The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 214: Where are we now?
The cargo ship sounded its whistle.

Liu Tao waved at Rashid.

This time Rashid will go back with the ship to participate in the war.

If you want to continue to get promoted, going to the battlefield is inevitable.

In addition to Rashid, there are two hundred soldiers, all of whom will be the crew of this batch of tanks and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.

The two ships' worth of weapons and equipment are worth $200 million.

The freight for a trip to the Middle East is very high, costing 400 million US dollars.

Both of these merchant ships belong to Henry Fok.

The flag hung is that of Hong Kong.

Liu Tao and Liu Zhenbang left the dock and went to the office of the Foreign Trade Working Group of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building.

For convenience, the Foreign Trade Working Group of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building set up an office in Yangcheng.

"Linlin, what do you think? Do you want to continue staying in your factory or return to Beijing?" Liu Zhenbang asked.

Liu Tao said somewhat embarrassedly: "She is not feeling well in the climate in Yunnan Province. She will return to Beijing in half a month and stop working there."

Zhu Lin worked too hard during this period, and as a result, she became pregnant again.

The two discussed and decided to return to Beijing together half a month later, and then Zhu Lin would stay in the capital temporarily.

As for work, I naturally couldn’t work because I had to take care of the baby and got pregnant again, so I had to choose to take a break.

"It's good to go back to Beijing. Your mother can go there to help. With someone to help take care of the children, Linlin can feel more relaxed." Liu Zhenbang nodded.

Liu Zhenbang is very satisfied with his daughter-in-law.

She is beautiful, has a good personality, and is a virtuous wife.

Not long after they got married, they had a child, adding a new member to the Liu family and making him a grandfather.

Now I am doing very well again and have my second child.

"After we return to Beijing, your mother and I will write a letter to your elder sister and bring them back to Beijing. Your sister will be able to help more then." Liu Zhenbang said.

Liu Tao showed his delight: "You and my mother should have done this a long time ago."

"This is against principle." Liu Zhenbang said unhappily, "If it weren't for you two, I wouldn't do that."

Liu Tao curled his lips and didn't believe it at all.

Whenever they were together, his mother would always nag about his eldest sister, missing her very much.

"How long do you think the Iran-Iraq War will last?" Liu Zhenbang looked at Liu Tao.

Liu Tao said: "It should last for another year or two. Although Iraq has an advantage now, its population is much smaller than Persia, and its war potential is not as good as Persia. Persia's terrain is there. Most of its territory is on the plateau. It is a plateau country with complex terrain. Iraq will not attack other places. Once it attacks other places, Iraq's armored advantage will disappear, and the supply line is also a big problem."

"Iraq is actually having a hard time now. Almost all of its elite troops have been deployed, but it has not been able to completely defeat Persia. It is stuck in a stalemate. It is simply impossible to defeat Persia," Liu Tao analyzed.

Since the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in September last year, Iraq had an absolute advantage at the beginning and launched a very fierce offensive. However, in just over a month, the Persians resisted Iraq's fierce offensive.

Iraq wanted to capture Abadan and completely take over this oil-rich place, but Persia fought desperately, making it difficult for Iraq to achieve its strategic goals.

Iraq's advantage now is that the war is in Persia, Persia has suffered greater losses, and its oil exports have been greatly reduced, while Iraq can still export oil normally, its income has not decreased, and it can also buy weapons, equipment and ammunition from abroad. However, Liu Tao is not optimistic about Iraq, because although Iraq has more armored forces and more advanced tanks than the Persians, it has not played its armored advantage.

On the contrary, over the past period of time, many tanks have been destroyed by the Persians.

The air supremacy on the battlefield was in the hands of the Persians.

Of course, the Persians also had weapons and equipment but were unable to bring out the power of them. They used the Type 59 tanks as fixed turrets, and many of them were destroyed.

The Persians even used human wave tactics and suffered heavy losses.

"Iraq still has 800,000 troops that have not yet been deployed to the battlefield. If these troops are deployed to the battlefield, it may change the battlefield situation." Liu Zhenbang said.

Liu Tao sneered.

"Although Iraq has a million lions, its elite troops are actually about 300,000. Now deploying 200,000 on the battlefield is already the limit. We have to be on guard against the other elite troops, otherwise the Persians may break in from another direction and go straight to Baghdad. Moreover, Iraq is a major oil-producing country with abundant oil. God knows whether its neighbors are jealous and will take advantage of the situation." Liu Tao said.

But Liu Tao vaguely remembered that the Iran-Iraq War lasted for eight years.

The war has only lasted for half a year, so we haven’t reached the end yet.

The Panshan Machinery Factory was working in three shifts and overtime, and other military factories were also continuously producing weapons and ammunition, all of which would be sold to these two buyers.

The consumption of weapons and ammunition is extremely shocking.

In just a short period of time, the Persians lost at least fifty Type 59 tanks they purchased on the battlefield.

Since the war in Iraq began, at least hundreds of armored vehicles have been destroyed.

Many tanks and armored vehicles were simply unable to withstand Persian anti-tank missiles and anti-tank mines.

There were even more tanks damaged on both sides.

"It seems that the military's decision to send military observers is correct." Liu Zhenbang nodded.

The water boiled and Liu Tao made tea himself.

"It is indeed necessary to send military observers. They can see and learn a lot on the battlefield, and we can avoid making the same mistakes." Liu Tao agrees with this approach.

To be honest, even though the Iran-Iraq War may be considered a fight between rookies, it still has some bright spots and things worth learning.

"I heard about the report you wrote earlier. Many people have strong opinions about your approach," Liu Zhenbang said. "After all, the country's foreign exchange reserves are not abundant. Going to Hong Kong or even to Europe and the United States for study visits is a waste of foreign exchange."

Liu Tao sneered, "The foreign exchange is earned by our Panshan Machinery Factory. Although the department settles with us, the leaders have agreed before that our Panshan Machinery Factory has a quota of one million US dollars every year. We use our own foreign exchange, so why should they have any objections?"

"We are far behind Europe and the United States now. If we don't go out and see more, how can we broaden our horizons and develop?" Liu Tao didn't care at all.

This is Panshan Machinery Factory's own business. The reason for reporting it is simply because the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building is the superior of Panshan Machinery Factory. This is in accordance with the rules and regulations and respects the superior.

If you don't do anything just because someone has objections, then you don't need to do anything.

"You, now is the time when the wind blows down the tree that stands out in the forest. I don't know how many people are jealous of you. If you don't learn to keep a low profile, sooner or later you will suffer a great loss." Liu Zhenbang said unhappily.

Liu Tao is only 26 years old now, but he is already a director-level cadre and belongs to the ranks of senior cadres.

You have to know that Liu Zhenbang is 51 years old. Because the foreign trade working group has completed its tasks excellently, he is only enjoying the treatment of a deputy director-level official now. He is not yet a real deputy director-level cadre.

It is conceivable that there are countless eyes staring at Liu Tao, jealous of him, and wishing that Liu Tao would make a mistake so that they can be replaced.

(End of this chapter)