Chapter 273 Finally There Is a Tank

Time goes back to June 1, Wusu Airport in Shanxi.

Under the escort of a pair of Hurricane fighters, an air train transport plane slowly lowered its altitude through the clouds. After the pilot adjusted the landing angle, he lowered the rear three-point landing gear without hesitation.

"Squeak!"

The tires touched the concrete runway, and the friction sound resounded throughout the venue. The transport plane gradually slowed down and finally landed steadily on the outermost apron.

After the Eighth Route Army successfully captured the major airports around Taiyuan, it immediately began comprehensive construction and expansion work.

The comrades not only replaced the original earth runway with a concrete runway, but also more than doubled the overall area.

Nowadays, the throughput of various airports is no longer what it used to be. As long as they are equipped with enough ground crews, the pre-war preparation efficiency of all aircraft of the Air Force First Division can be guaranteed.

A moment later, the large cabin door on the left side of the air train fuselage was pushed open from the inside.

A man wearing a five-piece suit for civilian cadres in the border area jumped out of the belly of the plane while rubbing his shoulders.

Although the captain of this flight is a senior pilot of the Air Force First Division, the riding experience of military transport aircraft during World War II was not very good.

After all the crew members left the cabin, the nearby ground crew immediately surrounded them. They need to refuel the three planes in the shortest time and check all possible risks.

After sending Huang He to Taiyuan, the soldiers of the Air Force First Division will travel thousands of miles to the Hubei-Henan Border Region to participate in the upcoming battle in the mountain city.

"Old Huang! Long time no see! I really miss you so much!"

"I didn't expect that I, a regiment commander directly under the army, would come to the airport to greet you in person. Looking at our entire Eighth Route Army, there are definitely no more than 20 people who can enjoy this treatment!"

"Come on, let me see how you are doing in the border area, whether you are fat or thin."

I heard his voice before I saw him, and it was still a familiar taste and a familiar formula.

Today, Commander Li is a little different from the past. He did not wear the traditional gray uniform of the Eighth Route Army, but chose a new grass green uniform unique to the First Marine Regiment.

This new outfit was designed by the Southeast Shanxi Logistics Department, specifically for the Marine Corps to better cope with the battles in the Suiyuan area in the future.

Paired with sunglasses and a pipe that he got from nowhere, he looks like the central figure on the cover of a 7+ coloring game.

It has been more than seven months since the Hundred Regiments Campaign. Now that old friends are reunited, they are naturally full of emotion.

Seeing his fellow villager getting off the transport plane, Captain Li immediately gave him a warm bear hug.

After handing the briefcase under his arm to Wang Dexing, Huang He also patted Lao Li's strong back.

"Li Yunlong, I heard that you are doing well now. Congratulations on your promotion!"

"It seems that your paratroopers have made a lot of contributions in the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign. You must have killed a lot of high-ranking Japanese officers at the level of major general and lieutenant general. If the current situation continues, will I have to call you Marshal Li in a few years?"

"You are really more stylish than MacCaesar."

Although I don't know who MacCaesar is in Huanghe's mouth, I can tell from his tone that he is teasing me.

After hearing the word "promotion", Li Yunlong immediately became sad, as if everyone owed him 500,000 Reichsmarks. After all, the brigade commander and the deputy commander-in-chief made fun of him a lot some time ago.

"Go away, what promotion! God, don't talk nonsense!"

After a while of pushing and shoving, Lao Li first greeted the comrades of the Air Force 1st Division, and then pulled Huanghe straight to the parking lot on the left side of the hangar.

As the favorite of the deputy commander-in-chief, the entire Marine Corps was equipped with a large number of trucks captured from the First Army of the Japanese.

In order to deliver Huang He to the headquarters quickly and safely, Captain Li directly transferred 15 trucks from the regiment, and the combat effectiveness is definitely comparable to the most elite motorized troops in the European battlefield.

During the chat, the convoy had already arrived in the suburbs.

Since the Eighth Route Army recovered the lost territory, the entire Shanxi Province has ushered in a wave of economic recovery. As the provincial capital, Taiyuan has gradually become prosperous even in the suburbs.

Looking at the endless stream of ordinary people, the two of them showed a smile from the heart on their faces.

"Old Huang, I, Li Yunlong, can come this far, and it is really inseparable from your encouragement."

"If you hadn't told me the importance of learning in the logistics department last year, the limit of my life would probably be a mud-legged regiment leader who is uneducated and unskilled."

"As for airborne troops, I dare not even think about it. After we finish our work, we must have a good drink."

The sudden outpouring of true feelings made Huang He stunned for a second, but Huang was a man who had seen many storms and waves, and he quickly adjusted his mood.

Looking at Li Yunlong who was driving, he patted him on the shoulder.

"We are all family, and it's a bit awkward to say these words."

"Old Li, you must remember one thing, that is, life is endless and learning is endless. This time I came to Shanxi, I prepared some good things for your Marine Corps 1st Regiment."

"Ah? Still need to learn?"

······

Amid laughter and joy, the convoy arrived at the new headquarters.

After seeing the logo of the Marine Corps 1st Regiment, the guards let it go immediately without blocking.

This place was originally Yan Laoxi's military governor's mansion. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, it was also the commander's headquarters of the Second War Zone. After the fall of Taiyuan, the puppet troops took a fancy to the local feng shui and specially set up the administrative office here.

Originally, the deputy commander-in-chief preferred to move the new location of the headquarters to Yoshio Iwamatsu's First Army Headquarters.

It's a pity that Cheng Xiazi was too ruthless at the beginning, coupled with the excessive firepower of the 772 regiment during the attack, he accidentally blew the entire building complex into ruins.

In desperation, the boss had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and tearfully chose a ready-made office space covering an area of ​​35,110 square meters.

After getting off the car, the two men were led by the guards through the gatehouse, front yard building and Yuanyitang, and finally arrived at the Meishan Conference Hall.

Here is a classic Western-style structure with Chinese-style decoration. When Yan Laoxi was still the dominant local emperor, he often used it to hold important meetings or receive high-level guests.

The original ideological crusaders also discussed the details of the joint anti-Japanese war with the masters of existentialism here several times.

After knowing that Huang He was going to Shanxi from the border area, the deputy general staff specially ordered the cooking team to prepare for the arrival.

As soon as Huang and Li entered the room, they saw that the table was already filled with all kinds of hard dishes, and there was even a pot of expensive tea.

"Hahaha, look who's back! How about it? The atmosphere in our Taiyuan City is no worse than that in the border area."

"Eat something first. It will definitely be a hard journey. Don't worry, kid, all the ingredients for this meal were prepared by us personally. The most valuable tea is also a trophy captured from the puppet army."

"How long do you plan to stay this time? You are now the director of the Weapons Experimental Research Bureau, and your work should be very busy on weekdays."

After receiving the tea cup from the deputy general staff officer, Huang He greeted everyone one by one.

Everyone is an old acquaintance, not to mention that there are no cumbersome etiquette within the Eighth Route Army. After a while, he took Lao Li and happily sat next to Zhang Wanhe.

"I came back this time mainly to do business. I will stay for about seventy days."

"This is my first time coming to Taiyuan, and I don't know much about this city. But I can see hope and longing for life from the faces of every citizen."

"Very good, I like everyone's energy."

"Haha, well said! This is why we work hard!"

Tea is more than thirty years old, and food is more than five flavors.

Of all the people present here, only Commander Li is a pure combatant, and the rest are the troublemakers in the Eighth Route Army, so they naturally started to discuss business matters.

After everyone came to a clean table, the deputy general staff officer took out a panoramic map of Shanxi.

"Huang He, you should be clear about our army's strategic arrangements for the next stage."

"The troops have fought two and a half major battles in less than a year since August last year. The most important task now is to recuperate."

"The soldiers need to digest the harvest, and the three major base areas must also complete the province's infrastructure work as much as possible."

As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, build the road first.

Nowadays, the Eighth Route Army has basically occupied the entire Shanxi except for the Zhongtiao Mountain area, so building various infrastructures is naturally a top priority.

Not to mention the distance, the broken roads throughout northwest Shanxi alone are enough to give all commanders and soldiers a headache.

The road conditions there were barely enough to drive a mule and horse carriage. No truck currently in the army has the ability to travel unimpeded.

Once a major famine occurs, it will be inconvenient to distribute food in a short period of time. Not to mention any military mobilization, or operations such as heading north to attack the Mongolian troops.

The railways in the province are also a big problem. Due to Yan Laoxi's emperor-like operations, the Eighth Route Army must now change the tracks of the Tongpu Railway and the Zhengtai Railway.

This is a big project, requiring considerable manpower and financial resources.

After the plan was formally proposed, Zhang Wanhe, who was in charge of logistics, stood up from his stool and took the initiative to put forward his views to everyone present.

"It is not too difficult to change the track of the railway. With our current industrial level, it does not even take too long to fix the railway track. And there are many displaced people in the province, so we can fully implement the work-for-relief policy."

"But building roads is a bit troublesome. Take the northwest Shanxi region as an example. There are mostly mountainous areas. The biggest concern when building roads in mountainous areas is landslides during road construction, which is very prone to safety accidents."

"With manpower alone, many people will die. We need to take a long-term approach and try to come up with a lower-cost solution."

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately frowned.

There is nothing to say about railways. After all, Shanxi was one of the first provinces in the Republic of China to have main railway lines. The foundation itself is good, and successfully changing course is only a matter of time.

Highways are very troublesome, as hills and mountains account for more than 70% of the province's area. Building roads is not only costly but also causes many inconveniences.

Zhang Wanhe has just made the stakes very clear. Considering the current situation of the Eighth Route Army, it is basically impossible to repair the road at low cost.

While everyone was still brainstorming, Huang He stood up from his seat silently and made a shocking proposal.

"How about we try to use tanks to build roads? I think this plan is quite reasonable."

Upon hearing the word tank, everyone present had different reactions.

As the person who brought the Yellow River back from France, Zhang Wanhe always believed that his fellow countrymen never lied about what they said. As long as he said he had any new weapons, it was definitely not without purpose.

Although the troops have tanks, their combat effectiveness will definitely soar. But as the head of the logistics department, one more new item means that their logistics department will be under more pressure.

As for the commanders, they were more excited when they learned that the troops would soon have tanks.

In the early years, when there were no anti-tank weapons and air forces, they were really bullied by the Japanese's small tanks. Every time they faced the enemy's poor infantry-tank coordination, they could only rely on tactics and human lives to deal with it.

Once they have tanks, plus the air superiority provided by the First Air Division, the scene will be too beautiful.

"Huanghe! Don't keep me in suspense, quickly introduce the basic data of the new weapon. How does the tank you mentioned compare to the Japanese's Type 95 light tank?"

"What is the caliber of the main gun? How thick is the armor? Will the power drag down the infantry?"

"Based on the production capacity of our Yanchang Oil Plant, how many tanks can be supplied to appear on the same battlefield at the same time?"

Faced with the military god's questions like a string of cannons, Huanghe silently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Don't think that the division commander is usually friendly and sometimes jokes about Li Yunlong with the brigade commander. But at a critical moment, being stared at by that eye, even people with good psychological quality will be scared.

"Actually, the tank I just mentioned is not the armored force used by the army in the strict sense."

"Its name is Cicada, an airborne tank designed specifically for the Marine Corps. It's just that its various performances are in line with the requirements of road construction, so I put forward the hypothesis just now."

In theory, there is only one way to get a tank by awakening the Brave Tiger system, that is, to activate the relevant decisions about the German Third or the northern bear.

Since it takes half a year to unlock the "domestic fighter production", the above road cannot be taken in a short time.

But when Huang He was checking the new scientific research project, he accidentally discovered that the paratrooper technology could actually unlock the production rights of airborne tanks.

"Paratrooper Type III: Learning to adjust airborne operations according to terrain changes and standardizing advanced equipment such as airborne tanks can minimize the risk of airborne missions.

Research time: 70 days.

Effect: Military factories within the system can produce C47 Skytrain and M22 Cicada airborne tanks, and obtain corresponding production lines and drawings.

Get the unlocking rights for C54 Skymaster strategic transport aircraft and Hamilcar heavy glider."

Well, it's pretty good.

Whether it's Cicada, Skymaster or Hamilcar, they are all high-tech that came out after 1942. Since I've made it first, I can save money on production licenses.

Twin-engine fighters and tactical bombers are not yet available, so four-engine transport aircraft are arranged first.

Yunlong Tianjiang Super Enhanced Edition! Prairie racing is ready!