91 Change my Mind
In the IDS aircraft factory, Alexander, Rolan, Wilhelm, and his aide are walking down the designated pathway where one could see the operations of the factory. There they could see the unfinished fuselage being worked upon by robotics arms, the mechanical parts being assembled into various pieces or parts in the process of assembling into a functional whole, and the workers working diligently at their task while wearing protective gear to protect them from unwanted accidents.
It’s one of the largest aircraft factories in Ruthenia as of now, with over a hundred employees employed within its walls.
The aide beside Wilhelm watched in awe with mouth agape as he swiveled his head around the entirety of the building while taking in everything that surrounded him.
One that caught his attention is line after line of whirring machines, working on different tasks. And what’s more, no employees were manning the equipment, all were being worked on automatically.
The factory is brightly lit and the floor is clean, polished, and free of any dirt. It was a top-notch facility that could put any aircraft factory in the world to shame.
“Impressive…” the aide breathed out before he turned his attention back to Alexander who was in front of them.
“What was your name?” Alexander asked the man walking alongside the Kaiser.
“My name is Gerd Weber, Your Majesty…I’m an aeronautical engineer from the Deutschland Empire in Heinkel Aerospace,”
“Aeronautical engineer huh? Perfect, I’m sure you’ve been in an aircraft factory before, right?”
“Yes…but not like this one…before,” Gerd said while shaking his head, still looking in amazement at the factory.
The corners of Alexander’s lips curved into a small smile at the sight of his awed state. That is an expression he wants to see from him. The goal here is to bribe the Deutschland Empire with aviation technology superior to their own.
Of course, this comes with a price. If Alexander were to introduce WW2-era aircraft, which are still being developed and researched, then Ruthenian’s technological superiority in the air will be challenged a little. However, it’s a risk Alexander can take, with his superior jet aircraft that is being developed right now, those things won’t even pose a threat as long as the pilot is as good as the plane.
With this plan, Alexander hoped to deter any intention of the Yamato of invading the Han Dynasty, thus preserving the peace in the region and guaranteeing a smooth takeover of Manchuria by the Ruthenia Empire.
This is a price he is willing to pay.
Exporting aircraft is one of his many plans to stimulate the economy of the Ruthenian Empire. It’s not like he’s going to keep everything from himself or else they’ll go bankrupt if the only customer of his aviation industries is the Ruthenian military.
In addition, by exporting these aircraft or introducing them to the world. it’ll give him all the more reason for the military to build the F-4 Phantom jet aircraft.
“Alexander…is this what you wanted to show me?” Wilhelm asked, raising a brow, seemingly uninterested in the massive aircraft factory.
It is clear that his uncle does not have much knowledge of anything beyond science. All the more reason he asked him to bring an engineer so he can understand what Alexander is trying to show here.
“Mister Gerd. What do you think about the facility? Different right?” Alexander asked, waving his hand around the factory.
“Well, sir, first of all, the working conditions here are great as everything looks neat. There are machines that I couldn’t understand as it was my first time seeing one…” Gerd trailed off as something caught his eye and he immediately went forward, leaving the men behind.
The thing that caught his eyes is an enormous engine suspended by an overhead crane, but something seems off, it didn’t resemble anything of a radial engine…wait it looked like one but a design he had never seen before. To keep up with the enemy, the Deutschland Empire is buying aircraft through third parties to study the enemy aircraft to come up with countermeasures.
But this one is entirely different. What could the IDS possibly be building here? Gerb thought to himself. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Ah…you have a good eye,” Alexander walked up to stand next to him and looked up at the engine above. “You must be wondering what kind of engine that is huh? Well, I’m sure you’re already experimenting with one in your facility…”
“Whatever do you mean, Your Majesty?” Gerd glanced at him for a brief moment, confused.
“What you’re looking at right now is a V12 aero engine that will power an aircraft that I’m about to show you later.”
Alexander simply said as he beckoned the group to continue down the path. The group followed closely after him, still unable to comprehend what he was talking about. But once they arrived at the end of the path, they finally understood.
Outside of the factory was an aerodrome stretching further than the eye could see. There were various types of aircraft hanging inside, some of which had propellers. As Gerd continued glancing around, he found an alien-looking aircraft that had overhead rotor blades of about 15 meters. Experimental aircraft? Highly likely.
“Now what you’re seeing right now is a runway the IDS built to test flight aircraft before they are put into military service or to be sold to civilians” Alexander explained and continued. “The reason why I invited you here is to see one of two of our products that will commence a test flight in about five minutes. We can watch from here.”
The staff of the IDS brought chairs for them to sit on and a helmet to dampen the noise of the aircraft engines. In his past life, Thomas has been present whenever there is a prototype aircraft that is going to be tested. Sitting down as he waits for the aircraft to taxi brings nostalgic feelings for him.
Wilhelm and Gerd waited in anticipation, especially Gerd, who is looking forward to what the IDS has to offer. Especially when Alexander mentioned the engine he saw earlier, which is an engine that will be used by the aircraft flying in the area in the next few minutes.
Five minutes later, a seemingly small aircraft slowly made its way into place on one of the runways. Gerd stood up and narrowed his eyes to observe the aircraft closer. It seemed to have followed the new design of adopting an all-metal structure monoplane build like how other powers are doing right now to replace the fabric and struts biplanes. Beyond that, he has no clue. In order to differentiate it from the others, he has to see the specifications or the blueprints.
Seconds later, the aircraft gained speed as it moved along the paved runway, Gerd observed it until it lifted off the ground to the sky. Then a second aircraft taxied along the runway. This one caught their interest.
“What…is that?” Gerd gasped. “It has four…engines…Is it a bomber?”
“That’s correct, the first one is the fighter aircraft and the second one is a bomber aircraft. Now, I can guarantee this plane will outperform yours in every aspect,” Alexander said, standing up and flicking his finger, getting the attention of the staff who was carrying a briefcase.
The staff opened and handed what was inside to Alexander…it was a blueprint.
“As an aeronautical engineer, I believe it’ll be best if I just show you the schematics instead of you having to figure it out through visual data…” Alexander said as the bomber aircraft on the runway took off into the air.
The aircraft Alexander was planning to give them was a Messerschmitt Bf 109 from Germany and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
Handing it to Gerd, Alexander glanced at Wilheim and continued “We are willing to sell you the intellectual but with one condition, sign a temporary alliance with us…uncle. With you being on our side will surely deter the Yamato and the Britannia Empire, I’m sure of it.”
“How certain are you, Alexander? You know this aircraft, I don’t understand it…”
“You won’t but your engineers will do…” Alexander said, flickering his gaze back to Gerd who had already opened the blueprint. A shocked expression plastered itself upon Gerd’s face when he finished examining the blueprint.
“This…is…” he uttered out quietly. “These specifications are far beyond our current fleet of aircraft…my Kaiser,” he turned to Wilheim.
“See?” Alexander smirked. “Uncle…if you agree to my proposal, the aircraft that is flying above us right now will be flying in the Deutschland Airspace…”
“What if…the Britannia Empire continues to support the Yamato despite us joining on your side?”
“Oh…they won’t be that stupid,” Alexander assured. “Because if they do, they’ll be facing the whole of Europa. In fact, they’ll be the ones to convince the Yamato to stop all acts of aggression…it’s simple geopolitics. And when Britannia backs out…so does the will of the Yamato Empire. And once they do, we can call of this alliance but still maintain economic ties…sounds good right?”
The Kaiser of the Deutschland Empire sighed “Fine…I’ll speak with my government,”