Xia Bohai also hesitated, although he was not from the army, but he also knew the huge role of 155 mm guns in the army, 24 155 mm guns, which are 155 mm guns that can be quickly arranged, if used properly, can be more than 3 times more powerful 125 mm guns, can be regarded as another trump card of the army, so this plan of the army is indeed very good. But to use so many modern vehicles at once, even Xia Bohai can't decide for a while.

Every modern equipment is a valuable asset for the East China government, if you want to use it there are strict approval procedures, to vehicles such equipment, usually use very carefully, even if it is an important project, generally will not exceed 10 vehicles, and the army will go to 30-40 vehicles at once, not to mention Xia Bohai alone, even a group of 5 people can not decide, so Xia Bohai said: "That's it, the matter of vehicles, the Executive Yuan needs to negotiate again." ”

Zhu Yaping also knew that this request was very important, and it was impossible to ask Xia Bohai to make a decision on the spot like the Navy had just done when building ships or submarines, so he didn't dwell on it anymore and continued: "In the army's equipment plan, there is only one weapon that needs to be developed, and that is the armored train. Although in the era before our crossing, armored trains have long been eliminated, but at this time, armored trains are still an important weapon of the army of a large country, because of the railway transportation, the army can be equipped with large-caliber artillery of the naval gun level, and quickly mobile arrangement, can be fire support for the troops, can also fight independently, and at the same time can also protect large railway hubs. At the time of World War I, it was the peak period of armored trains, and by the time of World War II, although the armored trains had weakened, they could still play a considerable role in a certain battlefield environment, and there were Eastern railways in the northeast, so armored trains should be useful. ”

Qin Zheng said: "I'm not against making armored trains, but have you considered it, there is no direct railway in Shandong to the northeast, even if there is, it is impossible for us to let the armored train go to the northeast through the area of the Qing court, so how can the armored train get to the northeast?"

Zhu Yaping said: "We have already thought about this problem, we can fold the train into a section, and then use the ship, and there is no need to build a new ship dedicated to transport trains, just transform the two transport ships, of course, the wharves of the two ports also need to be renovated to facilitate the train to go ashore." Although this is a little troublesome, the cost is not too high. ”

Xia Bohai said: "I think this plan is feasible, if there is an armored train to help the war, of course it can raise our chances of victory by another level, and the War Department can first make a plan and program design, which will be reviewed by the Military Commission, and then submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval." ”

Zhu Yaping said: "The preliminary design has been completed, and we can hand it over to the Military Commission after we sort it out." ”

Xia Bohai smiled: "Your movements are fast enough. "I was very satisfied, which showed that both the army and the navy had already begun to think about the operational problem of dealing with the Russo-Japanese War.

At this time, Qin Zheng said: "I remember that someone made an application for the development of armored vehicles and fixed-wing aircraft, and the army did not include these two items in the equipment plan?"

Zhu Yaping said: "We have evaluated these two projects, mainly because the development cycle is too long, and the current technical conditions are not up to the requirements, the tank and fixed-wing aircraft are built to be engines, but in this era, whether it is gasoline engine or diesel engine technology is not mature, even with our technical support, it will take at least five years to develop reliable performance, and can be mass-produced gasoline engine and diesel engine, it will definitely not be able to catch up with this war." At present, in terms of armored vehicles, we have 28 Type 05 amphibious tanks and 18 warrior fighting vehicles, although in the old time and space, the armor of these combat vehicles was weak, but in this era it is still possible, and we can also add another layer of armor, which is completely sufficient. In terms of aviation weapons, there were 14 helicopters and 8 UAVs, and in the battle in Java, we tested the high-altitude bombing capabilities of helicopters, and the results were very satisfactory, and the primitive fixed-wing aircraft were inferior to our helicopters. That's why we didn't include these two projects in the equipment plan, but I still hope that the Executive Yuan will approve these two projects, after all, this is the trend of the times, and it is good to accumulate a certain amount of technology in advance. ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "I think this war is a crucial battle related to the future development of our government, if we fight, we can not only weaken our main opponents in Asia, Russia and Japan, but also obtain development funds through reparations, and obtain the land of the Northeast, and if we lose, we are almost finished, so at this time, don't hide it, use what can be used, don't be reluctant, but win this battle at all costs." ”

Xia Bohai said: "Lao Xiao, I understand all the truths you said, from my personal point of view, I fully support your point of view, but after all, we have a system, and the government's affairs are not up to the five of us, in short, at the executive meeting, I will try my best to promote the adoption of your plan." ”

Xiao Jianjun nodded and said: "Okay, what I want to talk about next is the plan of the army, personnel, and logistics support, this battle is expected to require the formation of 15 regular divisions, including 5 A divisions, 12-15 reserve divisions, and the navy also needs to form a marine division, with a total strength of about 400,000 troops and a total of more than 2,700 artillery pieces." The arrangement of the whole body is as follows: after our plan is carried out smoothly and the strength of the troops is fully deployed, the strength of the first line against the Russian army is 7 regular divisions, including 3 division A divisions and 8 reserve divisions, with a strength of 18-200,000 troops; the strength of the Japanese against Japan at the Yalu River is 5 divisions, 3 regular divisions, including 1 division of type A and 2 reserve divisions, with a strength of 6-70,000 troops; 3-4 divisions are retained in the rear, of which two regular divisions are used as emergency forces, about 50,000 people, and the rest of the army remains in Shandong, as a rotating army, in addition to the army, 5,000 police officers are needed to maintain law and order in the occupied areas, and a certain number of local management personnel are also neededIn addition, about 200,000 civilian servants are needed in the northeast region, and of course, after we occupy the northeast region, we should immediately organize and mobilize the local people, so that the number of civilian servants will gradually decrease. ”

Xu Jichao said: "I have calculated, according to the distribution of troops mentioned by Chief of Staff Xiao just now, the number of troops we have invested in the northeast region is 29-330,000, the number of troops left in Shandong is 7-110,000, and the minimum number of troops is only 70,000. ”

Before Xiao Jianjun could speak, Qin Zheng said: "Don't worry, when the overall situation in the Northeast is not fixed, the Qing court will not easily turn against us, if it is before the Gengzi State Change, Cixi may still have the courage to take the risk, but the Gengzi State Revolution should have given the Qing court enough lessons, even if Cixi may hate to get rid of us and hurry up, but I don't think she dares to take any more willful risks." ”

Xiao Jianjun also nodded, and said: "Yes, and we sent troops to the northeast in order to recover the lost territory, and we also have an absolute advantage in morality. ”

Xia Bohai shook his head and said: "We can't be too optimistic about this, after all, the Qing court is a feudal dynasty, and it can't be measured by normal government behavior, and the Gengzi Revolution has indeed taught the Qing court enough lessons, but what if other countries instigate the Qing court to send troops? Do you think Cixi can still calm down? As for the pressure of public opinion, I don't think it can affect the decision-making of the Qing court." So we have to really plan for it. ”

Xiao Jianjun said: "I think even if there are only 70,000 troops, we can completely defend the security of Shandong, first of all, at this time, the Qing court's organizational ability was very poor, in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing court dispatched less than 100,000 troops, and in the Gengzi National Revolution, the Qing court could dispatch a total of only 4 or 50,000 troops, and in the old time and space, after the Wuchang Uprising, the Qing court was able to dispatch only 6 suppression troops. 70,000 people, based on this calculation, even if the Qing court comes to attack Shandong, the number of troops that can be dispatched will never exceed 100,000, so we are not at a disadvantage in terms of troops, although we will have a part of the reserve division, but I believe in the training and quality of our army, and the Qing army has combat effectiveness only the Beiyang New Army, but now the Beiyang New Army is only about 30,000 people, which is far from enough; in addition, the volunteers we have separated have established a solid base in Henan, and the army has been pulled up by more than 12,000 people, and the Qing army that has been defeated twice to conquer and suppress can completely cooperate with us, if the Qing court really sends troops to attack us, just to teach them a profound lesson and let them know how good we are. ”

When the others listened, they all nodded frequently, thinking that Xiao Jianjun's analysis was reasonable, and it could basically ensure the safety of Shandong, Xiao Jianjun saw that everyone didn't ask again, and said: "In the end, the funds needed for this battle, according to our calculations, not counting the initial investment, from now on, the funds needed are 800 million to 900 million silver dollars, converted into pounds, which is 100 million pounds." The details are all printed, you can take a closer look, I won't go into detail one by one. ”

After listening to Xiao Jianjun's words, the other four couldn't help but be a little shocked, and Wang Yunpeng first said: "Do you need so much money? According to the estimates of the Finance Commission, our fiscal revenue this year is expected to be about 80 million silver dollars, which is 10 times our fiscal revenue in a year. ”

Xiao Jianjun also smiled bitterly and said: "Fighting a war is a matter of burning money, and I can't help it, and I'm sure I need so much money, don't believe it, you can read the detailed account yourself." ”