afterglow

Chapter 300 Oil!oil!Strategy settled
There was no confrontation between the cabinet and the military, and it was fine in the past, because the previous prime minister, Zou Zhuoyun, behaved relatively mildly, and often even laughed off verbal conflicts.

But Gao Qingkui is not the case now. At least on such a matter related to the national destiny, the phrase "the prime minister can hold a boat in his belly" does not apply, so he refuses to compromise.

But after all, the emperor spoke up, and the confrontational two people died down, otherwise they would be regarded as ignorant of the emperor and too shameless.

Gao Qingkui glanced at the crowd, and said seriously: "In any case, it is not appropriate to act rashly. Although you don't expect to be completely sure, you must at least be sure, otherwise you will treat the country as a trifle."

Apparently, although there was no explicit accusation in these words, it was also implicitly saying that the military department's idea was a frivolous child's play.

So Wu Weihuan was annoyed again, the previous fire had not been extinguished, but now it became even more prosperous.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Cheng Han, the staff officer, hurriedly tugged at the corner of his clothes, and then spoke first to smooth things over.

"Hey, stop, stop, you can't do nonsense when discussing national policies before the emperor." Cheng Han raised his hand and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, and continued: "Duke Wei didn't go into detail earlier, so I will add a few words for him. "

He thought for a while, and said eloquently: "After the agreement signed that year expired, the United States began to strengthen the Bataan Fortress area. The local defense force is strengthening every ten days and every month, especially the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This is not difficult to weigh. Which one is more important? Regardless of whether Britain and the United States are determined to defend together, the longer it is delayed, the more difficult it will be for my country and the DPRK."

After the signing of the "Washington Naval Treaty" that year, because Ming did not take advantage of the negotiations but suffered a bit, so there was a separate sub-treaty with the United States on the basis of it, the content is roughly as follows:

No U.S. troops may be stationed in the Philippines, the Philippine colonial indigenous troops shall not exceed 6, the caliber of artillery shall not exceed 75 mm, the number of tanks shall not exceed 120, and the permanent fortress area shall not be expanded or renewed.

The time limit is the same as the naval treaty, that is to say, it expires at the end of December in the 36th year of Zhichang.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty wanted to go further, hoping to request in the agreement to dismantle the large-caliber coastal fire protection guns in the Bataan Fortress and Corregidor Fortress, but the United States firmly refused, and no results came after bargaining.

This is also a place that the Metropolitan Government hates very much. Fortification areas and fortress areas are undoubtedly hard bones, which can contain a large number of one's own troops and waste a lot of time.

If it is dragged on for several months, or even more than half a year, the US military will have sufficient time to mobilize, train, and deploy, thus greatly increasing the uncertainty and variables of the war.

"Besides, oil reserves must also be considered. According to statistics and estimates over the years, my country currently consumes 200 million tons of oil every year, but its own production is only more than [-] million tons, and the self-sufficiency rate is only [-]%."

"We can't make ends meet. According to the deficit of 800 million tons per year, the strategic reserve oil is about 300 million tons. Even if we save money, it will only take a year and a half to bottom out. I don't need to say more about the serious consequences of this?"

After he finished speaking, Ma Mingli, the vice president of the Advisory Council, asked with some doubts: "Will it only last a year and a half if you save it? This is much faster than I thought it was previously estimated."

Before Cheng Han could answer, Li Guangyuan, the Minister of Finance, said casually: "How did you prepare for war in the past? Now the three armies are expanding. Those who fly in the sky, those who run on the ground, and those who swim in the water will only increase. .”

Historically, Japan’s average annual oil consumption during the same period was about 500 million tons. Today’s Daming is much larger, so its total consumption is naturally much larger.

Moreover, due to the increase in automobile production year by year, the number of civilian automobiles is increasing; at the same time, the army, navy, and air force are all expanding their armies and preparing for war.

The helplessness in this aspect is similar to that of the Japanese—although Daming has several oil fields, the land is large, there are many people, there are many vehicles, there are many soldiers, and there are many ships.

Although the British are unlikely to dare to directly cut off the oil trade with Ming Dynasty, it is really difficult for the Angsan to hold this weakness in their hands.

If there is a lack of oil, the Eastern Fleet and the Southern Fleet will face the same dilemma as the United Fleet.

"I remember that the navy consumes more than two thousand tons every day." Zhu Lingjing said suddenly.

"Your Majesty, that was last year's measurement, and now... it is [-] tons." Lin Xi corrected.

This is still a navy in initial combat readiness, which consumes about 110 million tons of oil every year. If the training intensity and frequency are increased, the consumption can be close to 200 million tons.

The Army's current average annual consumption is about 70 tons, but with the rapid expansion of its size, it will soon go straight to 100 million tons.

The air force's oil consumption is special, about 75 tons per year, which will also quickly soar with the increase in size and training frequency, and the high-octane aviation gasoline it uses is more expensive to produce.

According to calculations in June of Zhichang 38, the average annual total oil consumption of the Ming army was about 260 million tons, and the total private oil consumption was as high as 1000 million tons.

Several people in the military department have been emphasizing the necessity and benefits of starting the war earlier, and spared no effort to make the emperor show an attitude of leaning towards his own side.

But at this time, even if you agree with the idea, it is not appropriate to directly express your position carelessly.

On such a military matter, the emperor's words and deeds must be cautious.

"A few years ago, I heard that there was a plan for man-made oil, right? What's the result recently?" As she spoke, Zhu Lingjing turned her head slightly to the right.

Zhou Changfeng, who understood, immediately replied without thinking: "That's right, but there are many difficulties."

Well, the various materials prepared these days are finally coming in handy!
He quickly took out one of the documents, and read aloud while browsing:

"my country has been recognized internationally as an oil-poor country before the proven oil fields, so it pays more attention to artificial oil. In the 25th year of Zhichang, a shale oil carbonization plant was established in Shenyang, hoping to use shale oil to obtain stable oil production. "

"But with the exploration of oil fields, this aspect is no longer taken seriously. In 34 and 35, the National Oil and Gas Company built a coal refinery in Taiyuan, using the 'Fischer-Tropsch' method and Liu's method respectively."

"Considering that there are rich oil fields in the Nanyang region, the military believes that it is not cost-effective to invest in man-made oil technology. Affected by this argument, this technology has become tepid, investment is not much, the technology has stagnated, and the production capacity of the pilot plant Only two thousand tons."

The so-called Fischer-Tropsch method refers to the synthesis of hydrocarbon mixtures developed by two German chemists, using carbon monoxide under high temperature and pressure with the assistance of metal catalysts such as nickel and cobalt, and then applying hydrogen to generate hydrocarbon mixtures. .

This move can use coal as raw material to produce fuel oil based on alkanes and olefins.

It can be said that Zhu Lingjing and Zhou Changfeng cooperated very subtly to pave the way for the subsequent decision.

"It should be so." The Admiral of the Navy Department said as it should be: "The oil fields in the south are right in front of our mouths. Instead of spending huge sums of money on researching this, why not use the money for military expenses? Even building roads and bridges."

After a while, Zhu Lingjing with an indifferent expression asked, "The General Staff, under the existing offensive strategy, if Britain and the United States have colluded, how long will it take to calm down the Philippines and Southeast Asia?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, if everything... no, generally goes well, it will take about three months."

"What if it doesn't go well?"

"Four and a half to five months." Cheng Han thought for a while, and said in a deep voice: "This is already a rather disappointing progress, and it is unlikely. If it is really worse, there will be more variables, which are unpredictable. "

The longer the time dragged on, the more variables there would be, and it was indeed unpredictable.

In fact, it is almost impossible to delay for such a long time. Historically, the British, Dutch, and U.S. troops in the Nanyang region were swept away within three months.

Although they are stronger in this plane, the Ming army is not just for nothing. In terms of the number and quality of heavy weapons, the Ming army's family background is much richer.

Thanks to the principle of "chicken and dog ascend to heaven", Zhou Changfeng, who has the title of a military plane waiting for an edict, only recently knew how much surprise the Ming army had prepared for the US military.

In order to conquer the hypothetical Bataan Fortress Area and Corojido Fortress Area, the Ministry of War secretly ordered two heavy mortars from Tianjin Naval Arsenal.

The Tianjin Arsenal, which is mainly responsible for manufacturing the main guns of cruisers and battleships, naturally built two mortars, both of which were secretly delivered to service last year.

The special No. 416 mortar has a caliber of 860㎜, a shell weight of 12㎏, a maximum range of 410㎞, and a muzzle velocity of [-]m/s.

Consistent with the smaller 320mm mortars equipped by the Siege Heavy Artillery Brigade, the shell shells of the new mortars are also nickel-vanadium-manganese alloy steel, and the warheads are tungsten-nickel-chromium alloys, which are expensive materials that match the country's heavy weapons. .

This thing can penetrate about three meters thick reinforced concrete, and can effectively destroy various permanent fortifications built by the Americans in the Philippines.

"Also, the military power of the United States will also increase, rather than remain static." Zhu Lingjing said suddenly, adding a key blow.

Zhou Changfeng took her words, listed and explained:
"It is estimated that in the spring of next year, the United States will have about ten infantry divisions, two armored divisions, and two cavalry divisions, with a total force of about 20 and 130 aviation squadrons. However, since the production of new weapons has not yet increased, equipment and training It's all very normal."

"But in the next year, it will increase at least five divisions and forty aviation squadrons, and its total force will increase to more than 30 people. Equipment and training will also be significantly improved. And if there are changes, the expansion of the army will be even faster. If it goes all out, it's entirely possible to swell to ... 50 people or more."

The imperial meeting has discussed so far, and the final decision is already obvious.

"So, does the cabinet have anything to say?" Zhu Lingjing asked, and the pressure immediately came to the prime minister and several cabinet ministers.

"But...but," Lin Xi hesitated, "The situation in Europe is unclear, God knows when a war will break out, and our country will not be able to prepare for the initial preparations until at least next year."

"Don't forget about diplomacy." Cheng Han looked at Yu Shenhua, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, "There are many ways to do this, and Mr. Yu Ge should have a lot of experience."

The latter replied in a deep voice: "It is indeed possible to obstruct and delay the decision-making of European countries, but the old man is not fully sure how much time can be bought for sure, it is impossible to predict."

"Enough is enough. Throughout the ages, there has never been a reason to go to war when you are fully prepared. [-]% preparation is enough." Wu Weihuan said.

The huge hall suddenly fell silent, only the breathing of the people present and the whirring of the air-conditioning outlet remained.

"It's not advisable to be blindly optimistic, but... this is not a reason to be conservative. We really need to be more positive now." Zhu Lingjing said lightly, and then spit out a few words, "Let's sum it up based on this."

It can be clearly felt that the atmosphere of the meeting site has changed drastically, which is very subtle and metaphysical, but it is indeed noticeable.

Zhou Changfeng also closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Because of the air conditioner, the indoor temperature is quite cool, and the feeling of taking a deep breath is extraordinarily cool.

The fate of Ming Dynasty, or China in other words, is mostly decided at this moment.

The summarized strategy was quickly drafted, and the core meaning is:

"Da Ming, with its vast land and abundant resources, can ensure sufficient supply of most materials, but the oil problem is difficult to solve.

In the long-term wait-and-see, (if there is a shortage of oil), the national defense force will gradually weaken, and at the same time, the strength of the greatest imaginary enemy will increase rapidly.

If things go on like this, Ming's ability to take the initiative to attack will decline significantly, and the strategic first-mover advantage will gradually decrease until it is lost.

For this reason, Ming must quickly occupy and consolidate the resource producing areas in the Nanyang region in the early stage of the war, supplement itself and weaken the enemy.

Before that, try to use various diplomatic means to contain, influence, and delay the start of the European war, so as to buy time for Ming's war preparations. "

In this way, the core topic of this imperial meeting was settled.

The representatives of the military department could see that they were in a good mood, while the members of the cabinet were clearly not feeling well, with mixed feelings.

But the meeting has to continue, and the next topic is to increase productivity, and it focuses on the productivity of the military industry.

After joint discussions, there was no dispute over the productivity expansion plan, and everyone quickly reached a consensus.

Next year, it is planned to increase the output of 270 types of general military steel to 55 million tons, 80 tons of special alloy steel, 14 tons of aluminum, [-] tons of ships, and [-] trucks.

In addition, Li Guangyuan suggested that a complete, comprehensive, and standardized general mobilization bill should be introduced to facilitate the unified coordination of all enterprises and the government, so as to exert their full strength as soon as possible in a possible general war.

The book "Total Warfare" and its concepts have been quite popular in recent years, and several cabinet ministers have studied it, and Li Guangyuan also wrote his own experience and evaluation.

As for the military department, it is more important. The Staff Office of the Metropolitan Government has organized a team to evaluate it.

By the end of the day, it was almost noon, and all the planned topics had been discussed, and this extraordinary imperial meeting came to an end.

A group of people came out of Wenyuan Pavilion all the way, Zhu Lingjing was thoughtful, while Zhou Changfeng was a little anxious.

elder sister!It's already noon, it's time to eat!

When she walked to the side of the car and was about to get in the car, Zhou Changfeng looked at the right time and said, "Your Majesty, I... can I go back first?"

"Where are you going?" Zhu Lingjing stopped walking and turned her head, feeling that this guy was inexplicable again.

"Uh... go home."

"Go home? Is something missing?"

"No..." Zhou Changfeng hesitated, "My wife... is waiting for me to go back to eat."

(End of this chapter)