afterglow

Chapter 663: Going too far; is this just groundless worry?
"If neither side is willing to give in, then there is nothing we can do but stay in a stalemate. This is a lose-lose situation, and the Germans are actually gaining an advantage."

Personnel Minister Chen Kaicheng picked up the teacup and glanced at everyone as he spoke.

Li Gangqiao nodded helplessly and said, "That's right. In fact, the US has wavered in its determination since the Battle of Tarawa. The wars over the past six months have only made them lower their peace terms."

Then he added: "But the lowest bottom line has never changed."

"It's like this. After sailing out to sea from the west coast of the United States, there are no more islands and reefs to stay on. Hawaii cannot be abandoned." Chen Kaicheng said with a self-deprecating smile: "On the contrary, it makes our country seem unreasonable."

Yu Shenhua sighed with a worried look on his face. "Although it seems to be too much, we have been fighting over Hawaii for two years and have spent more than 40 billion. Now we are giving up. How can we explain this to the people?"

Lin Xi also smiled bitterly, "I talked about this with Zhou Kexing again a few days ago. He said that the 'sunk cost' was too high so he couldn't bear to give it up, and he was still hoping for a lucky break."

"The truth." Liao Zihe only said three words.

"Your Excellency, Zhou Kexing feels that it is time to guide public opinion. We cannot continue to do nothing."

"Indeed, it's time to take some action."

After completing a high level of war mobilization across the country and implementing the rationing system, the decision-makers of the Ming Dynasty seemed to have run out of energy and entered a state of macro-strategic inaction.

This is probably because most of the strategic goals have been achieved, and those that have not yet been achieved can be achieved in the near future under existing conditions, so no one is willing to go through so much trouble.

After a moment's silence, Liao Zihe slowly said, "In short, it's not a good idea to waste time like this. Don't cut off foreign affairs contacts. It doesn't matter if we can't reach an agreement. We can talk slowly. We need to work on policies and change public opinion. Many generations have not experienced the bitterness of war. The sincere hearts of the young people seem too hasty and too crazy."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the Minister of Finance and instructed: "The issue of issuing more banknotes has been put on hold for a long time. Let's do it now. The approval of commodity shipments in the capitals of various places must be careful and prudent, and properly controlled. Also, see if the savings interest rates of major banks can be adjusted and reduced by one or two points. The Tax Supervisor will draft a regulation in the next two days."

Yan Peiwen reminded in surprise: "Sir, the price is going to go up a little bit."

"It's good to have an increase."

"understood."

Control of the Hawaiian Islands means completely different things to Ming and the United States.

In the vast Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Islands are located slightly eastward, about 8,000 kilometers west of the eastern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty and about 4,000 kilometers east of the west coast of the United States.

From the outside to the inside, the Ming army also controlled the farthest Midway Island, Wake Island, the Marshall Islands (Kwajalein Atoll), followed by the Mariana Islands (Guam and Saipan), and then the Ryukyu Islands and the Japanese Islands.

As for the US military, there was a completely empty vast ocean between the Hawaiian Islands and the west coast, with no islands to occupy.

Therefore, in the eyes of Americans, the Ming people's attempt to completely control the Hawaiian Islands was not a strategic defense at all, but a purely aggressive and invasive posture that would threaten the safety of North America at all times in the future.

The expedition to Hawaii was intended to gain absolute strategic advantage and force the Americans to surrender, and they also held out hope that the Americans might agree to cede Hawaii out of weakness.

But at that time, the Americans were also relatively optimistic, believing that after completing the war mobilization and accumulating strength, they could drive the Ming people back to the Mariana Islands.

Obviously, the Americans did not realize at that time that this war would be so difficult, and every island-taking battle was extremely bloody.

Now that the two sides have been fighting over Hawaii for so long, they have fallen into a situation where neither side wants to continue fighting, but has to.

For the Ming people, it was now known that the Americans had a clear intention to make peace, and it was very likely that they would reach an agreement and complete the peace talks as long as they evacuated Hawaii. However, they were reluctant to give up the huge human, material and financial resources they had previously paid, so they had to continue investing. The more they invested, the more reluctant they were, forming a vicious circle.

Given the current strength of the right wing, shrewd court officials will not publicly advocate concessions, as no one wants to bring trouble upon themselves.

Except for some hawkish members, the rest of the members of the Senate were aware of the current situation, but they all pretended to be stupid and kept silent.

There were a few warriors who dared to speak out publicly, but the outcome was predictable - first they were attacked, then scandals were exposed or baseless accusations were leveled by those who coveted their positions, and they were threatened with personal injury. In the end, they were forced to apologize and resign.

This series of issues was not suitable for the emperor to comment on, so Zhu Lingjing remained silent. She only verbally hinted that public opinion should be properly guided.

Zhou Changfeng thought that he had recovered as before, so he left the hospital without permission and went to the General Staff Office of the Grand Marshal's Office to handle some military affairs, and then went to the palace to meet the emperor.

Zhu Lingjing, dressed in casual clothes, stood by the window and looked at the memorandum submitted by the embassy. When she saw him coming, she said casually, "I told you to rest. If you don't obey, it would be called disobeying the order in ancient times."

"Well...going out for a walk is also a way to recuperate."

"Tell me what's going on."

Zhou Changfeng hesitated for two seconds and said, "I talked to those people in the court these two days. I didn't expect that the court hadn't figured out how to end it at all, and no one dared to come forward."

"It's only been a few years since the Ji Mao disaster, and I still remember it." Zhu Lingjing said nonchalantly: "People of this level are normal to cherish their reputation."

"It's so irresponsible. The court seems very weak and lacks the courage to have final say." Zhou Changfeng complained.

"Not really, it's just that the situation is like this, the open and covert fighting has never stopped." Zhu Lingjing glanced at him and said lightly: "A big change like this can't be changed overnight. At the very least, it will take several months."

After she finished speaking, she warned him again: "Don't make trouble, keep your mouth shut, or else you'll end up counting grains of sand in Anxi."

Zhou Changfeng asked with a headache: "Then... Your Majesty, how are the preparations for the transformation going?"

"Not very good. We have just started. There is a lot of opposition. We need to take it slow."

"Private enterprises have made a lot of money in recent years from the war dividends."

“So we all hope that this trend can last a little longer.”

The war greatly promoted the development of heavy industry. In addition, any industry related to military supplies also expanded rapidly like a balloon with an air pump.

Match factories, clothing factories, shoe factories, canning factories and other companies have never lacked orders since the outbreak of the war. They have been operating almost day and night, in two or even three shifts. For business owners, these years have been like making money.

For example, large and small watch factories in Guangdong Province have received many orders for mechanical fuses. Small companies in the form of semi-factory and semi-workshops that were operating generally and barely making a living before the war are now thriving. Now, small bosses are buying all kinds of rosewood furniture, several cars, and have begun to study antiques, calligraphy and paintings in a serious manner.

But the war could not last forever, and realizing that these good times were coming to an end, some people became anxious.

Whether it was the transition from a peacetime system to a wartime system or the restoration from a wartime system to a peacetime system, the inexperienced court was facing it for the first time, and the administrative style was conservative and slow. Zhu Lingjing threw the memorandum on the imperial desk and suddenly asked, "By the way, the governor said that the enemy might counterattack Oahu. What do you think?"

"Oahu is the core. It is indeed the best strategy to skip the other islands and go straight to it. It all depends on what the US leaders think." Zhou Changfeng spread his hands and said, "Most of the main forces of my fleet are under repair, and the new ships also need training. The earliest we can attack is February or March next year. The air force is suppressed, and the enemy has the initiative in the next few months."

"The passive situation is still due to the air force. Now the enemy may launch a direct counterattack at any time."

"We can't help it. The electronics industry is the most difficult to pursue. The island has no depth and lacks room for maneuver. In fact, if we fight on the mainland, the suppression of electronic interference will not be so obvious, like the Germans."

Zhu Lingjing nodded gently and said, "Well, in the end, the outcome will be decided by a land battle. There are a lot of troops on Oahu, and the enemy's counterattack will only result in a bloody battle."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Changfeng said, "Your Majesty, I will return to the front line in a few days. I don't feel comfortable staying in the rear."

"What's wrong with you? Stay here quietly. It won't be too late to go back after you recover from your injuries. You'll shorten your life if you rush like this."

He couldn't persuade her on this matter, so he had to agree.

After sitting back in the chair, Zhu Lingjing talked about another matter in an uncertain tone.

"The Jinwu Project has recently run into trouble. Some people are worried that the nuclear bomb will trigger an uncontrollable reaction and destroy the world."

what?
Zhou Changfeng frowned and asked in surprise: "What kind of strange question is this?"

She thought for a moment and explained, "When a fission chain reaction occurs, it releases a huge amount of energy. The resulting extremely high temperature in the center is enough to trigger nuclear fusion, which may induce an uncontrolled chain reaction that allows nitrogen and magnesium in the air to combine. If this happens, the whole world will be burned to ashes."

Zhou Changfeng was stunned by this explanation.

The extreme high temperature and high pressure produced by nuclear fission can indeed trigger nuclear fusion. The hydrogen bomb uses the atomic bomb as the "ignition fuel", but it is too exaggerated to cause uncontrollable nuclear fusion in the atmosphere.

He was quite speechless and murmured: "You are really worrying too much..."

"This is not groundless worry, this is scientific theory." Zhu Lingjing frowned and corrected him, then said seriously: "The specific situation has yet to be verified. This requires rigorous calculations to make a conclusion. I have ordered you to pay special attention to it, and you must also be prepared. If there is such a risk, in the end you can only use it as a deterrent to mutual destruction."

Obviously this is an unnecessary worry. How could it be so easy to destroy the world?

So Zhou Changfeng responded perfunctorily and didn't take it seriously.

After leaving the Forbidden City, he took a car around the city and returned to the Naval General Hospital when it was almost dark.

Students leaving school, vendors setting up stalls, employees leaving work... the trams are like reefs in the tide among the army of bicycles.

The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of his hometown made him feel relaxed, but he didn't realize that his wandering around this time had been discovered by sharp-eyed people.

For multiple reasons, Zhou's return to Beijing despite being injured was kept secret, and the outside world still believed that he was still on the front line commanding the battle in a distant place.

The next day.

"… That's basically it. The detachment was loaded on a ship the day before yesterday and is expected to arrive at the port early next month."

"What the hell? Isn't this just nonsense? It's nonsense!"

When Zhou Changfeng was undergoing a review today and learned the ins and outs of the three so-called heavy self-propelled coastal defense guns, he almost fainted.

He suddenly fell on the bed, and then said with a smile: "Forget it, it's a good thing that the country has abundant resources, otherwise it would be ruined after a few more twists and turns."

The military official who reported the incident smiled helplessly and ashamedly, "It's all my fault that the military department was careless and let this loophole take advantage of us. No wonder the saying goes that thieves who harm the country are often hidden among the crowd."

"How long will the sentence be?"

"An apprenticeship for half a year."

The navy is quite interesting. They gave three super-heavy tanks separate names of Wutai, Jiuhua and Zhongnan, and then set up an independent coastal artillery team, which is composed of:
①Team headquarters - 2 off-road vehicles, 2 trucks, and 3 motorcycles.

②Coastal defense artillery platoon: 3 super heavy tanks.

③ Mobile anti-aircraft gun platoon × 2——4 single-mounted 20.8㎜ anti-aircraft gun truck types.

④Maintenance platoon: 2 trucks, 2 tanker trucks, and 3 16-ton heavy-duty tractors.

The Type 38 tractor was the most powerful tractor equipped by the Ming army. It could tow almost all heavy equipment. However, actual tests showed that even it required the combined strength of three tractors to pull the steel behemoth weighing hundreds of tons.

The main reason why the navy equipped the unit with anti-aircraft artillery was that they believed that these three big guys were too eye-catching and could easily become targets of aircraft, so they naturally had to strengthen their anti-aircraft firepower.

It can be seen that although the Ming Navy swept these three big guys out, it still attached great importance to them in the specific implementation.

"Have the ordered French radars been shipped?"

"We're going to prepare to send them out one after another. The Air Force is taking it very seriously and is counting on these few things to turn the situation around. They've specially sent a large airship to transport them overnight."

To date, the Type 2 fighter Jaguar has been in production for some time, and its output has gradually increased. Several combat units have completed adaptive training in their home country and then flown to Hawaii to participate in the war.

Ming army pilots had mixed reactions to this short and thick fighter jet that looked like a carrot - some praised its unparalleled climbing ability for tactical advantages, while others disliked its poor driving experience and frequent mechanical failures.

When being bitten by the US Mustang or Corsair, the Chickadee, with a climbing rate of up to 27m/s, can easily escape the pursuit by climbing immediately. In addition, due to its good protection ability, the 12.7mm aviation machine guns commonly used by US fighters are difficult to achieve effective damage.

Because of the urgency of the situation, the French, who were used to being leisurely and slow, were efficient this time. Several Sky Guardian 312 and Sky Hunter 120 radars purchased at a high price were delivered to Ming Dynasty by rail across the Eurasian continent after shipment.

The Air Force selected capable personnel to form a special radar unit, who worked day and night to familiarize themselves with the performance characteristics and operating methods of these French radars, and then prepared to transport them to the front line.

At this moment, the telephone room next to the single room suddenly rang with a ding ding ding sound, and the attendant walked over to answer the phone.

Then he bowed and reported, "Supervisor, a tabloid reported your return to Beijing for hospitalization without the knowledge of the censors. Now the Foreign Factory and the Criminal Investigation Department are closing it down."

(End of this chapter)