The post of chief of the General Staff is the vice chairman in charge of military orders in the Military Commission of the Liberation Army. In the Liberation Army, the highest status is undoubtedly the chairman of the Central Military Commission, followed by the vice chairman in charge of military affairs, whose official post is director of the political department. The General Staff, which was in charge of military orders, was in third place.

As soon as Ju Junfeng returned to the office, he conveyed the latest news to the General Staff. I learned that I was going to send troops to attack the French, and especially that southern Vietnam was suitable for growing rubber. The General Staff was also very happy. Everyone is embarrassed to say it directly, but the new Chinese government is an industrialized farming and warfare group, with Wei Ze, a laborer, taking the lead, and the entire system is fully integrated.

In the case of the General Staff, either the husband and wife are in the army, or the husband is in the army, and the wife goes to work. If a woman is educated and can be admitted to the civil service, then the wife will work in an administrative unit or a public institution. If the level of education is insufficient to pass the guò civil service exam, then the wife will work in the factory.

In the factory, efficiency is emphasized, and remuneration is linked to production. As a military enterprise, the rubber factory has absorbed a large number of military families. Now the problem of Jiefang shoe factory is the lack of supply of raw materials, so it only starts for nine months a year. If there is an abundant supply of rubber, it is very realistic to earn more wages in the face of this almost endless demand for rubber.

However, the General Staff is the General Staff after all, and everyone is happy and measured. With ample reasons for war, all that remains is to win this war.

This war has been planned for a long time, and at this time, everyone took out this plan and discussed it in detail.

"Our intelligence officers on the Vietnamese side determined that the number of French troops, though uncertain, would never exceed five thousand. The army can send an army. However, the navy is more troublesome, and if the French send a fleet to harass our transport lines after defeat, this will require us to build a maritime defense line from southern Vietnam to the two Quang areas. ”

"Grain trade is our biggest security hazard now, from thrift to luxury, from luxury to thrift, now let the troops have no rice to eat every day, what kind of situation will the troops be. The safety of the route from the Gulf of Siam to Liangguang must be guaranteed. ”

The Chief of the General Staff was not sloppy at all when discussing military issues, it was Wei Ze who pioneered this route, and at the beginning everyone did not have any understanding of the importance of this route. Reality is the best teacher, when the input of rice solves the problem that can't be solved at all before, as long as it's not a person who doesn't deliberately make ghosts, he will take this problem very seriously.

"I've heard that the Governor has built several capital warships, but I don't know if these warships will be able to participate in the battle now?" Ju Junfeng asked about the commander of the navy, Lin Jiajun.

Lin Jiajun replied: "That's an ironclad ship, so one was built." I'm ready for sea trials, and I don't know if this warship can be put into battle. ”

This answer was too irresponsible, and the members of the General Staff all looked at Lin Jiajun with dissatisfied. Lin Jiajun also realized this problem, and he hurriedly added: "Why don't you go and see that warship together?" ”

This mention is still not very responsible, but it has come up with a solution. The Guangdong shipyard is not too far from the General Staff, and in the end, everyone in the General Staff can only choose to go and see it in person.

Early the next morning, everyone went to visit the ironclad. In recent years, ships with iron ribs and wooden hulls have become the standard for shipbuilding, and Guangdong's shipbuilding industry, which lacks good keel wood, has achieved great development. Ships powered by steam sails were very unsuitable for gun emplacements, so most of the ships built were not military ships. The shipyard is also a unit that absorbs a large number of workers, and a large number of factories are workers who come in and out. In the middle of the workshops, there are also a lot of vertical and horizontal rails, and a large number of goods need to be transported through the guò tracks.

When they arrived at the dock of the ironclad ship, all the staff members of the General Staff were dumbfounded. Looking at the volume, if it is an ordinary wooden ship, it is a ship with a displacement of about 700 tons. Ju Junfeng couldn't help but say: "There are a lot of bolts!" ”

It is true that those ordinary wooden ships with iron ribs are bolted to the wooden shells, but after installation, all the gaps are filled with pine resin and other items in the wooden boards, and finally they are painted. It looks like the surface of the hull is quite smooth. But the ironclad in front of me is very different. Everyone felt that the ironclad ship had an indescribable thick feeling, although the ironclad and rivets were also painted, but the semicircular head of the densely raised bolts was clearly visible. Completely different from civilian ships.

Lin Jiajun, as the commander of the navy, was naturally responsible for the introduction. "This ship is also an iron-ribbed wooden hull, but the wooden hull is not an ordinary wooden hull. We made the bases out of the finest oak imported from the United States, and then mounted iron armor on these bases. It is too difficult to process steel armor, so now only iron armor can be used. The problem with iron armor is that it is corroded badly, and even if a comprehensive anti-rust treatment is done, these iron armors will have to be replaced once in a few years. ”

Looking at the ship, which was covered in iron armor, everyone stepped forward and stroked it with their hands or struck it with their fists. That feeling of hardness and thickness left a deep impression on those who saw a real ironclad for the first time.

Lin Jiajun continued: "The thickness of the iron armor is 15 to 20 mm, and we have tried to bombard samples with cannons, and those solid shells can barely penetrate it. However, being pierced by a solid shell in a naval battle is not a big problem. The main threat is howitzers, and ordinary howitzers are basically unable to penetrate this layer of iron armor. Now the key is whether our own naval naval guns can effectively sink enemy ships. As you know, we don't actually have any experience in naval warfare, let alone fight with foreign sail battleships, so everyone is not very sure about this. ”

"I haven't beaten it, so I don't know?" Ju Junfeng asked.

"Yes. But it seems that if you know it or not, you have to do it! Lin Jiajun replied unconfidently. R1058