Cai Yi?

The news of Duan Qirui's retirement spread quickly.

There are constantly various rumors within the army, and no one can tell the truth, but one thing can be confirmed, the president and Vice Chairman Duan talked all night in the Senior Administration Garden, accompanied by Li Kaiye.

Just before the new president was finalized, when everyone thought that Duan Qirui would become the new president, things took a very special and sudden turn.

Just when people were arguing, Cai Ye quietly got a definite news...... He was the deputy chairman of the new military council.

This news made Cai Ye a little difficult to figure out.

It was already late, and in the Ziguang Garden of the Military Commission compound, the thin Cai Ye was silently standing on the balcony on the second floor smoking, looking at the Yingtai Zizheng Garden in the night, thinking vaguely about something.

At the age of 51, he was relatively young among the entire group of army generals and lieutenant generals, and he was awarded the rank of major general at the age of 32 and lieutenant general at the age of 40.

In peacetime, unless he is the chief of the general staff and the minister of defense, the rank of lieutenant general is conferred on the highest military rank of the Wehrmacht, so he has been at the rank of lieutenant general all these years.

He rarely smoked anymore, because he was hospitalized with lung disease during his study at the Central Military University, and when Hu Chuyuan went to visit him, he happened to see him hiding in the bathroom and smoking secretly, so he gave him a harsh lecture at that time, and had him locked in the ward for a whole month.

To be honest, every time he thinks about it, he is very grateful.

The chairman of the committee will always be the chairman!

He sighed in his heart, he thought, among the various division commanders of their current term, there are still those from the previous term, and there are few people who do not respect the chairman of the committee.

In fact, many details can make them feel special warmth.

Every year, when he is born, he can receive Hu Chuyuan's handwritten greeting cards, all of which are handmade by Hu Chuyuan's grandchildren, which are simple and even a little naïve, but they make people feel very warm.

He was grateful to Hu Chuyuan, however, Hu Chuyuan's decision just made him particularly surprised.

Among the corps commanders of his group, he was one of the very few people who did not support the confrontation with Britain and the United States, and he knew very well that even if he could win, the sacrifice of the country would be great.

If you endure it and fight slowly by boiling frogs over a warm fire, twenty years later, China will still be able to completely surpass the shackles of Britain and the United States.

He is a very peculiar kind of person, always has his own ideas, calm, erudite, upright, with the traditional Chinese love and righteousness plot, in the army, he is the kind of general who is very respected by his subordinates and soldiers.

He wanted China to become the world hegemon and govern the world in a way that was completely different from the plundering Chinese style of Britain and France, but he also wanted war to be the last option.

Cai's resume is very beautiful.

Because of his extraordinary intelligence and military talent, he graduated from the Changsha Artillery Academy ahead of schedule at the age of 18, joined the platoon commander of the artillery brigade attached to the 33rd Division of the Huguang Corps, and participated in the Northwest Counteroffensive Campaign of the Far East War commanded by Li Kaiye.

After the end of the Far Eastern War, Cai was promoted to lieutenant.

At the age of 24, he was recommended by Li Kaiye to study at the Central Army University, and the president was also Li Kaiye.

After graduating from two years of study, he was awarded a master's degree in the Army Integrated Command Department, with the rank of captain, in 1912, he was awarded the rank of brigadier general, and in 1914 he was awarded the rank of major general, responsible for commanding the 33rd Division of the Huguang Corps in World War I.

In 1916, after Sun Daoyuan returned home from his wounds, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and in fact he continued to command the Northwest Second Army, and then successively participated in important battles such as the siege of Moscow, the siege of Minsk, and the raid on Hungary.

It stands to reason that he should have been awarded the rank of general after the end of World War I, but the competition for the rank of general was fierce, and in order to protect Sun Daoyuan, Cai Ye was finally sacrificed a little bit within the Huguang Corps.

However, Cai himself didn't care too much.

In 1920, he officially entered the Central Military University for further study, and this time, he and a large number of young lieutenant generals such as Li Jishen and Yang Zhenlin were trained as future generals and marshals.

After the end of the training, in 1923, he stayed at the Central Military University as the director of teaching, and was responsible for training the second batch of cadets together with Jiang Fangzhen and others.

In 1927, he was transferred from the post of vice president of the Central Military University to the director of the Strategic Department of the State Military Commission, responsible for formulating new military strategic planning and deployment.

After smoking a cigarette, Cai Ye couldn't help coughing twice, pinched out the cigarette, and continued to sigh in his heart.

He knows that he is a very good soldier, but in China, he is not a lone person, and there are at least 30 outstanding lieutenant generals who grew up at the same time as him, and there are only a dozen of them in the army system who are as famous as him, Yang Zhenlin, Li Jishen, Zhang Xiaozhun, Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, Bai Chongxi, Ma Jijiang, Huang Yukun, and Guan Linzheng are all good generals who are respected by everyone for a while.

Why him?

Cai Ye was a little puzzled.

A person, there are many things that he is destined to think through in this life, especially in this matter, Hu Chuyuan will not be able to say clearly, he can't say clearly that his son is not qualified to be president, but there are still a large number of people who support him.

Cai Ye stayed awake all night.

Why isn't Hu Chuyuan?

As a father, he wants to protect his son, but he knows very well that Hu Weizhong is not capable of being president, and there are only two conditions for him to be president, but Hu Weizhong does not have any of them.

There are many ways to protect your son from risking what is difficult for him to do...... It's also one way to go.

That night, Hu Chuyuan, Hu Weizhong, and Hu Weitang talked all night and talked all night, but there were not many things that really said, Hu Weizhong refused to speak, and after competing for so long in this complex political situation, he knew better than anyone the intention of his father's arrangement.

Hu Weitang couldn't help but say a few "fair words" to his eldest brother.

The sky was gradually about to dawn, looking at Dongfang singing, at this time, Hu Chuyuan finally said to Hu Weizhong: "Weizhong, there is no absolute fairness in this world, you will always have more advantages than others, but you should think clearly yourself...... What are you really good at, what you can do well, or rather, what are you best at right now. Judging by my age, you're still young, and there are still so many possibilities! ”

Hu Weizhong was silent.

After a while, he stood up very resolutely and said to his father, "Dad, don't worry...... I knew exactly where I was going. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly, but he didn't know what Hu Weizhong was talking about.

Seeing Hu Weizhong leave a little unhappy, Hu Chuyuan could only sigh in his heart.

His eldest son is good at everything, idealistic, brave, and has a special personality...... The only downside is the urgency.

In a hurry.

Or.......

Hu Chuyuan thought in his heart that his eldest son might want to surpass him too much, or at least have to be on par with him, but this is really a difficult thing.

Behind many things are all kinds of secrets and crises!

With experience and influence, Hu Chuyuan carefully dissolved some sharp thorns, and successfully ensured the coming to power of Li Kaiye and Cai Ye in the party.

…… Before finally leaving office, Hu Chuyuan successively wholesaled more than 100 orders of the Military Council during his tenure, and began to formally and forcefully operate the entire state apparatus, taking a greater step towards war and victory.

The vast majority of work continues to be carried out in secrecy, for example, by increasing the proportion of high school students, by opening correspondence training schools for non-commissioned officers at the level of paramilitary academies within the army, and by secretly adding more associate non-commissioned officers within the army.

The National Defense Youth Army system has been secretly increased and expanded, and a seven-year training system for young non-commissioned officers has been introduced, and junior high school students are enrolled and become second lieutenants after graduation.

The aircraft carrier system, the new aircraft system, the missile and rocket artillery system, the multi-directional radar early warning system, the nuclear weapons, the submarine, the chemical weapons, and the radio security communication system are the eight top-secret systems, which continue to be accelerated at the State Military Industry Research Institute and the more secrecy and concealed 208 Engineering Institute.

The process of Sino-German military cooperation has started at a rapid pace and continues to maintain a high degree of secrecy.

There are also some that are semi-public, such as plans for the construction of new battleships, new tanks, self-propelled guns, and the overall rebuilding of mechanized units, including military enhancement improvements within the Eurasian Union...... These were all deliberately intended to make Anglo-American law perceive from the intelligence services, and to attract them to engage in similar large-scale ascension and arms races, so that they could not extricate themselves from the old system, and could only step up preparations with China.

The Philippines, North Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sumatra, Java, and PapuGuinea became members of the Asian Federation, and then joined the Asia-Europe Union under the name of the Asian Federation together with China.

Among these countries, the Philippines is the only country where the total number of Chinese and ethnic Chinese exceeds 50%, but it still has the autonomy of Reading Power.

At the cost of this, these countries have begun to fulfill the responsibilities of the Asian Federation and the Eurasian Union Organization to increase the building of military strength, and some light and heavy weapons are produced in China and some are imported from China, and the process of arms integration in the entire Eurasian Union has been basically completed.

In April 1933, Hu Chuyuan bid farewell to the pinnacle of China's power and left politics after three consecutive terms as president.

After living in Yanjing for nearly 40 years, he has gradually forgotten the luxury of Shanghai Yongyuan, and after retirement, he chose to continue to live in the Zizheng Garden...... At least a life away from politics for the time being.

He also retained his post as chairman of the Ecumenical Party and continued to manage the affairs of the party in addition to the main political issues, especially in the cause of culture and education.

It was precisely from this stage that the expansion of China's navy, army, and air forces accelerated markedly, and the total military budget for 1933 also increased from 920 million yuan to 1.14 billion yuan, accounting for one-fifth of the government's fiscal expenditure.

Among them, the navy's military spending has increased to 520 million yuan, or about 94.55 million pounds, which is equivalent to 1/3 of the UK's total fiscal revenue and 1.8 times the British navy's military spending.

As China and the entire Eurasian Union have increased their military budgets one after another, Britain, the United States, France, and Russia have also been forced to increase their military spending, and the scale of the military competition between the two sides has become more intense.

In 1933, the ten-year Washington Naval Convention expired, and China, on behalf of the Asia-Europe Alliance and the Atlantic Alliance, signed a new Singapore Navy Convention, stipulating that the maximum construction capacity of battleships was 45,000 tons, and the main gun caliber was up to 16 inches.

However, the new "Singapore Naval Convention" does not stipulate the total tonnage of the navies of each country, and only limits the naval ratio of China, Britain, the United States, France and Germany, which is 15:10:10:7:7.

Since the Chinese Navy had completed the overall replacement of the new generation of navy before 1930, and the German Navy was starting anew, although the total tonnage ratio of the navy of China and Germany was smaller than that of Britain, the United States and France, in fact, the combat effectiveness of the entire navy was roughly equal.

After the signing of the Singapore Naval Treaty, Germany built Bismarck-class battleships with the help of China's shipping administration, while China built its own Qingzhou-class super battleships.

The data of the two ships are roughly the same, with 9 405mm caliber 52 times diameter main guns, a standard design displacement of 45,000 tons, the actual full load tonnage can reach 55,300 tons, and the maximum speed is 28 knots.

The construction of battleships of this class was expected to begin in 1934 and enter service by the end of 1935.

Britain, the United States and France have also established corresponding super battleships, in the new generation of super battleships, the maximum speed will exceed 28 knots, the main gun caliber is 16 inches, or 405mm, the use of radar, sonar and other modern devices, and is completely oil-fired boilers.

Among the super battleships of various countries, the Bismarck-class battleships and Qingzhou-class battleships of China and Germany do not have an advantage in speed, but, adhering to tradition, these two classes of battleships are still first-class in terms of defensive effect and firepower.

Although the 405mm caliber is 1 mm smaller than the British 16 inches, the Chinese and German use of larger diameter and high-speed medium and light artillery shells are obviously more powerful than other super battleships of the same period, and after using China's integrated radar, fire control, and command systems, the overall firing speed, accuracy, and combat effectiveness are also stronger.

Compared with aircraft carriers, the era of battleships is indeed passing, and at the suggestion of the Chinese shipyard, both the Bismarck-class and Qingzhou-class battleships have retained a good margin of refit to prepare for the later transformation.

At the same time, the number of battleships of these two classes will not be very large, the Bismarck-class battleships are 4, and the Qingzhou-class battleships and possible improved modifications of the Qingzhou 2-class are a total of six.

In the General Staff of the Chinese Navy, the issue of the future transformation of battleships and cruisers has always been a very important topic, and new research tests are constantly being carried out.

Judging from the results of the current study, once the aircraft carrier battle group is the main new hegemon in the ocean, the best outcome for battleships can only be decommissioned due to problems such as high construction cost and high maintenance costs.

In the future, the best combination of the Chinese Navy's wartime formation should be aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and large and medium-sized submarines, and even if artillery cover is needed in landing operations, the Valiant-class battleships and Congo-class cruisers can basically complete this task.

To this end, in addition to the Congo-class cruisers, which are currently being built in large quantities, the Chinese Shipping Administration is already working on the organization of the design of the Angola-class cruisers.

At present, the Chinese Navy as a whole is working towards a large-scale transformation, except for the Qingzhou-class and Yuzhou-class battleships, which are the successors of the traditional battleship era, the existing warships are basically designed and built around the new aircraft carrier era.

Once the Yabinsk-class aircraft carrier is put into large-scale service, the entire Chinese Navy will naturally complete the cross-era transformation.

(To be continued)