Chapter 364: Rich and Rich (Third update, please subscribe)
Help.
Of course Li Yian is not helping John. Those small generators seem to be of little use, but they are of great use in Borneo.
For example, it can come in handy in plantations.
Currently, most plantations in Borneo have no electricity supply and can only rely on kerosene lamps for lighting.
Not only is the power generation capacity tight, but the more important reason is that it is impossible to build a transmission grid to every plantation, at least not yet.
It must cost hundreds of thousands to build a power grid to send electricity to a plantation. It is far less cost-effective than sending them a few cheap generators. After all, gasoline is very cheap in this era.
Although the power generation capacity of these small generators is not large, it can basically meet the power supply of a plantation - nothing more than lighting or irrigation.
If one doesn’t work, then two.
It’s cheap anyway.
After just one meal, Li Yi'an made a cameo appearance, negotiated a deal for production, and spent US$40,000 to buy 80,000 small generator sets to power radio stations. And this price is basically equivalent to purchasing scrap iron.
Such tens of thousands of pieces of scrap iron can allow the plantations in Borneo to enter the electric age ahead of schedule and achieve this goal at the minimum cost. After more than ten or twenty years, these generators will be scrapped and have matured. The power grid has naturally entered thousands of households.
On the way back to the hotel, Li Yian, who was sitting in the car, leaned back and lit a cigar.
“It seems that in addition to tanks, tractors and cars, there should be a lot of good things in the remaining materials. The company can also send people to continue salvaging, and there should be many more items. Useful things from Nanyang.”
In fact, in the past two years, Nanyang has obtained a lot of good things from the surplus materials-50,000 trucks, more than 7,000 tractors and bulldozers that are urgently needed for Nanyang construction. , and even more than 700 Sherman tanks - the kind without the artillery. These are basically purchased at scrap metal prices.
But no one can have too much of a good thing. If you are from a poor family and are living in poverty, it is always cheaper to get cheap second-hand goods than to buy new ones.
While Li Yian was thinking about what materials could be used in Nanyang, news came from the radio over there - at 8 o'clock in the evening, President Truman will deliver a national address.
"The Cold War is about to begin!"
The news on the radio made Li Yi'an have such an idea in his mind.
He looked out the window at the cars and pedestrians on the roadside. Some people were dragging their feet towards the station, and some were dragging their feet towards the bus. People who had finished their work for the day were all walking. Just getting ready to go home.
How could these ordinary people imagine that an invisible war would begin today?
That night, Truman gave a speech to the nation. He said a lot, but the core was telling the world one sentence - "We are going to stay in Berlin."
This started the Berlin Airlift.
……
What is the Berlin Airlift?
It is a sign that Western European countries have fully turned to the United States after the war. Russia's comprehensive blockade of Berlin not only did not force the Americans to leave, but even shouldered the moral blame, pushing the entire Western Europe into the arms of the Americans.
Before the Berlin crisis, the situation in Western European countries was favorable to Russia - in the UK, the Russia-friendly Labor Party was in power, and in France and Italy they had become the ruling party. In other countries, they are no longer a minority. In the post-war environment of poverty and hunger, Russia is naturally welcomed.
In such a great situation...a Berlin crisis changed everything.
Even an idiot can see it - the Russians "kidnapped" two and a half million Berliners and used them as a threat to force the United States and Britain to withdraw from Berlin. But what did Truman choose?
"WestayinBerlin".
We stayed in Berlin.
Then the Berlin Airlift was launched. The entire airlift lasted for more than 300 days, transported more than two million tons of materials, and cost 22.4 billion US dollars!
You must know that Marshall’s European recovery plan only cost more than 10 billion US dollars! From this, you can imagine how costly the Berlin airlift was. .
With the US military's transportation regardless of cost, the Russian threat was obviously ineffective, and the blockade had to be lifted in the end.
And the price?
"A good hand turned out to be a bad one!"
On the plane to New York, Li Yi'an couldn't help but sigh. Just a few days ago, after Truman delivered the speech "We Stay in Berlin", mankind The largest airlift in history began, which also meant that Western Europe inevitably turned to the United States. They were still hesitant and entangled, but the Berlin Crisis and the Berlin Airlift changed everything - he proved to the world that this boss was really serious, and he was still serious. The kind that doesn’t care about the cost. Then, Western Europe became hardcore for the United States!
Of course, it also means that Nanyang has joined the Western camp, and Nanyang will send planes to participate in air transportation. Historically, in addition to the British and American air forces, the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air forces also partially participated in airlift missions.
Why didn’t France participate?
Because France, a legitimate left-wing country, chose the former over offending Russia and the United States.
Because of this, left-wing France quickly lost what they once had. It even affected U.S. aid.
So at this critical moment, we must learn how to play the Cold War card. It has always been very simple, it is nothing more than standing in line, as long as you stand in line. You can get unimaginable returns.
Especially if the other party is wealthy.
For example, this time Nanyang is definitely not working in vain. Truman has signed a presidential decree to provide military assistance to Nanyang - with 4 "Fletcher" class destroyers and 4 John Butler class escort destroyers. The main 45 warships are designed to help Nanyang strengthen its maritime power to ensure its maritime security.
This is the reward for taking sides!
Although this aid is only tens of millions of dollars, Li Yian knows very well that as the situation in Asia changes next year, the United States' aid to Nanyang will also increase.
Truman is a man who remembers gratitude, and he has proven this time and again in the past few years.
“Twenty-two and four billion U.S. dollars...”
As soon as he thought about this expenditure, Li Yian felt a heartache. It far exceeded the expenditure of the Marshall Plan. Such a large amount of money , was used in a bad way, and ended up burning oil over Berlin.
However, he started the Cold War anyway, and what was the Cold War?
This is a great opportunity.
After arriving in New York, Li Yi'an made a special trip to the New York Shipyard to see the warships that had just sailed into the shipyard from Hampton Anchorage for maintenance. After these warships were maintained, they would be handed over to Nanyang.
"They are all warships built between 1943 and 1944."
The tone of Colonel Felice standing by the dock seemed a little emotional.
"If it weren't for being given to Nanyang, they would have been rotting in the anchorage, slowly rusting, and finally sinking into the sea, you know? Our naval base is now crowded with such warships, there are thousands of them!"
Are you complaining or Versailles? Li Yian was speechless for a while, but he also knew that what the other party said was the truth.
After the war, the U.S. military quickly began large-scale disarmament activities. The 11 million-strong U.S. Army was reduced to less than two million people, and the Army only had a dozen combat divisions. The same is true for the navy. The navy has been reduced from more than 3 million people to 600,000 people, and the number of more than 1,200 large combat warships has been reduced to more than 200.
Warships with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons, such as the "Fletcher" class destroyers, are regarded as capital ships in many countries. During the war, 175 ships were built at once, and more than 140 ships remained after the war. Although it is equipped with various advanced facilities such as radar, the US military also has more advanced Keeling-class and Allen Sumner-class destroyers - more than 100 ships. In order to protect the latter two, a large number of destroyers are deployed. The Letcher-class destroyer was mothballed. As for the escort destroyers with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons, more than 400 are mothballed.
I can only say... Emperor Mi is really wealthy at this time!
"Your Majesty, now... these warships all belong to you!"
Like many Americans, Felice likes to call Li Yi'an "Your Majesty" instead of "President". Otherwise, it is Americans' yearning for nobility. . Even speaking a few words to a noble is a matter of honoring one's ancestors.
"Now, what is certain is that, Your Majesty, you will soon have the most powerful maritime power in Asia!"
With just a few warships, you will become the most powerful navy!
Although it is a bit exaggerated, it is true.
In fact, that is not necessarily the case. After all, the Seventh Fleet is in Japan, but it is the US Navy.
So after receiving these warships, Nanyang became the most powerful naval force in Asia - and there is nothing wrong with that.
Looking at the warships being maintained in the dock, Li Yian couldn't help but murmur in his heart.
“Hey, there are warships now, but...the territorial waters are too small...”
Especially a few years ago, after others drew a line at home, the territorial waters in the west became even smaller. Well, as for the east... we can only think of a solution to the east.
Go east... You must expand eastward no matter what. After all, Borneo is too small.
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(End of this chapter)