Chapter 201 Questions

Sandu Macao, as the headquarters of the Chinese navy, has attracted the attention of the world since the end of the Nansha Sea War. Any country understands that this country with 18,000 kilometers of coastline but only a few military ports has now squeezed into the ranks of the world's naval powers. Naturally, all countries More attention has been paid to the Sandu-Australian Naval Base, which is its base.

As the only large-scale comprehensive base of the Chinese Royal Guards Navy, the Sandu-Australia base has too many advantages that other bases cannot be compared with it. It not only has a naval base, but as a supporting project, Sandu-Australia also has a large number of fort fortresses, but for the navy, I'm afraid the most important thing is In the base, the naval shipyard, the naval shipyard, has as many as four of China's largest docks and the most equipped shipbuilding equipment. This naval shipyard can carry 45,000 tons of warships. Of course, if the naval administration department designs such a hegemonic warship.

In the past few months, many people have paid attention to this shipyard, just because in the shipyard, the improved warships of three "Jiyuan-class" battlecruisers are under intense construction in this shipyard. Every month, there will be a merchant ship from abroad to import the raw materials needed to build ships from other countries. A shipment to the shipyard.

However, in the past month, the construction of three new warships at the Sandu Australian Naval Shipyard has suddenly slowed down. The navy took away most of the workers and renovated and repaired nearly 40 merchant ships occupying berths on the berths of the shipyard.

"Beep..."

With the whistle, a 120mm rapid-fire gun was hoisted to the bow of the merchant ship on the loading platform of the shipyard. With the help of several workers, the rapid-fire gun was accurately positioned on the reinforced and installed gun position. As soon as the gun was released to the gun position, some workers began to tighten the bolts.

On the other side of the port, there are workers who are equipped with hangers, which are used to mount the transport slams. In the cabin, the arc light emitted by the welding is constantly flashing. It is the latest welding equipment that has just been introduced. In the cabin, the workers are working hard to lock the tall steel pipes. The bolt was fixed, and then the steel pipe was fixed to the bulkhead with electric welding. In the place where the steel pipe had been supported, the steel plates were spread out. While fixing the steel plates, the workers used a rig to drill their eyes in the marked position.

The small steel pipe is inserted into the drillhole. After welding a few welding points, several grid-like steel plates are framed up. This is a simple bed, and each floor is the same. In another position, several workers are preparing the bathroom there. This is the most complicated work, and even needs to be directly in Drilling holes in the hull is necessary for such an "armed transport ship" that can accommodate an infantry regiment.

"How's it going?"

Shi Tiange, who was inspected in the bottom cabin of the troop carrier, breathed the pungent smell of paint and welding. As soon as he checked the troop carrier, he asked Chen Yang, who followed behind him. He was the director of the Sandu Australia Shipyard and was fully responsible for the transformation of the "armed troop carrier".

In order to keep it confidential, all the renovation of merchant ships was carried out in the closed naval shipyard of Sandu Australia. For this reason, the Sandu Australia Naval Shipyard even had to stop the manufacture of warships and focus on ensuring the transformation of "armed troop carriers".

"Guns and steel, as long as these two can ensure the supply, there will be no problem in completing the transformation of all merchant ships by March 30. In order to ensure the progress of the project, I am ready to transfer another 300 workers!"

When he was speaking, Chen Yang paused his words.

"This is the last fast speed. No matter how fast it is, there is really nothing we can do!"

Since receiving this task a year ago, the Admiralty has been urging the progress of the armed carrier all day long. As the factory director, Chen Yang felt that he was almost driven crazy.

Listening to Chen Yang's complaining words, Shi Tiange just smiled. He could understand Chen Yang's complaint, but on the other hand, he knew that there was nothing he could do to urge the progress of the navy department in two or three days. The army over there had complained that the army could concentrate more than 60,000 yuan of three divisions in Su. Sea training is carried out on the barren beach in the north. The army is eager to perform, and the navy is also in a hurry to communicate. After all, there seems to be no shadow in the negotiations now. Landing in the Japanese may be the last way.

"History Director, are we..."

When the words came to his mouth, Chen Yang still swallowed the words back. Although he guessed this matter in his heart, it must be kept secret.

"Factory Director Chen, your task is to complete the transformation of the armed troop carrier as scheduled!"

A sentence came out of Shi Tiange's mouth. He took a look at the dense honeycomb-like bed in the cabin. It was really difficult for those army officers and soldiers. They had to squeeze into such a 1.9-meter-long and 50-centimeter-wide **.

"The problem of the troop carrier has been solved, leaving only the problem of the landing craft!"

As the director of the Naval Administration Office, Shi Tiange naturally remembers the landing craft production plan very clearly. At this time, when he thought of the problem of landing craft, he couldn't help frowning. 1,000 sand boards. It seemed that the problem was very easy to solve, but in fact, this troop transport sang board was not necessarily easy to produce, although the coast of China There are countless old-style wooden boat workshops, but these workshops will not produce that kind of Western-style troop transport slams at all.

"It's only 100 ships!"

Ye Zusi was not surprised by the number read from the card.

"History Director, can you tell me what happened to the production of the landing craft?"

"My minister, this is not an unexpected situation in production. In fact..."

Shi Tiange sighed and said with chagrin.

"We didn't have a plan to fight in Japan at all in the past. The production of landing craft is a problem of production capacity, but we can always think of a way to solve this problem, but the same problem is the same in other aspects. The problem is that everyone is fighting for priority. The military, the industry and the civilian economy are competing with each other, and the various departments are quarreling and arguing endlessly. Even some decent people are also jealous of each other and fighting in the open and secret. Everyone is stuck in each other's neck. Everyone flaunts that their department is a top priority, but no one keeps their word and the delivery is due. We want to grab resources with the army, and the army is grabbing resources with us. A week ago, the 2,000 tons of explosives imported from Germany were all taken away by the army. The reason is that they want to land and need a large number of shells.

As he spoke, Shi Tiange sighed. For a country like China, it is reasonable to fight for resources in this unfulfilled war, but now the most important thing is the lack of production capacity of some materials, and Ye Zugui is hearing After these words, he was stunned first, and then laughed.

"Of course, this kind of thing is simply expected. When Cai Songpo wants 2,000 tons of explosives, I don't bother to fight with them. This war..."

When mentioning this war, Ye Zugui looked a little excited, and even waved his arm excitedly. "Our navy has gone out of the limelight. Now it's reasonable for the army to want to fight for face! After all, it was they who built this empire. They are not willing to be silent and what they had expected. Now, the task of the navy is to cooperate fully with them. The services still need to avoid conflicts as much as possible. Of course, when fighting for the budget, we will certainly not be soft, but now, if we stumbling to the army. Maybe when we compete for the budget next year, the army will give us a stumbling ..."

As the Minister of the Navy, Ye Zugui understands that if there is no good relationship with the army known as the "founder of the empire", then they will be in big trouble if they want to pass the navy's budget. At this time, let the army come out if they want to show up.

"But it's a problem with the landing craft..."

Shi Tiange frowned.

"If we can't solve the problem of landing boats, then the army will definitely think that we are stumbling with them. Now even if the landing boats in the base are handed over to them, there are only more than 200, which is still more than 700 short of their needs."

Shi Tiange shook his head as he spoke, and his thin face was full of sadness.

"We have commissioned some folk workshops to produce, but their productions do not meet the acceptance standards. Whether it is workmanship or materials, it is far from the navy's standards!"

At this time, Shi Tiange seemed a little helpless. The naval landing craft is actually a wooden slam board. All the standards refer to the standards set by the British navy. The small wooden slam board, which can transport 16 people, has strict standards in terms of materials, workmanship, size and weight, and because of the limited dosage, It has always been manufactured by only a few shipyards such as Jiangnan, Sanduao and Ma'anshan. Now, in order to meet the needs of the army transport force, 1,000 ships are ordered at a time, which really embarrass these shipyards. This kind of wooden sampan is only an "extra product" for the woodworking workshops of the shipyards. Even if they want to expand production capacity now, There is no way to turn a riveting worker into a skilled carpenter.

He sat down on a chair next to Shi Tiange. Ye Zugui was silent for a while and then looked at Shi Tiange and said.

"You know, if it's about the navy, we may be able to compromise, but this is about the army. The differences and interests between the services will only become more and more fierce in the future, because the budget accounts for a large part. The navy is only 58,000, but our military expenses exceed 1.6 million troops, of course, this is the inevitable development of the navy. According to the plan, from next year, the navy's military expenses will further increase!"

After a moment of silence, Ye Zugui's expression seemed a little helpless.

"If this war has taught us anything, I'm afraid that the plan will never keep up with the changes, and any so-called friends may betray us when we need it, so in any case, we must build a strong navy that is strong enough to deter the powers. According to the plan, Within ten years, we will build a huge fleet of three warships and two war patrols. Ten years of expansion will cost more than one billion yuan, but at that time, we will have a huge fleet that even Britain is unwilling to provoke. In this process, um, of course, the interests of the army will be sacrificed!"

Leaning back in the chair, the glasses frame in front of Ye Zugui was about to hang on his mouth. The eyes behind the reading glasses were exposed. He looked at Shi Tiange and said seriously.

"Of course, the army will understand us. Your Majesty once said that we can not have everything, but we can't have everything without a complete industry, but we must have a strong navy, so that we can control the enemy overseas, and we also need a strong army, so that we can control the enemy outside the country and from the empire. Since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, our military expenditure has exceeded 60% of that of the political axe expenditure. It can be said that the empire is depleting the national crossbow and has established a military force that can maintain national interests!"

Shaking his head with exclamation, Ye Zugui understood that for His Majesty, both the army and navy are the strongest pillars and the only backing of the empire. China has suffered too many losses of weak military strength. At this time, Your Majesty has no other choice, and China has no other choice.

"In this process, both the navy and the army are the pillars of the empire, and nothing unpleasant can happen between these two pillars, especially things that will make the other party hate. If we can't provide enough transport ships, it is impossible for the army to land the landing site in two hours. If you import 16,000 people, it is likely to lead to the failure of the army's operations. At that time, the entire Royal Guards Navy will become the enemy of the army. Once the army and navy clashes as a result, the only country will be damaged. We can withstand foreign invasion and suppression, but between the services. Conflict may lead to the failure of the empire, so this is unacceptable!"

After a moment of silence, Ye Zugui said seriously.

"I'm ready to transfer lifeboats from the fleet to them, of course"

Looking at Shi Tiange in front of him seriously, Ye Zugui smiled.

"If, old man, if you can build enough landing boats, then I don't have to bear the risk of being scolded by the navy, and even causing the officers and soldiers to be dissatisfied with the army."

At this point, Ye Zugui leaned forward slightly.

"How's it going, old friend? Are you willing to accept this task?"

Can I not accept it?

Seeing that this burden was pressed on him, Shi Tiange muttered in his heart, but needless to say, he knew the answer. He must accept it. As the head of the ship's office, he must find a way to solve this problem.

"Oh..."

After leaving the Sandu Australian Naval Command Building, almost as soon as he got into his car, Shi Tiange sighed heavily in his heart. In the end, he still issued another military order.

"Provide enough landing boats before March 30!"

Do you really want those folk workshops to produce? When this idea came up in his heart, Shi Tiange shook his head again. Not to mention the quality problems of their production, and so many orders, I'm afraid it will attract the attention of people. Is it possible for the army's actions to be kept secret at that time?

The army needs to keep it confidential and must ensure that it must not be discovered by foreign intelligence personnel before the landing operation begins. This is the key to the success of the plan, and the navy, as a cooperating party, naturally needs to fully cooperate with their requirements.

"It's difficult!"

With such a sigh in his mouth, Shi Tiange half closed his eyes. At this time, the driver drove towards the base family village in the distance. After coming to Sanduao, the base arranged a house with a very nice view of the sea for him in the family village.

"What?"

Just as he was about to close his eyes, Shi Tiange accidentally saw an iron box in front of the driver, which was a stationery box.

Looking at the stationery box made of iron, Shi Tiange quickly took the stationery box.

"S sir, I bought it from the Base Welfare Society. I'm going to send it to my nephew. He's about to go..."

The driver who was about to explain the purpose of the stationery box noticed that the officer did not listen to his explanation at all. He just opened the stationery box and looked at it over and over again.

"This is stamped, if..."

looking at the stationery box, Shi Tiange couldn't help thinking about the enlarged stationery box, a 20-foot-long stationery box stamped with steel plates, but the appearance of this stationery box was the appearance of a sampan.

"Well, if you use stamping, you may be able to produce hundreds of landing craft in a day!"

Shi Tiange is not unfamiliar with the stamping process. In fact, whether it is Tianma Automobile Factory or other factories, the stamping process has long been widely used, especially in military equipment, from the shell of the grenade, to the steel helmet of soldiers, to their lunch boxes, all of which use the stamping process, and this The stationery boxes produced by private factories also use the stamping process.

"If you stamp it with a 2mm thick steel plate, will the hull be too weak? Well, it must be very weak. It seems that we have to think of another way!"

With a frown, Shi Tiange looked at the stationery box repeatedly. From time to time, several other ways to add ribs and other methods came to his mind, but in the end, it was rejected one by one. If he did so, it would be a waste of resources, and the most important point was a waste of time, although the whole shipyard could be mobilized to produce. This kind of landing craft is too crowded to occupy the production capacity of the shipyard, and the naval construction will definitely be affected.

"What about using stamping reinforcements?"

Staring at the stationery box, an idea came to Shi Tiange's mind. From time to time, he used his fingers to draw horizontal and vertical in the stationery box, and finally shook his head, which would definitely increase resistance.

"What if you use a double-layer hull? Shell stamping keel reinforcement, inner shell stamping rib reinforcement..."

Thinking of this, Shi Tiange's eyes lit up. Yes, just like this. He thought to himself, he raised the stationery box aside, and then grabbed the notebook and drew a sketch on the notebook. A simplest scheme took shape on the notebook. Finally, Shi Tiange slightly Laugh.

"Well, it's finally solved! Now, it's up to the army!"

(to be continued)