The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 173 - 187: A Gift from an Old Friend
If we can’t burn them from the sky, then we’ll burn them from the ground!
Originally, each battalion only had 27 flamethrowers, which definitely wasn’t enough for a satisfying burn.
To make the burning more enjoyable, each battalion was given an additional 9 German-made flamethrowers. Although their performance was slightly inferior, they were still adequate for burning people.
It must be said, compared to automatic weapons, sometimes flamethrowers are even more effective in the jungle. After all, flamethrowers don’t require precise aiming—just spray in the general direction, and the flying streams of fire will ignite everything in their path, turning Japanese soldiers hiding in the foliage directly into human torches.
On the battlefield, a single soldier wielding a flamethrower can display the might of a one-man army. Once the flames touch anything, they won’t stop until it’s reduced to ashes. In just a few days, flamethrowers became the soldiers’ favorite "fun gun."
Roasting Japanese soldiers alive with flamethrowers is truly enjoyable. After all, humans have loved barbecuing since ancient times—it’s a primal instinct.
The rotation of troops continued, and the "fun guns" kept bringing joy in the jungle.
It was at this time that a telegram from the United States made Pierre even happier!
"Connections, huh!"
After receiving the telegram, Pierre took almost half an hour to recover. The telegram was sent from the coordination office in Washington. A few months ago, although Pierre had left Washington, he had set up a coordination office there to handle follow-up supply arrangements with the Americans.
Now, Truman, who had just taken office less than half a month ago, repaid Pierre’s years of contributions in his own way—a four hundred million dollar supply package for the Borneo Garrison, provided under the Lend-Lease Act!
"That’s a big move!"
Looking at the telegram, Zhao Yingyuan, the chief of staff of the garrison, couldn’t help but exclaim,
"Four hundred million dollars! When the Pacific War first broke out, the Americans weren’t this generous with us. But these 63 LST tank landing ships don’t seem very useful to us..."
The four hundred million dollars was a loan approved by Truman "to strengthen the combat capability of the Borneo Garrison," provided under the Lend-Lease Act. The 63 LST tank landing ships were part of this package.
On the surface, they might not seem useful, but Pierre knew these landing ships were extremely valuable!
"You don’t get it. Truman knows exactly what I need!"
Pierre said with a smile.
"Most of Borneo’s ports have been destroyed. With tank landing ships, our troops can land more easily. And after the war, these shallow-draft LSTs will be perfect for transporting immigrants up the Yangtze, Yellow River, and along the coast."
Sixty-three second-hand LST tank landing ships—this was Truman’s gift. They were part of the equipment the US had asked the UK to return after the war, since the US needed landing ships for the invasion of Japan, and the UK had to return those provided under Lend-Lease for the Normandy landings.
Now, this batch of returned second-hand LSTs was given to Pierre by Truman. Since they were second-hand, the price was extremely low—only $100,000 each, about the same as postwar clearance prices.
Little Truman really knows how to repay a favor!
Of the $400 million in supplies, more than $100 million was second-hand equipment, heavily discounted, which meant getting $1 billion worth of goods for about $100 million.
But that’s not what’s important.
Both sides knew that price wasn’t the issue—the key was that LST tank landing ships were perfect for transporting immigrants.
Don’t be fooled by the LST’s standard displacement of only 1,653 tons, or even 4,080 tons fully loaded. As tank landing ships, their carrying capacity is astonishing. In another world, during the evacuation at Hungnam in Korea, over 14,000 Korean refugees were crammed onto a single LST, fleeing to Busan. This even set a Guinness World Record for the most people evacuated on a single ship.
With these dozens of LSTs, transporting two to three million immigrants a year is entirely possible. If Korean refugees could squeeze in, so can immigrants!
Despite his amazement, Pierre couldn’t help but complain,
"But these dozens of landing ships require a lot of people to operate. Truman really isn’t considerate of my difficulties at all."
The boss’s complaint made Zhao Yingyuan, Sun Delin, and the others roll their eyes. Where else could you find such a good deal, and yet he’s still complaining?
"Boss, about pilot training, we really need to get on that soon. The B-24 bomber can take off from Okinawa and bomb the Japanese mainland..."
Zhao Yingyuan reminded me from the side.
"The Americans are also providing us with B-24s. Right now, there’s already a group of our people being trained in the US. Once their training is complete, and if the counteroffensive at home goes smoothly, they’ll be able to take off from places like Zhejiang and bomb the Japanese mainland. We can join in and bomb Japan, too."
Although he complained verbally, Pierre had to admit one thing—Truman really understood friendship. He knew exactly what Pierre wanted. The landing ships were for transporting immigrants after the war, and as for the B-24 bombers, they were obviously to help him realize his dream of "having acquaintances all over Japan."
Bombing Japan!
It wasn’t enough to just let the Americans do it; the most important thing was to take part personally. Otherwise, he’d just be a bystander, with no sense of participation!
Even though Truman provided B-24s instead of B-29s, it didn’t matter. As long as he could realize his dream of "acquaintances everywhere," even B-17s would do.
Of course, the B-24s were also second-hand, all sourced from the British. There was no other way—second-hand planes were cheaper, and the main idea was to provide as much equipment as possible within limited funds.
With this batch of long-range bombers, not only could he realize his dream of "acquaintances everywhere," but after the war, Borneo would also possess the largest strategic air force in Southeast Asia, able to guarantee one thing—he could bomb whoever he wanted!
"Let’s transfer personnel from the North African flight school, and send a telegram to Zhu Yihai, asking him to recruit as many people with good English skills as possible. Hmm, university students from the Wang puppet regime are fine too."
In fact, Pierre’s instructions were somewhat redundant. After all, Zhu Yihai’s recruitment criteria for "employees" were extremely lenient. No letters of introduction or references were required—just a junior high school diploma. Even without a diploma, passing a junior high math test would suffice. The test was ridiculously simple—ten junior high math questions, and getting half right was enough to pass.
As for applicants with a Central University diploma, even if they graduated after the 27th year of the Republic, the company would still recognize it. After all, the company was just a business, and all it needed was talent. As for their background... weren’t university students from occupied areas still university students?
Because the hiring requirements were so relaxed and there were no political considerations, recruitment always went smoothly. For most people, a high salary was what really mattered; everything else was secondary.
That’s why, when faced with the big gift package from his old friend, Pierre could calmly allocate manpower. Dozens of landing ships and over a hundred bombers might not sound like much, but in reality, they required thousands of captains, sailors, and crew and ground staff, all of whom needed at least a junior high education.
Looks like we still need to set up schools!
Otherwise, where would we find enough people?
With this in mind, Pierre lowered the educational threshold for employees once again—elementary school education would do. After all, there were twenty or thirty million elementary school students currently enrolled in schools across the country!
Finally, looking at the dozens-of-pages-long list of aid supplies, Pierre couldn’t help but sigh. "Ah, my old friend, you’re really forcing me down the road of becoming a Southeast Asian warlord... If I don’t dominate Southeast Asia, how could I possibly live up to your generosity?"
