With the annexation of Kievan Rus' by the Tang Empire around the 200th year of the Republic, the border was extended to the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and a series of wars of integration and unification took place in Europe, and finally formed the current situation of the Byzantine Empire, the East Frankish Kingdom, and the West Frankish Kingdom.

After the failure of the intervention in the Tang Dynasty's "American War of Independence", the three major European military powers due to the rapid development of military technology and the emergence of various new weapons prompted a new revolutionary change in military theory. This military change is mainly focused on three aspects, namely, the mechanization of army equipment and armor, the electronic command system, and the increasing importance of aviation units in warfare.

After the pacification of the "War of Independence", the main hot topic of discussion of new technologies and weapons in the imperial navy after the war was the construction of radio detection systems and naval aviation. Naval aviation is divided into land-based aviation units and carrier-based aircraft aviation units. In general, the naval land-based aviation units are under the command of the Coastal Garrison Command, and the naval fleet is equipped with only a small number of land-based aviation units.

The "aviation faction" in the Imperial Navy insisted on advocating the so-called "theory of aviation victory" and believed that the main direction of development of the Navy was the carrier-based aircraft aviation units that accompanied the fleet operations and the combat platforms used by the carrier-based aircraft aviation units, that is, aircraft carriers.

As an old maritime hegemon, the fleet winning faction in the Imperial Navy that adheres to the theory of "big ships and huge cannons" is powerful, and the aviation winning faction has always been suppressed.

Although the old clumsy seaplanes of the Imperial Navy did not excel in several operations during the pacification of the Second War of Independence, and the two air attacks on the fleet were unsuccessful, they nevertheless attracted great attention from the sensitive naval technical departments of various countries.

After the Second War of Independence, an alliance was formed between the kingdoms of East and West Francia, which was later joined by the Byzantine Empire. As the world's second maritime power, the East Franconian Navy decided that it was unwise to fight a decisive naval fleet battle with the Tang Empire, which had as many as 100 battleships, so it took a different path and focused its naval construction on aircraft carriers.

The West Francian Navy, on the other hand, is unique in the development of submarines, a new type of maritime weapon.

Comparatively speaking, the Imperial Navy's research on aircraft carriers started a little later, only after the war, due to the stubborn obstruction of the winning faction.

Almost all naval powers have adopted a small and fast approach when developing aircraft carriers, gradually becoming familiar with the design, construction and use of aircraft carriers by building several aircraft carriers with experimental nature. The navy of the Tang Empire was no exception, but in the great controversy between the battleship faction and the aviation faction within the navy, it was finally reported that the emperor sent Zhang Tingshi, the minister of the inner court, to communicate with the minister of the navy, and finally the top of the navy was forced to agree to the experimental construction plan of the aircraft carrier.

In essence, the vast majority of the senior admirals of the Imperial Navy, who had just started anew in this regard, did not understand the role of aircraft carriers, but only viewed aircraft carriers with the mentality that everyone has and I have them.

Xie Zhaokun exchanged some views with Ling Wencha on the construction of the air force, and then said: "The Admiralty has finally decided to form the Ninth Fleet, do you have any intention to work there?" ”

"The Ninth Fleet?" Ling Wencha was a little puzzled.

"An experimental fleet mainly for aviation operations, Vice Admiral Chen Shiying is in charge of the preparation of this fleet, and he expects to transfer you to the Ninth Fleet as his assistant." Xie Zhaokun smiled and said, "Although this fleet is not very popular with many high-ranking admirals, I believe it is still very promising. ”

Vice Admiral Chen Shiying, who was born in the naval aviation, is the banner figure of the aviation victory faction in the imperial navy, although he is very courageous, but in the eyes of the traditional imperial naval generals, he is always an outlier, and he is also a relatively excluded person.

Ling Wencha thought for a while, this might be an opportunity for promotion for him, so he said, "I obey the arrangement of my superiors. ”

"At present, there are great differences and debates within the Navy about the construction of aviation units, and some people are not blind to the role of aviation forces, but the construction of air fleets will always crowd out the already tight shipbuilding budget of the Imperial Navy, and in fact, there are many opponents because doing so will harm their own interests. In fact, I also believe in Lieutenant General Chen Shiying's theory, but sitting in my position, it is difficult for me to clearly express my opinion. Xie Zhaokun smiled, "I believe that sooner or later, we will be able to realize that aviation is the master of the future ocean." ”

Ling Wencha sighed after hearing his words, but he didn't expect that this big man in charge of the Imperial Navy's equipment was also a hidden aviation champion.

Later, Xie Zhaokun gave him a brief introduction to the situation of the Ninth Fleet.

Unlike the Eastern and Western Frankish Kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire in Europe, which had independent air forces, the army and navy of the Tang Empire were independent and powerful, so the aviation units were deployed under the command of the army and navy and developed independently. Each major theater of the Army has its own independent air wing, and the major fleets of the Navy also have their own naval aviation wings, but they are all land-based naval aviation units.

In essence, naval aviation units and army aviation units have very different performance requirements for fighters due to their different combat environments, objectives, and tasks......

This is a new fleet, which has been in existence for less than a year, and the fleet base is located at the Guam Naval Base. Moreover, in addition to the two experimental aircraft carriers, the four capital ships are all battlecruisers that were built and put into service shortly after the end of the last war, and the age of the ships is as high as 25 years.

The Imperial Navy currently has eight major fleets, and in addition to the Northern Fleet, the Eastern Fleet, and the Southern Fleet, which were built at the earliest, the Indian Ocean Fleet, the North American Fleet, the South American Fleet, the East African Fleet, and the South Pacific Fleet have been added one after another. The Ninth Fleet is named after the number, which has some other meanings.

Ling Wencha felt that he had no hope of being promoted in the ordinary fleet, and it was better to go to this new fleet to fight for the future, so he gladly accepted this new appointment.

After going to the Navy Personnel Bureau to handle the new appointment and transfer procedures, Ling Wencha did not return to his home in Qinzhou, but took the train directly to Songjiang first. There, he boarded a civilian airliner bound for Saipan and headed for the Guam Naval Base.

The Central Pacific Ocean is a popular tourist area in summer, and there are many people who go there for vacation every year, and business is very hot, and the plane he took on was actually full......

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