afterglow

Chapter 541 The temptation is not small and worth a try; Ming Dynasty Specialty Vegetable Market Chaotang

"This is somewhat destroying your own prestige. How can you ignore your own situation?"

As he spoke, Ma Mingli stretched out his left hand and started to list with his fingers, saying word by word: "How many dynasties do our country have? Zizuo, Ziyou, Taizuo, Tianyou, Beiluo, there are five. The one that was repaired after the capture will be usable, and the two giant ships that will be rebuilt in a few months will be ready, so there will be a total of eight. "

Ouyang Zhanghua replied calmly: "The advantage of twice the enemy is not as much as it looks on paper. The enemy is on the defensive and is unlikely to challenge. There are many ways to contain our army. Avoid fighting, It is possible to swim without attacking.”

"And for the Americans, they still have many trump cards to play." Zhou Changfeng also spoke up, "As of today, they have ordered a total of more than a dozen new aircraft carriers, and some cruisers under construction will also be converted into aircraft carriers. It is obvious that They will definitely buy time to fight a protracted battle.”

Ma Mingli stopped talking, but Gao Zhongnan, the Minister of Personnel Affairs, mused: "Peace is only possible when the (strength) gap between the two sides is the greatest, which is now."

"Yes, peace talks can only be made when the difference is the greatest." Ouyang Zhanghua gently picked up the tea cup and took a sip, "But not now."

Although several of the existing aircraft carriers of the Ming Army have been damaged to varying degrees, they are now unusable. In fact, a series of things such as return to docking, maintenance, and sortie will take several months in total.

Therefore, the current situation is that the Ming and US armies are both defeated and exhausted. It seems that Ming Dynasty has the advantage, but it cannot put more pressure on the United States for the time being.

By the beginning of next year, in addition to the USS Saratoga and the USS Enterprise, the Glory will have been repaired, and the commissioned Hornet will also have combat effectiveness. The US military will have four more aircraft carriers ready for combat.

Zhang Xi, the right minister of the Ministry of War, who came to pick up the plane two days ago, mentioned a plan - to piece together a fast fleet with 2 aircraft carriers and 2 battle cruisers as the core as soon as possible to support the ground forces in attacking Lanai Island or Mauritius. Implementation of landing operations on Ishima.

The duration of the regular meeting was limited, and it was not specifically used to discuss major decisions, so the tit-for-tat topic was suspended after a while.

That afternoon, Zhou Changfeng went to see the emperor specifically and explained the current situation to her in detail.

The biggest problem at present is that those who support the theory of quick victory want to "work harder" and take advantage of the current gap between the two sides to rush to promote talks, capture the remaining islands of the Hawaiian Islands, and completely drive the US military back to the mainland.

"It's naturally best to end the battle as soon as possible. It's a quick victory, so we should try our best." Ma Mingli said.

At that time, Zhou Changfeng felt that such a temporary fleet might not be enough. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the risk was too great. What if this fast fleet encountered the US Pacific Fleet?
Ouyang Zhanghua also holds the same view - the US military does not dare to engage in a decisive battle with the Ming army's main fleet, but with such a fleet's swagger in the past... it is difficult to guarantee that the US military will not be tempted.

Zhu Lingjing, with an expressionless face, said calmly: "My father thinks it's a good try. Whether it succeeds or fails doesn't matter, and it won't affect the long-term battle in the future."

The army and air force can continue to fight, and the supplies on Kauai and Oahu are basically enough to support one or two battles to seize the islands.

You can get a glimpse of it through the scene in the Yingtianfu area of ​​the capital - lanterns are decorated, many shops are offering discounts, and fireworks are going on all night long, just like celebrating the New Year.

The strangeness can also be detected through changes in the financial situation - various stocks related to the secondary industry, or the military industry, have become weak, stagnant or even falling after rising for more than a year (gradually with less fluctuations) fell); on the contrary, the tertiary industry ushered in an influx of large amounts of capital in the originally stable market.

At the same moment, Zhou Changfeng also complained the same words in his heart.

"Your Majesty, this is my opinion. There are no suitable conditions for 'trying again' now. There is nothing to be unwilling to do. We should simply be more decisive and we should directly start preparing for a long-term confrontation."

Cheng Han, who had remained silent, said lightly: "It's a bit wishful thinking."

However, as commanders who have just returned from the front, no one knows the current situation of their own army, navy and air force better than Zhou Changfeng and Ouyang Zhanghua - the navy really has no way to organize a fleet to attack in a short time.

It's easy to say it, and it's really easy to use your mouth.

effort? If everything is fine just by working hard, the troubles in this world will probably disappear.

There are various signs that the Ming Dynasty’s private sector and some officials are full of confidence in the quick victory argument, and the market sentiment is highly optimistic.

"Uh..." Zhou Changfeng hesitated for a long time and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the emperor's plan?"

"That's true, but..." Zhu Lingjing was silent for several seconds, and then said softly: "Public opinion does not allow it."

"Should we still be able to discuss it, right?"

Orders for some downstream enterprises in the military industry have been cut. For example, Hengguang Company, which Zhou once invested in and is mainly engaged in manufacturing civilian firearms, has cut orders for Type 39 submachine guns by two-thirds and orders for Type 35 pistols. Ninety percent.

"not necessarily."

"This is really risky, Your Majesty. If we really want to fight like this, the enemy is waiting for work and has made sufficient preparations. If one or two aircraft carriers are sunk, it will be a big problem."

"Well, now we can probably only discuss this point."

It can be said that the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Dynasty were a little distracted. There were very few setbacks since the beginning of the war. It was smooth sailing, so much so that some people called out "One Han Enemies Five Barbarians" in the new era.

Any decision inevitably involves risks. The reason is simple. After weighing it, Zhu Shiyan believed that it was worthwhile to try to continue to exert pressure to promote talks.

The benefits of early peace talks and quick victory are really too tempting. This means that Ming Dynasty can end its confrontation with the world's largest industrial country early without dragging itself into the quagmire of a protracted war, confirm its vested interests, concentrate on consolidating the Nanyang region, and at the same time only use Deal with the empire where the sun never sets.

However, Zhu Lingjing did not agree with her father's ideas in her heart. Her behavior and handling style had always been more radical, so this time she was rebelling in her heart.

The pros and cons of the DPRK and China were at loggerheads, and the Emperor's opinion naturally became the weight to break the deadlock. It became inevitable to launch an attack to seize the remaining Hawaiian islands.

Even so, Zhou Changfeng still hopes to reduce risks as much as possible.

He and Zhu Lingjing discussed in depth various flaws and the enemy's possible responses, and the final conclusion was not to bring an aircraft carrier at all.

"The emperor probably doesn't know the specific deployment. Your Majesty, let's not reject it outright. We can find a way to ask the governor to change the attack sequence when we hold a meeting to discuss it." "Yes, if it doesn't work, I will explain it to my father. "

The most extreme and worst situation is that this landing fleet encounters the main force of the US Pacific Fleet and is severely damaged by the double blow of sea and air firepower. So why let the precious aircraft carrier take this risk?
Even if two battlecruisers were unfortunately sunk, the cost would be better than the loss of two fleet aircraft carriers.

Of course, this is just Zhou's opinion. In fact, high-speed battleships such as battlecruisers are also crucial.

In particular, the Ming Navy has too few heavy patrols to suppress the numerous heavy patrols of the US military. The two battlecruisers Yongyuan and Yuanxing undertake key outpost tasks and have a very high status, whether they are running around or not. They are needed for chores or fleet battles. If they are gone, the Ming Navy will have a headache.

Regarding the decision-making of the future situation, in order to better exchange opinions and discuss strategies, Zhu Lingjing decided to hold an imperial meeting to resolve the current dispute at once.

The weather was not good, and there was lightning and thunder and heavy rain on this day, but it could not extinguish the enthusiasm of the civil and military ministers.

This royal meeting had the atmosphere of a debate, and it didn't take long for the two sides to almost turn from a debate into a quarrel.

This is what Zhou Changfeng finds most interesting - there is a "lively scene" above the court hall. The Wenhua Hall meeting hall is a bit like a vegetable market.

"Waging a war with the United States on the ocean to seize suppressive interests, and expecting them to take the initiative to make peace because the current losses are too great? Forgive me, this is really wishful thinking."

"Haha, that's why we should pursue and destroy the remaining enemies to frighten them."

"The foundation of beauty has not been damaged at all. All losses are just appearances. How difficult is it to replenish soldiers and weapons?"

"Yes, the United States has sufficient manpower, and there is a large population in the north and south of America. If there is demand, the population of South America can also be used. Weapons and equipment are not worth mentioning. The production sources are endless and endless, and the losses are just a drop in the bucket. ”

"So what? It's not easy to build large warships. It takes two or three years, and the navy suffers heavy losses. Everything is in vain. If the remaining two aircraft carriers sink, even the hard-line warships will have to weigh this situation."

"But the enemy is neither stupid nor stupid. Before more ships are built and put into service, they are dragging their feet. Maintaining the presence of three to four aircraft carriers is enough to contain our country's offensive from North Korea."

"So the top priority is to completely wipe out Hawaii!" Liang Yuexi, the commander of the Army Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, waved his fist, "Regardless of peace talks or not, holding on to Hawaii will give you confidence. This is the foundation for an invincible position."

Lin Xi smiled slightly and said easily: "After occupying and consolidating Hawaii, our country will have a huge advantage. No matter what, the enemy will not be able to bypass Hawaii and launch an attack on any of the islands in the rear, blocking the Americans at their doorstep."

"Is Mr. Lin Ge going to say 'sit back and relax' next?" Ouyang Zhanghua turned to look at the map hanging on the wall not far away, and said calmly: "Starting from the Aleutians, taking the North Pacific route, and taking a detour to raid Midway Island. It's entirely possible."

The Ming army did not capture the Aleutian Islands, but since the war began, submarines have been going to Dutch Harbor to perform offensive mine-laying missions, thus limiting the activities of the US military in the Aleutian Islands.

After being sunk and damaging many ships, the Americans learned their lesson and improved their anti-submarine measures. As a result, the Ming army lost several submarines in a row, and it was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to penetrate into the port channel to lay mines as before.

Theoretically, the US military could deploy a small task force to Dutch Harbor and raid Midway Island via the North Pacific route, cutting off the Ming army's fragile logistics line in one fell swoop.

The focus of the imperial meeting gradually shifted to "what size of fleet should be dispatched to support the ground forces in the battle to seize the island."

As expected, the Naval Department of the Metropolitan Government came up with the previous draft plan, which was a fast fleet with dual aircraft carriers and dual battle cruisers as the core, and improved the corresponding accompanying ships.

Zhou Changfeng suddenly spoke and waved his hand: "Wait a minute, why do we need to bring two aircraft carriers to fight in the archipelago area? Five or six airports on Oahu can provide enough aviation. I don't think it is necessary. Bringing them will only increase the risk."

"Uh..." The naval officer hesitated for a moment and explained: "This is to consider the possible counterattack of the enemy fleet. It is better to have one or two aircraft carriers lying in wait in the open sea. If the enemy fleet has serious flaws, it can still There was an unexpected gain.”

"Too greedy, too full of calculations." Ouyang Zhanghua also followed Zhou and vetoed, "The original intention of this battle is to seize the island. If the enemy fleet comes to attack, we can rely on shore-based aircraft to attack it. Just retreat.”

Someone muttered: "Aircraft carriers and battlecruisers are both fast, so there is no need to worry..."

Zhou Changfeng glanced at the people in front and said seriously: "We cannot be irresponsible. This is an unnecessary risk."

Before the others could react, a quick-thinking official from the Ministry of War and the Navy spoke up, stealing what Ouyang Zhanghua was going to say, "In this way, the Yongyuan and Yuanxing ships do not need to go into battle, and there is no need for clippers. , the ships of Zhenguan and Yonghui are in good condition, and they are very suitable.”

Zhu Lingjing, who was sitting at the front, seemed to be doing nothing as usual, playing with the exquisite folding fan.

But at this time, she suddenly said: "Okay, since we are capturing an adjacent island, sending aircraft carriers and battle cruisers into battle is a bit overkill. Please change the drafted strategy."

Several generals from the Naval Department of the Governor's Office who were present wanted to go back and ask Xia Jinbo and Song Zhongkai for instructions, but since this was an imperial meeting after all, they could only respond first.

The risk of a follow-up battle to seize the island at the end of the year is not small. U.S. military aircraft are stationed on Lanai, Maui, and Big Island. During this period, the U.S. military must be doing everything possible to transport aircraft to supplement them.

In addition, according to known intelligence, in addition to the third Yorktown-class aircraft carrier USS Hornet, two North Carolina-class battleships are also about to be completed. The estimated completion dates of the North Carolina and Washington are only half a month apart.

This class of battleship is the first high-speed battleship built by the United States. However, due to limitations of the naval treaty, the standard displacement is limited to 3.5 tons. The overall performance is limited and the protection capability is relatively weak. However, the firepower is particularly eye-catching. It adopts a three-seat triple 3 ㎜ main gun, two in the front and one in the back, the power configuration can output 406 horsepower, and the maximum speed can reach 12 knots.

【Picture】

The second ship, the USS Washington, is the U.S. battleship with the most merit in history, receiving a total of thirteen battle stars. The most famous result was the use of radar advantage to sink the battleship Kirishima at night during the Third Battle of the Solomons.

For the current Ming army, it is very likely that they will encounter the enemy's cutting-edge warships in battles at the end of this year or early next year, and our own officers and soldiers are also rife with the unfavorable atmosphere of being proud and underestimating the enemy.

If you have to try your best, just try your best. Anyway, just try to control the risks and losses.

Zhou Changfeng reluctantly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now that a few months had passed, he should go inspect and follow up on the progress of the nuclear program.

(End of this chapter)