Air Superiority

"Mr. Dutch Van der Linde, the President of the American West, has brought forth the weapon of angels, intending to conquer the world. To what extent must technology advance to achieve such rapid flight?"

"Extra! Extra! Mr. Van der Linde, the President of the American West, has acquired alien technology. Does this corroborate with the descriptions in the novel 'The First Men in the Moon'? Is Mr. Dutch Van der Linde truly a human from Earth? Tune in to find out..."

"Damn it, the American bandit Dutch Van der Linde has created a terrifying flying machine, aiming for the world's destruction! His wolfish ambitions..."

In this era, flight was no longer a legend, as airships had already been invented. The popularity of the topic of flight also gave rise to many novels about aliens and flying machines, such as 'The First Men in the Moon'.

The aircraft showcased by Mr. Dutch Van der Linde, the President of the American West, at the grand military parade shocked the entire world. Even the Second German Reich sent a telegram almost overnight, earnestly requesting the esteemed Mr. Dutch Van der Linde to provide the Second German Reich with this flying weapon, the aircraft, to completely dominate Europe, defeat the British, and gain world sovereignty!

Although airships already existed in this era, and the Berlin airship was still used in the military, airships were unstable, slow, and unable to perform pinpoint strikes. At most, they served as troop carriers or reconnaissance vehicles. This was completely incomparable to aircraft. The rapid obsolescence of airships was precisely due to the birth of aircraft.

And the British and Russian Empires were even more anxious.

"Dutch Van der Linde, disregarding humanitarianism and international relations, has rashly conducted dangerous experiments. This action poses a huge crisis for the world. Furthermore, the use of high-speed flying machinery on the battlefield is a complete disregard for humanitarianism. Hereby, I, the British, and Russian Empires jointly propose and strongly protest the Van Der Linde Government's use of this flying weapon on the front lines. The existence of this weapon is a contempt for humanitarianism!"

The British and Russian Empires jointly suggest a global ban on rapid flying weapons, and that the Van Der Linde Government of the American West publicly disclose the detailed structure of this weapon to avoid an international humanitarian crisis..."

Dutch pushed the newspaper in his hand to Hosea on the other side of the table and chuckled, "See? Hosea, how disgusting these capitalists are."

"Hahaha, Dutch. I guarantee that secret envoys will soon come to meet you.

Applying pressure on the surface while secretly contacting to sell out comrades, that's how capitalists operate." Hosea laughed heartily, pushing up the glasses on his face, then placing the book in his hand on the table.

As his status grew higher, Hosea, this old fellow, truly learned a lot. He even predicted this outcome before the envoys from various countries arrived.

It has to be said that Hosea Matthews was the one who understood capital the most.

"Hahahaha, Hosea, you've learned real skills! You're right, I think the next step will be the arrival of people from various countries. They will use all sorts of soft and hard tactics to force us to agree to their terms."

Dutch took a sip of the red wine in his glass and said calmly, "This is the usual tactic of these capitalist countries, Hosea. If I'm not mistaken, once we reject their opinions, then the British Allied Forces landing in the United States Eastern will no longer be an invading army, but rather reinforcements helping the United States Eastern Government to suppress us."

"No need to worry, Dutch, let me go! I think we can completely overwhelm them!" David, who was sitting nearby listening to their conversation, spoke up.

"Ho ho ho, war is unavoidable, David. But just fighting and showing off military might is foolish.

They are barely able to protect themselves now, yet they still want to cause us trouble. That is even more extremely foolish. If they can fund the United States Eastern Government, then of course, we can also fund the Second German Reich.

Besides that, the best way is not to crush them with strength, but to watch from the sidelines as they fight, intensifying the contradictions between them. Let them fight each other to a bloody pulp; that is the best approach.

Arthur, my boy. What are your thoughts?" Dutch looked up at Arthur and asked.

He wanted to test Arthur's mettle, to see if he had made any progress.

Arthur of Biyang was always impressive. He was great at shooting and quite good at cursing, often scolding the others in the gang so much that they dared not make a sound.

But years of bandit life had left him without a strategic international perspective. Besides that, he was a bit too honest and didn't know how to use dirty tricks. Dutch had him study for so long, and he learned nothing. Now, he would take this opportunity to thoroughly criticize Arthur and make him lose face!

"Ah, me?" Arthur, who was sitting on the sofa smoking, didn't expect to have a moment in the spotlight. He looked at Dutch, whose expression was a bit off, then at Hosea, who was sitting nearby with a smile, and then at John, who was leaning on the sofa, saying, "Marston, you tell me what you think? Damn it, look at you, is that how a general should look? Oh, sh*t!, you're just like a bear in human skin, neither one thing nor the other!"

"Huh?" John was bewildered.

Is it my turn?

"sh*t!, Arthur, you're always like this, you always turn the tables on me! I've seen through you, Arthur Morgan. Dutch, criticize him, Dutch!" John was as helpless as a child.

"Useless! Two stupid useless people!" Dutch was furious.

"Alright, alright, Dutch, let me speak! I think we can release the news and give the Second German Reich a batch of aircraft. The Second German Reich will definitely want this batch of aircraft, and the British and Russian Empires certainly don't want them to get them.

They will undoubtedly engage in a brutal war at sea to contend for ownership of these aircraft. This will undoubtedly escalate their war."

Hosea had truly thought it through.

Dutch was especially pleased: "Hahaha, good, Hosea, you've truly learned something!"

"But that won't do, Dutch, our aircraft have just been developed, how can we give them to Germany? Wouldn't our research be in vain?" Arthur was anxious.

The aircraft they had developed, the technology they had researched, how could they just give it away?

"Aircraft technology is not a difficult problem to overcome, Arthur. In fact, there are already people in Europe conducting research in this area. Even if we block the news, if they want to research it, with the research progress of a national scale, they might develop it in a short time.

So, instead of blocking the news, it's better, as I said before, to use aircraft technology as the fuse for the escalation of the European war. It's still the same saying, Arthur, anything can be used in the right place!" Dutch looked at Arthur and John, disappointed that they weren't living up to their potential.

It was a good thing his Van Der Linde Government wasn't feudal, otherwise, it would have perished after two generations!

Dutch was actually right. When the Wright Brothers were researching aircraft, there were also people in Europe conducting research in this area at the same time. And the fundamental reason for the maturity of aircraft technology was World War I.

If Dutch kept it a secret, to counter Dutch, these countries would certainly devote all their national resources to research.

Early aircraft did not involve any difficult technological leaps, so this technology simply could not be contained. It was better to give it away in exchange for something more needed.

As for whether they would use the aircraft they developed to support the United States Eastern Government?

By the time their own aircraft were built, the United States Eastern Government would have already been flattened by Mr. Dutch Van der Linde!