"Sir, get rich!" Although it is not clear why Horikichi changed his mind temporarily and wanted to leave more time, after reading the list of aircraft and tank equipment provided by the German side, Kusaka was still overjoyed - he thought that Germany could only provide half or even less at most as agreed, but he did not expect that the other party actually expressed its willingness to complete the supply of all equipment and load it on the ship within 45 days, which greatly surprised him.

"Send the list to China, and by the way, tell them to return home 45 days later than originally scheduled." Horikichi thought for a while and explained, "The reason is three points: first, to prepare to receive German supplies and equipment; Second, the ship needs to be maintained and repaired, especially the capital ship needs to be equipped with electric probes, and the Zuihe needs to be repaired; Thirdly, the new aircraft needs time to be trained on board. The situation in the South Seas is to be maintained by the Army, and the Combined Fleet will send them better equipment. ”

"Yes."

"Germany is willing to supply all the ammunition needed for the new aircraft, and is also willing to help us repair the crane, and also said that the hydraulic catapult system that was originally planned to be installed on the Aquila can be installed on the crane first, and by the way, the technical information will also be given to us." Jizaburo Ozawa reported.

"What about the conditions?"

"Help them fight Kenya."

"Why?" Horikichi asked suspiciously, "Not going to fight Madagascar?" ”

"Nope! The Führer said that he was not in a hurry, that the British and American forces in Madagascar could not hold it if they were left behind, and that they could not make a mistake if they were left too long, and that he planned to keep it for the next step. ”

"How many troops did Germany send out to fight Kenya?"

"Not a single one! All with the navy, the German and Italian fleets were also under our command, and the German naval aviation acted with us. ”

"What's the point of not landing?" Cao Lu interjected, "Didn't you say that there are no more warships in the direction of Mombasa?" ”

"There are no warships, but there are people! At present, there are still more than 100,000 British and American troops in East Africa, scattered all over the place, all relying on the port and material supplies of Mombasa, as long as this port is bombed, the British and American fleets can only be blinded, and the Yuan will use these 100,000 enemy troops to continuously attract the British and American fleets to pounce on them and send them to death. Jizaburo Ozawa drew an arrow on the map, "Then the German African Army Group will move south from Sudan, enter Ethiopia, Somalia, and finally fight the British and American armies, and the losses will be much smaller." ”

"I understand the Führer's thinking, it's kind of interesting, I'll do it! But the idea of the Germans was too simplistic, and the conditions mentioned earlier were not enough. Horikichi raised 2 fingers, "First, add 100 carrier-based aircraft; Second, we have to give us the full set of radar technology. ”

"Didn't you just arrange for the 1st Guerrilla Detachment to go directly to Italy? Why did you turn around and beat Mombasa again? Kusaka asked suspiciously, "Zuihe is injured, and the carrier-based aircraft is still old." ”

Hori shook his head: "You don't need the first guerrilla detachment to fight Mombasa, only the remaining 3 aircraft carriers, and the rest use German and Italian warships." ”

"Sir, this seems to be a bit inappropriate, if you don't use the first guerrilla detachment, the other three aircraft carriers only have more than 100 planes at full capacity, and the enemy has at least one aircraft carrier and a group of land-based aircraft in Mombasa, it is impossible to gain sea supremacy without air supremacy, is it not to seize a support point first?" Cao Lu Yi looked at the map carefully, "I think the location of the support point is more suitable for Pemba Island, which is 120 kilometers southeast of Mombasa, so we can quickly launch a landing operation without using a lot ......of troops."

Before Kusaka could finish his words, he was stopped by Horikichi: "Your method is more secure, but we don't have so much time, my plan is still to follow the routine of the day of the shelling of Kuah Island - the purpose of the Germans is not to capture Mombasa, they just want to destroy the port with naval guns as much as possible, and one day is enough." ”

"I suggest that if the German Navy has enough pilots who can master the skills of boarding the ship, they can let Xianghe stay for their use, and Ruihe will still go for maintenance, and our pilots will go to Socotra Island for training on changing planes, so that the first guerrilla detachment will not be delayed to change planes, and the German Navy will also have an explanation."

"Sir, I think that's a good suggestion."

"Very well, just follow you, one more warship is always safe." Horikichi agreed kindly.

"I am responsible for communicating the additional conditions, and I think it should be no problem, 1,000 aircraft is Germany's production in less than 2 weeks." Jizaburo Ozawa said, "I'm more concerned about army equipment, like tanks. ”

"You say the Germans have better tanks?" Horikichi frowned, "Not on the list?" ”

"The new tank is called the Tiger." Jizaburo Ozawa replied respectfully, "It is newly put into use in Germany, it has only been on the market for more than two months, it weighs as much as 48 tons, it is equipped with an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, the armor thickness is 100mm, and the tank of no Allied country is its opponent,"

"How much better than the best T-34 on the list?"

"One is ten."

"So exaggerated?" Cao Lu was stunned, "Very few cases, right?" ”

"No, there was an encounter on the Eastern Front, and at the cost of losing 4 Tigers, Germany annihilated a Soviet tank brigade with more than 50 T-34s in 2 companies."

"How can the Germans be willing to provide it?"

"Or buy it, or change it. I inquired, and the price of buying it was about 600,000 Reichsmarks, and after my struggle, the Germans agreed to exchange the American Sherman tanks we had captured, 5 for 1. ”

"5 for 1, it's a shame they say." Grass deer either was indignant.

"It's still our advantage, and we can easily beat Sherman." Jizaburo Ozawa hesitated, "The Germans didn't use Sherman for war, they used it as a service tank. ”

"What a waste of the Germans!"

"How many Shermans do we have?"

Caolu looked at the record: "More than 170 vehicles, all replaced?" ”

"You can't change all the Tiger style, I recommend changing the No. 4 more...... This time, the Germans landed in the port of Matru with the No. 4 submersible tank, which was exactly the same as the normal No. 4. ”

"Submersible tanks are very much needed, and they must be obtained." Horikichi stood up and thought for a moment, "What else can I trade with the Germans?" ”

"Military supplies for daily life, canned food, rum, candy, coffee, biscuits, etc." Jizaburo Ozawa thought for a moment, "There are also jeeps and trucks, but I think I need them too." ”

"Leave a copy for the sailors, it can be regarded as a commemoration of this trip to Africa to participate in the war, and how much else can be exchanged." Horikichi silently pondered, "Change 8 Tigers, and the rest will be replaced with submersible tanks." In addition, I sent a telegram to the Army, asking them if they wanted such tanks, and if they wanted, I would get them a few, but it would cost them to return home - there was no money to take the planes to the Navy. ”

Although the commander of the Combined Fleet did not care about the Marine Corps, Horikichi was very interested in forming an elite Marine Corps, and the Japanese Marine Corps was different from the U.S. Marine Corps, and the level of equipment was always inferior to that of his own army, nor could he be called elite. Speaking of which, the Marine Corps helped tow the stranded ship this time, and he had long been greedy for the captured equipment, so he germinated a desire to re-equip it.

After returning home, most of the tanks will definitely be handed over to the army, but the best he plans to keep for himself, and at the same time he is ready to arm at least one brigade of marines with a full set of American weapons, and he is not stingy at all in terms of equipment, and is ready to arm them with Garand rifles, Thomson submachine guns, Browning heavy machine guns, jeeps, etc., and with captured LST, American tanks and howitzers, it is basically a starting line with the United States Marine Corps. The capture was so abundant that it was more than enough to equip a brigade, and of course, such a weight as Tom Longleg would be too bulky, so it would be better to throw it on the island for the army's defense.

"If the tank is good for Germany, it will use German goods, and there is no pain in identifying and repairing it."

Ozawa Jizaburo also recorded a large amount of information that the trio learned during their stay in Germany, including a large number of equipment that was extremely scarce in Japan, such as aero engines, armored vehicles, artillery, and electronic communication equipment, and at the same time, he also studied all the materials on the use of the industrial system, technology research and development, production layout, and material supply and support after general mobilization, which were relatively ignored by previous Japanese expeditions, and also suggested that the army and navy should make improvements in equipment unification, research and development merger, and reserve training. I went from not speaking a word of German when I first arrived in Germany to now being able to communicate with each other on a daily basis.

"Ozawa-kun, you have a heart, and you have made great progress in the past few months. I think you have a future ahead not only as the commander of the Combined Fleet, but also as a naval minister or even a prime minister. ”

"Sir, I am afraid of my humble position." Jizaburo Ozawa thought for a while and said, "Actually, this time I came to Germany, in addition to the shock I was given by my industrial strength and overall combat effectiveness, Germany attaches more importance to talents than I imagined. Taking the aviation as an example, we used to treat pilots as consumables, but the Germans took great pains to protect their pilots, and excellent pilots like Marseilleu and Rudel were even more well-known heroes, with a lot of medals and awards, and there were movies for them, but never said which general or marshal made movies. ”

"Alas, Ozawa-kun, Japan still has a long way to go......"

After reading all the needs and reports, Horiyoshi and Kusaka frowned: There are so many things to buy, there is no money, and the materials that can be exchanged are limited, what should I do?

"There are only three paths." Jizaburo Ozawa gave advice, "The first is to sell warships - we can sell the warships we don't want to the Germans, I think Ise and Hinata can consider it; The second is to exchange gold for gold - but this will have to wait for the army to defeat India, and it will not be urgent; The third is to use the main force of the fleet to continue to cooperate with Germany in military operations, as far as I can judge, Germany's next target is obvious, Persia in the east, Malta and Gibraltar in the west, especially once Gibraltar is taken, the Mediterranean Sea will completely become a sea of the Axis, and it can also cause a change in Spain's attitude, if we are willing to help, the return will not be small. ”

"It's all good ideas, especially the first one, which is particularly pertinent." Ozawa's proposal shocked Kusaka Ren, but Horikichi's answer was even more unexpected. (To be continued.) )