Rise From Eight Hundred

"I need to import 100 F4F fighters and 200 Bofors-like 40mm anti-aircraft guns from your country!" Tang Dao said firmly in front of Stilwell and Laura in the small reception room of Rockefeller Far East Branch Headquarters.

The two Westerners looked at each other, not knowing how to answer the man who was asking for such a big answer.

"Dear Tang, this is impossible." Stilwell spread his hands and tried his best to keep his tone calm.

Through the exchanges these days, Tang Dao was the most tenacious and intelligent Chinese soldier he had ever seen. Stilwell admired him very much, but this did not mean that he could meet Tang Dao's almost unrealistic requirements.

"First of all, I am only a major general in the army. I cannot convince those congressmen to agree to export these latest fighter planes to the Far East.

As I said before, from a humanitarian perspective, we hope that Japan will stop invading your country!

But from an economic standpoint, a large number of mine owners and factory managers in our country are waiting for orders from Japan. From an economic perspective alone, those congressmen supported by the consortium will never want to lose Japan as a big customer. As for China, not to mention the lack of purchasing power, most of the products purchased come from loans!" Stilwell explained patiently.

"Secondly, from a political and military perspective, our federal government is in deep negotiations with Japan and does not want to further provoke them. We and our allies have a lot of investment and mining resources in Southeast Asia, and we cannot afford to lose anything.

Secondly, the Wildcat fighter was just finalized the year before last and was only delivered to customers last year. The production capacity is not large, and the 100 orders you want are almost impossible to complete this year.

In addition, the most important point is that even if Congress agrees to your request and delivers the order after you pay enough fees, your country's shipping routes have been blocked by Japan. How can these fighters be delivered to your country?"

"General Stilwell, I am very grateful for your frankness. You just rejected it from the perspective of economic, political, military, production capacity, transportation routes and other difficulties. Then I will answer you from these aspects. These are not problems at all." Tang Dao answered confidently.

"First, I can prove my purchasing power. I don't need any loans. I can pay in full and in advance."

Tang Dao cast his eyes on the little foreign girl: "Miss Laura, the penicillin drug I invented has been on the market in the United States for more than a year. I want to know how much money I can call for now according to our original agreement."

Stilwell smiled slightly.

He really didn't expect that the invention of the anti-infective drug, which was hailed as the greatest anti-infective drug of the 20th century, was actually the young Chinese soldier in front of him who he admired very much. Could he be a doctor or biologist before the war?

But this was only limited to surprise or admiration. The little foreign girl walked out of the reception room and brought a piece of information in a while. The huge number she said made the veteran feel dizzy.

"According to your request, Colonel Tang, more than 40% of the funds are used to purchase weapons, equipment, food, and medicines and transport them to the Far East, nearly 30% of the funds are used to invest in stocks of emerging companies in the United States, such as Boeing, and another 30% of the funds are reserved. In the short term, about 70 million US dollars can be mobilized, but I need to remind you that 30 million US dollars have been used as the start-up capital for the aircraft manufacturing plant to be established, and they must not be misappropriated!" Laura answered Tang Dao very formally.

That means that Tang Dao currently has 40 million US dollars available!

What does 40 million US dollars mean in this era?

A 150mm howitzer is considered a heavy weapon in the military, but the selling price is only 36,000 US dollars. 40 million US dollars can buy 1,000 guns; the Hornet aircraft carrier built in 1938 cost only 31.8 million US dollars;

And Tang Dao ordered imported F4Fs in one go, which were nicknamed wildcat fighters in the future. The price quoted to the US Navy and Army was only 60,000 US dollars. With the funds available for Tang Dao to mobilize now, it is completely possible to buy 1,000 of them plus various auxiliary equipment.

"General Stilwell, you can help me tell the US Aviation Department and Grumman, which manufactures this type of aircraft, that I can buy it at a price of 50,000 US dollars per aircraft, and I can also provide design drawings for modifying the model to improve performance. The modification fee is calculated separately, and there is no upper limit." Tang Dao looked back at Stilwell with a firm look.

Stilwell knew that the heroic Chinese colonel in front of him was serious. He was not joking, even if he said that he was not satisfied with the new fighter plane that the federal military had just finalized and put into production, and he wanted to provide design drawings for improvement.

In this era, a man with a huge sum of 40 million US dollars, whatever he said seemed to make sense.

"But dear Tang, I have just told you very clearly that even if the price of the F4F fighter plane is doubled, it will not impress those high-ranking congressmen. The Japanese import orders for steel and iron ore are as high as hundreds of millions of US dollars." The nearly 60-year-old veteran may not have met such a stubborn Chinese for a long time.

"Now, let's look at why your federal government agreed to this batch of arms business from the perspective of politics, military and economy." Tang Dao took out a piece of paper from his shoulder bag and spread it on the table.

It was clearly a nautical chart. Although it could be seen from the pencil drawing that it was a temporary drawing and perhaps Tang Dao was the painter, the drawing was clear enough. At least Stilwell could tell at a glance that it was the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia.

"The Japanese have now shown their greed towards French Indochina. Isn't your military a bit alert?" Tang Dao drew a circle on the corner of the map.

"The Japanese are taking advantage of the situation. Our federal government has lodged representations with the Japanese government on this matter and suspended the export of its oil, steel, iron ore, food and other materials." Stilwell, a former military attaché at the Embassy in China , is still very clear about the international situation.

"I wonder if General Stilwell knows anything about Japan's newly formed Konoe Fumi Cabinet?" Tang Dao's pen still stayed on the simple map, but he asked seemingly irrelevant questions.

"When Konoe Fumi was prime minister in the last round, he connived at the Japanese Army Ministry to launch a war of aggression against China. This person must be responsible for the war. In my eyes, he will be sent to a military court and tried." Steve Wei frowned, and he seemed to know what Tang Dao wanted to say.

A dangerous and stupid emperor is fine, but when a warmonger becomes the top head of the government, it seems that it will lead the entire country on a path of no return. This is not only dangerous for China, which is at war.

"It seems that General Stilwell has done very detailed intelligence work, but General, do you know about Tojo Hideyoshi, who is about to become the Prime Minister of the land?"

Tang Dao's praise made Stilwell dumbfounded. The so-called military attaché, in addition to his military and diplomatic functions, was also the biggest intelligence chief! How could he not know the famous Tojo Eikichi.

"That is the most famous hardliner in Japan. He has always advocated the use of military force to resolve disputes!" Stilwell still answered the question honestly, but the expression on his face had become serious.

"Under the leadership of these two people, I don't need to explain to you where the Japanese government will take the whole of Japan." Tang Dao stretched out his hand and drew a big circle in Japan, China and even the entire Southeast Asia.

“Whether you believe it or not, General Stilwell, within half a month, Japan’s newly formed cabinet government will shout out the rhetoric of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’.

In addition, I can also tell you the news that the Japanese cabinet headed by Fumi Konoe has held a meeting and decided to strengthen the three-nation axis of Japan, Germany and Italy, sign a non-aggression treaty with the Mao Xiong Kingdom, and expand the "Greater East Asia New Order" The policy of the British, French, Portuguese and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia was to prepare for the "southern advance". "Tang Dao finally took out his second chip.

This piece of information was like a thunderbolt exploding in Stilwell's heart.

As a former military attache stationed in China, he certainly knew what this meant. If the information Tang Dao said was true, it would mean that Japan would give up its "northward advance" and turn to its "southward advance."

The southward advance means that Japan will infringe on all the interests of the United States and its allies in Southeast Asia. Although Europe is currently at war, the European powers will never give up on the rich Southeast Asia easily, and the United States certainly will not. The war is naturally about to break out.

"This is impossible. Although Japan is allied with the German Empire, the German Empire only needs Japan as a symbolic ally. Their strength is not enough." What Stilwell wants to say is that Japan is only famous in Asia at most. Wang Zonghe, in the eyes of the Western world, they are just younger brothers.

But what he saw was Tang Dao's slightly curved mouth, which was full of sarcasm.

Stilwell thought of Tang Dao's words again: Arrogant people will eventually pay the price for their arrogance!

The 57-year-old veteran quickly forced himself to calm down, paced back and forth in the living room and gently rubbed his brow that was a little sore from frowning. "But dear Tang, I can't verify the source of your intelligence. Our country's intelligence system can't penetrate into the heavily guarded Japanese cabinet. I can't use this unverifiable intelligence to convince those stubborn and stupid congressmen, even if it will eventually There are facts to prove that your information is true.”

"Fighting against the woolly bears with millions of soldiers would cost a lot of money, material and manpower. Even if we could win, the area occupied would only be snowy Siberia.

And Southeast Asia is so beautiful and rich. Indochina is rich in tin, tungsten, gems, coal, oil, natural gas and other minerals, as well as agricultural products such as rice, rubber, palm oil, timber, tropical fruits and flowers;

The Malay Archipelago is an important production and export base for tropical agricultural and forestry products (rubber, oil palm, coconut, cocoa, pepper, cardamom, cinchona) in the world. It also has rich mineral deposits such as oil, natural gas, tin, copper, bauxite, and nickel. .

There is an old saying in China: Princes, generals and prime ministers would rather have their own kind!

Why can these precious lands only be occupied by the Western world? Especially when oil is embargoed, and in the fertile black land of Northeast China, there is everything but no oil. The oil in the oil tank is about to disappear, and the huge ship cannot even start. At that time, General Stilwell, what would you do if it were you? "Tang Dao had a faint smile on his face, but he said an almost cruel truth.

A layer of cold sweat appeared on General Stilwell's forehead.

Because he was horrified to discover that even if he did not advocate war, if one day his country encountered such a situation, then he would definitely support launching a war with both hands and feet.

Because he knows very well that there is no oil in Japan at all, and oil imported from the United States accounts for 90% of Japan's domestic consumption.

No one is allowed to live anymore. Considering the national characteristics of the Japanese, it’s a wonder they don’t go crazy. It’s like big brother and little brother. As long as they are strong enough and dare to fight and kill, the big brother can kneel down and call daddy.

"So, you don't need to verify the authenticity of this information. You just need to report your guess to your military and the president. They are experienced military strategists and politicians, and they will analyze and judge according to your guess." Tang Dao said with a smile.

"Okay! I will report this hypothetical intelligence to the country today!" Stilwell nodded.

In the face of the threat of war, the economy is destined not to be the focus of consideration.

"Of course, the authenticity of the intelligence must be verified in the end. If there is no gap in Japan, General Stilwell, you can let your intelligence system pay more attention to the bear country. They may not be as cautious as the Japanese. After all, they have only signed a non-aggression treaty with Japan's allies for less than a year."

"But dear Tang, even if this information can convince those congressmen and military people, the 100 F4Fs you want will take time, and it will take at least a year to deliver them, but the 200 imitation Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns should be in stock." Stilwell, who was completely convinced by Tang Dao, looked at Tang Dao and suddenly felt a sense of challenge.

He originally thought that he had known this Chinese colonel very well after meeting him twice, but until just now, he suddenly realized that he still knew very little about Tang Dao.

For example, Tang Dao had to persuade him to persuade his immediate superior from impossible to possible, and he had no way to refuse. In this conversation, Tang Dao had always occupied the absolute initiative, and he did not even have the least resistance, and was defeated.

If he were on the battlefield, he would be a defeated general.

Therefore, Stilwell wanted to get back his face and deliberately delayed the delivery time for half a year, although he knew very well that with the strength of Grumman, the delivery of 100 fighters could be completed in only 4 to 5 months.

"Hey, I remember that the Gaul Empire ordered a batch of 100 F4F fighters from your country years ago. Now, they may not be able to use them! Even if they can, I guess the cost will have to wait until after the war to pay it off!

And I can pay in cash, and even if the Gaul Empire collects the order, I can help pay the 5-month penalty." Tang Dao smiled confidently.

"Oh! God, how do you know this?" Stilwell was shocked and cast his eyes on the little foreign girl.

He could understand that Tang Dao knew incredible intelligence about Japan, after all, the two sides were warring countries, but why did Tang Dao know so much about the domestic military orders in the United States? Apart from Laura, he really couldn't think of who told Tang Dao this information.

"There is no Rockefeller's surname on the list of shareholders of Grumman!" Laura's eyes were calm, and she replied to the question of the commander of the 7th Division indifferently.

"But what I know is that Colonel Tang has a trading company in our country, and perhaps this is also one of the jobs of his subordinates!"

"Dear Tang, it seems that I need to advise the Intelligence Department to conduct a strict investigation of the company under your command. They know too much." Stilwell bit his pipe, his eyes full of playfulness.

"General Stilwell, first of all, this is not a secret; secondly, because our country needs this batch of orders, if your country insists on losing a trading partner with an annual import of nearly 30 million US dollars, I can't do anything about it, right?" Tang Dao shrugged and spread his hands.

"Haha! I always hate the dirty behavior of throwing money at people the most." Stilwell laughed loudly. "But why don't I feel bored this time?"

"Maybe it's because I brought a big business worth tens of millions of US dollars to your country! Cash payment?" Tang Dao laughed.

"Oh! God! For the past 50 years, I have always thought that I hate money from the bottom of my heart, but damn, I now find that money is still lovely. I don't know if this 10 million order can make me promoted from major general to lieutenant general." Stilwell, who was in a good mood, sighed.

"General Stilwell, you will. When our two countries become allies one day, I believe you will return to China and become the supreme commander of the joint command." Tang Dao answered seriously.

"Then I will definitely hire you as my staff officer. In the words of the Japanese, you are really cunning, big one." Stilwell smiled.

The American general who is destined to become the chief of staff of the Chinese theater in the future did not take Tang Dao's words seriously at this time.

As for how to deliver 100 fighter jets, for these two extremely outstanding soldiers, as long as the order is agreed by the top leaders, it is a trivial matter.

Sea transportation cannot enter the Chinese coastline from the Pacific Ocean, the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea, so it can completely change direction!

The huge China has enough neighbors, such as the British-controlled country of Asan, from which you can enter China's Yunnan Province through Myitkyina.

The famous lifeline of the Anti-Japanese War, the Stilwell Road, which started from the small town of Ledo in eastern India and ended at Kuncheng, transported more than 50,000 tons of supplies to China in the future.

Besides, airplanes have wings, so they can't fly?

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