59: Chapter 59: Thousands of Truckloads of Supplies!
Shen Wang had arrived.
He brought thousands of trucks filled with supplies.
Three Anti-Aircraft Battalions, two artillery battalions, four infantry battalions, 2,000 Type 56 assault rifles, 20 107mm rocket launchers, 50 40mm rocket launchers, 100 light machine guns...
Of course, there were also the most important 13 Type 99A tanks, as well as all the production materials for a small arsenal.
The Brigade Commander and the others received the news and hurried out to welcome him.
But when they arrived at the entrance of the village, they were instantly dumbfounded!
At the end of the winding dirt road, a long steel dragon was slowly driving toward Yang Village!
Trucks, nothing but dark green military trucks, one after another, packed tightly, bumper to bumper, stretching as far as the eye could see!
Such a massive scale made even these veteran revolutionaries, who were accustomed to seeing marching troops, feel a tingling sensation on their scalps!
They had originally thought Shen Wang was only bringing the remaining 13 Type 99A tanks and the promised welcome gift for the Brigade Commander.
But they never imagined it would be such an exaggerated and terrifying procession.
"My... my goodness..." Li Yunlong's jaw dropped.
Kong Jie and Ding Wei were completely petrified, their eyes wide open, their chins practically hitting the ground.
Even the Brigade Commander, who was usually as steady as a mountain and had seen his fair share of storms, found his breathing suddenly quickening!
Thousands of trucks?
Could they all be machine guns?
The Brigade Commander did some quick mental math: even if each truck only carried one hundred, with over a thousand trucks... that would be over one hundred thousand machine guns?
Good heavens!
That would be enough to re-equip their entire 129th Division!
It wasn't just the Brigade Commander; Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, Ding Wei, and the others had the same thought.
If these were all machine guns, there would be no need to talk about a machine gun company; the whole thing would be a machine gun division!
Even the cooking squad could be equipped with a few!
Just as everyone was stunned, the lead truck pulled to a smooth stop at the village entrance.
The door opened, and Shen Wang jumped down from the vehicle.
It had to be said, the "tool man" drove really smoothly!
"Haha, Brigade Commander, Regiment Commander Li, everyone, long time no see!" Shen Wang said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.
Though he said it had been a long time, for him, only a day had passed.
But for Li Yunlong and the others, ten days had already passed.
"Mr. ... Mr. Shen!"
The Brigade Commander recovered from his shock and swallowed hard.
"You... your display here is truly... quite a spectacle!"
Li Yunlong also snapped out of his trance and hurried over, his speech a bit stuttered: "Mr. ... Mr. Shen, what... what exactly is all this?"
"Could... could it be that all these thousand-plus trucks are... are filled with... with those... those machine guns?"
Seeing the expressions on their faces—a mix of shock and a "please don't scare me" attitude—Shen Wang couldn't help but laugh.
He shook his head and said, "Regiment Commander Li, you're joking. There aren't that many Type 56 assault rifles. There are only about two thousand or so in there."
Each Type 56 assault rifle cost 5 military points; one hundred thousand of them would cost 500,000 military points. Shen Wang really couldn't afford that right now!
"Oh... just over two thousand..." Li Yunlong repeated subconsciously.
Immediately after, he and the Brigade Commander and the others sighed in relief, almost simultaneously and quite obviously.
Thank goodness it wasn't!
If it really were thousands of trucks filled with Type 56 assault rifles, they wouldn't even know how to handle them.
Not to mention anything else, what would they use to buy them?
A single Type 11 light machine gun, arguably the worst machine gun of this era, cost hundreds of silver dollars!
One hundred thousand machine guns would cost tens of millions of silver dollars, wouldn't it?
They couldn't afford it!
Absolutely couldn't afford it!
But just as their sigh of relief was halfway out, they suddenly realized—
Wait, that's not right!
Two thousand Type 56 assault rifles wouldn't even fill that many trucks! Twenty trucks at most!
Then what was inside the remaining thousand trucks that stretched as far as the eye could see?
The Brigade Commander took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Mr. Shen, then what are all these remaining ones..."
Shen Wang organized his thoughts and began to introduce the weapons he had brought this time.
"Hmm... there are enough rifles for about four infantry battalions, the kind the Nationalist Army uses, with some foreign goods mixed in..."
"There are also mortars for about two artillery battalions, including Nationalist Army, German-made, and American-made ones..."
"There are anti-aircraft guns for three Anti-Aircraft Battalions: 12 85mm anti-aircraft guns, 36 37mm anti-aircraft guns, and 54 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns..."
"There are also 20 107mm rocket launchers, 50 40mm rocket launchers, and 100 light machine guns..."
"The corresponding ammunition has been provided with ten basic loads; it should be enough for a while..."
"Oh, right, there is also the complete equipment and initial raw materials for a small arsenal. If it can be successfully built and put into production, it is estimated that it can produce 100,000 rounds of various ammunition every day!"
"These thousand-plus trucks are mainly carrying this arsenal!"
...
After Shen Wang finished speaking, the people opposite him were completely stunned!
The Brigade Commander's head was buzzing!
Four infantry battalions?
Three Anti-Aircraft Battalions?
Two artillery battalions?
And... a... an arsenal that can produce 100,000 rounds of ammunition a day?
This... this... this is even more fucking shocking than a thousand trucks of machine guns!
Li Yunlong was even more lost!
"Old... Old Zhao... did... did you hear that? Am I dreaming? You... you pinch me!"
Kong Jie and Ding Wei had completely lost the ability to speak.
They had originally just hoped to scrape together a few machine guns, but instead... he had brought enough power to change the entire war situation in North China!
That's right, what Shen Wang brought was enough to change the entire war situation in North China!
However, after the shock, a cold, realistic problem presented itself before them.
Money!
Yes, with so many good things, how much money would it cost?
Not to mention the arsenal or the Anti-Aircraft Battalions, just those two thousand-plus Type 56 assault rifles and one hundred light machine guns—they probably couldn't even afford that!
If calculated at normal prices!
The Brigade Commander gave a bitter smile.
Let's put it this way: their entire 129th Division, totaling nearly 100,000 people, was approaching the scale of an entire Field Army!
Yet, even if they gathered all the light machine guns in the entire division, could they scrape together one hundred?
Probably not!
The Brigade Commander had originally been full of confidence, thinking that the few large boxes of carefully collected antiques and jewelry he brought this time were of great value and would be enough to surprise Shen Wang.
While successfully completing the tank transaction, perhaps they could also build some goodwill.
But now...
The Brigade Commander's expression shifted uncertainly, and in the end, he steeled himself and asked:
"Mr. ... Mr. Shen... these... equipment and... the factory you brought this time..."
"... I wonder... what the price is?"
They looked at Shen Wang with eager eyes, their moods like a roller coaster, plummeting from the peak to the bottom in an instant.
However, facing the Brigade Commander's embarrassment and everyone's anxiety, Shen Wang just smiled.
"Brigade Commander, don't worry about the price for now."
Don't worry?
The Brigade Commander and the others were stunned. With so many critical items placed right here, how could they not worry?
"Then... Mr. Shen, what do you mean?" the Brigade Commander asked, puzzled.
Shen Wang didn't answer directly, but instead said, "Before we discuss the price, I think it's better for everyone to inspect the goods first."
Inspect the goods?
The Brigade Commander was even more confused.
He quickly stated, "Mr. Shen, you are too polite! We absolutely trust your character and reputation! There is no need to inspect these items! We trust you one hundred percent!"
He thought Shen Wang was just being polite, or perhaps worried that they might doubt the quality of the goods.
Hearing this, the smile on Shen Wang's face became somewhat meaningful.
No inspection?
That won't do!
Do you know what a 107mm rocket launcher is?
He said no more, simply raised his hand, and waved gently toward the direction of the convoy.
A 107mm rocket launcher was pulled over by a tow truck...