The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943

The tricolor flag, tricolor flags everywhere.

On the walls, on the windows, atop buildings—tricolor flags fluttered in the wind.

Those were the French national flags.

France had been liberated.

On Tuesday, August 15th, Napoleon's birthday, the Allies launched Operation Dragoon, landing in southern France.

By the 23rd, although all 121 docks in Marseille had been destroyed by the Germans and none could be used, and explosives and thousands of landmines had turned every dock and warehouse into a ruin of steel, concrete, and cables; although eleven large ships—including transatlantic liners—had been wrecked to block the harbor entrance, and 257 cranes had been dumped into the water,

Pierre's task force still managed to enter Marseille by boat. To avoid naval mines, everyone had to take landing craft and come ashore on beaches far from the city. With only two landing craft for a force of over three thousand, it took them three full days to disembark.

After landing, their first priority was to coordinate with the Allies. Although the task force had authorization from Allied headquarters, once on the battlefield, they found things weren't so simple. The frontline troops had no intention of cooperating with them, even feeling that their presence was a waste of transport resources. With the port destroyed, supply shortages increasingly threatened the U.S. Seventh Army, and tens of thousands of tons of ammunition were stuck in ship holds beneath other cargo.

In such circumstances, naturally no one wanted to cooperate with them, and there was even concern that the task force would take up their logistical supplies. Nevertheless, within just a few days, the task force still managed to seize over three hundred artillery pieces and tens of thousands of rifles from the German defensive lines near the coast.

"All of them are artillery pieces over 100mm! Some are French, some Russian..."

Compared to Zhao Xiyong and the others' excitement, Pierre wasn't particularly interested in this "scrap metal." After all, from France to Germany, weapons would be everywhere. Once they entered Germany, they'd find aircraft everywhere—nearly ten thousand German planes hidden by the side of airstrips and in roadside woods, all because there was no fuel.

Likewise, tanks abandoned for lack of fuel littered roadsides and cities. Not to mention other countries—just in France alone, they'd picked up a hundred or two Panther tanks. There were even over a hundred nearly completed or completed submarines in the shipyards.

"General Zhao, see, I told you—I can assure you, the further inland we go, the more weapons we'll find. With just a few thousand men, we're far too few!"

Pierre's words made Zhao Xiyong nod repeatedly.

"Commander Pierre, you're absolutely right. A few thousand men seems like a lot, but spread out, it's nowhere near enough. The French are also collecting equipment, especially heavy equipment. The French know the land and people, while we're unfamiliar with the terrain and have fewer men. We'll suffer a big loss this way..."

As he spoke, Zhao Xiyong took the initiative to ask,

"Commander Pierre, if the homeland sends more people, would you be willing to take them in?"

He looked at Pierre expectantly. Despite his rank of major general, that was in the past—now he was just a company employee. Even with his major general's insignia, it was useless in France. The Americans recognized only the task force, and the task force's commander was the man before him.

Although there were abandoned German weapons and ammunition everywhere, there simply weren't enough people to handle it all. That's why he wanted to ask for more men from home, but he needed Captain Li's approval.

Presented with such a good opportunity, Pierre didn't hesitate and immediately agreed:

"I'm like Han Xin counting his troops—the more the better. I estimate that, hmm, another ten thousand men should be about right."

"Not enough, not enough,"

Zhao Xiyong shook his head repeatedly.

"Commander Pierre, France is so big. If we want to collect as many weapons as possible, the more people the better. With our current numbers, we can't even search the defensive lines in this area. I think we need at least twenty thousand. How about twenty thousand?"

Twenty thousand!

Pierre was so shocked by Zhao Xiyong's number that he was speechless.

He realized he'd been too conservative!

Take too big a step and you risk overreaching, but being too cautious can also be a mistake!

Seeing Pierre silent, Zhao Xiyong assumed he was calculating the cost and whispered,

"Commander Pierre, are you worried the Americans won't cover the expenses? Don't worry, the homeland is tight on funds, but we can still scrape together the pay for twenty thousand men..."

Before he could finish, Pierre waved his hand and said,

"They're all employees of our company—how could we let the homeland pay? That money should be saved for fighting the Japanese."

Pierre seemed generous, but in reality, he hadn't spent a penny. All the expenses for the task force's material collection were covered by the Americans as part of the Lend-Lease Act.

The reason he was momentarily speechless was entirely because of Zhao Xiyong's bold proposal—twenty thousand men!

Goodness!

With a task force of twenty thousand, North Borneo would truly have its own army.

Even though this force was still just a castle in the air, it didn't stop Pierre from starting to make some plans for it.

First and foremost, this unit must have its own artillery, tank corps, and even its own air force.

Why is that?

Simple—because the task force will be the cornerstone for the North Borneo Company's eventual return to Borneo.

Of course, the expenses for more than 25,000 personnel are certainly not small, but that's not a problem. After all, the costs are being covered by the Americans. In fact, the expenditure isn't that great—just about a million dollars a month.

"Looks like we'll need to keep some weapons for our own use."

"What?"

Zhao Xiyong couldn't help but be taken aback, asking in surprise.

"Aren't all our weapons supplied by the Americans?"

Looking at the team members around him carrying M1 carbines, Zhao Xiyong was full of doubt. The task force was equipped according to logistical personnel standards, with only M1911 pistols and M1 carbines. As for heavy weapons, there were just a few M1919 heavy machine guns, some German-made MG34s, and mortars.

Now, if the homeland really sends over twenty thousand men, then heavy equipment will definitely have to be arranged—things like tanks and artillery must all be prepared.

"The Americans only provide some light weapons. As the saying goes, 'the bolder the people, the greater the harvest.' If we have enough manpower, we can closely follow the Allied forces—while they fight at the front, we pick up whatever's left behind. By then, we'll definitely be able to collect more weapons. Besides, the Germans are good at maneuver warfare; if we run into them, we'll at least have the means to fight back. Don't you think? Safety first, safety first."

"Excellent point, Chief Pierre. Safety first—only if we're safe can we send more weapons back home, right?"

Zhao Xiyong hurriedly offered his compliments. Then he called over several other liaison officers, and after a quick discussion, everyone agreed on the proposal to send more personnel. After all, there were weapons everywhere—far more than enough!

Very soon, a telegram was sent back home. Although the message seemed lengthy, it really boiled down to a single sentence: "Too few men, too many guns—send reinforcements quickly!"