The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 405 Community of Interests

After the meeting, that evening, Liu Tao called Li Fuguo and Zhao Guoping to his home and personally hosted a banquet for them, while also talking about things that were not suitable for others to know.

Li Fuguo and Zhao Guoping are in charge of the armed department of Panshan Group. The entire armed department is composed of four parts. One is the security personnel of various companies and factories, one is the confidentiality personnel and confidentiality armed personnel of various companies and factories, one is three combined brigades, and the last is the security companies in Hong Kong and overseas.

Many things in the Panshan Group’s Armed Forces Department are confidential and not suitable for others to know.

For example, actions in the South Seas are highly confidential, even military secrets.

It was called a banquet, but in fact it was just four dishes, one soup, and a bottle of Moutai liquor.

As 1987 draws closer, they don't have much time left.

The three of them ate, drank and talked about business.

"According to the current situation, the situation in the south has been decided. Now it is a matter of slow consumption, boiling the frog in warm water, letting Annan gradually bleed until it can't bear it in the end." Li Fuguo took a sip of wine and was optimistic about the situation in the south.

In the direction of Laos and Cambodia, the Annan forces have been driven out, and the front-line battlefield is also advancing step by step.

This boiling frog strategy is very effective.

Even though the Soviet Union provided a large amount of weapons and ammunition, it was unable to change the situation.

The consumption on the battlefield is enormous for the disadvantaged party.

This consumption not only involves the consumption of soldiers, but also the consumption of weapons and ammunition.

Although the Chinese Air Force did not participate in the war, the air defense force turned the battlefield into a no-fly zone, and no amount of Soviet support could change that.

A military aircraft is expensive, but an anti-aircraft missile is not much more expensive.

In particular, this type of air defense missile can be produced by Panshan Group itself.

In Li Fuguo's view, the overall situation in the south has been determined.

At least from a military perspective, he saw no possibility that the Annan forces would be able to recapture all the positions.

“In Myanmar, several states have reached a preliminary consensus, and the land passage has been barely opened. However, it is still very difficult to build a railway to the Indian Ocean like the China-Laos-Cambodia Railway, and the time is not yet ripe.” Li Fuguo picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth.

Zhao Guoping added: "Moreover, the Chinese forces there are complex and not united, otherwise they could have recreated Myanmar."

Myanmar was the first place they invested and also the place where they spent the most effort.

Myanmar's geographical location is very important. Once it is opened, Yunnan Province will have a direct channel to the Indian Ocean and can bypass the Strait of Malacca. This role is very important for the entire southwest, and even for the whole of China.

Myanmar has an area of ​​67.65 square kilometers and a population of nearly 3300 million. It has 135 ethnic groups, and more than 85% of the country's people are Buddhists. There are 7 provinces, 7 states and 2 municipalities.

The passages that have been opened up now include Kachin State, Shan State, Sagaing Region, Chin State and Rakhine State, but they are only preliminary and a completely safe passage has not yet been formed.

The only safe passage now is here in Shan State, which has opened up a land route to Thailand.

Now a lot of Thai rice, rubber, etc. are transported to Yunnan Province via land routes.

"It doesn't matter if there are many forces and they are not united. We are binding them together through interests so that everyone will eventually gather under our banner and become rich together." Liu Tao smiled and said, "There are 300 million Chinese and overseas Chinese from different periods with complex backgrounds. It is not easy to be united." "But I believe that no one can resist making money. If we all make money together and have common interests, then this railway will be built sooner or later." Liu Tao is still very optimistic.

Just because it’s not possible now doesn’t mean it won’t be possible in 5 years.

Just because it doesn’t work after 5 years doesn’t mean it won’t work after 10 years!

Develop slowly, build mutual trust and a community of interests slowly, and it will work one day.

In the past, we have continuously helped these Chinese families train their armed forces through various preferential methods. The number of pistols and rifles exported alone exceeded 50, and the number of ammunition exceeded million.

After so many years, Liu Tao is actually quite satisfied that the land route has been initially opened.

Moreover, in recent years, tin, tungsten, zinc, aluminum, antimony, manganese, gold, silver and other minerals have been continuously mined in Myanmar and transported to Yunnan Province. The mined gems and jade are also transported to Hong Kong for processing.

Although the quantity is not large yet, it is already generating revenue.

At the very least, the profits generated are greater than the investment, which means that the follow-up can continue without the need for Panshan Group to invest too much money.

"How are the railways in Laos and Cambodia?" Liu Tao asked.

"The survey and design of the railway in our territory is almost completed. The Ministry of Railways has also sent people to Laos and Cambodia for exploration. It is estimated that it will take another year to complete the design of the line." Zhao Guoping said: "But I am worried that Annan will cause trouble by then. If they send scouts to cause trouble, it will be very troublesome."

Liu Tao nodded. This worry was absolutely possible.

After all, Annan still has remnant forces in Laos and Cambodia, and the distance is close.

"It's okay. We'll strike back every time they cause trouble until they are completely wiped out!" Liu Tao said with a faint smile.

This railway will be a passenger and freight railway, with a construction cost of RMB 300 million per kilometer in Laos and Cambodia and RMB 650 million per kilometer in Yunnan. The total length of the China-Laos-Cambodia Railway is 2070 kilometers, of which 420 kilometers are in Yunnan and 1650 kilometers are in Laos and Cambodia, with a total construction cost of approximately RMB 77 billion.

Laos and Cambodia naturally have no money, so they adopt a 40-year franchise model.

Of course, building this railway is not that easy.

Because there is no railway in Laos, not even one kilometer of railway. Although Cambodia has two railways, one is the northern line built in 1931 from Phnom Penh to the northwestern city of Sisophon with a total length of 385 kilometers, and the other is the southern line built in 1960 from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville with a total length of 270 kilometers, but due to long-term war and destruction, Cambodia's railways have been in a state of disrepair for a long time, which is equivalent to nothing.

The China-Laos-Cambodia railway that Liu Tao wants to build has a speed of about 60 to 70 kilometers per hour. It does not require too much high technology, and the construction period is about ten years.

Once this railway is completed, it will be of great significance.

Not only can resources from Cambodia and Laos be transported back to Yunnan Province, Yunnan Province's exports can also be directly transported to the port via rail, from where they can be directly shipped for export, saving a lot of time.

Most importantly, this will be an important tool for integrating the Indochina Peninsula in the future.

Southeast Asia as a whole actually has great development potential and abundant resources, making it the most suitable place for China to carry out win-win cooperation and development.

And this era is the last chance.

If we wait another ten years, or if the Soviet Union and the United States decide the winner, there will not be such a good opportunity.

(End of this chapter)