Li Kongrong felt that he could re-talk with the Brazilians, but the time for the talks was not now. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info He has a very tight travel schedule and a lot of things to do - the hope of funds is in the United States, so it will take a lot of time to determine the shipwreck salvage plan; And through the introduction of the German Jewish Order, he had to spend some time befriending powerful German-American Jews; Finally, according to the timeline of the overall plan, he must now look for American aircraft manufacturers and let them design two carrier-based aircraft with excellent performance.

-- Judging from the current situation, no carrier-based aircraft in Britain and the United States is superior to the Japanese Navy, whether it is a fighter, a torpedo bomber, or a dive bomber. The F4F Wildcat couldn't gain enough advantage against the Zero, and by the time the F6F Hellcat came out, it was already 1942.

As for the F4U Corsair fighter, it is said that it was with the help of the British that it finally solved the big problem of landing difficulties. In addition, the shape of the seagull's wing required a more complex riveting process and the chemical curvature of the skin siding used, both of which made it expensive: 'five shrews equaled three Corsairs', which was the U.S. Navy's saying during the war, that is, a Corsair fighter cost $75,000, while an F6F cost only $50,000, and as the cost of mass production dropped, an F6F cost only $35,000 in 1945[Note 58], which was a cheap and high-quality aircraft.

The fastest F6F Wildcat fighter with cruising speed is 322 kilometers per hour, and the slowest TBF Avenger torpedo bomber is only 236 kilometers per hour, so the result is that the fighters and torpedo planes are not convenient to fly in formation, and there is a reason why the poor torpedo bomber formation at Midway Island is almost completely wiped out; In terms of range, the fighter also did not match the latter two bombers, and the fighter had a range of hundreds of kilometers longer than the latter.

These are all problems, but these problems add up to less fatal than the other problem, that is, these three aircraft all made their first flight after 1940, which is all the active equipment of the US Navy, why should the Americans sell their active equipment to the Chinese Navy? If the Americans do not sell these aircraft, then the carrier-based aircraft that the Navy can have are probably the biplane Swordfish torpedo bomber and the biplane Gladiator fighter, and it is estimated that the British will sell these two old goods, and to buy the American carrier-based aircraft, it is also just some obsolete biplanes.

He can only find aircraft manufacturers to design and develop advanced carrier-based aircraft, and this is the answer after Li Kongrong's repeated thinking. It's just that the result of this is to pay a more expensive price, after all, the research and development of an aircraft requires a lot of money, and it may not be satisfactory, even if it can achieve the expected performance, but because of the production, the price of the aircraft will be extremely expensive - because of the limitation of funds, Li Kongrong can not modify many aircraft carriers, the number of aircraft carriers is small, the number of aircraft to buy is naturally less, the fixed cost of the aircraft is less can not be amortized, the price is extremely high.

How to convince American aircraft manufacturers to develop and produce an aircraft with an expected production of only one or two hundred units is a big question, and this aircraft is also a carrier-based aircraft, and it is difficult to sell it to anyone except the Anglo-American Navy. There was really no way, so Li Kongrong had no choice but to acquire or register an aircraft manufacturing company in the name of the Xinzhong Company, which required him to take out a lot of money in his limited pockets......

What a mess! In the dialogue with Zhou Yingcong, Li Kongrong sighed in his heart. He is now very difficult to ride a tiger, the funds cannot be solved, all his plans are in vain, what those people in the navy will think of him I don't know, he himself is very dissatisfied with himself.

"Is Shao Sheng tired?" Zhou Yingcong was talking about Xiong Chongzhi, the minister stationed in Brazil, for the navy, but he didn't want Li Kongrong to be absent-minded at all, and he looked like he was thinking heavily.

"I'm not tired at all, it's just ......" Li Kongrong sighed, and stopped talking. He was about to shift the topic to Ninghai, but Zhou Yingcong preemptively asked: "I haven't asked you and me what to do, but now that the matter has come to this, you and my brother should finally give the truth." What exactly are you going to do, and how can I help you? ”

The balcony of the hotel room is planted with unknown flowers and plants, and below is a beautiful bay, Li Kongrong and Zhou Yingcong sit in the shade on the balcony, and there is black tea and biscuits on the table, which is the afternoon tea of the navy.

When he asked this sentence, his eyes stared at Li Kongrong, as if he had some kind of expectation, and as if he contained many doubts. Among the naval officers, there are many who know that the navy will be rebuilt, and many who know the general plan, but few know the details. The only one who knows all this is Li Kongrong, and there may be Lin Xianxi, who just went to Germany last month, and then went to the United States to buy four training planes, and then has been running around in the United States. Zhou Yingcong felt that he might be able to become the third or fourth person who was familiar with the plan, if Lin Zhun was counted.

I never thought that shouting 'rebuild the navy' would attract so many people's expectations for him, and Li Kongrong finally understood why so many liars were able to succeed. If he wanted, he could have raised money among naval officers - everyone would pay to rebuild the navy, and then bid for the post, so that he could probably scrape together millions of fiat dollars.

"With Brother Shuchun's talents, I feel better on the shore than at sea." Li Kongrong also attaches more importance to Zhou Yingcong's ability in officialdom and mud, "Of course, it is not impossible to get on the ship, but the problem is that there are few ships, and it is difficult for you to be a captain, at least before the end of the war, and it is another story after the war." ”

"Then who will be on board now?" Zhou Yingcong said with concern. "How many aircraft carriers are there?"

"The initial plan is three, but without auxiliary ships, there are only three lone aircraft carriers." Li Kongrong said. "This is the early stage, if Japan and the United States go to war, we can always lease a number of old destroyers from the United States, and we must know that our enemies in the Pacific Ocean are exactly the same as the United States, so that the vacancies of cruisers and destroyers in the entire fleet can be filled, and the number of people who can be arranged will increase at that time, but the United States Navy also needs cruiser destroyers in a big war, so I think it is difficult for the entire fleet to have more than ten ships. But that's enough, we only have a total of 10,000 or 20,000 people, and we will make sure that everyone has a place when the time comes. ”

"And what am I doing on shore?" Zhou Yingcong nodded and then asked.

"We will have many conflicts with the government at that time, and this will have to be resolved by one person." Li Kongrong said: "For example, if the domestic air force is exhausted, should the navy's aircraft and carrier-based aviation return to China to participate in the war to defend the capital?" This is a contradiction; There are also problems of procurement and command, each of which is more difficult than the other. Maybe the government will diplomatically force us to agree to their terms - you know, it is very expensive to train an aircraft carrier formation, even if we use captured cruise ships to refit and risk sinking, even then, we will have at least $40 million in the early stage.

With such a large amount of money, do you think the government will be blushing? They're going to be red-eyed. Some people will pat their heads and think that the money should be used for the army rather than for the navy. As long as the Japanese Navy cuts off our trade routes, with the existing domestic military production capacity, it will be a losing word. Only the navy can break the deadlock and hasten Japan's defeat, and only the existence of the navy can hope to change the previous international situation......"

When Zhou Yingcong heard Li Kongrong say that it would cost $40 million to train an aircraft carrier fleet, he could no longer hear about it. He didn't know how much it would cost to convert a cruise ship, how much it would cost to train pilots, or how many planes would fit in three carriers. His thinking was still stuck on Chen Shaokuan's 20 million silver dollars merchant aircraft carrier plan -- since it was a cruise ship to transform an aircraft carrier, if each aircraft was equipped with 30 aircraft, the cost of an aircraft carrier would not be much higher, but he did not expect that the cost envisaged by Li Kongrong would be five or six times that of his estimate.

"Shao Sheng, where can I raise so much money?" After Li Kongrong finished speaking, Zhou Yingcong, who also felt a lot of pressure, asked. "You don't have a cornucopia of gold out of it every day, do you?"

"Where do I have a cornucopia. The $40 million I mentioned is only in the early stage of the fleet's preparations, and the expenses during the combat period are not included in it, and I estimate that it is very normal for the navy to spend $4 or 50 million on the entire war. Li Kongrong said, "The current approach is to find a way in industry, which includes some speculative business, but this requires the help of Americans, and then the issuance of bonds." ”

"Bonds?" Zhou Yingcong nodded and then shook his head, he thought that Li Kongrong's estimate of four or five billion dollars was correct, but he felt that the four or five billion dollar bond government would definitely not recognize it, since it would not admit it, then why should the navy pay it?

"Yes. You don't have to worry about the problem yet. Li Kongrong saw his concern, "Fighting a war that is doomed to victory is to make money, not lose money." Do you think, should Japan pay reparations after its defeat? Since he wants to pay compensation, won't someone buy the bonds? Our navy may still be able to make some money from it, such as spending $500 million, and finally asking for a billion in reparations. ”

"Hehe......" Zhou Yingcong smiled, he said: "After the defeat of the war, the indemnity between countries is naturally up to the government, how can our navy sign a reparation treaty with the Japanese government alone?" ”

"No problem. Since it is the national service that has the final say, the creditors who hold the bonds will go to the government, not our navy. And it should be noted that many of the creditors holding these bonds are Americans or American companies, and of course, many overseas Chinese with dual citizenship. Li Kongrong said with a smile, this is a newly thought up method. Previously, it was too low to ask overseas Chinese to donate or something, and it didn't make much money, and the issuance of bonds was a high-end and high-grade business.

"Since it involves Americans, the government naturally wants to recognize it." Zhou Yingcong had to nod - this is a messy country, only foreign adults and fake foreign devils will make the government taboo, and the demands of the Chinese people are basically ignored, even if the war is won, the bureaucrats will push it off in order to alleviate their own troubles. "However, if the government does not approve the issuance of bonds in the name of the navy, how many overseas Chinese will buy them? Even if some overseas Chinese buy it, how many Americans will buy it? ”

"You don't have to worry about this, as long as Japan and the United States are at war, the Americans will naturally buy bonds, and we will be allies with the United States at that time. As for overseas Chinese, as long as we can play a record, will they not buy it? It's not a donation, it's an investment, and it's an investment that can be reported. And don't forget, how many Fujianese are overseas? And how many Cantonese are there? The villagers are protecting their families and defending the country, can they not be generous? ”

What Li Kongrong said did make sense, but when he heard about the Cantonese, Zhou Yingcong said, "You want to incorporate the Cantonese into the fleet?" ”

"It has to be incorporated, but how these people are arranged needs to be considered." Li Kongrong said. "I know that everyone had grievances earlier, but since both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party can unanimously resist Japan? Then why can't the Fujianese and Cantonese form a fleet to resist the Japanese? It's a big deal to divide them into an aircraft carrier, the key is to sell the bonds well. How about after the war, that's after the war. ”

After Li Kongrong finished speaking, Zhou Yingcong stared at him tightly, and after a while, he said: "Shao Sheng really thinks that the estrangement between the Fujianese and the Cantonese is the ship-seizing incident?" Don't you know that there are Fujianese and Fujianese among overseas Chinese, and they are also fighting very hard......"

"We know that everyone among overseas Chinese fights fiercely." Li Kongrong said abruptly, "But when the Japanese bayonets do not distinguish between each other, they can come together." The identity has to have a reference, if everyone stands in front of the white conqueror, then all the yellow people will unite; If you stand in front of the Japanese soldiers, the whole of China, no matter which province or government, will be united; But if he stands in front of my wife, I'm going to kick anyone out......"

Li Kongrong's analogy made Zhou Yingcong funny, but he had to admit that he did make sense, but Li Kongrong didn't want to say too much, he didn't like to keep communicating with the people around him, in order to persuade them to get support. Maybe he can convince anyone, but this makes him feel very irritable, in the final analysis, this is because although everyone is a colleague, there is no one idea.

After the afternoon conversation, he made a similar persuasion, and the target was Xiong Chongzhi, the minister to Brazil. Although he was a native of Guangdong, he fully supported the navy's plan to set up a weapons factory and train a fleet in Brazil. However, Li Kongrong did not immediately contact the Brazilian military, and he had to go to the United States first to determine other matters before he could readjust the plan and decide whether to have in-depth talks with the Brazilian military. The next day, under the gift of Xiong Chongzhi, the minister to Brazil, he and Zhou Yingcong flew to the United States together. (To be continued.) )