Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

November 1942, 11, suburb of Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa.

During the period when the Eighth Route Army headquarters was busy preparing to recover all of North China, the military delegation from the North Sea Fleet had broken through the blockade and finally delivered the first batch of strategic materials to the temporary administrative center of the Allies.

Unlike the land of Qilu, which has already begun to winter, Congo in November is still shrouded in tropical moisture, and the scorching air can often climb to 30 degrees Celsius at noon.

The sun was blazing.

Looking at the sun hanging high above, Director Xiao calmly wiped away the sweat rolling down his forehead, then turned to the accompanying staff officer and whispered:

"This damn weather, this damn place, is even more unbearable than Siberia. Luckily, this is only a short-term mission. If I were stationed in French Equatorial Africa for a long time, I'm afraid even my own mother wouldn't recognize me when I go back."

"Now that I think about it, there is nothing wrong with what Director Huang said. Governor of Algeria? Not even a dog's job!"

"Comrades, hold on a little longer. The final destination is just around the corner! Our allies have prepared a welcoming banquet. We can rest soon!"

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

Just as everyone was about to enter Brazzaville, Lao Dai rushed from the city with a middle-aged officer in a major general's uniform and parked the car directly in front of the delegation.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, Director Xiao finally met an acquaintance and gave the other person a tight hug. The whole process was even more French than the French.

"Old Dai! You are finally here! You don't know what life we ​​have lived during this period."

"In order to deliver the supplies, I first flew from Liugong Island to the north of Suiyuan, and then took trains, trucks and transport ships to reach French Equatorial Africa."

"You have to entertain our delegation well, otherwise I will definitely complain to Huang He after returning home."

As soon as these words came out, Lao Dai laughed out loud. Although he and Director Xiao had met only a few times, they had already established a deep revolutionary friendship.

Now that we meet again in our own base camp, we must naturally treat him well.

"You have all come from afar, so I will do my best to be a good host. But let me be frank, your seasickness problem needs to be solved as soon as possible. It's not good for the Navy Commander to vomit all the time."

"Let's go, let's go into the city."

"I've prepared some ice cream for everyone to cool off, and I'll let you guys taste some authentic French food later."

Before he finished speaking, four D.520s dived at a high angle, changed their flying attitude, and roared over the heads of the crowd.

These fighters, like the Rafale 0-3, follow the French fighter's consistent light and agile design concept.

Director Xiao seemed to be refreshed when he saw the cold light of the auxiliary fuel tank under the wing. He briefly explained a few words to the staff and then boarded the ally's car.

After a while, the convoy started again and drove into the city of Brazzaville in a blink of an eye.

When passing by a new industrial area, Lao Dai rolled down the window, pointed to the factories standing in the distance and introduced the results of his hard work to Director Xiao.

"Xiao, look quickly, that's the weapons production base that Free France just built a while ago."

"Since we have the small arsenal in front of you, our workers can use local iron ore, rubber and other resources to produce some simple light weapons for the soldiers."

"Although the quality control of these rifles and ammunition is still unstable, they can more or less alleviate certain logistical pressures, thus helping us gradually get rid of our dependence on Britain and the United States."

As someone who has been through this, Director Xiao certainly knows the importance of independent military industry to a large force or even a country.

After all, a few years ago, some of the Eighth Route Army troops did not even have a stable base, and the conditions at that time were even much more difficult than the current Free France.

Everything is subject to human feelings, and only those who have experienced the rain know it clearly.

Following the direction of Lao Dai's finger, Director Xiao stuck his head out of the car window. Looking at the simple factory buildings, he said with approval and comfort:

"In the fight against fascism, every bullet fired on the battlefields of the Republic of China and every Lorraine Cross flag flying on the African continent are fighting the same war."

"Don't worry, as long as the Persian Corridor is still in the hands of the Allies, the Baotou Arsenal will continue to supply supplies to Free France."

"Until your military boots step through the Arc de Triomphe, until the Marseillaise rings out again on the Champs-Elysées."

I am moved. Extremely moved.

Seeing the delegation that had traveled across mountains and rivers to support them, and Huang Duoduo's 4 billion subsidies that were so exaggerated that they could only be seen in Steel , the three French people in the car suddenly had tears in their eyes.

After taking a few deep breaths to adjust his emotions, Lao Dai pressed his white-gloved fist hard on his chest. The Cross of Lorraine was particularly dazzling in the midday sun.

"Xiao, we in France will never forget the generosity of our allies. We will never forget who handed us the torch of hope in the darkest hour of Paris."

As if he felt that his words were somewhat empty, Old Dai turned his head slightly, his gray-blue eyes staring through the car window toward the northwest.

His vision seemed to penetrate the yellow sand of the Sahara Desert and see the Toulon fleet in the Mediterranean.

"Xiao, I know you are a practical person, so I won't say any more polite words!"

"I swear by the Cross of Lorraine of Free France and the sword of the Maid of Orleans that all the surface ships of the Toulon Fleet will arrive at Liugong Island at the beginning of next year!"

"Okay, I believe you!"

In the second half of the story, Dai Yi reiterated his policy of winning over French Equatorial Africa and his propaganda methods to incite Vichy France to revolt.

In a harmonious atmosphere, the convoy passed through the palm-lined boulevard and finally arrived at the birthplace of Free France: the Governor's Palace in Brazzaville.

This is a very typical colonial building, with white exterior walls and arcade design, as if even the bricks and stones are telling the overseas history of the French Third Republic.

After passing through the corridor, Director Xiao and his party came to the administrative office in the Governor's Office.

Just as the accompanying guards were about to close the oak door of the office, a crisp sound of metal collision suddenly came outside the house.

I saw three mechanics struggling to carry a 520L auxiliary fuel tank of a D.50 fighter, its aluminum shell still glowing coldly in the sun.

Seeing that his group had not delayed anything, the sergeant walking in front grinned, revealing his lips chapped by the Central African sun.

"General, the ice cream you requested has arrived. It's all fresh from the 'refrigerator'. You and your guests should try it quickly. If it melts, it will affect the taste."

After saying that, the mechanics directly handed over the bowl and spoon, and then unscrewed the fighter's auxiliary fuel tank.

When opening the box, everyone could clearly see the white mist formed by the water vapor meeting the cold.

After some polite push and pull, Director Xiao finally served the first bowl. He scooped up a spoonful of the special supply sprinkled with Congolese coffee syrup and put it into his mouth under the expectant gaze of Lao Dai and others.

"Mm, it tastes pretty good. But the auxiliary fuel tanks of those fighter planes didn't seem to be cleaned thoroughly, so there's a faint smell of gasoline on the ice cream."

"Based on my experience, your D520 is using Ugly American gasoline. The special sweet smell just now should be tetraethyl lead."

"Come on, come on, let's eat together. I've gained a lot this time by being able to taste the French military-style summer dessert in Africa."

Special situations require special treatment. Everyone here is a tough man who has crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. Who would care about the smell of aviation gasoline?

The conditions in French Equatorial Africa are so harsh that we cannot waste precious food.

While Old Dai and the middle-aged officer were eating ice cream, Director Xiao came to the battle map and began to observe the enemy and our own situation. After the guard closed the door of the office, he pulled out a list of materials with frayed edges from his trouser pocket. "Come, let's take a look together. This list records in detail the types and quantities of this batch of aid materials. I guarantee that you will be absolutely satisfied."

"By the way, considering the dire situation on the North African battlefield, Director Huang has specially prepared a great gift for your Second Light Mechanized Division."

"But after the complete refit, this armored division will most likely change its name as well."

As soon as the words "Second Light Mechanized Division" fell, the middle-aged officer who was leisurely scooping ice cream suddenly felt his wrist tremble, and the silver spoon hit the aluminum lunch box with a clang.

After receiving a signal from his top leader, he rushed to Director Xiao in two steps, and without even having time to wipe the cream stain on his thumb, he grabbed the list of supplies tightly.

The French major general's eyes swept through the file directory and gasped for air conditioning due to the amazing hand of his allies and couldn't help but burst into screams.

"Oh my God, I can't believe my eyes. This huge amount of equipment is enough to fully arm our troops at this stage."

"T-3485, how come I have never heard of this tank model? Who is the developer of T-34, you or the Russians?"

"Haha, we even have the two legendary fighters, the Grudge and the Storm. Great, now our air force squadron can finally let those arrogant British guys learn what a true air combat ace is."

As soon as these words were said, Lao Dai, who had been calm and composed, could no longer maintain the leisure on his face.

He walked quickly forward and looked through the list of supplies with Leclerc.

Unlike his capable assistant, Lao Dai had actually visited Taiyuan. Knowing the mysterious power of the East, he attached more importance to the actual quantity and scale of the aid equipment.

When it was confirmed that this batch of aid was enough to arm 70,000 troops, Lao Dai could no longer suppress his excitement. He raised his head to the sky and let out a long, inspiring roar:

"Rich, too rich! From 1940 to now, I have never fought such a rich war."

"Oh my God, this is the most perfect army in my mind! Without French weapons, how can we talk about legitimacy. Without soul, how can we talk about the liberation of Paris!"

Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of his two allies, Director Xiao's mouth unconsciously lifted up into a knowing smile.

The current scene reminded him of the same excitement and joy he felt when he first received the new equipment.

After a while, seeing that Old Dai and Leclerc had calmed down, Director Xiao calmly reached into his military uniform pocket and slowly pulled out the second list of supplies.

"Ahem, Lao Dai, this is a special equipment handed over by Director Huang in his private name. The number is not large, and it is only a full set of light weapons for strengthening the infantry regiment."

"He asked me to remind you not to forget the agreement between the two of you."

"it is good!"

After checking all the supplies lists, the three moved to the battle map.

The map clearly marked the spheres of influence of each party: the Free French-controlled area was marked in dark blue, and the Vichy French-controlled area was outlined in scarlet. And the abrupt black area was like a troublemaker.

After the allies fully grasped the battlefield situation, Lao Dai placed his palm flat on the North African region and began to explain his strategic deployment in a steady tone.

"I plan to use the Second Armored Division as the main force, starting from Fort Lami in northern Chad, crossing the Sahara Desert and heading straight to southern Libya."

"The British are currently fighting a fierce battle with Italy and Germany. If we strike Rommel in the ass with a blitzkrieg, we can completely reverse the situation in North Africa."

"Once we attack Libya, the Vichy army in North Africa will be demoralized. By then, it will only be a matter of time before we liberate Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco."

The 2nd Light Mechanized Division of Free France is a mixed force organized in a wartime emergency format.

Although the force is declared to be organized at division level, it is actually an army-level unit with thirteen regiments and a total of 35,000 people.

This mixed battle group, which was personally supervised by Old Dai and Leclerc, was basically the strongest combat force of Free France at this stage. The direct deployment of it showed the determination of the two to take North Africa in one fell swoop.

Considering that Director Xiao was not familiar with the terrain of the designated war zone, Lao Dai took a staff cartography pen from the oak desk and accurately outlined a dark blue offensive axis along the contour lines of the Mediterranean coast.

As he moved his pen across the wrinkled terrain of the Tunisian peninsula, he deliberately applied greater pressure to mark key armor breakthrough points.

"He, Manstein, crossed the Ardennes Forest, and I will cross the Sahara Desert. He flashes his sickle, and I flash my sickle too!"

"After defeating the German and Italian coalition forces in Libya, the 2nd Armored Division will turn directly westward, advance along the Mediterranean coastline, and quickly seize ports and transportation hubs."

"If we take over the former French North Africa, we can directly welcome back the Toulon Fleet!"

As the head of the delegation, Director Xiao is well aware of diplomatic propriety and always maintains a restrained attitude towards the combat deployment of his allies.

After listening to Old Dai's battle plan, he just nodded slightly to show his approval. The two in front of him were the best armored commanders in France. In the field of mechanized warfare, he could not compare with them.

"Okay, just do as you can! But I am carrying the tasks assigned by the headquarters and I must follow the Second Armored Division to blitz north."

"Row!"

······
Two weeks later, North Africa.

Under the scorching sun, the Sahara is a dead yellow. The sand dunes are like solidified waves, and the wind-eroded rocks are exposed under the sky, like skeletons forgotten by time.

By the time the T-3485 tracks of the Free French nd Armored Division rolled over the last sand ridge, the roar of the command vehicle's engine had already become hoarse.

The heat waves from the radiator distorted the vision, and the anti-rust paint on the car body was completely eroded by the wind and sand, revealing the mottled metal base color.

"Water, Leclerc, pass me some water!"

In a Citroen U23, Director Xiao's cracked lips had already seeped blood. For a southerner who came to the desert for the first time, crossing the Sahara was indeed a bit of a supermodel.

After taking a big gulp of water, he squinted his eyes and looked towards the north.

At the end of the sand sea, the outline of the Libyan Plateau finally emerged. The gray-brown wasteland pierced the horizon like a rusty blade.

Seeing that his ally had recovered some of his strength, Leclerc forced himself to support his tired body, slowly raised his right hand and gave his ally a thumbs up.

"Xiao, among all the Republic of China people I have met, your willpower is exemplary. Even when I first crossed the desert, I was far less tenacious than you are today."

"If we in France had a military commander like you three years ago, the Germans would have paid a heavy price."

"Hurry, drink some more water. The troops still have plenty of supplies left, so there's no need to worry about consumption."

Director Xiao did not respond to his ally immediately. His throat seemed to be burned by the hot desert wind, and his dry vocal cords could no longer make any sound.

Just as he raised the military canteen with shaking hands and prepared to moisten his throat, several sand foxes suddenly jumped out from the shadow of the Citroen truck, neighing sharply and shooting towards the distant sand dunes like arrows.

As if thinking of a certain German general, Director Xiao forced a smile, patted his ally on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry about me, I'll just slow down myself. Hurry up and count the troops' non-combat reductions. We still have a long way to go."

"Leclerc, did you see those sand foxes just now?"

"Through hell, we will win. Let us kill Rommel and take the first step towards the recovery of France." (End of this chapter)