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Text Chapter 366 The fight for Europe

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    In the spring of March, the military songs are loud and clear.

    The Renault truck carried the young man with flashing epaulettes and headed towards Wusong Pier. Outside the terminal, two Changfeng-class destroyers, which had just been launched after more than a year of hard work, were painted light gray and guarded the passenger ship that had not yet untied its cable.  .

    In the bridge, Rear Admiral Qiu Baoren, president of the Shanghai Naval Academy, is inspecting the warship. This first-generation former Beiyang general who studied in Britain and experienced the Sino-Japanese War of 1888 will not only lead officers and trainees to observe British and French naval operations and training in the next two years, but also  It will be responsible for the testing of two Changfeng-class destroyers, laying the foundation for the next step of mass production.

    The Changfeng class adopts the British high freeboard flat deck design, with a standard displacement of 180' and a full load tonnage. It uses four British Curtiss recoil steam turbines. After reaching a boiler purchase agreement with the United States, it was replaced with one American Babcock.  - Wilcox pressurized kerosene mixed-fired boiler, with a maximum speed of 30 knots and an endurance of 12 knots.  Three twin-mounted self-produced imitating German MM/156 naval guns, semi-open turret, two front and one rear backpack layout, twin 37mm rapid-fire cannons, and four naval-type twin water-cooled 127mm Venom Fang heavy machine guns.  The torpedo underwater launcher is cancelled, and a set of four 450mm blackhead torpedo launchers are installed in the middle of the second and third chimneys (to be changed to storm torpedoes in the future). There are also two mine and anti-submarine depth bomb slide rails on the stern of the ship, which can carry  20 mines or 32 depth charges.

    Regardless of appearance or performance, the Changfeng-class is still a traditional surface battleship. In particular, its speed is not satisfactory, and its air defense is even weaker.  However, taking into account the times and the country's industrial capabilities, the comprehensive strength of this large destroyer pieced together with existing equipment is very good, so when it was launched, even the British Navy sent people to observe and board the ship for inspection.  And considering its large displacement, once the new equipment is formed, there will be a lot of room for future modifications.

    At present, Jiangnan and Mawei have laid down six subsequent keels at the same time, but the construction work has begun to slow down. After all, this is the first time they have built a modern warship. They must wait for the first two ships to be fully tested before they can continue construction. It just so happens that this time they need to escort observers  Going to Europe, the Navy also took this opportunity to conduct an intercontinental ocean experiment on two destroyers, hoping to use stronger Atlantic sea breezes to test whether the domestic equipment passed the test.

    On the passenger ship next to it were the first batch of more than 300 military observers sent to Europe after two months of negotiations. In addition to front-line military generals such as Zhang Xiaozhun, Ke Shao, and Yu Dehai, there were also many lieutenants from major military academies.  Interns, Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren are also waiting to board the ship among the crowd. They will all go to the most dangerous and cruel meat grinder battlefield on the Western Front, and they have been drafted into the army in Germany, experiencing life and death in the sea of ??blood and trenches.  More than two hundred students, including Long Yun and Liu Mingzhao, who had been fighting for more than half a year, experienced the heat of the world war firsthand.

    This large-scale dispatch of military observers has also aroused curiosity in the Western world. Many people are speculating whether this is a signal for China to join the war.  For this reason, in addition to Song Ziqing and Ye Zugui who came to see them off, Bernard, the British temporary envoy to the Far East, and Conde, the French minister, also came to the dock. Their appearance only heightened this speculation.

    "Your Excellency Will (Bernard's name), have you noticed? They are developing very rapidly, and it seems that there is a divine favor coming. Just look at this kind of destroyer, which is very consistent with the concept of large-scale destroyers proposed by your country." French Minister  Conde was a captain in the French Navy and a senior diplomat with more than 20 years of diplomatic experience. He saw through the concept of fleet expansion embodied by the Changfeng-class destroyer at a glance.

    ¡°Yes, Whitehall is also very surprised by this!¡± Bernard, the British envoy stationed in the Far East, nodded.

    Although he is not a soldier, he can still learn from Whitehall telegrams that this destroyer has caused quite a stir in Europe.  Even Whitehall began to wonder how this country, which only a few years ago could only produce imitation weapons and had no innovation, had so many new concepts overnight. Fortunately, their biggest regret is that they cannot quickly transform technology into a steady stream of products.

    "Perhaps we should feel lucky that at least the relationship between China and Germany has been broken. I heard that the old guy Traun has been demoted and retained."

    "I hope this break can last forever." Bernard took a breath and turned around: "Your Excellency Kant, what do you think of Japan's proposal to prepare to send troops?"

    Both of them are currently in charge of the entire Far East affairs, so they are very sensitive to recent rumors that Japan will send an expeditionary force to Europe to join the Allied operations.  Kant frowned, but such an important troop dispatch did not make him happy: "I am very willing to see more allies join. After all, the war is becoming very, very difficult, but one or five divisions have to pay US dollars. You don't  Do you think the price is too high? Although I sympathize with Japan, which is suffering from a debt crisis, France does not want to be blackmailed, let alone blackmailed!"

    Bernard was also unhappy with the recent tentative offer made by the Japanese Navy to its allies, and dispatched a Kongo-class battlecruiser to patrol.The warship and five army divisions went to Europe to fight, but they needed to pay special war funds totaling US dollars. This kind of big mouth made Europe very dissatisfied.  Moreover, this idea is currently only unilateral to the Japanese Navy, and the government and army still have no news.  So he also said: "I don't like it either, but we need more allies now, and Italy is not a trustworthy partner."

    Minister Kant agreed with him, thought about it and said: "Sir Will, the United States has clearly refused to participate in the war. Japan is only willing to export troops rather than urgently needed labor, so do you think there is a chance to persuade them to join us?" He pointed with his finger.  A naval formation begins to depart from the port.  In recent times, as the war in Europe has become increasingly tense, human resources have become the most troublesome issue for various countries. In particular, France, whose territory was occupied, has lost nearly one-fifth of its population (including occupied areas), which has led to the loss of French industry, which was originally strong.  Shrinking rapidly, steel production plummeted from 5 million tons before the war to the current 2 million tons.  And as workers are forced to pick up guns in large numbers, that number continues to drop.  Although German steel production also fell to 9 million tons, it was supplemented by occupied areas in Belgium and France.

    Therefore, finding manpower supplements has become the most concerned issue for the warring countries. Russia has no shortage of manpower, and Britain does not need to worry too much due to the existence of India. Only France is more painful, so France has recently begun to study the import of labor from China.  400 million people!  Just thinking about it is enough to make France drool. Kant has always wanted to accomplish this, but he had to wait a little longer because the Republic of China was undergoing general elections.

    Bernard knew the suffering France was suffering. The war had reached a stalemate and no country could relax.  Said: "Sending observers has taken the first step. I think maybe we have a chance."

    ¡°Then go meet him!¡±

    On March 28, 2015, the general election ended quietly within a few days after the National Socialist Congress was held.

    As the only candidate recommended by the National Socialist Party, Li Yuanhong was elected as the first formal president of the Republic of China with 80% of the votes. In addition to continuing to serve as Vice President, Minister of Defense, and Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Forces, Yang Qiu also served part-time as Chairman of the new National Development Council.  Position¡¤At the same time, Tang Shaoyi became the Prime Minister, and corresponding adjustments were made to the cabinet. The original Ministry of Industry and Commerce was officially divided into two departments: the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Commerce. The Minister of Commerce continued to be Shen Shukai, and the new Minister of Industry was the former Chongqing Minister.  Zheng Tingxiang, general manager of the industrial group, serves as the general manager.  Wu Qingdu, a former mechanical expert who studied in the United States during the Gengzi Years and was the director of the Hankou Tractor Factory, who made outstanding contributions to the modification of bunker trucks and the development of internal combustion tractors, was hired as the new general manager of Chongqing.

    Jiangnan Shipbuilding Group also took advantage of this period to formally determine its leader. Xing Qixin, a student studying in the United States during the Gengzi years, studied ship design and warship manufacturing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, and participated in the construction of Pennsylvania-class battleships during his internship.  Manager and Chief Designer.  His friend He Maoqing, who also studied ship design, became the director of Mawei State-owned Shipyard.  Finally, the Yangtze River Group, which was reorganized from the former Yangtze Gang, also hired Lu Zuofu, a 23-year-old from the Economics and Management Department of Chongqing University, as the general manager of the two major ocean shipping companies, Sihai and Wuzhou.

    After taking advantage of the vacation and meetings to sort out the properties under his name, Yang Qiucai took Miao Luo back to his residence in Nanjing, but Song Ziqing was already blocking the door as soon as he entered.

    "This is the recent war situation in Europe. There are recent rumors that Japan is preparing to send troops to Europe in exchange for funds to continue building capital ships to suppress us. Moreover, Britain and France have also expressed the hope that we can send workers to Europe."

    "Finally can't help it anymore?" Yang Qiu didn't read the document first, but asked while unbuttoning his coat: "What's your opinion?"

    After Yang Qiu returned to Wuchang to take care of government affairs, Song Ziqing had been sitting in Nanjing to help supervise military affairs. Therefore, he was more familiar with what happened during this period. He said seriously: "The General Staff held a meeting to discuss this matter a few days ago. Cai E, Sa Zhenbing, and Feng Guozhang  We both believe that the Japanese army must be prevented from entering Europe! If they are allowed to send troops, it will inevitably strengthen relations with Europe and will not be conducive to our complete recovery of Taiwan!"

    ¡°What about the laborers?¡±

    "There are two factions on the labor issue. Sa Zhenbing and Feng Guozhang felt that they could be dispatched in the name of the country to win over relations with the United Kingdom and the United States. Cai E believed that it should not be dispatched. He felt that once workers were dispatched in the name of the country, it would undoubtedly be a declaration of war on Germany, which would be very serious.  It is not good for our relations with Germany. After all, the war will end, and maintaining good relations with Germany is the key to breaking the British and French siege."

    "how about you?"

    Yang Qiu saw that he kept talking about other people's opinions and smiled: "It's not like he has been chief of staff for a long time and he doesn't even dare to express his opinions anymore, right?"

    "The Commander-in-Chief is joking, Ziqing is not at the point where he can't open his mouth in front of you." Song Ziqing smiled slightly: "My opinion is similar to Cai E's, but if there are enough benefits, I think it is still necessary to send workers, but  It is best not to use it in the form of a country, even in name.Don't leave any words behind.  "

    Yang Qiu took off two m1911 pistols from his belt. After the Sino-Japanese War, the security level around him had become so strict that he even picked up pistols that he had not used for a long time to defend himself. After all, Japan is also a country where assassins are rampant.  country.  After stuffing the pistol into the drawer, he picked up the document. After reading it, he asked: "What step has Hou Yi taken?"

    "Fang Rui said that in three days at most, all 5 million yen will be in the hands of Japan's right wing. Now is the time when Japan's new prime minister is having difficulty giving birth. He believes that as long as he lights up the fire, the action can begin!" Song Ziqing  He continued: "I think this fire has already appeared! The Japanese Navy's plan to make money by sending troops to Europe should have the support of some important government officials. Even if the agreement is reached, the Navy will definitely take up a large share. In the opinion of politicians and the Navy,  With the joint suppression, the Japanese Army must have been very angry!"

    "Then burn it! In a word, Japan cannot send a single soldier to Europe!"

    As Yang Qiu closed the document, a competition between China and Japan for Europe quietly began again

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