Chapter 402: The Cheap Version
Charles looked at Matthew in surprise. "How did you know I was going to make modifications?"
"Please, Charles." Matthew chuckled. "What do you think I've been doing all this time?"
Charles asked in confusion, "Wasn't it working on improving the engine?"
That was the task Charles had given Matthew—he was responsible for developing the tank engine.
Matthew nodded. "Yes, indeed. But I've also been studying the tank, Charles. After all, tanks are used on the battlefield. If we're going to develop an excellent tank, I need to understand the battlefield. I've learned a lot from Colonel Esdini."
Charles understood; Matthew was "infiltrating" military theory.
"Do you know what I discovered?" Matthew asked.
"What?" Charles responded.
Matthew gave Charles a thumbs-up. "You're amazing."
Charles laughed, thinking Matthew was joking. That was just his character—always seemingly nonchalant.
But Matthew didn't laugh. He looked serious as he added, "I'm serious, Charles. The more I learn, the more I realize how impressive you are. They say your tactics are 'untraceable,' 'flexible,' and I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes, I even feel like you know what will happen in the future—it's incredible."
Charles was taken aback. Had he been figured out?
"Let's not talk about this," Charles quickly changed the subject. "You still haven't answered me—how did you know I was going to make changes?"
Matthew propped himself up on his chair, limping over to the "Saint Chamond," examining its extended gun barrel. He said, "You bought the 'Saint Chamond' and sent it to the police base, then sent a few to the tractor factory. That's when I knew you were going to make modifications."
Charles finally understood.
He had sent the "Saint Chamond" to the police base for training and to the tractor factory for improvements. This way, both training and modifications could proceed at the same time.
Before Charles could speak, Matthew jumped in, "I guess you're going to remove all the machine guns and add a rotating turret, right?"
Matthew thought Charles's modifications were aimed at countering the new German tank "Upper Silesia," with its 75mm cannon capable of penetrating the "Upper Silesia" at longer distances.
He had made a bet with Colonel Esdini over the phone: "'Charles A1's' modifications would involve thickening the armor, so we need a tank with a larger cannon caliber to suppress the Germans' 'Upper Silesia.' I think the 'Saint Chamond' is the one."
Colonel Esdini agreed with Matthew's analysis but still thought it was unlikely. "If that's the case, we could design a new tank, and there wouldn't be an issue with the 'Saint Chamond's' ownership."
Matthew replied, "Let's wait and see, Colonel, I'll bet two packs of 'Gypsies.'"
...
Now, with confidence, Matthew looked at Charles. "I guessed right, didn't I?"
Charles shook his head and smiled. "Half right. The machine guns will indeed be removed, but no rotating turret."
Matthew's smile froze. "How is that possible? Then how will we deal with the 'Upper Silesia'?"
"It's just one cannon, Matthew," Charles replied. "Equipment isn't always better the more complex it is. Sometimes, the key is simplicity, reliability, affordability, and quantity."
Matthew furrowed his brows. "But the 'Saint Chamond' isn't cheap..."
Charles didn't answer him. He stepped forward, pointing to the front and back ends of the "Saint Chamond." "After removing the four machine guns, there will be a lot of extra space. We can shorten both ends to improve off-road mobility."
Matthew grunted. "Hmm," he agreed. The "Saint Chamond's" biggest flaw was the protruding front and back ends, which made it easy to get stuck on the battlefield.
"Shift the gun's center of gravity towards the middle," Charles continued. "This will prevent the tank from being top-heavy."
Matthew nodded in agreement. The "Saint Chamond" was top-heavy, which meant the front armor couldn't be thickened.
"Lastly," Charles patted the front. "Separate the driver's cabin from the rear compartment."
Matthew's eyes widened. "No, we can't do that."
Matthew understood why Charles wanted to do this.
When the 75mm gun fired, it produced a lot of smoke, so separating the front and rear would prevent the smoke from interfering with the driver and gunner's visibility.
However...
"This makes no sense, Charles," Matthew said. "Have you considered that there's already the noise of the engine and gun inside the tank? Communication between crew members is already very difficult. If you separate the front and rear, they won't even be able to hear each other shouting."
The "Saint Chamond" would effectively be divided into two parts, fighting separately.
"They can communicate," Charles replied calmly. "We'll just install phones in both the front and rear compartments."
Matthew stood dumbfounded, then suddenly burst out laughing. "You bastard, how did you come up with that? A phone! You want to install phones inside the tank!"
With that, the last problem with the "Saint Chamond" was solved:
The front driver and gunner observer would no longer be affected by the rear compartment's smoke, and the rear compartment could solve the smoke issue with gas masks. The front and rear compartments would communicate through phones.
Charles even came up with a specialized gas mask that could be used for long periods.
After hearing Charles's description, Matthew visualized the whole setup in his mind. He confidently nodded. "These changes, though they seem big on the surface, are actually just adjustments in shape and position. The chassis, engine, transmission, and other complex parts remain unchanged, so it's not difficult. We'll have it done in no time."
"A month," Charles set the deadline. "Can you get all the 'Saint Chamonds' modified within a month?"
Matthew hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded firmly. "We can do it."
"But this is just an improvement," Matthew tapped the "Saint Chamond's" steel plate and said, "I still don't see how it can be cheap. If you're talking about mass production, just making over a hundred engines alone would take several months."
"There's another cheap version," Charles said.
"What?" Matthew couldn't believe it. There was hardly anything left to cut. The tank was already just a chassis with a gun. Could the chassis be taken out as well?
Charles pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Matthew. It was something he had sketched the night before.
Matthew took it, unfolded it, and froze. It took him a long time to exclaim, "It's definitely a cheap version!"
It was a truck-mounted cannon, simply a cannon mounted on the back of a truck—essentially just a truck and a 75mm gun welded together.
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