young marshal spring and autumn

Yang Yuting was reused again and served as the supervisor of the important Fengtian Arsenal, but his title of Fengjun General Counselor was replaced by Jiang Baili.This man is also a talented person. After some hard work, the scale of Fengtian Arsenal far exceeded the expectations of Zhang Zuolin and others, and also exceeded Zhang Hanqing's ideals, which made Zhang Zuolin look up to him with admiration.Also under this circumstance, Zhang Hanqing decided to set up the General Armament Department, and Yang Yuting was responsible for enriching the production capacity and varieties of the Hankou Arsenal and Lanzhou Ordnance Factory.

Under the overall planning of Jiang Baili and the supervision of Sun Liechen and Guo Songling, the layout of northern industry and national defense was carried out in an orderly manner. Gradually, a task that had been neglected for many years came to mind, which was the navy.

Since Zhang Hanqing's expedition to Mongolia, he has not been able to take care of the affairs of the commander-in-chief of the navy that he is also in charge of.Originally, in the strategic plan with Jiang Baili and others, China, with its relatively weak economic and industrial strength, could not jointly seize land power and sea power.It is feasible and necessary to focus on the development of the army when the country is not unified and the military strength is weak. However, with the growth of the People's Army, the task of protecting inland rivers, rivers, and coasts has become increasingly prominent.Taking the Yangtze River as an example, relying on the army alone in such a vast river basin not only labors and mobilizes the army, but also makes it impossible to disperse the troops and make concentration.Moreover, in the future, the actions against Japan's Kanto Prefecture and the defense of Gyeonggi would be unimaginable without a navy, even a shallow-water navy.

The role of the navy is self-evident: the process of humiliation in China's modern history is also evidence of the importance of the navy.Think about the old powers such as Britain and France. It is precisely by relying on warships that they have opened the door to China's blockade again and again;If China wants to defend its vast sea area, the development of the navy should take precautions.

Of course, Zhang Hanqing is not arrogant enough to use the navy to fight against the mighty Japan or even the United States.In his view, without two to 30 years of hard work to catch up, it is impossible for China to dominate Japan at sea, let alone the old naval powers Britain and the United States, even if it is only in the East China Sea.But it is very feasible to establish an offshore navy to carry out the task of defending the coastline under the protection of powerful air power.In addition, an existing fleet is also a pawn that the enemy has to face up to.As the famous U.S. naval strategist Mahan concluded, an unknown fleet, "so long as it exists, even a small one, is a constant threat to the more or less overt interests of the enemy. They do not Knowing when it will be attacked, you have to limit your actions until the fleet is destroyed or subdued." The navy, with its powerful mobility and the role of mobile batteries, cannot but be valued.

During the period of the Republic of China, China kept pace with the world in terms of aircraft construction capabilities, and the cost of aircraft was extremely low.Take Japan's "Yamato" battleship as an example. The cost is 1000 million yuan, which is equivalent to the sum of 100 newly-made "A-type No. 3" water jets in China, or equipped with an army division of 100 people. ).Of course, battleships are powerful in the open ocean, but in offshore waters, [-] water planes are stronger than this battleship in terms of comprehensive combat capabilities due to their more favorable combat capabilities (amphibious), and one more army division is very important to China at present. , is more useful than one more battleship.

The navy is an arm that embodies the comprehensive strength of the country, and its complexity is far greater than that of automobiles that embody industrial capabilities.Think about it in the early 21st century, as a global manufacturing powerhouse, China was still unable to manufacture large ships and turbines with a displacement of more than [-] tons.In order to more effectively control the inland river of the Yangtze River and the Bohai Bay, Jiaodong Bay, and Liaodong Bay, it is imperative to build an appropriate-sized offshore navy.In addition, for future development, it is a rainy day plan to add a strong military industry foundation to the navy.

The main warships of the fleet are destroyers.Most of the destroyers of the 20s were new ships built in or shortly after World War I.Take the United States as an example. These new destroyers are flat-deck, have four funnels, have a displacement of twelve hundred tons, and a draft of nine feet ten inches.They featured four four-inch guns and one three-inch anti-aircraft gun, twelve torpedo tubes, and some destroyers were equipped with depth charges.Destroyers of this class can reach speeds of 35 knots and are manned by 120 five-man crew.Due to their low draft, these destroyers were able to sail along the Yangtze River all the way to Hankow.They often traveled as far as Hankow, and sometimes even further.

A total of 270 of these flat-deck destroyers were built by the United States at that time, and they formed the backbone of the U.S. Navy's small combat force during the interwar period.In the perception of Zhang Hanqing and others, these destroyers are fast and equipped with powerful weapons, which are just suitable for activities in coastal waters and inland waters.

Another part of the Yangtze River Patrol Fleet of the US Asian Fleet was specially built for service in the Yangtze River. They all have a displacement of 190 tons, a draft of three and a half feet, burn coal, and can reach a speed of 160 knots per hour.Shallow in draft, maneuverable and with a length of only 46 feet, they are capable of traveling the entire length of the Yangtze River for [-] miles, reaching and even passing Chongqing in Sichuan Province.Each warship carried four officers and [-] enlisted men.There are also six Chinese "boat people" on each boat who serve as cooks and do other chores.Both were armed with two three-inch guns and several machine guns.

Such destroyers and gunboats are what Zhang Hanqing wants.In wartime, combat missions can be carried out under the protection of the superior air force. In case of unfavorable times, the Yangtze River can be blocked as it was during the War of Resistance Against Japan, so that the superior navy of the Japanese army cannot exert its advantages.He transferred Jiang Baili from the position of the General Counsellor of the Fengjun Army to prepare for the work of the East China Military Region that was being formed, and to assist it in preparing for the formation of the Yangtze River Fleet.The Yangtze River Fleet in Zhang Hanqing's mind is a combination of seaplanes, land aviation, marines, and a large number of fast and powerful surface fleets. All arms, as the prototype of the future Chinese fleet.Jiang Baili has a wealth of strategic vision, and it is very effective to establish such a new army under his charge.In Beijing, Jiang Baili had a detailed talk with Hughes, the US envoy to China, and expressed the Young Marshal's ardent desire for US support.

Under the mediation of Hughes, the U.S. government agreed to sell 10 destroyers of the same level to the People’s Army, and stated that the gunboats of the same level will be built by the Jiangnan Shipyard operated by the Chinese government near Shanghai. The weapons, equipment and propulsion equipment are all from the United States. import.In return, Zhang Hanqing agreed with the United States to set up consulates in Hankou and Jiujiang, and agreed that the US Yangtze River Patrol has the legal right to garrison the Yangtze River.

It was very painful for Zhang Hanqing to agree to these conditions, but for the sake of his own strength and the possible strong response of the United States when something happens to Japan, short-term pain is unavoidable.This is the same as the concessions made to the Soviet Union at the beginning of the founding of New China.

In order to have a capable assistant and a reliable logistics base in Asia, the United States spared no effort in helping Zhang Hanqing.Said that in addition to sending some experienced technicians to the Jiangnan Shipyard to help in the construction (supervision) of warships, it will also assist an aircraft squadron and two troop carriers retired after World War I, and establish a torpedo manufacturing plant in Hanyang and assist the Hanyang Arsenal Work on the development of large-mouth service cannons.

At this time, with the help of German advisers, Fengjun Air Force had grown significantly.Seaplanes developed rapidly in the 20s. Long-distance and intercontinental flights were almost monopolized by waterplanes, and regular passenger flights across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were also opened up.For example, the dox developed by German company Dornier in the late 30s was the largest seaplane in the world at that time. There were 20 piston engines installed back to back in 6 groups above the wings, and the maximum speed reached 12 km/h. Set a world record for flying with 224 passengers, which has been maintained for more than 1929 years.But at this time, their development has only taken shape, and the aircraft developed at this time are far from reaching such a high level.After World War I, Germany was restricted by various countries: the army had no more than 10 people, it could not own large-caliber cannons and submarines, and it was limited to large battleships, so it could not have a large development in the military industry.Therefore, China, which is alienated on the outside and enthusiastic in nature, gave them the opportunity to develop in the military industry. A large number of military experts traveled thousands of miles to northern China with the encouragement of the German government, and provided a lot of valuable experience and experience in various military fields of the Fengtian Department. toil.

With their strong support, after the water plane "Type A No. 1" self-made by the Chinese went to the sky, the new seaplane suitable for military use was officially mass-produced. According to Zhang Hanqing's naming, it was named "Water Boom--125 "type.It has a 155-horsepower, drag-in double-wing biplane water bomber, a maximum speed of 800 kilometers per hour, an empty weight of 2000 kilograms, a load of 150 kilograms, a fuel capacity of 3800 liters, a flight altitude of 3 meters, and a flight distance of 450 kilometers for 2 hours. , crew 6, can carry [-] heavy bombs.Taking advantage of Harbin's superior geographical conditions, a seaplane manufacturing plant was established here for mass production.

So far, the prototype of China's large navy plan has been established. What awaits China will be a leap in the number of naval ships and air force after the development of industry.