"Dear guests, you are the first batch of foreigners to board China's main battleship. This battleship is called Changbaishan. It was formerly the Japanese battleship Kirishima. During the Sino-Japanese War, this warship was sunk by a mine.
Later, it was repaired and entered the Chinese Navy sequence."
Sa Shijun took representatives from various countries aboard the Changbai Mountain. After boarding this huge battleship, these people felt sincerely insignificant. Among these countries, Egypt, Iran, and Abyssinia were not
There is no decent navy, not to mention ships of tens of thousands of tons, not even ships of several thousand tons. And they can't afford such warships. Let them board the ships just to feel the power of the Chinese navy.
As for Argentina and Chile, they are traditional naval powers. Although the two countries do not have the ability to build ships, because their countries are relatively wealthy and share the same culture and race as Europeans, they have also built quite powerful warships by purchasing them.
Among them, the Chilean Navy also had contact with China. Li Hongzhang originally planned to buy second-hand warships from Chile. However, as time passed, everything changed.
The navy is making rapid progress. Countries like Chile and Argentina, which do not have industrial manufacturing capabilities, have gradually been left behind. However, they still order large warships from Britain and the United States. Their naval tradition is even longer than that of China.
The representatives of the two countries are knowledgeable people, so after they boarded the Changbai Mountain, they did not marvel at the thickness of the muzzle or the size of the warship like country bumpkins. Their eyes fell on places that others did not pay attention to.
Wipe the back of the door with white gloves and look under the railing.
There is not a trace of dust! After seeing this, they all nodded secretly. This at least shows that the spirit of the Chinese Navy is outstanding. The ships are well maintained. The combat effectiveness of the navy is reflected in it. The Chinese Navy should not be underestimated.
"Captain Sa, this warship was captured by you. I want to know if China has the ability to build a battleship?" Chilean representative Bachelet couldn't help but ask.
Sa Shijun smiled slightly: "Mr. Bachelet, are you interested in battleships?"
"Of course, Chile's navy is old and needs to be updated. I personally hope to have a battleship."
Sa Shijun smiled slightly: "I believe that our shipbuilding industry can meet the requirements of any customer."
Bachelet also smiled and said: "Mr. Captain, it's great that you have confidence. We will launch a global bidding, and all countries will participate. I hope that representatives from China will also participate. By then, as long as it is good quality and low price
If you are honest, you will definitely win."
This rear admiral of the Chilean Navy is not an idiot. If you want to get a big order, you have to show your true skills. Sa Shijun also hurriedly wrote down the matter and prepared to contact the shipyard immediately after the visit. Representatives from various countries
After leaving Lushun, we went to Fengtian Arsenal and saw China’s weapons production line.
At the Fengtian Arsenal, they saw a scene that stunned them. China's production lines were producing various weapon parts at a speed beyond their imagination. They dared to swear to God that even among the European powers, they had not seen such efficiency.
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Bachelet pointed to a recently completed cylinder and couldn't help but ask: "How long does it take to process one?"
The responsible Xiong Mengyuan and Han Linchun glanced at each other, and then Xiong Mengyuan smiled proudly: "Four minutes!"
"What?" Mailer, the Argentinian representative, almost fell to the ground. You must know that in American automobile companies, it takes 22 minutes to process a cylinder, but the Chinese can complete it in 4 minutes. Isn't this a joke?
Seeing their surprised looks, Xiong Mengyuan and the others also showed full expressions of pride on their faces. This is the power of the automated production line, and the efficiency can be doubled!
The world's earliest automated production line started with automobiles. It was developed by the Morris Motor Company in Coventry, England. In 1924, this company began to use an engine block processing production line in automobile production.
This large-scale special processing line is 55 meters long and consists of 53 machine tools. It is produced continuously according to the process. As a result, the entire processing of a cylinder can be completed every 4 minutes on average.
It was precisely because of this production line that Morris Company grew rapidly and became the third largest automobile giant in the world. Morris Company kept this secret until American engineers visited it, and then promoted it vigorously in the United States, triggering
revolutionized automobile production.
Zhang Tinglan is not clear about such detailed matters, but China is also developing rapidly in the field of automobile industry, especially the launch of many new models with novel and beautiful shapes, which are not only popular in China, but also sold in Europe and the United States.
China launched a fully enclosed car in 2024, which changed the style of classic cars in the past and became a hit. American auto giants still looked down on Chinese manufacturers, but Morris took the initiative to find China, hoping to cooperate.
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When the two sides sent engineers to each other to study, Chinese engineers saw the automated production line for the first time and realized its value. Therefore, after returning to China, they immediately started corresponding research.
Of course, Zhang Tinglan paid the greatest attention to this cross-era technology, so he immediately organized dozens of engineers in the mechanical field to work together to tackle the problem and quickly built China's first automated cylinder production line.
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Compared with Morris Company's wasteful broomsticks, China would not do this, and the military industry also quickly participated in upgrading the production line.
Among them, Fengtian Arsenal, which has the highest level of technology, took the lead in establishing two automated production lines. In the past two years, automated production lines have blossomed all over China, ranging from automobile production, to machine tools, to aircraft, to home appliances, and other fields.
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Of course, due to defects in Chinese materials and processes, some high-end engines still require skilled workers. Otherwise, China's Snow Leopard tanks and dive bombers would have been deployed in large numbers long ago.
But it is not too late now. Zhang Tinglan is planning to take advantage of the big crisis that is not far away and buy the West at the bottom. By making up for the last shortcomings, China's industry will skyrocket.
Large-scale industrial production itself is shocking and magical. When these representatives saw various weapons being produced like magic, they were quickly impressed and expressed their willingness to purchase.
Zhang Tingshu, Tao Jiping, Han Linchun, Xiong Mengyuan, Wu Yulin and others gathered at the Presidential Palace to discuss the sales plan.
"President, these countries can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category is Siam and Iran. They are neighboring countries to us and have a certain amount of capital, so they want to purchase a full set of arms. They include the navy, land and air force, and the demand is huge.
The second category is Chile and Argentina. Although these two countries are also rich, they have traditionally purchased Western weapons. They only want to purchase some things that the West does not have. In addition, they also want to use us to lower prices. The third category is Abisi
Asia and Egypt. These two countries don’t have much money, so they can only buy some rags, which I think is dispensable.”
Zhang Tinglan waved his hand: "Minister Tao, this is how economic benefits are calculated, but there is also a human debt. Although Egypt and Abyssinia are poor, we must treat everyone equally, especially when providing weapons. As much as possible.
The products are of high quality and low price, allowing them to gain respect that they cannot get in Europe.”
Everything must take a long-term view. Egypt guards the Suez Canal and is currently one of the few independent countries in the Middle East. During World War II, the famous Battle of El Alamein took place in Egypt. In addition, Italy also invaded Abyssinia in 35 years.
If we can reach out to these two countries, it will be equivalent to laying the groundwork for World War II. It can even be said that Egypt will also be one of the main forces in future Middle East wars. This traditional friendship may play an immeasurable role in the future.
Of course, Zhang Tinglan will not tell others about these considerations, and Tao Jiping and others can only implement them. Since the president wants to give preferential treatment to the two countries, let them choose something cheaper.
Zhang Tingshu said with a smile: "Brother, Siam has almost reached an agreement. They are planning to purchase 200 Type 12 light tanks, 50 bi-wing training aircraft, 150 fighter jets, two light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 20
Frigates, half of which are new and half of which are old, and additionally purchased 500 76-guns, 200 122-guns, and 200,000 rifles, the total price is 80 million, which will be paid off in ten years, with taxes and rice exports as mortgage."
Listening to Zhang Tingshu's introduction, several people present secretly swallowed their saliva. This young master Zhang was really cruel. The Type 12 light tank was originally designed for the Jiangnan water network area. However, due to the process of national unification, it was faster than expected.
Soon enough, this tank was not manufactured in large quantities and became a scrap. Unexpectedly, it was sold by Zhang Tingshu. It also became the first large-scale export tank in China's history. It was really dumbfounding.
As for those biplanes that are about to be eliminated, China has already equipped a large number of monoplanes. In addition, the 122 howitzers were originally obtained by Zhang Tinglan from Russia’s military procurement. They are treasures. However, in recent years, the 122 howitzers have been somewhat
The higher the standard, the lower the lower. China has mass-produced 105 and 152 caliber artillery pieces. A batch of old-fashioned 122 guns are about to be retired, and now they are all given to Siam.
Others, such as Maxim machine guns and 82 mortars, were not considered good things. Now Zhang Tingshu sold them for a good price, and everyone was overjoyed.
Only Zhang Tinglan looked a little grim: "Wei Jiu, business is doing well, but selling things like you can easily make people label Chinese weapons as cheap. This is not a good thing. We want everyone to know that Chinese products
It is high-end and classy. Well, go and discuss with that Songkran. China is going to produce a batch of escort aircraft carriers. If they are interested, they can participate in the investment. Siam will be able to have an aircraft carrier battle group within three years.
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"I don't object to selling the aircraft carrier, but I'm worried that Siam won't be able to pay for it." Zhang Tingshu said worriedly.
"Hahaha, I'm not afraid that they will owe money. I also hope that they will owe money." Zhang Tinglan laughed and said: "If the money is not paid, we will use land to pay off the debt, and we will use food to pay off the debt. At the worst, we will send the princess here too, and the debt will be repaid.
Can it turn yellow?"
Zhang Tinglan had actually expected that with the advent of the Great Depression in 2029, Siam would definitely not be able to repay the money as scheduled. This would give China an opportunity to intervene in Siam. They couldn't let this account go to waste, right? With a debt of 80 million, plus
The last aircraft carrier was Zhang Tinglan’s bargaining chip to manipulate Siam!
Zhang Tingshu also nodded hurriedly. He didn't really care about anything else. He just heard that Zhang Tinglan planned to use the princess to pay off the debt, and he had some calculations in his mind. His elder brother was still dishonest!
After talking about Siam, everyone mentioned Iran again. The Shah of Iran at this time was the old Pahlavi, the father of the officially known King Pahlavi and the founder of the dynasty. In 1925, the old Pahlavi arrived in the UK
With support, he launched a coup and seized power.
Iran has always been sandwiched between the two empires of Britain and Russia. It suffered from internal and external troubles, which were quite serious. After Pahlavi came to power, he took two major measures: promoting secularization internally, weakening the control of religion, and strictly restricting religious courts.
power.
Externally, Pahlavi tried his best to get rid of British control and fight for the country's freedom. For this reason, Pahlavi became very close to Germany. During World War II, he almost fell into the arms of the Axis powers.
However, there is a big problem in getting closer to Germany. Because of Germany's defeat in World War I, the help it can provide to Iran is limited. Pahlavi feels that the strength is not enough. And with China's victory in Central Asia, it has won Central Asia.
The southern land has become another big country bordering Iran.
Therefore, when Iran became aware of this situation, it immediately sent people to China, hoping to understand the dynamics of this new neighbor. If it was easy to get along with them, it would be best to introduce Chinese power to balance the United Kingdom. If that failed, they would have to make careful plans.
Already.
After listening to everyone's introduction, Zhang Tinglan said: "Iran is very important. This is the best springboard for us to interfere in the Middle East. And I can tell everyone that the Middle East, especially the Persian Gulf, has a lot of oil."
As soon as oil was mentioned, everyone got excited. Wu Yulin couldn't help but ask: "How much will there be?"
"Accounting for at least half of the world, the Middle East will become the new oil center after the United States."
After hearing this, several people present were all excited. Oil is the blood of industry. Although China's current usage is not large, there will definitely be explosive growth in the future. However, China itself does not produce much oil.
If there really was so much oil in the Middle East, it would be worth the price!
"President, why don't we just send troops to the Middle East? If we seize this place, won't the oil be solved?"
"Stop dreaming. Do we have the ability to fight thousands of kilometers away? Things in the Middle East can only boil frogs in warm water. Pahlavi is the best entry point. We must fully cooperate with him and provide arms support.
, to make Iran a pawn for our interference in the Middle East."
"President, Chile has proposed to purchase a battleship, but it requires a global bidding process. They hope that China can participate. I'm worried that I can't compete with Western companies, and I don't know if I should go."
"Of course I want to go. This is a good thing for advertising. So what if I lose? I have to work hard. The cost of a battleship is at least 50 to 60 million yuan, so I have to fight for it no matter what!"