013 Ben Heren’s Request (1)
After hearing Lee Hwan’s intention to refuse, Ben-Heren seemed to be enveloped in somewhat complicated and subtle emotions.
Then, he quietly confided his story to Lee Hwan.
“Someone is trying to kill me.”
“Are you under threat of assassination?”
“Yes. My life, my fortune, my honor, even my name.”
“Uh… … .”
“Therefore, I absolutely need your gun.”
He had been threatened with his life for some time, and it was speculated that the recent pirate riots were caused by that.
He seemed to be appealing to him to understand his situation.
“You say from the watchtower that the enemies seem to be fairly well-trained. Is that true?”
“It seemed so.”
“That idea is right. Perhaps someone was trying to disguise our fleet as an accidental death by combining veterans and disguising them as pirates.”
In this era, the occurrence of pirates was so common that the plundering and killing of pirates was cited as the second most common accident after storms in maritime trade.
Even so, the timing was a bit odd.
“It has not been long since the Barbary pirates were annihilated. Yet piracy is carried out in an area only four hours away from the coast? It is absolutely impossible unless you are crazy.”
“Then they… … .”
“Someone must have hired mercenaries to kill me. If we had captured and salvaged the pirate ship, we would have been able to investigate the circumstances a little more accurately, but unfortunately we do not have that ability. However, given the circumstances, it can be inferred that they are not ordinary pirates.”
“So you were going to buy a gun from me to arm the soldiers?”
Ben-Heren nodded.
By the way, who the hell was trying to kill Ben Heren?
Before Lee Hwan could ask, Ben-Heren explained his situation to Lee Hwan.
“They say the merchants in the south are trying to kill me.”
“Why are they trying to kill me?”
“The North and South have different religious bases and different political orientations. But the merchants from the north control the majority of the House of Commons. Merchants, led by me, the orthodox successor of the White Country, formed the present-day Ben Heren Ocean Fleet Co., Ltd., and they think of it as a stepping stone for the unification of the political world.”
The Netherlands existed in a divided state for a certain period of time, passing through the Spanish colonial era, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Napoleonic era.
Therefore, Protestantism flourished in Holland in the north, and Oldism flourished in Brussels in the south.
As regions with completely different religious and political orientations were reunited through the Vienna Conference, conflict was inevitable.
“The merchants in the south seem to think that our Protestantism is trying to take over the political world and take over the whole Dutch commercial world.”
“So that’s why I pulled out a nonsensical card called Convocation of the Pirates. As long as you don’t catch the tail, you won’t have to worry about getting caught.”
“… … I know you well.”
“Then what do you think of Nari?”
“What do you mean?”
“I wonder if you have thoughts that match their suspicions.”
Ben-Heren seemed to be unaware that Lee Hwan’s question would come up in this way, and his expression turned into a slightly bewildered expression.
It was a face that was difficult to see from the cold-blooded Ben Heren.
However, he soon returned to his usual expression.
he asked with a smile.
“What if I had thoughts that were consistent with doubts? Will you still follow me?”
“It doesn’t change that I follow Na-ri. I just wanted to know what they really want.”
Ben Heren eventually started telling Lee Hwan another story.
“Actually, I recently had contact with a Jew.”
“Are you Jewish?”
“It can be said that there is practically no one doing business in Europe who is not tied to Jewish capital. So do I.”
“Hmm… … .”
“We have a business relationship with them, but I don’t think the South thinks of it that way.”
After hearing the sincerity of Ben Heren, Lee Hwan suddenly had this thought.
Hopefully, this opportunity can be used as a stepping stone for Ben-Herren to come to power once again.
“good. I will sell the gun.”
“Um, then… … .”
“But I will do the gun production. Na-ri will step forward as an investor.”
“Are you an investor?”
You couldn’t pass this great idea to Ben-Heren simply by selling a few guns.
Ben Heren looked at Lee Hwan as if having fun.
“If I beat you up and take your gun after the fan, what are you going to do with such an offer?”
“Of course you can. But if you do that, you won’t be able to develop a better gun. If a goose lays a golden egg and cuts the goose’s stomach, wouldn’t it be possible to obtain no more gold?”
Hearing Lee Hwan’s answer, Ben Heren burst into laughter.
“Uh-huh! Yes, you are right.”
He got up and shook hands with Lee Hwan.
Lee Hwan also got up and took Ben Heren’s hand.
Ben-Heren laughed and said.
“You have an interesting business partner. good night. you make a gun I will sell you.”
“Doesn’t it look like you have a separate sales channel?”
“There are a lot of outlets. But wouldn’t that be a better market for us to go to in the Netherlands?”
“iced coffee… … !”
“Let us arm the standing army with our own hands. Something like this would be enough!”
What is the fastest way to success in the defense industry?
It is to build trust through the regular army, and furthermore, to allow the army to be reborn as the strongest on the continent.
Lee Hwan could make a cartridge rifle, and Ben Heren had enough power to sell it to the royal family.
In a word, it was said that they could mutually support each other and accumulate enormous wealth.
“Let’s make gun innovation happen!”
“But Nari, I have one question.”
“Questions?”
“Will the merchants in the South sit still and watch while we make guns?”
If Ben Heren’s prediction is correct, they’re even mobilizing pirates to bury people at sea.
There was no way they could just keep watching until they developed a new weapon in the Netherlands and made contact with the royal family.
Even if Lee Hwan had a goal, if he lost his life, it was also a good thing.
Hana Ben Heren gave the answer as if it was too natural.
“They don’t know if you can make guns.”
“iced coffee!”
“Stay in the countryside and study for a few years before coming out. I will reward you very well.”
When Lee Hwan heard that it was several years, he smiled softly.
“Hey, Nari. How many years?”
“Aren’t you even prepared to make a gun that much?”
“3 months. That is enough.”
“… … 3 months?”
***
Over the past 40 years, Richard Ben-Herren has met and hired many talented people to get to where he is today.
As the years passed, talented people died in this way, whether they died of disease or an accident.
But I thought that those many meetings and partings were just for today.
‘… … This guy is not an ordinary thing.’
Lee Hwan simply drew the production method he had in his head on paper and explained it to Ben Heren.
“Part compatibility and intensive production are the core of the production platform I want. First of all, this will require the development of hydraulics and efficient working lathes and innovation of warehouses and logistics lines. In addition… … .”
In fact, I felt like I didn’t know how to listen.
But one thing was certain. It is said that he had already envisioned all production systems and distribution structures.
The knowledge that came out of the head of a 17-year-old was so great that it was impossible to even imagine.
‘He’s a genius. This guy is definitely a genius!’
Ben-Heren cut off his horse with a cough.
“Wow!”
“Anywhere inconvenient… … ?”
“Anyway, as you said, can I take it as a sign that you know how to efficiently produce weapons?”
He stopped talking because he could not say he did not know about the noble face.
Even with such a trend, Lee Hwan coped well.
“of course. Is it not possible to discuss the finished product without the means of production?”
“A means of production? Is there anything else special?”
In Lee Hwan’s deep eyes, there was obviously a huge amount of gold sleeping.
He said with his golden eyes staring clearly at Ben Heren.
“It’s about producing compatible parts separately.”
“part… … ?”
Hwan Lee set the standard on the blueprint so that he could measure the dimensions in cm and mm with a ruler.
In this day and age, we did not fully understand how important standards are.
In the United States, standardized parts have already been used to operate factories and have been applied to transportation means such as steamships.
However, it was difficult to find the word gun parts in the current war history because standardized interchangeable parts have not yet received much attention.
“The digitization of the parts is to make them compatible with each other. For example, suppose that gun A contains 61 parts. The current production method manufactures and sells 61 parts to fit a single gun. This means that there are no specific standards. However, if the parts are standardized and produced separately, 61 parts will exhibit the same size and performance. So, even if the body of the gun is produced in England and the lower assembly is made in the Netherlands, it is said that there is no problem in firing even if it is assembled into a finished product.”
“… … !”
“If gun parts are standardized, it will be easier to repair the gun and the maintenance cost will be lower. Even if the gun breaks down, it is enough to replace only one of the parts.”
“Huh!”
“It’s also said that 20 people can make over 100 guns a day if they can make the right parts.”
“… … Make gun parts compatible with each other!”
Richard felt like he had been hit in the back with a heavy bat.
By the time the United States was dominating the world gun market, they had some kind of shock by introducing these standardized parts to the world.
The gun was fired even though any parts were removed from the pile of parts and assembled, and the world was shocked by the appearance and felt the trust in the technological power of the United States.
The standardization of parts was a production method that would bring infinite reliability to the brand Lee Hwan in the future.
“When parts are standardized and produced, confidence in the weapon increases. It also means that we increase our chances of winning on the battlefield.”
“Then, is that the reason why you went around and asked for parts to make guns?”
“Depending on who makes the parts, there may be some quality changes. But if it goes out of specification and becomes incompatible, it means nothing. So I did some experiments.”
“… … The result?”
“As you have already heard, it worked.”
As Lee Hwan said, he proved how great his performance was on the battlefield.
In other words, mass production is possible.
He decided to foresee the possibility of Lee Hwan a little more.
“good night. Let’s try it out as you please.”
“Thank you for your trust.”
“But there is one condition.”
“Tell me.”
“Until we have produced enough weapons to arm at least one company, we must remain undetected by the merchants of the South. If you are discovered, you will have no choice but to become a target for them.”
Lee Hwan smiled softly.
There are many meanings in that smile.
However, one thing was certain: confidence was also mixed in this.
“I will do whatever you want.”
“great. Let me believe you.”
“thank you!”
“Well then, I’m going to give you a prize.”
“Is it a prize?”
“He saved my daughter and even saved my life. Furthermore, he protected the property of our fleet corporation. So it is only natural to be compensated.”
Lee Hwan seemed to think for a moment.
However, Ben Heren was not bored with that little wait.
Rather, I was even secretly looking forward to what Lee Hwan would say this time.
Lee Hwan did not disappoint him again this time.
“I want to be your partner.”
“… … partner?”
“I make and I sell. It is my simple dream to become a partner and sweep the continent.”
“Partner.”
Ben Heren was a man with the status of a nobleman, but he could not survive unless he became a colossus.
It was his obsession with power that saved him, and now he has met a stepping stone that can turn that obsession into the realization of his ideals in reality.
He nodded.
“You and I are already partners.”
“thank you!”
“Just don’t let me down in the future. Then I will not disappoint you either.”
“I will do my best.”
“Is there anything you need?”
Lee Hwan thought for a moment and then told me what he needed.
“I wish there was a factory. A place where neither mice nor birds can make guns.”
“Neither a mouse nor a bird knows… … . Then it doesn’t matter if it’s a remote village, right?”
“of course.”
“Are you going to suffer?”
“it’s okay.”
“Fufu, fine. Then there must be one good land.”
The two shook hands.
Today’s moment would be remembered as a fateful moment for both of them.