afterglow

Chapter 449 Good news arrives in Beijing; the difference between politics and military affairs

The last day of mid-December.

According to the lunar calendar, this is the tenth day of winter. Although the imperial capital is bathed in sunshine at noon, the heat brought by the sun in the middle of winter makes people unable to feel the warmth.

Instead, good news came back from half a world away. News and a series of photos replaced part of the sun's role in illuminating people's hearts.

The government and the public were in high spirits, cheers and cheers could be heard everywhere, and the jubilant atmosphere lingered in the streets of Yingtianfu, and naturally spread into the deep Forbidden City.

"Cheng Han, the general manager of the General Staff Office of the Governor's Office, telegraphed the story of our army's capture of Mocheng.

"According to the telegram forwarded by the Divisional Supervisor of the Australian Corps, the 13th Division, the 1st Marine Brigade, and the 1st Section of the 37th Division have captured Mocheng this morning after ten days of fierce fighting...

Since the large-scale landing on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, our King's Division fought fiercely with the enemy defenders for ten days and nine nights, killing and wounding more than 6,700 enemy troops, destroying 14 tanks, shooting down seven enemy planes, and capturing 5,200 enemy soldiers alive. The rest...

The enemy's tenacity in this battle was not inferior to that of the Battle of Darwin. Our soldiers fought bravely and hard, fought steadily, and fought with the enemy for many days. Among them, the offensive and defensive battle on the 165th Highland was particularly fierce...

Both the enemy and us advanced in succession, with artillery fire covering the sky and the sun. Tens of thousands of bombs were dropped in total, and the small hills were smashed into powder. Our army lost more than a thousand soldiers here, and the enemy also fought to the death and refused to retreat...

After a fierce battle until yesterday, all three lines of defense were broken by our army. The enemy suffered numerous casualties and casualties. The situation was over, so they took turns retreating, trying to escape unscathed. Our officers and soldiers pursued the pursuit enthusiastically, but only a few remnants of the enemy's troops fled. The rest were all wiped out, and the details are still being counted...

The Eighth Enemy Division has now been mostly annihilated. According to the confessions of the captured prisoners, Major General Vernon, who commanded his division, was also injured by our surprise attack on the side of the division. He died of his injuries and died on the way to the rout..."

Etc. cause.

In my opinion, this is a rare victory. Moresby's success or failure is of great importance. From now on, our country will use it as a base to advance, attack, retreat and defend. The officers and men are well prepared for their bravery and strategy, so they should be greatly rewarded.

The title was written on December 20, the thirty-ninth year of Zhichang. 』

In fact, after learning that the naval battle had been won and the US military's intention to intercept the Ming army's landing fleet was shattered, the Ming emperors and ministers had already regarded Moresby as their own.

With both the sea and the air in ruins, what ability did the defenders have to resist the Ming army's landing force? It's only a matter of time before the entire army is wiped out.

Today is just a predictably good day.

The emperor was in a good mood, and the ministers in the court were equally encouraged.

At the regular cabinet meeting, cabinet ministers also discussed the distant war.

"Do the frontline troops need some rest? Now is probably a good time to pursue the victory."

"It has not yet been decided whether we will land on the Australian mainland or not, and we are afraid of getting into a long tug-of-war."

"Are you afraid? It's obviously for sure."

"It's not a bad idea to launch a massive attack now. The enemy navy in the Southwest Pacific only has two or three kittens, and they can block the enemy with their own strength." Li Guangyuan said confidently.

Although he is in charge of financial affairs, he is also very concerned about Ming's strategic issues and has always paid close attention to them.

Lin Xi, who was opposite him, nodded slightly, "Yes, the navy is also considering an attack now. It would be great if this could force the enemy's Pacific Fleet to attack."

Destroying enemy field forces, occupying strategic locations, and destroying the enemy's ability to recover are all equally important.

Applying it to the Pacific War, in which sea and air combat is the main mode, is to destroy the US military fleet - among which the aircraft carrier task force is the top priority.

In addition, they captured transit bases such as Guam, Midway, Truk, and Hawaii, and destroyed shipyards such as Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York.

Obviously, Ming Dynasty cannot threaten the mainland of the United States for the time being, so it must first make a fuss about the first two.

The Ming Navy currently has two plans. One is to take the initiative and approach Wake Island, seeking a decisive battle with the Pacific Fleet to break the current balance.

The second is to continue the strategy of siege and reinforcements in Australia, and send troops to Australia to force the U.S. Pacific Fleet to go south. In this way, the Ming fleet can take the initiative, and can not only attack the U.S. fleet, but also take the opportunity to seize Wake Island and Midway Island.

However, strategic differences have now emerged. The Ming Air Force believes that it is unwise to invest war resources in Australia, and the Army also holds the same view.

The Battle of Darwin and the Battle of Moresby have proven many issues——

The Australians' attitude of resistance is too tough. The exchange ratio of traveling thousands of miles away to their homeland is ugly. Moreover, the development cycle of Australia's large iron mines is too long and they cannot feed back the Ming Dynasty in a short time.

The cost is high and the benefits are small, this is not a good deal.

The Army is already a little impatient. The two elite standing army infantry divisions have suffered heavy losses. I am afraid that several more divisions will have to be reimbursed when they land on the mainland in the future, and they will be caught in a continuous tug-of-war.

The Ming Dynasty Army tends to reduce its troop investment in the Southwest Pacific region and invest resources in the direction of the South Asian subcontinent.

The combat effectiveness of the British and Indian troops is far inferior to that of the Australian army, and the resources of India and India are not only abundant but also readily available, which is not too tempting.

Wheat, rice, tea, sugar, rapeseed oil, leather, cotton cloth, iron ore, manganese ore, copper ore, chromium ore... Dozens of various resources can be directly added to the running state machine of the Ming Dynasty.

Some generals were very conceited and arrogant in claiming that with only four to five divisions they could defeat the British and Indian troops who were like chickens and dogs.

The mainstream view within the Ming Dynasty Air Force is that it should be more active in fighting the United States, rather than being tied down by Australia. It will not be too late to calmly deal with Australia after annihilating the main force of the Pacific Fleet.

Nowadays, the power of the aviation force is increasing day by day, and the Ming army has an advantage in the number of aircraft carriers. How long will it take not to take the initiative to attack at this time?

Although both Tianshiyuan-class ships were damaged and under repair, there are still two aircraft carriers, two equipment carriers, and three light carriers, which can form a formidable strike force.

For comparison, the US military currently has only four aircraft carriers, the USS Saratoga, USS Yorktown, USS Enterprise, and USS Raider, as well as the USS Wasp (CV-7) light aircraft carrier that was rushed into service overtime.

Regardless of quantity or quality, they cannot compare with the Ming army.

No matter how you put it, the number of aircraft carriers is seven versus five. The advantage is mine!

Therefore, the day after the Moresby landing battle ended, a telegram from the Metropolitan Governor's Office was sent to the Ming Dynasty Navy Governor's Camp in Guam, requesting Song Zhongkai to return to Beijing as soon as possible to review future strategies.

The same order was also issued to the Australian Corps Supervisory Headquarters in Surabaya and the D-39 Detachment anchored in Moresby. Pang Lingqi and Zhou Changfeng also had to set off quickly.

The latter hurriedly boarded a plane before he could recover from malaria. After several ups and downs, he rushed back to the capital thousands of miles away from the southern hemisphere.

The window of strategic opportunity is very short, and the US military must be considering and weighing it. The Pacific Fleet may set off again at any time.

Since the terminal facilities in Moresby have not suffered much damage and will be put into use soon, it is necessary to decide whether to land in Cairns and Townsville as soon as possible. The Wenhua Hall meeting hall once again welcomed cabinet ministers and military bosses gathered together. The heater made the spacious hall warm, and many people's faces looked much rosier.

Regarding other people's opinions, Song Zhongkai still insisted on his own opinions.

"Landing in Kaicheng or Tangcheng is of great use. This is a very strong signal that the Americans cannot hold on."

The enemy must be rescued and the reinforcements must be used to attack the enemy. Now that Moresby has been captured, it is completely possible to take advantage of the situation and attack northeastern Australia.

The newly appointed army commander is Lieutenant General Liu Kekai, whose nickname is Yuezheng. He is a resolute middle-aged man and the cousin of the previous generation Lueyang Bo. He has a long-term vision but a bad temper.

Lueyang Bo was Li Laiheng's knight. When the remnants of the Shun Army were reorganized into the Loyalty Battalion, they joined forces with the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Qing Dynasty. However, it is well known that the Nanming group of fighting insects continued to have internal strife. It is a luxury to expect them to work together as one. The real resistance to the Qing Dynasty depends on my ancestors. emperor.

He said very confidently: "Unlike the isolated sieges of Darwin and Mocheng, Kaicheng and Tangcheng are connected by railways, backed by mountains, and the energy source is constantly replenished. It is quite difficult to attack them."

Song Zhongkai responded immediately: "Aircraft carriers can air raid coastal railway lines and can easily paralyze them."

"All the cities on the eastern coast of Australia are backed by the Great Dividing Range. This mountain range is not high, with an average altitude of less than 1,000 meters. Human and animal power can manage to climb over it. When attacking these two places, enemy reinforcements will inevitably continue to flow."

"No city in the world is invincible, be it Diaoyu City or Constantinople, they will eventually be captured. What's more, what we want is to exert military and political pressure to force the main force of the US fleet to move south."

Lin Xi on the side smiled and said: "Xia Jinbo, you can't say for sure. Since the Australian army is strong and can resist our army on its own, the Americans may be able to keep their composure."

The U.S. military generals are not stupid. They are unlikely to rush to dispatch the Pacific Fleet to support Australia so easily. This is just stalling for time.

The longer it takes, the worse it will be. Currently, the third Yorktown-class ship, the Hornet, has been launched and will be ready for service after a few months of installation.

Not to mention subsequent construction plans, it is said that the next generation standard fleet aircraft carrier Essex class has completed its fourth modification.

At the beginning of this month, the U.S. Congress passed the Two Oceans Navy Act, appropriating US$82 billion and planning to start construction of 18 Essex-class aircraft carriers, 5 Missouri-class battleships, 34 cruisers, 112 destroyers, 43 submarines, and auxiliary ships with a total tonnage of 10 tons.

Because the Iowa class had no advantage against the Yongle class, the Americans quickly launched the Missouri-class battleship equipped with three triple-mounted 3mm main guns and a standard displacement of 457 tons.

However, compared to the increasingly low status of battleships, a large number of Essex-class ships are more worrying.

That’s a total of eighteen ships!

"We must make a decision early, and there is no room for further delay."

Wu Weihuan basically understood the source of the disputes and conflicts between the army, navy and air force, but because the landing operation on the Australian mainland was to a large extent what the emperor and some hawkish members of the Consultative Council wanted, he might have to bite the bullet in the end.

"What Mr. Wei Guo said is absolutely true." Song Zhongkai nodded in agreement, "With the superiority in sea and air, how could the Australian Corps' 300,000 troops not be able to capture two small cities?"

Song Zhongkai was very clear about the political needs of landing in eastern Australia. Regardless of the emperor, just talking about those good-mouthed congressmen, I don’t know how many people are eagerly waiting to take this opportunity to publicize their own ideas.

In his eyes, these people are a bunch of idiots who don't understand astronomy, geography, economics and finance, or industrial construction. Some people don't even know the price of firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Sometimes Song Zhongkai would complain in private. I really don't know why this system of elected members is progressive.

"There are 157 independent countries in the world. We have been dealing with them for many years, but the parliamentarians know nothing about them."

"Give them a map of the world and most MPs can't even find the Isle of Wight (the southern British island)."

"Can't politicians be so ignorant?"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Attacking the enemy must save it. This is naturally the correct strategy, but Australia is not the only choice.

The Ming Navy can also assume a posture of attacking Wake Island or Midway Island, both of which should be enough to stimulate the sensitive nerves of the Americans.

Song Zhongkai deliberately avoided these choices because he didn't want to get involved in these messy things.

And in the final analysis, the mission of the Ming Navy is to attack the Pacific Fleet, and the attack on Cairns and Townsville is the mission of the army, and the two are unrelated.

As long as the main force of the US fleet can be severely damaged, the heavy losses of the Ming Army are not unacceptable...or in other words, there is no need to worry about it at all.

Zhou Changfeng was in low spirits due to illness, and he flew back to Beijing overnight, so he really didn't have the energy to participate in the debate.

He watched the whole process silently, but did not speak.

Zhu Lingjing had discussed this matter with him before. It was not militarily appropriate to land in Australia now, and there were definitely better options.

Insisting on attacking Australia with an unwise choice is purely for political purposes.

The current situation is that although the people of Ming Dynasty support the war and happily enjoy the fruits of the war, they are not willing to bear the negative impact of mobilization.

The adjusted and revised rationing system has now been implemented. Even though officials believe that this has been a huge concession, public opposition is still rising one after another.

The Foreign Intelligence Agency also keenly captured some gossip - certain factions seemed to be planning to use this to stir up public dissatisfaction and carry out anti-war propaganda.

Zhu Lingjing and many politicians were extremely anxious about this. Although the Ming Dynasty had achieved a brilliant victory militarily, the possibility of a quick victory was slim, and a long and protracted war would test the country's overall mobilization level.

From this perspective, the Ming Dynasty needed a difficult and cruel tug-of-war to inspire the people's fighting spirit and unwillingness to admit defeat, and the court also needed such reasons to legitimately increase the level of mobilization and implement the rationing system.

"Alas..." Zhou Changfeng, who was feeling a little heavy, sighed after leaving Wenhua Hall.

He couldn't help feeling that it was too difficult for a country to unite as one and be monolithic. No matter when someone was holding back, it was really hard work to govern the Ming Dynasty.

However, there is some good news today that makes people feel comfortable.

According to reports, the expeditionary force, or intervention force, sent to Siberia has crossed the Ural Mountains and will soon arrive at the city of Izhevsk. Countless machines and equipment seem to be waving to greet them.

Rob! Grab his motherfucker!

(End of this chapter)