After dinner, Ulysses Grant invited Li Mu and others to sit in the small garden, which was considered relaxing after the meal.

In the Little Garden, William Vanderbilt and Rockefeller raised the issue of restricting transitional duplication construction to Ulysses Grant.

In fact, this is the real purpose of William Vanderbilt and his team coming to Ulysses Grant. However, compared with the Knights of Labor, if repeated construction is restricted in railways, oil and other industries, it will require Congress to comment before a resolution can be formed. Ulysses Grant cannot rely on executive orders to achieve his goal, so this seems to have become a temporary topic.

This also fully demonstrates the failure of the Knights of Labor. For Li Mu and others, the Knights of Labor is not a big deal, and they didn't take it seriously.

Perhaps Li Mu did not make any requests, and Grant felt abnormal, so Grant said to Li Mu jokingly: "Reim, do you have no requirements? For example, in the military industry, do you feel that there is duplicate construction in the military industry?"

This question is hard to answer. In the current military industry in the United States, the old military manufacturers are Chuntian, Colt, Winchester, and Li Mu's Junma Weapons Company are considered to be a rising star. The Little Fatty Zaihan Factory is not as good as ours. If you follow Grant's meaning, there is duplicate construction in the US military industry, then it seems that the Junma Weapons Company that was established in the end should not be the one that should not be added.

So Li Mu beat him up and wanted to fool him.

Henry DuPont didn't want to be so vague: "There is indeed duplicate construction, especially Springfield and Winchester. These two factories are not enterprising and do not want to upgrade their machines to produce the latest weapons. Such factories should be eliminated. Promoting product renewal is the core of maintaining competitiveness."

After hearing Henry DuPont's words, Li Mu was immediately furious.

Henry DuPont is baking Li Mu on fire. Everyone knows that smokeless gunpowder was developed by Li Mu. Now only Junma Weapons Company is producing new weapons based on smokeless gunpowder. Others are Springfield, Winchester, and Colt. Originally, if this problem continued, then perhaps within ten years, Li Mu would merge one or two of them, and dominate the US military industry. Now that Henry DuPont puts this problem on the table, Li Mu's "hiding weakness" will completely lose its meaning.

"Oh, Reim, what do you think?" Ulysses Granite asked for Li Mu's opinion.

"What can I say - in the military industry, Junma Weapons Company is just a toddler. Springfield, Colt, and Winchester are the three with the largest sizes, so Junma Weapons Company has no intention of targeting anyone. Now Junma Weapons Company has reached a cooperation agreement with Enfeld, and the cooperation with Krupp is being discussed, so I don't want to eliminate anyone. I welcome competition, but if a company cannot keep up with the pace of the development of the times, it can only be blamed for being inappropriate." Li Mu does not hide his ambitions. If there is only Junma Weapons Company, an arms company in the United States, then Li Mu will have greater influence, and will have greater influence than Rockefeller and William Vanderbilt.

"Is the cooperation between Junma Weapons and Krupp limited to smokeless powder?" Grant was the most successful soldier in the United States before he became president. He could not hide military affairs from Grant.

"Of course it's not just smokeless gunpowder. In fact, the cooperation between Junma Weapons and Krupp is concentrated on artillery technology. Krupp has several very good technologies, such as artillery barrel self-tightening technology and bolt locking machine technology. We hope to obtain these technologies. In this way, with the hydraulic retardation and advance technology being developed by Junma Laboratory, we can produce artillery with a larger caliber, a longer range, and a stronger power. This is not only of great significance to the army being argued, but also of great significance to the navy. Alfred wrote a book called "Theory of the Sea Power". I don't know if the President has read it. It discusses the significance and value of the navy in detail. So I think cooperation with Krupp is very important. Even if we suffer a little loss, as long as we can obtain Krupp's technology, it is worth it." Li Mu told the truth, and also advertised Ma Han.

"Hahahaha-I will forget if you don't say it. Friends, maybe you don't know yet. Our Reim is also a great strategist. In the first chapter of "Theory of the Sea Power", Alfred focused on the inspiration of Reim to him, saying that Reim was Alfred's leader in some ways. Haha, Reim, maybe one day the Naval Academy invites you to give a speech, and you must not be frightened at that time." Grant seems to have read "Theory of the Sea Power" and highly respected this book.

"Strategist - aren't you a businessman?" Rockefeller felt a little overwhelmed.

"He's a damn war dealer-" William Vanderbilt was upset.

"Hey, hey, pay attention to your way of speaking. There are people from the National Gunpowder Association here-" Henry DuPont's gangster. If you want to talk about war dealers, everyone in the National Gunpowder Association can be considered.

Carnegie smiled but said nothing. Li Mu wanted to produce artillery and would definitely order steel from Carnegie Reim Steel Company, so Carnegie just looked at it and didn't speak.

"I just discussed this issue with Alfred. The statement of 'leader' is too much, and I dare not admit it." Li Mu did not respond to Rockefeller and William's provocation, although these jokes were all kind-hearted.

"Since Alfred said yes, then it must be." Grant believed in the honest man Mahan.

"Actually, regarding the trust, I think it is not a bad thing to have such organizations within a certain period of time. We should see that the world is not calm, so we need companies to have greater ability to fight risks. For example, in this economic crisis, larger companies obviously have a better survival advantage than small companies. If those small companies cannot withstand this economic crisis, then they will also be unable to withstand the next economic crisis. In this world full of crises, the United States needs more and more powerful companies, such as the National Gunpowder Association. In fact, in my opinion, there is no need for this association to exist at all. We only need a factory to produce gunpowder. In key areas, we only need a voice so that we can mobilize all our strength to serve the United States more efficiently." Li Mu showed goodwill to the DuPont family, repaying Henry's righteous words just now.

In fact, monopoly is not an unacceptable thing in the United States. For example, Standard Oil was split into more than a dozen companies overnight when it was investigated by monopoly. It seemed to be fragmented, but in fact it was all in the hands of the Rockefeller family.

For example, the DuPont family and the DuPont family also faced targeting from federal representatives and senators. They unanimously requested a monopoly investigation of the DuPont family. However, when the president held a hearing, the then commander of the Army and Navy, heads of government departments and professors from various universities listened to DuPont's speech, and agreed that in extraordinary times, DuPont's company dominated the gunpowder manufacturing industry, which would benefit the security of the United States without any harm.

The president finally ruled that DuPont was reorganized into three companies. In fact, this was a concealment of the purpose. Doing so would not only avoid violating the "Sharman Monopoly Prohibition Law" and protect DuPont. DuPont was divided into three parts, and its real power was still firmly in the hands of DuPont's cousins.

"Ah, Reim, why don't you compare the oil industry?" Rockefeller was very dissatisfied. If Li Mu had just talked about the oil industry, then Standard Oil should undoubtedly occupy a dominant position.

"We should compare the railway industry and think about it. In a few years, there will be more than five railway lines between New York and Washington. In order to get enough land, they even have to go a long way to get enough profits. If Mr. President, you abolish the land subsidy plan now, I really want to see how good those people look." William Vanderbilt knew that it was unrealistic to dominate the railway field, so he spoke without any scruples.

"Okay gentlemen, we should be more realistic. We complain and don't solve any problems. If you want to do something, please let it go. The Washington government will provide you with strong support. If you suffer losses in this process, there is no need to worry. For example, what Reim said just now, in order to obtain Krupp's skills, it is worth it to suffer some losses. This spirit is worth promoting, and the Washington government will never let you suffer losses. So Reim, go to General Bernap tomorrow and he has a good project to talk to you." Ulysses Grant's comfort is the priority. This issue is beyond Grant's ability, and Grant cannot decide it in one sentence.

"Thank you very much, Mr. President-" Li Mu knew that there was another business to deliver it to his door, so he said thank you sincerely.

The hearing has been held several times regarding whether to set up a standing army. If there is no accident, it should be a foregone conclusion.

Grant asked Li Mu to find War Minister Bernap, and he must discuss the orders for Army equipment. This is a good project. If the United States wants to set up a standing army, the orders of the War Department cannot be limited to conventional weapons, artillery and other heavy equipment should also be included in the War Department's procurement list. In the current United States, except for Junma Weapons, other Springfield, Colt, and Winchester are all light weapons manufacturers. They do not have technical reserves for heavy weapons, nor have they shown signs of working towards heavy weapons. Therefore, Junma Weapons has become the only choice for the War Department.
Chapter completed!