Chapter 29: Eating at One House and Then Another

  Regarding special warfare, Tan Xiao had a relatively deep understanding. In the later generations, his training base often had different special forces coming to train. Special soldiers, in essence, are soldiers who have undergone comprehensive strengthening training and can execute special tasks in various environments; their combat effectiveness far surpasses that of regular troops. However, special operations are not like what is depicted in literary works, where soldiers are thrown into a crisis-ridden environment to showcase their personal heroism. Instead, they involve in-depth research, detailed planning, and meticulous deployment before the selected personnel, capable of handling high-difficulty actions, deliver the final blow. Although eager to give the Japanese a satisfying revenge, Tan Xiao was still very protective of his half-finished special warfare soldiers. Therefore, this time he only identified the target for revenge with everyone; as for the action, more intelligence analysis and planning were needed, along with simulated exercises before taking action.

  After Tang Fan finished arranging the task of the elite training camp, he returned to the instructor's office building and was caught off guard by an unexpected event: his fiancée Wu Deqian came to deliver food to him. Tang Fan couldn't stop her, and as a result, Wu Deqian entered the building and is now being held back from leaving!

  Tan Xiao and Rong Hui were inseparable, working together seamlessly in public relations with England and France, and in negotiations with Germany. Wu Sheng watched anxiously, worried that once Wu Dezhong entered the Tan family, she would become a resentful wife! So he came up with a plan to increase their interaction - wasn't Tan Xiao forbidding everyone from visiting, locking them up as soon as they entered the building? Well, let's just lock up Little Jiuzheng for a few days...

  The building itself was not large, and the dispatched guards and staff from both China and Germany had already filled up all the rooms. Wu Deqiang, the unmarried wife of his superior, couldn't be given special arrangements? However, there were no conditions... unless she shared a room with Tan Xiao! Looking at Wu Deqiang's bright red face as he lowered his head towards the wall, Tan Xiao was really at a loss for what to do. Originally, because of that little bit of distraction in his heart, Tan Xiao had arranged for Rong Hui's room to be next to his own, just separated by this thin wooden wall... For this reason, Tan Xiao would even feel a surge of lust rising up from his chest and abdomen during all the work intervals, just hoping that night would fall quickly and today's work would end soon...

  Oh my god, how come everyone else can cross over so easily and end up in bed with just two moves? My life as Tan Xiao is just that bitter! Evil fire suddenly ignited, a wicked thought rose in his heart: why not... Just then, Rong Hui suddenly came in: "Solving Wu Jia's sister's problem isn't difficult either, let's squeeze together the three of us..." Haha, Tan Xiao was overjoyed in his heart, my wise and broad-minded Hui! But what Rong Hui said next was like a fire extinguisher that chilled Tan Xiao from head to toe: "That little girl Zhou Xiang said she's particularly afraid of the cold, and I am too. Now with three people squeezed together it will be warmer..."

  Wow! The three people Rong Hui mentioned didn't include him, it was Zhou Xing from the Communications Department of the General Staff Headquarters, an outstanding student who graduated early from Whampoa Military Academy's 9th class!

  "Hmm... okay, Huihui is indeed clever..." Tan Xiao tried to cover up his true intentions, and was especially afraid of being seen through by Rong Hui. However, his strange expression gave him away. He saw Rong Hui suddenly look enlightened, her slightly pursed lips seeming to say "Ah-ha, you...". Embarrassed beyond measure, he made an excuse and beat a hasty retreat...

  For three days in a row, Tan Xiao had the opportunity to run out of the building every time he looked at his flustered appearance, Rong Hui would secretly laugh in her heart. In fact, sharing a man with Wu Dezhong was what Rong Hui had planned all along - she knew about Tan Xiao and Wu Dezhong's engagement, but she was unwilling to be someone else's concubine again, the nightmare of Shanghai had entangled her for too long. Now was a good opportunity, she had to cultivate her feelings with Wu Dezhong first; of course, she also had to draw a clear line of mutual compromise.

  In these three days, the one who has been most tightly wrapped around Tan Xiao is the post-war blitzkrieg god Guderian. He, who has already become a standard Tan fan, would seize every opportunity to discuss with Tan Xiao about tank warfare: from the single-soldier equipment of tank troops to the division of tank types and purposes, as well as the study of anti-tank tactics... Now, whenever Guderian sees Tan Xiao's face, he will solemnly salute him first! In his heart, Tan Xiao is his mentor, his idol! Of course, he would constantly send telegrams to the "Eagle's Nest" to speak highly of Tan Xiao and China.

  Today, Goodrian made a new discovery: when he followed Tan Xiao to the mountain nest for a military meeting, he was surprised to discover that China had special forces: a type of soldier that Germany had just proposed to build, and only a few high-level military personnel had discussed it, not even formally exploring it! When he stroked his hand on the various weapons produced in small batches by the Lingling Arsenal for special forces equipment, Tan Xiao suddenly upgraded in his heart - not an idol, but a god! A soldier who has insight and practical combat skills beyond his time in all military projects is a military god! So when he learned that this unit would soon be executing a secret mission, he firmly requested to participate! Yes, all training is for actual combat, so having the opportunity to participate in an actual battle is a dream come true for a soldier.

  After half a day of persuasion, Goodrian was finally approved to participate in the first actual combat operation of the first special forces unit in this time and space world. When he returned to the office building afterwards, he urgently sent a telegram to Berlin, suggesting that a mountain warfare unit be dispatched to China immediately for training! Moreover, he immediately sent a telegram directly to Admiral Canaris, the head of German military intelligence - it was precisely Canaris who had initiated the proposal to build Germany's special forces!

  Guderian came into contact with the special forces, or rather, the embryonic form of the special forces, which was the elite training camp. Everything here shocked Guderian: apart from all sorts of strange equipment, one of the training sessions that left Guderian speechless was Japanese! The First Division had an excellent Japanese teacher - He Shaotang. He Shaotang, with his background and youthful good looks, had not been shy about flirting with his classmates during his studies in Japan, and as a result, his Japanese was superb, or rather, very authentic, with a standard Tokyo accent, he was the Japanese instructor of this unit.

  When Goodrian learned that this unit was frantically studying Japanese and preparing to join the Burmese Indian dialect next year, he became even more determined to promote Sino-German cooperation with all his might, and the scope and scale would be expanded! He firmly believed that China would defeat Japan and turn Japan's strategic direction to the Pacific.

  Now, the name Tan Xiao has become the most mentioned name among the top German military leaders. The Minister of Land Warfare dispatched to China, the Inspector General of Armored Troops, and even the new head of the advisory group, as well as the giants of the German military industry and finance, send back a large number of messages about this Far Eastern military genius every day. Moreover, they unanimously believe that Germany should send more fresh blood troops to China to receive Tan Xiao's training instead of being instructors!

  "Is the head of state's brother left in the Far East?" Little Hu thought it was very interesting, he wanted to see this Chinese brother named Tan Xiao personally. This person made him an authority scientist in history or anthropology - his blood relationship research results were confirmed on Tan Xiao's body, all members of the delegation thought so! He signed his name on a report requesting cooperation and assistance from the German delegation.

  "Perhaps I shall go to China myself and sign a formal cooperation agreement with my brother there!" Hitler was in high spirits. He said to the naval general who had come in holding the list of students going to study in China, "Perhaps we should also expand the scope of our cooperation to include the navy and air force... if my Far Eastern brother is really so excellent!" He glanced at another German military leader sitting opposite him, his iron ally, Aviation Minister Goering.

  "It's really hard to imagine that in the Far East, in China, such a military genius would appear, and he actually conquered our entire division in just one week... The Führer's decision is wise, I also want to meet this person!" Hermann Wilhelm G?ring responded. He glanced at the list handed over by Canaris and handed it to Hitler - those small characters didn't concern him.

  That list was just a roster of a mountain battalion from Goslar and another ad hoc special training battalion.

  Hitler took a serious look at the names of the two regimental commanders. Mountain Regiment Commander: Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel. Special Training Regiment Commander: Theodor von Seubert.

  Two small men, the former later known as "Desert Fox"; the latter created the world's first special forces unit in its original time and space: Germany's Brandenburg Special Forces.

  Hitler's telegram agreeing to the Sino-German cooperation plan arrived in China, and the personnel of both sides who were working hard in the document pile were overjoyed! In Hitler's reply, a small adjustment was made: the team of officers sent to China for further training and serving as German military advisors to help China with its reorganization and training was expanded to five batches, totaling nearly 10,000 people! The types of troops increased to include air force, and accordingly, the plan for aid materials provided to China included adding 60 88mm large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, 100 old-style 57mm anti-aircraft guns, 200 small-caliber 37mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as a plan for air force cooperation to build a large military airport and aircraft factory in Lingling! The armored troops' cooperation plan was also expanded, with the number of tanks provided increasing to 150! As for those old equipment waiting to be replaced, the quantities of materials such as rifles, steel helmets, etc. were all increased by nearly 20%!

  These, Tan Xiao didn't know at first, he had just managed to shake off Gu Dalian that annoying follower, letting the latter go back to prepare - tonight the special forces team is going out. And he arrived at Rong Hui's big mansion in Lingling, where the future leader of "Free France" was recuperating from his injuries. Today, "M", who had gone to Hong Kong for a trip, came back.

  Tan Xiao brought a Sino-German cooperation plan to the two anti-German organizations in England and France, of course, it was "Plan B".

  How much more can be gained from the British and French? This is Tan Xiao's most concern, his "B" plan and real plan are basically consistent in the direction of cooperation, but there is a big difference in numbers. The intuitive feeling that this plan gives people is that Germany has taken advantage of their full strength to help China build heavy industry, gaining many benefits: Firstly, they have obtained the right to mine many minerals and all output within five years! Secondly, Germans can dispatch a certain number of security guards in China to protect German assets! Thirdly, Germany's military aid is mainly based on retired domestic military products, and the pricing will refer to the average price of similar British and French arms sales in China.

  "Rifles! China needs cannons, but the most basic demand is rifles. The Germans agreed to sell 300,000 rifles at a discounted price of 90% of the original price as a reference for the transaction with Austria and Hungary. Tan Xiao did not reduce the number in the rifle aid, on the contrary, he added 80,000 more."

  Three hundred thousand rifles, at a market price of over thirty-five dollars each, millions and millions of dollars! The Germans would get millions and millions of dollars worth of various non-ferrous metals and other raw materials! De Gaulle and M exchanged a glance. This was not good news; they had not been prepared for good news, but neither had they expected it to be so bad. Of course, the truth was even worse than that.

  "It seems that the Germans have too much of an advantage in the rifle trade with the Nanjing government, after all, China can't afford the Lee-Enfield, those things consume too much ammunition." Tan Xiaodao said: "Moreover, the total number of Mauser rifles that your two countries can sell to China is unlikely to exceed one-tenth of three million, in which case, the Germans will still get a lot of minerals."

  Suddenly, "M" remembered that friendly-looking guy, the Far Eastern Vice-President of Jardine Matheson, that little fat fellow called Szeto. The guy was going around Hong Kong persuading some so-called influential politicians to convince the British Ministry of Defence to replace a batch of P-14s in their strategic reserves with Lee-Enfield No. 4s. He wanted to sell them to the Chinese for about ten dollars each. Maybe, helping this little fat fellow behind his back was not a bad idea. After all, the British were much richer than the Germans!

  "Britain also has a slow-firing rifle with the same structure as Mauser." "M" said: "It meets your requirement of being available for immediate delivery, they are in stock, and may only cost ten dollars per branch!"

  "Are you referring to the P-14 rifle? The British stock won't reach three hundred thousand, will it?" Tan Xiao asked with a smile. He was pleased, and the British reaction was just what he needed.

  "Heaven knows, I'm not a quartermaster, and some figures are beyond me." "M" continued: "But the American warehouses must have them, I guarantee they have at least over three hundred thousand of them in stock!"

  "Let the German Mauser devalue quickly then!" De Gaulle reacted very quickly this time. The last big gun was paid in blood by the French, but this time the rifles were all paid for by the British, letting friends pay to solve one's own troubles, why not?

  "Americans? Will they support such a discounted deal?" Tan Xiao became the only skeptic of the feasibility of this plan.

  "Of course, we'll have to chip in some more money." "M" said: "But I think the US military and ordnance factories would be happy if their troops were all equipped with Canadian M1s... So, I think we can draft a Sino-British procurement contract now, 350,000 P-14 rifles, at $10 each!"

  Not to mention ten dollars, even if the price is doubled, Tan Xiao would rush to buy! Now the National Army needs weapons, a large number of weapons. As the National Army that undertook all the frontal battlefield combat missions, the consumption is staggering. Losing every position means losing a large amount of combat materials and losing a batch of combat effectiveness. This loss can be more than 100 times the loss in guerrilla warfare! Perhaps the ratio of generals sacrificed by both the KMT and the Communist Party during the Anti-Japanese War is an appropriate explanation for this loss ratio. - - - - Without at least two hundred divisions of equipment, China can only passively defend! Tan Xiao thinks that now "Mr. Bean" has become as lovely as the one in Tan Xiao's original time and space!

  "By the way, how did your country allow German troops to enter China for garrison?" De Gaulle frowned: "Are you allowing them to re-occupy colonies?!" He was very worried about Germany being allowed to send security teams to protect German investments in China.

  "Don't worry, my friend!" Tan Xiao said with a smile: "They just sent over a batch of officers to train the troops. In fact, those security teams are still Chinese, to be exact, my people!" He added: "I'm just a division commander... but I think I can at least command an army..."

  This is what de Gaulle and "M" both like to hear, they don't want Tan Xiao to be too obedient to the Central.

  "This unit will get some equipment from the Germans, such as those outdated Mauser 1924s, but they are just security troops." Tan Xiao shrugged: "According to general regulations, it's unlikely that they'll get much heavy weaponry. My unit needs heavy weapons!" Tan Xiao emphasized the last sentence with a somewhat vicious tone.

  "Your troops will have heavy weapons, more than the Central Army, and they will be deployed faster!" De Gaulle said: "You have these friends of ours, don't worry about equipment! By the way, why didn't Miss Rong come over today?"

  "Oh, her, she's too busy, you know I only have one person around me who understands German and that's her. She's probably busy translating those documents now. Is there something wrong?"

  "What's most important is that General and her partner get 'Oriental Cobra' up and running in India and Vietnam, she needs to hurry it up. Maybe our military supplies need her hands to bring them in." This time it was "M" who spoke: "Tan, some things require more skill to handle, such as the heavy equipment I'll be giving you later on, maybe it's easier to get them through India's ordnance factories than through Congress! By the way, we're equipping a tank battalion in India with the latest tanks, have you heard of the MK2? If you like, I can get you a few..."

  My God! They've all come to an agreement! This way, the little fat guy Schettler has even more reason to collude with his British Indian Army brothers to dig into the corners of the British! Perhaps in a month there will be 600 tons of ammunition?! And the Anglo-French plan is also being magnified by more than double under the catalysis of the Sino-German cooperation plan!

  "Perhaps, Tan, you should cooperate and recruit some workers from the munitions factory to work in India. You know, only with more new workers will there be more 'defective products'... "M" is really too lovely! Whatever he thinks of, he gets!"

  "I still want..." Tan Xiao suddenly seemed a bit hesitant, but in the end, he became resolute: "I want a piece of land!"

  The British and French looked at each other, this is good, Tan Xiao has begun to become a warlord!

  "I want the area around Qinzhou Bay!" Tan Xiao was very determined: "Chen Jitang lent that exit to Li Zongren, now I have a plan to take it back, but I must get the support of both of you!"

  "M" returned to his usual silence, while de Gaulle was very interested: "Tell me about your plan, Tan, in detail."

  "It's actually very simple, Li Zongren doesn't have the money, so he needs investment. I hope to invest in building a new port in Qinzhou Bay under the joint name of British, French and Oriental Glass Snake Company. After its completion, we will mortgage the full usage rights for eight years to borrow from British or French banks." Tan Xiao paused: "Chen Jitang can lend the bay to Li Zongren, he has no reason to refuse this plan. Moreover, Li Zongren doesn't have money, but he wants to develop Guangxi, so there won't be a problem. In this way, I believe I can truly provide the greatest benefits for my friends in China!"

  "Your interests are... " sounds like a pretty good plan, it seems feasible. "M" is starting to get interested.

  "We can do it the German way, 'Oriental cobra' will set up a security team in Qinzhou Bay, my security team!" Tan Xiao looked a bit proud: "In my territory, I can establish a free trade zone, through some kind of operation called offshore business or something, completely exempting my friends from paying tariffs when entering China!"

  "Fantastic!" De Gaulle would have jumped to the ceiling if he hadn't been lying in bed! Now he thinks Tan Xiao is really worth France's support, of course, the British also benefit a bit which makes him feel a little sour - Tan Xiao is the son-in-law of France!

  However, the premise is that Qinzhou Bay must be under my absolute control, not Chen Jitang or Li Zongren!" Tan Xiaoxian looked very warlord: "Believe me, I am better than them, my plan is a plan that can make everyone fly high, right? With the territory of Qinzhou Bay, I want to establish my own air force and navy... hmm, or say 'Eastern Cobra' air force and navy!"

  "Air Force and Navy?" De Gaulle took a glance at "M", no mistake, this is an ambitious man, as long as he grasps enough power, he will challenge that guy in Nanjing. Tan Xiao indeed surpasses Chen Jitang and Li Zongren!

  "I bought a batch of planes from an American farmer, he didn't have the money to transport them back to America, so he transferred them to me. They're an old British model called DH10, I think they can be used as trainers!" Tan Xiao continued: "But they don't have spare parts, so I want to ask Mike to go back to Britain and contact the manufacturer for me, just say that I like their products. Planes made of wood are cheap and simple, I like them! If they have better products, my future air force will be based on them!"

  DH98, famous WWII aircraft, let them be reborn in China! China's heavy industry is still weak, but China doesn't lack carpenters. Tan Xiangxiang.