Chapter 647 German Telegraph

2 The plane began to descend slowly. Looking down through the window, the long-lost new green finally appeared on the prairie under the wings. After struggling for a winter, the herdsmen stepped on their horses again and drove the cattle and sheep to the grazing road again.

Like other places, with the deepening of the war, it will inevitably affect the inland grasslands. After millions of young and middle-aged people were transferred, the development of agriculture and animal husbandry will inevitably be affected. The herdsmen have worked hard to raise cattle and sheep for a year. Because of the wartime economic system, they could not trade freely, especially It is stipulated that the quota sold to the military must be calculated at the lowest price.

Although this impact is not too big, because the country still leaves the most basic profits when setting the purchase price, and does not destroy the active surname of herdsmen to continue to expand the scale of breeding, it is not realistic to make a fortune in the past two years.

Tang Shaoyi took a deep breath. If it hadn't been for this war, maybe the country would have been driving in the fast lane of economic development for a long time, but now it is like hitting an iron wall. When the production and manufacturing capacity are getting stronger and stronger, the country's economic construction has basically stagnated.

Looking at Tang Shaoyi holding a report that had just been counted, Li Enfu, a colleague, knew what he was worried about and smiled, "Why, Shaochuan is worried?"

"Yes."

Tang Shaoyi had nothing to hide in front of Li Enfu. She handed the report to him with a wry smile and said, "This is the data just given to me by the Bureau of Statistics. In the nine months since the beginning of the war, the total output value of our equipment and heavy industry has increased by almost by nearly 70%, but the total profit has decreased by nearly 70%. The grain has not changed, minerals and raw materials. The mining industry has doubled, of which the largest increase is the output of steel and coal mines. The former is caused by a large demand for military equipment, while the latter is due to the increase of overtime and production capacity of factories in various places, and coal consumption has also increased significantly after the sharp increase in electricity consumption.

The main data of light industry has also shown explosive growth, but the real profit has also decreased significantly. The fastest growth is military expenditure. According to statistics, up to now, military expenditure, including equipment procurement, has reached a terrible 110 blue coin, about 8 billion US dollars or 1.6 billion pounds. "

"So much expense?" Li Enfu's chin is about to fall off. Since the beginning of the war, both the navy and the air force have basically made a quick decision. How can there be such a big expense?!

"Ha ha, Mr. Li, don't panic. It contains order numbers. For example, the subsequent aircraft carriers and capital ships are in it, and there are thousands of planes and tanks and trucks, many of which have not been delivered yet."

"Oh." Li Enfu was relieved that military orders were delayed, and many things could not be delivered until a few years after the allocation was allocated today, so the number seemed to be so huge.

However, when he saw the GNP figure that best reflects the country's economic development, he also frowned fiercely, because this data has suddenly dropped from the 13% growth rate of the previous year to the current 3%. What's more, it has not been a year. When the statistics come out at the end of the year, it is likely to enter the negative era.

Neither he nor Tang Shaoyi are generals who lead troops to war, but for them, these numbers are also wars, which are wars behind aircraft and cannons.

Of course, behind these boring figures, there are also positive points. For example, under the continuous victories of the military and the pressure of strong strike capabilities, the current opponents have fallen into a predicament, and the most important thing is the United States and the United Kingdom.

In fact, the United States is actually not many years earlier than Xinhua. Although the pre-war economy is very strong, the national strategic reserves are not complete. It is far worse than myself who has been preparing for this war for a long time, so it is impossible to become stronger and stronger. According to the information provided by the Ministry of Intelligence, the growth rate of the U.S. economy may be a new era this year. It recorded a negative growth of 20%, and as the war deepened, it would only become weaker and weaker.

The situation in Britain is slightly different. The British Empire has too deep a foundation. Even if India's vascular channel is temporarily cut off at present, it will not be killed with a stick, but they also can't afford to play a big loss, because the battlefield is at the doorstep, and there is a Germany among the opponents who also began to prepare for a long time, so The economy has also been completely paralyzed, barely supported by the sale of the country's overseas resources.

As for another France, which originally had a deep foundation, it is no longer considered. After being bitten by Germany, even if France wins, its post-war recovery will be far away, not to mention losing, so it basically has no right to speak.

After reading the statistics and the situation of the main opponents, Li Enfu returned the report to Tang Shaoyi and sighed, "It is recognized that it is difficult for the Prime Minister in wartime, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult. I'm afraid this is the reason why you want to see the emperor immediately, right?"

"Yes." Tang Shaoyi nodded: "In fact, the war has been going on until now, and I believe you are also a little sure, especially after the Battle of Mesopotamia, for us, the situation has gradually become clear.

Now, as long as our main fleet relies on Socotra Island and the port of Salalah to patrol the Arabian Sea for three to four months, forcing the Indian Grand Fleet not to go out, then we can send more than 300,000 troops and necessary supplies to Persia and the Arabian Peninsula in three months. So many troops intimidate the Caspian Sea. With the Caucasus hinterland, coupled with the upcoming enlightenment plan, Russia's withdrawal from the war has entered the countdown.

As long as Russia withdraws, all the troops on the German Eastern Front can be put into the Western Front. At this time, if we go west along the Baghdad Railway and send troops into the Austro-Hungarian Empire to attack Italy and Spain, then.

Tang Shaoyi didn't finish, but Li Enfu has understood what he meant. Spain and Italy are just two wall grass. As long as the army arrives, there will inevitably be a voice of defection in their country. If the two countries withdraw, it will be difficult for the Allies to maintain. It can be expected that the war will end early, but There is an important problem here!

Li Enfu thought for a moment and said, "Shaochuan, have you thought about it? We can enter Europe and even Africa at present, but once we enter there, Britain and the United States may admit defeat and end the war, the consequences."

"I know that a Germany that is incapacitated and tough will cause us trouble in many matters such as the distribution of power, the distribution of colonies, and the division of post-war dividends.

So this is also where I am in trouble. We can still fight. There is no problem in three or five years. As long as we use the Baghdad Railway or the Siberian Railway after Russia's withdrawal, we can provide some assistance to Germany and strangle more British and American blood. It is best to lose both sides, so that they have to rely on themselves to rebuild the economy after the war. Only then can we get the greatest advantage.

Tang Shaoyi looked at the plane that began to land, took out the telegram of the boarding appetizer from her bag, and said quietly, "But there is something you don't know, Mr. Li. Germany has just sent a telegram asking us to send troops into Europe!"

"What!"

Li Enfu quickly took the telegram, and his face changed a little after reading it. The telegram was sent by the German Chancellor's Office and the General Counselor, but he quoted Emperor Wilhelm II as saying that Xinhua would send 200,000 to 300,000 troops to support the European battlefield, and hoped that there could be at least two elite armored departments like the Flying Tigers. The team.

Looking at this telegram, Li Enfu finally knew what Tang Shaoyi was worried about. It was definitely inappropriate for Xinhua to enter Europe now. However, with the victory of the Battle of Mesopotamia, it was only a matter of time before the Strait of Hormuz was reopened. There were no technical problems to enter Europe through the Baghdad Railway, so Germany is so impatient.

The Germans are not fools. They must have seen the advantage of Xinhua's borrowing equipment. The consumption has not been very large since the beginning of the war. Therefore, after there is hope in the battlefield, they can't wait to drag Xinhua into the European quagmire, so that after the war, Germany will run out of strength and Xinhua will eventually enjoy it alone, so it. It was so urgent that he also borrowed William II to exert pressure.

The problem in front of us is that at present, because it is an ally, Xinhua can't refuse directly. If that happens, it will inevitably lead to a huge rift with Germany. Before the outcome of the war, it is not worth the gains. Although everyone knows that Germany will not turn its back, it can still be done with some small actions, especially At present, several major European allies are traditional allies of Germany. If they are pressured together, Xinhua will be isolated after the war.

Py, definitely not.

If you don't send it, how can you refuse without a trace? Provide some new weapons? It is estimated that neither the emperor nor the military will agree, so Li Enfu is also in trouble this time. This is really a thorny problem, because it is related to whether Xinhua can gain leadership in the new international situation after the war.

A Europe shrouded in Germany should not appear, and Germany does not want to be dominated by Xinhua, which leads to the beginning of cracks.

The wheel gently touched the cement runway, interrupting the thoughts of the two people. Looking at the new airport after the hatch was opened, and thinking of the telegram in their hands, the two couldn't help looking at each other with a wry smile.

In fact, it is not only Tongliao. At present, many cities in Xinhua have built airports. The reason why there are so many aviation infrastructure that have exceeded the standards of the times at the beginning of the aviation industry is entirely due to Emperor Li's tricks.

With the progress of aircraft technology, in order to ensure Xinhua's future leading position in the aviation field and promote the development of the post-war aviation industry, Li Mo was very stubborn in this matter and borrowed the excuse of military supplies to build it.

His later experience proves that the developed aviation industry is one of the country's strong standards, and any technology is driven by demand, so Li Mo has long wanted to fill the airport all over the country. Now there is a big excuse of war. In addition, Tang Shaoyi and the parliament also closed their eyes because of Li Mo's persistence, so Only then did this kind of ** to build airports everywhere.

In addition, Xinhua is now implementing the Wartime Economy and National Emergency Act. In this case, as long as the project is listed as military supplies, it will be at all costs and costs. Therefore, Li Mo deliberately takes this opportunity to build airports in the name of the military throughout the country, so that the cost accounting is all placed in the military. In addition to the expenditure, after being included in the military supplies, such projects can be applied for by prisoners of war, which has greatly strengthened the progress of domestic construction of airports and aviation infrastructure, so even many remote provinces have put the construction of airports on the construction plan.

In fact, this kind of trick is not new to everyone, because Emperor Li's previous situation of spending nearly half of the country's finances in the shipbuilding industry is similar to now. More than ten years of perseverance, and even many people regard it as a stubborn investment, finally broke out after the beginning of the war. In less than a year, several major shipbuilding and heavy industry enterprises in Xinhua have provided the military with 5 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, 8 light cruisers and more than 30 other warships, as well as nearly 100 ocean-going cargo ships. Although many of them were built before the war, the explosive power is still extremely amazing, especially It is a Xinhua ship project that started recently. As many as 27 ships were launched in just a few months, and the fastest construction cycle took only 78 days.

Li Mo's idea is very simple. The opening of the airport will promote the aviation industry to enter the outbreak period, and the flow of population and materials through aircraft will in turn promote technological innovation and form a good cycle, so that technological development will not slow down due to the weakening of military needs after the war.

But the problem is that this actually increases the war expenditure and increases the burden on the country. However, because Xinhua currently has technical advantages in tanks and aircraft, the army is unlikely to fall into the most expensive and material-consuming trench war in Europe, so the national finances can still afford it.

And it is too cost-effective to do so in the long run. Since Xinhua alone has nearly one million prisoners of war at present, it is impossible for these people to raise for nothing, so it is better to let them contribute to the construction of Xinhua.

However, Li Mo's sudden leap from the fanatical shipbuilding industry to aviation has caused a lot of controversy in China. Many people think that it is okay for aircraft to fight now, but it is too early for civilian transportation. The reason is that the transportation capacity of the aircraft is not enough. For example, this albatross transport aircraft improved from the Kunpeng bomber, one Only one ton of materials, or 12 passengers can be transported, which is a bit of a mare compared with the railway, so it is not worth spending a lot of money on building airport facilities.

But this time he tried his best to exclude public discussion again. The reason is also very simple. The new four-engine long-range bombers have now entered the prototype test stage. According to the progress, the first batch can be delivered by the middle of next year at the latest. In addition, the war has promoted the outbreak of technology, and the larger horsepower engine has also been at a critical point. Once the technology is mature, the operation Aircraft carrying several tons or dozens of people will soon appear, so it's better to take advantage of the opportunity of war now to let go, so as not to increase the burden in the post-war economic recovery period.

Of course, there is another deep reason that only the general reference knows, that is, the territory of Xinhua is too vast. If you want to deal with the sudden ** situation quickly, faster aviation capabilities will be crucial.

But the problem is that the excited Emperor Li still doesn't know that Germany has targeted Xinhua, and he doesn't want him to be stable and comfortable in the name of the war. If the army really enters the European quagmire, I'm afraid that this kind of small trick of domestic construction by relying on the war budget must be taken back, otherwise the national finance It will really go bankrupt.

In the artillery test area on the west side of the test site, watching the soldiers stuff rockets one by one into the launch tube, Li Mo was really excited to go there and test it himself.

Katyusha!

This new 20-barrecker rocket is one of the key projects supervised by him and the army. When he thought of the overwhelming rockets hitting the enemy's head, he instantly submerged tens of thousands of square kilometers into the sea of fire, Emperor Li felt like stuffed a few cats in his heart.

So he heard that he would test multiple rocket launchers after spring. He took time out of his busy schedule to come here and didn't even notice the jeep coming behind him.

With a launch order, 10 rocket launch vehicles suddenly rushed out of the long tail flame, and rockets rushed out like a frightened beehive. Just half a minute later, 200 rockets rushed out of the launch tube, and in the blink of an eye, the area cut with lime in the distance became a sea of fire.

With such a powerful firepower, Tang Shaoyi and Li Enfu, who walked out of the car, also straightened their eyes and even forgot to come here. They went to the side and pointed to multiple rockets and asked, "Your Majesty, this is it."

"20 tubes of 120mm rocket launchers, one firing speed per second, a range of 12,000 meters, killing range." When Emperor Li was excited to introduce, he didn't notice that the two were getting darker and darker.

One per second!

There was only this sentence left in Tang Shaoyi's mind. After Li Mo's introduction, she said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, you're not going to have a lot of equipment, are you?" What's the matter?" Li Mo scratched his head and found that the bitter faces of the two were a little surprised. Why didn't they need such a good thing to be made?

"Your Majesty, I can't allocate funds!" Tang Shaoyi stuffed the statistics in his bag into Li Mo's hand and shook his head and refused, "This thing is good, but if you have large-scale equipment, I'm afraid I'm really going to resign."

"It's not so!"

Emperor Li looked at the numbers and finally knew what their dark faces meant, so he touched his nose and looked at the rocket launcher and couldn't help sighing in his heart, Katyusha!

It's a pity that I can't afford to play!

Once equipped on a large scale, it is estimated that the logistics will bankrupt itself first.

So he immediately waved his hand, waved goodbye to the test site for the time being, got into the car and drove to the residential area with the two of them, and asked, " By the way, why did you come together? What happened?"

Tang Shaoyi immediately took out the telegram: "Your Majesty, Germany has a telegram."

After quickly reading the telegram, Li Mo's face also changed a little. Unexpectedly, Germany was so cunning that he took Mesopotamia. He didn't even open the Strait of Hormuz. He couldn't wait. He also highlighted the new armored forces and planes, which showed that they didn't want to see him so leisurely!

After Li Mo patted the driver and asked him to stop, he pushed the door and walked out of the car. The guards were familiar with his temper and knew that the emperor must have something important to discuss with the two, so they immediately dispersed and set up a warning circle.

With a trace of chilly air, Li Mo came out of the excitement of the rocket launcher. Tang Shaoyi brought a really thorny problem.

In fact, Li Mo is also very clear that with the victory of the Battle of Mesopotamia, the second and third batches of troops to the Persian Gulf began. Tang Shaoyi and Chen Ping both had the idea of delaying, because everyone knew that the war situation had quietly changed, and the Indian Ocean Theater had actually been disconnected from the division of Europe. Now The alliance became a union, but the agreement began to fall into separate wars because of the isolation of India and Australia.

So whether India fights or not, it is actually up to you to decide when to fight. In this case, Germany certainly does not want to open the Indian battlefield, and it does not want to open it. After all, India has a vast territory. Even if the army pushes it down, it will contain a large number of itself. The force and resources, not to mention the restart of the landings of Ceylon and Bangladesh, even if it is a feinant attack, the consumption will not be small, because these two places are the places that must be guaranteed by the Indian Grand Fleet, and a touch will trigger a war.

There is a more important point. According to the previous intelligence, the decisive battle between the German high seas fleet and the British mainland fleet is about to begin. Germany's victory is nothing to talk about. If the British victory, they must come to support as long as India has not fallen, which gives them an excellent opportunity to help!

What's more, Europe's large-scale consumption has just begun. At this time, if it enters the European quagmire, coupled with the Qiming Plan, it will begin. Once Russia withdraws, Germany is bound to maintain some of its strength before ending the war.

But I didn't expect that I didn't want to fight India, but Germany saw the opportunity!

In fact, to put it bluntly, this is just a test balloon in Germany. If it were not in a dangerous place, with Germany's arrogant surname, they would not want Xinhua to enter Europe. A Europe in which Germany has the final say is what William II wants, but they don't want to see Xinhua continue to grow after the war, but they are trapped in a long experience. It's just that I can't recover from the quagmire and take care of the outside world.

There is still a question about whether sending troops to support Europe, that is, how long Xinhua can hold on. The figures he just looked at have surprised him a little, so the war cannot be delayed indefinitely by his own surname. He must consider Germany and Xinhua's own tolerance, so he raised the statistics in his hand and asked "Shaochuan, tell me the truth. If you continue to fight like this, how many years can you hold on?"

"Three years, three years at most!"

Tang Shaoyi stressed: "This is the limit without seriously damaging the domestic economy! It's not that we can't fight for more than three years, but if we continue to extend, even if we can win, we can get the war dividend, and it will take a long time to recover!"

Li Mo's heart is about the same time as his estimate, that is to say, the war must end 19 years ago anyway. If the problem cannot be solved at that time, let alone Xinhua, Germany will not hold on.

Li Mo shook the telegram in his hand and asked, "So in your view, is it pie or not?"

"You can't send!" Tang Shaoyi took the lead in shaking his head and said, "Now that we are sent, we will fall into a quagmire. After all, Europe is far away. Without the Suez Canal, it is difficult to support hundreds of thousands of troops by the Baghdad Railway alone. The Shanghai Air Force lacks frontier bases. The army is bound to fall into a solitary battle, and no matter how strong it is, it will fall into a bitter battle. Once a stalemate is formed, the price will be too high!

So in my opinion, after the opening of the Baghdad Railway, we will first provide Germany with urgently needed materials and some equipment to ensure that Germany will not fail, and then decide according to the situation!"

"The Prime Minister is right, and I don't recommend going."

After saying that, Li Enfu simply suggested, "Since it is not possible to refuse directly now, I think it's better to restart the Ceylon and Bangladesh landing plan. It doesn't need to be too cruel. Just pull troops to exercise. If it still doesn't work, just send some troops to East Africa as a containment and spretend, which can not only Forcing Britain and the United States to disperse forces, we also have an excuse for not being able to provide military support to Europe due to insufficient troops. At the same time, we will transfer part of the southeast troops to Australia. As long as Russia withdraws, Germany is bound to free its hands to deal with the Western Front with all its strength. As long as we see the hope of victory, I'm afraid Germany doesn't want us to enter Europe!"

"Ceylon is fine, but Bangladesh is not." Tang Shaoyi shook her head: "I asked Chen Ping, the terrain in Bangladesh is complex. If the war starts, whether it is real or not, it will consume a lot.

Now Chen Ping has sent troops to the Maldives. As long as it is controlled by us, even if India is surrounded, they will not get any support. In the long run, the morale and confidence of the army will be greatly frustrated. In addition, Tirac and Gandhi have changed after seeing our strong force. At present, the Intelligence Department They are being provided with the necessary armed forces, and they also promised that as long as we do not divide India, we will start an uprising by the end of the year at the latest, so India will change sooner or later, and there is no need to enter the Indian peninsula so urgently.

"What do you think we should do?" Li Mo asked.

"Accelerate the enlightenment plan!"

"Oh? Why does Shaochuan have this idea? Li Mo's eyes lit up and asked with a smile.

"The emperor must have guessed that this telegram is actually testing us. With the proud surname of Germany, he will certainly not be willing to let us enter Europe, but William II can't do anything about it now. Verdun has become a meat grinder, and because the two-line battle can't concentrate, as long as we speed up the enlightenment plan. The plan forces Russia to withdraw from the war, so that the German Eastern Front, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops can all be freed, and at least a million troops can be put into the Western Front!

At that time, when Germany saw the dawn of victory, it was bound to stop us from entering Europe and taking a piece of the pie!"

"So how long do you think it will take to solve Russia?"

Tang Shaoyi thought for a moment and said, "Chen Ping and I said that after the Muscat Sultanate fell to us, he had begun to study and clean up the Strait of Hormuz. According to the progress, it should take about three months, and the Baghdad Railway was basically opened at this time, so you might as well send a telegram to Sun Jiugong to let him In three months, we will advance to the front line of the Ural Mountains, and with our Fuzi inside Russia, as long as Nicholas II is overturned and Russia is forced to withdraw during this period, Germany will basically not want us to go to Europe!"

"Three months!"

Li Mo almost jumped up. It was 3,000 kilometers from Minusinsk to Ufa. Even without considering logistics, it would take more than half a month for the armored soldiers to run. Thinking of the report he had got before, the corners of his mouth suddenly collapsed.

But what Tang Shaoyi said is really good. If Russia can't be solved in three months, then he must send troops to Europe to ease Germany's worries, but if it is sent, it will be a consumption war!

It's really tricky!

(to be continued)