afterglow

Chapter 549 British integrity; your specialty

"Your Majesty, I have only been back for more than half a month, and I really don't want to travel far away."

Realizing that he had been betrayed by the Ministry of War without knowing it, Zhou Changfeng was very unhappy, so he went to the palace to complain to the emperor.

"Oh?" Zhu Lingjing smiled slightly and teased: "Are you also in love with home now?"

"There is no way." Zhou Changfeng said helplessly: "It has been a year and a half from the beginning of last year to now, and most of the time I have been overseas. I'm afraid you won't believe me if I say I don't miss home at all."

Since the declaration of war against Britain in February of the 39th year of Zhichang, as of August of the 40th year recently, the Marine Corps had been the vanguard of the Ming Dynasty's army in the southern and eastern expeditions, and had almost never stopped.

Among them, the 1st Marine Brigade is the most elite fist force. As the chief officer, Zhou has no time to rest.

"That's what the Ministry of War thinks," Zhu Lingjing said with a smile on her lips. "The leader of the inspection team must first have excellent theoretical skills, and he must have been on the battlefield with real swords and guns instead of just talking on paper."

Reluctantly, Zhou Changfeng continued to decline, "There are many such people among the millions of soldiers, such as..."

Before she finished speaking, Zhu Lingjing interrupted, "You also have to be famous and able to convince the public."

"Su Gongzheng, other countries may not be able to do it, but the British..." Zhou Changfeng covered his forehead and said helplessly: "I'm afraid they really dare to do it."

But she also felt that this was not good, it was too inhumane.

Following traditional Chinese customs, they were all entertained with good food and drink, but occasionally they were dragged around in cars and paraded through the streets like exhibits to arouse public enthusiasm for raising war bonds.

"Uh..." Zhou Changfeng hesitated, "Okay, thank you, Your Majesty, but I still want to discuss it with Madam."

Then she added meaningfully: "And you also have an advantage that no one can match. Don't forget that you have dealt with Germans."

"My minister retire."

The British generals captured in Singapore included Air Force Lieutenant General Arthur Tedder and others. Later, the Ming army also captured many British generals in two battles in Burma.

Zhou Changfeng is indeed worried about the risks of traveling to Europe. Although it is within the Germans' sphere of influence, he is not as reassured as he is at home.

Zhou Changfeng was extremely distrustful of the integrity of the British. He felt that as long as he led an inspection team to Europe, these Ansa people would definitely cause trouble.

He had indeed led his army to fight thousands of miles and made outstanding achievements, but he had to go to a foreign country not long after he had just returned from the army. This made both the court and himself extremely mean and ungrateful.

Zhu Lingjing, who was smiling, raised her eyes and looked out the window, and said in a relaxed tone: "He will definitely do it."

He was silent for ten seconds before reluctantly saying: "Your Majesty, the British hate me so much that they are like a thorn in their flesh. There will be danger in the past."

"..." Zhou Changfeng was speechless.

Zhou Changfeng bowed his hands, took two steps back, turned around and left Zhaoren Hall.

"In that case, the captured British generals should be put in small boxes and returned to the island." Zhu Lingjing said lightly.

After he left, Su Yiyi asked with some confusion: "Your Majesty, will Zhou Daizhao agree to go?"

"There will be escorts and guards, which is much safer than leading the troops on the front line." Zhu Lingjing said.

"Do as you wish, don't force me." Zhu Lingjing stroked the snow-white long fur of the lion cat on the imperial desk, and said leisurely: "That's good, I allow you to take your wife with you, just for fun."

It can be said that he has already been at odds with the British just a few days after crossing over, and as of today, he has already offended the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets.

"It's too despicable to murder an enemy general. The British probably wouldn't do that." Su Yiyi whispered from the side.

"Go."

This concern is not unreasonable, because similar things have really happened in history.

In 1941, in order to solve the serious problem of the hated people, the British army organized a commando team to penetrate behind the German front lines, intending to surprise the German headquarters and kill Erwin Rommel. However, the commando team was eventually wiped out, and only two people managed to escape.

Erwin Rommel later humorously mocked the British - how could I command troops from a rear headquarters 200 miles away like the British?
This was not over yet. The unwilling British planned and implemented another airborne operation in 1944, intending to kidnap Erwin Rommel or kill him.

After returning to the check-in room, Zhou Changfeng complained to Luo Fuda.

"There are many reliable people in the governor's staff office. Why do you have to let me go?"

"There are indeed quite a few, but there are really few who are suitable to take the lead."

"It's probably going to take a few months to go there."

"I'm not sure. I haven't even decided whether to take the overland route now."

If you choose to take the train, there will be no problem in Siberia. Tens of thousands of Ming troops have already been stationed, and the Siberian Defense Committee, which has embraced them, has been quite obedient.

However, further west, there is a criss-crossing situation. The ▇▇▇ troops (red) and the National Republican Army are at war with each other. The local armed forces often attack each other, and the battle lines are in a mess.

Therefore, the Trans-Siberian Railway has been affected by the war and has been intermittent, and it does not have the conditions for normal traffic for the time being.

It is even more impossible to take the sea route. The Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal are all under British control. Although diplomats from the belligerent countries can pass after being inspected, members of the military inspection team are not allowed.

Unless you take a very high risk on a submarine, which is obviously not the case.

The most feasible option is to take a plane, starting from the western frontier of the Ming Dynasty, passing through Uzbekistan and other Central Asian regions, flying over the Caspian Sea and landing in Baku controlled by the German Society.

After careful consideration, Zhou Changfeng said without hesitation: "It's better to fly. It's faster and safer."

"This is naturally the best policy. The Western Region is now in chaos, and the big and small forces are fighting each other."

"Is there a suitable passenger plane? It's more than five thousand miles away."

Luo Fu thought for a while and said in deep thought: "I'm afraid we can only rely on large aircraft, Zhongsheng Company's Youyun Six Style."

The direct flight from Iri to Baku is about 2730 kilometers. Considering the possibility of unexpected situations, a certain amount of redundancy must be left. Therefore, neither the Type transport aircraft nor the Type passenger aircraft cannot undertake this task.

As a result, the burden fell on Ming Dynasty's only mass-produced four-engine passenger aircraft.

In the 4th year of Zhichang, Zhongsheng Company tried to purchase the production license of the DC-307 four-engine passenger aircraft from Douglas Company, but was blocked by the federal government, and the purchase plan was ultimately thwarted. The following year, the Ministry of War secretly instructed Yongchang Airlines to purchase Boeing passenger aircraft from Boeing Company, claiming that it would be used to open new transnational routes, but it still failed.

It was not until the Ming Dynasty and the United States declared war that Ming Dynasty detained a Boeing 307 passenger plane of American Trans World Airlines. At that time, the plane had just completed the passenger transportation mission from Seattle-Honolulu-Shanghai.

With the help of this aircraft and the B-17 heavy bomber wreckage collected in Manila, Zhongsheng Aircraft Company quickly started modification and upgrade work on existing projects.

Zhongsheng Company began the research and development project of a four-engine large aircraft in the 35th year of Zhichang. At that time, many people in the Ming Air Force supported the effectiveness of strategic bombing, so they proposed "a bomber that can bomb the essence of industrial areas in the hinterland of Tsarist Russia" "plan of.

However, as Tsarist Russia fell into civil strife the year before last, the project lost funding. Zhongsheng Company was unwilling to give up, so it changed it to a civilian passenger aircraft and continued research and development at its own expense.

The prototype made its maiden flight in October last year. Although it took off and landed safely, it exposed a number of problems and its performance did not meet design expectations.

While improving the flaws, Zhongsheng Company combined the detained Boeing 307 passenger plane and the collected B-17 bomber wreckage to add new technologies such as auxiliary power units, fly-by-wire control systems, pressurized cabins, etc., and achieved success after half a year. In view of the The homophonic pronunciation of "four" is unlucky, so the aircraft was eventually named Youyun Six Type.

However, because the cost was too high, with the purchase price reaching 41 yuan, which was six times that of the Type carrier-based destroyer, the actual mass-produced version did not have the fly-by-wire control system to improve reliability and reduce costs.

As of September, only 11 Youyun Type s have been built - major airlines still find them too expensive.

"...I have flown on this plane once. It is very comfortable. There is a kitchen for cooking, and there is a projector in the cabin for watching movies." Luo Fu introduced.

Zhou Changfeng said dumbfounded: "Let's change it back to a bomber. It would be a pity not to use this thing to blow up people."

"A few are of little use, and too many are unaffordable." Luo Fu said with a helpless expression, "It takes more than 9,000 liters to fill up with fuel, which is nine times that of an ordinary destroyer."

The cost of large-scale strategic bombing is extremely high. In fact, no country except the United States can afford it. It requires both sufficient production capacity to manufacture the aircraft itself and sufficient fuel for its consumption.

The Ming Dynasty Air Force has already concluded this, and those who support strategic bombing have long been silent.

"It may be a bit alarmist. There is no need to scare yourself." Zhou Changfeng thought for a moment and said: "Thousands of aircraft is indeed a delusion, but a scale of several hundred aircraft is completely affordable."

"It's easy to say that. Regardless of whether the Air Force colleagues agree or not, we must first pass the Consultative Council."

"A bunch of idiots! They must be exhausted before they can think of a solution."

"Ahem," Luo Fu, whose head was full of black lines, coughed dryly: "Don't get angry."

Afterwards, Zhou Changfeng rummaged around in a nearby closet for a long time, and finally found a copy of the report submitted by Zhongsheng Company two months ago in one of the compartments.

This report is intended to brag about achievements to the Air Force, or to sell products, which is a bit like selling melons.

The report claims that the Youyun VI passenger aircraft can be used as a bomber with only a few modifications, with a maximum take-off weight of 30500 kilograms, a maximum range of 4800 kilograms, and a maximum bomb load of 3000 kilograms; the purchase price for small batches is about 42 yuan, and for large batches The price is about 37 yuan.

If true, this heavy bomber does have some appeal.

Although the Ming Army lost interest in Australia, it was only temporary. The Ming monarchs and ministers still planned to take this independent continent rich in mineral resources into their pockets.

Until then, Australia should be isolated, besieged, and weakened by various means.

Australia's industry is already weak and is basically concentrated in the three major cities of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney in the southeast. Strategic bombing is one of the possible ways to weaken it.

After returning home in the evening, Zhou Changfeng told his wife what had happened.

"...But the emperor also said that you can go together and treat it as a tourist trip."

After saying that, he spread his hands and said: "It sounds easy, but in fact, I don't have the heart to play."

Xia Xiaoshi hesitated and said, "It must be a very important thing for you to go, right?"

"Oh, it's 'more important' at most." Zhou Changfeng, who was quite depressed, held his daughter up high and complained: "They are really good at calling people. I should be selected as a model worker in the future."

After struggling for a moment, Xia Xiaoshi nodded and said: "Anyway, we can be together, so let's go!"

the next day.

In the morning, the bicycle trend among office workers in the capital had just dissipated, and the officer's car that Zhou was riding in went straight to the Ministry of War along Chongli Avenue.

Outside the headquarters of the Ministry of War, officers and soldiers of the Third Guards Brigade with live ammunition were on duty. When they saw the former senior officer driving over, the leading warrant officer said hello excitedly and performed a chest-stroking salute.

While waiting for the gate to rise, Zhou Changfeng caught a glimpse of the officer wearing the Medal of Qi Li and asked, "In which battle was he injured?"

"Thirty-six years of Wu Si Zang!" the warrant officer replied loudly: "The humble position was in the third battalion, and I had just been promoted to corporal at that time."

"Not bad, do it well."

"Yes!"

The gate was raised, the car drove into the official office, and several officials came downstairs to greet it.

Although he acted unwillingly, after Zhou Changfeng had an in-depth exchange with his wife last night, he thought about it. This time he went to Germany and France and he would definitely receive different treatment. He should also be able to meet many historical celebrities and have the opportunity. If you want, you can even go to Spain to revisit your hometown, which is not a loss in general.

The foreign mission and military inspection team, with a tentative total of 41 people, took two Yuyun-6 passenger planes. They first flew to Baku, then transited in Kiev for refueling, and finally headed to Berlin.

Air warning in this era was still very primitive. The number of radars was small, the detection range was short, and the reaction time was long. It was easy to be exploited.

Historically, in 1942, an Italian long-range bomber accomplished such a bold operation - passing through the Crimean Peninsula and southern Russia, and finally flew to Japan. This was done under wartime conditions.

"I'm really sorry for Zhou Taizhao. After much deliberation, you are the most suitable. I'm here to apologize." Zhang Xi, the right minister of the Ministry of War, cupped his hands and said with a smile.

"Serving the country, what does it mean?" Zhou Changfeng said casually, and then asked: "Have the specific details been listed? Especially those projects with technical requirements."

"The draft has been revised several times and it's ready. Zhou Daizhao would like to take a look at it and see if there are any additions."

Due to a series of glorious victories since the beginning of the war, the enthusiasm of the proud and conceited upper echelons of Ming Dynasty for cutting-edge military technology has faded. The military inspection team has a somewhat "casual" feel. The highlight this time is actually politics, diplomacy, Economically.

The mission of the foreign mission is very simple to say, just "discuss major issues together", but it becomes more complicated when it is detailed, ranging from the division of spheres of influence to military cooperation, from economic and trade exchanges to population migration. Not included.

"The Germans are very interested in aircraft carriers recently, so we can bargain hard." Zhang Xi suddenly thought of something, "Oh, and you also have experience in beach landing tactics. This is Zhou Daizhao's specialty."

(End of this chapter)