Film and Television World Life Record

Before coming to this world, he had jotted down some basic information, including the general structure and manufacturing process of the Sten submachine gun. His main consideration was that, given the level of domestic industry during the War of Resistance against Japan, this was the only submachine gun they could produce. Even if you gave him complete blueprints for a Thompson submachine gun, he still couldn't manufacture it.

Fortunately, this gun has excellent power and stability.

Subsequently, Li Mu drew out the general process and structure of the firearm, allowing the professors and technicians to quickly develop a prototype by following the example.

Some domestic arms factories can now copy the Czech-made light machine gun, so producing such a crudely made submachine gun shouldn't be too difficult.

Chapter 447 Grand Strategy

Just as Li Mu was preoccupied with the development of new weapons, news came from the Military Intelligence Division that the polar bear and the little devil had clashed at Zhanggufeng.

Li Mu was stunned. The Battle of Wuhan had already begun. At such a critical moment, the Japanese dared to fight the polar bear.

Suddenly, he paused for a moment. Based on some information he had seen in the real world before coming here, it seemed that the little notebook was really going to have to fight the polar bear.

The two families' struggle for control of Zhanggufeng gradually escalated from initial conflict to war. What began as a small skirmish grew into a full-blown conflict…

It wasn't until the Japanese sent over 7,000 men to occupy Zhanggufeng that the Russians sent over 20,000 men, including over 100 tanks and over 100 aircraft, to snatch Zhanggufeng back from the Japanese.

The hundreds of thousands of Kwantung Army troops stationed in Northeast China were immediately filled with righteous indignation, as if they had suffered a great humiliation, and were about to expand the scale of the war and compete with the polar bear.

Seeing that the war against China was escalating, Hirohito and his cabinet did not want to open a second front at this time, so they could only resolve the issue through negotiations.

Ultimately, Zhanggufeng, which belonged to the puppet state of Manchukuo at the time, was lost.

Because of this incident, our land was cut off just a dozen kilometers from the sea, and we lost our only outlet to the sea in Outer Northeast.

Otherwise, this place could have developed into a large port city, which would not only have significant military importance, but would also have greatly boosted the economic development of Northeast China.

……

However, this is just the beginning, and there is still time to salvage the situation.

So, should we add fuel to the fire?

The next battle between the Japanese and the Russians was, to be honest, a rather small one, involving only tens of thousands of people.

If a major conflict could be launched, it could greatly alleviate domestic pressure and even divert attention from other problems.

Thinking of this, Li Mu's mind suddenly became active.

To get the two sides to fight, Zhang Gufeng alone wouldn't be enough. Besides, this place was under the jurisdiction of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Although the Japanese considered Manchukuo as their own territory, they didn't value it as much as their own land.

It's unlikely that they'd actually come to blows over this.

Therefore, the only option is to increase the incentives. Given the current madness and greed of the Japanese, as long as the benefits are plentiful enough, they will fight tooth and nail.

What is the notebook most lacking right now?

First and foremost is oil. Small countries have scarce domestic resources and rely heavily on oil imports, especially from the United States.

That's it, we've got its Achilles' heel.

Don't be fooled by how big the little devil is now; its lifeline is actually in the hands of the United States.

His own oil reserves were so limited that they were barely enough to supply the domestic market, let alone the battlefield.

Without oil, various vehicles and some machinery in Japan will be unable to drive or operate.

On the battlefield, there was no use for trucks transporting supplies, ammunition, and troops, tractors pulling artillery, armored vehicles, tanks, or airplanes.

If we lose our air superiority and heavy firepower advantage, how will we fight the war?

After the outbreak of war, although the United States exported a large amount of military supplies to Japan, its attitude remained ambiguous. Japan was terrified; what if the Americans acted rashly and cut off their oil supplies?

The feeling of having your lifeline controlled is truly unpleasant. If possible, no one wants to entrust their fate to another.

This is especially true for the arrogant and delusional Japan today. How can they tolerate their country's lifeline being in the hands of another nation?

If possible, they would not hesitate to acquire an oil field and produce oil on a large scale, thus taking control of their own destiny, even at a huge cost.

Not only the Japanese, but also Germany.

For a long time, when discussing the reasons for Germany's defeat in World War II, a common view has been that Germany failed because of a lack of oil, as there was not enough fuel to sustain the war.

Another point that modern people often criticize is: if Germany hadn't fought the polar bear, it wouldn't have been able to lose. This statement is clearly considered from a wartime perspective.

He failed to consider another problem: Germany, like Japan, had a major weakness – it lacked oil. Domestic production was extremely low, and as the war escalated, imports became difficult, requiring a large amount of foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, the polar bears live nearby, especially in the Caucasus region, which has a large number of high-quality oil fields.

This was too tempting for Germany. Even though they knew this bear was not to be trifled with, they had no choice but to fight it for the sake of oil.

Since oil is so precious, Li Mu offered a bait to Xiaoben.

He remembered that in the Far East Siberia region, more than 100 kilometers from what is now Manchukuo, there seemed to be a medium to large oil field with considerable reserves.

He can roughly pinpoint the location; if he finds a precise map and does some calculations, he should be pretty close to the mark.

This place is not far from where hundreds of thousands of Kwantung Army troops are stationed. If the Japanese wanted to, hundreds of thousands of troops could occupy this place in a day and occupy the oil field they had been dreaming of.

As for how the polar bear reacted, everyone can guess.

The Japanese are greedy for land, and so are the polar bears. The border has been pushed more than 100 kilometers north, and even the oil fields have been occupied. How could they possibly let this go?

If he were to swallow his anger, he wouldn't be a polar bear.

The two sides are determined to have a fierce battle here.

If the Russians had won, the losses would have been devastating, and it's hard to say whether Japan would still have the capacity to wage war against China. Perhaps the war of resistance could have ended earlier.

Even if it doesn't end, it's just barely surviving.

However, according to Li Mu's estimate, the first phase of the war will likely end in a Pyrrhic victory for Japan.

The Far East is far from the heart of the polar bear's territory, connected only by a railway. This is manageable in peacetime, but in the event of war, this single artery would be far too weak.

If the Japanese send bombers to sever the railway, this lifeline will be gone. Even if it is repaired, the Russian army will be isolated for a short period, which is extremely disadvantageous to the war effort.

As for Japan, even if hundreds of thousands of Kwantung Army soldiers were not enough, they could be transferred from North China and Central China, or even directly conscripted from the mainland.

In the end, the first phase of the war will end in a Pyrrhic victory for the Japanese!

As for the second phase, given Japan's greed, after the defeat of the Russians, there was no military force in the Far East that could threaten them. Compared to China's fierce resistance, with the vast land and abundant resources in the north, they would be able to restrain themselves from taking more and more.

On the other hand, the polar bears, equally greedy for land, will accept defeat and watch as their small notebooks devour vast swathes of their Far East territory.

In any case, war will be started again, and the Japanese will continue the war.

At that time, the main battlefield for the small notebook will most likely shift here.

……

Let's imagine a rosy future: the polar bear clashes with the Japanese, and then Germany raids its defenses. Even if it's not wiped out, its strength will certainly plummet.

So, in the future, once the Allied forces begin their counterattack, China will primarily be needed on the land front against Japan's military forces in the Far East and Siberia.

The Allies will provide weapons and supplies, and we will provide manpower. Even if we cannot defeat Japan in Siberia, Japan will still have to surrender once the Americans unleash their ultimate weapon.

Therefore, in the Siberian region, only the Chinese army, which was closest to them, accepted their surrender and took over the large areas they controlled.

By then... the polar bear will have been drained dry by attacks from both sides, and it will be good if it can maintain its basic position in Europe.

Although China's navy is weak, its army, honed by war, is quite capable. This vast region of the Far East is not only under its actual control but also very suitable for large-scale army operations, and could potentially fall into the hands of other countries.

In the worst-case scenario, under pressure from various countries, we might take a big step back, but we could still get back everything we lost in the past.

After all, the Russian bear, having been drained of its blood, has little say in the matter, so who would truly care about its interests?

……

Of course, the above is just Li Mu's vision, and it would be quite difficult to realize it.

To ensure that Xiaoben would actually take action, one oil field might not be enough, so Li Mu added another layer of leverage.

Although Japan produces precious metals such as gold and silver, as well as minerals like iron and copper, it is extremely scarce, just like oil.

This is also an essential element for war and industrial development, and sometimes even more important than oil.

All kinds of weapons, whether firearms, artillery, armored vehicles, or naval warships, require a large amount of steel.

These also happen to need to be imported from the United States. Every year, the small country imports a large amount of steel from the United States under the guise of importing scrap steel.

This is also their Achilles' heel and lifeline, which is also held in the hands of the United States.

This is also why the US military took such drastic action at Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately, Japan had joined the Axis powers, and the United States was already planning to cut off Japan's two lifelines: oil and steel.

The small notebooks could only act first, and then quickly head south to Southeast Asia to seize oil fields and various resources.

……

Now that he had identified the notebook's weakness, Li Mu remembered that within a hundred kilometers of that oil field, there were several medium-to-large metal deposits, and even a medium-sized oil field, all of which could be used as bait.

Don't believe the little notebook won't take the bait.

……

Thinking of this, Li Mu could no longer sit still. He changed his route to Luoyang and flew abroad again.

This time, he didn't go to Singapore. Instead, he traveled via India, spending a week and several transfers to reach Europe directly.

Although the identity he used this time was fictitious, his identification documents were genuine. However, it would be difficult to find this person by checking with these genuine documents.

However, in this era, without the internet and with information transmission being inherently inconvenient, it's quite normal to not be able to find someone.