Chapter 451 FN Arsenal

Antwerp, the manor of Albert I is peaceful.

After a few days of renovation, the manor changed its previous messy and dilapidated appearance into a warm and tidy one.

It was lunch time at this time, and Albert I and Colonel Eden were discussing enthusiastically while eating food.

The food is very simple, just a few pieces of bread and some vegetable leaves. The only meat dishes that can be called meat dishes are a few fried chicken pieces.

"I want to save all the money to prepare for the defense system." Albert I said: "This is the most important thing at the moment."

The topic of discussion was defense systems.

"We have regained two strong points." Albert I asked Colonel Eden while chewing dry hard bread: "Is there anything that can be done now?"

"Theoretically yes, Your Majesty." Colonel Eden replied: "According to Charles's defensive thinking, the support point is mainly used to store fuel and ammunition. As the rear area, Ghent should be the most important one for ammunition and fuel. 'storehouse."

Albert I nodded in agreement.

The Liege Fortress is too far forward, and it will be the first target of the German attack...

Wait, Albert I felt something was wrong.

"What if it's France?" Albert I looked up at Colonel Eden and lowered his voice.

Although France is currently an ally, it must guard against it.

And Ghent is on the French side. By putting fuel and ammunition there, doesn't it expose its weakness to it?

"Your Majesty." Colonel Eden raised his eyebrows helplessly: "France has Charles, and he is only eighteen years old."

Albert I understood instantly.

Any defense or preparation will be useless in front of Ciel, not to mention that this defense system was built by Ciel.

"Yes." Albert I nodded heavily: "Just put it in Ghent."

There seems to be no point in defending against France.

"So, we can strengthen the fortresses and fortifications in Ghent." Colonel Eden said: "In addition, we must build several large warehouses, preferably underground, so as to avoid being blown up by enemy aircraft and artillery fire."

Then he added: "The military construction must also keep up. The defense system that Charles mentioned has high requirements on the military."

"Yes." Albert I agreed: "They must be able to break through the enemy's defense lines and penetrate quickly like Charles's troops. Only in this way can the various supporting points be connected to form a whole."

Speaking of this, Albert I felt a little uneasy. He always had a desire to connect various supporting points with trenches, fortresses or bunkers.

He had asked Colonel Eden about the idea.

Colonel Eden replied:

"This may not be a good thing, Your Majesty."

"We don't have that many troops to defend such a long line of defense."

"The result is that the defense lines we have built are likely to be exploited by the enemy, and it is our armored and mechanized forces that will suffer the most."

Albert I thought it was right. These five supporting points were connected two by two, with a total of 8 sides, and the total length was at least more than 500 kilometers.

Based on the population of Belgium, the standing army could only number a few hundred thousand.

Hundreds of thousands of troops guard a defense line of more than 500 kilometers, with an average of only two to three hundred troops per kilometer, barely one or two infantry companies.

If we still need to build armored forces and mechanized forces, our military strength will be even more stretched.

Charles may have thought of this before suggesting the creation of armored and mechanized mobile defense forces!

Albert I sighed in his heart. He didn't know much about military affairs, so he always wanted to put something on the defense line to feel safe.

Otherwise, there will be nothing in the air, and enemy tanks can easily break through and run deep into the hinterland, making it unsafe no matter how hard you think about it.

Just when Albert I was in a daze, the guard came forward and reported: "Your Majesty, Mr. Boyata is outside the door."

"Invite him in." Albert I ordered.

Colonel Eden looked at Albert I nervously: "The owner of FN Arsenal?"

"Yes." Albert I nodded calmly: "I came to him to discuss something."

"Do you need me to avoid it?" Colonel Eden asked.

There are some things he is better off not knowing.

"No." Albert I shook his head: "There is nothing you can't know."

After a while, an old man in his sixties walked into the restaurant with steady steps. Although his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bright and clear. It was obvious that he was well maintained.

Albert I stood up to welcome them and introduced Colonel Eden to each other.

The food on the table was quickly removed and replaced with coffee, and several people talked while drinking.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Boyata said with a smile: "We have successfully recovered one-third of the land. With the help of Ciel, recovering other lands will be just around the corner."

"This is also a good thing for you, Mr. Boyata." Albert I met Boyata's gaze: "This means that your branch factory in Ghent has returned to FN Company, except that it is located in Liège. The main factory!”

Boyata smiled "haha": "Yes, thanks to Charles. If I have the opportunity, I hope to thank him in person!"

"Of course there is a chance." Albert I followed Boyata's words: "He is in Antwerp. If you are willing, I can take you to see him now."

Boyata chuckled: "Your Majesty asked me to come, didn't you just want to take me to see Charles?"

At this time, Boyata was unsure about his relationship with Ciel.

Originally, FN almost monopolized the production of Belgian arms. Although it has only produced rifles and pistols so far, it is also developing in the direction of machine guns.

But Charles squeezed FN's market as soon as it appeared.

Is it an enemy or a friend?

If it is an enemy, his main factory still hopes to regain control of Charles.

If it is a friend, they are destined to become competitors in the future, and very strong competitors!

"I heard that your company is developing a light machine gun recently?" Albert I asked, "Are there any progress?"

"Not really research and development." Boyata told the truth: "We have introduced the 'Chauchat' machine gun from France and are improving it."

(The picture above shows the improved version of the Chauchat machine gun from the Belgian FN company. The review has been delayed again, so it may not be available until tomorrow)

Albert I said "hmm", and took a sip of coffee leisurely: "Are you doing this to compete with Charles' 'Saint-Etienne 2'?"

Boyata's face changed, and he quickly denied: "No, no, I don't have such an idea. I just want to know the development of firearms, that's all. You know, the light machine gun is a new firearm, it is different from rifles and heavy machine guns, and we don't want to lag behind too much in this regard."

Colonel Eden, who had been silent, was stunned. He looked at Boyata who was busy explaining, and suddenly understood why Albert I had called him here.