"This is a bit of a loss of your own prestige, how can you ignore your own situation?"

As he spoke, Ma Mingli stretched out his left hand and counted his fingers, and said word by word: "How many are there in my country, Zizuo, Zi Right, Taizuo, Tianright, and Beiluo, there are five." The one that was repaired after the capture could also be used, and in a few months the two huge ships that were rebuilt would be good again, and there would be a full eight. ”

Ouyang Zhanghua replied very calmly: "The advantage of twice the enemy is not as much as it seems on paper, the enemy army is on the defensive, it is unlikely to respond to the battle, there are many ways to contain our army, it is feasible to avoid fighting without fighting, and swimming without attacking." ”

"And for the Americans, they still have hole cards to play." Zhou Changfeng also spoke, "As of today, they have ordered a total of more than a dozen new aircraft carriers, and some cruisers under construction will also be converted into aircraft carriers, so it is obvious that they will definitely drag on for a protracted war." ”

Ma Mingli stopped talking, but Gao Zhongnan, the minister of personnel, muttered: "Only when the difference between the two sides (strength) is the greatest can there be a possibility of peace, that is, now." ”

"Yes, peace talks are good when the difference is the largest." Ouyang Zhanghua gently picked up the teacup and took a sip, "But not now." ”

Although several of the existing aircraft carriers of the Ming army have been damaged to varying degrees, they are now unusable, and in fact, they will be delayed for several months because of a series of things such as returning, docking, maintenance, and sorties.

Therefore, the current situation is that the Ming and US armies are both defeated and exhausted, and it seems that the Ming Dynasty has the upper hand, but it cannot put more pressure on the United States for the time being.

By the beginning of next year, in addition to the Saratoga and Enterprise, the Radiance will definitely have been repaired, and the Hornet will also be in service, and the US military will have four aircraft carriers ready to fight.

"It's naturally best to end the battle as soon as possible, and if you can solve it quickly, you should try to work harder." Ma Mingli said.

Cheng Han, who had been silent, said lightly: "It's a bit wishful thinking." ”

At the same moment, Zhou Changfeng also complained about the same thing in his heart.

It's light to say, and it's really easy to move your mouth.

Step up your game? With hard work alone, everything will be fine, and the troubles in this world will probably disappear.

The regular meeting was of limited duration and was not intended to discuss major decisions, so the-for-tat topic was suspended after a while.

At present, the biggest problem lies in the fact that the side that supports the argument of quick victory hopes to "work harder" and take advantage of the opportunity of the biggest gap between the two sides to make a big push to seize the remaining islands of the Hawaiian archipelago and completely drive the US forces back to the mainland.

However, as commanders who had just returned from the forefront, no one knew better than Zhou Changfeng and Ouyang Zhanghua the current situation of their army, navy and air force - the navy really had no way to organize a fleet to attack in a short period of time.

The Army and Air Force were able to continue fighting, and the supplies for Kauai and Oahu were barely enough to support one or two battles to seize the island.

Zhang Xi, the right-hand attendant of the military department who came to pick up the plane two days ago, mentioned a plan -- to cobble together a fast fleet with two aircraft carriers and two combat cruisers as the core as soon as possible to support the ground forces to carry out landing operations on Lanai or Maui.

At that time, Zhou Changfeng felt that such a temporary patchwork fleet might not be enough, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the risk was too great, what if this fast fleet encountered the US Pacific Fleet?

Ouyang Zhanghua also held the same view - the US army did not dare to start a decisive battle with the main fleet of the Ming army, but such a fleet swaggered past...... It is difficult to guarantee that the US military will not be moved.

In the afternoon of the same day, Zhou Changfeng went to see the emperor and explained the current situation to her in detail.

"Your Majesty, this is my opinion, there are no suitable conditions for 'try again' now, there is nothing unwilling, just be decisive, we should directly start preparing for a long-term confrontation."

"That's true, but ......" Zhu Lingjing was silent for a few seconds, and then said softly: "Public opinion does not allow it." ”

Through the scene of Jingshi Ying Tianfu City, you can see the leopard in the tube - the lanterns are colorful, many shops begin to compete for discounts, and fireworks and firecrackers are endless all night, as if it is a New Year.

The abnormality can also be detected through the changes in the financial situation - various stocks related to the secondary industry, or the military industry, have become weak, stagnant or even negative (less volatile and gradually falling) after rising for more than a year; On the contrary, the tertiary industry has ushered in a large influx of funds in the otherwise stable market.

For example, the Hengguang Company, which was a shareholder of Zhou and is mainly engaged in the manufacture of civilian firearms, has cut two-thirds of the orders for Type 39 submachine guns and ninety percent for Type 35 pistols.

All kinds of signs show that the people of Daming and some officials are full of confidence in the quick victory argument, and the market sentiment is highly optimistic.

"Uh......" Zhou Changfeng hesitated for a long time and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the plan of the old man of the Emperor?" ”

Zhu Lingjing, who was expressionless, said indifferently: "Father thinks that it is a good try, and it does not matter whether it is successful or not, and it will not affect the long-term battle in the future." ”

"I think we can discuss it again, right?"

"Not necessarily."

"This is really quite risky, Your Majesty, if you really want to fight like this, the enemy is ready to work and has made sufficient preparations, if the aircraft carrier is sunk one or two, it will be a big problem."

"Well, that's probably the only way to talk about that right now."

It can be said that the monarchs and ministers of the Ming Dynasty have drifted a little, and there have been few setbacks since the start of the war, which can be described as smooth sailing, so that some people shouted out the "one Han enemy and five Hu" in the new era.

Any decision inevitably involves taking risks, and this reason is very simple, and Zhu Shiyan weighed it and decided that it was worthwhile to try to continue to exert pressure to promote talks.

The benefits of a quick victory in advance peace talks were too tempting, which meant that the Ming would not have to drag themselves into the quagmire of a protracted war to end the confrontation with the world's largest industrial nation early, identify vested interests, and concentrate on consolidating the South Seas region while only dealing with the empire on which the sun never sets.

However, Zhu Lingjing did not agree with her father's idea in her heart, her style of behavior has always been more radical, and this time she was a little rebellious in her heart.

As the pros and cons of Korea and China were at loggerheads, the Emperor's opinion naturally became a weight to break the deadlock, and it became inevitable to launch an attack to seize the rest of Hawaii's islands.

Even so, Zhou Changfeng hopes to reduce the risk as much as possible.

He and Zhu Lingjing had an in-depth discussion of various mistakes and possible responses of the enemy, and finally came to the conclusion that they should not bring aircraft carriers at all.

"The emperor shouldn't be clear about the specific deployment, Your Majesty, let's not reject it bluntly, and find a way to change the attack sequence of the governor when the meeting is discussed."

"Yes, if it doesn't work, I'll explain it to my father again."

The most extreme and worst situation is nothing more than that this landing fleet is hit by the main force of the US Pacific Fleet and then hit hard by the double blow of sea and air firepower, so why let the precious aircraft carrier take this risk?

Even if two battlecruisers were unfortunately sunk, the cost would be better than the loss of two fleet carriers.

Of course, this is just Zhou's opinion, in fact, a high-speed capital ship such as a battle cruiser is also crucial.

In particular, the heavy cruisers of the Ming Navy are too few, it is difficult to suppress the heavy cruisers of a large number of American troops, Yongyuan and Yuanxing, the two battle cruisers undertake key outpost tasks, and their status is quite high.

In view of the decision-making of the future situation, in order to better exchange opinions and discuss strategies, Zhu Lingjing decided to convene a meeting of the imperial court to settle the current dispute situation at one time.

The heavens are not beautiful, and this day happened to be lightning and thunder, and torrential rain poured, but it could not extinguish the hot emotions of the civil and military ministers.

The meeting had the atmosphere of a debate competition, and it didn't take long for the two sides to almost evolve from arguing to arguing.

This is also the most interesting place for Zhou Changfeng - above the court hall is a "scene of living dragons and tigers, this Wenhua Hall is a bit like a vegetable market."

"Waging war with the United States on the oceans to suppress interests, expecting them to take the initiative to make peace because the losses at hand are too great? With all due respect, this is really wishful thinking. ”

"Hehe, that's why we should chase down the remnants of the enemy and shock the enemy."

"The foundation of beauty has not been damaged in the slightest, all losses are just appearances, so why is it difficult to replenish soldiers and weapons?"

"Yes, the United States has a lot of people, and there are many people in the north and south of America, and if there is a need, the South American population can also be used. Weapons and equipment are not worth mentioning, the production is endless and endless, and the losses are only a drop in the bucket. ”

"So what? It is not easy to build large warships, and it will take two or three years at every turn, and the navy will suffer heavy losses, and everything will be in vain. ”

"But the enemy is not stupid or stupid, and before more ships are built and put into service, he will use procrastination to maintain three or four aircraft carriers that are enough to contain the offensive of our DPRK."

"So it's imperative to clean up Hawaii once and for all!" Liang Yuexi, the commander of the Army Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, clenched his fist and waved, "Regardless of whether the peace talks are negotiated or not, holding Hawaii is confident, and this is the foundation of an invincible position." ”

Lin Xi smiled slightly, and said lightly: "After occupying and consolidating Hawaii, our country's advantage will be great, no matter what, the enemy army will not be able to bypass Hawaii to launch an attack on any island in the rear and block the Americans at their doorstep." ”

"Is Elder Lin Ge going to say 'sit back and relax' next?" Ouyang Zhanghua turned his head to look at the map hanging on the wall not far away, and said calmly: "It is entirely possible to start from Aleutian, take the North Pacific route, and make a detour to raid Midway. ”

The Ming army did not capture the Aleutian Islands, but since the beginning of the war, submarines have been going to Holland Harbor to carry out offensive mine-laying missions, thus limiting the activities of the US military in the Aleutian Islands.

After being sunk and damaged by the bombing, the Americans also learned to be obedient, and the anti-submarine measures were improved day by day, resulting in the Ming army losing several submarines in succession, and it was difficult to penetrate into the harbor area and lay mines near the channel as before.

Theoretically, the U.S. military could deploy a small task force to Holland Harbor to raid Midway via the North Pacific route, cutting off the Ming army's fragile logistics line in one fell swoop.

The focus of the discussion at the Imperial Council gradually shifted to "what kind of fleet should be deployed to support the ground forces in the battle to seize the island."

As expected, the Navy Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office came up with the previous draft plan, that is, a fast fleet with two aircraft carriers and two combat cruisers as the core, and improved the corresponding subordinate ships.

Zhou Changfeng suddenly spoke, waved his hand and said: "Wait, why do you have to bring two aircraft carriers to fight in the archipelago area?" Five or six airfields on Oahu can provide enough air force, but I don't think it's necessary, and bringing it with you will only increase the risk. ”

"Uh......" The naval officer hesitated for a moment, and explained, "This is because it is better to have one or two aircraft carriers lying in ambush in the open sea to be on standby, considering the possible counterattack of the enemy fleet." If the enemy fleet is flawed, there can be a windfall. ”

"It's too greedy, and the abacus is too full." Ouyang Zhanghua also followed Zhou and vetoed, "The original intention of this battle is to seize the island, if the enemy fleet comes to attack, it can be repelled by shore-based aircraft." ”

Someone muttered: "Aircraft carriers and battle cruisers are fast, so you don't have to worry......"

Zhou Changfeng glanced at the people in front of him and said seriously: "You can't be irresponsible, this is an unnecessary risk." ”

Before the others could react, an officer of the Navy Administration of the Ministry of War, who was active, spoke, and snatched what Ouyang Zhanghua wanted to say, "In this way, the two ships of Yongyuan and Yuanxing do not need to fight, and there is no need for fast ships, the ships of Zhenguan and Yonghui are in good condition, and they are very suitable." ”

Zhu Lingjing, who was at the front, seemed to have nothing to do as always, and kept playing with the exquisite folding fan.

But she also suddenly said at this time: "Okay, since it is to capture the adjacent island, it is a bit overkill to send aircraft carriers and battle patrols, and the draft strategy has been changed." ”

Several generals of the Governor's Mansion and the Navy Department present wanted to say that they would go back to ask Xia Jinbo Song Zhongkai, but now after all, it was the Imperial Council, so they could only respond first.

At the end of the year, there is no small risk of a follow-up battle to seize the island, and there are US military planes stationed on Lanai, Maui, and Oshima, and the US military will certainly do everything possible to replenish the past by transporting planes in every possible way during this period.

In addition, according to known information, in addition to the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier No. 3 ship Hornet, two North Carolina-class battleships are also about to be completed, and the estimated completion date of the North Carolina and the Washington is only half a month apart.

This class of battleship is the first high-speed battleship built in the United States, but limited by the naval treaty, the standard displacement is limited to 35,000 tons, the overall performance is limited, the protection ability is relatively weak, but the firepower is particularly eye-catching, using 3 triple 406mm main guns, the front two and one rear layout, the power configuration can output 120,000 horsepower, the maximum speed can reach 27 knots.

[Picture]

The second ship in history, the USS Washington, is the most decorated U.S. battleship, with a total of thirteen battle stars, most famously the sinking of the battleship Kirishima in the night during the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea.

For the current Ming army, it is very likely that they will encounter the enemy's cutting-edge warships in the battle at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, and their own officers and men are also flooded with the unfavorable atmosphere of pride and underestimation of the enemy.

If you have to fight hard, just try to control the risk and loss as much as possible.

Zhou Changfeng reluctantly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now that a few months had passed, he should inspect and follow up on the progress of the nuclear program.

(End of chapter)