Episode 53 Arms Purchase

On June 18th, .

The American sailed south from the East Coast of the United States through the Caribbean Sea, through the Panama Canal, and then across the Pacific Ocean...... This brand-new high-speed cruise ship was chartered by these bosses as soon as it was built, and it flew over the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean at a high speed of 30+ knots for more than 20 days, and finally sailed into Shanghai Port at noon on the 17th. Then I changed to the train non-stop, and finally came to Nanjing on the evening of the 17th.

The delegation was semi-civilian and semi-official. As soon as the Ming Dynasty started fighting in northern Xinjiang, especially on the second day, the two sides did not declare war, and the bosses from all walks of life in the United States knew it in their hearts, so they couldn't sit still. Various lobbying agencies roam between the offices of the parliament building, and companies also communicate with each other to form business delegations to go to Daming to dig gold. There are branches and offices in Daming, and they are also shuttled over the Pacific Ocean all day long. They all understood that the "Neutrality Law" could not stop them this time.

This time it's the bosses who willing, the workers willing, the lawmakers willing, the White House willing, the whole of America willing. On the Ming side, the Soviet Union suddenly attacked it, and it was almost panicked, and the weakness of the lack of combat vehicles in the northwest was also exposed. And it depends on Daming's own production, and when it may produce enough to use, the war will be over. So Daming's side is also a hundred willing. On the third day of the war, the first cruise ship, laden with bosses and federal officials, left New York and headed south.

The officers on board were mainly President Roosevelt's personal envoys, as well as several officials from the commercial and diplomatic departments. Most of the others are people in the corporate world. Smaller companies are directly bossed, while larger companies such as Ford and General Motors at least send executives and board members.

……

On the evening of the 17th, a dinner was held at Nanjing Wuwang Villa to welcome the arrival of the American business delegation. The banquet was presided over by Foreign Minister He Ziguang. In view of the fact that there were several world-class dignitaries in the American delegation, and in order to show the enthusiasm of the Ming Dynasty in this regard, Zheng Gongyin, the king of Yanping, also attended the banquet in his personal capacity as the owner of the villa.

Although the highest status on the official side of the Ming Dynasty was only a minister, there were still many important people attending the dinner. For example, "Yili Hou" Xiang Xiaoqiang and "Yucheng Princess" Shang Xiu and his wife, as well as Xiang Xiaoqiang's brother-in-law Ye Ziyu - of course, the brother-in-law Ye Ziyu is not an important person, but Bai Deli, the president of Daming Ford Company, also came to participate that night, so naturally he would bring his wife and daughter. Bai Xiaoman came, and her fiancé Ye Ziyu naturally couldn't help but come. And Ye Ziyu has become a key link at this time: on the one hand, the fiancée and future father-in-law who represent the American business community, and on the other hand, the sister and brother-in-law who represent the Ming official.

The dinner was Chinese-style and the food was all Chinese. President Roosevelt's special envoy Smith and Foreign Secretary He Ziguang sat together. After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Smith held Moutai, his face was red from drinking, and with a half-truth and half-truth, he approached He Ziguang and laughed quietly in Chinese:

"Your Excellency...... You don't know yet, do you...... We, Secretary of State Hull...... Belch...... I am planning to visit your country...... Hehe, return to China...... Belch...... No problem, right? ”

When He Ziguang heard this, he was secretly happy in his heart, and he also smiled drunkenly:

"Hiccup...... As long as you're okay, we're fine...... Belch...... I can say it right now...... Mr. Hull, please...... Visit to our country...... Hiccup, I said, we're not a formal meeting, are we? ”

Smith laughed, gestured with Moutai, and the two clinked glasses and drank them all.

……

The next day, official talks between the two sides began. Shen Rongxuan and several military and political officials personally received Smith and the US delegation.

In fact, this kind of meeting is not an official negotiation, but more like a buyer and seller negotiating an order. For a large quantity of finished products like a car, and it is basically an order that can be eaten by one company, the Ming government only needs to negotiate with the representative of the other company. Like other arms products, as well as hundreds of scattered products, such as cables, barbed wire, special steel, chemicals, etc., it is impossible for the United States to send company representatives for each category, but can only negotiate with the official representatives of the United States, and they will determine how much can be supplied to Daming according to the output, cost, and production cycle of the product in the United States. It is equivalent to making a "procurement outline" first. As for the specific price of each, that is, Daming negotiated with their company.

The first is airplanes.

Shen Rongxuan asked:

"Mr. Smith, how many of your DC-3 transport planes can you sell us every month for the next six months?"

Smith looked down at the material and said:

"Hmm...... Lord Shen, I think, but in terms of output, our output can meet the quantity you require...... And the price will not be too excessive, I believe you will be satisfied...... The DC-3 is a very useful and cost-effective transport aircraft...... However, how many units can be sold to you each month does not depend on the above factors......"

"What does it depend on?"

Smith looked up and asked:

"Do you plan to transport it yourself, or do we plan to do it all?" The price of the two is not the same, and it will even be very different. You know, although the DC-3 is very long-range, with a maximum range of more than 2,000 kilometers, it is still not enough to fly from the West Coast to Hawaii, and it is not enough to fly from Hawaii to your country, the Pacific Ocean is too wide, and there is no transit point on the way. At least there is a lack of friendly stopovers. So it is necessary to disassemble and go by sea. And that kind of large aircraft, a cargo ship can not fit a few, so the transportation cost is relatively high. …… If it is our package transportation, with our country's transportation capacity, we can transport up to about 100 planes to your country every month."

Shen Rongxuan frowned, turned sideways and discussed a few words with the Minister of Commerce and the Vice Minister of the Admiralty, and then said:

"At present, I am afraid that we will adopt the combination of our self-transport + your country's package transportation. China's shipping capacity is not as good as your country's, but the cost of shipping is still lower than your country's. Now that China has just unified the north, there are nearly 400 million more people, and the price of labor in the south has also been hit hard...... The government must find a way to provide more jobs to the public. And in this way, dozens of more aircraft can be transported every month. ”

"Very well," Smith looked down at the information, wrote something, and then looked up and asked, "My lord, do you want small planes except for large transport planes?" Like a fighter jet? ”

"No," Shen Rongxuan shook his head, "No need. We can produce it ourselves. ”

Smith laughed:

"The fighters of our army are performing very well."

Shen Rongxuan smiled and said:

"Ours is good too."

Smith didn't know that Daming was already mass-producing "Goshawk", so he had to smile, and then said:

"Dive bomber...... Hehe, you've got a better 'Vulture'...... I don't recommend ours anymore. Thomson submachine gun, do you still want it? ”

"Not yet. We now have the L-36 submachine gun, the production is large enough, and cheap enough. Thomson submachine guns, it is unlikely that there will be a large number of demands. We may need heavy weapons, such as artillery, more than light weapons. ”

Smith laughed:

"Anti-tank guns?"

Shen Rongxuan nodded:

"Anti-tank guns. The tank clusters of the Soviet army were too much of a headache. There are not enough anti-tank guns for our assets. Far from enough. ”