The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 126 Little Golden Buddha, a Symbol of Friendship

"Although the Johns are our allies in name only, we all know that the tycoons have complaints about their colonial policies." Jason, director of the Intelligence Department, calmly lit a cigarette and spoke slowly.

Due to the trade protection strategy of John's Kingdom, goods produced in the United States before the start of the World War were completely unable to enter overseas markets because the colonial customs were all in the hands of John's people, who imposed high tariffs on United States goods.

After the Great Depression of 29, the capital tycoons were hit hard.

However, with the outbreak of the world war again, the capital tycoons ushered in a second spring. Now various factories have been rebuilt, productivity is growing rapidly every day, and everything seems to be moving in a good direction.

But what happens once the war is over?

Even if the United States wins, the Kingdom of John will inevitably close its colonies again after the war. What will happen to the United States' expanded production capacity then? Will it rely entirely on imports from the compradors of the Qian Kingdom?

Even if we take into account the needs of the defeated countries for post-war reconstruction, the market is still not enough.

Western Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asia, all these places must open their markets to US dumping.

The Southeast Asian colonies that were completely destroyed by the invasion of the Japanese devils were the first domino chosen by the United States to topple John's colonial empire.

"Are you sure this behavior won't affect our victory?" As a soldier, Stevenson only cared about victory and when he could have five stars on his shoulders.

"No, in fact, we'll even contact the officials of those puppet regimes under Fuso, and I'll make them abandon their evil ways and join the good. Instead of being dogs for the Fuso and John people, why can't they be dogs for the United States?" Jason said with disdain, "At least the bones we feed them are bigger and have meat on them."

Jason is determined to succeed in Operation Tumbling Block. That old dog Donovan is destined to be no match for Hoover. He, Jason, is the savior of the CIA that everyone has been waiting for.

"Well, as long as it doesn't affect the ultimate victory, I will provide you with as much help as possible, but if I find that your actions are hindering the progress of the war..."

Stevenson didn't like these gutter rats in the intelligence agency, and he ended the conversation with a threat.

As for the news that Zhang Chi has financial support from the Intelligence Bureau?

Stevenson didn't care too much. Zhang Chi was a useful sharp knife in his hand. As long as he could make the Fuso man bleed profusely, it would be enough.

As for this knife, did anyone else touch it when it was forged?

He wasn't a psychopath. As long as he was the one holding the knife, it would be fine. Wasn't Lieutenant Colonel James still there to carry out his will? Weren't all the military victories achieved under his command?

-----

"That's not good. I just made some minor modifications to your reports every time. This gift is too expensive." Lieutenant Colonel James, the liaison officer sent by Stevenson, looked at the palm-sized golden Buddha in front of him, his eyes turned into $ symbols.

Even the White Eagle people, who have always been straightforward and unassuming, were insincere in the face of such a great gift.

Zhang Chi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I was going to give you a check from Ocean Bank for $6000, but I think the Army Criminal Investigation Division might give you trouble. So please accept this little golden Buddha as a token of our friendship."

At that time, the US dollar was still on the gold standard, and 1 gram of gold was worth about 1.1 US dollars. Therefore, this 14-jin golden Buddha (not 99% pure gold, as the ancients did not have the ability to refine it) was worth about 6000 US dollars, which was a large sum of money at that time.

"Then I'll be honored to decline." Lieutenant Colonel James has been working as a liaison officer for Zhang Chi for more than half a year. Apart from other things, his writing style and Chinese proficiency in writing reports have improved by leaps and bounds.

Seeing the 'Military Supervisor' accept the gift, Zhang Chi smiled with satisfaction.

He has invested a considerable amount of money in Lieutenant Colonel James, and therefore the number of people, weapons and equipment, and combat effectiveness under his command far exceeded Stevenson's most optimistic estimate.

At the same time, because Lieutenant Colonel James had been diligently writing reports to help him ask for salary, aid, pensions, everything... Stevenson's monthly air transport aid had long since grown from the initially promised 100 tons to a huge amount of more than 600 tons.

In this regard, Zhang Chi felt that it was worthwhile to exchange this useless golden Buddha presented by his subordinates for these supplies.

After seeing off the overjoyed Lieutenant Colonel James, an agent from the committee's security department came out from a secret compartment in the wall of the room with a camera.

“Did you film them all?”

The agent nodded and took out a sealed roll of film.

----

On April 22, a few days after the April 4th Air Battle, Zhang Chi called all the generals under his command together for a meeting.

At this time, the troops under his command had already exceeded 3 people, and after two months of large-scale trade, he sold nearly 2 million silver dollars worth of supplies in Chuncheng.

After deducting the costs, he made a net profit of more than 15 million yuan.

Of course, he did not receive all the money. Many large buyers paid with silver ingots, gold, durum and John pounds, and Zhang Chi accepted them all.

Aside from the White Party's legal tender and the Japanese Fuso yen, paper currencies like the Dole and the John Pound were all backed by the gold standard. Before the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, even small amounts of banknotes could be exchanged directly for gold. (If you exchanged large amounts, the banker would have to ask you to take a plane.)

In fact, although the ocean had been circulating in the country for a long time, due to the Silver Act issued by President Law in 33, about 3 million silver dollars flowed into the United States, resulting in a silver dollar shortage in the country, which indirectly led to the issuance of legal tender.

Now Zhang Chi used a large amount of materials to siphon off nearly 10 million silver dollars, and for a time, Chuncheng even experienced a cash shortage. (Until the emergence of the gold yuan, the people had always had the habit of trading in precious metals, but the plundering of the gold yuan is another story.)

However, Zhang Chi had no way to deal with the money shortage. He could only try his best to defeat the Japanese in Pegu as soon as possible, open the Burma Road to traffic, and restore the economy of Chuncheng.

With money and connections, it's time for Zhang Chi to take the initiative.

Therefore, this meeting was about how to attack the Japanese in Myitkyina.

"According to General Stevenson's instructions (actually, it was Zhang Chi's own initiative), our 212th Division will launch an attack on Myitkyina, a major city north of Pegu!"

"Qi Quan, I'm handing over two new regiments to you. I'll also equip you with artillery, reconnaissance, tanks, annihilation units, and transport units. Together with your two existing regiments, we'll form the First Column of the 212th Division. You'll be the commander of the First Column." (The name "column" is actually a division, but it's just a covert name.)

At the beginning of the meeting, Zhang Chi took the lead and started a drastic expansion.

Although everyone in the conference room knew that a large number of new recruits had recently completed training and there had been rumors of expansion, when they heard Zhang Chi say it himself, everyone's emotions were ignited.

Qi Quan, one of Zhang Chi's three great warriors, was the first to be named. What about me? Was there a chance for promotion as well?

Everyone looked at Zhang Chi in the main seat with expectant eyes.