Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 113, Section 112: Popular German Guns: Skat, Blueprints and Crafting Trade for Two Guns

Chapter 113, Section 112: Popular German Guns: Skate, Blueprints and Crafting Trade for Two Types of Cannons

Fang Wen pushed open the door.

There is a downward staircase in front of me.

It is clear that the beer house is located in the basement of the building.

He and Lin Shuiwang walked down the steps, turned a corner, and finally saw the full view of Frentbilstab.

The interior is spacious, with six tables arranged around three pillars, and a bar counter at the back.

Since it's called a beer house, it naturally only serves one type of drink: beer.

Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang went to the bar.

"Two glasses of dark beer, please."

Lin Shuiwang's unusual German pronunciation attracted the attention of everyone in the bar.

Upon discovering that they were two foreigners, some people immediately became interested.

A burly man in overalls downed a large glass of beer in one gulp and staggered over.

He rested his hands on the bar counter, squinting and chuckling, "A Japanese? I heard Japanese people can't finish a beer, is that true?"

He raised his large glass of wine with a smile, which caused a burst of laughter from the crowd in the bar.

That thing has a capacity of 3000 ml, which is truly astonishing.

Lin Shuiwang looked at the burly man with disdain.

"I am Chinese, how about we have a competition?"

He knew how to stir up trouble and attract attention, instantly livening up the atmosphere of the bar.

Everyone in the bar knew how much the burly man could drink, and they immediately started to cheer him on. Amidst the commotion, the burly man agreed.

Then, the two of them picked up their huge wine glasses and tilted their heads back to gulp it down.

The black beer liquid gradually decreased, and even Fang Wen was surprised that the tall and thin Lin Shuiwang could drink so much beer.

After downing 3000 milliliters of beer, Lin Shuiwang's stomach swelled up. He let out a long burp, put his hand on the burly man's shoulder, and the two of them became drinking buddies.

This incident immediately dispelled the initial awkwardness upon entering the bar, and everyone went back to drinking their own beverages.

While Lin Shuiwang and the burly man chatted happily nearby, Fang Wen picked up a large wine glass, took a small sip, and observed the situation inside the bar.

All six tables were full, and now only the bar area is left.

All the people at these six tables were dressed in civilian clothes, and it was impossible to tell who the officers were at first glance.

He wasn't in a hurry; Lin Shuiwang, who was standing next to him, had a talent for socializing after drinking.

After a while, the burly man and Lin Shuiwang high-fived and left happily.

Lin Shuiwang then reported to Fang Wen: "That tall guy is called Owen. He's a boiler operator and comes here almost every day. He knows everything about this place. I asked him, and it's true that some officers are having a gathering, but they're playing cards behind the bar."

"A card game? What kind of game is it? Are there any stakes?" Fang Wen asked, realizing that this was a good starting point.

"There's a stake involved, I heard it's a high-stakes game, something called Skate, and it's for three people, but I don't know the specifics."

The first bar exploration has come to an end.

Having learned some useful information, it's important to understand how Skyt Poker is played.

Wednesday, September 1th.

When it was lunchtime, Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang went downstairs.

During the meal, Fang Wen asked, "Lena, do you know how to play Skate poker?"

Translated by Lin Shuiwang.

Lena replied, "Yes, my husband and I have studied it, but it's very complicated."

"Can you teach us?"

"can."

Lena went back into the room and found a deck of cards.

去掉大小王及2、3、4、5、6后，共32张牌。

That is, each suit only has four number cards (7, 8, 9, 10) and four letter cards (J, Q, K, A).

Lena explained the rules.

"When we play, each player is dealt 10 cards, and two cards are left as the bottom cards for the dealer."

"All the cards are worth a total of 212 points. Only the player with the highest score in their hand can bid to become the dealer, and the other two players become their opponents."

"An Ace is worth 11 points, a 10 is worth 10 points, a King is worth 4 points, a Queen is worth 3 points, and a Jack is worth 2 points. The score of the number cards is the number itself."

After Lena's explanation, Fang Wen roughly understood how to play this card game.

It's somewhat similar to Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), but more complex.

In terms of bidding, it's the same as in Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), the priority order for the dealer is: high scorer first > middle scorer > second scorer.

The dealer has the right to choose the trump suit and there are additional special rules, such as Schneider, Schwarz, and Offen.

Schneider: When the dealer has an exceptionally strong hand, causing the two players to end the game without ever playing a single card, the dealer receives an extra 30 points.

Schwarz: When the banker's score is 30 points or less and the players win, the game is considered a Schwarz. The banker will then pay out more points to the two players.

Offen's statement: Similar to the no-trump card in the game of Upgrade, the dealer will not choose any suit as the trump suit, but will play cards in a way that is more advantageous to themselves.

After listening to Lena's explanation, Fang Wen roughly understood.

It has a feel similar to Dou Dizhu and Upgrading, but with many different rules.

He needs practice to understand it better.

Immediately afterwards, the three of them started playing Skate poker at the dining table on the first floor of the guesthouse.

After a full day of poker training, Fang Wen had a general understanding of this game.

He felt he could give it a try.

So they waited until nightfall and drove to the front-line beer house again.

The beer hall was still crowded, and Lin Shuiwang took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Owen.

After a brief conversation, Irving hesitated for a moment, then stood up and whispered to the bartender.

After some negotiation, the bartender questioned Lin Shuiwang.

"We're not afraid of being reported here. You can come and have fun, but if you want to cause trouble, well..." The bartender made a throat-slitting gesture.

"No, not at all." Lin Shuiwang's cheerful demeanor put the bartender at ease, and he then led the two into the passage behind the bar.

Behind the passage lies a hidden paradise.

It was also shrouded in smoke.

Three tables, some people are playing, some are watching.

Some of these people were even wearing uniforms.

Fang Wen remained silent and walked over with Lin Shuiwang.

The two men's appearances caught the attention of the officers.

An officer who was playing cards looked up and asked, "What country are you from?"

“China,” Lin Shuiwang replied.

"What about him?"

"He was also Chinese, but he didn't speak German, so I was his translator."

"Do you understand English?" the officer asked Fang Wen directly in English.

“I speak English,” Fang Wen replied, finally having the opportunity to communicate without a translator.

"Are you here to play cards?" the officer continued to ask.

"Yes, I've just learned a bit of Skytaker poker."

“You’ve only learned a little bit; you won’t be able to win here.” The officer smiled and waved, and a colleague stood up to give him his seat: “But if you’re willing to pay tuition, I can teach you.”

Fang Wen smiled and sat down. "Thank you."

Then, a new game began.

Just as the officer suspected, the player from the East was not an expert in Skate poker.

But he plays very steadily and doesn't call cards easily. Although he loses more than he wins, he doesn't lose too much.

Even so, the officer was very happy; he hadn't won so decisively in a long time.

As a result, the officer and Fang Wen became closer.

As Fang Wen was leaving, he asked, "Will you come again tomorrow?"

Fang Wen nodded, looking like he had lost money and wanted to win it back: "I'll definitely come tomorrow." For five days in a row, Fang Wen went to the Frontline Beer House to play cards every night.

I would lose 100-200 marks almost every night, which is about 40 US dollars.

This type of player, who only loses and never wins, becomes the most popular member of the beer house poker games.

Everyone enjoys playing cards with him, and after playing a lot, the conversation often turns to other things.

Through the conversation, Fang Wen learned about the origins of these card players.

They all came from the Berlin Wehrmacht Guard Brigade.

This unit is of great significance; officers who have served there have the opportunity to enter the Ministry of National Defense.

But this year is different.

As the Nazi Party gained power, the Prussian aristocratic officer corps increasingly sided with the Nazis, leaving these ordinary officers without a path to promotion.

Under the premise of bloodline supremacy, Prussian noble officers were superior to them.

Therefore, many officers in similar situations feel uncertain about the future.

This gave Fang Wen the feeling that he had a chance.

But he can't bring it up now; he has to do it at the best possible time.

1 month 30 day.

The whole of Berlin was in a frenzy of celebration.

Large numbers of Nazi Party members and stormtroopers dressed in black celebrated wildly in the streets, and their supporters also took to the streets.

Today, Mustache was elected Prime Minister of the Weimar Republic.

Although he was the prime minister, in reality, Paul von Hindenburg, the president of the Weimar Republic, had already handed over power to Hitler.

This victory is not something all Berliners will be happy about; in some places, the drinking continues and the card games go on.

Fang Wen put on his trench coat and went out with Lin Shuiwang.

The car kept stopping along the way to make way for the marching crowd, arriving at the front-line beer house more than half an hour later than usual.

He went down into the beer hall, greeted the bartender, and went directly to the underground card room through the passage behind the bar.

There were still many officers there, just like always.

These officers even complained, "Fang, why did you take so long to arrive?"

Listening to Lin Shuiwang's translation, Fang Wen smiled and said, "Today is a big day for your country. The new prime minister has taken office, and the streets are full of celebrations, so it's inconvenient to drive."

The officers, however, did not follow Fang Wen's lead in the discussion, and the atmosphere became somewhat dull.

Fang Wen sat down and took over from a player, skillfully shuffling and dealing the cards.

At the same time, it was natural to ask, "Why are you unhappy?"

“The Ministry of National Defense is going to be completely reshuffled,” an officer blurted out.

That was a good topic to start a conversation, and the others began to discuss it.

They were members of the traditional military officer system of the Weimar Republic and believed that they would be purged after the Nazis came to power.

The time had finally come. The arrival of the man with the mustache broke down the last psychological defenses of these officers, and Fang Wen decided to test the waters.

"If that's the case, we need to prepare early, otherwise our family won't be able to live a good life."

Fang Wen did not mention the officers themselves, but instead focused on their families.

This would be more effective, as everyone present has a family.

Immediately, everyone's expression changed, and they lost all interest in playing cards.

Compared to the difficulties that may arise in the future, what do wins and losses at the poker table matter?

Seeing their expressions, Fang Wen put down the cards in his hand.

"I came to Berlin with a specific purpose."

These words alerted the officers, prompting them to focus their attention on Fang Wen.

"It's not what you think. I'm a businessman who travels from country to country. My sole purpose is to find opportunities to buy weapons and equipment and sell them to countries that need them. You should be familiar with this kind of thing."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Lin Shuiwang's translation.

So he's an arms dealer. What's the big deal?

The English-speaking officer asked, "Then you can leave Berlin now. Given the current situation, the original arms sales contracts cannot be fulfilled."

"Yes, I also regret coming at this time, but we can't leave empty-handed. Since we've been playing cards for so long, I can show you a way to get rich."

Fang Wen slowly revealed the bait.

The path to wealth offered by an arms dealer is nothing more than selling weapons.

These officers were moved.

"What do you want?" asked the English-speaking officer again.

“Some cheap weapons production lines, or munitions, bullets, anything will do. I don’t have high requirements, just stockpiled items or replacement equipment, which will be needed elsewhere.”

Fang Wen revealed his true purpose.

The officers were talking amongst themselves.

One of them uttered a crucial statement.

"Rheinmetall infantry guns and mortars."

Upon hearing this, Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang didn't react, but the officers' expressions changed.

Judging from their performance, Fang Wen realized the value of it.

He asked, "What do you mean?"

The officers hesitated, but ultimately agreed to let the man explain the situation.

"In 27, Rheinmetall developed and produced a short-barreled 75mm cannon. In 22, they developed an 80mm indirect fire cannon. Neither of these weapons has ever been mass-produced. We can get the design drawings and production process data and sell them to you."

The weapons from five and ten years ago had not yet been mass-produced. Fang Wen suspected that these two types of weapons might be defective products. Even if he took back the design drawings and production process data, they might not be useful.

But since they're being so sincere, I should at least take a look.

He casually stated his request: "I need to see more detailed information before I can decide whether to proceed with the transaction. By the way, how many do you want?"

The officers discussed the matter and proposed a price.

"10 Imperial Marks."

One hundred thousand Reichsmarks is equivalent to more than twenty-three thousand US dollars.

Fang Wen already has so much advanced technology that he could easily buy it outright with full payment.

He agreed to the officers' offer, but asked to review the documents before deciding whether to buy.

Two days later, February 2th.

Inside the beer house's card room, Fang Wen saw information about two weapons.

The first type was the 75mm infantry gun, le. IG 18.

Based on the available information, the gun's structure is quite simple.
It also needs two wheels so that it can be easily moved by horses, cars, or even human power.

It is a versatile infantry gun that can be used in various environments such as urban warfare, plains, and jungles through direct-fire, and can be rapidly deployed with troops.

Fang Wen was immediately tempted.

This thing has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture, making it most suitable for use by the domestic military at present.

It can be used for mobile tactics, or to build defensive fortifications to form a cross-depth fire coverage with heavy artillery.

Fang Wen then looked at the specific data.

Artillery caliber: 75mm
Barrel length: 0.88 meters

Artillery weight: Warhead 0.44 tons

Transportation: Horse-drawn 0.5 tons, motor vehicle towing: 0.57 tons;
Artillery firing arc (horizontal): 11 degrees

Artillery firing angle (vertical direction): -10 to +75 degrees

Rate of fire: 8-12 rounds per minute;

Maximum range: 4600 meters

Effective range: 3550 meters.

After reviewing the data, Fang Wen felt that this was simply the perfect combination of weapons for field battles and guerrilla warfare.