After the fire burned Teng County, the weather was not very good in the next few days, and visibility was not high at night, making it not suitable for night attacks.
In addition, as far as he knew, the Taierzhuang battle would last for more than half a month, and we would win in the end. There was no need to rush forward in a hurry. In case the dumpling-making arrangements in the fifth theater were not completed,
Scaring away the 10th Division of the Little Book, the gain outweighs the loss.
As a result, Li Mu began to take some time off, and took advantage of these few days to secretly come to Hankou by motorboat.
Since the fall of Jinling, the importance of Wuhan has become more and more prominent. Many important departments of Guofu have moved here. Coupled with the influx of a large number of people, the place has become somewhat abnormally prosperous.
The two million U.S. dollars of various materials purchased last time were also sold, and the profits of several times were naturally earned.
In the purchase of bristle and tung oil, more and more forces are involved, making it more difficult to stock up. This time, the stocking volume is even smaller.
Li Mu thought about it for a moment and decided to stop these two businesses and no longer participate in them, letting the domestic forces compete for them.
After staying in Hankou for a day and arranging things here, he rushed to Singapore again.
…
Three days later, the bristle and tung oil were delivered, and they received more than half a million US dollars, which was indeed less. Li Mu smiled lightly, but he didn't care too much, after all, the two businesses had decided to stop.
Next, focus on reselling various military supplies domestically, and the profits will be several times higher. With the foreign currency and gold reserves in the hands of domestic warlords and big businessmen, this business should be able to last for a long time.
Then, the penicillin business should also pick up.
After learning about the development of Far East Commercial Bank during this period, Li Mu began to receive various purchased weapons and equipment.
First, there are two bullet production lines, one artillery shell production line, and two grenade production lines.
These production lines have been ordered for a long time, and it is not easy to get them until now.
With these, there is also the ability to produce bullets, shells, and grenades. As long as raw materials are available, there will be no need to purchase these aspects in the future, which will not only save money, but also not be controlled by others.
The corresponding domestic factory has been built and some technical personnel have been recruited. As long as the production line is brought back and slightly debugged, production will be ready immediately.
Not only these, the batch of weapons purchased some time ago also arrived.
The first is the anti-aircraft weapons, the Suratung ST-5 20mm automatic cannon, and the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun.
Specifically, they are 80 Suratung ST-5 20mm machine guns, 30 Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, plus more than 20,000 rounds of artillery shells.
Li Mu will rely on these two weapons to form an air defense battalion to maintain Nanyang's air security.
Then there are two final weapons, one is the Rheinland 315mm heavy howitzer. As a heavy artillery, its power is obvious. Just one shell weighs more than 40 kilograms.
It's like God will kill God if he blocks it, and Buddha will kill Buddha if he blocks Buddha. For an ordinary city wall fortress, once a cannonball passes over it, it will hit a large area.
A total of 20 heavy cannons cost 900,000 US dollars, plus 10,000 rounds of equally valuable artillery shells. The price to buy them was quite high!
Another final weapon is the "Praga LT-38 light tank". Although it is a light tank, it is still a tank. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is much stronger than the thin iron sheet of a small notebook.
One unit costs 18,000 US dollars. Li Mu purchased 30 units so that he could set up an armored battalion when he returned home.
The last one received was 40,000 Mauser 98k, without bullets, priced at US$25 each, with a total value of one million US dollars.
After accepting this, Li Mu purchased a large amount of gasoline, gunpowder raw materials, steel and other military supplies...
After spending more than one million US dollars, the space was finally filled.
…
However, he also plans to order some equipment and weapons, such as aircraft.
Realizing the importance of aircraft to him, Li Mu studied the mainstream fighter jets in the world and finally selected several good ones.
Take the I-16, for example. This fighter was officially unveiled in 1935. It was the world's first low-wing monocoque fighter and was the first to use new civilian aircraft technologies such as retractable landing gear and variable-pitch propellers.
This innovative design can reduce air resistance to a great extent.
The fighter jets before World War II looked short and lean, so the Soviet army gave them a nickname, "Donkey."
The most important thing, and what Li Mu valued most, was its speed and combat radius.
The improved version of the I-16, which just left the factory at the beginning of this year, weighs only 1.3 tons and can reach a speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour. It is currently one of the fastest aircraft in the world.
At the same time, its combat radius is also as high as 700 kilometers, which is even more exaggerated than the Hawk 75.
The improved firepower has also been enhanced, and two 20mm cannons are installed, making it a deadly weapon in today's air combat.
This aircraft was still one of the main fighters of the Soviet army until the outbreak of the Soviet-German War three years later, which shows its performance.
Such an aircraft is naturally not cheap. It is more expensive than the Hawker 75, at almost US$60,000 each.
Li Mu thought for a while and ordered six planes. Although he was the only one flying the plane in Nanyang at present, he would be prepared to order a few more planes.
In addition, Li Mu also ordered three German-made Bf-109 fighter jets.
This fighter jet was designed by Messerschmitt, the designer of the Bavarian Aircraft Factory. It successfully made its first flight in 1935 and entered service in 1936. Its improved version was one of the main fighter jets of the German army during World War II and also had the best overall performance during World War II.
One of the excellent light fighters.
Even the current version is an extremely excellent fighter in terms of performance in all aspects, especially the combat radius, which is more than 700 kilometers. It is considered one of the longest combat radius fighters in this era.
Similarly, Li Mu also ordered three British-made Rafale fighter jets.
The Hurricane fighter was designed and built by the Hawker Aircraft Company. It first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. It is a British single-seat, single-engine, single-wing piston fighter. Its subsequent improved version was one of the main fighter aircraft of the British Air Force during World War II, and also
One of the light fighters with the best overall performance during World War II.
After finishing the plane business, he entrusted Far East Commercial Bank to order a batch of machines and equipment. Li Mu did not delay in Singapore and returned to China the next day.
Half of the goods were left for sale in Hankou, and Li Mu returned to Nanyang by motorboat that day. He brought back so many weapons this time that he was very busy again.
First of all, to guard against threats from the air, an air defense battalion needs to be formed, with the Sulothong ST-5 20mm machine gun and the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun as the main equipment.
However, machine guns can not only be used as anti-aircraft weapons, they are also powerful weapons against armored vehicles and tanks. This time, a total of 80 guns were purchased, leaving half in the air defense battalion, and the other 40 guns were distributed to various units to deal with low-altitude targets and armored vehicles.
force.
Forty Suratung ST-5 20mm machine guns, plus thirty Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, are among the best in the country in terms of weapons and equipment, and are more than enough to form an air defense battalion.
The heavy artillery battalion was then formed. As one of the heavy weapons of this era, the power of heavy artillery is undoubted and makes everyone fearful. Whether it is an armored vehicle or a city wall, it can be destroyed with one shot.
Although there are only twenty guns, in this era, firepower is extremely scarce, especially long-range firepower. All the heavy artillery in the country does not have a hundred guns.
Therefore, we can also see the scarcity of twenty heavy artillery pieces. Even the little devil's ace mechanized division cannot pull out so many heavy artillery pieces.
Then an armored battalion was formed, with a total of thirty Praga LT-38 light tanks. A simple armored battalion was formed. The scale was a bit small, but it was also a rarity in China. The thin iron sheet used to fight small devils was more
It's no problem.
…
Finally finishing the matter at hand, Li Mu turned his attention to the battlefield again. After reading the intelligence at hand that day, he flew a plane to the Japs' positions for a bombing in the early morning of the next day.
However, he didn't control the time well this time and it was a bit overtime. The plane almost couldn't fly back to Nanyang due to the remaining fuel, but he finally insisted on flying back, which shocked him.
If there is no gas in the air, there will be no room for recovery and we will have no choice but to parachute!
This incident made Li Mu reflect for a day, whether he was arrogant and complacent, thinking that he was very powerful, but not as powerful as he imagined. The plane ran out of fuel in the air and still failed to move.
In fact, after all, the combat radius of the aircraft is too small and it is too far away from Taierzhuang. Minus the flying distance back and forth, there is not much free time.
If you are not careful, you will consume too much gasoline and it will be difficult to fly back to Nanyang.
To deal with this problem, we cannot rely solely on our own vigilance. The problem must be solved fundamentally.
Several new fighter jets he ordered have a longer combat radius than the current Hawker 75, but they will not arrive in a short time. He will have to find a way next.
After thinking hard for a while, Li Mu suddenly came up with an idea. Since the battlefield was too far away from Nanyang, could an airport be built somewhere else?
It doesn't need to be big or formal, just simple and usable. Fighters of this era don't have high requirements for runways, and can easily take off even on ordinary roads.
Then, choose some secluded places and build one or two backup airports. If you run out of gas, you can land nearby to replenish it without any trouble.
In fact, no other supporting facilities are needed, just a simple runway is enough, there is space, there is no shortage of gasoline, and there is no shortage of various auxiliary equipment.
Even if the plane breaks down, it can be directly returned to the space and replaced with a new one.
Not only that, the new airport means that the scope of activities is larger, and fighter jets have greater detour and combat space.
So, Li Mu found a map, studied it for a long time, and finally found two suitable places to build an airport.
One is the Taihang Mountains, a large mountain range between Shanxi and the North China Plain, spanning the four provinces and cities of Beijing, Shandong and Henan. It starts from the Xishan Mountains in Beiping in the north and extends to Wangwu Mountain in Henan Province in the south, stretching for more than 400 kilometers. There are many secrets and
It is easy to defend but difficult to attack and is suitable for building an airport.
Moreover, since the airport is built here, the combat radius is larger and it can cover a wider area. Even many occupied areas are within the combat radius.
The other place is the Dabie Mountains located in southern Henan, at the junction of the three provinces of Henan, Anhui and Hubei. It is connected to Tongbai Mountain to the west, Huo Mountain and Zhangbaling to the east. It stretches for more than 380 kilometers from east to west and is more than 170 kilometers wide from north to south.
Kilometers, it is the watershed between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, spanning more than 20 counties in the Hubei, Henan, and Anhui regions.
The terrain here is complex and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is not difficult to find a secret place and build a simple military airport.
After the airport is opened in the future, Li Mu's combat radius will be further expanded and even cover the entire Jinling area.
The combat ability against the little devils is stronger.
In the next few days, Li Mu not only went to Xuzhou from time to time at night to drop bombs and harvest some Japs. During the day, he also spent a lot of time flying a plane equipped with a camera, wandering back and forth in the Taihang Mountains or the Dabie Mountains.
After coming back, I carefully observed the captured images in the screening room and looked for a suitable place to build the airport.
In the end, after considering many factors, the area in the north and south of Henan was chosen; the south was chosen in the Lu'an area at the junction of Henan, Anhui and Hubei, that is, near Huoshan.
After selecting a rough location, Li Mu immediately sent professionals to survey the terrain in these two places and select a suitable place for building the airport.
At the same time, taking advantage of the fact that these places have not yet fallen, and the need for confidentiality, Li Mu sent a large number of engineers to carry out construction, which was also a test of their long-term training results.
Not long after the technicians and hundreds of engineers left, the soldiers from the two battalions took off their military uniforms, formed a business group, and headed to these two places in a low-key manner.
Next, they will be stationed there to guard the security of the airport.
Just after arranging these things, good news came from the arsenal. Two bullet production lines, two grenade production lines, and one artillery shell production line have been purchased. All have been installed and debugged, and mass production has officially begun.
Li Mu was in a good mood. Accompanied by the person in charge of the arsenal, he looked at it carefully and nodded with satisfaction.
The Nanyang area has recently attracted a lot of technical talents, many of whom have worked in factories and have certain skills. After a little adaptation, you can get started immediately, which saves a lot of effort.
In addition, the aerial bombs he once arranged for the arsenal to be produced are also known.
Looking at the iron lump in front of me, which is as tall as half a man, I realize that this is an aerial bomb produced by myself, and it is completely different from the one I bought.
Li Mu frowned, thought of something, and relaxed again.
The purchased aerial bombs are well-made in all aspects, very particular, and have good stability and sealing properties. It can be seen that they are carefully produced.
However, Li Mu doesn't care about stability and sealing. He doesn't need to store these aerial bombs for a long time, mount them on an airplane, or use sophisticated craftsmanship. As long as the explosives are the same, there is a detonation device, and the power remains unchanged.
The iron lump in front of me is a bit ugly, but its power is not weaker than the purchased aerial bomb.
Its production cost is only about one-tenth of the purchase price, and this alone is enough.
Li Mu asked for some specific experimental data and asked them to continue improving while starting mass production. His subsequent demand was not small.