The fact that Josh possessed complete nuclear weapons technology caught the Council of Nine completely off guard. As for Calvin Chadwick, who had originally planned to use this matter to put Josh in a tight spot, his expression turned extremely ugly.
Because the Manhattan Project was not only a superweapon with deadly deterrent power for the United States and the entire world, it also symbolized internal resource allocation within Hydra for the factions behind several council members, including the Isodyne Group, who were involved in the project.
Previously, Isodyne Energy Group had benefited greatly from its significant role in the Manhattan Project, receiving substantial internal support from the organization.
But now, after Josh was provoked, he simply produced a complete chain of technical data. While the organization wouldn't retract its previous investments, any future allocation of resources was undoubtedly gone.
This was truly a case of Calvin shooting himself in the foot.
He could only cling to a final hope in his heart—that Josh was bluffing.
But the next day, when a truckload of paper documents was delivered to a council-affiliated research institute in New York for verification by the organization's scientists, Calvin's last shred of hope was completely extinguished.
Yes, a whole truckload... Even though in later times the principle of the atomic bomb would be considered understandable by high school students,
Theory is just theory—the actual detailed manufacturing process remains an extremely complex task.
So don't be fooled by the fact that a truck was needed to transport the documents—this was after Yuri had already deliberately condensed the material.
Moreover, if Yuri hadn't already built a relatively basic supercomputer and begun storing the nearly infinite knowledge in his mind into it, it would have been impossible to prepare such a complete set of documents in just one day.
But once the documents were handed over to the council, how the council would pass them onto the military was not something Josh needed to worry about.
As for whether helping the U.S. develop the atomic bomb early would make the world more chaotic, Josh wasn't worried either.
He would simply send a copy to the Soviets.
As long as both sides were balanced, war would be hard to start.
The detailed design data of the atomic bomb also once again brought Josh tremendous prestige within the council.
Led by Thomas, the council's top echelon generously transferred a large portion of Hydra's publicly owned property and resources in Illinois and Europe under Josh's jurisdiction.
Good heavens—just the top-tier research institutes alone numbered over a dozen.
Dozens of companies and factories.
Countless funds and personnel.
Although these resources were only entrusted to Josh for management and not directly given to him, they were still of immense help.
Especially since the original budget for Josh's European mission was five hundred million, and now it had been doubled to a billion… This was an absolutely staggering amount. To put it into perspective, during WWII, the entire U.S. Lend-Lease program only provided about fifty billion in total resources to the Allies, averaging just over ten billion per year.
The total cost of the Manhattan Project was only a bit over two billion.
In addition, several shipping companies, over a hundred Liberty ships, and the corresponding material allocation rights were handed to him.
This demonstrated just how terrifying the resources controlled by the council truly were.
Frankly, Josh was quite surprised by the council's generosity.
But he also understood that it was precisely because the amount of resources was so enormous that as long as the person in charge wasn't a total fool, it was impossible to cause any major losses.
Even if losses did occur, it wouldn't hurt the council's core, since they now controlled five massive financial groups.
So, in a sense, this grand gesture from the council was also a kind of test.
If Josh could make good use of these resources during his European mission and bring significant benefits to the council, then his position as a council member would be truly solidified.
Otherwise, he'd end up like Calvin—seemingly high-ranking but in reality sidelined—a mere mascot.
However, Josh wasn't the only council member heading to Europe this time. He would be accompanied by Hugh Jones, the head of the Roxxon Group.
They planned to depart for Europe right after Christmas.
Still, despite understanding the importance of Josh's return to Europe just two months after coming back to the U.S., Margot was somewhat unhappy.
She had actually wanted to accompany him to Europe, but unfortunately, the two children were still very young and unfit for long journeys.
After all, the medical and sanitary conditions of the era were far worse than in later times. A two-month-old baby was extremely fragile—just a bit of acclimatization trouble could take their lives.
So, in the end, after finishing her recovery period, Margot could only vent her dissatisfaction quite fiercely by physically exhausting Josh.
"Hoo hoo, just two months, and London's already changed so much!" On the streets of London, Josh sat in a luxurious Bentley, watching the increasingly bustling streets and couldn't help but sigh.
Just like last time, Josh had flown to the UK. Meanwhile, Hugh Jones, who preferred a comfortable journey, was still drifting across the Atlantic with a convoy aboard an ocean liner.
But this time, Josh didn't have to squeeze into a crowded plane with others.
For convenience, Josh shamelessly used public resources for personal gain. Leveraging council resources and his good private relationship with the War Department, he bought a C-69 strategic transport aircraft from the Army Air Forces.
This was a strategic transport aircraft developed by Lockheed during the late stages of WWII. Its range even exceeded the famous B-29 bomber, reaching an astounding 7,400 kilometers—an impressive feat for that era—earning the military's high regard.
However, the plane only had its first test flight in late 1943, and the first unit was delivered in mid-1944.
By the end of WWII, out of the Army's more than 200 orders, only 22 were ever delivered.
So it wasn't very well known.
But in the 1950s and later during the Vietnam War, its successor model was heavily purchased and used for roles like early warning, electronic intelligence, airborne radio relay, weather reconnaissance, and conventional troop transport—remaining in service until the 1980s, which speaks to its reliability.
By the way, in the original timeline, this plane was commissioned for development by Howard Hughes, a major shareholder in TWA.
In this world, it was developed with the participation of Howard Stark.
As for whether Josh would eventually dabble in aerospace...well, he had considered it before, but now it was no longer necessary.
Because out of the five financial groups controlled by the council, two were major shareholders in Lockheed...
" Since the war has officially ended, apart from a small number of occupation forces, the majority of soldiers naturally went home. With the full restoration of overseas routes, prosperity has naturally resumed. It's just that family relationships are a bit strained," said the middle-aged man sitting respectfully beside Josh, glancing mockingly at a quarreling couple in front of an apartment building.
This middle-aged man was named John Huberman, ostensibly a British citizen, but actually of Bavarian descent.
He was once a double agent dispatched to Britain by the mustached man and Hydra, holding a rather high status.
However, with the fall of the mustached man and Bavaria being incorporated into Austria, he naturally lost his original mission.
Originally, when the war ended, he was preparing to pack up and flee, but Ophelia came knocking, and soon, like other Hydra branches in Europe, he was incorporated under Josh's command.
As he already held a certain social status in Britain, he became the highest-ranking Hydra official in the UK while also serving under Lindon as the head of Josh's Kane Group operations in Britain.
Whether it's Germany, Hydra, or the current Austria, Britain has always been a competitor—never mind that Britain previously supported the operation to return to the Eagle's Nest and supported the coups in Bavaria and Austria.
That was mainly because Britain was too eager to end the war.
Now, with the war over, the British immediately began to renege on their stance, repeatedly stating at Allied meetings that Bavaria and Austria committed numerous war crimes and should be held accountable. They also argued that Bavaria and Austria should not be allowed to merge!
The biggest obstacle to Austria's attempt to gain victorious nation status was also Britain.
France was in a similar situation. In the two months Josh was away, a new French constitutional assembly had already been elected.
Although de Gaulle still held the position of provisional government leader, he was already being deliberately sidelined.
Aside from the French occupation forces in Germany, this last man of France had actually lost control over the domestic situation.
And the French politicians had already begun to collude with the British, subtly turning against Austria.
Fortunately, the United States did not want to see a unified Western Europe, especially not Britain and France becoming too united. Plus, with the looming threat from the Bear, although they didn't support Austria gaining the status of a victor nation, they also opposed the sanctions against Austria and the division of Bavaria and Austria proposed by Britain and France.
So, the internal dynamics of the Allies were very delicate at this point.
Under such circumstances, it would be strange if John Huberman, who had been fighting underground against the British since the beginning of the war, had a good opinion of them.
So what if they were a victorious nation? Their home front was still a chaotic mess.
For the past few months, city halls across Britain were lined with returning soldiers filing for divorce.
Quarreling couples could be seen on the streets every day.
No helping it—many British women had gone too far with the American soldiers, and many were pregnant.
While fighting on the front lines, to return home and find your wife pregnant—any British soldier with a brain could figure out what was going on. A few neighborhood inquiries would reveal everything.
Some with better relationships might try to endure it, but most could not.
"Heh, just wait, this is only the beginning. It won't be long before the British suffer even more!" Josh said with a slight smile.
As for the historically infamous troublemaking nation, Josh had no fondness for them either—of course, he didn't feel any particular attachment to the U.S. or Austria either.
But as one of Hydra's leaders and a stakeholder in American consortiums, creating trouble for these two old powers was naturally a justified task for Josh.
This was also one of the main purposes of his return to Europe this time.
As for how to create trouble for those two countries, well, that would rely on the cute Bear on the other side of the German Wall.
What is the German Wall?
Naturally, it's the dividing line between the Allied occupation zone and the Bear's occupation zone.
The Berlin Wall of the original timeline didn't exist in this world, because there was no Yalta Conference, and the European War ended early. Thus, the Bear, having entered Berlin alone, refused to share the city with the Allies in this timeline.
So, in this world, there was only one line dividing north and south Germany—the German Wall. Though called a wall, it was actually just a military demarcation line.
Plus the Bavaria that Austria stole.
The Allied occupation zone in Germany was significantly smaller than in the original timeline. Especially Britain and France—each of their zones wasn't even as large as Bavaria.
No wonder the two countries were unhappy with Austria.
"I imagine anything the Leader does will be extraordinary!" Hearing Josh's words, Huberman flattered at the right moment.
Josh just smiled slightly and said nothing more. But at that moment, he caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
"Stop the car ahead!" Josh ordered.
The driver did not hesitate and slowly brought the car to a halt.
Josh then opened the door and got out, walking toward the somewhat melancholy figure standing by the roadside.
When the figure saw Josh getting out of the car, a trace of surprise flashed across her face.
"Miss Carter, long time no see!" Josh greeted.
That's right, the person Josh had spotted was none other than Peggy Carter, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. This was also the first time he had seen her since Captain America went missing.
"Long time no see, Mr. Kane. I didn't expect to see you here. I heard you had returned to the United States," Peggy Carter said with a slight smile.
Though both were American tycoons, compared to the flamboyant Howard Stark, Carter obviously had a better impression of the scandal-free Josh—even though she was quite close friends with Howard.
"Yes, I went back for two months to spend time with my fiancée and two children and to celebrate Christmas. I just arrived in London today," Josh nodded.
Although Carter's figure did stir Josh's imagination, it was just imagination. This woman was not someone easily handled, and Josh didn't want to lose his head over desire and be decapitated by her.
So there was nothing to hide regarding family matters. On the contrary, it left a better impression—after all, as a Hydra leader, he would need to work with this SHIELD founder someday.
"What? You already have children?" Carter was clearly surprised at Josh's words.
As a military officer who had investigated Josh, she didn't know much about his family situation, but she did know his age.
A 17-year-old billionaire already having children, and seemingly on good terms with his fiancée.
In contrast to the unreliable Howard Stark…
Just as Josh predicted, Carter's mind indeed formed a favorable impression of someone who valued family.
"By the way, where are you headed?" Josh asked Carter.
"I just left my brother's place and was planning to go home, but clearly, getting a cab right now isn't easy!" Carter shrugged, glancing at the street.
"If you're free, how about having a meal together? Don't get me wrong—I just happen to have something I'd like to discuss with you… um, about Steve," Josh invited smoothly.
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