afterglow

Chapter 695: Ballistic Missiles and Bombers; Victims of Peace Talks
"boom--"

Fireworks filled the air, and the earth began to tremble amidst the roaring sound like a tsunami.

A slender orange-yellow cone emitting bright flames slowly rose into the air from the steel frame, increasing in speed until it disappeared into the mirror-like blue sky.

The scene suddenly changed to an aerial shot, and a black dot suddenly flew across the open desert and hit the ground, raising dust!

Zhou Changfeng withdrew his gaze from the screen and began to flip through the files in his hand.

An Ordnance Bureau official reported: "As you can see, the rocket test was completely successful, but the deviation was larger than the design."

Zhou Changfeng, who read ten lines at a glance, hummed and said, "We are off by more than 6,500 meters. We still need to work hard to improve."

Even senior generals could not avoid the ravages of war. Several consecutive years of high-intensity work and trauma had damaged Zhou's physical and mental health to a certain extent.

Zhu Lingjing could tell at a glance that he was not in good health, so she ordered him to go to Lushan Imperial Garden to rest and recuperate for two months. During this period, he was not allowed to work more than three hours a day.

As a result, Zhou Changfeng, who had just taken over as the head of the General Staff of the Grand Marshal's Office, had no way to inspect all aspects of the matter personally even if he wanted to. He could only eat, drink and have fun with his wife and children in this secluded sanatorium in the mountains.

Lushan Imperial Garden nominally belongs to the royal family and appears to be just a palace, but a holiday sanatorium has been built nearby for dignitaries to recuperate.

Mount Lushan is full of crisscrossing peaks and ridges, with lush green trees, misty clouds and clear streams. When he first arrived, Zhou Changfeng, who was used to the hustle and bustle of war, was extremely uncomfortable and suffered from insomnia for several nights.

At the end of July, a liquid-fuel ballistic missile was tested in Yunnei County, which was later known as Togtoh County, Inner Mongolia.

The most important thing about rockets is materials technology. Apart from that, it relies more on reasonable and good engineering design and is not completely restricted by cutting-edge technology.

In other words, spending money can have a good effect.

Therefore, although the overall scientific and technological level of the Ming Dynasty was inferior to that of Britain and the United States, this did not prevent the Ming Dynasty from being at the forefront of rocket technology.

Robert Goddard, the father of American rockets, has long been committed to designing rockets. As early as the early 1930s, the rockets he designed and manufactured had taken shape.

Regarding his achievements, the famous von Braun once commented: "He was ahead of everyone in the design and manufacture of liquid rockets. In fact, everything we know is learned from Goddard."

However, historically, the U.S. military has had little interest in rockets. They did not realize the military value of rockets and never provided any funding.

It was not until the German army launched a ballistic missile attack on London that the US military woke up from their dream, but by then Robert Goddard was already terminally ill and would soon die.

In stark contrast to the Americans on the other side of the ocean who were slow to realize the situation, the Ming Dynasty's army and air force began to pay attention to rockets in the 1920s - the army supported solid-fuel rockets because they were more convenient; the air force supported liquid-fuel rockets because they had a longer range.

Given that they started heavily funding research and development so early on, it's no surprise that they've achieved such success 20 years later.

The trial-produced Type 3 guided rocket had experienced 23 failed test launches before this, and it was only successful after repeated improvements.

It is 18.2m long and 1.6m in diameter, with a slender appearance. Its maximum ground thrust is 300kN and its maximum vacuum thrust is 350kN. It can carry a 1200kg payload and fly 360~400km. Its circular error probability is 6.5km. It can be said to be a milestone product in the history of ballistic missile development.

Historically, the German V-2 used liquid oxygen as an oxidizer and 75% alcohol as a propellant because they lacked fossil fuels and had a wider source of alcohol, so there was no need to worry.

In comparison, the Ming people did not have such concerns, so they chose kerosene as the propellant, and the oxidizer was still simple liquid oxygen.

People usually use specific impulse to measure the propulsion efficiency of rocket engines. In addition to combustion chamber pressure and nozzle design, the energy density of the propellant is also an important factor affecting the specific impulse.

The calorific value of alcohol is 3000kJ/㎏, and the calorific value of kerosene is 4600kJ/㎏. The specific impulse of liquid oxygen-kerosene rocket engine is 20% greater than that of liquid oxygen-alcohol, and its higher combustion efficiency can reduce the consumption rate of propellant.

Rockets are the thing Zhou Changfeng has least to worry about since he traveled through time. Letting things develop naturally has yielded remarkable results.

Although current ballistic missiles have a short range, small payload and poor accuracy, they can be improved and iterated to have practical combat value within a few years.

As the missile payload increases, there will be breakthroughs in the miniaturization of the atomic bomb, and then we can try to load it into the missile warhead.

The combination of the two is the right way, and uninterceptable ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads will establish a terrible nuclear deterrent.

Zhou Changfeng specifically instructed: "Speed ​​up the work of improving rockets and miniaturizing atomic bombs, and combine the two regardless of cost."

A medium-range liquid-fuel missile with a range of several thousand kilometers can be developed in a few years, which is relatively easy. However, an intercontinental missile with a range of tens of thousands of kilometers is much more difficult, and at the most optimistic level it will take another ten years.

Before that, strategic bombers remain an indispensable nuclear strike force.

After completing the design and production of the Yuannian heavy bomber, Zhongsheng Company and Changyang Company were not idle and continued to carry out research and development of the next generation of heavy bombers.

Zhongsheng Aircraft Company made drastic improvements to the Yuannian Type (Z), upgraded the fuselage structure, and carefully referred to the wreckage of several shot-down B-29s. On this basis, it completed the drawings and prototypes of the Type 2100 heavy bomber. This bomber still has a single vertical tail, uses a 7.5 horsepower double-row 590-cylinder star engine, has a maximum bomb load of tons, and a top speed of km/h. Its biggest feature is the use of coaxial counter-rotating propellers.

Changyang Aircraft Company is mainly committed to the development of jet bombers, but for the sake of insurance, they have prepared two plans. If the turbojet engine is unreliable, they can also use ordinary piston engines. They are also the most important jet technology contractor in Daming. After years of concentrated development, the turbojet engine is about to be finalized.

The centrifugal jet engine of the Type 860 has a maximum stable thrust of 100 kg and a working life of hours. At the same time, the axial-flow jet engine with greater potential is also under development. The axial-flow type is undoubtedly the trend of the future, but the technical difficulty is also higher.

Changyang Company designed a heavy bomber with swept wings, with two Type 2 bombers in a group, two groups on each wing, a total of eight bombers. Even so, the performance of the prototype of this bomber during the test flight was still not ideal. The insufficient engine thrust caused difficulty in takeoff and landing, and the fuel consumption was higher than expected, which could not meet the design indicators. Everyone could only hope for the next generation of jet engines with greater thrust.

"...This is good. Your cooking skills have improved a lot recently, Xiaoshi."

Zhou Changfeng tasted the stir-fried eel and sweet and sour pork ribs made by his wife and praised them sincerely.

"Really?" Xia Xiaoshi smiled and said, "It's rare for you, Zhou Kexing, to say that."

Xia Xiaoshi's cooking skills have never been very good, and she is only willing to cook when Zhou is at home. Normally, she doesn't cook at all. Now that they have spent a pleasant and leisurely time together, her cooking skills have improved a lot.

Just as the two were chatting and laughing, a servant walked up quickly and knocked on the door, coming in to report a significant emergency.

"Good news has come, Mr. Zhou!" The attendant said cheerfully, "It is reported that at noon the day before yesterday, there was a sudden riot at the San Diego Naval Base. Sailors from many warships refused to go out to sea and even fired shots during the confrontation."

"Oh? The destroyer force?"

"Yes, at least three ships disobeyed orders together."

"Very good, it seems that the procrastination tactic can no longer be played." Zhou Changfeng nodded slowly.

Today is the first day of mid-August.

The Battle of the Gulf of Alaska dealt a heavy blow to the US Pacific Fleet, and the remnants of the fleet were scattered in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Although on paper the Pacific Fleet was in good shape and still had many aircraft carriers available, it was much better than the most difficult time in the previous two years when only Enterprise and Saratoga were left, but both morale and training levels were far from comparable to that time.

The main fleet of the Ming army also withdrew to Pearl Harbor and the mainland for rest and recuperation. Only some of the warships in the best condition were selected to temporarily form a squadron to carry out the blockade mission and cut off the sea transportation line from the west coast to Hawaii.

Although the U.S. military had stockpiled countless supplies in Hawaii over time, it could not sit idly by, so it planned an operation to break the blockade and restore transportation lines.

As a result, collective riots broke out on the destroyers USS O'Bannon, USS Porterfield, and USS Smith, which then spread to the heavy cruiser USS Boston.

The sailors and the military police and marines who came to suppress the riot had a serious conflict, which quickly escalated from the initial physical conflict. The O'Bannon even fired blank shots at the docks and warehouses, forcing the military police to retreat. Afterwards, both sides used guns to open fire, resulting in many casualties.

This directly led to the abortion of the operation prepared by the Pacific Fleet. It was obvious that morale had dropped to such a low level that it did not allow the Navy to carry out proactive military operations.

Anti-war demonstrations are also intensifying. Although they have been going on intermittently since the beginning of the year, their scale and frequency in the past month have far exceeded those in the past.

The Admiralty building was set on fire and shot at, with a large area of ​​the exterior wall burned black and more than a dozen windows broken. The Navy was forced to expand the restricted area and impose martial law day and night.

The federal government tried many ways to stabilize people's hearts, and even exposed some weapons and equipment that were originally developed in secret, such as the Manhattan Project, the XB-36 intercontinental bomber, the XP-80 jet fighter, the T26 heavy tank, and so on.

Franklin Roosevelt felt overwhelmed. The Manhattan Project would produce results in about four months, and if all went well it would be even faster. He originally hoped to delay time to ensure a successful nuclear test and gain greater bargaining chips at the negotiating table, but the current all-round chaotic situation did not allow him to continue procrastinating.

Panic continued to spread in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle after the defeat in the Gulf of Alaska. The price index in the three major cities on the West Coast soared, and tens of thousands of people drove eastward to Idaho and Arizona to flee for refuge.

The financial turmoil is clearly reflected in the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded slightly this year but is now falling again. The stock prices of many companies on the West Coast have continued to fall.

To make matters worse, the ship was late and encountered headwinds. The war situation in Western Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and North Africa was not optimistic. The German army continued to attack the Gibraltar fortress steadily, the French army also held its ground in North Africa, and the vast wilderness of Russia was even worse. The logistical support for the one million Allied troops basically relied on the long Arctic route, and the cost can be imagined.

The peace talks have been going on for several months now. China has repeatedly urged the negotiations and made concessions on some controversial issues, which has accelerated the progress of the negotiations between the United States and Ming Dynasty.

Last year, the Americans' minimum demand was to regain control of the Hawaiian Islands and Midway Island, but now even this cannot be guaranteed.

Chi Xianze has already figured out the Americans' bottom line and is pressing them step by step on this issue.

First, Chi Xianze forced them to give up the idea of ​​taking back Midway Island.

The two sides then proposed several plans for the Hawaiian Islands, including establishing a neutral regime, joint management, and each occupying half of it.

Both parties had the highest approval rating for the half-and-half proposal - relatively speaking, so they extended the proposal on this basis and discussed various details.

The Ming Dynasty's top leaders also knew that it was impossible to completely take over Hawaii, so they did not force it.

The two sides agreed to split it into two...

[The illegal content has been deleted]

Chi Xianze and William Pratt were the chief negotiators, but they were not the commissioners who actually signed the document.

Zhou Changfeng, Ouyang Zhanghua and Lin Xi flew to Hawaii and then took a cruiser to Maui.

The signing commissioners appointed by the other side were Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, Pacific Fleet Commander General Chester Nimitz, and Pacific Theater Army Commander General Simon Buckner.

The negotiation venue has changed from its original simple appearance to a village with houses, half Chinese and half American. At first glance, it looks like a resort - this is actually a microcosm of the open and covert struggles between the two sides during the negotiation tug-of-war in the past few months.

The six men's positions during the Pacific War were roughly corresponding, and they could all be regarded as the biggest opponents.

"We shouldn't have lost the Battle of Tarawa. Unfortunately, God was not on our side." Chester Nimitz said to Ouyang Zhanghua. What he regretted most was not the recent naval battles, but the Battle of Tarawa three years ago.

"Your war is over, but we still have more important enemies to deal with." George Marshall said to Lin Xi seriously.

"In fact, if you had resolutely counterattacked the landing troops with all your strength at that time, I would not have the confidence to resist." Simon Buckner was talking about the second phase of the Battle of Maui. The American troops on Maui had almost been cut in half by the Ming army, and then he nervously threw himself into the battle reserve to carry out the counter-landing operation.

"It's a thing of the past." Zhou Changfeng smiled and was silent for a moment. "There will be many people commenting and studying it in the future."

[This is a character illustration given by the platform, of Xia Xiaoshi. ]

(End of this chapter)