For George, the real good news was not that he had bought the steel plant. After all, there were many assets like this in Italy, but that he had received a telegram a few days ago - the fleet sailing from Chittagong had safely arrived in the Red Sea.
This telegram finally made him, who had always been worried about the safety of the fleet, breathe a sigh of relief. After all, submarines in the Indian Ocean were also active, and they could always sink several merchant ships every year.
"Well, they are finally here..."
On the plane returning to Tunisia, George once again looked at the plane. The plane was an SM.75 transport plane he had bought from an Italian airport. This three-engine plane looked inconspicuous, but it could withstand long ranges and was definitely a good cross-ocean flight.
So, George picked up a leak at the Italian airport. Not many, just a few dozen, and as for the money, it was only tens of thousands of dollars.
It only took tens of thousands of dollars to set up an airline, which was absolutely cost-effective.
"When those people come, we can select some people to learn to fly first and support the airline..."
While George was thinking about how to maximize the role of talents, the plane flew south and finally landed safely at the airport.
There are large barracks left by the German army near the airport, and the weapons storage yard is also in the wilderness near the airport, including the overhaul factory left by the German army not far away, which were also handed over to George by the Allies.
Before this, except for the dozens of staff and more than 800 German prisoners brought by George from the United States, the area of more than ten square kilometers was empty and almost no one could be seen.
Now it's good, they will arrive in Tunisia soon...
Thinking of his compatriots who are about to arrive in Tunisia, George can't help but be full of expectations. After all, this is his team!
It is also the foundation for the future control of Borneo!
No matter what, this group of people must be tightly grasped in the hands.
...
For Xia Liangzhe, he still remembers the scene that he will never forget until now.
"Raise your hands if you are a college student?"
They were sitting in the military vehicle and heard an officer shouting to the military vehicle.
Hundreds of hands, including his, were raised in unison.
"Salute!"
After the officer's standard military salute, the crowd applauded, and many people even knelt down to see him off.
From that day on, he was no longer a college student, but a soldier, a soldier who was going to fight against the Japanese and save the country.
From Kunming to India, from India to the ship, where were they going?
"North Africa."
At this time, Zhang Tingpeng handed him a cigarette and said.
"I heard from the superior that Mr. George got more than 100,000 rifles and thousands of cannons from the Americans in North Africa, waiting for us to go there, repair those weapons, and then ship them to China."
Pointing at the fleet with his finger holding a cigarette, Zhang Tingpeng said solemnly.
"We not only have to go to North Africa, but also to Europe, collect weapons on the European battlefield and ship them to China."
"It's just picking up junk!"
Xia Liangzhe couldn't help but sigh at his friend's words.
"The Americans provided millions of tons of supplies to the British and Russians. We are also allies, but how much supplies did we get? In the end, we were even forced to pick up scraps. This is really... a weak country, so it is looked down upon by foreigners!"
"At least the soldiers on the front line have guns to use. Didn't you hear what Commander Xu said? The batch of arms donated by Mr. George was put to great use. If it weren't for that batch of arms, the army might not have been able to stop the Japanese army in Henan a few months ago. I heard that there were only more than a thousand guns in a division in Henan. As soon as the weapons and ammunition donated by Mr. George arrived, they were urgently replenished on the front line. Many troops were replenished with weapons and ammunition for the first time since the Anti-Japanese War, which led to the subsequent great victory. For us, having guns and artillery is enough. As for taking the lead... it has come to this point, what else is there to choose?"
Xia Liangzhe nodded, took a puff of cigarette, and said.
"Indeed, there is no choice. However, Mr. George is indeed patriotic, which is really rare. I heard that in order to obtain arms, he ran to the White House several times to seek the president's help. President Roosevelt was annoyed by him and told him that there was a batch of German arms captured by the Allies in Italy. If he wanted it, he would give it to him, but he had to solve the transportation by himself. So he went to the Italian war zone alone regardless of the risks..."
There are always many versions of the story, just like the story of George donating hundreds of millions of dollars in arms to support the war of resistance. There have been many versions in China, from a billionaire to a personal friend of President Roosevelt. In all the stories, it doesn't matter whether he bought the arms or not. What matters is that he took great pains to lobby the president and finally won a large number of military supplies for the country.
"So, the country has obtained a large number of arms. In fact, the guns donated by the Americans are not new. They are old goods from the last European war. They are simply refurbished and given to us. In terms of newness, they may not be as good as the captured German goods, but at least they are new..."
While these young people in military uniforms complained about the inequality between Britain and the United States and China, the fleet continued to sail in the Indian Ocean. A few days later, they entered the Red Sea and entered the Suez Canal through the Red Sea. After a few more days, they finally entered Tunisia at the end of June.
When the fleet entered the port of Tunisia, everyone looked at this strange land curiously, and George standing on the dock also looked at them.
In fact, at the beginning, George did not dare to think that the country would give 5,000 people, but only tentatively asked for 2,000 people.
But later, 2,000 people became 5,000 people.
Why did the number of people increase by more than double? Because the country urgently needed various weapons. After the news of the Allied landing in France came out, the man in Chongqing immediately realized that this was a good opportunity. There were millions of German troops on the Western Front. If all their weapons were pulled back, victory in the war of resistance was just around the corner!
More people means easier work.
So, under the intervention of the bald man, a team of 5,000 people set off in such a mighty manner. Except for some ordnance maintenance personnel, the rest of them were young soldiers who had been trained for almost a year.
Looking at those faces of the same age as himself, George nodded silently. Okay, his people are finally here.
Just at this moment, a middle-aged man in a military uniform hurriedly walked down from the ship. He ran to George, saluted at attention, and said.
"Mr. George, I am Zhao Xiyong, the special envoy for this trip, fully responsible for the contact matters, reporting to you!"
"Hello, General Zhao, welcome to North Africa, well, I should say, on behalf of the company, I welcome you to join!"