Chapter 1060: Accumulating Strength
The Talent Committee took a mere two hours to complete the verification of Whitney's first-stage results, promptly approving the second disbursement of 3,000 francs.
Simultaneously, Whitney's research and development site was relocated to the National Laboratory under the French Academy of Sciences.
Unsurprisingly, the security personnel here were far more numerous. Whitney even spotted guards wearing the insignias of the French Royal House.
By the following evening, Whitney and his assistants held a modest celebration banquet. He returned to his villa at the Palace of Scholars feeling slightly tipsy.
As soon as he stepped through the door, the maid, Rene, hurried forward. She gestured toward the drawing room and whispered, "Monsieur, Monsieur Perret has come to visit with two other gentlemen. I took the liberty of showing them inside."
Once Whitney handed his hat and coat to Rene, Perret and two men—one tall, one short—rose from the sofa and bowed slightly in greeting.
Ten minutes later, Whitney stared at the two strangers, his mind a whirl of surprise and delight, momentarily at a loss for words.
Perret had just informed him that these two men, major shareholders of Bryce Steel, were eager to collaborate with him.
Specifically, they proposed that Whitney use the turret milling machine he was developing as equity to buy into Bryce Steel. They would then use this equipment to bid for the "Medium and Large Casting Precision Machining Project" hosted by the French United Steam Engine Company.
After a long silence, Whitney finally regained his composure and asked cautiously, "Monsieur Perret, I have already signed an agreement granting the Talent Committee the right of first refusal for the licensing of the turret milling machine patent."
Naturally, the French government could not provide research subsidies for free. While the patent belonged to the inventor, the government maintained the right of first refusal for licensing at market price. Otherwise, an inventor might finish their research using French funds and then immediately sell the patent to the British.
Perret smiled reassuringly. "You need not worry about that. Bryce Steel is a company certified by the French Engineering and Technology Association. The government will simply transfer the licensing rights to them."
In essence, the French government acted as an "angel investor," later sub-licensing the new technology to high-quality firms for mass production.
This allowed for a highly efficient cycle of research, investment, and production.
Seeing Whitney's hesitation, Perret assumed the man was worried about being cheated and added, "The entire cooperation process is overseen by the Talent Committee. If Bryce Steel fails to fulfill its investment promises or harms your interests, the Committee will step in to protect your rights.
"Of course, if you fail to meet the research milestones on time, you will be required to return the company shares you've received.
"Monsieur Whitney, what do you think?"
Whitney snapped back to reality and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! I would be honored!"
In truth, his brief lapse in concentration was due to sheer excitement.
Bryce Steel had promised him a five percent stake. According to Perret's earlier introduction, the market value of Bryce Steel exceeded two million francs.
That meant those shares alone were worth 100,000 francs!
Furthermore, there would be income from patent royalties, not to mention the generous salary the company would pay him...
In short, the moment the turret milling machine was fully realized, he would become a very wealthy man.
...
In the eastern reaches of the Southern Netherlands.
Within the alloy steel experimental workshop of the Namur Royal Ironworks, Jacques Lenoir, an intermediate technician, struggled to carry a large chunk of metal scrap toward the waste pile.
'There's less than a year left,' he sighed, shaking his head and muttering to himself. 'Philippe still hasn't made any progress.
'I should have stopped him from taking out such a massive loan back then. Now, the factory father left us might very well be lost...'
Starting with his grandfather, their family had run a workshop specializing in automated equipment for clockmaking. Under the diligent management of his father, Pierre Étienne Lenoir, it had expanded into a factory employing over ninety workers.
Now, the factory was in his elder brother's hands.
Over six months ago, his brother, Philippe Lenoir, had heard that the United Steam Engine Company was looking for equipment capable of precision machining medium and large steel components, with a guaranteed purchase of twenty-five units. Philippe decided to gamble everything on this massive deal.
He had mortgaged the family factory for 70,000 francs to fund the research, only to quickly discover that his plan—scaling up clockwork machining tools—was fundamentally flawed.
Once the size of the equipment increased past a certain point, the machining precision plummeted.
By now, Philippe had burned through more than half the loan, yet the milling machine he designed could only achieve a precision of two millimeters.
This was more than ten times worse than the 0.15-millimeter requirement set by the United Steam Engine Company.
Jacques Lenoir reached the scrap heap and heaved the metal block into the pile. In the process, he accidentally kicked something hard.
He looked down to see an irregular metal chunk at the edge of the pile. A sharp, protruding corner had punctured a hole in the boots he had just bought last year.
"Damn it!" He winced, rubbing his boot. In a fit of annoyance, he snatched up the dark, soot-covered piece of scrap and hurled it into the middle of the junk pile.
A sharp, metallic *Clang* echoed through the air.
Having vented his frustration, Jacques was about to turn away when he froze. He slowly turned back, eyes widening as he stared at the scrap heap.
That iron block had struck the metal scrap he had discarded earlier, leaving a visible, distinct dent in it.
He knew very well that the piece he had just thrown away was Hadfield steel—a high-manganese alloy so hard it could carve ordinary high-carbon steel like wood.
Yet that black piece of scrap had actually dented the manganese steel!
This meant its hardness reached an inconceivable level.
He scrambled into the scrap pile, carefully fishing out the iron chunk. Then, noting where it had been discarded, he hurried back to the experimental workshop.
All scrap was discarded chronologically, so he quickly determined that the piece had been thrown away the afternoon before last.
There had been twelve experiments conducted that afternoon...
Soon, an local technician, Jacques, excitedly approached the chief technician, Vendel, with the experimental logs. "Monsieur Vendel, I've made a discovery!"
After he explained the situation, Vendel looked over the logs and shook his head. "If I recall correctly, that was a test for manganese steel with a three percent manganese content. However, the silicon impurities in the raw material weren't cleaned properly. It's hard, yes, but it becomes too brittle."
Jacques nodded. "It's certainly not suitable for bearings or pressure pipes, but it should be excellent for making cutting tools. I'd like to conduct an in-depth study on it. Would that be alright?"
"Cutting tools?" Vendel asked, sounding intrigued.
"Things like milling cutters and lathe tools. They have incredibly broad applications."
Comments