afterglow

Chapter 560: Friendly Cooperation Agreement; No, it has already begun
"Snakes, both in China and abroad, represent ruthless bad guys, cold-blooded and vicious. Looking back on previous battles, it seems that this is indeed the case? But it still feels weird." Zhou Changfeng said thoughtfully.

"As the saying goes: 'The enemy's hero is my enemy'." Xu Hexiang said seriously: "For Britain and the United States, Zhou Taizhao's achievements are their shame."

"Hey, actually, my original intention is just to end this war as quickly as possible. Procrastination is not a good thing for both warring countries."

Zhou Changfeng said this, then took the coffee from Chris and thanked him.

"As a general, you have a vision, whereas a lot of people like you can only see the short term," she said.

"War is the best test of a country's comprehensive national strength, soft power such as culture and politics, and hard power such as military and economy." Zhou Changfeng smiled and picked up the coffee cup, "Politicians can't figure out each other at the negotiation table. The truth is, so only a real fight with a real sword can prove it.”

"Soldiers are an ominous weapon and must be used as a last resort. It would be best if the British were willing to withdraw from Japan as they did the year before last. This would avoid the disaster of war and everyone would be happy." Xu Hexiang said leisurely.

"Japan is useless, otherwise why would we give up?"

"indeed."

Kris stared at Zhou Changfeng and said: "In the story, the evil dragon will guard the accumulated wealth and refuse to give it away until it is killed by the knight. The European powers have become accustomed to satisfying their never-ending greed through colonization. They The powerful people will use lies and narratives to encourage workers and peasants to participate in the war and fight for limited interests."

The latter was stunned by the bitter black coffee, and replied in a dumbfounded way: "Uh... you use the idioms well."

Although both Germany and China are wary of each other, the current situation is enough to push the two to stand closer on the same front.

"...In order to harmonize the diplomatic relations between the two countries and avoid the threat of unfriendly forces, we hereby resolve to conclude a treaty of friendly cooperation. The plenipotentiary representatives of Germany and China exchanged letters of credence, reviewed the certificates of rights, proofread the terms of the text, and confirmed that they were correct and agreed. The following items:"

"There's no rush. There's plenty of time. I'll see how you progress next week."

"Article 5: Both sides must negotiate on international issues related to the interests of both countries."

Because there is indeed the possibility that Britain and the United States will choose to make peace with the Ming Dynasty in order to curb the further expansion of the German Society - in the long run, the priority of ideological confrontation will definitely be greatly improved.

Xu Hexiang coughed twice and changed the subject: "Now we are waiting for the reply from the DPRK and China. If it is confirmed, the agreement will be signed immediately."

"Article 3: When one party becomes the target of attack by one or several third countries, the other party should always remain neutral."

However, objective conditions do not depend on people's subjective wishes. The vast Siberian wilderness and the rugged mountains of Central Asia make it impractical to project troops on a large scale.

"Article 1. Both sides recognize the sanctity and inviolability of the other's territory."

"Article 4: Both sides respect each other's sovereignty, do not interfere in internal affairs, and conduct friendly economic and technical assistance, as well as economic and technical cooperation."

The Ming Dynasty's foreign affairs mission was ordered to have in-depth discussions with the German Society to discuss the future relationship and relationship between the two countries - or the two camps. This has never happened before.

On the morning of October 10, the mission and the German Social Agency government signed the "Germany-China Friendly Cooperation Agreement". Since they had negotiated many times in advance and the negotiations were correct, the signing process was very smooth.

The enemy of the enemy is a friend. Now the two sides have to be very close due to practical needs, but what about the future?
Do the Germans want to unify Asia and Europe? There must be some people in the upper echelons of the German Society who want to carry out this grand undertaking that has never been achieved in thousands of years.

What the Ming court was more afraid of was the potential means of ideology - in layman's terms, it was secretly blowing the trumpet and engaging in propaganda.

From a geographical perspective, there is no possibility of a major fight between Germany and China, and whoever takes the initiative will suffer the consequences.

"it is good."

After waiting for the reply and approval from the DPRK and China, the Ming Dynasty Foreign Affairs Mission was ordered to sign a treaty of friendship.

"If everything goes well, when will you leave for France?" Zhou Changfeng asked.

"Article 2: The two sides will continue to conduct normal and legal trade exchanges."

For the German Society, what they don't want to see is to be suppressed by the whole world. Whether it is short or long-term, being isolated and hostile is not a good thing.

"Article 6. This agreement will take effect immediately from the date of ratification and will be valid for five years. The ratification certificate will be exchanged in Nanjing. The agreement is written in German and Chinese, with an original and a copy, both of which are fully valid..."

Both parties were quite satisfied. There were not many differences during the negotiation process of the friendship and mutual assistance agreement. It can be said to be a very pleasant experience.

Considering the huge ideological differences between the two countries, the success of the agreement is largely due to Britain and the United States.

Zhou Changfeng was doing nothing in Berlin these days, wondering if it was time to change places.

Now that the foreign mission has completed its primary mission, it is time to head to the neighboring countries to the west.

In fact, he really wanted to go to the front line of the battle between the German and American armies for an on-the-spot inspection. Anyway, he would have to pass through France, so if possible, it would be a good idea.

"There is no problem. You can see how we teach the Americans to fight. In fact, since the Battle of Salamanca, they have not dared to carry out active offensive operations." Lieutenant General Hallard did not even think about it. accepted.

The Battle of Salamanca is a typical example of idealism and realistic backbone. The US military, which was waiting for work, hoped to launch a beautiful defensive counterattack. However, due to its own series of omissions, the counterattack was not coordinated properly and the troops were disconnected. Instead, they were captured by the Germans. I took advantage of the opportunity and ate one.

The entire battle lasted eight days and seven nights. The US First Army suffered more than 1 deaths, more than wounded, and more than prisoners. It also lost more than tanks and more than vehicles of various types.

As for the defenders, the German army only suffered a total of more than 3,000 casualties, losing dozens of tanks and more than 200 cars.

This battle can be said to have frightened the US military, which was not afraid of tigers at birth, and no longer dared to be so optimistic and confident.

Defensive counterattack? Come on, thank God the defense can hold up.

Zhou Changfeng stared at the map and pondered: "Do you have any plans to launch a large-scale offensive? The Americans will only continue to increase their troops. The terrain of the Iberian Peninsula cannot be shaken as a whole if one or two million troops are deployed. In that case, Another confrontation in the European War is about to take place.”

Lieutenant General Hallard shook his head and replied: "The possibility is slim. Experience tells us that the effect of launching a rapid offensive in mountainous and hilly terrain is very poor. The deduction has also proved this. We may be able to repel 30 US troops." "To 50 kilometers, but this is the limit." "Well, then... the confrontation should last for a long time. The strategic intention of Britain and the United States is to accumulate troops on several fronts and then launch a multi-front attack." Zhou Changfeng stretched out his hand. Pointed at Portugal, Italy, Norway.

"The good news is that these places are not suitable for rapid advancement, and they will suffer a lot." Lieutenant General Hallard was unconcerned and said in a confident tone, "Do they want to compete with all European people? This is impossible."

The two talked for a while looking at the map and speculated that the huge manpower and material resources required for multi-front operations would be a heavy burden even for the United States.

Not to mention that they also have to take care of the Pacific battlefield at the same time. This is a true multi-front battle.

Lieutenant General Hallard suddenly said mysteriously: "We are studying the way aircraft carriers operate in the Atlantic, and we also want to try to build some aircraft carriers that suit us (national conditions and needs). If you are willing to help, we can give back some good ones. thing."

Hearing this, Zhou Changfeng thought calmly for a few seconds and guessed: "Aircraft carrier? Is it used to break diplomatic relations?"

"The naval force came up with the idea and the War Council supported them. The British were becoming more capable of counter-submarine, so they wanted to open up a new path - to disrupt sea transport through other means."

"This is quite bold. The Atlantic Ocean has high waves and fog, and you have to fight without supplies for a long time, so you have to bring a lot of fuel."

The confrontation between submarines and anti-submarines has spawned more and more new technologies, just like the confrontation between armored bombs.

While the Workers' Navy is working hard to improve the concealment and attack methods of submarines, it is also considering a different path with the same goal.

Because the German Society was not affected by the Versailles Peace Treaty in history, which caused the upstream and downstream shipbuilding industries to wither and shrink, it has stronger capabilities in building large warships - it has both the foundation and the demand, so someone proposed the idea of ​​breaking the ocean-going diplomatic relations The idea of ​​an aircraft carrier.

Compared with traditional destroyers, aircraft carriers can launch attacks from longer distances. The Workers' Navy believes that although the take-off and landing of aircraft carrier-based aircraft will be restricted by the natural environment to a greater extent, it is also safer, and such gains and losses are acceptable.

Although last year's capital ship battle to break diplomatic relations was fruitful, its own losses were also quite heavy. Although everyone knows that there will be losses in the war, the risks are not proportional to the benefits.

In particular, times have changed greatly. The British can use aircraft carrier-based aircraft to search, track, and attack their own breakers, instead of having to rely on high-speed capital ships in the past.

Because of this, the two cutting-edge battleships Ma and En have not been involved in the Atlantic diplomatic operations - they are really reluctant to do so because the risk is too great.

The Workers' Navy hopes to design and build a special aircraft carrier with a displacement of 2.6 tons, a maximum speed of 34 knots, a cruising range of 18000 nautical miles, and a carrying capacity of 30 aircraft, which can operate for a long time without supplies.

Because I have no experience in aircraft carrier design and construction, I need to seek technical support to speed up the progress.

Is it too late to start a trade union now? It would take two years at the fastest, and it would already be four or three years ago. Zhou Changfeng muttered in his heart.

But then again, the customer is God, do whatever you like, as long as you pay.

He nodded and said with certainty: "It's easy to talk about guiding shipbuilding. It's not a problem. I just don't know what Lieutenant General X calls 'good stuff'?"

Lieutenant General Hallard responded confidently, and Chris, who acted as the translator, translated word for word very rigorously: "An integrated fire guidance electric detector, an anti-aircraft gun command with its own resolution mechanism. The equipment is all advanced and has been installed for less than half a year.”

The FuMG62 fire control radar has been improved and can now be deployed independently for field air defense and is linked to the anti-aircraft gun director through an interactive system.

The Kommandogert40 firing director is a device that integrates an optical rangefinder and a mechanical fire control computer. It weighs 1.6 tons. It can accurately measure the distance, direction, and height of the target, and then quickly calculate the elevation and azimuth angle of the anti-aircraft gun. .

【Picture】

Combining the two, fire control radar or optical rangefinders can be used to track incoming targets. After locking, the mechanical computer generates firing elements, and these data can be immediately transmitted through cables to each connected anti-aircraft gun.

Zhou Changfeng, who was secretly happy in his heart, pretended to be calm, "This is indeed a good thing, you are really sincere."

Lieutenant General Hallard laughed, "Of course, there are many aspects worth communicating with, just like your proverb says, 'When a group of people hang out together, there is always someone who can help you.'"

Uh... This original sentence should be that when three people are together, there must be my teacher, right?

Zhou Changfeng is aware of Daming's weaknesses in this area - many mechanical and electronic devices are good in themselves, but the interaction and linkage are poor, and the degree of automation is not high. Therefore, the response speed is relatively slow, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

大明海军凭借合理的128㎜、38.4㎜、20.8㎜远中近三个层级的高射炮搭配在战争初期占了不少便宜，防空效率抢得头把交椅。然而眼下美国海军已经在为入坞维护的战舰拆除芝加哥钢琴28㎜高射炮，替换为崭新出厂的山寨20㎜厄利孔与山寨40㎜博福斯高射炮。

It won't be long before the gap between the two sides in anti-aircraft guns will be smoothed out. In the future, the difference in air defense efficiency will depend on the performance of fire control equipment.

At the same time, the rest of the inspection team also divided into small groups to visit various places. Whatever they liked, they wrote down and prepared to purchase samples or introduce them completely.

In fact, many things don't make much sense in Zhou Changfeng's opinion. For example, the "two Type 3 tanks" and "three Type 38 50mm combat anti-aircraft guns" that appear in the purchase items were purely purchased for testing. .

The only thing that everyone is satisfied with is the Sdkfz232 eight-wheeled heavy armored vehicle. They are initially considering purchasing 100 vehicles. Some people even proposed to directly buy the production license.

"Get ready to go to France in two days. I'd like to trouble you, Minister Xu."

"I'm serious. The reply from Paris has just arrived and all procedures have been arranged."

Zhou Changfeng took the telegraph newspaper and browsed it, handed it back to Xu Hexiang, then looked at Chris who was about to leave and said with a smile: "Is your vacation not over yet? Let's go to France together?"

The latter shook his head slightly, "Sorry, no, I have to go to Budapest tomorrow afternoon."

Budapest?

After a while, Zhou Changfeng reached out to pick up the beer bottle and poured wine, pretending to be casual and said: "So, you are going to start fighting against Italy?"

Chris, who looked indifferent, raised her left hand and glanced at her watch, and said calmly: "No, it has already started."

(End of this chapter)