"Your Majesty, the minister has only been back for more than half a month, and I really don't want to go far away."

Realizing that he had been sold by the Ministry of War without knowing it, Zhou Changfeng was very unhappy, so he made a special trip to the palace to complain to the emperor.

"Oh?" Zhu Lingjing smiled slightly and teased: "You are also in love with your family now?" ”

"No way." Zhou Changfeng said helplessly: "It's been a year and a half since the beginning of last year, and most of the time I've been overseas. ”

Since the declaration of war on Britain in February of the 39th year of Zhichang, as of August of the 40th year not long ago, the Marine Corps has been the vanguard of the Ming Dynasty's southern expedition to the east, and it has hardly stopped.

Among them, the 1st Marine Brigade is the most elite fist unit, and Zhou, as the chief officer, has no time to rest.

"That's what the military department thinks," Zhu Lingjing still had a smile on the corner of her mouth, "The leader of the inspection group must first be strong in theory, and he must be in battle with real swords and guns, rather than talking about soldiers on paper. ”

Zhou Changfeng, who was reluctant, continued to excuse himself, "There are many such people in the army of millions, such as ......"

Before she finished speaking, Zhu Lingjing interrupted, "You have to be famous and able to convince the public." ”

Then she added meaningfully: "And you have an advantage that no one can match, and don't forget that you have dealt with the Germans." ”

"......" Zhou Changfeng was speechless.

He was silent for ten seconds before he reluctantly said: "Your Majesty, the British hate me to the core, it's like a thorn in the flesh, and there will be danger in the past." ”

"In that case, the captured British generals will return to the island in small boxes." Zhu Lingjing said lightly.

British generals captured in Singapore included Air Force Lieutenant General Arthur Ted and others, and later the Ming army captured several British generals in two campaigns in Burma.

Following traditional Chinese customs, they were all entertained with good food and drink, and only occasionally they were dragged through the streets in a car to arouse the enthusiasm of the people like exhibits to raise war bonds.

"It is too despicable to murder the general of the enemy country, and the British will probably not do this." Su Yiyi on the side whispered.

"Su Gongzheng, other countries may not be able to do it, but the British ......" Zhou Changfeng covered his forehead and said helplessly: "I'm afraid I really dare to do it." ”

"There will be an entourage to escort you, which is much more secure than if you were on the front line leading the troops to fight." Zhu Lingjing said.

But she also thinks it's not good, it's too impersonal.

People did lead the army to fight thousands of miles and made outstanding achievements, and not long after the class had to go to a foreign land, it seemed that the court and themselves were extremely mean.

"Whatever you want, don't force it." Zhu Lingjing stroked the snow-white long hair of the lion cat on the royal case, and said leisurely: "That's good, I allow you to take your wife with you, and you should have fun." ”

"Uh......" Zhou Changfeng hesitated, "Okay, thank you, Your Majesty, but I still want to discuss it with Madame again." ”

"Go ahead."

"The minister retired."

Zhou Changfeng bowed, took two steps back, and turned to leave the Zhaoren Palace.

When he left, Su Yiyi asked with some puzzlement: "Your Majesty, will Zhou Beizhao agree to go?" ”

Zhu Lingjing, who was smiling, raised her eyes and looked out the window, and said in a relaxed tone: "He, he will definitely be." ”

Zhou Changfeng was indeed worried about the risk of going to Europe, although it was within the influence of the Germans, but after all, it was not as safe as it was on his own soil.

It can be said that he has been on a par with the British since he first crossed over for a few days, and as of today, he has already offended the empire on which the sun never sets.

Zhou Changfeng was extremely distrustful of the British manners, and he felt that as long as he led the expedition to Europe, these Anglo-Saxons would definitely cause trouble.

This concern is not unreasonable, because similar things have happened in history.

In 41, in order to solve the problem of hating the henchmen, the British army organized a commando team to infiltrate the rear of the German line, intending to attack the German headquarters and kill Erwin Rommel. However, the assault team was eventually wiped out, and only two escaped by chance.

Erwin Rommel then humorously mocked the British - how could I command troops at the rear command of two hundred miles like the British?

And that wasn't the end of it, as the British planned another airborne operation in 44 years with the intention of kidnapping or killing Erwin Rommel.

After returning to the duty room, Zhou Changfeng complained to Luo Fu about the bitter water.

"There are a lot of reliable people in the Governor's Office, why do you have to let me go?"

"It's a lot, but there are really few that are suitable to take the lead."

"It's estimated that it will take a few more months to make this trip."

"I can't say, I haven't even decided whether to go by land or not."

If you choose to take the train, there is no problem in the Siberian region, tens of thousands of Ming troops have already been stationed, and the Siberian Defense Committee, which is hugging its thighs, is quite compliant.

However, further west, the troops (red) and the National Republican Army were constantly fighting, and the local armed forces were often attacking each other, and the battle lines were disorganized.

Therefore, the Trans-Siberian Railway has been affected by the war, intermittently, and does not have the conditions for normal passage for the time being.

It was even more impossible to take the sea route, as the Indous Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal were all under British control, and although diplomats from belligerent countries were allowed to pass after inspection, members of military expeditions were not allowed to do so.

Unless you take a very high risk on a submarine, it's obviously not.

The most feasible is to take a plane from the western part of the Ming Dynasty, pass through Uzbekistan and other Central Asian regions, fly over the Caspian Sea and land in Baku, which is controlled by the German Society.

After thinking about it, Zhou Changfeng said without thinking: "It's better to take a plane, it's fast and safe." ”

"This is naturally the best policy, the Western Regions are in chaos now, and the big and small forces are fighting happily."

"Is there a suitable airliner? More than 5,000 miles. ”

Luo Fu thought for a while and muttered: "I'm afraid I can only rely on big planes, Zhongsheng Company's Youyun Six Style." ”

The direct flight range from Ili Province to Baku is about 2,730 km, and a certain amount of redundancy must be set aside due to the possibility of unexpected situations, so neither the 35 transport aircraft nor the Youyun 2 passenger aircraft can undertake this task.

As a result, the burden fell on the only mass-produced four-engine passenger plane of Daming.

In the 37th year of Zhichang, Zhongsheng tried to buy a production license for the DC-4 four-engine airliner from Douglas, but the federal government was cross-fertilized, and the purchase plan was ultimately deflated.

The following year, the Ministry of War secretly instructed Yongchang Airlines to buy Boeing 307 passenger planes from Boeing, claiming that it would be used to open up new cross-border routes, but it still failed.

It was not until after the declaration of war between the United States and the United States that the Ming Dynasty detained a Boeing 307 passenger plane of TWA Airlines, which had just completed its passenger mission from Seattle to Honolulu to Shanghai.

With the help of this aircraft and the wreckage of the B-17 heavy bomber collected in Manila, Zhongsheng Aircraft Company quickly began to modify and upgrade the existing program.

Zhongsheng began the research and development project of four-engine large aircraft in the 35th year of Zhichang, and many people in the Ming Air Force at that time supported the effectiveness of strategic bombing, so they put forward a plan to "bomb bombers that can bomb the elite industrial areas in the hinterland of Tsarist Russia".

However, with the civil strife in Tsarist Russia the year before last, the project lost its funding, and Zhongsheng was unwilling to give up, so it changed it to a civilian airliner and continued to develop it at its own expense.

The prototype made its maiden flight in October last year, and although it was safely lifted off and landed, it exposed a number of problems and did not meet design expectations.

While perfecting the defects, Zhongsheng Company combined the detained Boeing 307 passenger plane and the collected B-17 bomber wreckage, added auxiliary power units, fly-by-wire control systems, pressurized cabins and other new technologies, and succeeded after half a year.

However, because the cost was too high, the purchase price reached 410,000 yen, which was six times that of the Type 37 carrier-based destroyer, so the actual production model eliminated the fly-by-wire control system to improve reliability and reduce costs.

As of September, only 11 Youyun 6 had been built — still too expensive for major airlines.

“…… I've been on this plane once, it's very comfortable, there is a galley for cooking, and there is a projector in the cabin for movies. Luo Fu introduced.

Zhou Changfeng said with a smile: "Let's change it back to a bomber, it's a pity that this thing is not used to bomb people." ”

"A small number of planes are useless, and more than they can be tossed." Luo Fu, who looked helpless, covered his forehead and said: "It costs more than 9,000 liters to fill up the fuel, which is nine times that of an ordinary destroyer." ”

Large-scale strategic bombing is so costly that virtually no country but the United States can afford to play it – both to have enough capacity to build the aircraft themselves and enough fuel to consume them.

The Daming Air Force has already made a conclusion on this, and those who support strategic bombing have long since stopped squeaking.

"It may be a bit alarmist, there is no need to scare yourself." Zhou Changfeng pondered for a moment and muttered: "Thousands of planes are indeed delusional, but the scale of hundreds of planes is completely affordable. ”

"It's easy to say, whether the Air Force agrees with it or not, you have to pass the Advisory Yuan first."

"A bunch of fools! You must be deflated before you are in a hurry to find a way. ”

"Ahem," Luo Fu, who was covered in black lines, coughed dryly, "You can't be angry." ”

Subsequently, Zhou Changfeng rummaged through the closet on the side for a long time, and finally found a copy of the report submitted by Zhongsheng Company two months ago in one of the cells.

The purpose of this report is to boast about the results to the Air Force, or to peddle goods, which is quite suspicious of Wang Po selling melons.

The report claims that the Youyun-6 passenger aircraft can be used as a bomber with only a few modifications, with a maximum take-off weight of 30,500kg, a maximum range of 4,800km, and a maximum bomb load of 3,000kg; The purchase price for small quantities is about 420,000 yen, and the purchase price for large quantities is about 370,000 yen.

If true, then this heavy bomber does have a certain appeal.

Although the Ming Army lost interest in Australia, it was only temporary, and the Ming monarchs still planned to pocket this independent continent rich in mineral resources.

Until then, Australia should be isolated, besieged, and weakened by all means.

Australia's industry is already weak, basically concentrated in the three major cities of Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney in the southeast, and strategic bombing of it is one of the feasible means of weakening.

After returning home in the evening, Zhou Changfeng told his wife what happened.

“…… But the emperor also said that you can also go together, just as a tour. ”

After speaking, he spread his hands again and said: "To put it lightly, in fact, how can you have the heart to play." ”

Xia Xiaoshi hesitated: "Let you go, it should be a very important thing, right?" ”

"Heh, at best, it's more important." Zhou Changfeng, who was quite depressed, held his daughter high and complained: "They really make people call, and I should be able to be selected as a model worker in the future." ”

After struggling for a moment, Xia Xiaoshi bowed her head and said, "Anyway, I can be together, so let's go!" ”

The next day.

In the morning, the bicycle trend of office workers in the capital had just dissipated, and the officer car in which Zhou was riding went straight to the military headquarters along Chongli Avenue.

Outside the military headquarters, the officers and men of the Third Battalion of the Praetorian Guards Mixed Brigade were standing guard on duty, and when they saw the old commander driving over, the lead warrant officer greeted him excitedly and gave a chest salute at the same time.

While waiting for the barrier to be raised, Zhou Changfeng caught a glimpse of the officer wearing the Order of Qili, and asked, "Which battle was wounded?" ”

"Thirty-six years of Wu Sizang!" The warrant officer replied loudly: "The lowly rank is from the third battalion, and he has just been promoted to corporal at that time. ”

"Yes, good job."

"Yes!"

The barrier was raised, the car drove into the government office, and several officials happened to come downstairs to greet them.

Although he was reluctant, Zhou Changfeng thought about it after an in-depth exchange with his wife last night, this time he went to Germany and France to be treated differently, and he should be able to meet many historical celebrities, and if he has the opportunity, he can even go to his hometown in Spain to revisit, and in general, it is not a loss.

The foreign mission and the military inspection mission, with a tentative number of 41 people, flew to Baku first on two Youyun-6 passenger planes, then refueled in Kiev and finally headed for Berlin.

In this era, the air alert was still very primitive, and the number of radars was small, the detection range was short, and the reaction time was long, so it was easy to be exploited.

In forty-two years, an Italian long-range bomber did such a bold operation - crossing the Crimean peninsula and southern Russia, and finally flew to Japan, which was done in a wartime state.

"It's really troublesome, think about it, only you are the most suitable, I'll pay for it." Zhang Xi, the right attendant of the military department, said with a smile.

"Serving the country, what is it?" Zhou Changfeng said casually, and then asked, "Are the specific rules listed?" Especially those projects that require technology. ”

"The draft has been revised and revised a few times, and I will wait for the edict to take a look at it and see if there are any additions."

Because of a series of brilliant victories since the start of the war, the enthusiasm of the proud and self-respecting upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty for cutting-edge military technology has faded somewhat, and the military inspection group has a rather "casual stroll" meaning, and the highlight of this time is actually in politics, diplomacy, and economics.

The mission of the foreign mission is very simple, that is, "to discuss major matters together", but when it is refined, it is even more complicated, from the division of spheres of influence to military cooperation, from economic and trade exchanges to population migration.

"The Germans have been very interested in aircraft carriers lately, and they can bargain well." Zhang Xi suddenly thought of something, "Oh, there is also experience in beach-grabbing and landing tactics, this is even more of a good trick for you." ”

(End of chapter)

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