, are closely related to our own appearance. There is a sentence in the Gospel of Matthew: 'Whatever is there, let him be more; Whoever does not have it will be deprived of what he has been. That's how it is in this world, if you want to get help, you have to show your worth, and the weak who can't do anything and can't do anything will not only get no help, but will also be stepped on hard. The French are allied with us, but if they show us too incompetent, they will not hesitate to treacherously trample on us.

I know it's going to be a big fight and it's going to be hard for us to win. In fact, what I need is not a great victory, but the determination of our army to fight to the end in this battle, and at least not inferior to the fighting power of the Austrians. Only then will we be able to get the support of our allies. Remember 'God helps the self-helper'.

In fact, the shape of this battle is not so unoptimistic. King Emaroel II continued, "Our weapons are much more advanced than the Austrians, and we now have 20,000 men armed with the most advanced rifles in the world, which are at least five times more powerful than the Austrians." So to put it this way, we have a ratio of 13.6 to 17 in firepower to the Austrians, which is far less intimidating than it seems in numbers. Positioning on the defense should be sufficient. ”

If Scrooge had been present and had heard King Emaroel II's speech on "Heaven Helping the Self-Helper", he would have greatly appreciated it. In fact, allies are like investors, and what investor wants to invest in a company that is constantly losing money and does not see any improvement? Scrooge knew that in World War II, the Soviet Union received a large amount of American aid, but when was that aid finalized? Not at the height of the Soviet Union's danger, when the Germans had just annihilated the Soviet Kiev Front and were approaching Moscow, but after the Soviets counterattacked and pushed the Germans back 15o kilometers from the outskirts of Moscow. Why not finalize the aid package at a time when the Soviets were most in danger? Because at that time, the Soviet Union was facing bankruptcy and liquidation, and investing at this time, isn't there a problem with the head? And when did American aid begin to enter the Soviet Union in large quantities? Well, it was in Kursk, after the decisive victory of the Soviet army over the Germans. Because at this time, the trend of the market is already quite obvious, and if you don't make additional investment at this time, when will you make additional investment?

Compared with the large-scale aid to the Soviet Union, the Americans were much more stingy in their assistance to the Chinese kmT government, which was of course due to the inconvenience of transportation, but in the final analysis, the reason was that the performance of the kmT government was too ugly. Despite the successive victories of the Axis powers in the United States, the KMT government was still in ruins, and even in August 1945, a few days before Japan's surrender, it lost a string of cities. With such performance, how can there be investors? So when Chang Kaishen fought a civil war with the armed poet Kunlun, who was begging for wages, and faced the collapse of the whole line and urgently needed $300 million to save his life, the Yankees were helpless. The reason is very simple, if you invest, not only do you not make money, but you always lose money, and I will give you additional investment, then it is stupid.

The same Chinese, at the beginning of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, asked the Soviet Union for weapons and air cover, and the Soviets always pushed three and four, and ignored it. But as soon as the Second World War was over, the Soviets came with weapons and planes. Why was there no aid during the most difficult and critical first and second campaign, and only when the second campaign was fought did the aid come? Is it really the USSR that needed time to prepare? Whoever wants to believe, who is a fool. To put it bluntly, it's not that the performance is good, and the investment can make money. In the same way, when China and the Soviet Union turned their faces and threw a wink at the Americans with a small ping-pong pong, China and the United States, which were still fighting to the death just now, immediately got better, and the President of the United States even deigned to visit a country that had not even established diplomatic relations. Poor kmT, kneeling and licking my father for so many years, signed the "Sino-US Commercial Treaty" that opened up territory, territorial waters and airspace, and never saw the President of the United States visit wèn. This is really, the performance is poor, even if you sell the country, you can't sell it for money. (This spit is a little farther away, but fortunately, it is not on the shelves, so there is no need to count the money.) If you add more than 1,000 words later, it can be regarded as a completion. ）

After King Emaroel II had completed his pre-war mobilization, the formal study of the war began. Well, because the goal of this battle is not to defeat the Austrian army in one fell swoop, but to give the Austrian army enough casualties before retreating in an orderly manner. Therefore, the focus of research is on how to retreat in an orderly manner during the battle. You know, in war, the most difficult thing is to retreat in an orderly manner in front of a superior enemy.

"Your Majesty, in order to retreat in an orderly manner, here, here, here, these points must be controlled." A man who looked like an officer pointed these locations on the map to King Emaroel II. The king looked and nodded.

"Your Majesty, control these commanding heights, and the safe retreat of the army will be guaranteed. However, when the time comes, the enemy's attack on these commanding heights will definitely be very fierce. Therefore, I implore His Majesty to place the most elite troops in these positions. ”

"You mean these elite troops can't be used in the first line of battle?" King Emaroel II furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly unhappy with this.

"Your Majesty, these troops are to be used in a decisive battle to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. This battle is not such a decisive battle. One of the generals replied, "When the French team arrives, our elite troops will be ready for the attack." ”

King Emaroel II thought for a moment and said, "Your considerations are justified, this battle is not a decisive battle. We need to get this right. Well, by the way, what is the effect of the kind of strong pills that the Americans offer that supposedly can inspire courage? ”

"The effect is good, my majesty, but the number is a little less."

"Is that battle the day after tomorrow enough?" King Emaroel II asked.

"It's enough, Your Majesty, it's just that the day after tomorrow it's gone." A quartermaster replied.

"It doesn't matter, in two days, a new shipment will arrive." King Emaroel II gritted his teeth a little and said, "Damn the Yankees, the asking price is so high!" ”

……

On a high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Neville watched as his troops dug trenches.

"Brothers, work harder and dig deeper into the trenches!" Watching the zigzag trenches stretch around the high ground, Neville's heart was both nervous and full of anticipation. No one in the Italian army was more researched and confident in this new defensive tactic than him, but if it was not a real battle, the deduction was still on paper in the final analysis. This made him feel a little apprehensive in his heart.

"Lieutenant colonel, brothers know that this is a matter of life, and they won't be lazy." Captain Andy, who was standing not far away, replied. Then he asked: "Lieutenant Colonel, is there still that kind of strong pill that 'refreshes the mind and clears the brain and replenishes the body'?" If you have that, you can dig faster. ”

Neville's troops were also the first to have access to this Bola pill. On one side of the box is the slogan "Refresh the mind, replenish the body", and on the other side is a picture of a sailor holding up two unsightly arms in the air. There is also a line of words next to it, saying that it is a drug that "vigorously produces miracles", which is indeed very effective, and when digging trenches, the soldiers do not know that they are tired at all, and they can't stop digging high. What about training? All kinds of dangerous projects that they didn't dare to play before, as long as they took the pill, even the stupidest and most timid Tommy could complete it without changing his face. What a miracle! It's just that there's not much stock of that thing in stock now, and we can only use it until tomorrow when the war starts.

"Tomorrow, what will happen tomorrow?" Standing on the high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Neville thought as he looked into the distance.