The Fox of France - Chapter 306: The Train Is Coming

François didn’t outright refuse Rothschild’s request. Still, he expressed, “Mr. Rothschild, personally, I think this shouldn’t be an issue. We need your expertise and talent. However, as mentioned earlier, we might only offer up to five percent of common stock. It’s not a substantial amount, but it’s liquid. So, this portion of shares, I believe, doesn’t need to be under the company’s name.”

Rothschild nodded, understandingly replying, “That’s entirely understandable. There’s no necessity for that.”

Understanding that even five percent of common stock in a promising enterprise like “Bonaparte General Electric,” no matter how small, was quite valuable, representing not just wealth but also a certain degree of power. If François and his team ever urgently needed cash and had to sell a portion of their shares, they’d prefer to part with preferred stocks rather than common ones. Owning the entire common stock under the new company’s name while selling off the company’s shares would mean indirectly selling these common stocks as well. Rothschild had suggested a solution, yet allowing him a stake in preferred stocks was already quite fair.

After a casual chat, François took his leave. Back at his residence, he penned a letter swiftly dispatched back home, awaiting news and authorization.

Meanwhile, the French side remained unperturbed. For the French, particularly for Napoleon, these matters weren’t their priority.

Napoleon’s primary concern lay in the advancement of the “City That Never Sleeps” project. Secondarily, it was the experiment with the world’s first steam locomotive.

Over half a year ago, Joseph personally reached an agreement with Watt for the joint development of the steam locomotive. Since then, the project had progressed smoothly. It was natural for Joseph not to invest significant effort this time due to other commitments, but his role had been pivotal—efficiently and intuitively eliminating over ten design proposals, leaving just two.

This wasn’t particularly surprising; Joseph, in his past life, although born a bit late to witness steam locomotives spewing smoke on railway lines (actually, the retirement of steam locomotives in the Crimson Hare country was notably late, some even in use until around 2016. Rumor had it that Hollywood often sought props involving steam trains from the Crimson Hare country as it possessed the most steam locomotives that could be refurbished and operated globally. However, Joseph scarcely saw running steam locomotives in most places), had seen countless of them in movies, TV shows, and various parks. So, based on appearances alone, Joseph could easily eliminate many designs that didn’t meet future requirements.

Essentially, these two proposals were quite similar. The only difference lay in the transmission mechanism.

Proposal one, dubbed the British model, entirely relied on Watt’s planetary gear system to transmit power. Proposal two, known as the Continental model, used a simpler crankshaft transmission in many areas—primarily because the patent for crankshaft technology had expired.

Hence, fundamentally, these two proposals weren’t vastly different, almost like one. The reason for having two such proposals was entirely due to Watt’s insistence. Despite the expiration of the crankshaft patent, Watt adamantly refused to use this technology.

However, in certain aspects, using the straightforward crankshaft could notably cut costs. So, although Watt abhorred the crankshaft, the French insisted on utilizing the cost-effective option. The result was the emergence of two types of steam locomotive proposals.

Apart from this, Watt particularly emphasized that the British model must undergo testing first and become the world’s inaugural steam locomotive. Napoleon wasn’t entirely inclined towards this, but Joseph felt it wasn’t a problem. Despite the initial experiment being with the British model, the testing ground remained in France.

Comparing the first steam locomotive currently parked on the test track to those Joseph had seen in future TV programs, it was notably smaller. This was a result of Joseph discarding numerous proposals aiming for steam-powered carriages equipped with a mere five to ten horsepower engines—initially, some folks simply wanted a steam-powered carriage. Their level was worse than Stephenson’s Traveler.

Naturally, these proposals couldn’t pass Joseph’s scrutiny. In a meeting at the design department, Joseph unexpectedly appeared, quoting a phrase from Dandong, exclaiming to the engineers, “Boldness, always boldness! Your designs can pass muster with me!”

Encouraged, the engineers prepared a locomotive equipped with a steam engine fit for use on a ship, designing a colossal contraption around it. They initially thought Joseph would reject this proposal outright. To their surprise, Joseph felt it was somewhat small.

Yet, Joseph understood the importance of not overstepping boundaries, so while he felt it was a tad small, he refrained from going too far. Though it didn’t match the grandeur of the “Advance” model or the slightly smaller “Upstream” model of steam locomotives he’d seen in Japanese dramas, at least it wasn’t as humble as the “Traveler.”

Following Joseph’s adjustments, the proposal was approved.

The radical nature of this proposal astonished Watt. However, after thorough calculations, he discovered the plan seemed feasible. He remarked to his assistant William Murdoch, “William, have you noticed? We’re still not accustomed to using the best steel as pig iron…”

Indeed, before this, several individuals in Britain had experimented with steam locomotives. Their repeated failures were largely due to their inability to use steel in this manner. Even historically, Stephenson’s creation of the first practical steam locomotive, “Traveler,” was significantly restricted by material performance. Leaving aside other factors, his train only ran on wooden tracks coated with wrought iron, unlike the affluent French, planning to directly manufacture steel rails. A mere meter of track required 20 kilograms of steel; it was simply…

After the proposal was approved, it took half a year for the newly established “Bonaparte-Watt Company” to construct a six-kilometer test track in Lorraine, along with completing two experimental locomotives. Since Watt was also personally participating in the initial experiment, Joseph delegated all his tasks to his students and joined Napoleon to rush to Lorraine.

During the carriage ride to Lorraine, Joseph asked, “Napoleon, why are you so interested in this?”

“Oh, nothing much. It’s just that day when I came to your office, and you weren’t there,” Napoleon said. “I was bored, looked around your desk, and found that drawing of yours, the ‘Armored Train Imaginary Drawing.’ Well, even though your drawing skills are leagues behind Lucien’s, I have to admit, it was interesting. It’s like a battleship on land. If it really comes to life, let’s call it a Land Battleship.”

“Hah!” Joseph chuckled. “What a name, Land Battleship, not appealing. Also, a few days ago, didn’t you mention Lucien’s lackluster painting skills?”

“Lucien isn’t that great, but it depends on who you compare him with. At least, Lucien doesn’t mess up proportions when drawing women, making their eyes one-third the size of their faces… Oh, and that train cannon you drew, can that thing really be made?” Napoleon’s eyes gleamed. “It’s grander than the Urbain Cannon, filled with sinister beauty. It’s good; can that thing be built? Also

, why did you name it Gustav? Although His Majesty Gustav was proficient in using cannons, he excelled mainly with 3-pounders. I think it needs a name change, maybe call it the Augustus Cannon…”

“Napoleon, don’t worry. Your Land Battleship will soon come to fruition. As for the ‘Gustav’ cannon, well, that was just me doodling. The theory might not be entirely implausible, but bringing that thing to life might just take a lifetime… Besides, even if we manage to build it, it doesn’t seem very useful.”

“It’s useless.” Napoleon nodded. “There’s nothing to fire it at. But it’s a spectacle…”