On the eve of the fall of Liaodong, he led his troops in a remonstrance against the young marshal.

With a gentle tap of his mind, Zhang Xueming's tank panel immediately unfolded, displaying various models of exchange options arranged in a row, like rows of steel soldiers awaiting inspection.

His gaze swept down from the top.

Type 95 light tank, exchange price: 50 points.

Zhang Xueming is very familiar with this tank.

The Japanese light tanks, the mainstay of the Japanese army, were very popular on the Northeast battlefield. Their armor was only 12 millimeters thick, which could withstand rifles and machine guns, but it was no different from paper in front of anti-tank guns.

Its advantages are that it is lightweight and flexible, making it suitable for combat in mountainous and swampy areas.

But Zhang Xueming didn't like it; it was too small, with a three-man crew and a 37mm cannon, which was completely incompatible with the battles he was about to fight.

[Sherman M4 medium tank, exchange price: 150 points.]

American-made, well-balanced performance, the 75mm gun was sufficient for the Asian battlefield, and the armor was also acceptable.

However, the Sherman had a notorious problem: its gasoline engine was prone to catching fire if hit, which the US military itself called "lighter".

Moreover, the Sherman's tracks were rather narrow, making it less effective at navigating muddy and snowy terrain in Northeast China. Zhang Xueming mentally crossed that out.

[Leopard Tank, Exchange Price: 150 Points.]

A masterpiece of the Germans, its sloped armor design was unparalleled at the time, and its 75mm long-barreled gun had extremely fierce armor-piercing capabilities.

Zhang Xueming stared at the Leopard's parameters for a long time and had to admit that it was an excellent tank.

The problem is that the Leopard's structure is incredibly complex, with a double torsion bar suspension system, staggered road wheels, and a Maybach engine; each component requires a sophisticated industrial system to support it.

Given the current level of the Fengtian Arsenal, let alone imitation, they would have to learn how to maintain it from scratch.

Moreover, the Leopard is notoriously delicate in actual combat, with a high failure rate of its gearbox, and repairs can drive even the most experienced mechanics crazy.

Tiger Heavy Tank, Exchange Price: 200 Points.

With its thick armor, powerful firepower, and strong deterrent effect, its 88mm gun could penetrate any Allied tank at the time.

However, the Tiger's problems were more serious than the Panther's. It was too heavy. Its weight of 57 tons made it manageable on the plains of Eastern Europe, but getting stuck in the mud and permafrost of Northeast China was commonplace.

The fuel consumption was even more astonishing; a kilometer of off-road driving would burn 500 liters of gasoline, and the entire logistics of the Northeast Army might not be able to afford to maintain just a few Tiger tanks.

Moreover, the Tiger's production process is extremely complex. The ball bearing seat alone requires ultra-high precision machine tools to process, which the Fengtian Arsenal currently does not have the capability to do.

Tiger II Tank, Exchange Price: 250 Points.

The Tiger is an upgraded version, bigger, heavier, stronger, and also more demanding and harder to please.

Zhang Xueming glanced at it once and looked away; it wasn't something he needed to think about right now.

His gaze continued downwards, and at the very bottom of the panel, a familiar model came into view.

[T-34 medium tank, exchange price: 100 points.]

Zhang Xueming's breathing paused slightly.

The price made him almost unable to believe his eyes—only 100 points?

The same price as a Mustang fighter jet?

He almost subconsciously checked the number on the system panel again; it was indeed 100 points, clear and unambiguous.

His pupils contracted slightly, and a series of images flashed through his mind.

Nomonhan.

In the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939, the Soviet army and the Japanese army fought for more than four months on the banks of the Khalkhin Gol River.

In that battle, Zhukov deployed all his T-34 and BT series tanks to the battlefield, crushing the elite Japanese Kwantung Army with a steel torrent.

The Japanese's proud Type 95 light tanks and Type 89 medium tanks were like tin cans meeting a can opener in front of the T-34.

A 37mm cannon shot at the sloped armor of a T-34 can only leave a shallow dent, while a single shot from the T-34's 76mm cannon can penetrate the Japanese tank, turret and hull together.

The Japanese soldiers were beaten so badly they cried out for their parents.

The 23rd Division of the Kwantung Army was almost completely wiped out, and its commander, Michitaro Komatsubara, committed seppuku.

After that battle, the Japanese never dared to attack the Soviet Union again, but their ambition to move south only grew stronger, ultimately leading them down the path of no return by attacking Pearl Harbor.

In the steel torrent of Nomonhan, the T-34 was the most ferocious beast in the torrent.

Zhang Xueming closed his eyes to calm himself down.

His heart was racing, but his mind was unusually clear.

Excitement is meaningless, and impulsiveness is the devil. He needs to calmly analyze the pros and cons of this exchange.

First, one T-34 costs 100 points.

30,000 points can be redeemed for 300 vehicles.

What does 300 T-34s mean?

At the end of World War II, a Soviet tank corps had only about 500 tanks. Three hundred T-34s, along with a complete logistics and maintenance system, were enough to sweep everything across the Asian battlefield.

But he can't use all 30,000 points to exchange for tanks.

He also needs to reserve some points to exchange for ammunition, fuel, and spare parts, leaving at least 5,000 points as maneuvering space.

Let's exchange for 250 vehicles first, and use the remaining points to buy enough shells and diesel. If there are any left over, we can exchange for a few more command-type T-34s.

Secondly, the T-34 is known for its reliability.

Although the Christie suspension system is primitive, its structure is so simple that even a blacksmith's shop in the countryside can repair it. The diesel engine has much lower requirements for fuel quality than the gasoline engine, and it can be started with a single button even in the extreme cold of minus thirty degrees Celsius.

Winters in Northeast China are so cold that they can crack rocks. In winter, Japanese tanks often wouldn't start and had to be warmed by a fire under the engine for a long time before they could start.

The diesel engine of the T-34 has a much better starting performance in extremely cold conditions than the gasoline engine.

For this reason alone, the T-34 was better suited to the battlefield environment of Northeast China than the Sherman and Tiger.

Third, and most importantly, the manufacturing process of the T-34 is ridiculously simple.

Zhang Xueming later read detailed records about the T-34 production process in historical documents.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviets simplified the production of the T-34 to the extreme.

The vehicle body armor plates are formed in one piece using a casting process, eliminating the need for complex stamping dies.

The turrets were originally cast, but later, in order to speed up production, there were even simple turrets made by directly welding rolled steel plates.

The engine used was a V-2 diesel engine. Although it was a precision engine, the Soviets relaxed its production standards to an astonishing degree; as long as it could run, it was considered qualified.

Most importantly, the T-34 was designed with the feasibility of large-scale production in mind from the very beginning.

It has far fewer parts than German tanks, and welding accounts for the majority of the vehicle's manufacturing process. The precision requirements for machine tools are far lower than those for the Tiger and Panther tanks.

During the most difficult period of the war, the Soviets reduced the production cost of the T-34 to just over 100,000 rubles per vehicle, and the speed at which it rolled off the production line was almost comparable to that of manufacturing tractors.

What does this mean?

This means that the Fengtian Arsenal was fully capable of replicating the key components of the T-34, and might even have been able to establish a simple production line.

Zhang Xueming's mind raced as he rapidly calculated the assets of the Fengtian Arsenal.

Fengtian Arsenal was the largest military industrial enterprise in Northeast China. Its predecessor was the Fengtian Ordnance Factory, which was established during the reign of Zhang Zuolin.

After several expansions, it now has rifle production lines, machine gun production lines, mortar production lines, and artillery shell production lines.

The factory has more than 20,000 workers, including many engineers who have studied in Germany and Japan.

There are thousands of machine tools of various types, including lathes, milling machines, planers, grinders, and drills. Although most of them are old models from the 1920s and 30s, the basic structure is still there.

The casting workshop of the Fengtian Arsenal was fully capable of producing the hull armor for the T-34.

The Fengtian Arsenal had its own steelmaking furnaces and casting equipment, although its output and precision could not compare with those of the Soviet Union's specialized tank factories.

However, in a state of war, it is not a problem to relax the standards slightly and produce qualified cast armor plates.

The engine for the T-34, the V-2 diesel engine, is indeed a problem.

The V-2 is the culmination of Soviet technology, and the Fengtian Arsenal currently does not have the capacity to produce diesel engines.

But Zhang Xueming thought of another way: he could exchange the blueprints from the system again!

The T-34's cannon, the 76mm F-34 tank gun.

The technology involved in this cannon is indeed quite advanced, but the Fengtian Arsenal already had experience in producing 75mm field guns, and the barrel processing technology of the 75mm field guns is similar to that of the 76mm cannons.

Even if the Fengtian Arsenal cannot produce the gun barrels for the F-34 for the time being, it can still produce shells first.

The F-34's 76mm shells, including the cartridge case, primer, propellant, and fuse, could all be produced by the Fengtian Arsenal.

The warhead can be slightly modified from the existing 75mm artillery shells. Although the ballistic performance will be somewhat different, it can still be used in actual combat.

Most importantly, all the parts for the T-34 can be redeemed in bulk within the system.

He doesn't need to summon all 250 tanks at once. He can first exchange for 200 complete tanks for frontline combat, and then exchange for 50 spare parts to send to the Fengtian Arsenal.

Engineers and technicians disassembled and studied the tank, thoroughly understanding every detail from start to finish.

After this battle, the Fengtian Arsenal will be able to gradually establish a system for the imitation and maintenance of the T-34 based on the results of the dismantling and research.

By then, the Northeast Army will have a continuous torrent of steel, no longer engaging in one-off exchanges, but truly achieving self-sufficiency.

This is a long-term strategic investment.

The more Zhang Xueming thought about it, the more convinced he became that this path was viable.

The T-34 is cheap, durable, powerful, reliable, easy to maintain, and has low production barriers. Every aspect of it perfectly matches the current needs and conditions of the Northeast Army.

This tank is practically made for him by God.