This is how war is. It is always easier to make a decision by saying something, but it is inevitable that one or another will occur in actual operation.

After the United States decided to form an aircraft carrier battle group in Rabaul, there would be a problem of ammunition supply... The troops stationed in Rabaul had at least one Chinese division, and there would be fighter jets, warships, etc., and these supplies were not a small number.

As the US military front continues to move northward, the US military's logistics supply line is getting longer and longer, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to transport ammunition from the rear to the front line, or more and more transport ships are needed.

More importantly, the next round of counterattack of the US military will have to be based on Rabaul... This is determined by the fact that Rabaul is a natural port and an airport, and its area is large enough. It has sufficient conditions and space to accommodate the sea, land and aviation armies, and is an important strategic base. This is also one of the reasons why the Allied forces have always targeted Rabaul as their battles in the Solomon Islands. However, in history, they discovered that the cost of killing Rabaul was too high, so they "jumped" it before they had to.

So, it is conceivable that in the future, Rabaul will definitely station more troops, more aircraft and more warships. These troops, aircraft and warships all require ammunition, food and fuel. If all of this is to be transported by transport ships... The US Navy will make a calculation that it will take several months to organize an attack.

"This is a problem, gentlemen!" Halsey said at the meeting: "And it is a huge waste. We have to consume two barrels of oil on average to send one barrel to Rabaul! What's more serious is that this situation will not only not improve, but will continue to worsen as the front continues to move north!"

What Halsey said certainly makes sense, because if this continues, they will only make their supply line longer and longer, unless the US military defeats the war and retreats.

"And our transport ships are not enough!" Halsey continued: "There are even a considerable number of these transport ships that are civilian ships, and we must find ways to reduce the transportation burden!"

Of course, the navy generals also knew about this, and they also understood that if there was insufficient supply, it would mean for the navy and aviation.

After a while of silence, a staff advised: "Maybe we can build an arsenal in Rabaul so that we can produce ammunition in Rabaul without having to pass through the far-off Australian Games!"

"Good idea!" Halsey said: "This can obviously reduce our supply burden to a large extent! On the other hand, there are a lot of prisoners and labor on Rabaul, which can be used just in time!"

However, the other generals did not speak.

Halsey couldn't help but ask strangely: "What's wrong?"

"General!" Jinkaid replied: "But now the one stationed in Rabaul is the Central Team, and the Arsenal is..."

"Please!" Halsey smiled and said, "If China is not our ally, even if they are not our ally, what technical and military secrets can they learn from us when they are still in the farming period?"

The naval officers in the conference room couldn't help but laugh.

The current reality is indeed as Halsey said. China lags too much behind the United States in industrialization. Even if some technologies are learned secretly by China, I am afraid that they will be eliminated by the United States when they are used by China, so this worry seems to be redundant.

Obviously, Washington also thought so, so they quickly agreed to Halsey's suggestion.

So, Zhang Chi watched in shock as the three American arsenals moved into Rabaul one after another, and in order to ensure the safety of these arsenals, they were all built in underground tunnels.

What surprised Zhang Chi even more was that... these arsenals were managed by the New First Division, that is, they were guarded by the New First Division, security checks, etc., and they did not avoid suspicion at all. The Americans only sent a few technicians and supervisors to guide and supervise in the arsenal.

Then Zhang Chi felt it was understandable, because with the current situation in China, he was completely blocked by the Japanese and could not take care of himself, so he would have no other thoughts or ability to secretly learn any military secrets of the US military. Even if he learned it, there would be no place to use it.

The US military may even have this idea: if you can learn it, it would be better... Anyway, producing these rifles, machine guns, shells, etc. is not high-tech. If the Chinese learn it, they will only help the war if they have this production capacity. As for catching up with the United States... that's still far away!

This is the same as the United States would be willing to sell some advanced technology and equipment to Japan after the war.

Zhang Chi didn't think too much about it at this time. Anyway, this is a good thing for the Chinese team. Guardians and ammunition can be produced on the island, and it is unlikely that there will be a lack of ammunition like Guadalam.

Another advantage is that it completely solves the problem of labor employment on the island.

Of course, work like an arsenal is not something that dares to be handed over to prisoners of war, and labor is different. Those laborers from Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and other countries... To be honest, if they only grow grain on the island, it would be a big waste. Because the work of growing grain is very seasonal, it is just a few days of sowing and autumn harvest, and at other times it is enough to watch it. So if you only grow grain, you will spend a lot of time doing nothing.

Now that there is an arsenal, it is different, and working in the factory is still a salary... The Americans have money, but they are not vague about paying workers. They give these laborers about 15 pounds a month. Of course, there is naturally a set of standards for "more work and more income" to stimulate workers to work hard.

The reason for using British pounds is that many of these laborers come to the UK colonies. They know British pounds but do not know US dollars, so it is easier to understand and accept settlement with British pounds. (Note: At this time, the exchange rate of British pounds to US dollars is 1 British pound to US$4.03)

This coke ruined the laborers because if they worked in their own country, one would only get single digits or even less, but now it has doubled several times.

Their salary level is similar to that of the captain of the New Division, 160 rupees. Zhang Chi didn't know whether the salary was high or low. He asked Pitt when he was bored.

Pete's answer is: The salary level in the United States is about US$3,000 per capita annual income, which means a monthly income of US$250...

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn't help but sigh. The salary received by labor was only a fraction of the salary of Americans, but it was still the same as when he discovered a treasure.
Chapter completed!