afterglow

Chapter 492: It’s better to steal than to buy! Banquet of Skirts

"... All good generals in ancient times must be loyal to establish themselves, benevolent to care for the people, and wise to observe the subtleties. You are responsible for your duties, and you must obey them without neglect. Thank you."

"I accept your orders!"

The imperial edict was as lengthy as ever, but it was much better than the same polite words used by middle- and lower-level officers when they were promoted. At least there were many carefully written and connotative words in it.

"These are all solid military achievements. If you were three or five years older, you could be promoted faster." Lin Xi sighed with some regret.

There were many bigwigs participating in Zhou's promotion ceremony. Cheng Han and Lin Xi, the Chief of General Staff and the Minister of National Defense, were actually present.

"Mr. Lin Ge, this shows that the results of the battle are not brilliant enough." Zhou Changfeng held the nanmu box and joked: "If it is big enough, maybe I can be the best in the army."

Everyone present laughed together.

"As a human being, you still have to make plans for the future no matter what." Cheng Han said meaningfully.

The court and the emperor were generous and left enough room for growth. You must know that major generals in the Ming army system can be said to be rare in peacetime.

Even today during the war, there are only about forty major generals in the army, navy and air force, and some of them are in a state of idleness.

Generally speaking, a brigadier general can serve as the chief officer of a division-level force and the chief officer of a naval squadron; a major general can serve as the chief officer of a corps-level force and the chief officer of a naval main fleet.

As for the higher-level military ranks, Pang Lingqi, the commander of the Australian Corps with hundreds of thousands of troops, was also a lieutenant general, and Cheng Han, who was also the staff officer of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, was also a lieutenant general.

In addition to the promotion in military rank, Zhu Lingjing also received a glamorous-looking title - Hanchuanzi.

Since the traditional guard system was outlawed, the hereditary hundred households, thousand households, and guard commanders ceased to exist. Therefore, the male and female titles finally officially returned in the Ming Dynasty, and were no longer only used to honor the dead.

It is meaningless to single out low-level titles for evaluation. They look good or not, but they only have a higher status on the surface and can receive more salary.

An unemployed baron or viscount is completely incomparable to a position of real power - not even as good as the officials of the six departments of a government. The civil service department, the household department, the work department, etc. are all fat jobs.

Because these people are basically the dandies of Xijue, who are just waiting to die, the most everyone can do is give them some face - even the face is not given to them, but to their ancestors.

However, when a title is paired with a position of real power, it acts as a status multiplier.

There is no title for non-commissioned work, but the gold content of title for the Ming Dynasty was still high, which was much more difficult than that of the Tang and Song dynasties.

Zhu Lingjing was still torn between the two titles of "baron" and "son" at first. Baron was too low, and viscount seemed a little higher.

However, Fang Shujun reminded her not to be stingy in this regard, and there was no need to deliberately suppress her own people. Moreover, Zhou's ability is obvious to all, but no one with a discerning eye will question it.

"The situation at the moment is very good. If you work hard and eat Hawaii down, things will suddenly become brighter from now on." Lin Xi's tone was very relaxed.

After leaving the Ministry of Military Affairs building, the group walked leisurely among the official offices of the Ministry of War.

"The Americans have evacuated all the foreigners, which is quite alarming." Cheng Han on the side pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, then stretched out his index and middle fingers, "Now there are two entire divisions in Hawaii, and there is also one from Wake Island. Those who evacuated from Midway Island can be said to have gathered a huge force. To storm Oahu... our plan is to have 15,000 casualties."

"Is this the latest deduction?" Lin Xi asked, "What is the best result?"

"The best? If it goes best, it would be about ten thousand people."

"What's worse?"

Cheng Han glanced at Zhou Changfeng, who said helplessly: "If it's even closer, we won't be able to defeat him."

"Yes, it is said that the British want to borrow some aircraft carriers."

The number of troops that can be delivered at one time is limited. Even if a giant luxury cruise ship like the Suzaku is put into transportation missions, the Ming army can only deliver about 30,000 troops to Hawaii in one month.

Previously, the Ming military headquarters was very optimistic and felt that it could continue to consume and occupy Oahu in two to three months.

But now a new hidden danger has emerged - the British are very likely to lease two to three aircraft carriers to the Americans, which means that the US military can quickly piece together a usable division to relieve the siege of Hawaii.

Therefore, the Ming army must seize the time for its next expedition to Hawaii and cannot continue to fight a war of attrition leisurely.

"It seems I won't be able to catch up with this battle, hey!" Zhou Changfeng said very regretfully.

Lin Xi and Cheng Han both laughed in unison, and the latter said sternly: "The first brigade can't make it in time, but we haven't decided who will be in command yet. This battle is not a trivial matter. I might have to rely on you, General Zhou, in the end, hahaha ."

After the Battle of Guadalcanal, the 1st Marine Brigade suffered considerable losses, and now malaria and dengue fever are raging again as expected, non-combat attrition has soared, and they will have to rest for at least another month and a half.

Afterwards, the group left the Ministry of War and took a car to the Governor's Mansion.

In the No. 1 conference room of the Staff Office, several military maps covered with magnetic arrows completely displayed the situation in the three major directions of the South Asian subcontinent, Australia, and the Pacific.

As for the northwest...the local forces are full of complicated feelings about the arrival of the Ming Dynasty. Tsarist Russia is indeed not doing well, but how much better can the Ming Dynasty be?

Except for a small number of resistance organizations, most people maintained a neutral attitude. The Anxi Army and the Lingbei Army intervened smoothly in Kazakhstan and Abakan.

A senior colonel stepped forward and saluted with clasped fists, looking in high spirits.

"I'd like to give you good news. The Lingbei Army has generally inventoried its machines and equipment. There are more than 3,300 units in good condition and 5,200 units in inferior condition. They will be loaded and shipped this month!" he introduced. road.

Last year, the impetuous and hasty expedition of the Siberian Defense Forces ended in a disastrous failure. However, with the intervention of the Ming Dynasty's intervention forces, the city of arms, Izhevsk, fell without any suspense.

The vast wasteland was perfect for stalling for time. Facing the menacing Ming army and the Siberian Defense Force, the Nationalist and Republican Army fought hard for more than a month from the suburbs to the city, seizing the time to snatch away many machines.

However, this historic industrial city is not in vain. Even though it was baptized by war, the Ming army still captured considerable loot.

It’s better to buy than to build, and it’s better to steal than to buy. This sentence seems to come true?

岭北军汇总的战利品清单有1700吨优质钢材、240吨锡、110吨镍、270吨铜、6433部各种型号的机床。

There are also 4.3 Mosin-Nagant rifles, 3345 light machine guns, 1417 heavy machine guns, and 314 field guns.

According to the agreement reached between the Ming Dynasty and the Siberian Defense Council, some of the machinery and equipment among these trophies will be used to enrich the arsenal in Yekaterinburg, while the weapons and equipment will be "temporarily" kept by the Lingbei Army.

If you want to expand your army, you have to ask the Ming Dynasty for instructions, and you can only obtain weapons after getting permission.

Lieutenant General Ilya Yegorov was regarded by the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty as a guy with no ambitions but a little cleverness, and his performance was completely consistent.

He ordered the civilians captured from Izhevsk to be carefully classified. Workers were sent to factories and farmers were sent to farms. Ordinary citizens were asked to settle down and reintegrate into society as soon as possible. Military expansion was not the top priority. The most important thing was to increase industrial and agricultural production as soon as possible. . The commander-in-chief of the Lingbei Army felt that Ilya had regarded Siberia as his own kingdom and had a sense of mission that came from nowhere, so he was very concerned about industrial and agricultural construction.

"This person is not the kind of ordinary person who separatist power and rule as a king, so be careful." Lin Xi, who stood with his hands behind his hands, commented: "If you are not under control, then you have to prepare for something dignified."

"He's probably a sensible person, but he's just a little clever."

Song Zhongkai's voice came from behind, and everyone in the meeting hall turned to look over.

"Why did our Grand Governor come here today?" Cheng Han said with a smile.

"The fleet is about to set off. How can we do it without coming in person?" Song Zhongkai said as he walked to the long table, "Where is the general plan? Bring it up."

The action plan originally formulated by the General Staff Office of the Metropolitan Governor's Office was huge and complex. Every deduction would expose various unanticipated omissions, and then the problems would have to be corrected.

In this way, more water is added to the surface, and more noodles are added to the water. The whole plan is quite bloated, with an overview, items, and brief descriptions of the contents running into thousands of pages.

Of course, to put it nicely, this should be called complete and detailed.

The launch date of the operation is tentatively scheduled for late April, and the Ming Navy is also "coming out in full force."

The A-4 special agent fleet is currently in a dispersed state. Some warships have just completed maintenance in the mainland, and some warships are halfway. The fleet is expected to complete its assembly in Guam on April 20.

Next, the huge fleet will head directly to the Hawaiian Islands, during which it will rest in the waters of Midway Island.

The fleet is divided into two parts: the landing fleet and the mobile fleet. The former directly supports the landing operations of ground forces, while the latter cruises outside to maintain concealment to prevent sneak attacks by enemy aircraft carriers.

The ground forces participating in the landing operations were the 3rd Marine Brigade, the 4th Marine Brigade, the 17th Army Infantry Division, the 2nd Army Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, the 1st Army Attack Tank Battalion, and the 1st Army Tank Brigade and 1st Battalion, with a total strength of 40,000, and 1 tank. More than a hundred vehicles.

However, due to the limited number of high-speed troop carriers, the first echelons accompanying the main fleet are only the 3rd Marine Brigade and the 4th Marine Brigade and 7th Regiment.

The remaining troops will be on standby in Guam and Saipan. They will depart later and are expected to arrive five to six days after the main fleet arrives in Hawaii.

"The Saratoga was damaged by our army in the Battle of Tarawa last time, but it must have been repaired now. Together with the Enterprise, the biggest threat to our army's attack on Hawaii is the two." Lin Xi stretched out his index finger and said heavily The ground clicked on the map.

"Destroying an enemy ship is easy, but how do you find an enemy ship?" Song Zhongkai said calmly with an expressionless face: "This is the hardest and most difficult thing, and the second is to ensure that it can be tracked."

Zhou Changfeng suddenly interrupted: "Xia Jinbo, I heard that Senior Ouyang is thinking about new tactics recently?"

"Yes, he has been staying behind closed doors these days. He stays at the Navy Department with a few staff all day long to conduct deductions. He is unshaven and has no image at all as a dignified lieutenant general."

How could a handsome and kind-hearted middle-aged man like Ouyang Zhanghua be so slovenly and sleepless?

After thinking about it for a moment, Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

"Are you trying to achieve enlightenment?" Cheng Han smiled slightly and said, "Let's see what we can learn from this time."

In view of the characteristics of "difficulty to track the enemy and easy to destroy the enemy" under today's technical conditions, Ouyang Zhanghua decided to try new aircraft carrier tactics.

Armored aircraft carriers with strong survivability are concentrated on the front line, and ordinary aircraft carriers are scattered on the second line. Once the armored aircraft carrier is discovered, it can attract enemy air attacks, while ordinary aircraft carriers in a formation of one or two can hide in the deep sea, ensuring that they will remain permanently. There are back-up tactics that can kill enemy aircraft carriers.

In addition, some staff members came up with more interesting ideas——

As a frontline transit airport, the armored aircraft carrier only carries carrier-based destroyers to protect itself. All attack power is provided by the ordinary aircraft carriers at the rear.

The carrier-based aircraft formation landed on the armored aircraft carrier to resupply, and then took off to attack the target.

In this way, fragile ordinary aircraft carriers can cruise outside the strike radius of enemy aircraft carriers, ensuring absolute safety.

This tactic is called: shuttle bombing!

This looks great, but its shortcomings are also obvious - how to ensure effectiveness? How to coordinate carrier-based aircraft formations?

It takes an hour or more for the fleet to fly from an ordinary aircraft carrier to an armored aircraft carrier, and then it takes another three hours or more to land, resupply, take off, and form the formation. At this time, the enemy's aircraft carriers don't know where they are.

Therefore, whether this tactic is feasible will require a long period of improvement and deduction.

"The Lu Xun's performance was not very good the first two times. This response should be better, right? Otherwise, our General Zhou's efforts will be wasted." As he said this, Lin Xi looked at Zhou Changfeng, who was distracted by the map.

Zhou Changfeng put a lot of effort into the Lu Xun amphibious command ship, but the ship's previous performance was very poor, not even satisfactory.

He hated the irony and said: "Things can only be done once and for all. If something goes wrong again this time, we will have to deal with it seriously."

When several high-ranking generals of the Ming Empire gathered at the staff office of the Governor's Mansion, an unremarkable luncheon also began on the shore of Xuanwu Lake.

Jinling in April is full of spring, and under the bright sunshine, everything is revived in pink and green colors.

Red, black, or white cars were parked on the side of the road. Tents had been set up and felts had been laid out on the lush grass.

This kind of banquet held in tents in the countryside is also called "skirt banquet" and can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty.

"Have you heard? The boy from the Yu family got sick and died in Yindu."

"Ah? When did it happen?"

"Just yesterday."

"Is he the son of Thirteenth Division Yu Changzhu?"

"Correct."

The ladies and socialites chose to hold a luncheon here today. It is normal for them to attend banquets every now and then. Social interaction is indispensable among the powerful. Men deal with men, and women naturally have to deal with women.

Xia Xiaoshi was also among the group of warblers, and she immediately recalled the name.

The son of the Thirteenth Division’s commander, Zhengyu Changzhu, died of illness?

When Zhou Changfeng led his troops to attack Moresby, he had dealings with Yu Changzhu.

It's a pity that I lost a son in middle age. It seems I have to prepare a letter to express my condolences.

"Hey? Mrs. Xia is here too? What are you thinking about?"

Hearing a familiar voice coming from behind, the thoughtful Xia Xiaoshi frowned slightly subconsciously, but she relaxed in the blink of an eye.

She said "Oh" and said in a neutral tone: "I have fought side by side with General Yu, and I feel the same way."

(End of this chapter)