There were no problems with the formation of a strategic bomber unit, and the result was even better than Tan Renhao imagined. After he made this request to Gan Yongxing, Gan Yongxing formally proposed to Nie Renfeng the establishment of a specialized strategic bomber unit, and as a result, Nie Renfeng had to think more long-term than Renhao, and not only approved this proposal, but also raised its status to the level of several major arms commands under the Navy Command.

According to the establishment of the Imperial Navy, under the command of the Navy, there are two functional establishments. First, the headquarters of each branch of the armed forces are divided into several major functions, such as the naval fleet, the air force, the marine corps, and logistics, and their respective commands are set up to facilitate peacetime management. The other is the newly established theater system, which is mainly to serve the war. Of course, there is no contradiction between these two systems: in peacetime, the headquarters of the arms is the mainstay, while in wartime, the theater headquarters is the mainstay, and the commands of each branch of the arms are responsible for assisting the theater command.

According to Tan Renhao's estimate, the newly established bomber unit should be subordinate to the Naval Aviation Command, and then specific bomber units should be set up in each theater, which will be under the command of the theater command. In this way, the Western Pacific Theater will be directly responsible for bombing Japan, and this is precisely the reason why Nie Renfeng arranged for Tan Renhao to be the theater's chief of staff in the Western Pacific Theater. As a result, Nie Renfeng made the strategic bomber force independent and planned to establish a naval strategic strike command.

"Actually, the main reason for the rector's arrangement is still the issue of naval aviation itself."

Gan Yongxing explained on behalf of Nie Renfeng, "Since the establishment of the naval aviation, it has always focused on tactical operations, especially naval operations, ground support, and so on. The planes used are all tactical aircraft, including the shore-based aircraft that we have now, which are actually tactical aircraft. Therefore, the capabilities of naval aviation are not enough to shoulder strategic bombing missions. ”

"One more point, the essence of strategic bombing." … Mobile station N

Nie Renfeng didn't let Gan Yongxing finish his words. "The main object of naval aviation is actually the enemy's ground warships, including enemy submarines, and the support of ground forces in landing operations. At this point, HNA's performance is excellent. And the essence of strategic bombing is to destroy the infrastructure of a country, to use bombs to force a country to surrender, and the main object of the attack is no longer the enemy's military targets, but industrial targets, civilian targets, and so on. Other than that. Battles can also change a lot. Therefore, the strategic bomber force can be separated from each other to better fulfill this task! ”

Tan Renhao nodded, these two reasons are tenable, but the crux of the problem is not here.

"We also have to take into account the issue of land aviation."

Gan Yongxing had already seen Tan Renhao's thoughts, and then laughed, "If we put the strategic bomber force under the naval aviation, the army aviation will definitely make the same request." Now, we have created a separate branch of the armed forces that will be responsible for strategic strikes. Raised the status of strategic bomber forces. When the time comes. If the army wants to dig into our corners, it will have to set up a similar force. And the end result is nothing more than that we all abandon strategic bombing. Establish an independent military branch! ”

Tan Renhao was slightly surprised, he had long thought that the principal had separated the strategic bombing force into a branch of the army to deal with the army aviation, but he didn't expect that the principal would bury a fortune here. When the time comes, what Hainan Airlines can't get, Lu Airlines can't think of it, it's a big deal, everyone has nothing.

"These things are just for us to talk about."

Nie Renfeng let out a sigh, "At least." Now that the imperial military institutions are not backward, they can still shoulder the function of commanding the imperial army in combat, so we will not bring up the matter of establishing a new branch of the military, and Marshal Yan Dingyu will never be the first to open this mouth. Of course, the result is likely to be that we and the Army Aviation will each give a step, and everyone will have a strategic bomber force. Have you heard about the Army Aviation secretly developing a strategic bomber? ”

Tan Renhao immediately nodded and said, "It seems that Xifei and Chengfei are jointly responsible, right?" ”

"Yes, Cheng Fei is responsible for the development of the engine. Xifei is responsible for the development of the airframe. ”

Gan Yongxing took out a cigarette, "The army has invested a lot in this, and I heard that it has also sent senior generals to Xifei and Chengfei to take command, and they have invested more than 50 million yuan in the mainland in half a year, which is more than the activity funds of our fleet before the war." The acting prime minister was already aware of the incident, but he did not stop Lu Hang's private behavior. ”

"Why?"

Tan Renhao was a little puzzled, "This is obviously a waste of the precious resources of the empire, is it necessary for us to engage in two bombers with similar performance at the same time?" ”

"If you look at it from the point of view of pure war, of course, there is no need for this, but from the point of view of reality, it is very necessary."

Nie Renfeng's tone was very calm, "At least, there are two kinds of bombers that are safer, and even if one of the bombers has a problem, the other can be used as usual." Moreover, in order to balance the army and navy, it is also necessary for the army aviation to have their own bombers. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, to be honest, he didn't feel the need for this.

"In any case, we have now taken the first step, and it is a question whether the bombers of the Army Aviation can be made by the end of next year, unless they are willing to use Shen Fei's engines."

Gan Yongxing sneered, "We have a year to take the lead, and maybe, even if the army aviation gets the bomber out at that time, there will be no possibility of production." ”

"Okay, let's not discuss these things for the time being."

Nie Renfeng stopped the topic, "Ren Hao, this time I am going to let Liao Hanxiang be the commander of the strategic strike force and Luo Yunchong be the commander of the strategic bomber force in the Western Pacific Theater, what do you think?" ”

"General Liao is the best candidate, and General Luo Yunchong is also extremely familiar with strategic bombing, and he will definitely be able to take on the new mission."

Tan Renhao is naturally applauding, and there will be no opposition.

"Then, I will officially issue the personnel appointment notice in a while."

Nie Renfeng stood up, this is the meaning of sending off guests, "If there is nothing wrong, you can also rush back as soon as possible." The test flight of the new bomber is going well, and we will strive to launch the first round of strategic bombing against Japan by the end of January! ”

After leaving Nie Renfeng's room, Tan Renhao followed Gan Yongxing towards the chief of staff's office.

"Chief of Staff, the development of a new bomber ......"

"I haven't mentioned this to the principal yet. You may be seated! ”

Gan Yongxing poured a cup of tea for Tan Renhao, "I've carefully read your report." It was written by General Luo Yunchong himself, right? ”

Tan Renhao nodded. "This is Luo Yunchong's report, I just brought it for him."

"There's a payment for the two of you, isn't it done by the two of you together?"

Tan Renhao was slightly startled, and then laughed awkwardly. Luo Yunchong is righteous enough for this kid, and it is not easy to expose this point when talking about Renhao.

"The report is very good, and to be honest, there are many places that I can't understand."

Gan Yongxing also laughed awkwardly, "I asked for the opinions of several major staff officers. They all thought that the writing was very good, that all aspects were considered comprehensively, and that the possible problems were also well analyzed, and the county officials' solutions, compromise proposals, and so on were all in place. However, I will not submit the report to the principal for the time being. ”

"Why?"

Tan Renhao looked at Gan Yongxing and knew that there must be a reason for this.

"Let's put it this way, do you think we now have the resources to develop a new bomber?"

Gan Yongxing nodded, "Do you know what the Navy's military spending is this year?" 14.8 billion. And the empire's annual military expenditure this year is 22.5 billion. That is, the navy accounts for more than sixty percent, excluding the expenses of other non-combat units. In fact, the army received only 30% of the military spending. ”

Tan Renhao was shocked, now that he understood, it was no wonder that the army was so resentful, otherwise it would not have restricted the navy everywhere, let alone caused trouble for the navy.

"At the end of last month, the president handed over next year's naval budget to the acting prime minister, and our military spending request is 38.7 billion."

Gan Yongxing's expression looked a little distressed, "In the end, I may be able to get about 30 billion to 32 billion." Among them, the allowance of military officers and soldiers needs about 4.5 billion, and the expenditure on ammunition and materials is about 12 billion. The purchase of equipment needs about 8.5 billion, and the scientific research funding is about 2.2 billion. The rest is only about 5 billion to 7 billion, and this includes the maintenance of the base, the purchase of bombers, and so on. If we are to produce at least 2,500 bombers next year, according to the plan, then in the end there will not be even a single copper plate left. ”

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, war is a bottomless pit, and the vast majority of soldiers will not consider the issue of war funds. As chief of staff of the Navy, Gan Yongxing naturally had to take this aspect into account when he arranged the work of the Navy.

"We won't have the extra money to develop a new bomber next year, unless the factory is willing to accept our IOU."

Gan Yongxing shook his head and lit a cigarette, "Of course, I also think that it is necessary to develop a new bomber." Judging from the current situation, Japan will hold out for another year at most, and may not be able to hold out for even one year. If the Army can stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula and at the same time regain the Nanyang region by the middle of the year. Then, by the middle of next year, the army will certainly come up with a plan to land on the Japanese mainland. In addition, if strategic bombing can really force Japan to surrender as we now think, then we will be able to force Japan to surrender by the end of next year, even if the army does not land on the Japanese mainland. However, if you look at it from a long-term perspective, the need to develop a new bomber is significant. ”

It is precisely this that Tan Renhao took into account, it is enough to bomb the "Sea Eagle" against Japan, but the problem is that the empire does not have only such an opponent.

"Have you been aware of the situation in Europe lately?"

Gan Yongxing sat up straight, "The German Empire has stabilized the situation on the Western Front and is preparing to launch a large-scale attack on France. On the Eastern Front, the Persian Empire had pinned down the attacking forces of the Russian Empire, allowing the German Empire to breathe a sigh of relief. Now, the British were bombing the hinterland of the German Empire, and they dispatched hundreds of bombers at a time to bomb the industrial areas of the German Empire, causing great losses. Last month, an envoy from the German Empire came to the capital and asked us to provide a fleet of bombers that would enable them to carry out strategic bombing of the British mainland. Now this issue is still being discussed, the acting prime minister did not make a decision, after all, we ourselves do not have enough bombers. ”

"The Empire is ready to send an expeditionary force?"

"This is just a rough guess, anyway, if you want to send an expeditionary force, it is also a matter for the army, and the navy will not be involved in the European battlefield for the time being, at least, until we ensure the safety of the South Sea route, it will not take the initiative to get involved in the battle on the European side."

Gan Yongxing did not answer Tan Renhao's question directly, "The key now is that the United States has already taken action." The U.S. Congress has officially passed the Lend-Lease Act, which the president signed at the end of last year, and from now on, Japan, Britain, France, Russia and other countries can directly obtain weapons and equipment from the United States without paying for it with a hard pass. That is, the United States has already begun to provide strong support to our enemies. If the United States becomes an arms factory for the anti-Tang coalition, then it is very likely that we will go to war with the United States after dealing with Japan! ”

Tan Renhao gritted his teeth, Gan Yongxing's words were not exaggerated at all. The empire had already suffered a dumb loss in World War I, and American expansion on the American continent had seriously threatened the fundamental interests of the Tang Empire. This time, the US Lend-Lease Act actually cleared the way for the United States to provide weapons and equipment to the anti-Tang coalition. In the end, there must have been a life-and-death duel between the Tang Empire and the United States.

"You should also understand the truth of this, the development of bombers is necessary, especially for enemies like the United States, we need better bombers."

Gan Yongxing stood up as he spoke, "However, we can't come up with more resources to develop bombers now." If you can, you should put a little more effort into this, think of a way, and dredge up with the factory. If all the military applications submitted by the rector are approved, we can invest in the start-up funds for the development of the new bomber, and if we do not get approved, we will have to wait for the next year's funding. ”

"I will find a way, as far as possible to let the factory start the development plan first, as for the matter of funding, we will find another way to solve it."

"It's good to understand, I know you'll work hard!"

Both of them laughed, but Tan Renhao didn't have much confidence.