The rise of great powers: starting from military industry

The more you understand the terror of the Soviet army, the more shocked you become.

In just three days, the Soviet army dispatched 280 sorties of large transport aircraft to airlift more than 5,000 officers and soldiers and a large amount of weapons and equipment to Kabul International Airport and Baghlan Air Base.

In just one week, they took control of major cities and traffic arteries, and supported the leader of the Flag Faction, Karmel, to form a puppet regime.

This terrifying military strength and organizational efficiency shocked the world.

Naturally, it also shocked Pakistan, Thailand, and Iraq!

Especially Pakistan and Iraq, they were shocked and then felt the chill.

If Afghanistan leads south to the Indian Ocean, or to be precise, the Arabian Sea, it must control Pakistan!

Since Iran overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty and the hostage crisis broke out, it has severed diplomatic relations with Eagle and has been hostile to Eagle. This is simply a natural ally of the Soviet Union. Now Afghanistan and Iran are connected, and beyond that is Iraq.

The shock effect was so obvious that Liu Tao was contacted immediately.

"Mr. Al, Lieutenant Colonel Rashid, my friends, it's nice to see you again!" Liu Tao shook hands with Al and Rashid with a smile.

"Mr. Liu Tao, my good friend!" Al said straight to the point: "If the last order triples, how long will it take for you to deliver?"

Three more orders! ?

Liu Tao's heart couldn't help but beat violently.

That means that this time, wealthy friends placed a large order of US$375 million!

Liu Tao said without hesitation: "We guarantee to complete all orders in April next year!"

"We want 500 anti-aircraft machine guns, 1 million rounds of anti-aircraft machine gun bullets, 100 anti-aircraft guns, 10,000 rounds of anti-aircraft gun shells, 200 Type 69 tanks, and 1,000 Type 59 tanks. We hope to deliver them as soon as possible!" Rashid said. .

Liu Tao felt the urgency in Rashid's tone.

It seems that this time the polar bear roared and showed its claws, which frightened them.

"The old rule is that you pay half the deposit first, and the anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, and tanks can be mobilized to the port in half a month. By then, you have inspected the goods and paid the balance before they can be shipped." Liu Tao said without hesitation.

There are more than this number of weapons and equipment sealed up.

"No problem!" Al said: "But our ship's transportation capacity is not that big, you guys have to help us."

Liu Tao frowned slightly, which posed a problem for him.

He didn't know if the Fifth Machinery Department could do anything.

According to what he knew, there were few ships in the mainland that were capable of long-distance voyages.

"I have to ask the leader for instructions on this. If it can be transported, there will be no problem, but the transportation costs will have to be calculated separately." Liu Tao said.

"Okay!" Al said.

They had been in contact with China for the past few days. They were originally discussing additional orders as hush money. Unexpectedly, the polar bear actually showed its claws to Afghanistan. The claws were so sharp and cruel.

Although the relationship between Iraq and the United States and the Soviet Union is now very good, they have to guard against it.

Originally, they had no plans to buy anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, and tanks, because these weapons and equipment from China were too backward, but what happened was that they found that the best choice turned out to be China.

European and American weapons are naturally very advanced, but you must know that the price is very expensive, two to three times or even four to five times more expensive, and the delivery cycle is very long, and many conditions must be attached.

But Liu Tao is different here. He is a pure arms dealer who can deliver goods quickly. The weapons and ammunition are much cheaper, and there are no additional conditions.

Liu Tao took the list and returned to the Fifth Machinery Department to report to the leader.

In the conference room, Liu Tao was making a report, and the leaders looked shocked.

Just like that, Liu Tao got an order of US$375 million for Panshan Machinery Factory and a US$412 million order for the Fifth Machinery Department. The two orders totaled US$787 million!

"The more troublesome thing now is that Iraq needs us to provide sea transportation to transport weapons and equipment to Iraq." Liu Tao said.

The leader said: "There is no problem with this. We can ask Ship King Huo to help transport it."

Liu Tao looked astonished, how could he forget this existence.

Huo Shipwang, this Xiangjiang tycoon has been engaged in the maritime barge business since the late 1940s. It is said that during the Liaodong War, he transported a lot of supplies to the mainland and was also a famous red-top businessman.

And he was one of the few people to receive a state funeral after his death.

With this person here, shipping will indeed be no problem.

Soon, the two parties signed the contract agreement that afternoon.

And this is just the beginning. Pakistan signed an order worth US$290 million, and Thailand signed an order worth US$125.1 million.

Liu Tao signed big orders one after another, secretly sighing in his heart that the deterrent power of this polar bear is really terrifying.

But think about it, it is absolutely terrifying to control the main cities and transportation routes in Afghanistan in just one week.

Let alone this era, even forty years later, it would still be shocking.

Liu Tao even suspected that the military strength of Da Mao 40 years later would not be comparable to that of the polar bear at this time.

The polar bears at this time are really scary.

At this time, the Soviet Union was the largest country in the world, with a land area of ​​more than 22 million square kilometers, accounting for one-sixth of the world's total area, about 2.5 times that of the United States, and larger than the United States and Canada combined. The Soviet Union has a population of 280 million, second only to China and India. It is the third most populous country in the world, 30 to 40 million more than the United States. The combined population of the United States and Canada is less than that of the Soviet Union.

Moreover, the Soviet Union is also very rich in resources. It has the largest reserves of oil, natural gas, iron ore and other resources in the world. As the world's largest oil producer, the Soviet Union has made huge profits due to the increase in world oil prices in recent years. With abundant oil revenue, it has greatly expanded its power and made waves in the world. Even the European and American alliances have to take a defensive stance.

The output of many industries such as cement and steel exceeds that of the United States.

As for military strength, it is so terrifying that it has 3.5 million standing troops and more than 20 million reserve troops. In terms of army, the Soviet Union has 65,000 tanks, 75,000 armored vehicles, and 48,000 artillery pieces. The overall strength of the army is the first in the world. .

At this time, the total number of tanks armed by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact exceeded 100,000. The total number of tanks of all NATO member states combined was less than one-sixth of this number.

The Soviet Union's 'iron torrent' was almost unstoppable and could advance from Rome to the English Channel and sweep across the European continent in just one week.

The Soviet navy and air force are not weak either. In terms of navy, the Soviet Union has more than 1,000 ships and more than 100 nuclear submarines alone. The navy ranks second in the world after the United States. In terms of air force, the Soviet Union had tens of thousands of aircraft, which was no worse than the United States.

As for nuclear power, the Soviet Union surpassed the United States and had many more nuclear warheads than the United States.

Anyway, it is so powerful that even the leaders who have emerged from the mountains of blood and corpses in the war are prepared to destroy large areas of the country and rely on guerrilla warfare for ten or twenty years until the opponent can no longer bear it.