Scrooge wrote a letter to Prince Albert, telling him that his company had launched another miracle drug. At this time, Albert, who was in a good mood because the sulfonamides produced by the newly built pharmaceutical factory began to make money, immediately became interested, so he sent the Lawrence Knight to the United States, hoping to get from Shi Gao with similar conditions to the last time. The new medicine for treatment is taking a share.

But this time, Scrooge's attitude was much tougher. This change is not surprising. Firstly, in the past few months, Scrooge's pockets have grown a lot, and with money in his pockets, he has naturally become more courageous. The second reason is that heroin is different from sulfa, which is a new drug but an old dye. When Scrooge took it out, people could easily find out what it was, and then produce imitations in underground factories. But few people know what "heroin" is, and it is more difficult to imitate it. Therefore, Scrooge became more confident when negotiating, with an attitude of love to talk, not talk, and almost ran away from the proud British gentleman in anger.

However, Knight Lawrence still didn't act rashly, because the cooperation with Scrooge last time did bring them a lot of benefits. And in the face of interests, what is the mood?

"Mr. Macdonald, your asking price is indeed a bit higher this time." Knight Lawrence said, "His Royal Highness did not give me such a big authorization. And is the effect of this drug as good as you said? We don't know how good its sales situation is. Personally, in my opinion, its prospect is not better than that of sulfa. Why do you ask for a higher price?"

"Ah, then you can go and ask His Royal Highness for instructions, we can wait," Scrooge replied nonchalantly.

Carroll explained from the sidelines:

"Your Excellency Lawrence, you know, His Royal Highness, they were able to occupy such a large proportion of the last transaction, not only because they paid the money, but also because they wanted to use their influence to ensure that no illegally produced drugs came Disturbing the market. This is their huge contribution, so it is only natural for them to get a larger share. But this time is different, the secrets of heroin production are all in our hands, if we don’t sell the patents, anyone who wants to is very difficult to imitate. In this way, there is no need for His Royal Highness to deal with those illegal activities. Therefore, His Excellency still wants to negotiate this business according to the past conditions, but that is not enough Sincerity. As for the effect and sales of this medicine, if His Royal Highness and Knight Lawrence are not in a hurry, you can wait in the United States for a few months to see our sales in the United States before making a decision."

"However, I want to tell you one thing, the price of buying futures is different from the price of buying spot goods," Scrooge added this sentence coldly.

Due to the large gap between the two parties' asking prices, Lawrence had to write to Prince Albert to explain the situation. However, in those days, Maxwell hadn't had time to complete his equations, radio waves, or something, and no one knew its existence. And there is no cable between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean, so the exchange of information between the two sides has to rely on letters. It took a month for Lawrence's letter to be sent and the Prince's reply sent back.

During this month, Lawrence witnessed the crazy expansion of the new drug "heroin" in the US market. In just one month, the panacea known as heroin has been sold like crazy in the northern United States. MacDonald Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals was in full production, but it was still in short supply. Lawrence watched as dealers blocked the doors of McDonald Chemical and Pharmaceuticals every day. In many places, it is still hard to find a drug even if it is purchased at a high price.

Lawrence felt that maybe he should agree to Scrooge's terms, but judging by the current sales situation, I'm afraid that the greedy Yankee's appetite will become even bigger. It was at this time that he finally got a reply from Prince Albert. In the reply, the prince authorized Lawrence to determine the appropriate transaction method and price based on what he saw.

Lawrence, who had obtained the authorization, finally reached an agreement with Scrooge: McDonald Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company obtained 15% of the United Pharmaceutical Company (the company led by Prince Albert) with the patent authorization of heroin shares. As a result, Scrooge's stake rose to about 23% (because there is still one percentage point to be determined after the outcome of the Italian war), becoming the second largest shareholder in the company after the British royal family. shareholder.

And in Italy at this time, the taste of war is getting stronger and stronger. In the original history, Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia in April 1859. But in this time and space, Sardinia has not only reached an alliance with France as in history but also strengthened its strength, so Sardinia's international provocations against Austria have become more and more severe. Moreover, the Austrians have also noticed that Sardinia is receiving more and more support, and worry that if this situation is allowed to continue, it will become more difficult to deal with in the future.

So on October 12, 1858, Austria declared war on the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the second Italian War of Independence finally started. As in history, the Austrians appointed Giule as the commander-in-chief, and led 170,000 troops across the Ticino River and into the Piedmont region, approaching Turin, the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. King Emmanuel II, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately led an army of 56,000 people who had already prepared to meet him, and at the same time sent representatives to the French King Napoleon III for help.

As the first troops equipped with MacDonald 1857 rifles, Neville's regiment was of course included in the battle. King Emmanuel II's strategy is very clear, that is, to resist steadily, retreat steadily, trade space for time, and wait for the reinforcements of the French army. And Commander Giule's strategy is also very clear, that is, to defeat the Sardinian army in one fell swoop before France is fully involved. шшш ★тт kΛn ★C ○

"There are 170,000 enemies, and we only have 56,000." In the military tent, King Emmanuel II analyzed the situation with his staff, "In terms of strength, we are at a disadvantage. However, we must first fight a battle with the Austrians. Although the French promised to help us, you must know whether the French will help us or not, and the strength of the help is closely related to our performance. "Matthew" There is a saying: "Whoever has, let him have more; whoever doesn't have, even his original will be deprived." This is the case in this world, if you want to get help, you must show your value, the weak who can't do anything, not only won't get any help but will also be stepped on. Although the French have allied with us, if they find out, we are too incompetent, they will step on us fiercely without hesitation.

I know that this battle will be outnumbered and it will be difficult for us to win. What I need is not a complete victory, but our army can show its determination to fight to the end in this battle, and at least not inferior to the Austrian combat effectiveness. Only in this way can we gain the support of our allies. Remember 'God helps those who help themselves'.

The situation of this battle is not so optimistic. King Emmanuel II continued, "Our weapons are much more advanced than the Austrians. We now have 20,000 people equipped with the most advanced rifles in the world. Its firepower is at least five times that of the Austrians." times. So calculated in this way, our ratio of firepower to the Austrians is 13.6 to 17, and the gap is far less scary than the number of people it seems. Positioned on defense, it should be enough. "

Had Scrooge been there, he would have appreciated King Emmanuel II's speech about "God helps those who help themselves." Allies are like investors. Which investor is willing to invest in a company that is constantly losing money and can't see any improvement? Scrooge knew that in the Second World War in the original time and space, the Soviet Union received a large amount of American aid, but when was the aid finalized? Not when the Soviet Union was the most dangerous when the German army had just annihilated the Kyiv Front Army of the Soviet Union and was approaching Moscow, but after the Soviet army launched a counterattack and pushed the German army back 150 kilometers from the outskirts of Moscow. Why not hammer out an aid package when the Soviets were at their most dangerous? Because at that time, the Soviet Union was facing bankruptcy and liquidation, and investing at this time, isn't that a problem with the head? And when did American aid start to enter the Soviet Union in large quantities? Well, in Kursk, after the Soviets won a decisive victory over the Germans. Because at this time, the trend of the market is already quite obvious. If there is no additional investment at this time, when will the additional investment be made?

Compared with the large-scale aid to the Soviet Union, the Americans' aid to the Chinese KMT government is much more stingy. Although there are reasons for the inconvenience of transportation, the final reason is that the performance of the KMT government is too ugly. While the United Nations continued to launch counter-offensives against the Axis powers and won successive victories, the KMT government was still collapsing. Even in August 1945, a few days before Japan surrendered, it lost a series of cities. How can there be investors with such performance? So when Chang Kaishen fought a civil war with the poet Kunlun, who was armed to ask for his salary, and was facing a total collapse, when he urgently needed 300 million U.S. dollars to save his life, the Yankees didn't take a hair out of it. The reason is very simple. If I invest in you, not only will I not make money, but I will always lose money. I would be foolish to invest more in you.

The same Chinese people, when they first started to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, asked the Soviet Union for weapons and air cover. But as soon as the Second World War was over, all the weapons and planes of the Soviets came. Why was there no aid during the most difficult and critical second battle, and the aid did not come until the second battle was over? Did the USSR need preparation time? Anyone who wants to believe is a fool. To put it bluntly, it’s not that the performance is good, and the investment can make money. Similarly, when China and the Soviet Union turned their backs on each other and winked at the Americans with a small ping-pong, China and the United States, which were still fighting to death just now, were on the mend immediately, and the American president even condescended to run to A country that has not even established diplomatic relations came to visit. Poor KMT, for so many years of kneeling and licking his father, signed the "Sino-US Business Treaty" that opened up the territory, sea, and airspace, and never saw the US president come to visit. This is, the performance is poor, even if you sell the country, you can't sell it at a price. (This rant is a little farther away. Fortunately, it is not on the shelf, so there is no need to count the money. I will add more than a thousand words later, which can be regarded as a completion.)

After King Emmanuel II completed the pre-war mobilization, formal combat research began. Well, because the goal of this battle is not to defeat the Austrian army in one fell swoop, but to retreat in an orderly manner after giving the Austrian army enough damage. Therefore, the focus of the research is on how to retreat in an orderly manner in battle. You know, in war, the most difficult thing is to retreat in an orderly manner in front of the superior enemy.

"Your Majesty, to retreat in an orderly manner, these points here, here, and here must be controlled." A man with the appearance of an officer pointed out these locations to King Emmanuel II on the map. The king looked at it and nodded.

"Your Majesty, if you control these commanding heights, the safe retreat of the army will be guaranteed. But at that time, the enemy's attack on these commanding heights will be very fierce. Therefore, I implore Your Majesty to deploy the most elite troops in these positions superior."

"You mean that these elite troops can't be used in front-line battles?" King Emmanuel II frowned as if he was a little dissatisfied with this.

"Your Majesty, these troops are to be used in a decisive battle to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. This battle is not such a decisive battle." A general replied, "After the French army arrives, our elite troops can be used to attack."

King Emmanuel II thought for a while and said: "Your considerations are reasonable. This battle is not decisive. We must grasp this scale. Well, by the way, the kind provided by the Americans is said to be able to How effective are the courage-inspiring pills?"

"The effect is good, my lord, but the quantity is a little less."

"Is the battle the day after tomorrow enough?" King Emmanuel II asked.

"It is enough, Your Majesty, but it will be gone when it is used up the day after tomorrow." A quartermaster replied.

"It doesn't matter, there will be a new shipment arriving in two days." King Emmanuel II gritted his teeth and said, "Damn Yankee, the asking price is so high!"

...

On high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Neville watched as his troops dug trenches.

"Brothers, work harder and dig the trenches deeper!" Seeing the zigzagging trenches stretching around the high ground, Neville was nervous and full of expectations. For this new defensive tactic, no one in the Italian army is more researched and more confident than him, but without a real fight, all deduction is in the final analysis just a theory on paper. This made him a little uneasy again.

"Lieutenant Colonel, the brothers all know that this is a matter of life and death, and they will not be lazy." Captain Andy, who was standing not far away, replied. Then he asked again: "Lieutenant Colonel, do you still have that kind of Dali Pill that 'refreshes your mind and replenishes your strength'? If you have that, you can dig faster."

Neville's troops were also the first to have access to this powerful pill. One side of this kind of packaging box is printed with the slogan "refreshing the mind and replenishing physical strength", and on the other side is a picture of a sailor holding up two thick and ugly arms. There is a line next to it, saying that it is a medicine that "does miracles with great strength", and it is indeed very effective. When digging trenches with it, the soldiers don't feel tired at all, and they dig so high that they can't stop. What about training? All kinds of dangerous projects that they didn't dare to play before, as long as they take Daliwan, even the most stupid and timid Tommy can complete it without changing his face. What a miracle! It's just that there are not many stocks of that thing now, and we can only use it until the war starts tomorrow.

"Tomorrow, what will happen in the battle tomorrow?" Standing on the high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Neville was thinking about it while looking into the distance.