The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."

Hydra was a great idea, but it could only be established after the collapse of the Third Reich.

Right now, the priority was to prepare for the future. Although he was in New York, Pierre maintained close contact with the task force in distant France via telegram, directing their operations. As New York's first winter snow began to fall, he received a telegram from Marseille, France. The message was brief and to the point.

Within a month, the task force had searched, recovered, and stockpiled more than 200,000 light weapons and a large quantity of heavy weapons across France. Ammunition alone exceeded 20,000 tons—enough to upgrade the domestic military's equipment by several levels. Moreover, among the Allied spoils were large batches of German arms awaiting transfer.

All this was within Pierre's expectations. After all, the German army had indeed abandoned vast amounts of weaponry in France. The Allied offensive had been too fierce and fast, liberating all of France in just a couple of weeks.

In addition to the telegram from Marseille, there was also news from home...

The telegram had just arrived—it was sent by Zhu Yihai. The recruitment work was progressing very smoothly; nearly 30,000 people had already signed contracts with the company, of whom 30% were university or college graduates. The first group, after undergoing a month of basic military training, had already flown the Hump route into India, where they would receive further military training before heading by ship to France next month.

Why the military training? Because they would be entering war zones and needed some ability to protect themselves.

"We absolutely must protect these people well. In the future, they will be our capital for controlling Borneo..."

Because the search teams needed to penetrate deep into combat zones to collect weapons, it was inevitable that they would clash with German forces. By now, dozens had already been killed or wounded.

Thinking of this, Pierre muttered to himself.

Is there something that could be done?

On the battlefield, bullets and blades know no mercy. First and foremost, their safety under fire had to be ensured. With this in mind, Pierre naturally thought of something very common in his previous life—bulletproof vests.

In fact, as early as World War I, steel bulletproof vests had already appeared. During World War II, American bomber crews routinely wore bulletproof vests to protect against shrapnel. The Russians had also developed bulletproof chest armor capable of stopping submachine gun rounds, which they issued to assault troops.

However, limited by the metallurgy of the era, all of these steel vests were, without exception, extremely heavy and cumbersome.

"Steel ones..."

Pierre immediately dismissed the idea. Steel bulletproof vests were not only too heavy, but also offered poor protection.

With these thoughts, Pierre leaned forward and pressed the intercom button.

"Secretary Xu, please come in."

Xu Wenzhi was Pierre's personal secretary. Previously, he had studied law at New York University. Although he held a New York law license, for various reasons he had not practiced. Now, as the company's secretary, he was exceptionally competent. He entered the room, whose door was set into a wood-paneled wall, so that when closed, it looked like part of the wall itself.

"Secretary Xu, please have the procurement department find out which factories produce alumina ceramics. We need to purchase a batch of high-purity alumina ceramics."

Thanks to the advanced information of his previous world, Pierre, though a liberal arts major, knew that alumina ceramics were a widely used bulletproof material. As armor plates, they offered excellent protection, were lightweight, and low-cost, making them highly sought after by militaries worldwide.

At present, alumina ceramics had not only been invented, but were already being mass-produced. However, their applications were limited—mainly used in spark plugs and as insulators in certain electrical equipment.

In fact, when many materials are first invented, their biggest problem is a narrow range of applications. Take the famous Kevlar fiber, for example: although it was invented as early as the 1960s, it wasn't until the early 1970s that this high-strength material found its use—replacing some of the steel in racing tires. Only a few years later did people realize it could be used to make bulletproof vests.

But for Pierre, who came from the future, he knew exactly where these new materials could shine.

Just like alumina ceramics, which were currently used only for spark plugs and high-voltage electrical insulators, and little else. Even the factories that produced alumina ceramics didn't consider it a main product.

Still, in a mature industrial nation, as long as you had money, you could basically buy any industrial product you needed.

A hundred kilograms of alumina ceramic plates of various thicknesses were delivered within just a few days.

With the alumina ceramic plates in hand, the rest was simple: use a one-millimeter-thick steel sheet as the backing, adhere the alumina ceramic plate to the front, and a bulletproof insert was complete. In subsequent tests, they started with five-millimeter-thick alumina ceramic plates.

A few days later, at the shooting range, Pierre watched as the bulletproof plates were left with holes filled with white ceramic fragments.

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Boss, it really can stop bullets! Even the 98k couldn't penetrate a 20mm-thick plate!"

Compared to the excitement and joy of the testers, Pierre, who had expected this outcome, remained very calm.

Now, he was thinking not just about issuing the bulletproof vests to the task force, but also about another question: should he keep such a great thing to himself, or share it?

By sharing, he meant doing business with the Pentagon.

The Pentagon would certainly not refuse such an outstanding bulletproof material. If he could become the exclusive supplier, the order for just 20 million U.S. soldiers would be enough to make a fortune.

The profits could easily reach several billion dollars!

At this thought, Pierre suddenly found it hard to stay calm.

How could he possibly miss out on such a big business opportunity?

"Secretary Xu, we need to acquire a few companies!"

A few days later, for just a few hundred thousand dollars, Pierre had acquired the only three factories in the U.S. that produced alumina ceramics.

Having achieved a monopoly on the raw materials, and in order to install bulletproof plates, Pierre specifically drew on the design of modern tactical vests, creating a vest that integrated ammunition pouches and could hold two bulletproof plates, one in the front and one in the back.

Although wartime clothing production and supply were very tight, with the help of military coordination, the first batch of 25,000 tactical vests was quickly manufactured.

And most importantly...

What is it?

If you want the bureaucrats at the Pentagon to approve large-scale procurement orders in the shortest possible time, there's only one way: use the urgent needs of the front line to pressure the rear into action.

But getting non-military procurement supplies to the front line isn't easy either—in fact, it's safe to say that no one would even bother to pay attention to you.

So, once again, Pierre went to the Pentagon. With the help of Thomas Holcomb, the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, he managed to provide 1,000 sets to the Marines for testing. As for when these would actually reach the front lines in the Pacific for field trials—only God would know.

Everything in this world boils down to personal connections. Without favors owed from the past, trying to get your foot in the door at the Pentagon would be utterly impossible.

To expedite the battlefield trials—and, of course, to protect his own men—Pierre once again became a "human mule," personally flying the goods to the front lines in France.

According to the plan, aside from the 20,000 units to be equipped by the task force itself and another 2,000 kept in reserve, the remaining 2,000 would be distributed to units on the French front that had good working relationships with the task force. The quantity wasn't large, but it was a way to build goodwill. The message was clear: as long as you promptly hand over captured weapons to the task force and cooperate with them, we can provide you with bulletproof combat vests. And once these soldiers survive the hail of bullets, the outcry from the front lines will put pressure on the Pentagon. By then, it could mean procurement orders worth billions of dollars.

However, just as he got off the plane and arrived at the task force headquarters in Metz, Pierre was caught off guard by some sudden news, exclaiming in shock:

"What? Our people have gone to Bastogne? And it's three whole battalions!"