allonlinenovel Chapter 307: First Generation Helicopter
Chapter 307: First Generation Helicopter
The coffee bean controversy soon passed. That day, Eisenhower summoned Weimade to his office, leaving them alone. Seeing Weimade's wary expression, Eisenhower mysteriously pulled a box of coffee from under his desk, handed it to Weimade, smiled, and whispered, "Dear Weimade, I've gone to great lengths to protect your coffee."
"I know you must be sad without coffee. You are my chief of staff. If your mood gets out of whack, it will be a big loss for me and the Allies."
"You should know that you can't keep your coffee on your own, so I have no choice but to resort to this last resort. Take this box back and enjoy it discreetly. Come back to me later if you run out."
Weimade finally understood Eisenhower's intentions. Honestly, with Yang Hong at the center, Weimade's chances of keeping the coffee were slim. Not only him, but even Eisenhower probably couldn't guarantee it. But no one dared to search the Commander-in-Chief's office for the coffee. Eisenhower had finally saved Weimade's face.
The news quickly spread to all the major Allied leaders and high-ranking generals. Huang Wei nodded his head upon hearing this. To please his sister-in-law and brothers, Yang Hong had put himself out there. Knowing the story, the Allied leaders began to take notice of these rising young talents from the Flower Clan. This action by Yang Hong and his colleagues indirectly confirmed their lack of ambition. The leaders were very pleased. This unintentionally opened up a new path for the future brothers, a path that I won't elaborate on here.
One day, Yang Hong was sitting at his desk when the phone suddenly rang. He picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice - the same leader they had spoken to last time.
"You are quite courageous, you even dare to tease that old man Wei Made! But this may not be a bad thing." The leader said with a hearty smile.
Yang Hong's heart tightened. He knew this leader was no pushover. Sure enough, the leader continued, "You extorted a box of coffee from that old man. Just give one box to your sister-in-law and your brothers-in-law. The rest must be turned over to the government. On behalf of the Flower Growers, I order you to return it immediately!"
Yang Hong groaned inwardly, knowing he couldn't escape this time. He quickly said, "Boss, you're late. Someone has already knocked away the coffee. It's gone."
How could the leader not know Yang Hong's little tricks? He laughed and scolded, "Don't try this on me, kid. I don't care about anything else, but you must arrange to send back one box immediately. There is one less. Just wait and see how I will deal with you later!" After that, he didn't give him a chance to talk more and hung up the phone.
Yang Hong put down the phone helplessly, feeling deeply regretful. Just then, Kuang Zhengqi called. He anxiously asked, "What should we do with the remaining coffee?"
Yang Hong said angrily, "We had arranged for birds, but they're all gone."
Kuang Zhengqi didn't understand the reason and said hurriedly, "Old Five, I promised the boss that I would give Lao Peng and Liu Shuai a box each. You can't go back on your word!"
Yang Hong said unhappily, "Then your box and the boss' box are gone. Give them to Lao Peng and Liu Shuai."
"Why?!" Kuang Zhengqi was very puzzled.
Yang Hong was too lazy to continue explaining. He said distractedly, "If you want it, go ask your leader!" After that, he hung up the phone.
Yang Hong sat in his chair, feeling restless for a long time. He knew that not only had his reputation been ruined, but he also gained nothing. He sighed deeply, "Why am I fucking with this God? Not only did my reputation get ruined, but I also gained nothing. No way! I'm not giving that box to anyone!"
In early 1946, just as the snow began to melt, the Soviet-German War erupted once again. By this point, the Chinese and Soviet armies had already breached Kiev and were nearing Minsk, on the verge of completely driving the Germans out of the Soviet Union. Troops from the US, Britain, and the Chinese Third Army Group had penetrated Turkey and were engaged in fierce fighting with the Germans in Ankara. A section of troops loyal to the Turkish president took advantage of the chaos to rescue the imprisoned president, prompting a large-scale defection from the Turkish army. The Germans simply occupied the remaining territory, dismantling vulnerable Turkish troops and police units, and planned to exploit the advantageous terrain west of Ankara for a decisive battle with the Allies.
In the Mediterranean region, the US and British troops invaded the Italian peninsula. Due to the strong resistance from the German army, they suffered heavy losses. The Allies had no choice but to agree to send Yang Hong's 5th Army Group again, which indirectly broke their plan of not wanting the Chinese troops to enter the European war.
At this time, the German army was still strong. The main force of their ground weapons was no longer the Tiger, but the King Tiger and King Panther with high and low configurations. The corresponding tank destroyers were also upgraded. A small number of Elephants and Maus had appeared on the battlefield. This was one of the reasons why the Allies had the advantage but were unable to break the situation.
Yang Hong suddenly thought of Pu Zhengsong. Not long ago, Pu Zhengsong had worked with American military scientists to successfully complete the first-generation helicopter modification. Now, a helicopter equipped with the first generation of heavy-lift air-launched rockets had been manufactured and was being prepared to quickly join the Allied experimental forces as planned.
According to the agreement reached between the United States and the expeditionary force, these helicopters would first be used by the expeditionary force for testing, to verify their anti-tank capabilities. However, at the time, the Allies lacked complete air superiority. These helicopters had virtually no protective measures, were slow, had short hovering times, and were relatively simple in their weaponry. Furthermore, as experimental units, their survivability was clearly extremely low. The United States was naturally happy to allow other units to conduct the experiments. The expeditionary force, in turn, was willing to accept the experiment precisely because they desperately needed such an opportunity.
Yang Hong was well aware that, despite the fact that this was only a test aircraft, the United States was unwilling to deploy it on the Soviet-German battlefield. Therefore, the only units suitable for the experiment were his own 5th Army Group or Kuang Zhengqi's 3rd Army Group. Kuang Zhengqi's 3rd Army Group, with its combat experience far exceeding his own, was not entirely suitable for the experiment. Only his own 112th Army, operating in the Italian mountains, was the most suitable. With this in mind, he called General Eisenhower without hesitation and resolutely accepted this arduous task.
Soon, the first batch of 12 helicopters arrived at his unit. Gazing at these seemingly mere gantry and engines, Yang Hong felt a chill run down his spine. Flying these helicopters into combat at low altitude, encountering enemy light machine guns with an effective range of over 500 meters would pose a deadly threat to the pilots. How to ensure the helicopters' initial success while also ensuring the safety of the pilots was undoubtedly Yang Hong's biggest challenge.