Zhang Cheng's previous design blueprint for tracked armored vehicles was the well-known Hannomark 251 half-track armored transport vehicle, that is, the Sdkfz251AusfC armored vehicle series.

This is a classic family of armored vehicles that has been used from before World War II to after World War II. After modification with the same chassis, it is possible to have more than two dozen variants, which is enough for all the needs of the armored forces.

Of course, just referring to the design blueprint, Zhang Cheng corrected some of the defects that were summarized. He only needs to point out where there is a need for improvement, and naturally some professional designers use their brains to optimize and improve Zhang Cheng's design in combination with the mature technology that Daming now has.

With the continuous rapid development and refinement of science and technology, the integration of various complex subsystems has led to new inventions that have long passed the era of one person dominating the world. Without a huge team effort, just drawing drawings can draw dead people. This is calculated in tons.

Zhang Cheng now has a lot of money in hand, and throwing money out to expand and rebuild production lines at this time of the Great Depression is simply doing a great good deed. As soon as the news of the recruitment was released, there was an immediate situation of sleeping outside and waiting overnight. The reality is very simple, there is no income without a job, and there is no food for the whole family without income!

In the face of Chiguoguo's existential threat, there is nothing more important than having a job to earn money to support his family.

Zhang Cheng couldn't help but start to shoot.

In the midst of the economic crisis, conglomerates that have suffered heavy losses have begun to sell their core assets in exchange for valuable liquidity to survive the winter. Although it was not yet the best time, Zhang Cheng, who was no longer willing to wait, began to acquire excellent assets with holy light and white wings in a savior attitude.

In fact, at this moment, Daming is using a special gold standard. The reason why it is special is mainly because the important circulating currencies of the Ming Dynasty include silver coins, which are also precious metals. This mixture of gold and silver made the Ming Dynasty's fiscal system larger, but also had a greater demand for precious metals.

In this era, there is no such thing as running a printing press and desperately brushing money. Without the corresponding precious metals, the bank with the right to issue banknotes cannot print more money. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, where most of the world's precious metals are concentrated. Hundreds of years of colonial plunder are not talkative. Zhang Cheng had long planned to make a fortune in the world's largest gold mine.

Some core industries that would not have been sold at all in the hands of major consortia, and factories that were originally highly valued quickly lowered their prices in the face of reality. It was sold at a very low price to Zhang Cheng, who had a lot of money in his hands. Even so, Zhang Cheng also used installment payment as much as possible to delay payment. There were so many good things, and so much he wanted. The seemingly huge amount of money can't buy everything he fancies.

In fact, news has already come out of the army, because of the economic downturn, the imperial court is considering the issue of cutting military spending. If it weren't for Zhang Cheng earning a lot of extra money for the army, I don't know when the army air force and armored units would have to go. Zhang Cheng needs to open up new sources of income. Not just for himself, but also for the army. Even the locust army during World War II had to pay salaries. Without money, the army cannot be sustained.

The first thing Zhang Cheng did was to buy a strong engine factory. Among them is the Jingxi No. 1 Machinery Manufacturing Factory, which Zhang Cheng has coveted for a long time.

The engines produced at this factory are definitely the best of the art of their time, and they have a very rich technical background that allows for continuous technical improvement. Originally, the seller knew that Zhang Cheng valued this factory very much, so the asking price was very high. It's a pity that Zhang Cheng was not moved at all.

The customer base of such an engine manufacturing plant is actually narrow. Large-scale orders can almost only come from the army and large automobile companies, as well as aircraft companies. In this economic environment, don't think about large-scale orders from automobile companies and aircraft companies, as for the orders of the army, they are in Zhang Cheng's hands. In fact, the initiative is still in Zhang Cheng's hands.

After seeing that something could not be done, the seller quickly took the initiative to reduce the price and sell the factory to Zhang Cheng. Because now he is the only one who is willing to pay a lot of money to buy it. Maybe this factory will be very valuable in the future, but there is no way to do it under the current economic conditions. Once Zhang Cheng stopped the purchase contract, the factory would have closed down due to lack of funds, and it would be even less valuable at that time.

After owning the core engine production plant, Zhang Cheng soon acquired several large automobile factories and tractor factories. In this era when the classification is not clear and most of the technologies can be universalized, the production line can be mass-produced after a slight modification and expansion.

However, Zhang Cheng did not cut workers' wages and lay off workers as much as other companies and factories did to save money. This earned him a great reputation, and the workers were very grateful for his generosity. It's really a lifesaver. Zhang Cheng is not fame-and-fame, nor is he a man with a lot of money who has nowhere to spend. He knew that if he did, it would bring untold suffering to countless families! Zhang Cheng is not a mercenary businessman at heart, he only makes money so that he can do important things better.

The same acquisitions are taking place in a number of other factories and laboratories. Zhang Cheng only spent hundreds of millions of silver dollars to complete the initial production chain, which was completely unimaginable before the stock market crash. This catastrophe saved Zhang Cheng a lot of money.

The transformation and expansion of the chassis production line is actually not difficult, to put it bluntly, it is similar to the production line of a crawler tractor, how difficult can this be?

"Now the initial equipment is available." Zhang Cheng looked at Lieutenant General Shi Qin and said, "The tanks and armored vehicles provided to the army now are mainly for training. Familiarize the soldiers with the performance of these new weapons, and after a few months at most, all the equipment will be in place, and then large-scale tactical training can be carried out. ”

Smiling, Zhang Cheng explained softly, "In this situation, it is impossible for me to expand production on a large scale." After all, I don't know when the next batch of orders will be received. Maintaining such a large production line comes at a huge cost. ”

"I understand." Lieutenant General Shi Qin nodded vigorously, and a look of appreciation flashed in his eyes, "The army will not treat you badly." ”

The Ming Army adopted the method of outward procurement of armaments. The biggest advantage of this approach is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to maintain a huge factory in peacetime. They just need to have enough military money to go to private factories and buy it.

The reason why this way was chosen was not to put important military industry in the hands of the army. The main reason is that hundreds of years ago, the craftsmen of the Ming Ministry of Industry who were used as slaves were really unacceptable. After suffering several big losses on the battlefield, the army could not stand it anymore. They began to buy weapons and equipment from private individuals, which also indirectly contributed to the development of capital.

In addition, there is another reason that neither the royal family, nor the consortium nor the imperial court can accept that the army is too strong. Who can restrain an army that has everything and can do everything by itself? Taking the supply of military supplies into your own hands made it possible to suppress the army at least a little.

If it weren't for the outbreak of the financial crisis, Zhang Cheng, who was born in the army but began to gradually grasp the supply of important weapons, would have been suppressed long ago. And the special trust and attention of the military top management to Zhang Cheng is not casually said, let Zhang Cheng be responsible for procurement and formulation while also being the largest supplier? Naturally, the army also has its own plans. The times make heroes, and this sentence is not wrong at all.

In the current economic situation, no one knows when the next batch of orders for the Ming Army will be issued. If Zhang Cheng rashly expands his production capacity, who will he sell the produced things to? This kind of advanced thing for military purposes certainly cannot be exported to the outside world. That would be equivalent to Zhang Cheng taking the loss himself.

Except for Zhang Cheng, no one knew that this was just the beginning

Last month, the Navy placed a second order for Zhang Cheng's aircraft, but the number was very small, with only a mere 60 planes. These planes are mainly used for the teaching of the Navy's aviation schools.

During this period, the Navy conducted several live-fire tests one after another, and each test severely stimulated the Navy's self-confidence. It strengthened their determination to transform. However, like the Army, the centuries-old Navy cannot do everything overnight. The conservative forces of the Navy are also extremely powerful.

Moreover, the economic situation is now extremely bad. The call for reducing military spending is getting louder and louder day by day, and even the army, which has always had a lot of money, has to start living with careful calculations. Although Zhang Cheng's things were good, they didn't dare to buy too much.

In fact, maintaining the army is the largest expense. Salaries of personnel, clothing, armament, food, medical care, and much more. Procurement, maintenance, maintenance, use, wear and tear of various equipment, etc. The larger the size of the army, the higher the cost of maintenance. The purchase of new equipment is not only a matter of price, but also of future maintenance costs.

After completing the Navy's order, Zhang Cheng quickly turned his attention to the Army Aviation.

The army aviation, which is not popular in the army, is now very small, with only two or three hundred planes and no more than 10,000 personnel. Such a weak force has already begun to receive great attention from the army. Through the exercise, the army's senior generals saw with their own eyes how vulnerable artillery that had previously been regarded as the core of the army was under the threat of new fighters.

The large amount of money that Zhang Cheng earned for the army was firmly in the hands of Marshal Yang Zhuo. At this moment, when military spending was cut and the economic environment was bad, Marshal Yang Zhuo still took out a large amount of money and handed it over to Zhang Cheng to reorganize the army air force. This is enough to show how much the army attaches importance to aviation.

Zhang Cheng definitely couldn't afford to subsidize the army by himself. He sells all kinds of weapons and equipment to the army at the normal price, and it is he who decides what to buy and how much to buy. The top brass of the military must have had something special in mind, otherwise such a thing would not have happened at all. In this matter, Zhang Cheng will never leave any excuses for others.