jdhmnovel Chapter 169 Buying Equipment and New Business
Chapter 169 Buying Equipment and New Business
After the Fifth War Zone Command received the request from the 102nd Division to dispatch troops to assist in defending the flank, Chief of Staff Xu immediately took the telegram to Commander Li's office to report the matter.
"The idea of the 102nd Division is still feasible. They are now resisting the Japanese attack in Zhuangzi. The pressure and casualties are very great. They also know that the war zone cannot send strong troops to replace them in defense. So they have to ask us to send troops to assist them in defending the flank so that they can recall the 211th Brigade on the flank and be ready to reinforce Zhuangzi at any time. Yan Mou, which unit do you think should be transferred to assist in defending the flank of Taierzhuang?" Commander Li threw the question to Chief of Staff Xu.
Chief of Staff Xu thought for a moment and said, "Commander Li, I think we can have the Second Army dispatch a division to defend the flank of Taierzhuang. Although the Second Army also suffered heavy losses in the battle of Tengxian, if they only defend the flank of Taierzhuang, they will not have much problem."
Commander Li stood up and walked to the map. He thought for a while and said, "Okay. Tell Commander Sun of the Second Army to send a capable division to defend the Taierzhuang flank. They must defend the Taierzhuang flank to the death. If they lose the flank position, military law will be ruthless."
On the fifth night after the battle of Taierzhuang, the Second Army dispatched the 31st Division to defend the flank positions of Taierzhuang, and the 102th Brigade of the 211nd Division withdrew to the vicinity of the division headquarters on the south bank of the canal for a short rest, ready to reinforce the battle in the village at any time.
The sun rises on time every day, and it will not be absent because of the fierce battle on the ground. Taierzhuang during the day is the time for the Japanese army to attack. The attack routine never changes: artillery bombardment, infantry charge, and then artillery bombardment after the infantry charge. Although the method is simple and stereotyped, it is enough to defeat all the Chinese troops who lack heavy weapons and artillery.
Zhang Wenwu came to Liang Kejian's office early in the morning. He had made an appointment with Liang Kejian yesterday that he would come this morning to discuss the purchase of weapons and ammunition.
"Director Zhang, have you had breakfast? You're really early." Liang Kejian warmly welcomed Zhang Wenwu into the office, poured him tea and greeted him jokingly.
Zhang Wenwu smiled and said, "Deputy Director Liang, I have no choice. The people we recruited from the hospital yesterday are still waiting for weapons and equipment in the resettlement camp. I expect another batch of soldiers to arrive today. I have no choice but to come here so early in the morning to bother you. Please forgive me."
Liang Kejian placed the teacup in front of Zhang Wenwu, smiled and shook his head, then sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and asked, "Director Zhang, how many people did you recruit yesterday?"
"Deputy Director Liang, we recruited more than 1,400 people yesterday, and we estimate that we can recruit more than 1,000 people today. That's why I came here in a hurry to get the weapons and ammunition settled. Now everyone is waiting to receive the weapons and equipment." Zhang Wenwu also took out a cigarette and lit it up, while reporting his performance yesterday to Liang Kejian.
When Liang Kejian heard that Zhang Wenwu had recruited so many people from the hospital, he was also shocked and said, "Director Zhang, you recruited more than a thousand people yesterday? No wonder you are so anxious about the weapons and equipment. If we calculate according to the planned number of people you mentioned today, you can immediately form a brigade."
Zhang Wenwu also smiled and nodded. He believed that with Liang Kejian's experience, he had already guessed what he was thinking.
Liang Kejian immediately stood up, walked to the phone and called a man named Wang, asking him to come to his office, saying that he had arrived and they could discuss the next matters face to face.
After a while, a colonel with a beard walked into Liang Kejian's office. Liang Kejian quickly introduced him to Zhang Wenwu: "Director Zhang, this is Director Wang from the theater military warehouse. If you want to buy weapons and ammunition, just talk to Director Wang. I have already introduced your situation to Director Wang. You can chat directly. It's okay."
"Hello, Director Wang. Deputy Director Liang has introduced our situation to you before. We hope to purchase corresponding weapons from you according to the weapon configuration of the main brigade of the Central Army's reorganization division. Do you think there is any problem? In addition, if there are heavy weapons, especially artillery, I can also purchase them." After hearing what Liang Kejian said, Zhang Wenwu directly stated his needs.
Director Wang took the cigarette from Liang Kejian and lit it. He smoked while listening to Zhang Wenwu's request. After Zhang Wenwu finished speaking, he thought for a while and said, "Director Zhang, since Deputy Director Liang said that we are all family members and can talk directly, then I will tell you the truth. At present, in the war zone warehouse, I can help you get 800 Han-made rifles, 1,000 Gong-made rifles, 500 obsolete old Han-made rifles, 300 Gong-made rifles, 60 Mauser pistols, 30 imitation Czech light machine guns, and 15 30-section heavy machine guns. As for artillery, don't even think about it. The war zone warehouse doesn't even have a gun carriage wheel, let alone artillery. I can get you eight mortars, and there are still some bullets and grenades. This should be able to meet your needs. I can give you a maximum of 300 mortar shells."
Zhang Wenwu calculated in his mind that these weapons were enough for his use. He did not get any artillery, which was also within his expectations. After thinking for a while, he said to Director Wang: "Thank you for your care, Director Wang. I want all the weapons and ammunition you mentioned. In addition, do you have any machine guns in the warehouse?"
Zhang Wenwu thought that his team was going to fight in the street fighting in Taierzhuang. If they could get some machine guns, they would have a certain firepower advantage in the street fighting.
Director Wang didn't expect Zhang Wenwu to be so generous. He actually wanted all these weapons. You know, even if he gave face to Liang Kejian and sold them to Zhang Wenwu at a lower price, it would still be a huge sum of money. Hearing that Zhang Wenwu wanted to buy some flower machine guns, he thought for a while and said, "Director Zhang, we do have some flower machine guns in the warehouse, but they are not cheap and consume a lot of bullets. Are you sure you want to buy them?"
When Zhang Wenwu heard Director Wang say that there were machine guns in the warehouse, he immediately said affirmatively: "Yes, Director Wang, I want all the machine guns you have, and I also want to buy all the matching bullets."
Director Wang saw that Zhang Wenwu really wanted to buy the machine gun, so he weighed it and said, "Director Zhang, I can sell you 80 machine guns, and 100,000 rounds of matching bullets, but the price can only be traded at the normal price. Is that okay with you?"
Zhang Wenwu wanted to buy more machine guns, but Director Wang said that this was the maximum quantity he could provide, so Zhang Wenwu reached an agreement with Director Wang. He gave half of the money to Director Wang on the spot and asked Director Wang to deliver the weapons and ammunition to the temporary resettlement camp next door as soon as possible. Zhang Wenwu would pay him the remaining money in one lump sum after the weapons and ammunition were delivered.
Director Wang left Liang Kejian's office with a big bag of money. He was very happy to make such a big deal. Before leaving, he said that he would arrange for someone to move the weapons and ammunition purchased by Zhang Wenwu over at noon, and asked Zhang Wenwu to be ready to receive them by then.
After Director Wang left, Zhang Wenwu took out two silver dollars and placed them on Liang Kejian's desk, thanking Liang Kejian for his care during this period of time. This made Liang Kejian very happy.
"Director Zhang, I'd like to congratulate you on your promotion in advance, haha." Liang Kejian congratulated Zhang Wenwu with a fist salute in a good mood.
Zhang Wenwu also smiled and clasped his fists in return. Before Zhang Wenwu could say anything, he heard Liang Kejian say, "Director Zhang, you are about to lead your own troops. I have a business deal that I think you might be interested in."
Zhang Wenwu was stunned. Liang Kejian still had business? Liang Kejian took out a small notebook from his military uniform pocket and handed it to him. Zhang Wenwu took the notebook with a puzzled look on his face and started reading it. When he saw the contents of the notebook, Zhang Wenwu's eyes began to light up. He now knew what Liang Kejian meant by business.
Liang Kejian's little notebook was filled with the purchase prices of various Japanese equipment, from rifles to light and heavy machine guns, to various types of mountain cannons and field cannons, as well as quotes for captured tanks and armored vehicles. The most outrageous thing was that even the Japanese belts, water bottles, helmets and uniforms had purchase prices. It was simply a detailed price list for purchasing goods.
Zhang Wenwu knew what was going on. At that time, after each battle, the Chinese army would use these captured items to report their military exploits and receive rewards. This could also prove how many Japanese troops their troops had destroyed. The Military Commission and the war zone would also measure the authenticity of the corresponding battle reports based on the captured Japanese equipment and items, to avoid the appearance of unreliable battle reports.
Most of these items need to be purchased by local troops. After all, their combat effectiveness is limited. The war zone and the Military Commission assess the combat situation of the troops based on the items captured from the Japanese army, and then make corresponding supplements to the troops based on the number of items captured from the Japanese army. This makes the commanders of many local troops willing to spend a lot of money to buy the items captured from other troops to make up the numbers in order to protect their own troops, thereby avoiding the downsizing or disbanding of the troops.
As for the Central Army’s troops, they are not very needed because the troops all belong to the government. No matter how badly they fight, they will receive certain replenishments after the war. This is the obvious difference between a biological son and a godson.
Zhang Wenwu closed the notebook, took out a cigarette, lit it and started smoking. He was very satisfied with the business introduced to him by Liang Kejian, which was exactly what he wanted.
He wanted to lead the army alone in order to kill more Japanese. He could use the weapons and equipment captured on the battlefield to exchange for money. Even if he formed an army on his own in the future, it would be a unit of the Central Army. He would not have to worry about the army being disbanded. After each battle, he only needed to leave some spoils to prove his unit's military exploits. If he handed over too much, it would make other units jealous, which was not conducive to everyone's harmonious coexistence. This business just helped him solve the problem caused by too much spoils.