afterglow

Chapter 376: Long-term insurance; General Zhou, please come back

The grand hotel named Qingsheng where they are staying is relatively simple in decoration, and the internal atmosphere is quite quiet.

The two men who came with Yaosheng obviously knew the automobile industry well. One of them quoted the price without thinking, and the other would interject a few words from time to time.

"...Ford, I can't tell for sure. It might be the Model A from ten years ago. It also depends on the condition of the car, the paint, the interior, etc."

They also brought out a small abacus in person, and after a while of chattering, they finally gave a rough estimate—about thirty-nine thousand U.S. dollars, or nearly 16 yuan.

This is calculated based on the depreciation price of a half-open car. A car in good condition may be more, and vice versa.

"Do you think this is appropriate?" Yao Sheng looked at Zhou Changfeng across the table and asked, "Where should we receive the goods?"

In fact, they originally planned to split the money on a [-]-[-] basis, and only get the small head. However, Yao Sheng felt that they could fight for it, so they proposed a [-]-[-] split.

Who would have thought that Zhou actually agreed, but added a series of requirements, which made them a little confused.

"You just need to send people to Batavia. The cars are parked at Pier [-] of Tanjong Priok Port, and the boats can be hired locally. This is the proof." As he said this, Zhou Changfeng handed over a card stamped with the [-]st Marine Brigade The letter printed by the brigade headquarters slid across the table.

"Of course we have connections in Bacheng, you don't have to worry, just wait for the collection and get the money."

"Don't evade the important and take the easy. If you can't do what I ask, there will be no need to continue to cooperate in the future."

Yao Sheng nodded gently, stood up, saluted, and replied with certainty: "Don't worry, it will be done."

Not to mention, the profit of being a second-hand dealer reselling goods is really high, not to mention that it is almost a profit-free transaction - second-hand car dealers still need to use capital to purchase, and these guys just got a lot of them casually.

Daming's limited automobile production is basically concentrated on trucks. Last year, 11 trucks were produced, but less than [-] cars were produced in a year. All quotas were seized by buyers from all over the country early, and supply exceeded demand.

In order to protect local automobile companies, tariffs on imported cars are very high. Ford's low-end models are more expensive in the Ming Dynasty market than Shanghai Junda's high-end models.

Therefore, even second-hand cars that are smuggled in and refurbished are still popular items on the black market.

Zhou Changfeng plans to use the income from this area mainly for the establishment and operation of companies in New Mexico and Tennessee. These two shell companies do not expect to earn profits from serious operations. He simply intends to use them as possible future bases.

The main processing and manufacturing bases of the Manhattan Project are located in these two places. The attitude towards the atomic bomb must be cautious and not taken lightly.

Although Ming Dynasty was already preparing for the preliminary theoretical demonstration work, in order to ensure nothing goes wrong, a long-term layout for the Manhattan Project is also necessary.

Two strongholds that have been specifically prepared early will make it easier to implement covert operations, which is much faster than preparing from scratch.

Although Zhou Changfeng didn't think about how to explain his risk-taking move at the time, it was not important. It was better to seize the time and do it anyway.

The worst case scenario is that they will just come up with an excuse, such as saying that they were deceived by profiteers and mistakenly believed that there were gold mines there, so they invested in and established companies in those two barren states.

At dawn on the first day of late April, the first fleet loaded with loot left Batavia and set sail for its distant homeland.

In addition to the property that the generals took for themselves after dividing the feast, there were also a large number of soldiers' mail packages, all of which were trophies sent back to their hometowns by Ming soldiers who participated in the war.

At this time, a requisitioned Junkers Ju-52 passenger plane was flying overhead.

Through the round window of the plane, several officers returning home saw this fleet of eight cargo ships.

Seeing this, a naval colonel turned to Zhou Changfeng who was walking beside him and sighed: "I think some domestic literati and politicians always like to portray the people of our country as polite and obedient, but this is simply fart. If that is the case, we We still play in the mud in the Central Plains just like we did thousands of years ago."

The latter did not say anything, and after a while he said meaningfully: "Everyone has the pursuit of a better life. Sometimes it is better to farm steadily, but sometimes it is different. Swords, guns and sticks are more effective than hoes. "

The passenger plane passed through Singapore, Jiading, and Guangzhou. Finally, when the crimson sunset dyed half of the sky, the plane finally landed at Gaoqiao Airport.

It took more than ten hours from sunrise to sunset, and the speed of the piston propeller airliner was still a bit slow.

In fact, Zhou Changfeng felt that he didn't miss home much during the trip, but when he got off the plane and set foot on the land of Yingtian Mansion, he felt his heart skip a beat, and even his walking pace unknowingly became faster. some.

The spring rain is continuous, and the streets of Beijing are always wet in mid-April. The fine drizzle may continue for several days.

He got into the Navy Department car waiting outside the airport and headed all the way to the northern city.

Compared with Java, which is unbearably hot and humid, Jiangnan, with its subtropical monsoon climate, is more comfortable.

"We're here, stop on the side of the road."

"Yes."

Standing in front of the familiar courtyard door, Zhou Changfeng couldn't wait to knock on the door.

The last time we were separated was on March [-]. We haven’t seen each other for ten months. What will our family be like now?

The sound of footsteps came from inside, and with a click, the door opened.

He and Lin Xi looked at each other for two seconds, and the latter said happily: "Come in quickly, I'm just about to make glutinous rice balls, what do you want? I'll add some more?"

Zhou Changfeng smiled easily and said: "Okay, it would be better if there is rice wine."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

Then, he calmed down his mood and walked slowly into the main room.

Coincidentally, as soon as he crossed the threshold, he saw Xia Xiaoshi walking into the main hall.

"Ah? Sir, why are you back so soon?"

Facing his wife who was full of surprise, Zhou Changfeng casually took off his regular shirt and put it on the chair next to him, and then asked with a smile: "Isn't it good?"

He took two steps forward, put his arms around her waist and k!ssed her, "I told you that there is no suspense in this battle. It went very smoothly."

"Newspapers and radio have been talking about the great victory of the Southern Expedition for the past two days..." Xia Xiaoshi put her hand in front of her heart and said relaxedly: "That's great. I hope everything goes smoothly in the future."

"Where's the daughter?"

"I just fell asleep, sir, please be gentle. If you start crying, it will be endless..."

Zhou Changfeng said "hmm" and tiptoed into the east room.Jian Jian, who was sleeping soundly, was lying on her back in the stroller, also known as the cradle, and she seemed to be sleeping very soundly.

Zhou Changfeng, who was extremely itchy, resisted the urge to reach out and tease him, and then walked out slowly.

At this time, Lin Xi also came over from the east wing with a tray and two steaming bowls of rice wine glutinous rice balls.

"Sir, do you think I should have bought more government bonds at that time?"

"It doesn't matter, more than 2000 is not a lot. We are responding to the imperial court, and we don't really intend to make money from this."

Eating soft glutinous glutinous rice balls, drinking sweet rice wine, chatting with my wife whom I haven't seen for many days, and complaining about what I have experienced these days, this night is really leisurely and comfortable.

Zhou Changfeng was originally a little worried about whether he could adapt to the big change from the battlefield back to daily life, but it turned out that he was overthinking.

Perhaps the intensity of the fighting in the Dutch East Indus Battle was much higher than that of the security war, but the uncertainty is very low. The only thing that was somewhat unexpected was that the Dutch and Indian Army organized that desperate attack when the [-]st Marine Brigade was about to enter Cilaza. counterattack.

The next day, early in the morning.

The drizzle that had been falling for several days stopped, the dark clouds dissipated, and the puddles along the street reflected the warm sunshine.

While eating bland clear noodle soup with only a poached egg, and reading the Di Bao published internally by the imperial court, Zhou Changfeng suddenly discovered that the process of trial, preliminary verdict, retrial, and final verdict of the Fuzhou case a few months ago was finally completed.

In view of the harsh circumstances, obstruction of the imperial envoys' handling of the case, and suspicions of violation and murder, as many as 11 people were sentenced to death, 28 were sentenced to exile, and dozens more were punished to varying degrees.

In a sense, the punishment of exile in the Ming Dynasty is equivalent to life imprisonment. The exile is a remote and desolate place, and the duration is 20 years. Personal freedom is restricted, or in other words, taking the risk of escaping means death.

Although many people in the DPRK tried their best to mediate, the Navy, which suffered a huge loss in the Fuzhou case, could not swallow this breath and would not give in at any cost.

In addition, the twelve Shell managers and senior executives who issued sabotage instructions to the Balikpapan Oilfield and Old Port Oilfield, as well as officers of the Dutch-Indian Army, were also punished the day before yesterday.

Eight of them were shot, two were sentenced to ten years in prison, and two were acquitted.

This matter has long been transformed from a criminal matter to a political matter. If we really want to strictly pursue it, none of these 12 people will be able to escape, and they will all die.

However, in order to demonstrate and publicize their impartiality and strictness, the high officials in the DPRK ordered a few people with lighter conduct to be released.

Anyway, as long as others believe that Ming Dynasty is fair, it doesn't matter whether it is true or not.

"Old foxes are still cunning."

Zhou Changfeng put away the newspaper, put it on the edge of the table, and took a big sip of noodle soup.

After returning to China, his responsibilities immediately changed. On the front line, he was only the chief officer of the [-]st Marine Brigade, but now he is a consultant who has to gather Chinese and foreign military advisors every day.

The Forbidden City is as quiet and solemn as ever, but perhaps because the joyful atmosphere of repeated victories has also affected the palace, it is a bit more relaxed here.

In the east room of Zhaoren Hall, Zhu Lingjing, who had nothing to do, lay half-ly on a chair comfortably, flipping through the latest issues of Chinese and foreign academic journals.

"See Your Majesty."

"Well, come in."

Zhou Changfeng glanced around and found that there seemed to be nothing to say to introduce the topic, so he casually said: "Your Majesty's complexion looks better than before."

"The relationship comes from the heart." Zhu Lingjing sat up straight and threw the journal on the imperial desk. "The Nanyang War is over, the overall situation has been decided, and a big burden has been reduced."

In the past, I had to worry about the lack of fuel supply, but now I no longer have this worry.

The endless resources of tin, copper, nickel, and oil will allow the Ming Dynasty's state machine to operate at full power without any worries.

"However, the current situation is still very complicated. It is easy to be alone, but I feel that I am too conservative and may miss some good opportunities."

"for example?"

"Militarily speaking, it is not cost-effective to attack the South Asian subcontinent." Zhou Changfeng pointed at the map hanging behind him, "I more agree with the Ministry of War's attitude. After driving the British out of Burma, we should stop attacking and concentrate on Against Australia."

"The British are already considering surrendering. The embassy has secretly sent people to discuss and find out." Zhu Lingjing said.

Because Washington has not given a clear answer, the British can only prepare to deal with it alone for the time being.

Europe first, then Asia, but India and India are indispensable, and Australia is also very important, so the gentlemen in London have to consider saving face and taking the initiative for peace talks.

Australia has a population of just over 700 million, and New Zealand has a population of just over 160 million. The combined population of the two is less than 900 million. Calculated based on the mobilization levels of industrialized countries, an army of one million people can be mobilized.

The actual situation is even worse. Australia and New Zealand have limited industrial capabilities and cannot produce so much weapons and equipment in a short period of time. Moreover, they lack qualified officers. Let alone 90, even 30 is enough.

"The British are willing to give in, which shows that they are really powerless now." Zhou Changfeng raised his eyes and stared at her, and said seriously: "The core of Australia is basically concentrated on the eastern coast. Deploying two tank troops and mobile troops can solve them. It probably takes The standard shipping capacity is 50 tons; the subsequent clearing and occupation should require ten divisions and 160 million tons."

"This is not a question of whether we can defeat it, this is a question of whether we can start a war." Zhu Lingjing, with a calm expression, met his gaze and said calmly: "We can roughly determine the intentions of the United States. They must want to win over Australia, and our country will send troops. The offense is a great opportunity for them.”

After finishing speaking, she added, "My father also does not agree with fighting the United States under today's circumstances."

Zhou Changfeng pondered for several seconds and then said: "The US military fleet is distributed across two oceans, and it will take several months to strategically deploy and organize a transoceanic attack. If organized properly, we will have enough time to solve Australia's core cities and gain a firm foothold."

"Yes, but this is a bit wishful thinking." Zhu Lingjing raised her hand and shook it, "We will discuss it in detail at the imperial meeting in a few days. The matter is of great importance and there is no reason to act rashly."

One month is enough time for the world situation to change drastically. Compared with Western Europe, which has temporarily stagnated, the situation in Eastern Europe is more complicated and confusing.

The red-white war did not break out, but instead was the much-talked-about red-blue war, while the relatively weak white and black forces stayed together to keep warm.

From Estonia to Russian Poland, from Ukraine to Georgia, from the vast fertile farmland to the rolling mountains, chaotic melee has broken out in the ancient Russian Empire.

Part of the city with St. Petersburg as its core is still under the control of white and black, but there are not many troops who have clearly expressed their allegiance.

Now, the first person to enter St. Petersburg is the Rakshasa Tsar.

"Okay, I won't bother you anymore these two days," Zhu Lingjing picked up the cup and took a sip, and said jokingly: "General Zhou, please come back, prepare to be promoted and awarded honors."

(End of this chapter)