afterglow

Chapter 547 Legal Proposal; Can it really be created?

Under the vigorous promotion led by Zhou Changfeng, many parliamentarians and generals worked together to submit the draft law to the Minister of Justice.

The draft, titled "Several Draft Regulations on Marriage Protection for Military Personnel in Wartime," has a small number of words in total, and the total number of entries and annotations is only two pages.

"These things are really unexpected now. People's hearts are not as old as before, and women are increasingly avoiding disadvantages and seeking advantages." An official shook his head slightly.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice put on his reading glasses, squinted his eyes and read it carefully, and sighed: "It's not too late to make up for it. There are some things that we usually don't think of, and we don't pay attention to them."

Then someone took a seal and stamped the provisional draft law with a bright red square seal.

After the establishment of the constitution, the organizational structure of the Ming government went through many fine-tunings, but it was generally the same as it was then. Although the six long-standing ministries have not been abolished, their actual functions have changed significantly, and the gap between ministries is very large.

For example, as a military department, the Ministry of War has very important functions. The first department, second bureau, third department, and fourth division under its jurisdiction cannot report beyond the level, so the top commander, the Minister of War, has considerable powers and responsibilities.

Another example is the Ministry of Rites, which has jurisdiction over departments such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Teaching, the Department of Literature and Art, etc., but these departments have direct access to the central government. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites is actually ignored, and the Minister of Rites has become a noble position with name but no power.

After receiving approval from the court officials, the draft was refined and turned into a formal proposal, which was then transferred to the Consultative Council.

After the files were kept for backup, the proposal was sent to the Consultative Yuan, where it was first discussed by the Legal Affairs Committee of the Consultative Yuan.

In order to deliver aircraft to Hawaii as quickly as possible, the "ingenious method" mentioned by General Ernest King was officially put into use ten days ago.

In this way, the required voyage was shortened by half. It originally took 3800 km to cross the Eastern Pacific, but now only about 1900 km is left. Finally, it is feasible to transfer.

As a time traveler, Zhou Changfeng naturally referred to similar laws of later generations. At first, he did not think of punishing virgins in this law.

Soon, consistent with what the radar detected, a group of small black dots appeared in the eastern sky, looming among the clouds.

This is the normal process of legislation in the Ming Dynasty. First, the imperial court reviews the draft initiated by others, or simply issues the draft itself. Then it is the turn of the committee of the Consultative Council to discuss. If the evaluation is feasible, then a plenary vote will be held to enact the constitution. Amendments require two-thirds approval, while other laws require only half.

However, the maximum range of the F4F Wildcat fighter jet is still not reached. The US military can only mount a 100-gallon belly auxiliary fuel tank for it, and at the same time keep flying at high altitudes as much as possible to save fuel.

It can be said that this proposal is very characteristic of the Ming Dynasty, especially the traditional conservatives who saw it and applauded.

Accompanied by the heavy cruiser USS Louisville, the light cruiser USS Omaha, and a dozen destroyers, guarding the aircraft carrier and oil tankers, this fleet was conducting a Z-shaped anti-submarine voyage at a low speed.

"Anyone who, under the pretext of his or her official position, coerces, induces, rapes or humiliates the wife of a serving soldier shall be dismissed from his post and transferred to the military's suppression and control division for investigation and serious punishment."

The next standard process is review, debate, and voting, so that a reasonable and compliant law can be determined.

"Wives of serving military personnel cannot unilaterally reconcile and divorce, and the divorce must be witnessed and negotiated by officials and civilians. If the engagement contract is concluded, the treatment is the same as in the previous paragraph, and the contract cannot be broken unilaterally."

The two aircraft carriers came to cruise near the midpoint of Hawaii and the West Coast. The carrier-based aircraft pilots first flew back to the mainland, where they drove brand-new aircraft back to the aircraft carriers, landed and refueled, and then took off to fly to the Big Island or Maui.

The Consultative Yuan has multiple committees, including the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Government Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Legal Affairs Committee, which are responsible for reviewing the rationality of related matters.

Also fighting for several months, the Saratoga and Enterprise did not get more rest and recuperation opportunities than the Ming fleet. However, due to the presence of Pearl Harbor before, the protection was more complete.

The difference in concepts is obvious - several congressmen and generals all agreed that if a man and a woman have an affair, it is not enough to just punish the man. There must be joint responsibility. The woman can be punished lightly, but she must not be punished!

"Every wife of a serving soldier must keep herself clean. If she commits adultery, she will be punished with thirty whippings, followed by half a year's probation, and her neighbors will be notified; if her husband commits adultery with a soldier's wife, he will be punished with fifty canes, followed by three years' probation, and a fine of five hundred."

Although it is indeed contrary to human rights and seems to be going backwards, now is obviously not the time to let it go.

On the same day, August 8, at 26:14 Honolulu time, on the calm East Pacific Ocean...

The hull paint of the two aircraft carriers has peeled off slightly, exposing the primer inside, and the waterline is covered with barnacles and algae.

The Saratoga and Enterprise immediately adjusted their course, and the ground crew prepared for the arrival of a new batch of aircraft.

Such a long-term continuous flight poses a great challenge to the pilots, who have to take a day off every time they complete a transfer mission.

通过这个办法，从8月16日至今，美国海军已向夏威夷部署了153架F4F野猫战斗机和30架SBD无畏俯冲轰炸机。

But because they were transiting from an aircraft carrier, the pilots and aircraft of the Army Air Force were unable to do anything. So they still had to wait for shipping and pray that the transport fleet could avoid submarine attacks and arrive safely.

For the first time in many days, the U.S. military in Hawaii has more aircraft than pilots.

The Navy generously handed over some of its aircraft to the Army Aviation, but the Army Aviation pilots had never flown Hainan Airlines' aircraft and had to undergo adaptive training first.

The port city of Hilo in the northeastern part of the Big Island of Hawaii became an important base for the US military. The Pacific Fleet headquarters moved here after evacuating Pearl Harbor.

This small city originally only had a population of about 20,000, but the large influx of military personnel broke its original peace. Now the streets are filled with soldiers' jeeps and trucks towing artillery.

Ming army planes would visit from time to time, dropping hundreds of aerial bombs on the pier. The roar of explosions and the roar of anti-aircraft guns came one after another.

There are five volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii, two of which are active volcanoes ready to explode.

Mauna Loa is a famous tourist attraction because its eruptions are quite mild. Tourists from all over the world even come here to watch the magma spewing and fireworks shooting into the sky.

The National Volcano Park established in 2016 has now become one of the main bases, and the headquarters is located in a cave that has been excavated and reinforced.

Outside, under the anti-aircraft camouflage net, two officers were sitting on sandbags and wooden boxes, smoking cigarettes.

One was Colonel Clarence, the aviation commander, and the other was Lieutenant Colonel Barnett, the command operations staff officer.

"The SL-75 fleet has completed its assembly on the west coast, God bless them."

"The Chinese have less submarine activity, which is good news."

"Maybe they ran out of torpedoes and supplies, so they had to turn back." The bright sunlight penetrated the camouflage net and illuminated the ground with mottled light and shadow.

Lieutenant Colonel Barnett lowered his head and stared at the scattered spots of light, and said worriedly: "We must be careful. Their reconnaissance planes have been paying attention to the situation here. If the fleet arrives, they will definitely carry out an air attack."

"In the past two weeks, there have been a total of 12 air strikes, with an average of 30. If targeted attacks are carried out, they have the ability to dispatch 100 air strikes for several days in a row." Colonel Clarence blew a smoke ring, "Thank you Sarato Plus and Enterprise, we can intercept those Chinese this time.”

Any greed that “needs and wants” will eventually pay a price, and the loss of Oahu is the best proof.

The frightened federal government no longer dared to neglect. In order to protect the remaining islands, they hurriedly requested that some troops that should have been deployed to Europe be transferred to reinforce the Pacific battlefield.

The 27th Infantry Division, adapted from the New York State National Guard, was originally planned to be sent to Europe, but four days after the fall of Oahu, it suddenly received an order to go to San Francisco to reinforce Hawaii.

So the division took all the weapons and equipment by train across the east and west continents of the Americas, boarded a ship in San Francisco, and was transported by the SL-75 fleet.

Soon, the 32nd Infantry Division in Wisconsin also received an order to cancel the remaining two weeks of training, join the war in advance, and head to Seattle immediately.

Through aerial reconnaissance, submarine patrols and intercepted telecommunications, the Metropolitan Governor concluded that the US military was sparing no effort to increase troops to Hawaii to enrich local defense.

But knowing it doesn't mean that it can be stopped. There are currently very few submarines still operating in the waters east of Hawaii. There are only four submarines left. The other dozen submarines have exhausted their torpedoes and returned one after another.

And because the submarine base at Midway Island cannot support so many submarines, and the torpedoes in stock are limited, half of the submarines can only go to the mainland.

Among the nine submarines that set out from the mainland to take over, one of them returned due to mechanical failure. The other eight submarines had different itineraries. The fastest one has only arrived near Wake Island, and it will take nearly ten days to reach the target sea area. .

The long front, the long voyage, and the vast sea have posed a considerable test to the organization and coordination level of the rear general staff. The operations on the map are just a tiny bit off, but the actual voyage is thousands of miles away. If you want to accurately and properly arrange everything. How difficult it is to be a battleship!
Even if the plan is rigorous and correct, the reality is not a war game. Warships will still yaw accidentally, break down and need to be repaired, bad weather needs to change routes, and other emergencies, causing the results of the apparently perfect plan to become uneven. together.

While the Americans were trying every possible means to remedy the situation, as the fleet returned home, Akito was extremely busy with the rusty and dilapidated warships.

Among them, the proud steel giant Yongle underwent maintenance at the dry dock in Shanghai. Its No. 3 turbine, which had been constantly malfunctioning, was almost scrapped because it continued to operate under poor working conditions.

Although the possibility is very small, the technical team is still thinking about whether there is a way to repair it. Otherwise, it will have to go through a lot of trouble to cut open the hull and replace it. In that case, it will not take a year and a half to complete.

Zhou Changfeng was quite leisurely. He spent several days with his wife, which can be said to be quite enjoyable.

While waiting for the Consultative Council to review the legal proposal, he also made a special trip to the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War to follow up on the situation of ground equipment.

In view of national conditions and needs, the Ming army was not very enthusiastic about heavy tanks.

All the responsibilities are... at least the responsibility in this regard does lie with the US military - neither the current M2 medium tank nor the later M3 medium tank can stimulate the Ming army to iterate its own heavy tanks.

The current Type 50 assault tank is actually embarrassingly useful from a God's perspective. This heavy tank using inter-war technology uses five pairs of large-diameter road wheels suspended by independent leaf springs, a riveted body, a cast turret, and a front It is 80mm thick vertical armor, equipped with an 26.5mm short-barreled gun, and has an empty weight of tons.

But such a heavy tank with mediocre performance has been domineering since the outbreak of the war. Especially the Ming Army tank soldiers will pile sandbags, apply cement, and install spare track pads for it. Therefore, the small-caliber anti-tank guns of the US and British armies can only be used in Only at a distance of several hundred meters can one hope to penetrate its frontal armor.

Therefore, the Ming Army and the Ordnance Bureau were in ruins.

They decided to only develop the next generation of heavy tanks as a technical reserve, but not to purchase them.

The only upgrade measure is to make minor improvements to the Type 38 heavy tank, including using welding technology, thickening the armor, and replacing the gun.

This improved version is called Type 31 C. Its empty weight increased to tons, but the engine was not upgraded, so its maneuverability was reduced.

其特点在于全面采用焊接工艺；车体正面装甲被加厚到70㎜，炮塔正面加厚到60㎜，侧面也全都加厚到30㎜；使用燕京第一重型机械公司设计的大号铸造炮塔；火炮更换为基于三四式榴弹炮改装而来的112㎜、22倍径坦克炮。

"Come, come, bring some snacks to Zhou Daizhao!"

Zhou Changfeng is a frequent visitor to the Ordnance Bureau. Among other things, he has eaten in the Ordnance Bureau's canteen no less than thirty times.

He was surprised and said: "You are really good at budgeting. Will the Army be happy?"

The official who introduced him to the general situation laughed and said, "What's not to like? The Army thinks this is good. Firstly, it's more familiar to maintain, and secondly, it's cheaper than building a brand new vehicle."

"This cannon is good. It should be useful against fortifications."

"Yes, there are four kilograms of explosives, no matter what civil fortifications will collapse in one shot."

The internal charge of the anti-explosive bomb of the Type 112-2.07 mm howitzer is kg of TNT. Most medium-sized tanks have to lie down even after one shot. It seems a bit extreme for the engineers of Yanjing No. Heavy Machinery Company to move this kind of artillery onto the vehicle. .

"What about the R&D projects that serve as technical reserves?" Zhou Changfeng glanced at the documents in the closet and asked, "Have the targets been set?"

"It's almost settled." The official said casually: "The main purpose is to verify the new suspension system and engine, as well as the processing technology of thick armor plates."

Although Akito has always adhered to the traditional balanced suspension, he has also tested a lot of various suspensions. Christie suspension, connecting rod leaf spring suspension, butterfly spring suspension, etc. all have test vehicles.

Similar to the views of the major powers, Daming engineers also believe that torsion bar suspension has the best performance, but the disadvantage is that the production cost is high.

The technical indicators of the next-generation heavy tank are relatively vague, and it is packed with a lot of new technologies, which seems unreliable, which shows that its technical verification is strong-it is not planned to be installed for the time being anyway.

These include a 520-horsepower V12 air-cooled gasoline engine with a supercharger, a gun vertical stabilizer, a torsion bar suspension, a long-barrel tank gun modified from a 96mm anti-aircraft gun, and 90mm thick cold-rolled rare earth nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy armor steel. etc.

Zhou Changfeng said dumbfounded: "This... is purely an experimental car. Can it really be built?"

In contrast, the Germans, who are leading the trend, have already established the VK4501 heavy-duty breakthrough tank as early as last year, which is the first heavyweight player in the zoo.

However, the design of VK4501 is very conservative and does not apply many advanced technologies except the Maybach HL230 engine.

(End of this chapter)