1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3936

Although Shi Chengxin currently holds a military position, he did not rise through the ranks of the military. When he entered officialdom, he was first assigned to the Land and Resources Department under the Donghai Regional Management Committee. Later, under Shi Diwen's arrangement, he gradually came into contact with other fields of work and became familiar with various government affairs little by little.

In recent years, in order to facilitate his work, Shi Diwen arranged for Shi Chengxin to hold a staff officer position at the East China Sea Regional Garrison Command, so that he would have a suitable identity to get involved in military affairs.

For example, when he went to Japan to supervise the war on behalf of the East China Sea Region two years ago, Shi Chengxin appeared in the Kyushu Allied Forces camp as a military advisor to Haihan.

According to the regulations of the Haihan military system, officers at the rank of colonel and above who wish to be promoted to higher positions must, in addition to the necessary combat achievements and experience, undergo phased military skills training to ensure that the promoted officers possess the corresponding professional capabilities.

However, due to objective limitations, Shi Chengxin does not have much time to go to military academies for long-term and systematic professional study. He can only gradually enrich his professional experience in the military through some short-term training courses to accumulate capital for future promotion.

Shi Chengxin naturally wouldn't miss a short training course for senior military officers held in Hangzhou, and his name had already been added to the list of trainees.

"The training this time will mainly focus on combat command. I heard that it may cover some recent battles. For example, the Battle of Shanhaiguan in the Second Sino-Ming War, the special operations division's operation in Colombo, Ceylon, to help the Portuguese repel the Dutch two years ago, the joint fleet's island battle with the Spanish in the Banda Sea in the south that lasted for several months... Oh, and the siege of Nanchang in Jiangxi by three armies a while ago, that might also be covered."

The battles mentioned by Shi Chengxin are all classic battles fought by the Haihan Army in recent years. However, non-combatants' understanding of these battles mostly comes from various battle reports, internal documents, and public reports in newspapers, with very few more professional and detailed interpretations and analyses.

Being able to study these battle cases under the guidance of military experts would obviously be of great benefit to senior officers who hold command authority.

These combat examples involve various domestic and international environments and different opponents. Most soldiers may not encounter all of them in their lifetime. However, through detailed combat records provided by the participating troops and professional sand table simulations, these combat operations can be reconstructed, allowing them to learn more advanced combat concepts and command techniques.

Shi Chengxin continued, "Besides studying battle examples, I heard that there will also be training on the use of new weapons and equipment this time, which is an absolutely essential part!"

Chen Pingliao nodded slightly. He had heard the rumors before heading south. If Haihan Armory really had any useful new products, he might as well order some on behalf of the Northern Region.

However, the person most qualified to speak on this matter was not Shi Chengxin, but Bai Letong, who is now engaged in education.

His father, Bai Kesi, had been in charge of Haihan's military industry for many years, and the development and deployment of various new weapons and equipment all required Bai Kesi's signature and approval. The bits and pieces of information Bai Letong heard from his family were far more credible than the rumors circulating outside.

Shi Chengxin patted Bai Letong on the shoulder and said, "Brother Bai, do you have any inside information to share with the brothers?" Bai Letong slowly put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then replied, "There aren't many new equipment items that will be explained this time. It's mainly a few types of equipment that were recently tested on the Jiangxi battlefield. Engineers from the arsenal should be present to explain the tactics and strategies of these new equipment to the trainees, based on the actual combat situation."

Chen Pingliao said, "In the past, new equipment was first given to the border troops for trial use. How come the rules have changed now? New equipment that the border troops haven't even seen has already been taken to the battlefield by other units?"

Bai Letong looked at Chen Pingliao and smiled, saying, "In the past, the border troops were given the equipment to try out first because most of the battles occurred in the border areas. But this year, there have been no large-scale battles in various places, except for Jiangxi, where there have been battles for several months. So the newly developed equipment is naturally given to the troops that are currently fighting to try it out."

"But don't worry, I've heard that there are quite a few pieces of equipment that are suitable for use in the northern border region that are under development. Maybe this training course will release some information about them."

Chen Pingliao was somewhat dismissive of this. As border troops that had been stationed in the northern frontier for many years, the Fifth and Sixth Divisions of the Army, as well as the North Sea Fleet, had not received any new equipment in recent years—unless the cotton-padded coats and shoes that had been distributed the year before last were also considered as equipment.

This is not actually due to the Ministry of National Defense's bias. There have been no wars in the North for the past three years, so naturally the testing of new equipment would not be assigned to the Northern Region.

As for equipment specifically designed for the North, Chen Pingliao had no prior experience with it. At most, vehicles like skis and sleds were mass-produced in a standardized manner, but those were not products of the military industry; rather, they were developed independently by the Northern Region based on its local environment.

Chen Pingliao said, "Actually, I'd like to inquire when the construction plan for the Glorious-class warships can be delegated to the shipyards in the Northern Region, so that we can also have a top-class warship as soon as possible!"

Bai Letong and Shi Chengxin exchanged a glance, both understanding each other implicitly, and did not immediately respond to Chen Pingliao's words.

The Slava-class warships are advanced warships independently developed by the East China Sea region at the Zhoushan Shipyard, and only two have been built to date. These warships represent the pinnacle of Haihan Shipbuilding's capabilities in terms of tonnage, firepower, and propulsion systems.

Troops from other regions were naturally envious, but the Zhoushan Shipyard had limited capacity, and even if orders were placed, delivery couldn't be made in a short time. As for the construction plan for the Slava-class destroyers, it was the result of the East China Sea Region's significant investment of manpower, financial resources, and materials in the early stages, so naturally, they wouldn't easily hand it over to other shipyards.

Chen Pingliao's direct demand for the money naturally didn't elicit a positive response. However, to his surprise, someone nearby spoke up for him.

Tan Tianming said, "I think Brother Chen is absolutely right. Since the Zhoushan Shipyard has limited production capacity, why not have shipyards in other places with the necessary technical capabilities build it at the same time? As for the technology transfer and guidance involved, the fees can be discussed gradually!"

Tan Tianming spoke up not only to speak for Chen Pingliao, but also to take this opportunity to unite with the Northern Region and fight for his hometown. The shipyards in the Xingdao Region have good technical capabilities. As long as they get the construction plan, they should be able to complete most of the construction process independently. Only a small part of the ship equipment will have to rely on domestic supplies.