Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Hero of 1911

Text Chapter 724 Arms Race (1)

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    In the autumn of 1935, the most important event was the World Industrial Exposition held in Asia for the first time.  As the economy of the Republic of China improved, businessmen from various countries rushed to Shanghai one after another, trying to take advantage of this opportunity to promote their products. Even high tariff barriers could not stop their enthusiasm.

    On the other side of the Pujiang River, a group of large and varied pavilions are located where the World Expo will be held.  For this event, the Shanghai Municipal Government shortened the construction period of the cross-river tunnel from three years to two years, and built two tunnels in one go to facilitate vehicle traffic.  Not far from the venue is Shanghai Qiuxin Shipyard, and next door is the country's largest Jiangnan Shipbuilding Group.  However, due to problems such as geographical location and Pujiang waterway, both factories began to actively develop outwards. Hangzhou Bay Shipyard, which is solely owned by Qiuxin Factory, and Zhanjiang Zhonghua Shipyard, which is a cooperation between Jiangnan and Qinzhou, are among them.

    After more than two years of publicity, what the World Expo is has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and citizens coming and going also hope to open the museum as soon as possible to see what it is.  Fortunately, the wait has finally come to fruition. More and more foreigners are pouring into Shanghai to tell everyone that the opening of the World Expo is just around the corner.

    Early in the morning, Bingwen drove his jeep to the German Consulate in Shanghai. He had an indescribable feeling about Hakan's arrival.  In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can guess the reason why he came to China at a glance, but the president has always been lukewarm towards Germany, leaving him unable to guess what he is thinking.  He has deep feelings for Germany, even deeper than those of Jiang Fangzhen and Yue Peng's generation.  Not to mention the unprecedented naval battle that still affects navies around the world, the Rhineland Plan alone helped lay the foundation for modern industry in the country.

    Sometimes even he feels that Yang Qiu is too ruthless and only has national interests in his eyes.  When acting, I always like to take advantage of the situation and use the safest and least costly method to solve problems.  Challenging Japan is a trend that requires China's manpower to fight the European war with Britain and France.  The Yellow Sea conflict and West Borneo were the United States' attempt to cut off the alliance between Britain and Japan. The Saudi crisis was the United States' and France's attempt to attack the United Kingdom. The recent embargo against the Soviet Union was another attempt by the United Kingdom to contain the Soviet Unionetc.  Carrying the momentum of these established empires can indeed make things go more smoothly, and as long as things are not done, there is no need to worry about things getting really bad and getting out of hand.  As the president, he can avoid the ups and downs of the country and the economy by doing this, but from the perspective of military feelings, it is too unhuman.

    But he kept these things in his heart.  After all, Yang Qiu has not been a soldier for a long time. From his perspective, he must prioritize ensuring that the lives of hundreds of millions of people do not have major ups and downs. Moreover, this kind of advantage has indeed benefited the country and ordinary people.  Taking advantage of Europe in exchange for funds, they plundered Tsarist Russia to gain the industrial base, destroyed the Anglo-Japanese alliance, strengthened Sino-US relations, and continued to strengthen industry. The Borneo crisis obtained oil and stabilized the Nanyang Chinese circle, drawing the wealthy Nanyang Chinese into the Chinese economic circle.  The Saudi crisis gained oil and Saudi friendship, and also made the Republic of China the best partner in the Arab world for the first time.  Successfully opened markets such as Persia, Iraq, and Tš¹rkiye.  As for the recent Soviet embargo, it dealt a heavy blow to the Soviet Union, forcing Stalin to become increasingly nervous and likely to make a series of risky moves.

    In just 23 years, the economy has more than tripled, the manufacturing industry has grown from scratch, and compulsory education has benefited hundreds of millions of people.  Agricultural reforms have spurred growth, and the total number of businesses and workers has reached the same level as or even exceeded the United States, which was underemployed after the economic crisis.

    So he is still the best president!

    It¡¯s just that this good president is not very enthusiastic about Germany, which helps him. Although on the surface, Sino-German trade is rising steadily, and he even actively sells strategic metals such as tungsten and manganese to Germany at low prices.  Some technology patents are also exported, but Bingwen can see it.  Yang Qiu is unwilling to get too close to Germany.  This also reminded him secretly that he must be careful with his words when he saw Hakan later.

    After the jeep arrived at the consulate, Bingwen was just about to brake when he saw Ambassador Hakan and Wellman walking out of the door, followed by a strange face.  He was also considered a semi-celebrity in the German-speaking social circles of the Republic of China. In addition, he often provided some help to German citizens in China and successfully brokered several large trade orders, so Ambassador Wellman recognized him at a glance.

    "Mr. Ambassador, General Hakan, are you going out?" Bingwen jumped out of the car. After Wellman shook hands, he and Hakan hugged each other warmly.  Although the two of them are not called master and apprentice, their relationship is closer than that of master and apprentice.  Hakan was also very happy to see Bingwen. He introduced Falkenhausen next to him. When he learned that the vice admiral in front of him had just been promoted to the commander of the South China Sea Fleet (Second Fleet) of the Republic of China, Falkenhausen's eyes lit up.  Extremely enthusiastic.

    "Wen, does it feel good to lead a fleet?" The pronunciation of the word "Bing" in German is awkward, so Hakan simply called him one word, but this made Bingwen feel friendly and deliberately joked: "General, you really should give it a try.  "

    "Wen, did you do this on purpose? I have retired. If you call me general again, I will be angry. Of course, if you can take me to visit the Jiangnan Shipyard, I will forget what I just said." Hakan deliberately made a serious face  .  His biggest dream in his life is to lead a fleet. Unfortunately, the German navy was completely abandoned after the European War.In recent years, there has been some improvement under the leadership of Redl, but the technical gap is too big. Even if all the experts from the Rhineland Project return to China, it still feels difficult, so he hopes to seek cooperation this time.  Although many people in Germany sneered at naval cooperation with China before coming, he knew best that since China is the only country in the world with a large amount of blank tonnage, naval research and construction have not been interrupted, and it has also taken the opportunity of purchases to absorb a large number of U.S. troops.  France and other countries have technology, so their technical capabilities are not bad.

    I dare not say anything else. At the very least, if the current German navy is pulled out, it will not be the opponent of Bingwen's squadron.

    Bingwen knew that he wanted to visit the Jiangnan factory as a joke. I am afraid that in addition to cooperation, he also wanted to test whether there was a possibility of cooperation between China and Germany.  It was not up to him to decide whether to join hands or not. Even visiting the Jiangnan Factory was difficult.  Three months ago, it would have been okay to visit casually, but now it is not.  Because Jiangnan Factory has begun building new aircraft carriers and is also actively preparing to build battleships.  And most importantly!  The four Pearl River-class light cruisers that have been in service in the past two years are undergoing secret modifications at the factory and are being installed with a new piece of equipment called radar that can detect targets dozens of miles away.  Not only the first four ships, but also the next four Pearl River-class ships built in the name of North Korea will also be equipped with radars.  If the experiment goes well, it will be installed on all ships in the future.

    But for now.  This technology is very confidential. If it were not for the cooperative relationship between Lenovo and Jiangnan Factory, which developed it, other factories would not be involved in this technology, and it would definitely not be placed in a prosperous place like Shanghai.

    Hakan has lived and worked in China for more than ten years, and spent most of his time dealing with the Chinese Navy. So when he saw his thoughtful look, he knew that the Jiangnan Factory might have important military tasks.  In the past, Yang Qiu might have been able to try, but now he was already serving Krupp Shipyard.  Their identities are different, so he smiled and said, "Wen, don't be too embarrassed."

    "Let's do it this way. How about I take a few of them to the new factory to see the latest oil tankers?" Hakan's identity is unique. Besides, although there is no alliance between China and Germany, it has not reached the point of breaking up, so Bingwen decided to take them  Visit the Qiuxin factory, which has no major projects recently.

    Hakan is a pity.  He was unable to see the latest Chinese naval technology, but Falkenhausen was very positive. Probably in his view, winning over a fleet commander would lay a solid foundation for subsequent work.  However, Ambassador Wellman had no interest in shipbuilding. After chatting for a while, he parted ways with the three of them and went to the German Pavilion at the World Expo for inspection, hoping to take this opportunity to bring Sino-German trade to a new level.

    Even the commander of the fleet cannot randomly take people to visit factories with military projects.  So Bingwen first went to the Shanghai Branch of the National Security Bureau to register, and then took the two of them to the shipyard.  Since it was in the transitional period of capsizing the slipway, there was only one oil tanker and two destroyers on the slipway in the shipyard. However, the battleship Chongqing, which was here for maintenance, was seen in the outfitting area.  The Beijing-class is the only top-level battleship in the world that was started during the treaty period, and the level of confidentiality is relatively high.  Therefore, as Bingwen, I could only take two people for a walk on the deck.

    Even so, Falkenhausen¡¯s eyes were still shining.  The inquiries were also very careful, and from time to time they even inquired about the economic data of the Republic of China.  On the other hand, Hakan was more concerned about the world's largest 80,000-ton oil tanker on the slipway.  Does this tonnage mean that China has been able to build a larger battleship platform on its own?  So he couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked: "Wen, how are you going to deal with the Japanese navy? The Washington Treaty will expire in June next year. Italy, France and Japan should not abide by it. I'm afraid it will be very difficult to rely on the Beijing-class  can gain a competitive advantage.¡±

    His words resonated with Bingwen.  To be honest, Bingwen was in a hurry, because he knew very well that it was no secret that various countries had broken through the naval treaty.  The United States is already designing North Carolina-class battleships. The extra-treaty Italian Veneto-class and French Richelieu-class have already started or are close to starting. Japan's secretly prepared Yamato-class is also in the final stage and is expected to start construction in the spring of 1936. Even Germany's  In fact, the Bismarck class has also sent back information that construction will start next month.  However, at this time, there are different opinions in the country on whether to build new battleships with larger tonnage. Many people within the Navy also feel that aircraft carriers should be added instead of building battleships, an old thinking weapon.

    Although Bingwen supports the latter, he knows that aircraft carriers are not omnipotent.  The Naval Fury exercise has clearly shown many times that aircraft carriers can only serve as spectators in night operations, and they also have great limitations in dense island or offshore areas, so he agrees with the construction of battleships.  But he alone cannot represent the entire navy. The most important thing is that the president's attitude on this matter is not clear.

    Falkenhausen is a veteran soldier who has experienced the European War and witnessed the fall of Germany with his own eyes, so he is particularly sensitive to the inability of soldiers to show their talents.  Seeing Bingwen's sudden silence, he vaguely guessed that the construction of new battleships for the Navy must be blocked.  But he thought that the threat from the Soviet Union was too great and the army was occupying too much military expenditure, so he lost no time in saying: "Mr. Commander, although I am not a navy, I amChannel naval construction must be carried out as early as possible.  I believe that the current world situation has reached a very critical period. Japan and the Soviet Union are clearly attacking your country. The United Kingdom is blocking the Strait of Malacca. French East Indies still maintains a sufficient number of French troops. The United States is also supporting Japan and the Soviet Union.  It¡¯s not a secret, so your country is actually at the center of the storm just like us in Germany.  In this case, don't you think our two countries should have some cooperation?  The head of state very much hopes that we can get closer, because if we join hands, we can ease your country's land security and free up more energy and funds to develop its navy.  "

    ¡°His words were beautiful, as if he was thinking about the Chinese Navy, but in fact they were testing his tone, wanting to know whether such discussions had been held within China.  Of course Bingwen knew his intention and said: "Mr. Falkenhausen, these issues are not my place to consider. Although I studied the navy in Germany, you should know that we do not like to form alliances easily. In fact, the European War  Since then, the president has been emphasizing the need to take an independent path, so there is nothing I can do about this matter."

    Although it was a pity, Falkenhausen was still confident because Bingwen's words did not directly reject the possibility of Sino-German alliance, so he said without any discouragement: "China and Germany have no conflict of interests. On the contrary, we are both  Committed to breaking the old world and defeating the infiltration of gcism. We have the same goals and the same enemies."

    "You are right. The Soviet Union's recent trend of strengthening its armaments makes us very worried, but" Bingwen thought for a while, then suddenly raised his head and asked: "Please forgive me, although I personally like it very much.  Your country's army, but now" Bingwen looked at Hakan, which clearly meant that the current German Wehrmacht was not very good.

    Hakan is not angry, because the current German army does not have much capability, but Hitler has been actively rearming its armaments since he came to power, and all funding is very sufficient, so he firmly believes: "Wen, I think you can see it in three years at most.  To a brand new Wehrmacht!"

    "I also hope it is the National Defense Force, not the party's army." Bingwen deliberately emphasized the four words "the party's army", obviously not liking the army with political overtones.  Hakan and Falkenhausen didn't mind either, because they themselves didn't like the SS and believed that the Wehrmacht was the one that could really defend Germany.

    After Bingwen finished speaking, he smiled slightly and changed the subject: "By the way, Mr. Hakan, are you here just to participate in the World Expo?"

    "Actually, there are other things." Facing Bingwen, Hakan did not hide it: "I was entrusted by Krupp to discuss cooperation. I hope to purchase 330 mm naval gun technology, and I also hope to use it in submarines and  There will be some cooperation on aircraft carrier technology."

    I have to say that Hakan has very bad eyes!  The 330mm naval gun is one of the best naval guns in the Republic of China. It is almost exactly the same as the same caliber naval gun used by the French Dunkirk-class battlecruisers, so I hope he can obtain this information so that the Scharnhaus can start construction soon.  Special-class battlecruisers can know their opponents and carry out preventive reinforcements.  Aircraft carriers are also one of the trump cards of the Republic of China Navy, especially the Second Fleet, which has four Sichuan-class aircraft carriers. It itself serves as the navy's rapid reaction force, and carrier-based aircraft are a technology that must not be leaked.

    As for submarines, they are indeed Germany's biggest weakness at present. Don't look at the fact that during the European War, German submarines were so dominant in the Atlantic Ocean that the British almost despaired. However, because of this, they were the most restricted after the war. The submarines made in Germany are currently not even at the level of the European War.  Can't reach it.  On the contrary, the Republic of China invested a lot of manpower and material resources in submarine research for decades, and the speed of replacement was the fastest in the world.  I dare not say that the technology is the most advanced, but at least there are not many that surpass me.

    It can also be seen from this point that Hakan and the German navy people actually knew in their hearts that the possibility of surface ships catching up with their opponents was extremely slim, so they returned to the old path of the European War, hoping to use submarines to break the possible naval blockade.  It's just that this cooperation is also not something he can decide, so he can only make a few perfunctory remarks.

    Fortunately, the two of them also knew that he could not make a decision, so they simply stopped mentioning the matter
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report