Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 542 Two Deals Between Taishan and the Soviet Union: Tanks for Walkie-Talkies

Fang Wen entered the room and met with the people from the Soviet Union.

The other person introduced themselves.

"Welcome, Comrade Fang. My code name is Eagle, and they are my partners. There have been some problems with the rockets you ordered. Customs here have informed us that they are strictly inspecting ships passing through the strait and prohibiting the transport of military supplies."

"Wasn't everything going smoothly before? Why did things suddenly change?"

"Because their president died last year, he was a very powerful and prestigious person. Now there is some turmoil in Turkey, and the original rules have been changed."

So that's how it is. I suppose these Soviets came here because, like the Germans I met at the airport, they all wanted to establish intelligence channels with the new government.

But these questions were irrelevant to Fang Wen. He went straight to the point and asked, "How many do they need?"

"The price is very high, exceeding our budget, which is why we need you to pay it."

The other party was unwilling to pay for opening the gate, but Fang Wen didn't mind; the rockets had to be delivered to Yangon smoothly.

He asked, "How much exactly?"

“Fifty thousand lira,” the eagle replied.

Fang Wen pondered in his heart.

Last year, the Turkish lira was pegged to gold, with 1 lira being approximately equal to 0.048 grams of gold.

The exchange rate is approximately 1 US dollar ≈ 2.8 lira.

50,000 lira is equivalent to 18,000 US dollars.

This is a huge sum of money for an individual, but it's far from enough for a rocket deal.

Fang Wen nodded: "I can pay the money, but you have to guarantee that the goods will arrive on time."

"No problem, please come with me."

The eagle stood up, led Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng out of the room, and got into the car.

He didn't say where he was going, and Fang Wen didn't ask either. The car drove straight into the city and stopped in front of an Ottoman-style restaurant.

The group entered the restaurant, and Eagle spoke privately with the restaurant manager for a few minutes before the manager went to make a phone call.

The eagle returned and said, "I won't take this money. You can give it directly to the customs officer, and I'll make him produce a promise."

It seems he has his own principles.

Fang Wen smiled and nodded, "Then let's order some food and wait for him."

Then, the group ordered the restaurant's Ottoman specialties.

So-called Ottoman cuisine is modeled after medieval dishes from the Ottoman Kingdom, mainly consisting of roasted meats, accompanied by dairy products and desserts.

One can imagine that this is what the Islamized Turks of that time, combined with Persian and Greek culinary influences, looked like.

The only remedy to cut through the richness was an Ottoman-style herbal fruit tea, which contained a complex blend of dried fruits and various spices.

Fang Wen took a sip and tasted the blend of spices such as ginger, cloves, galangal, and cinnamon, and couldn't bring himself to drink a second sip.

He looked at Gong Xiuneng, who was holding a suitcase in one hand. Gong Xiuneng put down the tea he was pouring, shook his head, and indicated that he was not used to this kind of food.

Meanwhile, the eagle and its assistant across the way were enjoying their meal.

After the meal was finished, the person we were waiting for finally arrived.

He was a short, bald man.

He came in and sat down immediately.

"Did you bring the money? I'm very busy."

Fang Wen looked at the eagle but did not take the money directly.

The eagle extends its hand, "A letter of commitment."

The bald man wanted to say something more, but faced with the fierce-looking Soviet man, he chose to keep quiet and produced a document that should have an official seal.

"The letter of commitment is right here, but where's the money?"

Fang Wen beckoned, and Gong Xiuneng placed the suitcase on the table, took out two stacks of US dollars from it, and counted them out one by one in front of the balding middle-aged man.

There were a total of 180 100-yuan bills.

The bald man took the banknotes, glanced subconsciously at the contents of the suitcase, and said meaningfully, "If I were you, I would never show the contents of this suitcase to a stranger."

Fang Wen smiled and replied, "Thank you."

He wasn't afraid. The money in the box was meant for the Soviets. Since it had been exposed, he would complete the second installment payment transaction right here.

After the bald man left, he turned the suitcase upside down and pushed it over.

"The second installment is inside. According to our contract, the remaining 50% will be paid after the goods arrive in Yangon and are inspected."

Even for a veteran Soviet intelligence officer like Eagle, this was the first time he had ever seen so much money, as was the case with his assistant.

Their pupils constricted.

He reached into the suitcase and touched the cardboard of the bearer bonds.

“Holy Mary, this is the first time in my life I have ever seen so much money.”

“Me too,” his assistant replied.

"Count it, and give me a receipt," Fang Wen said with a smile.

The eagle nodded, counted the money in the box, and then took out a receipt that had been written beforehand and handed it to Fang Wen.

It should bear the seal of the Aerodynamics Research Institute, serving as proof of payment.

Eagle then explained the details of the transaction.

"The cargo ship sailed out of the Sea of ​​Azov the day before yesterday, but due to customs issues, it is now anchored in the Black Sea, only 100 kilometers from the strait. I will go and inform them to set sail now, and it is expected to arrive here this afternoon. You can watch it pass through the strait."

“Okay, I’ll stay here for a day,” Fang Wen replied.

At this moment, the eagle suddenly changed the subject.

"I have an additional transaction request. Could you sell us the Taishan walkie-talkie?"

Fang Wen was stunned, never expecting the Soviet Union to buy things from him.

Before he could answer, the other party continued, "British intelligence used your walkie-talkies to complete a covert operation. It was very successful and caused a sensation in intelligence circles. Before long, you will receive more orders from the intelligence community."

So that's how it is. Last time I went to London to buy jet engine technology, I sold a batch of Tarzan walkie-talkies to the British.

Unexpectedly, British intelligence agencies put it into action so quickly and achieved good results.

Fang Wen couldn't help but ask curiously, "Could you describe their actions?"

Eagle nodded, and as if it were just casual conversation after the meal, he began to talk about what he knew about the operations of the British intelligence services.

Not long ago, British intelligence received a secret letter claiming that they had obtained Germany's Enigma machine.

This is a complex mechanical cryptographic device that can generate encrypted passwords for communication.

Logically speaking, without understanding the structure of the Enigma cryptosystem, it is impossible to decipher the codes it generates.

But the letter gave British intelligence an opportunity, and they immediately organized a rescue operation to try to get the man out of Austria.

At this time, Austria was under German control, and the place where the man lived was guarded by the SS, making it difficult to rescue him.

However, the British brought the Taishan walkie-talkie with them for this operation. They used the walkie-talkie's short-range real-time communication function to set up the operation command post on a local high-rise building, and then used the walkie-talkie to conduct a real-time operation command from a high vantage point.

It was this operation that made the intelligence community aware of the ingenious use of the Taishan walkie-talkie, which is why Soviet intelligence personnel took the initiative to request the purchase of the Taishan walkie-talkie.

Should we sell it?
Fang Wen pondered in his heart.

The reason it was sold to the British was not only because of the jet engine technology, but also because of the timeliness of the Taishan walkie-talkie's manufacturing process.

This semiconductor technology equipment is not irreplaceable. As far as he knows, Motorola in the United States will develop a similar walkie-talkie device in 2-3 years.

In other words, Fang Wen's technological lead in this field is only 2-3 years.

Therefore, it's not impossible to make more profit while the technology is still in its short lifespan, as long as it's not sold to the Japanese.

But there's no need to sell it for money. What can I get through Soviet intelligence?

He doesn't have much need for European intelligence.

The Soviet Union currently has very few good military assets available.

The T-34 is still under development and is expected to be mass-produced next year. By then, it will be the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, and it won't be enough for its own use, so it's impossible to export it.

In terms of aircraft, our fighter jet technology is not leading.

However, the TB-3 heavy bomber was the Soviet Union's ace.

Fang Wen once used the Taishan-1 to bomb the Japanese army at night, which led the Japanese army to believe that it was the work of the TB-3 heavy bomber.

However, the Soviet Union would not sell such strategic bombers to foreign countries.

After thinking it over and over, Fang Wen couldn't find any conditions he could propose.

An idea suddenly occurred to him.

Actually, there's one more thing.

That is the Taishan Pine medium tank.

Although only two were built, their combat effectiveness was remarkable, leaving a deep impression on Fang Wen.

This tank was designed to counter Japanese tanks and was produced using castings from the Soviet T-26 tank.

What if we let Soviet tank factories manufacture them?
With the Soviet Union's heavy industrial capacity, coupled with the T-26 production line, it could definitely supply in large quantities.

No, the Taishan Pine medium tank is an upgraded version, using a Pratt & Whitney 450-horsepower aircraft engine, which the Soviet Union did not have.

Then let's try a different approach: procure a batch of T-26 castings from the Soviet Union, including the tower base, outer shell, and chassis.

For the Soviet Union's heavy steel industry, producing these was not a simple task.

With these castings, plus the Pratt & Whitney 1340 engines in stock, Taishan Military Industry is able to build a ground tank force in a short period of time.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen smiled.

"This is our proprietary technology, which the British paid a great price to acquire. I can sell it to you, but there is one condition."

Upon hearing that there was hope, the eagle immediately perked up.

They were personnel belonging to the Soviet intelligence agency, and their contact with Fang Wen was only a side job, but if they could buy the Taishan walkie-talkie, it would be of great help to their own work.

Therefore, he asked eagerly, "What are the requirements?"

“We developed a Taishan Pine medium tank last year, based on your castings, and it performed very well in combat. However, due to a lack of production capacity, it has not yet entered mass production. My idea is to have it manufactured by your Soviet tank production plant. If you can facilitate this deal, I can sell you the Taishan walkie-talkie,” Fang Wen replied.

This is a negotiation technique: start by discussing a larger objective; if that fails, you'll have room to maneuver.

Use the production capacity of Soviet tank factories to produce tanks for China.

Eagles can't make decisions.

He then drove back to his residence and immediately telegraphed his country to report.

The Soviet high command knew more about the Taishan walkie-talkie.

Walkie-talkies are not only useful in the field of intelligence, but also have a great effect in the field of military operations.

Soviet military observers in China sent back a military observation report, which pointed out that after the Eighth Route Army was equipped with Taishan walkie-talkies, it was able to move freely in the Taihang Mountains, and the Japanese army was unable to effectively attack it. The Japanese army's encirclement and suppression efforts were repeatedly annihilated and defeated one by one by the various units of the Eighth Route Army that communicated with each other.

The Japanese army has ceased its offensive against the northern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, focusing instead on defense along the Pinghan Railway and attacks on the remaining Nationalist troops on the southern foothills.

Therefore, the Soviet Army was also very interested in this type of military communication equipment.

They had tried to develop it themselves and also brought in a Taishan walkie-talkie from China for analysis.

However, during the research process, it was discovered that the so-called semiconductor materials were all artificially synthesized, and the Soviet military research departments did not currently have the corresponding materials to produce.

Therefore, research on the Taishan walkie-talkie had to be suspended.

Now, a telegram from Istanbul says that Taishan Military Industry wants to exchange walkie-talkies for its request to manufacture tanks using substitutes.

The Soviet Union discussed this matter.

The conclusion is naturally impossible. Before the T-34 went into mass production, the T-26 was the mainstay tank of the Soviet Army and it was impossible for it to be manufactured by someone else.

One day passed.

Soviet cargo ships carrying rockets passed through Istanbul customs smoothly.

The rest of the trip should proceed without any problems.

Fang Wen did not leave; he wanted to wait for a reply from the Soviet Union.

Around 10 a.m., Xiong Ying arrived at the airport and found Fang Wen.

"Moscow replied that your request could not be met."

"I see." Fang Wen feigned regret. "Then we'll just buy your tank castings as before and figure out how to assemble them ourselves."

The eagle went back and sent a telegram reporting the new proposal.

This condition is much more lenient than the previous one.

The Soviet Union had a well-developed heavy industry, and tank castings were already in mass production. As long as the production scale was not too large, it could basically supply all the components.

When Moscow learned that Fang Wen only needed 100 T-26 castings, the Moscow side agreed.

The two parties immediately agreed on the transaction price.

A complete set of T-26 vehicle castings, including custom mechanical parts, costs $1.

This price was $11000 cheaper per unit than the T26B complete machine purchased by the Nationalist government.

Actually, it could be cheaper, but the price is only possible because Fang Wen requested that the Soviet Union handle the shipping.

The Soviet Army purchased 600 Taishan walkie-talkies, and the intelligence department purchased 100, at $1500 each.

After reaching an agreement, Fang Wen and the other party agreed to conduct the transaction one month later.

Afterwards, Fang Wen bid farewell to Falcon and left Istanbul.

The Huashan-type aircraft took off and flew towards Paris. After a short rest in Paris, it was about to cross the Atlantic to the United States.

Inside the cabin, Gong Xiu was calculating the costs and benefits of the deal Fang Wen had made.

He scribbled on the paper, muttering to himself, "If we buy 100 sets at 100 each, that's 1 million. If we sell 700 copies to the Soviet Union at 1500 each, how much will that be?"

His math skills were so poor that he couldn't figure it out.

Shao Sichen couldn't help but calculate for him: "We'll sell it for 100 and 5."

"So, this business of ours is profitable?" Gong Xiuneng asked happily.

"The two transactions are not the same thing, how can you conflate them?"

"How can it not be the same thing? If we put in 100 million and get back 100 million and 5, then we've made a profit."

The two started arguing.

As the argument progressed, the two men made a significant discovery.

The Taishan walkie-talkie seems to be quite valuable.

In high spirits, Fang Wen said, "This is the value of technology. As long as we have what others don't, we have the power to set prices. We can sell it for as much as we want."

(End of this chapter)