"This is the world's first battleship equipped with 12 406 mm guns, which is enough to confront or overwhelm the various types of European and American battleships in service." Tang Qianming said. "Compared with the 'Spring and Autumn' class, the design of the 'Sengoku' class is more mature, and great progress has been made in the transition from a triple turret to a quadruple turret structure. Moreover, it is produced using standardized molds, which will be put on the rapid standardization of heavy cruises and the rapid construction of aircraft carriers. ”

"I heard that this is also building such a large battleship...... Cao Kun turned his head to look at the few people in the VIP seat, and shrunk the words behind him.

"They have this plan, and the intelligence department is collecting relevant information," Tang Qianming also looked at the few people who were engrossed in observing the "Warring States" battleship, and said with a sneer, "However, if they want to build a battleship that exceeds the 'Warring States' class, I'm afraid it won't be so easy." ”

At this time, a dense "buzzing" sound suddenly sounded in the sky, and the loudspeaker began to broadcast: "Now the whole team passing over the parade channel is the 'Qingfeng' fighter group of the First Air Force Combat Force......

Nine squadrons of three planes soon appeared in the sky, organized into wedge squads, and every three wedge squads formed a wedge squadron. A total of three wedge squadrons swept in the same direction at a low speed from about 100 meters above the battleships of the 5th Column.

"Is there any information on such an aircraft?" When Cao Kun saw the plane, he became excited again.

"Yes, please start checking from the back of the folder, the model of the aircraft is 'Qingfeng 123'." Tang Qianming said, "This is the first monoplane equipped by our navy. ”

Cao Kun checked according to what Tang Qianming said, and sure enough, he quickly found the brief information of "Qingfeng 123".

"It was equipped in 1927." After a cursory reading of the information, Cao Kun looked up at the plane fleet that had gone away, with an obsessive face: "I really want to go into the cockpit to see ......."

Although he is the president of the Chinese Federation, as a veteran "Beiyang warlord", Cao Kun still retains the background of a military background.

Seeing the dignified president in a daze, a subtle smile appeared on the corner of Yang Shuoming's mouth.

"The president's daughter, don't worry about this dangerous little interest anymore, and look at a wider place," Premier Zeng Qi noticed the smile on Yang Shuoming's face and quipped, "The president should pay attention to things at the national and world levels." ”

"Hehe......" Cao Kun understood what Zeng Qi was talking about, he turned his head and glanced at Yang Shuoming, the two looked at each other and smiled, and nodded tacitly.

The circumstances surrounding the "air-ground assassination" suffered by Yang Shuoming are not a secret to Cao Kun and other senior leaders of China's political axe.

"Don't use the identity of the prime minister to teach people a lesson, Lao Zeng!" Cao Kun smiled and returned the folder in his hand to Tang Qianming.

Yang Shuoming raised the telescope and once again concentrated on watching the column.

At this time, a new column appeared, and there were immediately bursts of admiration from the viewing platform.

Following the battleships of the "Sengoku" class, there are 7 aircraft carriers of the "Xingtian" class!

"This is our aircraft carrier?" Cao Kun's hand holding the telescope trembled slightly, "This is the batch of ships rebuilt from the Germans, right?" ”

Tang Qianming smiled and said: "The president really has extraordinary insight, it is the batch of trophies that the Germans gave us, and now it has become our 'Xingtian' class aircraft carrier. ”

"How many planes can an aircraft carrier carry?" Cao Kun asked.

"92." Tang Qianming replied, "If you count the spare 16, it is 108. ”

"So much?" Cao Kun's words were full of excitement.

"Yes, a group of ship-based attack aircraft, which takes off and lands directly from a warship, will play the role of an airborne high-speed torpedo boat in a naval battle, attacking enemy ships with airborne torpedoes, and if necessary, it can also modify bombs to bomb enemy targets on shore." Tang Qianming said.

"Awesome......" Cao Kun sighed, "If you want me to see it, it should be easy for these planes to sink the battleship." ”

Cao Kun stared at these huge aircraft carriers in a daze, and at this moment, he had already described in his mind the scene when the attack planes on the ships gathered in the sea and sky and rushed towards the enemy ships.

At this time, Zeng Qi thought of a more far-reaching problem: "New warships, airships, and airplanes are all fuel-guzzling things, and the demand for oil will increase more and more in the future......

Yang Shuoming smiled and said, "Prime Minister, please rest assured, Siberian oil is enough for us." Now that the output of domestic oil and gas fields has also risen, if we really want to fight, oil is still not a problem. ”

"But the oil fields of Siberia are too close to the Soviet Union." Zeng Qi still said worriedly, "Once it is lost or destroyed, we will be in great trouble." ”

"A number of fortresses have been built on the Siberian border, forming a continuous defense line, more than ten years, tens of millions of investments, thousands of aircraft, tens of thousands of tanks, countless new weapons and soldiers, it is not so easy for the Soviets to want to come." Yang Shuoming said with a smile, "Our country is so big, it's no problem to concentrate on a few big things." ”

As he spoke, with the appearance of another group of four aircraft carriers, there was another exclamation of admiration from the viewing platform.

And applause.

"This is our newest 'Dragon King' class large fleet aircraft carrier." Tang Qianming opened the information and said proudly.

Seeing these four new-type aircraft carriers, which were more than twice as large as the "Xingtian" class, the telescope in Cao Kun's hand almost fell off.

"The 'Dragon King' class aircraft carrier has a standard displacement of 59,800 tons, a full load displacement of 70,300 tons, a total length of 308 meters, a waterline length of 281 meters, a total width of 37 meters, a draft of 12 meters, and a flight deck of 51 meters. It is powered by 4 'special two' steam turbines and 8 large-scale heavy-oil boilers, with a power of 228,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 36 knots. It can sail 18,000 nautical miles at 18 knots and can carry 9,100 tons of heavy oil. Carrying 1,400 tons of aviation fuel. Tang Qianming introduced the data of the "Dragon King" class aircraft carrier to Cao Kun, "The main armor belt of protection is 150 mm thick and camber 23 degrees. Horizontal protective armor of 110 mm, another 90 mm of flight deck armor, 350 mm of mine protection compartment, self-defense weapons are 6 boat Type 5 twin 127 mm 70 times diameter high-altitude dual-purpose guns, 24 40 mm 'Bofors' quadruple anti-aircraft guns, 30 20 mm 'Erlikon' twin anti-aircraft guns, and 24 12.7 mm quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns. It can carry 140 aircraft and 28 aircraft in reserve. ”

At this time, Yang Shuoming was also deeply attracted by the heroic appearance of this class of aircraft carriers for which he had paid a lot of effort.

Although the doctrine of "giant ships and cannons" is very prevalent in the Chinese Navy, because of Yang Shuoming's relationship, the Chinese Navy has decided from the very beginning to take aircraft carriers as an important core of future naval warfare. The "Xingtian" class aircraft carrier, which was modified from German warships, was used as a product to test the waters, which to a certain extent clarified the direction for China's future aircraft carrier construction, but also exposed many shortcomings. There is no doubt that the aircraft carriers transformed by large warships have their own shortcomings and do not have the advantages of professional aircraft carriers, so after the "Xingtian" class aircraft carriers were put into service, new specially designed aircraft carriers were immediately put into development. As the main warship of the world war with an eye on the future, the "Dragon King" class aircraft carrier from the very beginning combined the requirements of combat effectiveness and ease of production, plus thanks to the experience of freeship construction, a large number of standard parts were used. The first advantage is that the cost is low, and the construction period is also greatly shortened, and on this basis, the armored hull with a closed bow of the ship with a high level of protection is taken into account, making the "Dragon King" class the best aircraft carrier in China and even in the world.

"A total of six ships of this class have been built so far, and four are being reviewed this time, and two are in practice, so they cannot be referenced." Tang Qianming said.

"Good, good." Cao Kun turned his head again to look at the Yue himself on the viewing platform, and he found that although these Yue himself were also applauding with the others, their faces were all iron blue, and he couldn't help but laugh happily.

The parade continued, and at this time the waves were surging, and the battleships were chopping the waves, which was spectacular. However, many people's moods are unpredictable with the wind on the sea surface of Jiaozhou Bay, and they are like white clouds in the sky, fluctuating...... At this moment, off the coast of the Ryukyus, the "Dragon King"-class fleet aircraft carrier "Yinglong", the flagship of the First Air Force of the Chinese Navy, crossed a clear arc on the sea surface and was about to meet the sea breeze.

The seven or eight large and small escort ships surrounding the "Yinglong" are also closely accompanying the aircraft carrier in the same direction.

The wide and flat flight deck of the "Yinglong" was already crowded with dozens of planes, large and small, of which the first dozen or so planes were fighter planes under the wings, and some planes had two large bombs hanging on them; Twenty or thirty of them were bloated, and under the belly of each of them were a swarthy torpedo like slender cigar smoke.

The entire formation quickly completed its turn, and a strong sea breeze swept over the "Yinglong" and blew the signal flag on the top of the starboard ship island.

With a whistle sounded, a new signal flag was raised, the take-off commander and deck crew were busy on the deck, and the mechanics began to use the crankshaft lever to start the engines of the planes in the front rows, and in a short time, the propellers of the fighters in the front rows were "buzzing".

Two more whistles sounded, and a protective grille at the front of the standby fleet was lowered, and the wind was finally able to sweep across the flight deck without hindrance, while the plane in the center of the front row of the group was carefully pushed forward by several deck crews for a short distance, and the wheels were attached to a marking line in front of the deck.

Immediately, a take-off commander who was half-squatting in front of the right side of the pilot plane in the face of strong winds gestured to the pilot in the open cockpit, and the pilot also responded with a gesture, indicating that he could take off.

The take-off commander waved the signal flag in his hand and waved the flag "Request to take off" to the air bridge above the island.

After three consecutive whistles, the last signal flag was raised to the top of the mast: "Take off immediately".

The plane, painted with the blue, red and yellow "human" circle on its wings, began to glide on the flight deck, and in the blink of an eye, the plane detached itself from the deck and floated leisurely into the air.

Immediately after takeoff, the pilot aircraft turned right and began to circle over the aircraft carrier.

Immediately after the pilot, the second, third, fourth...... One plane after another slid off the deck, also circling over the mothership, forming a formation with the planes that took off first. The unfinished formation continued to circle after circle, waiting for the follow-up aircraft to join.

Flying formations over aircraft carriers are getting larger and, accordingly, fewer and fewer aircraft on deck.

When the last plane on the deck of the "Dragon King" jumped off the runway, the take-off commander on the starboard side of the forward deck finally stood up and waved the flag to the air bridge: "Take-off operation completed......

On the bridge, a young staff officer pressed the pocket watch in his hand and looked displeased: "Twenty minutes and twenty-four seconds, it's a little too slow, right?" ”

"After the exercise, all the operations officers will be convened to continue to study ways to save time." The commander of the fleet - a rear admiral calmly ordered.

"Yes, Commander."

The rear admiral known as the commander was named Wen Anliang, the commander of the aircraft carrier group, and he was personally leading the newly commissioned aircraft carrier "Yinglong" and its escort group to conduct aviation operations and carrier-based aircraft attack drills at the exercise ground in the northern part of the Ryukyu Sea.

And their opponent is another "battlefleet" with heavy cruisers and other large surface ships as the core.

Wen Anliang watched the torpedo attack planes struggling to climb up and catch up with the formation, and subconsciously looked at the watch on his wrist.

"The second wave should take off right away." The staff officer, Yang Shuoming's son, Yang Zhaohua, said.

Wen Anliang nodded, and decisively ordered: "Clean up the deck immediately and prepare to release the second attack wave!" ”

In the sky, the first attack wave, composed of 30 "Swift" carrier-based fighters and 34 "Qingluan" carrier-based attack planes, finally completed the formation, and before turning to the target, it first passed over the mothership in a majestic manner as a whole group.

Seeing the group of planes gradually moving away, the crew waved their military hats one after another - this is a blessing for the safety of the pilots, but also a desire for victory.

The whistle sounded again, the flag on the mast was lowered and raised, and the flight deck of the "Yinglong" was busy again.

The lifts moved up and down at full speed, bringing a steady stream of fighters to the deck that were already loaded with ammunition in the hangar. All of them are working meticulously.

Seeing the scene on the deck, Yang Zhaohua nodded unconsciously.

Although it took a little time, he still thought that such caution was necessary.

Although so far in the intelligence, it has not been found that any country in the world is equipped with aviation weapons sufficient to destroy such a large ship as the "Yinglong", as well as a fleet aircraft carrier comparable to the Chinese Navy. But Yang Zhaohua still didn't want to take it lightly because it was an exercise.

Absolute self-confidence is poison. The task of a staff officer is to think of all possible situations and formulate countermeasures according to various changing factors, either to complete the combat mission at the lowest cost or to withdraw from the battle at the minimum cost, and to have an adequate way to deal with the changes in the situation. Pinning his hopes of victory on self-righteous subjective assumptions, in his opinion, is no different from a gambler.

Since he was a child, his father taught him that fighting a war is not gambling, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, it is common for plans to be inconsistent with reality, not making comprehensive preparations, having the grasp of advancing and retreating freely, and only thinking about winning or losing all, such a gambler's psychology has all kinds of harm and no benefit.

The whistle sounded, and the second attack wave of the "Ying Long" was about to be released.

At this moment, the destroyer escorting the escort in the distance suddenly sounded the alarm.

"Submarine spotted!" An officer hurried to the bridge and reported to Wen Anliang.

"Submarines? Will submarines take part in this exercise? Wen Anliang asked in surprise.

"There should be no ......," an officer replied hesitantly, "but that guy Qu Zhenguo has always played cards out of common sense, and if he talks to the top behind our backs, add a few submarines to come in, it's not easy to say ......."

"If he really gets a submarine to come in and insert a lever, it's just a joke." Wen Anliang said with some annoyance.

"It's not a joke, it's all about taking into account all kinds of contingencies." Yang Zhaohua said, "If he dares to use submarines, let's use anti-submarine aircraft." ”

"That's it!" Wen Anliang immediately gave an order, "The seaplane is dispatched!" With depth charges! ”

And at this moment, the lookout suddenly shouted for his life: "Torpedo! A torpedo was found on the port side! ”

Wen Anliang raised the telescope in accordance with the sound, and sure enough, he saw two long white tracks on the sea.

"Grandma's! I even used all the 'Tiger Shark' torpedoes! Wen Anliang scolded. At this time, the "Ying Long" began to move its huge body on the sea surface under the captain's suffrage to avoid torpedo attacks.

Seeing the two torpedo tracks scattered from the bow and tail of the "Ying Long" at a large angle, Wen Anliang's heart almost jumped out of his throat.

"They dare to release torpedoes at such a distance, it's ......" Wen Anliang couldn't find the words to describe the madness of the submarine captain who carried out the sneak attack for a while, and his face was full of chagrin.

The captain had apparently taken the surname of the "Tiger Shark" oxygen torpedo to the extreme, and almost succeeded.

If the "Yinglong" had been hit by a torpedo just now, the exercise would have been lost in half.

Yang Zhaohua turned his head to look and saw the destroyer and the "White Sheep" seaplane in the distance, and he knew that the possibility of the submarine escaping was not very good.

(To be continued)