Christmas is an important festival in Western countries. Even in the far East, foreigners living in Shanghai still sing and dance every Christmas. Although the three-month-old Battle of Songhu has ended and passed, the impact of this battle on Shanghai was profound, especially because there were many more refugees in the concession. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce Bureau of the Concession proposed that this year's Christmas would be celebrated with joy. It was also a kind of counterattack and demonstration against the Japanese, because the Japanese had always coveted the concession.
Christmas originated from the Saturnalia festival when the ancient Romans welcomed the New Year, and it had nothing to do with Christianity. After Christianity became popular in the Roman Empire, the Holy See followed the trend and incorporated this folk festival into the Christian system. Most Catholic churches will first hold midnight mass on Christmas Eve, December 24, that is, in the early morning of December 25. The news revealed by Hans moved Tang Cheng's heart, and he immediately set the time for the rescue operation to be Christmas Eve. Shanghai is known as the Pearl of the Orient, and the concession is where foreigners living in Shanghai gather. Most of the foreigners in China are Catholics.
"Are you sure you want to take action on that day?" After learning Tang Cheng's idea, Hans, who was playing with the m1 Garand rifle, was somewhat surprised. However, thinking about it carefully, Tang Cheng's thinking was not unreasonable. At least among those guys in the British Concession, almost all were Catholics.
Hans responded with skepticism. This was not beyond Tang Cheng's expectation, but apart from this opportunity, Tang Cheng couldn't think of a more suitable time. "Let's not talk about the Lone Army Camp. Let me tell you about this new rifle first!" Tang Cheng has been busy rescuing the Lone Army Camp for a while now. Tang Cheng feels that his mind has been completely messed up. Maybe at this moment, Changing the topic would make me feel a little more comfortable.
Tang Cheng reached out and took the rifle from Hans's hand, and then took a gun loaded with bullets and showed it to Hans, "The bolt-action rifles currently equipped by most countries' armies only have five bullets, and this kind of The new rifle has eight rounds of ammunition. First of all, in terms of ammunition capacity, this new rifle has surpassed the bolt-action rifles currently equipped by all the armies of all countries in the world. You have to admit this. Although I don’t I have military experience, but I also know that on the battlefield, the speed of loading bullets is closely related to a person’s life and death.”
Tang Cheng did not load the gun in his hand into the magazine. Because of the unique design of the M1 Garand rifle, the new gun could not be loaded until the bullets in the magazine were empty. "The most important thing is that this new rifle is a semi-automatic weapon, which means that after it is loaded once, it can fire continuously until all eight bullets in the magazine are used up." Tangcheng said M1 Garand rifle When he could shoot continuously, Hans's expression finally changed.
"Hans, think about it carefully. A rifle that can shoot rapidly and continuously, and a bolt-action rifle that requires pulling the bolt once to fire. Who wins in terms of firepower output? Negative?" Tangcheng knew that Hans had a military career, so he specifically mentioned the concept of firepower output comparison. As long as Hans was not messing around in his military career, he should understand the meaning of the word firepower output comparison, and be more aware of it. Understand the importance of firepower output on the battlefield.
In World War I, soldiers on both sides of the enemy used bolt-action rifles. As the war situation developed and the stalemate began, machine guns capable of continuous shooting began to play a more important role on the battlefield. Although the First World War has ended many years ago, various countries are secretly researching weapons and equipment with higher performance, and the Japanese Army is one of them. Although the M1 Garand rifle brought by Tangcheng is not as powerful as the rifle, it is far superior to the rifle in terms of shooting range.
Hans had been a soldier, so he didn't need a detailed introduction from Tangcheng. He just saw the caliber and loading method of the M1 Garand rifle, and then heard the shooting principle of the M1 Garand rifle, and he immediately understood the characteristics of this new rifle. Strength. "Hans, we are friends. You helped me with the Lone Camp matter, so I will give you this new rifle. I found someone to get this new rifle from the United States. You can send it back to me." Berlin must be a great achievement.”
Tangcheng did not bite the bullet. The head of state in Berlin would be interested in this new rifle, but he knew that if the restless head of state truly understood the power of the M1 Garand rifle, he would definitely We will not give up the idea of imitating or developing automatic weapons based on them. Hans didn't know what to say at this moment. The U.S. military has not yet equipped the new rifles of the U.S. military on a large scale. Tangcheng just gave it to him in vain. This is because he sincerely regards himself as a friend!
Seeing that Hans seemed to have something to say, Tang Cheng immediately waved his hand with a straight face, "Don't refuse. If you don't accept it, our friends will be dead!" Tang Cheng's words matched his expression at the moment. If If someone else were here, he would immediately jump up and down, feeling that what Tang Cheng said was too unpleasant. But Hans didn't think so, because he saw that Tang Cheng was just pretending to be like this. Tang Cheng was worried that he would not accept this kind offer.
Hans did not reject Tang Cheng's kindness, because he did not get Tang Cheng's benefits in vain. He not only helped Tang Cheng carry out the rescue operation of the lonely army camp, but also promised to help Tang Cheng get a batch of sulfonamides from Germany to China. Hans left the residence with the M1 Garand rifle. After Tang Cheng changed his clothes, Page quietly went out. Edmund had not come back for a day, and he was going to find the American named George to find out.
George stayed in a French hotel in the French Concession. When Tangcheng found George, Edmund was also here, but looking at Edmund's expression, he seemed to be in trouble. "The Kwantung Army is going to attack the Jewish banks outside the Kwantung region!" Edmund did not expect Tang Cheng to appear here, but he still explained it to Tang Cheng. The Jewish business groups outside the Kwantung Army bought informants within the Kwantung Army, and this news was secretly revealed by the informants.
Edmond and the others had already used the radio to notify the United States of Tang Cheng's suggestion, but the United States asked Tang Chao to go to the United States for an interview, but Tang Cheng refused. "Tang, our family, relatives and friends are all outside the Pass. If the Kwantung Army wants to attack us, our compatriots outside the Pass will inevitably be harmed. As for the United States, we have no choice, but if you can lobby the Kuomintang to help the Jews outside the Pass, We will donate $300,000 to your fight."
Using a donation of 300,000 US dollars to lobby Tangcheng was a decision made by Edmund and others after discussion. 300,000 US dollars was enough to arm a fine art reinforcement group. "Edmund, it seems that you still haven't fully understood my proposal! The Chinese people are not short of money, they just lack channels to purchase weapons and equipment. As long as there are arms channels that can ensure smooth flow, China will be able to Arm and send out massive numbers of soldiers to defeat the Japanese.”
"With US$300,000, it is indeed possible to form a force equipped with European weapons, but the number of this army is too small and is not enough to make the Japanese leave China. What we need is to be able to equip hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops. Weapons and equipment, only by ensuring a sufficient number of troops can we have the possibility of defeating the Japanese." The other party has already shown their bargaining chips, so Tangcheng naturally has to bargain, after all, 300,000 US dollars is not a big sum.
Tangcheng's appetite was so huge that Edmund and the others had not thought beforehand that weapons and equipment capable of equipping an army of one million people, not to mention weapons and equipment capable of equipping an army of one hundred thousand, were something Edmund and the others did not dare to think about. "The American government will never agree, and the United States does not have so many weapons and equipment that can be replaced by their army." What Edmund said was true, but Tangcheng had different opinions and ideas.
"Edmund, we can think about this problem in a different direction!" Tang Cheng tilted the corners of his mouth, and a strange smile appeared on his face. "I heard that your Jewish compatriots in Germany are having a very bad life. Even if the Nationalist Consulate has issued a large number of visas to them, there are still only a few Jews who can eventually leave Germany and come to China. I believe that those in Berlin You all know the attitude of the head of state towards the Jews, and the Jews who are forced to stay in Germany will probably live an even worse life in the future."
Tang Cheng's words made the expressions of Edmund and others instantly become heavy, because what Tang Cheng just said was indeed true. "The countries bordering Germany all succumbed to the threat of the head of state and did not dare to accept Jews who were willing to leave Germany. But in my opinion, that is because those countries bordering Germany did not benefit from it. If so If it were me, I would use money and other benefits I can get to make exchanges with those countries, and use these countries as springboards to help the Jews in Germany escape from suffering."
Tang Cheng's words at this moment sounded like fantasy. Edmund and others could hardly believe their ears, but Tang Cheng's expression remained the same. "Countries such as France and the Netherlands are all close to the sea. You can use money to buy roads, smuggle your compatriots in Germany across the border into these countries, and then board ships on the coastline to leave Europe. As long as you leave Europe, I believe that little guy in Berlin The bearded leader will not send people to chase them to the sea to cause trouble for them."
"But in order to prevent the head of state from going crazy, you can use a third party to purchase large quantities of light infantry weapons from Germany and bribe the German government in disguise with orders. I believe that the head of state, even if he knows the truth of the matter, is determined to I won’t say it out loud, after all, large-volume orders can create countless jobs and benefits for Germany, which is undoubtedly extremely beneficial to the German government." Tang Cheng winked at Edmund and the others, especially when he said When ordering weapons, he deliberately bit the pronunciation of the word heavily.
