The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 91 Deterrence

The more we learn about the terror of the Soviet Army, the more shocked we are.

In just three days, the Soviet army dispatched 280 large transport aircraft to airlift more than 5000 officers and soldiers and a large amount of weapons and equipment to Kabul International Airport and Baghlan Air Force Base.

In just one week, they took control of major cities and transportation routes, and established the Banner Faction leader Karmal to form a puppet regime.

This terrifying military strength and organizational efficiency shocked the whole world.

Naturally, it also shocked Pakistan, Thailand and Iraq!

Pakistan and Iraq in particular were all shocked, and then felt a chill.

If Afghanistan wants to go south to the Indian Ocean, or more precisely the Arabian Sea, it must control Pakistan!
Ever since Iran overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty and the hostage crisis broke out, it broke off diplomatic relations with the United States and was hostile to it. Iran was a natural ally of the Soviet Union. Now Afghanistan and Iran are connected, and to the other side is Iraq.

The shocking effect was so obvious that Liu Tao was contacted immediately.

"Mr. Al, Lieutenant Colonel Rashid, my friends, it's nice to see you again!" Liu Tao shook hands with Al and Rashid with a smile.

"Mr. Liu Tao, my good friend!" Al said straight to the point: "If the last order increases three times, how long will it take you to deliver it?"

Triple the order again! ?

Liu Tao's heart couldn't help but beat violently.

That means that this time, our rich friend placed a huge order worth 3.75 million US dollars!
Liu Tao said without hesitation: "We guarantee that all orders will be completed by April next year!"

“我们要500挺高射机枪、100万发高射机枪子弹、100门高射炮、10000发高射炮炮弹、200辆69式坦克、1000辆59式坦克，我们希望越早交货越好！”拉希德说道。

Liu Tao felt the urgency in Rashid's tone.

It seems that the polar bear's roar and exposed claws scared them this time.

"As usual, pay half of the deposit first. The anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft cannons, and tanks can be mobilized to the port in half a month. Then you can inspect the goods and pay the balance and load them on the ship." Liu Tao said without hesitation.

The number of sealed weapons and equipment alone is more than this.

"No problem!" Al said, "But our ship's transportation capacity is not that large, so you have to help us."

Liu Tao frowned slightly. This posed a difficult problem for him.

He also didn't know whether the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building had any solution.

As far as he knew, there were few ships in the mainland capable of long-distance voyages.

"I have to ask my leader about this. If it can be transported, there will be no problem, but the transportation fee will have to be calculated separately." Liu Tao said.

"Sure!" Al said.

They have been in contact with the country these days, originally discussing additional orders as hush money, but they did not expect that the polar bear would show its claws to Afghanistan, and the claws were so sharp and ferocious.

Although Iraq has good relations with the United States and the Soviet Union now, we still have to be on guard.

They had not originally planned to buy anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft cannons, and tanks because these weapons and equipment of China were too backward. But after this incident, they discovered that the best choice was actually China.

European and American weapons are of course very advanced, but you have to know that they are very expensive, two or three times or even four or five times more expensive, and the delivery cycle is very long, and there are many conditions attached. But Liu Tao is different here, a pure arms dealer, can deliver quickly, weapons and ammunition are much cheaper, and there are no additional conditions.

Liu Tao took the list and returned to the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building to report to his leader.

In the conference room, Liu Tao was giving a report and the leaders looked shocked.

In just a short time, Liu Tao got an order of 3.75 million US dollars for Panshan Machinery Factory and an order of 4.12 million US dollars for the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building. The two orders added up to 7.87 million US dollars!

"The more troublesome thing now is that Iraq needs us to provide sea transportation to transport weapons and equipment to Iraq," said Liu Tao.

The leader said: "That's no problem. We can ask Ship King Huo to help with the transportation."

Liu Tao looked surprised. How could he have forgotten about this person?

Mr. Huo, the Hong Kong shipping tycoon, has been engaged in maritime lighterage business since the late 1940s. It is said that during the Liaodong War, he transported a lot of supplies to the mainland. He is also a well-known red-top businessman.

He was also one of the very few people who received a state funeral after his death.

With this person here, sea transportation will definitely not be a problem.

Soon, that afternoon, the two parties signed the contract agreement.

And this is just the beginning. Pakistan signed an order worth US$2.9 million, and Thailand signed an order worth US$1.251 million.

Liu Tao signed large orders one after another, secretly sighing in his heart that the deterrent power of this polar bear was truly terrifying.

But just think about it, it took only one week to control Afghanistan's major cities and transportation arteries. It is absolutely daunting.

Not to mention this era, even after forty years, it will still be shocking.

Liu Tao even suspected that the military strength of Russia forty years from now would not be as good as that of the polar bear at this time.

The polar bears were really scary at this time.

At this time, the Soviet Union was the largest country in the world, with a land area of ​​more than 2200 million square kilometers, accounting for one-sixth of the world's total area, about 2.5 times that of the United States, and larger than the United States and Canada combined. The Soviet Union had a population of 2.8 million, second only to China and India, and was the third most populous country in the world, to million more than the United States. The population of the United States and Canada combined was smaller than that of the Soviet Union.

Moreover, the Soviet Union was also very rich in resources. It had the world's largest reserves of oil, natural gas, iron ore and other resources. As the world's largest oil producer, the Soviet Union made a lot of money as the world oil price rose in recent years. Relying on huge oil revenues, it expanded its influence and made waves in the international arena, forcing even Europe and the United States to take a defensive stance.

The output of many industries, such as cement and steel, has surpassed that of the United States.

As for military strength, it was so terrifying that it made people tremble. It had 350 million regular troops and more than 2000 million reserve troops. In terms of the army, the Soviet Union had 6.5 tanks, 7.5 armored vehicles, and 4.8 artillery pieces. The overall strength of the army ranked first in the world.

At this time, the total number of tanks of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact exceeded 10, and the total number of tanks of all NATO member states combined was less than one-sixth of this number.

The Soviet Union's "steel torrent" was almost unstoppable. It only took a week to advance from Rome to the English Channel and sweep across the European continent.

The Soviet Union's navy and air force were equally strong. In terms of navy, the Soviet Union had more than 1000 ships, including more than 100 nuclear submarines, and its navy ranked second in the world, second only to the United States. In terms of air force, the Soviet Union had tens of thousands of aircraft, which was no worse than that of the United States.

As for nuclear power, the Soviet Union even surpassed the United States, with many more nuclear warheads than the United States.

Anyway, this kind of strength is so great that even the leaders who have emerged from the flames of war and the sea of ​​blood are prepared to lose large tracts of territory. They have to rely on guerrilla warfare, fighting for ten or twenty years to wear down the enemy.

(End of this chapter)