Fengxian Jiangshan

"Mr. Shen, let's make a bet on whether the great powers will deal with this issue fairly."

Shen Honglie said with a smile: "You can gamble, but I don't have any bets!"

"There is no need to bet!" Wu Yulin said with a smile on the side: "If Mr. Shen can stay in Fengtian, the commander-in-chief will be very happy. I brought you here this time to find a captain for my warship."

Wu Yulin's words amused everyone. He looked at the time again and said, "Commander-in-Chief, it's time for the warship to launch."

Zhang Tinglan and the others stared carefully. The seawater poured into the dock, and gradually the warship floated steadily. The first warship built by Feng Jun was officially launched amidst the cheers of everyone. A small step, a big step for the navy, Zhang Tinglan was very satisfied, encouraged all the workers present, and issued a commendation order, all personnel involved in the construction can get an additional bonus of two months' salary.

The workers were also cheering, and it was as lively as the New Year. Then Zhang Tinglan invited Wu Yulin and Shen Honglie to the office. The three of them sat facing each other. Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "Although the warship has been launched, it is just a matter of building a powerful navy." The first step, in addition to having warships, it is more important to have a mature naval strategy, what are our naval missions, which direction to develop, and how to focus. This is before we establish a navy. Something that must be clarified, do you have any ideas?"

To do anything, there must be a top-level planning and design, especially the equipment of the navy. Everything is piled up with a lot of money. It must meet the overall strategic needs. It is impossible to be advanced. The key must be it works.Moreover, with Fengjun's financial resources, it is impossible to invest a large amount of money in the navy at will. The limited funds must be used reasonably. This is why Zhang Tinglan wants to determine the development strategy.

Shen Honglie lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "I think the gap between the Chinese navy and the world's navies is already too large. Before the Sino-Japanese War, Zhenyuan and Dingyuan were known as the most powerful warships in the Far East, but now, the large battleships have reached three [-] tons, and even bigger ones. On the other hand, our navy has not only made no progress, but has retreated in an all-round way, and almost has nothing. I think that in order to develop the navy, we must have a long-term perspective, catch up with the world's most advanced level, and gradually build large warships , to safeguard China's maritime rights and interests!"

"Actually, according to my observations, the situation of China and Germany is quite similar. Both countries have both sea and land, but on the way to the sea, both countries are facing the blockade of a powerful island country. We may be able to absorb the German navy. Based on the experience and lessons of development, it is very important to build a huge sea fleet and at the same time strengthen the underwater power, especially the development of submarines. The most troublesome thing for the British is the German submarines, and we cannot relax."

Shen Honglie had almost finished speaking before Zhang Tinglan asked: "Mr. Shen, according to your vision, how much money will be invested and how long will it take to build a large fleet? Can our financial resources bear it? , can we outrun our opponents?"

Zhang Tinglan kept asking questions, and Shen Honglie was suddenly a little embarrassed. It is true that his idea was very good, but the reality is too far behind. According to his thinking, even if he bought the entire Fengjun, he would not be able to build it. To defeat an opponent, a question mark must be drawn.

"Commander Zhang, I know this will require a huge investment, but without this method, how can we maintain maritime power?"

Although Shen Honglie knew the navy very well, it was precisely because of this reason that his eyes were tied and completely focused on the calculations of the navy, and he didn't really focus on the big picture.

"Mr. Shen, I think China has two problems to solve right now, being beaten and starving. What do you think?"

Shen Honglie listened carefully, and then nodded sharply: "Commander Zhang hits the nail on the head. Although it is common, it goes straight to the core."

"That's right." Wu Yulin also said: "Being beaten is actually an issue of sovereignty, and starvation is a problem of people's livelihood. This is the crux of China's current situation. For a long time, our threats have always come from the sea, is there any problem in developing a powerful navy?"

Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "Mr. Shen just mentioned Germany and said that China and Germany have similarities. We might as well learn from Germany. The Battle of Jutland showed that Germany's shipbuilding technology and soldier quality are world-class. Yes, but unfortunately, their naval strategy was wrong. William II did not understand the mission of the navy at all. The huge high seas fleet was his luxury toy, which had no practical value except wasting precious national power. "

Zhang Tinglan ruthlessly criticized Germany's strategy. Both Shen Honglie and Wu Yulin were a little surprised. They didn't know what the commander-in-chief was going to say. They all listened attentively.

"The mission of the navy is to attack, especially the large main warships, which are built to conduct decisive battles in the open sea and seize maritime supremacy. It can be said that when a country starts to build large warships, it is the beginning of a country's expansion and maintenance of maritime power. The Navy is a big offensive, and Germany's High Seas Fleet is a freak developed at the wrong time and under the wrong guiding ideology!"

Big navy!Big attack!Hearing Zhang Tinglan's words in Shen Honglie's ears, there was a deafening feeling immediately, and the core of the big navy was broken at once. The navy is not something to decorate, but a vanguard to safeguard national interests, just like Germany, since Turning the High Seas Fleet into an existing fleet is simply an insult to the Navy!

Shen Honglie couldn't help standing up and bowing deeply to Zhang Tinglan: "Shen has studied the navy for a long time, and he didn't understand the role of the navy until today. I'm really ashamed!". )

Chapter 423 The First World War Ends

"According to the humble words, the large navy exists to seize overseas interests, so at present China has no overseas interests, and our most important thing is to avoid being beaten. It seems that there is no need to develop a large navy?"

It took Wu Yulin a long time to digest the meaning of Zhang Tinglan's words. Any warship is a combat platform at sea and must obey the needs of the navy's strategy. As the person in charge of the shipyard, Wu Yulin has to understand the navy Only in this way can we choose a good development direction and produce suitable products.

Zhang Tinglan nodded slightly: "China does not need to pursue overseas interests at present. Our core task is homeland security, ensuring that our territory is not invaded by the enemy. Developing a large navy is too extravagant for us, and there is no need for it."

Shen Honglie also asked from the side: "The commander-in-chief's words are correct. It is indeed possible to build a more economical and practical navy, but who is our main imaginary enemy?"

Shen Honglie has already started to go on the road. He is no longer pursuing the world's most advanced echelon directly under the impulse of blood, but has begun to think about the actual needs.

"Those who can threaten us from the sea are the big powers. At first it was Britain, France and other countries, but after the current war, Britain, France, Germany and other countries will surely decline. They only have the power to defend the city and have no enterprising spirit. With a capable armed force, you don’t have to worry about them. Now China’s biggest threat at sea has become the Japanese. Their combined fleet has become the most powerful sea force in the Far East, and the Japanese’s ambitions for China are obvious to all. There are many conflicts between Fengjun and Japan, and our goal of developing the navy is to target the Japanese."

"To deal with the Japanese, we must not use our own strengths to attack the enemy's strengths. The task of the navy is not to act as the main force to fight the Japanese in the open sea, but to keep the coastline safe after the cooperation of land and air, and then wait for opportunities to harass Japan. The lifeline of the people at sea, the real key to victory lies in the competition of land and air forces. For a big country like China with both sea and land, the army will always be the foundation of the country. Only the army can support it, and China will not perish. As for the real role of the navy It is to fight for China's overseas interests after China has settled its survival."

Speaking of this, Zhang Tinglan concluded: "The army is related to our life and death, and the navy is related to how we live. Both are very important. But there is still a difference in severity."

Wu Yulin smiled and said: "Zhuoyan, what you said is really reasonable. It kind of reminds me of the sea-land dispute between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang back then. If this high-level argument can be made decades earlier , Li Zuo and Mr. Li don't have to argue!"

When Li Hongzhang was mentioned, Zhang Tinglan couldn't help sighing: "Zuo Zongtang said that Li Hongzhang made mistakes in the common people, and he would be infamous through the ages. In my opinion, what Zuo Zongtang said is not wrong at all. Li Hongzhang's mistake is not that The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War did not lie in the signing of the "Xin Chou Treaty" but in adhering to a wrong national defense strategy with him, which eventually led to the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, and even the national calamity of Gengzi. Li Hongzhang cannot absolve himself of the blame."

Different positions lead to different views on historical figures. After Zhang Tinglan really started to think about the strategic policy of a country and an army, he discovered Li Hongzhang’s fatal mistake. He was right to call himself a paper poster.

In the later stage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Tsarist Russia supported the local forces of the traitors and tried to launch a rebellion. At this time, Zuo Zongtang focused on fortification and defense, and led his troops to recover the traitors, while Li Hongzhang emphasized coastal defense and thought he had given up The xīn treacherous g can save military expenses and develop the navy. With a strong navy, crises at sea can be avoided forever.

Li Hongzhang's proposition sounds reasonable, but it is completely bastard logic. After abandoning the traitor, there will be no place to annex the Northwest, and the land north of the Great Wall will be lost. At that time, Beijing will be directly exposed to the military front of Tsarist Russia. Under this circumstance, the whole country will come to a time of life and death.

In fact, the crisis of xīn treachery has already seen Li Hongzhang's idiocy and selfishness in strategy, and the subsequent Sino-French war broke out Li Hongzhang's fallacies with cruel facts. The Sino-French war that began in 1884, China The army retreated one after another and was driven out of Vietnam. Then the French raided the station of the Fujian Navy, and the entire Fujian Navy was wiped out.

Successive defeats have stunned the Qing Dynasty. At this time, the Manchu Qing had to use Zuo Zongtang to clean up the mess. After Zuo Zongtang arrived in Fujian, he actively assisted the Black Banner Army in Taiwan. Nanguan and other places were closely guarded, and the veteran Feng Zicai won the great victory in Zhennanguan, which immediately reversed the overall situation of the Sino-French war.

"The past is the teacher of the future. Zuo Zongtang has actually seen through the mistakes of Li Hongzhang's insistence on coastal defense. China is a land power. We can lose ten land wars, but as long as we can win one, we can turn the tide of the war." , because the great powers came from a long distance after all, and the troops they can invest are very limited, and there is no way to fight for a long time."

Shen Honglie nodded hastily, and suddenly realized: "Commander Zhang is too right. In the past, when the enemy came from the sea, we thought that we should strengthen the coastal defense. In fact, this is just trying to survive. The reason why the great powers can run amok is because of ours. The army is too weak to be vulnerable at all. Otherwise, more than 1 people would not have attacked Beijing. Whether it was the Sino-Japanese War or the invasion of China by the Eight-Power Allied Forces, as long as our land war can be won once, it will not be too difficult. Lose power and humiliate the country!"

Wu Yulin also said: "In the past, we always stood against the sea and thought it was the failure of the navy. However, after the Yellow Sea naval battle, China was not defeated by the Japanese. We can still support it. It was the Japanese army that invaded the three eastern provinces and invaded China. In Shandong, we couldn’t hold on, and had to sign a leap that humiliated the country.”

"Well." Zhang Tinglan nodded and said: "Looking at all the previous invasions of China, we ended up with the fact that the army couldn't sustain it. It's true that the crisis has never come up, but if the army's Dinghaishen needle can hold on, it won't be a disastrous defeat. Having said such a big circle, falling on Li Hongzhang's coastal defense proposition is actually an evil way of getting twice the result with half the effort. We do not have a developed industry, and it is useless to compete with our opponents for the navy. The Sino-French War and the Sino-Japanese War, the Fujian Navy and The Beiyang navy suffered a disastrous defeat in the first battle, and then fell into a slump. But the army can recover quickly and continue to fight."

When Zhang Tinglan came to this point, Shen Honglie and Wu Yulin carefully digested these views, and indeed they subverted the traditional understanding, but the more they thought about it, the more they felt that what Zhang Tinglan said made sense.

After a long while, Shen Honglie said with a wry smile: "Commander Zhang, you have said so much, do you mean that you are not planning to develop the navy, but your approach is not right, I am really confused!"

Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "I am opposed to when the national power is insufficient. To develop a large navy, our maritime strategy should be near-shore defense. The main focus is torpedo boats, destroyers and patrol ships. These light ships only patrol and defend near the coast. When necessary, deploy mines and blockade the port. Then cooperate with land forts and air planes. Guard the shore so that the enemy does not dare to attack us at will, this is enough!"

When Shen Honglie heard it, he had to admit that what Zhang Tinglan said was reasonable, if he couldn't even see the waters under his nose, he still wanted to go to the far sea to fight.Didn't he want to run without knowing how to walk? It must be wrestling.

"Commander Zhang, do you think we just put on a posture of being beaten and don't fight back?"

"Of course not. Don't we still have submarines? Underwater power is well concealed, and when used properly, it can seal the throat with a sword. How much trouble Germany's underwater submarines have caused Britain, we naturally have to follow suit, and Don't forget that our opponents are far less powerful than the British, and our position on the mainland is much better than that of Germany. As long as we can defend on the water and win on the land, we don't have to be afraid of the Japanese!"

Zhang Tinglan confided his own thoughts, and Shen Honglie and Wu Yulin also thought it through thoroughly. Both of them showed joy on their faces, and Shen Honglie also secretly gave Zhang Tinglan a thumbs up. At such a young age, it is indeed possible to achieve such a high position. What's different.

Zhang Tinglan's proposal to build small ships and submarines is less costly and more effective. It is suitable for China's current industrial capacity and within the financial tolerance range. It is the most realistic choice at the moment.Looking at the whole of China, there are probably only a handful of people who can formulate such a reasonable naval strategy. It is also a kind of luck to work under such a wise and sober leader.

Shen Honglie was completely convinced by Zhang Tinglan's opinion, and was ready to join the Feng army.And Wu Yulin is also very happy. It's not that Zhang Tinglan doesn't want to develop a navy, but wants to develop a yellow water navy. The shipyard still has a lot to do.

"The commander-in-chief pointed out the direction for us. We can build shallow-water gunboats of about [-] tons, patrol boats, and even destroyers. We can produce mines. I will now assign tasks and adjust production capacity. Produce enough weapons and keep an eye on us first!"

Zhang Tinglan also nodded in satisfaction. He spent so much time telling them that the navy's strategy is to make them clear-headed, know what they should do, and make good use of limited resources.Seeing that both Shen Honglie and Wu Yulin understood her intentions now, Zhang Tinglan was very pleased.

"Having said so much, the key is to put it into action. Didn't we get a few submarines from Russia? Mr. Shen, I will now appoint you as the commander of the submarine brigade, and find out how to use the submarines as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, I will definitely complete the task!" Shen Honglie gave Zhang Tinglan a solemn military salute. He was completely convinced by Zhang Tinglan. He has knowledge and can vigorously promote himself. He is really the most ideal leader.

Zhang Tinglan was not in a hurry to return to Fengtian, and stayed in Huludao for a while, and personally helped Shen Honglie select a group of excellent submarine soldiers, and then asked Russian submarine soldiers to guide the Fengjun training. A total of six submarines have been treated as The seeds became the cradle of submarine soldiers.

So far, the armed forces of the sea, land and air are all ready, Fengjun also has the foundation to become strong, Zhang Tinglan is also very pleased, it is worth all her hard work, but Zhang Tinglan is also a little worried, the most important thing is that it comes from Lao Zhang, Zhang Tinglan is true I don't want this Marshal Zhang to compete in the Central Plains prematurely, but there are some things that he can't say directly.

Zhang Tinglan could only find Chang Yinhuai and ask him to strengthen intelligence work and prevent accidents. After a few months of peace, the three eastern provinces ushered in another bumper harvest. All the granaries were full of grain. At that time, Fengtian Governor Wang Yongjiang was very excited.

Pulling Zhang Tinglan together, they calculated an economic account together: "Zhuoyan, now the Americans, Japanese, and Russians all want to buy food from us to support the war of intervention in Russia. I calculated that at least 1000 million tons will be needed. , just take a load of 500 cents to calculate, this is [-] million yuan, once the cannon is fired, [-] taels of gold, it really is not empty talk!"

Zhang Tinglan was also very happy: "Mr. Minyuan, I think you should sell the grain separately. The Americans pay them wholesale prices, while the Japanese pay them retail prices. As for the Russian White Army, the prices are super high. Do you want it or not!"

"Zhuoyan, you have always been a profiteer, but this is a good idea, and those white Russians also have a lot of money."