"That's right." Zhu Lingjing didn't seem surprised, and said casually: "The mobilization plan was drafted before the war, but since this month, there have been many successes, and the DPRK and China have not been in a hurry to submit it to the Advisory Council for a vote. ”

Dizzy! If you win the battle together, you won't be mobilized.

Zhou Changfeng, who was speechless, covered his forehead and said: "Your Majesty, how can this be, if you wait for the war to tighten up and then start mobilization, it will probably be too late." ”

He thought for a moment and added: "The United States is going to implement a rationing system, and we have to mobilize as soon as possible, faster and more thoroughly." ”

This is the case, even the wealthy United States, which has a unique advantage, is still living a careful life during the war.

Historically, in early '42, with the passage of the Emergency Price Control Act, the Office of Price Control (OPA) was established, and soon more than 8,000 branches were established across the United States.

The Price Management Office has distributed ration books to almost every citizen, covering more than 91 per cent of the population. Each month, the ration book is allocated 48 blue discs and 64 red discs, which are used as proof of purchase.

Blue flakes are used to buy canned, bottled and other pre-processed foods, such as canned macaroni, canned beef, canned citrus; Red flakes are used to buy general foods such as cereals, meat, and dairy.

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In the middle of the war, you needed 2 red slices per pound of sardines, 5 red slices per pound of milk, 2 red slices per pound of biscuits, and 20 red slices per pound of steak.

The ration book clearly warns that violations of rationing regulations can result in a fine of $10,000 and 10 years in prison, which is undoubtedly a very serious punishment.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has encouraged people to grow produce in their own yards and community gardens, which are small farmlands known as Victory Gardens, and by the end of four or three years, more than 20 million Victory Gardens had sprung up across the United States.

Because these vegetables produced by using non-essential arable land and manpower can reduce consumption in disguise, they have received strong support from the federal government.

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As for the chemical fiber nylon, which has swept the world in the past two years, it is very used in the production of parachutes, ropes and other military products because of its considerable strength.

As a result, DuPont switched to wartime production and drastically reduced the production of stockings, which almost came to a standstill. The price of nylon stockings on the market has skyrocketed dozens of times, and black market transactions have surged.

The United States, a major automaker and oil producer, produces a staggering 200 million tons of crude oil a year — more than any other country combined, but it still has strict controls in place, with ordinary people only allowed to fill up a few gallons of gasoline a week, and it is forbidden to buy new tires and only tinker.

If the United States is still like this, how can the Ming Dynasty be lenient and arbitrary?

"What's the hurry?" Zhu Lingjing stretched out her finger and shook it, "How many years has the dynasty not encountered a major battle?" Two generations, three generations. Successes but sudden legislation to control goods? The people can't accept it. ”

It is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift.

What's more, in the worldview of ordinary people, fighting a war is a matter for the imperial court, what does it have to do with us? At most, it's just a little more tax.

And I have never heard of people who have to tighten their belts to live when they have won many battles and good news, are the so-called victories all deceitful?

Previously, the government imposed an additional levy on aluminum to restrict the sale and purchase of aluminum products, which did not cause much repercussions, because iron products could be used to replace it.

But if you want to ration sugar, meat, cloth, and other things that are closely related to life, then you will be 100% angry.

Damn it! It's not to defend the country, foreign wars are to make life more nourishing, but on the contrary, they have to endure hardships? It's better not to fight!

This situation has already happened, just a few days after Mingmei declared war, the imperial court carried out a pilot implementation of the rationing system in Changsha Mansion and Jinan Prefecture, the south and the north, and the result was caused to complain and complain in turn.

After the news was revealed, a large number of citizens rushed to buy goods, and there were long queues in front of various shops, and many speculators also heard the news, almost disrupting the market order.

This was the direct reason why the imperial court decided to postpone the implementation of the rationing system.

At that time, Zhou Changfeng was traveling to Surabaya with the 1st Marine Brigade on the Suzaku and was concentrating on the movements of the enemy, so he naturally had no time to pay attention to domestic affairs.

After listening to Zhu Lingjing's words, he helplessly "tsked" and sighed: "What is this called?" 'If you go out, you will be invincible to foreign patients, and the country will perish, and then you will know that you will be born in sorrow and die in peace'. ”

"It's not easy to get involved in state affairs."

"It's difficult, Your Majesty, it seems that we can only advance little by little."

"Exactly." As she spoke, Zhu Lingjing pointed to a question book on the corner of the imperial desk.

Zhou Changfeng reached out and picked it up and looked through it.

First of all, the imperial court had to set up a temporary organization to coordinate the planning and management of the wartime market regulation and rationing system, and this committee was called the "Economic and Strategic Control Committee".

Second, targeted propaganda must begin as soon as possible to make the population aware that war is for everyone, and that there is no one who is immune to the war in general.

Then, rationing was implemented in the major state capitals, and the first batch of goods to be included in the purchase of goods by ticket were sugar, meat, fuel oil, matches, gas, silk cloth, and chemical fiber.

Edible oil, rice, flour, charcoal, cigarettes and other commodities are included in the category of tax increases—not controlled for the time being, but the price will be increased, so new terms such as oil salary, rice salary, and charcoal salary have emerged.

As the war progresses, these goods, which are currently tax-only, will gradually be purchased by ticket in the future.

In this way, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach at the beginning, so that the public can accept it more psychologically.

At the same time, the state and government police in various localities must severely punish speculative traders and vigorously crack down on the black market transactions that inevitably occur.

Yes, yes, this is what a general battle looks like.

"Whew, good thing." Zhou Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief, "The competition between the great powers will definitely not end easily, and there is still a long way to go." ”

"Okay, let's not talk about it. You're back to report on your work, and you're going to listen to it with me. ”

"Yes."

Although Zhu Lingjing knows that she is just taking advantage of the dividends of the times, the smooth progress of a series of wars in the Ming Dynasty is still overwhelming, and it must be a lie to say that she is not self-conscious.

Daming, the world is invincible!

“…… The initial situation in the field battle on the outer line was relatively optimistic, the 27th Division inflicted heavy losses on the enemy's 6th Division with the support of our army's strong naval and air firepower, and the Australian army showed tenacity, but also suffered a large number of casualties, and at this stage, the exchange ratio was more than three to one. ”

“…… In the stage of urban warfare, due to the severe restrictions of complex terrain, the gap between the enemy and us has been greatly narrowed, and our army's superiority in naval and air firepower has been significantly reduced, and the exchange ratio has been reduced to less than two to one. ”

“…… Ding Yiping's view is that if there is no naval and air superiority of the fleet, and only the field artillery brigade and some tank units are strengthened, he will still be sure to repel one division of the Australian army under the field offensive, but the exchange ratio can only be achieved one-on-one. I basically agree with that. ”

The infantry division of the British Commonwealth army is larger than that of the Ming army, and the defender has its own preset position advantage, and the Australian army is extremely tenacious, so Zhou Changfeng actually feels that Ding Yiping's view is a little overly optimistic.

Zhu Lingjing, who was thoughtful, hooked her index finger on her cheek and asked: "The great watershed in eastern Australia runs through the north and south, and the cities and railways are all along the coast. ”

"I'm afraid not, I can probably predict what will happen after that." Zhou Changfeng shook his head, "The chariots and mobile troops can complete the task of division and encirclement relatively well, and they can annihilate the main force of the Australian army in the field, but they still have to attack the city after that......"

He paused, and then said: "Even if a part of the remnants of the army retreats into the city, cooperating with the militia can delay a lot of time, and the exchange ratio is not good, such a city by city gnaw is probably a year and a half before there is hope to advance to the front line of Sydney." ”

Moreover, there is a high probability that there will be guerrillas and resistance groups in the Great Dividing Range.

Rolling hills and woods, that will provide excellent concealment.

Although sparsely populated and without popular support and provisions, the US-Australian coalition could have maintained its presence by constantly dropping supplies – historically, the Russians had often used biplanes to quietly deliver supplies and weapons to guerrillas in the occupied areas.

At that time, the Ming army still had to guard against the long and fragile railway supply line being broken and damaged, and the further south it fought, the higher the pressure on law and order and the difficulty of supply.

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"The war department is also fighting endlessly. The military department and the governor's office competed for supplies, and the governor's office competed with the army for strategy. Zhu Lingjing said.

Zhou Changfeng nodded and said firmly: "Anyway, the plan for a quick victory before the war is definitely unreliable, and it must be adjusted." ”

There was a long silence in the not spacious eastern room.

Zhu Lingjing pinched the small cup, turned around, leaned against the table and stared at the map of Australia hanging on the wall.

After a while, she took a sip of tea, stretched out her finger and pointed to the map and muttered: "Wei Guogong suggested that the attack on eastern Australia be suspended, but I think I can go on to capture Cairns and Townsville, and then switch to defense." ”

Wu Weihuan believes that such a war of attrition is inappropriate, if it is only a war between Ming and Australia, then it does not matter, the Ming can consume Australia, which has a population of only more than 7 million.

But the problem is that now the number one adversary of the Ming Dynasty is the United States, and now it is time to concentrate resources on achieving a decisive victory over it. After that, focus on Australia.

His view was to defend Darwin, which had already been captured, and make it an important transit point and supply base, while continuing to capture Moresby, but then turning to strategic defense in the southwest Pacific and concentrating on a strategic offensive against the United States.

In contrast, Zhu Lingjing hopes to go one step further, landing in northeastern Australia and capturing Cairns and Townsville, and then switching to strategic defense.

She believed that this would ensure the Ming Dynasty's military presence on the Australian mainland, and that the capture of the two cities in the northeast would be much more significant and influential than Darwin in the northwest.

The consequential political advantages, while not quantifiable, are certainly advantageous.

For example, the people of their own country will rejoice and boost the morale of the military and civilians; The opponent will be even more frightened, the political situation will be turbulent, the Australian army will inevitably be anxious to recover it, and the generals will also have to bear greater psychological pressure and war responsibility, and the probability of mistakes will increase...... And so on and so forth.

"Uh......" After listening to her thoughts, Zhou Changfeng thought for a long time and replied hesitantly: "Your Majesty, your idea is quite good, but the minister can't give a positive answer now, it's too complicated." ”

He met Zhu Lingjing's gaze and continued, "How much material will it cost to maintain these troops in Cairns and Townsville?" And having to cross the Coral Sea from Moresby, the pros and cons of this have to be carefully calculated. ”

Moreover, unlike Darwin, which is isolated and not connected to other cities by road, Cairns and Townsville in the north-east can be reinforced by other US-Australian forces.

Therefore, the Ming Air Force could not completely occupy air supremacy; There is also the possibility that the Ming Navy will urgently meet the enemy fleet, and it is impossible to guarantee that artillery support will be provided throughout the process.

If you want to take these two cities, you must be prepared to suffer 20,000 casualties and lose the combat effectiveness of two or three infantry divisions.

Because of the forces projected halfway around the world, the cost of these losses can be considered almost three times that of Eurasia.

Zhu Lingjing said "um", and said: "Without further ado, prepare today and tomorrow, and hold a meeting to discuss the day after tomorrow." ”

After the debriefing, I was relaxed.

After a while, Zhou Changfeng stood under the Qianqing Gate and breathed a long sigh of relief, and then took the ferry bus to leave.

It's not a vacation to go back to China, and there's actually a lot to do.

For example, supervising the R&D and mass production of several weapons and equipment, submitting a summary of experience in specific tactics, and so on.

In addition, it is more important that there will be an inevitable naval battle in the future, which will inevitably involve secrecy...... Problems with communication passwords.

God knows whether the code used by the Ming Navy has been deciphered, and this matter must be taken seriously and must be guarded against.

Or simply switch to a rare language, so that even if the Americans rack their brains and take great pains to decipher it, they will not be able to understand the actual meaning of the message.

However, in view of the natural advantages of Han culture and the strong integration of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, it seems that there is no small language that can be used now.

A quarter of an hour later.

"Wow, sir, you came back suddenly without saying a word......"

Xia Xiaoshi, who was overjoyed, was slightly blessed, and then reached out.

The two hugged for a while, and Zhou Changfeng smiled: "It's so boring to notice in advance, I don't want to surprise you." ”

When he walked through the small front yard into the house, he casually took out a glass bottle of sand from his satchel.

"It's Australian sand, scooped up on the beaches of Darwin."

Xia Xiaoshi was pleasantly surprised, "Zhou Kexing, you still remember it, I thought you must have forgotten this time." ”

Zhou Changfeng stretched and glanced at her, "As an outstanding young man of the Ming Dynasty, he must do what he says, huh?" ”

"Hmm......" Xia Xiaoshi couldn't help but laugh, and asked while making tea, "I heard that this battle is much more difficult than before, right?" ”

"Yes, it can't be compared to before, because the nature is different. By the way, the imperial court will be ready to implement the rationing system in the future, so you have to be prepared. ”

(End of chapter)