Zhu Lingjing let out an "um" and stared at the floating tea leaves in the cup, "The additional construction plan should be finalized these days." ”

In order to cope with the large number of warships to be built under the U.S. "Two Oceans Navy Act" - especially the eighteen Essex class, the Ming Navy is also intensively planning its own construction plan.

This construction project will directly determine the future situation of the war, and even affect the fate of the country, so no one dares to make a conclusion easily. The various tactical schools within the Ming Navy were arguing, and the technical departments were also involved, and the momentum was great.

After a while, she raised her eyes and glanced at Zhou Changfeng, "In this way, you can also go and listen to it, and if you have opinions and ideas, you can directly mention them, and if you listen to them, you will be clear." ”

The latter nodded and said yes.

Zhu Lingjing agreed with his proposal on mobilizing the people to vigorously dig dry docks and build slipways.

The shipbuilding competition must develop its own strengths, and Daming's abundant human resources are very suitable to play a role in this labor-intensive industry.

The land slipway is relatively simple and convenient to set up, with a slipway preset under the ship, and then a boat built little by little on top, and finally slid into the water through the slipway when launched.

The dry dock is connected to the land on three sides and faces the water, the construction is troublesome, the amount of earthwork excavated is very large, the dock door is closed when working, and the seawater is introduced into the dock when the water is finally launched to make the ship float slowly, and then the dock door can be opened.

The successive victories greatly boosted the prestige of the imperial court, and there was no problem in simply mobilizing millions of people, and by the way, it was possible to issue more national bonds and print more money.

After all, mobilizing the people to dig docks is not fundamentally different from conscription to dig canals and build the Great Wall in ancient times.

As for how to maximize the advantages of human resources to dig dry docks in various places, it is the task of technocrats and professionals.

In view of the army's reluctance to give up the right to dominate and speak, Zhu Lingjing asked Zhou someone a question.

"The Pacific Ocean is so big, what role should the Army play in it? What do you think? ”

The latter's gaze jumped from side to side, and after a little thought, he asked rhetorically, "Your Majesty, are you referring to the defensive strategy?" ”

"Indeed, because the landing battle in the event of a major offensive should be similar, with the Marines working with the Army. Optimistically, in the future, the US fleet will enter a situation of stalemate for a period of time, and it will inevitably have to defend the islands, let alone consider the worst. ”

"Well, I see. First of all, I want to emphasize the core point, that is... Without sea supremacy, it is impossible to defend any island, even if it is as strong as Oahu. ”

There are two situations in which the lack of naval supremacy is either the main force of one's own navy has been completely wiped out, or it is preserving its strength and passively avoiding war.

Zhou Changfeng then said slowly in a very firm tone: "In this case, it is extremely difficult to defend, there are too many large and small islands in the archipelago area, once the enemy soldiers come to the city, they will be isolated one by one, and the enemy can fight more and less every time." ”

Take the classic Mariana Islands as an example, it includes more than a dozen islands including Saipan, Guam, and Tinian, and even the Ming Dynasty can't do each of them to garrison several divisions.

In the Battle of Saipan, 40,000 Japanese troops resisted 70,000 American troops, and the difference in strength between the two sides was less than twice as much.

In the 24 days of the battle, the U.S. military killed most of the Japanese troops at the cost of 3,426 killed and 10,364 wounded, with an exchange ratio of about 1 to 2 and a death ratio of 1 to 7.

In the Battle of Tinian, 9,000 Japanese troops and 3,000 militiamen resisted more than 50,000 American troops, a difference of about four times the strength of the two sides.

The battle lasted nine days, and the American troops killed the vast majority of Japanese troops at the cost of 328 killed and 1,571 wounded, with an exchange ratio of nearly 1 to 3 and a death ratio of 1 to 16.

The advantage of playing more and less and attacking the weak with the strong is undoubtedly significant, and the situation can be analyzed macroscopically using the Lanchester equation.

Zhu Lingjing nodded lightly, "It's true, there are too many scattered islands and reefs, and the strategy of some people in the past is quite naïve and unrealistic. ”

Zhou Changfeng spread his hands and said casually: "And the enemy's strategic deployment can be a little more flexible, such as leapfrogging, not attacking islands one by one, only attacking important nodes, and advancing directly to the depth." ”

"Going deep alone like this is tantamount to killing yourself."

"Yes, that's right, but as long as your own navy still has a certain strength, the enemy dares to be so bold and suffers from it."

Island hopping tactics can skip less important islands, such as the 140,000 Japanese troops in Rabaul who did not play a role in history, trapped on the island of New Britain to open up land and cultivate land until the end of the war, and life was quite nourishing.

However, there is also a great risk in the island-hopping tactic, and once you lose the naval battle, it will be over. But Marshal Mai had absolute confidence in Nimitz, and the Pacific Fleet did indeed kill the Combined Fleet.

"So......" Zhu Lingjing pondered for a few seconds and asked, "Zhou Kexing, your opinion is that there is no need to deploy heavy troops on the Pacific Islands?" ”

"That's not it, Your Majesty, I just expounded the essence of the island offensive and defensive war in the Pacific War, and we should analyze what to do around this essence and characteristics." Zhou Changfeng said.

In the absence of sea supremacy, the defenders on the islands were completely isolated, could not receive reinforcements, and the wounded and sick could not be evacuated for medical treatment, which was fundamentally different from the example of the battle represented by Shangganling.

In this case, all the defender can do is to use the limited troops and ammunition he has hoarded, make maximum use of the terrain to build a dense defense system in depth, and fight with the attacker to the end with the determination of defeat.

Militarily speaking, such a battle with bad conditions should be avoided as much as possible, but the offensive and defensive battles of the Pacific islands are so cruel.

Choose the island of necessity and the island of minor importance, and choose the main point and keep it - this is the reply that someone Zhou gave to the emperor.

This is a strategic idea, and what to do in terms of tactics is not something that the emperor needs to clearly understand.

There are only a few important islands, and if you consider strategic defense, it is necessary to hold on to the three Mariana Islands (Saipan, Guam, and Tinian); Two of the Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal and Bougainville) need to be held; The island of New Britain needs to be held.

These islands have the significance of deploying heavy military groups, digging deep holes, accumulating grain, and bombing large quantities to prepare for the worst.

The rest of the scattered dozens of islands are left alone, and it is enough to deploy a garrison detachment of several hundred people, and when the US troops really encounter a large-scale landing, they will lay some trickery mines and then sneak into the jungle to fight guerrillas.

Perhaps, the results of persisting in fighting guerrilla warfare will be even greater than that of sticking to the guerrilla war from the beginning.

Zhou's argument is not only reasonable and well-founded, but also similar to the army's viewpoint, and after a comprehensive evaluation, Zhu Lingjing is convinced of this.

In other words, the Ming Army only needs to deploy seven to ten infantry divisions to the Pacific Ocean, and at most a dozen divisions, so where should the idle large number of troops be deployed?

The army has already set its sights on the fat of Indo, so it has spared no effort to demonstrate the benefits of attacking the South Asian subcontinent from all aspects.

"Sir, this has won several battles in a row, why doesn't the court give you a promotion."

"This is not in a hurry, no matter how advanced the virtual title is, it can't compare to real power. To tell the truth, I really have a lot of say now. ”

In the matter of promotion, Xia Xiaoshi is more active than Zhou, she subconsciously feels that as long as she defeats the enemy, she should be rewarded.

The illness had not healed, and Zhou Changfeng, who had come back from the palace, felt a little tired, so he went straight to the recliner and said casually: "The gold content of these victories is different, I fought very well in Malaya and Java, but Darwin and Moresby have nothing to say about these two games, they are even, and the value reflected as a commander is relatively small." ”

Xia Xiaoshi still had unrealistic fantasies, such as waiting for her daughter to return to school after weaning to continue teaching.

Now I just feel that this idea before me is really funny - how can there be a general's wife working outside these days?

People more or less care about their own value, and Xia Xiaoshi has not seen through the red dust, so she has always been a little anxious.

Gao Linglu's careful thinking about her daughter is insightful, and enlightens her that she must recognize the reality, and the first priority for a noble lady to become a virtuous helper is to attend more banquets between noble ladies and celebrities, as a big help for her husband to maintain a relationship network.

"Those of them are going to meet twice in three days." Xia Xiaoshi pursed her lips and complained, "Really, isn't it greasy?" ”

Zhou Changfeng, who was lying on the recliner, laughed, "Didn't you go to the banquet in the past and live quickly?" Why aren't you happy now? ”

"How could it be so frequent before, let alone once every ten days and half a month. I feel that there are so many people who want to talk to us, and it is really troublesome to deal with. ”

"It's okay, it's not mandatory, you can pick it up, you can go if you want, it's a big deal, and there will inevitably be people who want to please."

Usually chatting with other generals from time to time to talk about their respective families, every time he heard others complain about what his wife did, Zhou Changfeng would sigh in his heart that Xia Xiaoshi was really worry-free.

At this time, the latter suddenly came over and asked with a smile in his eyes: "Zhou Kexing, I see that your condition is almost better, how energetic are you?" ”

"Ahem, Xiaoshi, I haven't recovered here, I'm not interested."

"Hmph, then I'll spare you one more night."

Two days later.

Because Zhou Changfeng's malaria infection this time was not serious, he was able to work for five or six days.

Since the emperor had asked himself to sit in on the internal seminars of the navy, why not?

The stakes are very high, and the wartime military ship construction seminars organized by the upper echelons of the Ming Navy have been held many times, and the seventh one that Zhou is now participating in can only be regarded as the end before the final decision.

More than a dozen people had gathered in the No. 2 conference hall of the Navy Administration of the Ministry of War, and the attendants were pouring tea and water and presenting the files one by one.

The appearance of someone Zhou surprised the people present, but they were only surprised for a moment, and there was no rejection and resistance, but a few people took advantage of the meeting to greet him.

Zhou Changfeng lowered his voice and said to an elderly civilian brigadier general beside him: "Sir, what is your surname?" I have something I want to ask. ”

The latter's glasses flickered, and he smiled indifferently: "Contemptible people are exempt from your surname Ye, what do you want to ask?" ”

Perimeter Wind is naturally most concerned about aircraft carriers - what route will it take after that? What is the construction plan?

Today, from north to south, there are a total of 19 large slipways or dry docks capable of building battleships or aircraft carriers.

In comparison, there are a total of 29 slipways or dry docks on the east and west coasts of the United States that can undertake the construction of capital ships, including 7 on the west coast and 22 on the east coast; Historically, there were only eight in Japan.

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The most important shipbuilding base of the Ming Dynasty is in Shanghai, with 1 340m dock, 1 300m dock, 3 240m docks, and 2 244m slipways, which can be used to build capital ships, in addition to some small slipways and dry docks.

The second most important shipbuilding base is in Huludao Prefecture, with 1 330m dock, 1 300m dock, 1 240m dock, 2 270m slipways, and 1 244m slipway.

In addition, the 380-meter giant dock, which is theoretically capable of building 100,000-ton ships, will be completed in a short time, and is expected to be operational next summer.

“…… In this way, the Navy is debating whether to lay armor on the deck of the aircraft carrier. ”

"Exactly."

After some exchange, Zhou Changfeng nodded thoughtfully, and reached out to flip through the dossier in front of him.

The development of nothing can be achieved overnight, and the value of aircraft carriers, as cutting-edge weapons that have only been born for 20 years, has not been fully proven until this year.

What kind of aircraft carrier should be designed to deal with the next sea and air war? The generals and experts were divided into several factions, each with its own opinion.

The differences in design mainly lie in the contradiction between displacement, protection and strike capabilities.

Increased offensive and defensive capabilities lead to increased size and displacement, which in turn leads to fewer slipways or dry docks to build.

Therefore, if you want to start as many aircraft carriers as possible at the same time, the size must be controlled within 240m, which means that the displacement is about 20,000 tons.

But this tonnage aircraft carrier was not destined to adopt the design of an armored flight deck, otherwise the carrying capacity would be pitiful.

The faction that insisted on the design of the armored aircraft carrier was led by the old man who had just talked to someone Zhou.

"Ye Lao, have you made any changes to the design of the last time?" A Navy Department officer asked.

The civilian brigadier general, or senior technical officer, took out a thick stack of wire-bound documents from the briefcase beside him, and said lightly: "The main structure remains unchanged, but the pipeline layout has been adjusted, and the elevator has also been strengthened." ”

"Has the thickness of the flight deck armor been reduced?"

"Remain the same, three-inch main armor, but the half-inch lining is being considered for removal."

The armored aircraft carrier faction believes that the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding capabilities are inferior to those of the United States, so they must adopt an armored flight deck with strong protection capabilities and a high survival rate.

In the design of the Jiangnan Naval Factory, the flight deck armor is up to 96mm thick, and there is a 16mm mild steel lining underneath to block the fragments that may be generated by a heavy attack on the deck.

However, considering that this does not seem to be meaningful, it will only increase complexity and waste man-hours, so I considered deleting it.

Three inches?

Zhou Changfeng was amazed, he remembered that the armor-piercing depth of a 1,000-pound armor-piercing bomb when dropped at a normal altitude was only about 70 millimeters.

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(End of chapter)