Yang Zhen disagreed with Kovalev's previous promise of a big package, but he was really not wrong. The so-called state-of-the-art aircraft test flight was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Kovalev, who was still patting his chest the day before and assured that it was all good.

Fortunately, those carefully maintained Type 7 TP tanks gave Kovalev some face, so that he avoided being too embarrassed in front of Yang Zhen. Although these tanks are all light tanks, they may not have been produced for a long time. The maintenance is really good. Both the mechanical properties and the state of the weapon are at the best performance.

Yang Zhen looked at these tanks and had itchy hands for a while, so he personally went into battle to operate them. Influenced by the close relations between Poland and Britain and France in this era, and the fact that these tanks themselves were improved on the basis of the British six-ton Vickers tanks, the man-machine function was much better than those of the captured little devils. Yang Zhen just operated it simply, and he got started skillfully.

Looking at the 37mm Bofors anti-tank gun and the 79 Browning machine gun on the tank, and the performance of this tank that is not inferior to the current German Army's main Type 1 and Type 2 tanks, Yang Zhen is quite satisfied. Although the armor is thinner, there is no problem with this against the little devil Type 95 light tanks, Type 92 and Type 94 armored vehicles. Even the Type 89 medium tank did not have any major problems.

After patting this tank with satisfaction, Yang Zhen turned his head and looked at the nineteen French Hochsky R three or five tanks on the side. Together with more than 70 TKS ultralight tanks, Vickers tanks, and those Japanese tanks in their own hands, it is enough to equip an armored brigade.

Although there are only twenty-four seven-TP tanks and nineteen Khochsky R three-five tanks that can really be counted as tanks, there are only forty-three tanks in total. At most, the seven Vickers six-ton tanks that Poland modified and replaced the original 47-mm guns with its own imitation of 37-mm anti-tank guns were only 50, which was less than one tank regiment of the Soviet army.

But since the little devil can call the Type 94 armored vehicles equipped with only one 77 caliber machine gun a combat vehicle, then these more than 70 armored vehicles equipped with 79 machine guns or 20 mm TKS can naturally be called tanks in the same way. Although even a car in later generations is heavier than him, it is better to have than nothing.

As for the more than 30 French-made FT17 tanks on the side, which may still be produced during World War I, although Yang Zhen is not ready to integrate him into the army because his performance is too backward, he has no intention of letting go of these old antiques. These guys, whose performance is already extremely backward, naturally can't charge into battle, but there is still no problem with changing to self-propelled guns.

Yang Zhen brought more than 500 carefully selected cadets to study Sun San, who was originally from the Anti-Japanese Federation, and later specialized in tank studies at the Soviet Military School, and was transferred back to work in the Central Committee. Pointing to these old tanks, he said, "Comrade Sun San, don't pull these old antiques out." ”

"You ask the Soviet comrades to sum it up and see if you can dismantle the turret, add a 75-mm mountain gun, and convert it into a self-propelled gun? Or add a 20mm anti-aircraft gun and convert it into a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun to accompany your tanks? ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen pondered for a while, took out a pen and paper and drew a few sketches and handed them to him: "Just change it according to this style." After disassembling the turret, a ring of steel plates was welded around the perimeter, and the gun was dismantled from the large frame and sat directly on the tank. Half of these tanks were converted into twenty-mm anti-aircraft guns. Those anti-aircraft guns, preferably converted into twin mounts. ”

"As for the mountain artillery, after cutting the crew compartment in half, the front was welded with a steel plate to protect it, and the mountain artillery removed the wheels and gun carriage and sat on the tank. You don't need to rotate the turret 360 degrees, just keep your muzzle forward. This way your support artillery fire can accompany your tank movements. ”

"You send a telegram to the country and send sixteen Japanese-made 41 mountain cannons. Although the range of this mountain cannon is a little shorter, it is relatively light. Modification with such a mountain gun should not affect the ability to maneuver. These old antiques are thinly armored and slow. But it's best to be able to change the engine. This is too slow, and it will also affect the marching columns. ”

Hearing Yang Zhen's instructions, Sun San carefully looked at the sketches for a while, then patted his thigh and said, "Commander, you are a god, I really don't know how you came up with it, I am worried about how to solve these old antiques." These things are too slow, and the fastest is only sixteen kilometers. The armor is still thin, and a few of them are cast iron at all, not to mention anti-artillery, even machine guns can hit several holes. ”

"But it's a pity if you want to say that you don't need to throw it away. After all, there is always some protection, much stronger than a car. But if he wants to be integrated into the army, the whole army has to climb slowly to cooperate with him. You can't leave these 30-odd cars behind. It's really tasteless to eat, and it's a pity to throw it away. It's more chicken ribs than chicken ribs. ”

"You've solved a big problem with just one hand. It not only enhances the mobility of our support artillery, but also makes these things useless. Some of the 20-millimeter anti-aircraft guns obtained this time were more than 200. It shouldn't be difficult to send out more than 30 doors for modification. ”

"But commander, I'm thinking, you see the little devil's position, he will definitely not be able to run, the mountain artillery does not need to fire at 360 degrees, as long as the muzzle is always forward. With these tanks as carriers, there is no need to move around when transferring positions. A cannon squad can reduce the number of people by half. ”

"But this anti-aircraft artillery can't work, this plane is not a position, flexible and tight. Before you hit it, it goes to your other side. It's also much faster, and before you can pick it up, you rush to the side. The anti-aircraft gun had to be able to fire at least 90 degrees like a tank turret. The rest can be compensated for with tactics. And this engine, I can't fix it. ”

Yang Zhen smiled slightly and said, "It's up to you to discuss it with them." As for the engine, I'll give you a trick. If you look at the engines of those planes, a large part of them have reached the end of their service life. Heaven can't guarantee safety at all. But it can be used on tanks. ”

"As far as I know, many tank engines in Western countries are themselves modified from aircraft engines. You ask Jiangbei to help renovate it and see if it can be retrofitted. As for the insufficiency, I discussed with Jiangbei to see if I could buy some second-hand engines from them. But how to change it, it's still the same sentence, it's up to you. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen turned his head and said to Yuan Bin, the political commissar of the aviation regiment, and Xia Boxun, the chief of staff, who had brought the students to learn to fly: "You cooperate, disassemble all the aircraft engines that can no longer fly, and hand them over to Sun San and them." You old soldiers, come and help them. Your regiment commander is no longer leading the team to Yan'an, you have to bother more. ”

Hearing Yang Zhen's order, Yuan Bin was a little reluctant, and even said in great distress: "Commander, we have a total of more than forty fighters. Except for the twenty-two two-four types, the rest are old-fashioned. We are now coordinating with Jiangbei to completely refurbish these engines and try to use them as much as possible. ”

"But you're going to have to stop our plans. Without these twenty-six planes, we would be left with twenty-two. This is on the battlefield, and this number of planes is not enough to stuff the little devil's teeth. Those things are old and old, but the good thing is a fighter. I pondered and pieced it together, and there should be no problem in putting together more than a dozen of them. ”

Looking at Yuan Bin's distressed appearance, Yang Zhen shook his head and said angrily: "I sent you to Jiangbei just for these dozens of old antiques?" If it was just for these dozens of old antiques, why did the military region take out more than 100,000 yen in cash for tuition? You are the seeds, the seeds of our future Air Force. Are you all precious? ”

"Those aircraft engines are old, and if you don't go to the sky, the engines will fall down, and when you wait for the sky, you can't let the pilot die? It's reached the end of its useful life, and no matter how much you renovate it, it can't be the same as new. Brother comrade, it's better for you to take a long-term view. These dozens of planes are for you to train and choreograph air tactics. It's not for you to go up to heaven to fight. ”

"It's true that I want to take care of the overall situation and hope to build our own strong air force. But I'm not cold-blooded enough to let my subordinates know it's needless to send them to death, and let them die. Except for the Type 24, the rest of the rags, do you really think they are the opponents of the Japanese Type 97 fighters? What's more, the production of new fighters for the Japanese army has already begun. ”

After being scolded by Yang Zhen, Yuan Bin was silent. Those fighter jets taking off are a very risky thing to do. Although his subordinates have completed the basic flight lesson, and in accordance with Jiangbei's regulations, they have completed the flight of the Bo 2 primary training aircraft. But let them get these old antiques, Yuan Bin really didn't dare.

But he was really reluctant to hand over more than half of the plane at once. You must know that there are only forty-eight fighters in total, and if you hand over so many, there are only twenty-two planes left. This is the first batch of aircraft in the whole army, and it is also the first batch of fighters of its own. Before it went to the sky, it was assigned to the tank. Although it is just to remove the engine, but without the engine, can this plane still be called an airplane?

Looking at Yuan Bin, who was still a little reluctant after being scolded, Kovalev, who had lost his face because of these planes before, finally found a place where he could express himself, and hurriedly said: "Dear Comrade Yuan Bin, don't worry about this. I'm going to coordinate with the Far Eastern Military District Command to replace the planes with 1,000-horsepower M63 engines that have been dismantled and replaced with 1,000-horsepower M63 engines. ”

"This is the latest engine used by the great Soviet Red Army's main force, the I-15 and 16 fighters. Definitely better than the original American-British rags. Isn't there just about 20 engines, and there are enough reserves at the airfield where you store your planes? Rest assured, this matter is on me, and I promise that these planes will all take off and fight. I'm going to give you an order to the airport and ask them to cooperate with you in the modification. ”

Looking at Kovalev, who patted his chest and assured him, Yang Zhen's face sank: "Don't brag this time, let's talk about it after it is implemented." Comrade Kovalev, your credibility has fallen to a very low level. What you know is that you don't know aviation knowledge and treat garbage as a treasure. I don't know what I think is that the equipment of the great Soviet Red Army is all flying with this plane, and the engine will fall down to the level. ”

Kovalev, who was already a little depressed, heard Yang Zhen say this, his face turned red, he stood up suddenly, picked up the phone, and directly gave an order to the airport. In the name of the commander of the military district, let them immediately withdraw a part of the I-XVI aircraft engines from the stockpile, and assist the Chinese comrades in refitting those Polish rags. And in the shortest possible time, send all those planes into the sky.

Leaving the phone, he called the person in charge of this training base again and wrote a note, asking him to go to the military region to find the chief of staff, and according to the number of tanks that need to replace the engines, transport a batch of BT tank engines one-on-one, and redress these French antiques. If the BT tank engine is not good, what engine is suitable for you will get it.

They were repeatedly asked to assist the Chinese comrades in completing the transformation of these tanks in accordance with the requirements of the Chinese comrades. If you lack equipment and raw materials, you can go directly to the military district headquarters to find yourself.

After finishing this qiē, Kovalev looked at Yang Zhen and said, "Comrade Yang Zhen, I have already given the order. The airport will soon start implementing it. As for this side, those engines don't need it. Anyway, I don't know when it will be completely scrapped, so I got you more than 30 engines that we made ourselves, and replaced them for you. ”

After saying this, looking at Yang Zhen's weird smile, Kovalev reacted that he was provoked by others. More than 30 tank engines and more than 20 aircraft engines were sent out at once, and if Moscow knew about this, he might not be able to eat and walk around. If the comrade general does not vouch for himself, the dismissal will be considered light.

Dozens of engines are not a big deal, but the point is that they were used without approval. In particular, it was handed over to the Chinese comrades, which was a violation of Moscow's orders. He was a coaxing agent who worked all day long, but he didn't expect to be pecked in the eyes by the geese all day long, looking at Kovalev who was a little stunned, Yang Zhen patted him on the shoulder and gave him a consolation award: "Comrade Kovalev, don't be too angry." You can tell the commander of your military district that these engines were given to us in order to gain some experience in retrofitting old tanks. You can take these two drawings back and hand them over. ”

As a result, Yang Zhen handed over the two sketches, but Kovalev, who had been silent for a long time, shook his head and said, "It's not necessary. General Abanashek has said that you can do whatever you need. Dozens of engines, let the Tank Armored Forces Automobile Administration issue a scrap procedure and it will be over. It's just a few dozen engines, I think Comrade General will agree. Comrade Yang Zhen, the time is almost up, and we should go back. ”

Yang Zhen waved his hand and said, "Comrade Kovalev, I will live here tonight." You go back first, and send a car to pick me up tomorrow." You go back and tell General Abanashenk that I want to stay with these comrades of mine for a while. ”

Seeing that Yang Zhen really didn't want to leave, Kovalev didn't say anything. After explaining to the person in charge of this tank training base and taking care of Yang Zhen's life, he turned around and left in a hurry.

Kovalev, who was in a hurry to go back and report to General Abanashenk, did not know how much of a role Yang Zhen's sketches had played in the Soviet-German war a year later. The Soviet armored troops, who had almost suffered huge losses in equipment, were brought back to life.

Under the circumstance that the loss of tanks was huge and the number of new tanks produced could not be compensated, these temporary self-propelled guns with old T-26 and BT-7 tanks plus anti-tank guns or 76-mm field guns, temporarily modified, replaced the tanks for a long time and solved the urgent needs of the Soviet army.