As a special warship designed by Dong Fangzheng with the idea of maximizing the use of existing resources, it is difficult to imagine how much spiritual blow the Chenghua-class will give to the future opponent.

In terms of hull configuration, the Chenghua class cannot be regarded as a large cruiser, and it is essentially a reduced and reduced battleship, which also determines that it is born with good anti-strike ability.

For example, the Alaska-class large cruiser built by the United States in history was often criticized by later generations for its extremely low cost performance, and the cost was as high as 70% of an Iowa-class battleship, but the combat efficiency was not worth the high cost.

The Alaska-class has a standard displacement of 27,000 tons, which seems to be about the same as the Chenghua class with a standard displacement of 24,500 tons, but the Alaska-class is essentially an enlarged, strengthened version of the cruiser.

Therefore, her protection ability is not as good as that of the Chenghua class, especially the underwater protection system - its mine protection compartment is very thin, and the whole ship is double-bottomed except for the ammunition depot, which is a triple bottom.

The Chenghua class has the Hu underwater protection system with the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty, and it is the Zheng'er Bajing battleship level.

The so-called Hu's TDS refers to an underwater protection system designed by materials scientist Hu Mengwei, the main part of which is consistent with the world's mainstream multi-layer design of liquid tank-empty tank-liquid tank, but it is filled with a special expanded asphalt to absorb explosion energy and buffer.

The extruded asphalt has a little elasticity and fluidity, and the design of this underwater protection system is very good, although the efficiency of the layout is reduced due to the limited width of the chenghua stage, but it is still close to the first-class level.

As for the Yongle class, due to its sufficient width to arrange the TDS depth, its underwater protection ability and Richelieu class are also unique to the top level.

Her secondary artillery configuration is also quite complete, and it is planned to carry 7 twin 128mm high-level dual-purpose guns, 12 twin 38.4mm anti-aircraft guns, 8 quadruple 20.8mm anti-aircraft guns, and 8 single-mounted 20.8mm anti-aircraft guns.

The arrangement of the 7 twin-mounted Gaoping dual-purpose guns is quite unique, 4 of which are symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides, and the other 3 are arranged in a zigzag shape at the rear of the hull.

According to the estimate of the Navy Department of the Ministry of War, the cost of the Chenghua-class lead ship is about 41 million yuan, and the cost of the second and third ships can be reduced to 39 million yuan.

This means that a Chenghua-class would cost as much as four destroyers, or one and a half heavy cruisers.

Moreover, it does not occupy the slipway for the construction of battleships and aircraft carriers, and only 180m slipway can be started, and the cost ratio is frighteningly high.

However, everything in the world has pros and cons, and the Chenghua level also has its own disadvantages.

The first is crowding, even if the long bow type is used to increase the internal space, the length of the Chenghua-class hull is really short, and the living space of the sailors is only at the level of light cruisers.

The second is that the cruising range is small, and its maximum range at a cruising speed of 14 knots is only about 8,000 nautical miles, which is indeed a little short compared to other warships that can easily reach tens of thousands of nautical miles.

But such a small battleship of the first class of cabbage price, its tactical and even strategic significance should not be underestimated.

In terms of tactics, she can lead the detachment fleet to cruise freely and participate in avant-garde warfare; Retire, she can serve as a knife guard for the aircraft carrier fleet, providing strong anti-aircraft fire cover.

The Americans were struggling at the moment, because before the Iowa class entered service, they did not have a single high-speed battleship with a speed greater than 28 knots - the New Mexico class, the Tennessee class, and the Colorado class were all low-speed iron turtles.

And the heavy patrol can't fight against the Chenghua level no matter what, and when it encounters it, it can only turn around and run, and if you really dare to fight, it will be a situation of being hanged and beaten.

In terms of strategy, this will make the Americans have to suspend the construction of some aircraft carriers or battleships, and hurry up to build a class of large cruisers or battle cruisers capable of dealing with the Chenghua class.

In a sense, Dong Fangzheng will become an immortal legend for the next hundred years - he managed to scrape together ready-made products at the minimum cost and create three gadgets that can disgust his opponents to home.

However, the Chenghua class can only be regarded as a specialized product in the end, and as for the regular next-generation battleship, there are still disputes within the Ming Navy, and it seems that it will not be able to settle down for a while.

The proponents ambitiously intend to build a super-battleship with a standard displacement of 50,000 tons, a speed of more than 30 knots, and three triple super-large caliber guns.

There are two main gun schemes, fourteen-inch (448mm) and fourteen-and-a-half-inch (464mm), and it is planned to build two.

The opponents are firmly opposed, believing that this is going against the tide and is destined to be in vain.

I'm afraid that the construction period of the two super battleships is almost enough for the two slipways to complete four aircraft carriers, which is too wasteful.

"I think it's too time-consuming and laborious to start building a few more battleships, and I'm afraid that it will take three and a half years to build a 50,000-ton ship?" Luo Fu wrote down his judgment as he said, "But if it's a 20,000-ton aircraft carrier, it can be completed in two years." ”

"It's true that I also like big ships, but I can't help it, the status of aircraft carriers is getting higher and higher day by day." Zhou Changfeng sighed, "Look at the situation, if the future battle situation is clear, it is not impossible to build one." ”

Daming's aircraft carriers are in a state of steady expansion, but there has not yet been a large-scale construction of the dumpling class, because this road is still being explored, and each class of aircraft carriers has been slightly improved.

The Daming Navy actually has a practice aircraft carrier named Qiming, which was converted from a cruiser in the early twenties and has a displacement of only 10,000 tons. Because it was the first aircraft carrier, she had a lot of omissions and problems, so it was decommissioned within a few years, and it has been used as a training ship in the Bohai Sea and Heishui Ocean to this day.

In addition to her, there are currently 6 aircraft carriers in service, including:

2 Taiweiyuan-class rebuilt from Yongyuan-class battle cruisers, with a standard displacement of 30,000 tons, a closed hangar, a wooden deck, and a capacity of 90 aircraft;

2 light aircraft carriers supported by the Tianshiyuan class, with a standard displacement of 17,000 tons, open hangars, wooden decks, and a capacity of 60 aircraft;

2 undisturbed designed and built armored aircraft carriers Ziweiyuan-class, with a standard row of 23,300 tons, a closed hangar, an armored deck, and a carrying capacity of 60 aircraft.

In addition, there are several aircraft carriers that are about to enter service - 3 Beiluo Division-class light aircraft carriers built according to the "Preparatory Expansion Construction Case", with a standard displacement of 14,000 tons, open hangars, wooden decks, and a carrying capacity of 52 aircraft.

The Beiluo Division-class light aircraft carriers are more embarrassing, and they were designed to operate together with the Yongle-class battleships, providing fighter cover, reconnaissance aircraft assistance, and bomber harassment.

But they are almost finished, and the aircraft carrier has proved its independent strike power, and the pattern of battleship decisive battles seems to be gone forever.

The Ming Navy is still discussing where the three light aircraft carriers of Beiluoshimen, Ligong, and Tiangang should go.

After that, the large armored aircraft carriers, which were rebuilt from the Yongle-class ships 3 and 4, should be completed within 20 months.

At that time, the Ming Navy will have a unique armored aircraft carrier with a standard displacement of 40,000 tons, and it is expected to carry 80 aircraft normally, and the maximum aircraft capacity can reach 100.

At this time, Luo Fu suddenly let out a pleasant "oh huo".

"Kexing, you see, the southern army has successfully taken Ren'anqiang."

"Huh? Progress so fast? ”

Luo Fu picked up a battle report and stretched out his hand to Zhou Changfeng, who was diagonally in front of him, "It's a pity that it can't compare to our surprise attack in the South Seas." With just two legs, no matter how fast they ran, the British had time to blow up the oil well. ”

The latter glanced at it with ten lines, "Twenty percent remains?" Belch... It's okay, the dust has settled on the war in Burma. ”

Although the Annam people worked very hard, their own combat effectiveness was not ideal, and the difficult terrain of Burma greatly limited their operations.

In addition, the resistance of the Anglo-Indian army and the Anglo-Burmese army was relatively strong, and malaria was rampant, so it took more than two months for the 100,000-strong army of the Royal Army of Annam to smash the multiple lines of defense of more than 70,000 enemy troops.

In total, they paid a huge price of nearly 3,000 dead and more than 9,000 wounded, not counting the massive non-combat attrition caused by the malaria epidemic.

As a result of this battle, the British defense line in Southeast Asia had collapsed.

The Anglo-Indian army and the remaining Anglo-Burmese army had no choice but to retreat westward, relying on the favorable terrain of Bengal to rearrange the defensive line.

The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Far Eastern Theater, Wavell, declared that he would resist steadfastly, and that no one would be allowed to touch the jewels of the British Empire, and that the invading enemy would be devastated.

But in Zhou Changfeng's view, it is equivalent to barking wildly - the dog that bites does not bark, and most of the nonsense like this is unreliable.

Now Siam has completely fallen to the Ming Dynasty, although they are a bit of a grinder in sending troops, only sending an infantry division and two engineer battalions, but they fully cooperate with the transportation of military supplies and also bear part of the food supply.

Most of the 100,000 British Commonwealth military captives captured in the Battle of Malaya were transported to Siam, where they were to take on the task of building the railway from Siam to Burma.

In this way, if it is necessary to attack the Indo-Indus region to the west in the future, the existence of such a railway will greatly reduce the logistical difficulties.

The Ming military department has long had this plan, and the people of Annam also strongly support it.

In view of the lack of sincerity of the British in peace talks, the Ming court approved this plan and began to make preliminary preparations.

Previously, the British proposed to the Siamese to build a railway through British Burma and Siam to facilitate communication, trade, and incidental influence, but the Siamese did not agree.

The Ming army planned to follow the draft route surveyed and summarized by the British in those years, save time, and start construction directly.

The Siam-Burma Railway is designed as a one-way railway, with a meter gauge (1000mm), which can make three round-trips of 50 wagons per day, with a maximum capacity of 3000 tons per day.

It is the same gauge as Siam's own rails, and the materials required are first appropriated from Siam's stock of rail spare parts, while private factories in Siam and Annam undertake the subsequent material manufacturing.

The Siam-Burma Railway passes through mountains and rugged jungles, and the terrain is complex and very difficult to build.

According to the report sent back by the investigation team sent by the Daming National Railway, the construction will start at the same time from the starting point and the end point, and the construction period is expected to be 26 months according to the normal labor time.

This is the case in the South, and in the North, a secret deal is in full swing.

Shuntianfu, Fengtai Railway Station.

With the sound of a whistle, a train of fifty-four cars slowly left the platform, gradually accelerated, and disappeared on the northern horizon with the black smoke drifting away.

The 54 wagons are all 20-ton light four-wheeled boxcars, that is, stuffy tank cars, and the interior is stacked with large wooden boxes.

The outer wooden box contains all kinds of groceries, while the inner wooden box is full of tungsten concentrate, molybdenum concentrate, nickel concentrate, and natural rubber.

Normally, rail ore is transported using open cars, i.e. open-top carriages with no ceilings on the top, which is obviously a covert practice...... Smuggling.

The German Society, which was impatient because of the shortage of rare resources, came up with this idea - Tsarist Russia is now in chaos and chaos, so it is better to fish in troubled waters!

According to the agreement signed in secret, the parties reached a deal that:

Daming smuggled 2,500 tons of tungsten concentrate, 2,000 tons of nickel concentrate, 1,800 tons of molybdenum concentrate, 700 tons of natural rubber, and 6.5 tons of quinine to the German Society in batches.

At the same time, a full set of drawings for the Type 37 bazooka is provided, as well as 10 samples of the bazooka and 500 rounds of ammunition of different types.

In addition, there is a full set of drawings for the Type 33B aviation torpedo, as well as 5 torpedo samples.

The German Society provided Daming with samples and a full set of drawings of key components of the Seetakt ship-based anti-aircraft warning radar, the Freya land-based anti-aircraft warning radar, and the Würzburg fire control radar.

There are also drawings of the LG39 recoilless gun, as well as a sample of 4 recoilless guns and 200 rounds of ammunition.

The Akito thinks they make a big profit, the Germans think they make a small profit, and both sides feel that they have made a profit, which can be said to be a pleasant deal.

What the world does not know is that a series of operations drawn up by the General Staff of the People's Army, which began about a month and a half ago, have been in full swing with intensive preparations.

The deception operation was codenamed "Prague"; The build-up operation was codenamed "Black Forest Exercise"; The plan of attack against France was codenamed "Purple Print".

Although the German Society initially intended to liberate Eastern Europe first and ensure adequate supplies, a considerable part of the War Council strongly recommended an early attack on France.

It can be said that it took a considerable psychological struggle between Ernst and the upper echelons of the German Society to agree to such a bold plan.

Historically, the first draft of the yellow plan submitted by the Chief of the General Staff, Admiral Hader, was almost a copy of the Schlieffen Plan during the European war thirty years ago, so much so that someone was furious.

After that, Man Buqun and Gu Bushuai proposed a major revision, but they were resisted by the old generals and thought that they were too aggressive.

This is also why someone complained that the generals of the Wehrmacht were pedantic antiques.

Objectively, because a large number of old aristocratic generals from the European war period no longer existed, the strategic deployment of the German Society in this regard was more advanced from the beginning.

However, this kind of advanced is relative, and it is only an advanced that "does not follow the rules and is not bound by the past."

According to the plan, the German army gathered a total of two million troops.

This includes 99 infantry divisions, 6 motorized infantry divisions, 8 armored divisions, 3 mountain divisions, and a large number of independent support units.

There are about 2,700 tanks, 3,800 warplanes, 2 740mm train guns, 8 280mm train guns, 14 210mm train guns, and 3 600mm tracked mortars.

They intended to attack Belgium and Holland and pin down the enemy forces on the northern front; At the same time, a raid was launched through the Ardennes Forest on the southern front.

During this period, the troops of the center line carried out a tentative offensive on the Maginot Line, exerting continuous pressure and assessing whether a frontal breakthrough could be achieved with the support of giant artillery.

(End of chapter)