World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"What is it?"

"Shells," Ludendorff said. "These cannons use special ammunition that is not compatible with any German or Russian artillery. The Japanese have to buy shells from Lanfang, and according to intelligence, Lanfang prices them...quite high."

The meeting room fell silent. The officers were all intelligent and immediately understood the implication.

"So," Ashhoren concluded, "Lanfang provided a flawed weapon system that required a constant supply of specialized ammunition. The Sakura army was trapped in this system, like..." He paused, then found an analogy, "like someone who bought a razor and had to keep buying specialized blades."

"Very apt," Hindenburg nodded. "But that's not our primary concern. Ludendorff, continue."

Ludendorff returned to the map: "Putting aside the equipment issue, the actual contribution of the Japanese army in this battle was considerable. In the frontal defense battle in the Augustov Forest area, they withstood the successive attacks of three Russian divisions and held out for 72 hours, creating conditions for the encirclement."

He paused: "The cost was nearly 20,000 casualties, but the mission was indeed accomplished. In his confession after being captured, Russian commander Leningkamp mentioned that the Japanese army's tenacious defense disrupted his retreat plan, which he considered 'incomprehensible madness.'"

"Crazy, but effective," Hindenburg said. "So, what's the conclusion? Should we continue using them?"

The officers began to discuss. Their voices gradually rose, and their opinions became increasingly divergent.

"Their casualty rate is too high! At this rate, four divisions would be wiped out in three months!"

"But the Russian army suffers even higher casualties! One Japanese soldier can be exchanged for two or even three Russian soldiers. From the perspective of a war of attrition, this is very cost-effective."

"We are soldiers, not accountants! We can't calculate human lives like this!"

"War is all about calculation! Thousands of casualties are happening every day on the Eastern Front; we must consider efficiency!"

The debate lasted for more than ten minutes. Finally, all eyes turned to Hindenburg.

The old general slowly stood up, placed his hands on the table, and scanned everyone's faces with his gaze.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I know you are struggling between morality and efficiency. But remember, this is a war for the survival of Germany. The British are on the Western Front, the French are on the Western Front, and the Russians are on the Eastern Front—we are facing three great powers at the same time."

His voice was calm, but every word struck like a hammer blow on the table:

"The Japanese have arrived, with 100,000 soldiers. They are willing to fight in the toughest theaters of war, willing to endure high casualties, and..." He glanced at Ludendorff, "and they are truly capable fighters. At this moment, these qualities are more important than perfect tactics or superior equipment."

Hindenburg straightened up:

"So my decision was: continue using the Japanese troops, but adjust their deployment. Let them undertake defensive and offensive missions, but not as the main mobile force. At the same time, I requested that Lanfang improve its weapons supply—this is not a request, it is a demand. If they want to continue making this money, they must provide more reliable products."

"What about Japan?" Ludendorff asked. "They're suffering huge casualties, could it be...?"

"They will continue," Hindenburg interrupted him, his tone certain, "because they need money. The Saionji cabinet is currently relying on our marks to buy grain, pay reparations, and keep the government running. They can't stop this deal."

He walked to the window and looked out at the streets of Insterburg. The snow was still falling, and the city was a gray-white expanse.

"War changed everyone, changed everything," Hindenburg murmured, almost to himself. "Germany, the land of cherry blossoms, Lanfang... we were all playing our part in this game. And the price of that game..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But everyone in the meeting room understood. The price was the frozen corpses in the Masurian Lakes region, the mutilated limbs in the Augustov Forest, and the 25,000 young people from the land of cherry blossoms who would never return home.

As Ludendorff finished organizing the documents and prepared to leave the conference room, Ashhoren walked up to him.

"Erich," the general lowered his voice, "to be honest, what do you think of these men?"

Ludendorff stopped and thought for a few seconds.

"They were excellent soldiers, Hermann. Brave, resilient, and obedient," he said, "but also pathetic pawns. Sold out by their own country to shed blood in someone else's war, only to have the money they earned used to pay the enemy who defeated them."

He paused, his voice even lower:

"Sometimes I wonder, if Germany had lost this war, would there be a day when...?"

"Don't say things like that," Ashhoren interrupted him, but there was no blame in his tone, only deep weariness.

The two men walked out of the meeting room in silence. In the corridor, a young staff officer was posting the latest battle report, the headline in bold German: "Great Victory on the Eastern Front! The Russian 20th Corps Annihilated!"

Ludendorff glanced at it but didn't stop.

What the battle report won't say is: the bill for victory has only just begun to be calculated.

A warm breeze from the Persian Gulf drifted through the open window, ruffling the documents on the desk. Chen Feng, wearing only a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, stood in front of a large map of East Asia, deep in thought, without a coat.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in."

Wang Wenwu pushed open the door and entered, carrying a thick stack of documents. The foreign minister looked thinner than he had a few months ago, and the wrinkles around his eyes were deeper, but his eyes were still bright and sharp.

"Commander-in-Chief, here is a summary of the battle reports from the Eastern Front, and... the first batch of settlement data."

Chen Feng turned around and walked to the large mahogany desk: "Tell me."

Wang Wenwu opened the top folder: "The Battle of Augustov has ended, and the Japanese performance was as expected. This is an informal copy of the assessment from the German command, which our intelligence personnel obtained at a cost."

Chen Feng took the document and quickly scanned it. His reading speed was astonishing; he could read almost ten lines at a glance. A few minutes later, he put down the document, a barely perceptible smile appearing on his lips.

"The casualties were 25,000... 10 percent higher than we estimated," Chen Feng said. "However, Hindenburg's assessment was quite apt: 'Excellent expendable resources.'"

The word was cold, but Wang Wenwu was used to Chen Feng's directness. He opened the second folder:

"This is the Ordnance Bureau's combat evaluation report on weapons. It comes from three sources: the Japanese army's own battlefield records, feedback from our 'technical observers,' and the German army's evaluation."

Chen Feng took the thicker document and read it more carefully this time. When he turned to a certain page, he stopped and tapped the page with his finger.

"The '37% failure rate of the Type 91 machine gun during continuous firing'...that number is a bit high."

"Yes," Wang Wenwu nodded. "The battlefield environment is harsh, the extreme cold causes metal to become brittle, and the soldiers are not skilled enough in operating the equipment. But the Ordnance Bureau believes that the main problem is a flaw in the heat dissipation design."

What improvements do they have planned?

"We are studying two options." Wang Wenwu flipped to the back of the report. "One is to increase the area of ​​the heat sink, but that will increase the weight; the other is to adopt a quick-change barrel design, but that will increase manufacturing costs."

Chen Feng thought for a few seconds: "Tell the Ordnance Bureau to adopt Option Two. The cost can be increased by no more than 15%, but the barrel replacement time must not exceed 30 seconds."