Chapter 189: Chapter 105: Current Development (First Update)
Su Jie looked at these weapons and equipment. There was nothing much to say about the light weapons.
The heavy vehicles were basically somewhat outdated models or the cheaper monkey versions. However, for Chan Country, they were still considered top-notch equipment.
“According to the plan, we have currently established Jieke Security First Brigade and Second Brigade. The former is a heavy synthetic brigade with a strength of six thousand, and the latter is a Mountain Brigade with a strength of nine thousand, totaling fifteen thousand. Most of them are newly recruited soldiers with short training time.
Considering the population in the Mande Region, if we need to conscript more, the local young and able-bodied could provide an additional twenty to thirty thousand. However, that would affect production.”
Although Liu Yingying had no understanding of military affairs, she had been studying hard during this period and had learned quite a bit of related knowledge.
“The number of troops is sufficient. The rest of the able-bodied can spare time to participate in militia training. We will be responsible for the costs of meals and ammunition during training and provide some subsidies. I think everyone would be quite willing.”
Su Jie was satisfied with this number of troops. Chan Country was often in turmoil, so the people here were naturally fierce and highly identified with the idea of joining the army and facing the sharp edge of a knife.
With the lucrative offerings at Jieke Security, once the news of recruitment was released, it was easy to gather the required number of people.
In the Mande Region with a population of seven to eight hundred thousand, fifteen thousand professional soldiers was not too heavy a military burden, roughly equivalent to drafting one out of every fifty men.
In comparison, North Korea with a population of twenty-five million had an army of one hundred and twenty to thirty thousand, several hundred thousand reservists, and several million paramilitary personnel. By comparison, Su Jie’s strategy was restrained and not excessively militaristic.
“With so many newly recruited soldiers, what is their combat effectiveness like?”
Su Jie continued to inquire, as it concerned his next moves.
Liu Yingying felt a bit troubled and could only look towards a few officers nearby.
An officer stood up and explained, “Chief Su, the new recruits are quite proficient with firearm usage and they are quick learners.
However, because most soldiers haven’t had much education, their efficiency in learning how to operate mechanical vehicles and artillery shooting is low. We can only compensate for this by increasing live-fire training and night classes to teach academic knowledge, and it will take time to integrate fully.
Therefore, the mountain brigade, which is mainly light infantry, has basically been formed. The synthetic brigade, with up to a hundred tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, etc., is expected to need a long period of intensive training to maintain sufficient combat effectiveness.
Command is also a weak point. Our instructors can handle the general direction of command, but at the lower basic level of squads and platoons, etc., the level of battle command and coordination are relatively limited and lack experienced and committed veterans.”
The officer said a lot in one breath. These were the pain points he saw, and he added, “Fortunately, due to Chan Country’s local mountainous and dense forest environment, it isn’t very suitable for armored unit activities. Our training usually focuses on guerrilla and mountain warfare. The experience and skills required for conventional warfare are still lacking, and these are things that take many years to learn.”
Hearing this, Su Jie smiled and shook his head, then asked the blond, blue-eyed foreign officer.
The officer straightened his chest and reported his name loudly.
“Do you know what enemy we are preparing to face?”
Su Jie continued, as purchasing so much military equipment certainly was not just for show, but for a future conflict.
“The surrounding other warlords?”
Valenkin thought about it and realized there probably was no other answer.
“Do you think the level of those warlord soldiers is higher than your country’s professional soldiers? If they fight, while our level is terrible, theirs isn’t much better,” Su Jie said.
Su Jie mentioned this not because he disregarded human life and planned to use untrained soldiers as cannon fodder on the battlefield; it was truly because the warlords’ side was even more terrible than Jieke Security.
Su Jie, after all, had hired foreign retired officers to oversee the training, and he had provided ample equipment.
The warlords were not so generous; many warlords squandered money on themselves, and the quality of the armed forces was difficult to describe. If the warlord factions were to battle each other, it would be a competition of who performed worse.
Valenkin was at a loss for words, because what Su Jie said was entirely accurate.
Given the level of those warlords, it wasn’t about looking down on the opponent. They were not devoid of military competence; they were quite good at guerrilla warfare, which is low-intensity combat.
In a high-intensity conventional battlefield, the opponent didn’t have much training in such tactics, and the heavy firepower armored forces might not have a chance to be effective.
“So, you see! We need not belittle ourselves,” Su Jie said.
Seeing that Valenkin understood his point, Su Jie nodded in satisfaction.
It was merely a skirmish of the inept, and Su Jie planned to lend a hand and thus tilt the scales; the odds were quite in his favor.
After visiting the arsenal, as the day turned dark, Su Jie and Liu Yingying had dinner with many common soldiers in the military canteen, and then they drove back to their private estate in Mande City.
“How are the sales of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid, and how much money is currently in the account?”
On the villa’s sofa, Su Jie inquired about the Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid with Liu Yingying.
He had been in Tianyuan World for nearly two months, and even before his departure, Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid had been a hot seller in various countries of Blue Star, definitely drawing in a substantial amount of funds.
“Currently, our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid sells over 120 million bottles per month in Hua Country, with monthly revenue of about 12 billion Hua Yuan. The international launch was a bit delayed, with current sales of 70 million bottles per month in various countries. Each bottle of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid is sold for 159 US Dollars in the market. We offer a cheaper wholesale cost to distributors, but the high price reduces the number of buyers, bringing in about 8 billion US Dollars each month. And, sales of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid are still slowly growing. With our expansion into some potential user markets, monthly revenues are expected to break through 120 to 125 billion US Dollars, easily exceeding a trillion US Dollars annually,” Yingying explained, her interest piqued when talking about business, much more enthused than discussing armaments, endlessly detailing the brilliant performance of Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid.
“With our product selling so well overseas, the existing products for hair treatment and the hair transplantation market must have been disrupted, right?”
Su Jie had prepared himself for this, and the figures were close to his estimates.
The global market for hair transplants, hair loss, wigs, and hair care products already involved several billions of dollars.
By monopolizing the old market and exploiting the remarkable efficacy to penetrate new markets, turning some of the incurable hair loss populations into its own customers, Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid had achieved such massive revenues.
“Yes, compared to medications that are dubious and slow to show effects, as well as hair transplantation surgeries that rob Peter to pay Paul without guaranteeing survival of the hair follicles, our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid is simple, fast, and less expensive, devastating a host of overseas products, causing many related businesses in Europe and America to go bankrupt, with the market essentially dominated by our Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid,” Yingying spoke, her face radiant with pride, controlling a business artifact like Tianyuan Hair Growth Liquid, wielding over billions of dollars in capital, and being extremely energized every day, almost getting too delighted to think of anything else.