afterglow

Chapter 435: Born in sorrow and died in happiness; Suspension of strategy for Australia?
  "That's it." Zhu Lingjing didn't seem surprised and said calmly: "The mobilization plan was drafted before the war. However, since the good news has been coming this month, the DPRK and China have not been in a hurry to submit it to the Consultative Council for a vote."

faint! Once we have won the battle together, we will postpone mobilization.

Zhou Changfeng, who was speechless, covered his forehead and said: "Your Majesty, how can this be done? If we wait until the war gets serious before we start mobilizing, it will probably be too late."

He thought for a while and then added: "The rationing system will be implemented in the United States. We must mobilize as early as possible, faster and more thoroughly."

This is the fact. Even the wealthy United States, which has unique advantages, still lived a careful life during the war.

Historically, in early [-], with the passage of the Emergency Price Control Act, the Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established, and soon more than [-] branches were established across the United States.

The Price Management Office distributes material ration books to almost every citizen, with a coverage rate of more than 91%. Each month, the ration book can allocate 48 blue discs and 64 red discs. These round plastic discs are shopping vouchers.

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

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In the middle of the war, there were 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 material ration book clearly warns that violations of ration regulations may be punished by a fine of US$10000 and 10 years in prison. This is undoubtedly an extremely serious punishment.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also encourages people to grow agricultural products in their own yards and community gardens. These small farmlands are called victory gardens. As of [-], more than [-] million victory gardens have emerged across the United States.

Because these vegetables produced using unnecessary farmland 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 that has become popular all over the world in the past two years, because of its considerable strength, it is very used in the production of parachutes, ropes and other military supplies.

Therefore, after DuPont switched to wartime production, it greatly reduced the production of silk stockings and almost came to a standstill. The price of nylon stockings on the market has soared dozens of times, and black market transactions have surged.

As a major automobile and oil-producing country, the United States' annual crude oil production reaches a terrifying [-] million tons - more than other countries combined. However, strict controls are still implemented, and ordinary people are only allowed to fill up a few gallons a week. of gasoline, and it is also prohibited to buy new tires, only repair them.

If the United States is like this, how can the Ming Dynasty be lenient and indulgent?
  "Why are you so anxious?" Zhu Lingjing stretched out her finger and shook it, "How many years has it been since the country has faced a major battle? Two or three generations. Successful news comes one after another, but suddenly there is legislation to control goods? The people cannot accept it."

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

What's more, in the world view of ordinary people, war is a matter for the court, so 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 when they are victorious and have good news. Is the so-called victory a lie?
  Previously, the government levied aluminum rates to restrict the sale and purchase of aluminum products, but this did not cause much repercussions because iron products could be substituted.

But if you want to ration sugar, meat, cloth and other things that are closely related to life, then you will definitely be filled with resentment.

Oh shit! It's not about defending the country. Foreign wars are meant to make life more comfortable, but instead 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 Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture in the south and north. As a result, it attracted complaints and complaints in turn.

After the news was revealed, a large number of citizens rushed to buy goods. Long queues formed in front of various shops. Many speculators also took action after hearing the news, which almost disrupted the market order.

This is the direct reason why the imperial court decided to suspend the implementation of the rationing system.

Zhou Changfeng was traveling to Surabaya on the Suzaku with the [-]st Marine Brigade at that time. He was concentrating on the enemy's movements and naturally had no time to pay attention to domestic affairs.

After listening to Zhu Lingjing's words, he gave a helpless "tsk" and sighed: "What is this called? 'If you are invincible against foreign patients, the country will perish, and then you will live in sorrow and die in peace and happiness'."

"It's not easy for anyone involved in state affairs."

"It's difficult, Your Majesty. It seems we can only proceed step by step."

"That's exactly it." As she said that, Zhu Lingjing pointed to a question book on the corner of the royal desk.

Zhou Changfeng reached out and picked it up and started to read it.

First, the imperial court should set up a temporary organization to coordinate the planning and management of wartime market regulation and rationing. This committee was called the "Economic and Strategic Regulation Committee."

Secondly, targeted propaganda work must begin as soon as possible to make the public realize that the war is closely related to everyone, and no one will be left out of the overall war.

Then, a rationing system was implemented in major state capitals. The first batch of commodities included in the purchase of tickets were sugar, meat, fuel, matches, gas, silk cloth, and chemical fiber.

Commodities such as cooking oil, rice, flour, charcoal, cigarettes, etc. were included in the category of tax increases - they were not controlled for the time being, but prices were increased. From this, new terms such as oil rates, rice rates, charcoal rates, etc. emerged.

As the war progresses, these goods that are currently only subject to increased taxes will gradually become ticket-based purchases in the future.

This step-by-step approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach from the beginning will make it easier for the public to accept it psychologically.

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

Not bad, not bad, this is what a total war looks like.

"Huh, good thing." Zhou Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief, "The war between the great powers will definitely not end easily. There is still a long way to go."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. You came back to report on your work, so tell me to listen to it."

"Yes."

Although Zhu Lingjing knows that she is just taking advantage of the times, the smooth progress of the Ming Dynasty's series of wars still makes people overjoyed. It would be a lie to say that she is not proud.

Ming Dynasty is invincible!

"...The initial battle situation during the outer field battle was relatively optimistic. The [-]th Division, with the strong naval and air fire support of our army, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy's [-]th Division. The Australian army performed very tenaciously, but also suffered a large number of casualties. At this stage , the exchange ratio is more than three to one.”

"...In the urban warfare stage, due to the severe restrictions of complex terrain, the gap between the enemy and ourselves has been greatly narrowed. Our naval and air firepower advantages have been significantly reduced. At this time, the exchange ratio has been reduced to less than two to one."

"...Ding Yiping's view is that if there is no fleet, sea and air superiority, and only the field artillery brigade and some tank troops are strengthened, he can still be sure to repel an Australian division under a field offensive, but the exchange ratio can only be achieved One-on-one. I basically agree with this view.”

The Commonwealth army had a larger infantry division than the Ming army, and the defenders had the advantage of preset positions, and the Australian army was particularly tenacious, so Zhou Changfeng actually felt that Ding Yiping's view was a little overly optimistic. Zhu Lingjing, who was thoughtful, put her index finger on her cheek and asked: "The Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia runs from north to south, and cities and railways are lined up along the coast. The strategy going forward is to go all the way south along the line?"

"I'm afraid not, I can probably predict what will happen next." Zhou Changfeng shook his head, "Chariots and mobile troops can complete the task of dividing and encircling them better, and can annihilate the main force of the Australian army in the field, but they still have to attack the city later. …”

He paused and then said: "Even if part of the remnant army retreats into the city, cooperating with the militia can still delay a lot of time, and the exchange ratio is not good-looking. It will probably take a year and a half to gnaw at one city after another. There is hope that it will be promoted to the front line in Sydney."

Moreover, there is a high probability that guerrillas and resistance organizations will exist in the Great Divide.

Stretching mountains, hills and woods will provide excellent concealment capabilities.

Although sparsely populated and without public support and support, the US-Australia coalition forces can maintain their existence through continuous airdrops of supplies - in history, the Russians often used small biplanes to quietly deliver supplies and weapons to the guerrillas in occupied areas.

At that time, the Ming army will still have to beware of the long and fragile railway supply line being destroyed and attacked. The further south they attack, the higher the pressure on public security and the difficulty of supply will be.

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"The military department is also fighting over it. The military department and the governor's office are competing for supplies, and the governor's office and the army are competing for strategies." Zhu Lingjing said.

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

The small Toji fell into a long silence.

Zhu Lingjing held 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, pointed at the map and muttered: "Duke Wei proposed to stop the attack on eastern Australia. I think we can capture Cairns and Townsville, and then switch to defense."

Wu Weihuan believed that such a war of attrition was inappropriate. If the Ming Dynasty was only fighting in Australia, then it would be fine. The Ming Dynasty could consume Australia, which had a population of only more than [-] million.

But the problem is that Ming Dynasty's number one opponent is the United States, and now it should concentrate resources to achieve a decisive victory against it. After that, focus on Australia.

His opinion was to hold on to Darwin, which had already been captured, and turn it into an important transit station and supply base, while continuing to capture Moresby, but then switch to strategic defense in the southwest Pacific and concentrate on strategic offensive against the United States.

The difference is that Zhu Lingjing hopes to go further and seize Cairns and Townsville after landing in northeastern Australia, and then switch to strategic defense.

She believed that this would ensure the Ming Dynasty's military presence in mainland Australia, and the capture of the two cities in the northeast would be of greater significance and influence than Darwin in the northwest.

The resulting political advantages cannot be quantified, but they are certainly beneficial.

For example, the people of the country will rejoice and boost the morale of the military and civilians; while the opponent will be more frightened, the political situation will be turbulent, the Australian army will be eager to recover it, and the army generals will also have to bear greater psychological pressure and war responsibilities. The probability of mistakes will increase...and so on.

"Uh..." After hearing her thoughts, Zhou Changfeng thought for a long time and replied hesitantly: "Your Majesty, your idea is quite good, but I can't give a definite answer now. It's too complicated."

He met Zhu Lingjing's gaze and continued: "How much supplies will it cost to maintain these troops stationed in Cairns and Townsville? And they have to be transported from Moresby across the Coral Sea. The pros and cons of this must be carefully calculated. .”

Moreover, unlike Darwin, which is isolated and not even connected to other cities by road, Cairns and Townsville in the northeast can receive reinforcements from other US-Australian coalition forces.

Therefore, the Ming Air Force cannot completely occupy the air superiority; the Ming Navy also has the possibility of urgently facing the enemy fleet, and cannot guarantee to provide artillery support throughout the entire process.

If you want to capture these two cities, you must be prepared to suffer [-] casualties and lose two or three infantry divisions in combat effectiveness.

Because the troops were projected across the oceans halfway around the world, the cost of these losses can be regarded as almost three times that on the Eurasian continent.

Zhu Lingjing said "hmm", nodded and said, "It's not too late to get ready today and tomorrow, and we'll have a meeting the day after tomorrow to discuss it."

After debriefing, I feel relaxed.

After a while, Zhou Changfeng stood under the Qianqing Gate with his hands on his waist and let out a long sigh of relief before taking the shuttle bus to leave.

Returning to China is not just for a vacation. In fact, there are still many things to do.

For example, supervise the research and development and mass production of several weapons and equipment, submit experience summaries on specific tactics, etc.

Another more important thing is that there may be an inevitable naval battle next, which inevitably involves the issue of keeping secret... communication passwords.

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

How about simply changing it to a rare language, so that even if the Americans rack their brains and go through great troubles to decipher it, they still can't understand the actual meaning of the message.

However, given the natural advantages of Chinese culture and the strong integration of the Ming Dynasty over the past several hundred years, it seems that there are no small languages ​​that can be used today.

A quarter of an hour later.

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

Xia Xiaoshi, who was overjoyed, felt slightly blessed, then stretched out her hand to get closer.

The two hugged for a while, and Zhou Changfeng said with a smile: "It's so boring to notify you in advance. I don't want to give you a surprise."

After walking through the small front yard and entering the house, he casually took out a glass bottle filled with sand from his satchel.

"This is Australian sand, scooped from the beaches of Darwin."

Xia Xiaoshi was greatly 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, I must keep my word, huh?"

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

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

(End of this chapter)