Munitions Empire-Chapter 1049 - 971 absolutely no bargaining

Chapter 1049: 971 absolutely no bargaining

This situation closely resembled the status of Japan’s air force during World War II, even General Feng Kezhi and Shu Country were inferior to that of Japan in World War II.

During World War II, Japan’s pilot training was aristocratic in nature: the young people who underwent pilot training were carefully selected, excellently educated, and the cream of society.

Because ordinary Japanese citizens during World War II had minimal exposure to machinery and flying, their foundation was nearly nonexistent, requiring training from scratch.

Thus, before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese air force pilots were extensively trained and elite, and after real combat experience, they immediately possessed formidable combat capabilities.

However, such pilots could not be quickly replenished because there were only so many fundamentally trained individuals; when one died, one was lost, and replacements lacked the time to mature and thus fell short in quality.

A similar situation occurred in the Republic: literacy rates were low, and only a few social elites with some basic knowledge could be used to train pilots, hence many pilots in the Republic came from distinguished families.

The problem was that once these aristocratic scholars died, they were gone for good, and replenishing them was nearly impossible, as people outside of this circle had never seen an airplane in their lives, were illiterate, and due to chronic malnutrition, could easily fall while rotating.

The same was true for Japan: after a batch of pilots were trained across society, there was a huge gap among the remaining civilians who could not continue to be trained as pilots; therefore, after the significant losses of elite pilots at places like Midway, they could no longer be replenished.

The situations in Qin Country and Shu Country were the same: their technological advancements were forcibly accelerated by the Great Tang Empire, but their societal structures still remained as they were a decade ago.

The literacy rates among the populace were very low, 95% had not attended school, and 99% had never even touched an airplane.

Even in recent years, over 70% of the people had never ridden a train, expecting these individuals to become pilots was more far-fetched than simply putting them to death.

More tragically, whether in Qin Country or Shu Country, their domestic pilot training capabilities were virtually nonexistent. If they could perhaps educate a few to pilot civilian transport planes, that might be feasible, but training fighter jet pilots was like herding ducks onto a perch.

This is not to say it was entirely impossible, but the pilots they trained were rookies barely capable of taking off and somewhat managing to land the planes.

After losing more than a third of their pilots, neither Qin Country nor Shu Country frequently deployed their bombers to provoke each other.

The fighter jets also operated within their own controlled territories, to ensure that if shot down, the pilots could parachute and immediately return to the Troops.

Compared to airplanes, pilots were even more valuable, a consensus among the vast majority of countries—including Tang Country.

Unlike other countries, the national situation of Tang Country was similar to that of the United States before World War II: The Great Tang Empire had the largest number of pilot teams in the world and the most substantial and reliable pilot training capacity.

Normally, many people in the Great Tang Empire had exposure to flying: the Great Tang Empire even used airplanes for pesticide spraying on many farms, and these pilots were all trained in civil aviation schools.

It puts many countries’ pilots to shame that these everyday pilots in the Great Tang Empire, who flew planes to spray pesticides on farms, had far superior flying skills than pilots from those countries.

At least these Great Tang pilots, who flew planes spraying pesticides, had no problem switching to flying transport and bomber planes when the war broke out.

And pilot training for fighter jets in the Great Tang Empire was the best in the world. Their pilots underwent the most rigorous training and not only were their skills outstanding, but the planes they flew were also said to be the best in the world.

Thus, the casualty rate of pilots in the Great Tang Empire was extremely low, low casualties meant that more pilots could survive actual combat and accumulate their skills and experience.

On the other hand, perhaps the literacy rate in the Great Tang Empire was the highest in the world, with various night schools and training institutions, alongside a complete compulsory education system and university system, making the education penetration rate in the Great Tang Empire frighteningly high.

This was not merely about a high literacy rate but meant that many young people in the Great Tang Empire understood the principles of flight, were familiar with mechanical structures, and had been exposed to many related subjects in school.

Combined with the comfortable life in the Great Tang Empire, the balanced nutrition of its youth meant they were healthier and more robust, thus during pilot selection, the number of qualified individuals was also higher.

Under the numerous advantages, the Great Tang Empire’s pilot reserve base is even larger; as long as there is a demand, the Great Tang Empire can continue to train pilots and expand the pilot team in a short period of time.

This is the great advantage brought about by modern educational systems, economic systems, and mobilization systems. It seems unnoticeable on ordinary days, but at critical moments, it becomes a factor to measure the strength of a country.

Unfortunately, other countries are unable to do this. They can only act like Japan during World War II, appearing fierce but lacking substance, good at bullying the weak but exposed when facing strong enemies.

Of course, in this Otherworld, everyone is taught by the same master, unable to break the spell… they are like the “Otherworld Japan,” where technology is abnormally boosted, everyone looks the same. As long as they do not compete with the Great Tang Empire, there is actually no problem.

Since everyone lacks the capability to further train pilots, and everyone only has about the same number of pilots, there is no worry that others will train more pilots to surpass themselves, and so a balance can be maintained.

As the military advisor of the Great Tang Empire stationed in Qin Country, Zhou Huaiyuan was also among those present at the meeting. He chose a corner, trying his best not to join in Qin Country’s strategic discussions.

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Why would such a confidential meeting allow a foreign military officer like Zhou Huaiyuan to attend? This was actually the intention of the higher-ups in Qin Country. They hoped that the Great Tang Empire would support Qin Country, preferably offering substantial support in subsequent wars.

For example, some aircraft or machine tools could be exported to Qin Country through the Dahua Empire: with Tang Country’s influence, taking the Dahua route is not entirely impossible.

“General Zhou, what is your view on the current situation?” Even though he chose a less conspicuous spot, Zhou Huaiyuan was still noticed by many. Prime Minister Ying Ke lowered his voice and asked Zhou Huaiyuan for his opinion.

“The Qin Army is indeed brave, but logistics are still a major problem.” Zhou Huaiyuan generously responded.

After all, his job here was to facilitate sales; pointing out some problems with the Qin Army now also made it easier to later promote military equipment from the Great Tang Group.

“Sigh… I have seen the reports you submitted before, General, where you suggested purchasing 100,000 military vehicles… I opposed it at that time, but now it seems, General, you had foresight, and I was shortsighted,” Ying Ke sighed, praising Zhou Huaiyuan while deprecating himself with a candid attitude.

Zhou Huaiyuan smiled: “Prime Minister, you don’t need to blame yourself, last year you opposed the budget for 100,000 military vehicles and used it for building railways and airports… It wasn’t wasted, and today these railways are being used, right?”

Qin Country’s budget was limited, but Qin Country’s budget really was used in the right place: although they did not purchase a large number of military vehicles, they built new railways and several airports. These infrastructure projects indeed increased the mobilization speed of the Qin Army and also improved the efficiency of civilian transportation in Qin Country.

“Now with the current warfare, General Zhou, do you have a solution?” Another officer joined the discussion, it was Ying An who had just come over.

He was King of Qin Ying Duo’s younger brother and the most trusted military officer of the King of Qin. He held a high position in Qin Country and was similar to General Feng Kezhi of the Dahua Empire in the early years.

This “Military God” of Qin Country was very close to Zhou Huaiyuan personally, and his son had even been continuously learning from Zhou Huaiyuan, accessing a lot of advanced military theoretical knowledge.

“What can I do… It’s nothing more than improving supply while aggressively pushing the attack.” Zhou Huaiyuan naturally answered the other’s question: “If we really let Shu Country survive the first three months, then Qin Country might suffer heavily.”

His statement was also the judgment of Ying Duo and Ying Ke: once Shu Country could continuously receive material supplies from Chu Country and Tang Country, then Qin Country would fall into a passive state.

At the end of their strength, no force can penetrate through; once Qin Country’s strong forces are exhausted, Shu Country could then outlast Qin Country with a better economy and more resources.

“General Zhou, we hope to purchase another batch of machine tool equipment from your country and set up another automobile production plant. Also, we hope your country can urgently train a batch of fighter jet pilots for us… I wonder, is that possible?” Ying Duo approached and asked at that moment.

“Transportation might be a little troublesome, but I think… as long as profits can be assured, there’s still room for operation,” Zhou Huaiyuan confidently replied.

He knew that even during wartime, the Dahua Empire would inevitably give face to the Great Tang Empire. Wanting to transport a batch of materials to Qin Country was not an impossible task.

This might be the only good news Ying Duo had heard in the past month, his face showed a slight smile, obviously truly relieved a lot: “Then I ask General Zhou to help as much as possible! We will hand over the list to you later, and the cost… we will definitely not bargain.”

He also understood that now was not the time to haggle, as long as the other party was willing to sell, it was already helping Qin Country.