Chapter 230 Suddenly Rich
In the Battle of Midway in this timeline, because the First Air Force was deceived by false news, the battle lasted more than two hours. In addition to the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers, One battleship and one heavy cruiser were also lost, and an entire formation of destroyers was sunk.
The United Fleet was greatly bled.
Of course, due to the inertia of history, some events still happened.
For example, after the unlucky Yorktown was paralyzed by the Hiryu aircraft carrier's final counterattack, it was ultimately sent into the sea by a Japanese Navy submarine.
For example, two Japanese heavy cruisers, the Mogami and the Mikuma, still collided in the fog due to getting lost and almost sank.
For example, the Nautilus once again set a new record for the number of U.S. submarines sunk in a single battle, but Captain Rockman was still full of resentment for not sending Akagi off in person.
For another example, the original "Tani Feng" piloted by He Chi was hit by a bomb from the US military's own aircraft.
"Hey, what are you doing in the commotion inside? Why do I hear the bed shaking? It's so noisy that I can't sleep." Colonel Carlson walked onto the bridge with dark circles under his eyes. He had not been there for 36 hours. Have a good sleep.
"That guy named Nanyun will scratch his stomach as soon as he wakes up, just in case I have someone tie him to the bed." He Chi answered, putting down the telescope in his hand.
"Damn it, I'm going to give him a good beating before handing him over to Washington. Why haven't we arrived yet? It's already three hours behind schedule." Carlson looked at his watch.
“It’s not because of our heroic U.S. Air Force that a near-miss bomb exploded about five meters away, and the bottom compartment was damaged. The hull is now a little unbalanced, and the speed is only half of the normal speed, but it will soon. Here we are." He Chi looked at the slightly burnt part on the side of the ship.
"Your Excellency! Your Excellency!" Kojiro Iiguni suddenly ran up.
"What is it? Are you so excited?"
"Sir, we have a special discovery, please come down and take a look."
He Chi walked down and found something shiny appearing on the sea, and then sank into the sea again. But at this moment, a special voice suddenly sounded in He Chi's ears: "Fragments of key information have been found, core data has been obtained, and the total progress of information collection is 21.33." %”
? ? ? ! ! ! ——
The next day, He Chi stood on the dock and looked at the Tanifeng, which was cut open by workers using gas welding, with a thoughtful look on his face.
"He, you lucky guy, you are probably going to get rich." The colonel walked towards him with a report.
"Get rich? Is Washington's bonus coming so soon?" He Chi said half-jokingly.
"Well, I have no expectations for this before I retire." Colonel Carlson threw the report in his hand. "Look, you are such a lucky guy!"
He Chi Report I took it and glanced at it twice.
"Mercury?!"
"Yes, it is mercury. The ballast of this ship is not lead or iron, but mercury, a total of 400 tons of mercury!" Colonel Said somewhat excitedly.
“What’s so exciting about this?” He Chi still didn’t understand
The colonel gestured to the text on the report, "When I reported the Washington plan before, the president specially approved that this ship belongs to your private finance, and all the items on the ship will be paid for by the Ministry of National Defense. Now is the war, and the price of mercury is skyrocketing. Do you know the value of four hundred tons of mercury? ?”
“Sorry, I have no idea about this.” He Chi shrugged. Now that he remembered it, there seemed to be a story about a large amount of mercury found when the Xuefeng was dismantled in Taiwan. A rich man was born. It seems that Yanyang-class destroyers all have this characteristic?
"The current official mercury price is five thousand US dollars per ton, which means that the mercury in your hand is worth two million US dollars! And only a lot more!" The colonel revealed an astonishing figure.
He Chi was really surprised now. You must know that the ratio of US dollars to gold in 1942 was 1:0.88, and the salary of an ordinary soldier in the US Army was only 50 US dollars. Roughly speaking, the value of this mercury in 2024 is about 90 million to 100 million US dollars.
"I have said hello to the Ministry of National Defense. They are willing to buy your goods in full. Congratulations! You are a millionaire now!" The colonel laughed and patted He Chi on the shoulder. , but saw that he had already entered a thinking state.
"The last information fragment was plutonium, this time it is mercury... radioactive metals, heavy metals, nuclear fission research... what is the connection between these?" "What will happen when the total information collection progress reaches 100%?"
He Chi now has a feeling that he seems to be getting closer and closer to some kind of goal.
A loud shout interrupted He Chi's thoughts.
All the American troops that originally attacked have returned. After confirming that the Japanese troops have retreated, the American soldiers started a carnival on the shore.
I have to say that the logistics of the U.S. military during this period was still very strong. For such a small island of five square kilometers, the Americans sent more Coca-Cola than fresh water, beer, steaks, bacon, and fresh seafood. The soldiers and the station nurses had already begun to dance.
At the edge of the party venue, there is a strange landscape.
"Come! Products purely made in Japan! Let's take a look!"
Iikuni Kojiro is leading other surrendered Japanese soldiers to sell trophies to the Americans.
The military kettle costs 3 US dollars, the lieutenant's collar badge costs 10 US dollars, the pilot's medal costs 100 US dollars, and sabers for junior officers and above start at 300 US dollars. It also comes with a signature of the Japanese chieftain Nan Yunzhongyi. (Fake)
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough money, just get something in exchange.
Chocolate, ice cream, military lighters, and military socks are all hard currencies. Kojiro accepts any daily necessities, and even the safety balloons in the hands of soldiers can be discounted.
There was an endless stream of American soldiers in front of the stall of the former Osaka bodybuilding apprentice, and Kojiro’s face was filled with flowers as he counted the money.
He Chi heard the sound and walked over. The smile on Kojiro's face began to solidify, and he gradually became uneasy.
"Your Excellency! You are here, I am acting arrogantly in front of you!" Kojiro bowed his head and apologized directly.
He Chi walked up to him without comment, picked up an exquisite wine bottle and asked, "Where did these things come from?"
"This..." Kojiro hesitated, "I used it from the prisoners. In exchange for supplies..."
It turns out that in this battle, the U.S. military not only won a complete victory, but also captured more than 100 more Japanese prisoners than in history, more than half of which were picked up from the sea by He Chi and others .
Kojiro, who was responsible for managing prisoners of war, fully mobilized his "big soul". Under the guise of helping the prisoners improve their treatment, he exchanged boxes of cans and purified water for a large number of Japanese prisoners' personal belongings, and even returned The US military guards were bribed to exchange some pistols and swords for sale.
The result is huge profits.
Looking at the philistine-looking Kojiro in front of him, He Chi remembered that Japanese trading companies were often the vanguard of espionage activities during World War II, so he suddenly noticed something.
"Kojiro, I remember you once said that you dreamed of having your own trading company."
"Hai! Sir, this was Kojiro's previous dream..."
"Then now you have this opportunity." He Chi said to Fan Guo who didn't know why. Kojiro pulled up
“I will allocate all the goods from the Tanikaze bottom warehouse to you. You must establish a trading company that can do business with Japan within a year. Select, do you know what I mean? ”
Kojiro rolled his eyes, and immediately knelt down and bowed to the ground, "Hai! I understand, I will establish a trading company directly belonging to you within a year."
Then he climbed two steps and added in a low voice "It is also an intelligence agency that belongs only to you."
(End of this chapter)