Republic of China game

Page 276

The previous year's "Shanghai Public Debt Crisis" and "Shandong War" had stripped away the dignity of the so-called Eastern hegemony.Then came the Showa Emperor Hirohito who personally led the army and navy, and all the people worked hard to serve the revival of the national movement, and endured for more than half a year.It wasn't until the end of October of this year that the economy improved a little... It seemed that we could take a breather. As a result, a Great Depression swept the world and brought everything back to its original shape.

Right now Japan is said to be an "industrial country", but in fact the main export is still agricultural products - silk.Japan's silk industry developed rapidly after the Meiji Restoration, adopted the latest technology and the best varieties, and soon left behind China, the overlord of this industry, and became the world's major silk exporter.But in the era of the Great Depression around the world, the demand and price of silk collapsed almost overnight!At the same time, northern China, the main market for Japanese industrial products, has almost completely closed its doors due to the CCP’s rule.Only the Manchurian market, Japan's traditional sphere of influence, is still filled with Japanese goods.Losing the markets for both agricultural products and industrial products, Japan's already fragile economy fell to the bottom almost overnight.A sense of panic and powerlessness also gripped the entire country.At this time, the army and navy proposed a new, seemingly crazy plan for military expansion and war preparations!

"I implore your Excellency to support our proposal for a special national debt plan!"

Several leading figures of the imperial army and navy were sitting in the conference room of Prime Minister Kasumigaseki's official residence in Tokyo, biting steel and iron, putting forward their suggestions word by word.

The target of their speeches was the Prime Minister Yuyuki Hamaguchi who was sitting in the middle of the conference room.

The imperial prime minister who was once high-spirited and as strong as a lion has completely collapsed in just over a year!The whole person sat there listlessly, with his back bent, his hair and beard all white, his eyes seemed to be closed, and he didn't know if he was listening or just fell asleep?Now his nickname is not "Lion Prime Minister" but "Wooden Man".

However, for such a prime minister who is like a wood sculpture and clay sculpture, neither the army nor the navy nor the Japanese Long Live Lord in the palace seems to have any intention of changing.Maybe all they want is a "rubber stamp" Prime Minister?For more than a year, Hamaguchi, who has already collapsed, seems to have played such a role very well.

"Oh, how many national bonds will be issued this time? What will be done?" Hamaguchi muttered a few words in a very low voice, not sure if he was asking a question or talking to himself.

"This time the national debt is mainly used to secretly expand the navy." Admiral Suzuki Kantaro, the head of the Naval Military Command, replied loudly: "We have received information from the Soviet Union that they have decided to abandon the two 'Karl Marx' class battleships under construction. Yes. The Chinese Nationalist Government Navy will take them over, which means that in two years, China will have four super battleships! This will be a great threat to the empire! Therefore, the Navy hopes to start construction in secret A 'Tosa' class battleship."

The "Tosa" class that Suzuki Kantaro talked about was actually built using the drawings of the "Karl Marx" class battleship provided by the Soviet Union with minor modifications.The main reason is to expand the caliber of the main gun from 380 mm to 26 mm, and at the same time reduce some protection, and the speed is slightly slower, only [-] knots are consistent with the "Nagato" class.A battleship of this level has already started construction in the name of exporting to the Soviet Union, and now the Navy has proposed to add another one.

"Okay, I approve." Hamaguchi replied blankly: "Is there anything else?"

"Your Excellency, the Army hopes that the Empire will also implement the same rationing system as the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of China, practice strict savings, and invest all the saved financial and material resources in the construction of the armament industry. Strive to make the Empire's steel output reach within five years 500 million tons, at least on par with South China.”

The one who spoke was Suzuki Shoroku, Chief of the Army General Staff, and his suggestion represented the entire Japanese Army.

"What?" Hamaguchi was slightly taken aback when he heard the words, and nodded hurriedly and weakly: "Then ask the army to come up with a draft, and I will approve it immediately. Is this going to work for the head office?" Seeing that the representatives of the army and navy showed satisfaction Hamaguchi said lightly, "My gentlemen, do you have any other requests?"

Chapter 0477 Navy Treaty ([-])

In early January of the 19th year of the Republic of China.Outside the Navy Pier on the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

At this time, it was a bleak winter scene, and there were few people walking around inside and outside the wharf warehouse.There were only some marines wearing thick winter coats, carrying rifles, standing straight and keeping their eyes on their posts.However, outside the cordon of the naval base, a large number of brightly dressed Shanghai citizens gathered without knowing when, and some of them were holding small binoculars in their hands.

All the people stretched their necks, looking at a strange looking giant ship docked on the pier.The size of this huge ship is undoubtedly huge. In the eyes of curious Shanghai citizens, it is bigger than all the warships of the great powers that often visited the Huangpu River a few years ago!But this giant ship doesn't have that kind of thick, long, scary-looking cannon barrel.The entire wide deck is empty, except for an island-style building on the side edge, but no cannons are seen.However, the people who didn't see the cannon still couldn't hide their excitement, because they clearly saw a blue sky and white sun flag fluttering on the top of the towering island-style building.More carefully, I saw the bow of the twelve-pointed star on the bow of the giant ship.All of these are clearly telling everyone that this is a giant ship belonging to the Chinese Navy!After the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-], this country finally had the world's first-class warships again!Uh, just looks a little weird?I don't know if it's not finished yet?Is it like the two battleships being outfitted floating on the docks of Jiangnan Shipyard and Yesong Shipyard?

However, among the citizens who looked at the "diorama" from a distance, it seemed that there were quite a few who knew a little bit about it, and some of them enthusiastically introduced this warship to others, and there was a lot of discussion after a while.

"This kind of ship is called an aircraft carrier, and it is the latest warship in the world. The flat deck above is used to take off and land planes!"

"Yes, yes! I read the introduction in the newspaper. Now the aircraft should be installed in the belly of this aircraft carrier, right? I heard that an aircraft carrier can hold dozens of aircraft!"

"This kind of warship does not use artillery to fight, but sends planes to drop bombs. It is said that those bombs are bigger than a person! One bomb can sink a warship!"

"Hehe, how can it be so powerful? The steel plates of those big warships are thick! I know this, I work in the Jiangnan Shipyard. There is a battleship under construction there, and the armor plates are all Krupp. The thick one is almost half a meter, and those engineers said it can withstand more than 1000 kilograms of shells! I think the planes on this aircraft carrier are unsinkable."

Uh, this shipbuilder seems to be a "battleship school".At present, there are so-called warship factions and aircraft carrier factions in the navies of the following powers.But in general, the battleship faction still occupies the mainstream.Except...the Navy of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army.

At this moment, in the luxurious conference room of this [-]-ton aircraft carrier named Zhongshan, the warship faction and the aircraft carrier faction of the National Revolutionary Army Navy are also fighting with each other, trying to persuade those who came to the Shanghai Naval Base to inspect the work. Chief of General Staff and Vice Chairman of the Military Commission Luo Yaoguo.

"Your Excellency Marshal." The first to speak on behalf of the aircraft carrier faction was the captain of the Zhongshan aircraft carrier, Zhao Zheng, who graduated from the first phase of Haida University.Now wearing a white naval officer uniform, he respectfully gave a military salute to Luo Yaoguo, who was sitting upright in front of the center of the meeting room:

"The Battle of Shandong in the 17th year of the Republic of China has told us a fact that is taking place. The key to determining the outcome of a war is air supremacy! The victory of this war was achieved. It was precisely because the Japanese army lost its air supremacy that they were tied up in the war, passively beaten, and unable to fight back. And such a situation, I believe, will definitely appear in the future with the development of aviation technology. In future naval battles, it may even be more obvious. If the horsepower of the aircraft engine can exceed [-] horsepower, then the naval battle will most likely be decided in the air. Traditionally, the main naval battle will be used to determine the victory Negative naval battles will most likely not happen at all! Therefore, our National Revolutionary Army Navy should shift the development focus from battleships to aircraft carriers and high-performance aircraft. Create a force that can firmly grasp the air supremacy and rely on aircraft air strikes as the main means of combat Air Fleet. I propose that we convert two of the 'Karl Marx' class battleships under construction into aircraft carriers..."

"No! This is absolutely not possible! The hull of a battleship is much stronger than an aircraft carrier, so wouldn't it be a waste to transform it into an aircraft carrier?" Before Zhao Zheng finished speaking, he was interrupted by Admiral Chen Shaokuan, Minister of the Navy. Admiral Chen It's not a staunch battleship faction, but as long as there are ships, and the more the better!According to his ideas.All four battleships are needed, and as for the aircraft carrier, another five are needed... it is considered to expand domestic demand.

"I also agree with Minister Chen's opinion." Rear Admiral Long Yuhui, the chief of the Naval Staff Bureau, is a stubborn warship faction. Originally, in terms of seniority, he should be the captain of the Zhongshan ship.But he would rather wait for those battleships to be completed than become the captain of an aircraft carrier.So after graduating from Haida University, he returned to the Yamen in Wuhan and became the chief of the staff bureau.

"The Battle of Shandong in the 17th year of the Republic of China was a land war! It would be too far-fetched to transfer the experience of land combat to naval warfare? You must know that the army did not fight under the protection of steel plates with a thickness of several hundred millimeters. Yes! And the 2-kilogram bombs mounted on our current dive bombers can’t hit battleships at all. Even... the future Me-[-] series may not be able to threaten battleships.”

Zhao Zheng's rebuttal came quickly and quickly: "The current aviation technology is progressing extremely fast. The BMW-2 radial engine that Me-129 is expected to be equipped with already has [-] horsepower, and it is estimated that its improved version may reach [-] horsepower. Horsepower! Therefore, the next generation of aero-engines will definitely have a power of more than [-] horsepower. By then, the carrier-based dive bomber will have a combat radius of [-] to [-] nautical miles, and can carry bombs weighing [-] to [-] kilograms. It will be enough to pose a deadly threat to battleships! In addition... In addition to dive bombers, we also have torpedo attack aircraft that can be used in the future. Now our country has seaplanes equipped with torpedoes, and there are torpedo bombers on the aircraft carriers of the great powers! So in at most ten years, battleships will be completely eliminated by new dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft."

"But what if the war happens within ten years?" Colonel Chen Si, the captain of the cruiser Guangzhou, stood up, stood at attention, and took over the topic:

"The four battleships under construction will all be completed around the 21st year of the Republic of China, and they should be able to form combat effectiveness by the 22nd year of the Republic of China. By then, our country will have a capital ship tonnage of nearly 16 tons! It is on par with France and Italy. However, considering Our country's battleships are all the newest, and the age of the ships is also the shortest. Therefore, in actual combat, they should be able to defeat the Japanese navy, which has a larger total tonnage of capital ships, or at least a tie. In this way...we can fight in the 22nd year of the Republic of China , mobilize the main force of the army to defend the coastline, launch the Northern Expedition, and unify China!"

Chen Si's views are quite representative among the current high-level National Revolutionary Army.After the Battle of Shandong, a theory of Japanese revenge gradually began to spread among the elites throughout southern China.A considerable number of people believe that Japan must not be reconciled to failure and has been looking for opportunities to retaliate.The only way for the Japanese army to retaliate was to use their naval superiority to land on the southeast coast of China, just like the Japanese pirates in history, loot and destroy it, and then escape by boat before the main force of the National Revolutionary Army arrived.Therefore, the National Revolutionary Army must deploy heavy troops in all coastal provinces, just in case.And the great cause of the Northern Expedition to unify China can only be put on hold temporarily because of this.

In other words, if the navy is not revitalized for a day, the main force of the National Revolutionary Army can only be forced to serve as the "Coast Guard" instead of launching the Northern Expedition.On the contrary, as long as the navy is revitalized, the main force of the Kuomintang army will be liberated from the coastline.And China's unification war began at the same time!

At this time, the admirals in the conference room all cast their eyes on Luo Yaoguo who was wearing the uniform of the Field Marshal.It seems that he wants to see some inside information about the Northern Expedition from that fair face with a faint smile.

And Luo Yaoguo just smiled noncommittally: "Well, I already know the Navy's views on battleships and aircraft carriers. I can also tell you the opinions of the Military Commission. In the future, the National Government's navy will have a maximum of four battleships. There will also be four "Polish Legion" armored ships, so the total tonnage of naval capital ships will be as high as 20 tons. And the aircraft carrier will currently plan to build five ships, a total of [-] tons. However, in the future, the naval aviation force will not only have In addition to the [-] carrier-based aircraft on the five aircraft carriers, a large number of shore-based aircraft will be deployed as a supplement, including seaplanes, and the total size will exceed [-]!"

……

The bow of the Zhongshan ship plowed a white spray, and the track went straight south.Several F-1B fighter jets on the deck are making final preparations before takeoff.Naval officers and soldiers wearing training uniforms of various colors shuttled back and forth on the deck, and the entire flight deck of the aircraft carrier looked a bit messy.

Luo Yaoguo, Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan, and Chief of Staff Long Yuhui stood in the command tower, observing their training programs with interest through the glass.This aircraft carrier is currently the navy's largest warship and the first aircraft carrier, and it is currently serving as a training ship.It was the first time for all officers and soldiers, including Captain Zhao Zheng, to train on a real aircraft carrier.Before, they just used an "aircraft carrier" refitted from a large coal carrier to make do with it for a few months, so it's inevitable that they are still a little rusty now.

The surface of the East China Sea in front of you is undulating, and the water and the sky are the same color.The smoke from the warship's chimney curled up.The whole ship is sailing towards the deep sea at a speed of sixteen knots.Opening the way in front of the Zhongshan was the [-]-ton anti-aircraft cruiser Guangzhou. The two ships formed a neat column. Looking at their decks, the sailors were also training under the command of the officers.But it looks much more rigorous, obviously a well-trained elite.

In addition, after Luo Yaoguo boarded the ship, he took time to walk around this floating steel city on the sea a few times, carefully considering the legendary aircraft carrier.

The steel body with a displacement of [-] tons has been kept spotless everywhere.Flight deck, hangar, anti-aircraft guns on both sides, anti-aircraft machine guns.There are sailors busy practicing on it.At the end of the day, according to Luo Yaoguo's estimation, the practice time is only five or six hours!

It seems that Zhao Zheng, the "No. [-] scholar" of the Naval University, led the army in a strict and orderly manner.The hope of the navy seems to lie in these elites trained by the Germans, right?

As for Chen Shaokuan, the boss of the Fujian Navy, even though he stood there, he was majestic and dignified.But Luo Yaoguo didn't see the slightest bit of confidence in his eyes.Some are just deeply afraid of the Japanese navy. Maybe the Fujian Navy, which has been descended from the Beiyang Navy, is more or less Japanese-phobic?Don't even dare to ask for the same size of the navy as Japan!

Speaking of this matter, we have to mention the two "Karl Marx" class battleships abandoned by the Soviet Union.When these two battleships were taken over by the national government, the total tonnage of China's naval battleships in the future will suddenly surpass that of France and Italy.Ranked fourth in the world, it has become a naval power.As a result, the national government quickly received an invitation to negotiate the "London Treaty on Naval Arms Limitation"... and the 20-ton battleship and the [-]-ton aircraft carrier that Luo Yaoguo mentioned before were the national government's "London Naval Arms Limitation Treaty" The position held in the negotiations was also suggested by the Admiralty.And Luo Yaoguo's inspection of the navy this time was also to listen to the opinions of the middle-level officers of the navy on the treaty limiting naval armaments.

After watching the training for a while, Luo Yaoguo felt a little emotional: "Minister Chen, the 60-ton naval plan you proposed back then seems to be coming true now. It's really unexpected! Even I couldn't believe it back then."

Chen Shaokuan smiled, and patted the thick bulkhead of the command tower: "A large navy of 60 tons! To be honest, I was talking nonsense at the time, and I never thought it would come true! With such a powerful navy, Coupled with coastal fortresses and land-based aircraft, our sea frontier can be secure.”

Luo Yaoguo just smiled.Thousands of miles of sea and territory are guaranteed to be safe, and then China is unified, and then heavy troops are deployed in northern Xinjiang.In this way, the [-] million Chinese can live their own lives behind closed doors without being disturbed by the outside world, right?In this era, the Chinese who have this kind of thinking probably account for the majority, and those who really want to take the road of imperialism and expand their living space are probably very few... Maybe I am the only one?

"Make sure? Hehe...Minister Chen, our navy is an offensive arm, and it is used to start wars, not to defend our hometown." The person who said this was Long Yuhui, chief of staff of the Navy, at this moment he He was watching with relish an F-1B carrier-based aircraft rolling up and down in the sky.It was his son who was flying the plane, Long Tenghui, who graduated from the first phase of the Naval Military Academy. He is only 20 years old this year and has already obtained the rank of major.He is currently the squadron leader of the fighter squadron on the Zhongshan.

"Oh, did you come up with this?" Luo Yaoguo was overjoyed when he heard this, and looked at this little old man of the Battleship School with a little more appreciation in his eyes.

But Long Yuhui just replied casually: "That was taught in the Naval University. The Germans wanted to attack and launch a war to conquer the world. This idea has been imprinted in the bone marrow."

"Then what do you think?" Luo Yaoguo said indifferently.

Long Yuhui seemed to only care about his son's performance, for a moment he forgot that he was talking to the most powerful person in China, and he was still a little careless: "This matter...it depends on the opportunity, if there is such an opportunity, we will take it One vote. If there is no chance, I'll let it go."

"Then look... is there any chance in the future?" Luo Yaoguo asked again.

"Maybe." Long Yuhui paused for a moment, not sure if he was concerned about his son's plane, or thinking about Luo Yaoguo's problem.After a while, he continued: "I think those Germans are holding back their energy and want to avenge their revenge, and we... helped them unintentionally. Maybe they will live forever." In a few years, this world war is about to break out again. I just don’t know who the Germans are going to fight? Is it the Soviet Union... or the United Kingdom and the United States? If it is the Soviet Union, then I am afraid that we will not have our navy. If it is Britain and France..."

"Yuhui!" Chen Shaokuan suddenly shouted when he heard this, his face darkened, and he began to teach a lesson: "We are allies with Britain and France now, how can we have such treacherous thoughts? And...the British navy is so powerful, only the main force The tonnage of the ship is 50 tons! Where can our four battleships deal with it?"

After reprimanding Long Yuhui, Chen Shaokuan turned around again, and looked at Luo Yaoguo solemnly: "Assistant Commander, after all, our China has not been revived, and the country is not unified, so it is not appropriate to make enemies with such big powers as Britain, the United States and France. This time In the negotiation of a treaty limiting naval arms in London, we had better follow in the footsteps of the United Kingdom and never challenge the authority of the British Empire. Although the United Kingdom has declined, it is still not something that a country like us can fight against."

Luo Yaoguo sneered deeply: "General Houfu is really old-fashioned, and you have the same thoughts as me. In this naval armament treaty negotiation, we only need to keep the 20-ton capital ship, the [-]-ton aircraft carrier, and have two ships for export. The power of the 'Karl Marx' class battleship will do. The rest... we can all agree to the requirements of Britain and the United States."

Chapter 0478 Naval Treaty ([-])