Glorious Mission 1937

After pondering for a while, Chen Feng raised his head and asked, "In Brother Houfu's opinion, what do we need to build a strong navy, and what should we do in turn to reach the Japanese's hometown?"

Chen Shaokuan thought for a while and said: "Whether it is the army or the navy, the quality of soldiers, weapons and equipment, logistics guarantee and other aspects that affect their combat effectiveness are not the only factors that affect their combat effectiveness. The quality of soldiers is divided into the quality of soldiers and the quality of officers. One of the most important factors.”

"Whether an army's combat effectiveness can meet the requirements, and its composition of officers and soldiers are extremely important. Let alone Zhu Mao in Yan'an, when he was strongest, his number was only more than 60. However, the Central Army has enough A total of [-] million people, plus the Guangxi Army, Sichuan Army, Guizhou Army, Dian Army, Majia Army and other warlord troops, the number of soldiers that can be used even reached more than [-] million. However, the Central Army suffered heavy losses in the first four out of the five encirclement campaigns , only achieved some results during the fifth encirclement campaign, but Zhu Mao and others were not eliminated, why is that?"

Then Chen Shaokuan continued: "This is related to the composition of the soldiers on both sides. According to the accounts of the Red Army prisoners captured by the Central Army, they advocate equality between officers and soldiers and do not implement a military rank system. All soldiers are voluntary to join the army, and they must Get educated and tell them why they fight, that's why Zhu Mao's army is so powerful!"

"On the other hand, the party-state conscripts when there are no soldiers, and arrests the young if they can't. When soldiers arrive in the army, they become cannon fodder for the superiors to earn military merits. The combat effectiveness of an army composed of people can be imagined. Therefore, if you want to build a strong navy, you must first improve the quality of the officers and soldiers.”

Chen Shaokuan's remarks are very reasonable. Although he has been emphasizing the quality of officers and soldiers, one of the central points he said is talents. Chen Shaokuan can put the importance of talents ahead of weapons and equipment.This made Chen Feng quite happy.

Military officers in this era also know the importance of talents, but they always believe that advanced weapons and equipment are far more important than a group of outstanding officers and soldiers, putting the cart before the horse.

"Let's talk about weapons and equipment. The importance of a group of advanced weapons and equipment to an army is self-evident. The focus of our talk today is the Japanese Navy. Let's talk about the weapons and equipment of the Japanese Navy! According to our intelligence department According to the latest intelligence, the Japanese Navy has at least 8 aircraft carriers, 10 battleships, 30 cruisers, and no less than 100 destroyers. In addition, the Japanese Navy has at least 3000 carrier-based aircraft and seaplanes. This is the number!"

"The Japanese naval ships not only have an absolute advantage in quantity, but also have an advantage in quality. Compared with the Japanese naval ships, the performance of our Chinese naval ships is not a star and a half. Take our naval flagship "Ping Hai" cruiser as an example. , called a cruiser, but its displacement is only 2383 tons, its length is only 1067 meters, and its width is only 119 meters. In fact, it is equivalent to a destroyer of the Japanese Navy. There are several Japanese warships with similar performance to Hirai Hundreds of ships. Without a group of advanced weapons and equipment that can check and balance the Japanese naval warships, it may be difficult to hit the Japanese's hometown." Chen Shaokuan said. [

Chen Feng thought for a while and said: "Brother Houfu, the problem of equipment is easy to solve. Brother, I have already obtained a batch of advanced ships, and there are quite a few of them, but because they are too advanced, our naval officers and soldiers are still unable to control them. Big guy, so the quality of officers and soldiers you said just now is very important. I agree with this point, if it can be summed up in a few words, it is talent! We lack enough naval talents!"

"Brother Houfu, if I entrust this batch of advanced ships and all the naval power in my hands to you, how long will it take for you to let them form combat power?" Chen Feng asked with great determination.

Chen Shaokuan was silent for a few minutes and asked: "Serious brother, I can't guarantee this. Since the new batch of warships you have acquired can't even be controlled by Chang Zhiguo and others. As their teacher, I can't guarantee it. It must be able to control it. In addition, I don’t know much about the navy under my brother’s command, so I really dare not guarantee it!”

Chen Feng said: "The navy under my command now has more than 250 ships of various types, including 11 aircraft carriers, 6 new main battle aircraft carriers, and the remaining 5 are not bad. In addition, there are 4 battleships, 28 cruisers, and 33 destroyers. And 49 frigates, and some auxiliary ships such as minelayers, minesweepers, and supply ships, in addition to nearly a hundred submarines and more than a thousand carrier-based aircraft!"

"So many? What's the performance of these ships?" Chen Shaokuan asked in surprise.

"The performance is very good. There are still about 60 old warships that have been scrapped, and the rest are new ships launched last year and this year. Don't worry about that!" Chen Feng said proudly.

"What about the navy officers and soldiers?" Chen Shaokuan asked again.

"Now the navy under my command is divided into three fleets and a submarine force, with a total strength of 475 million people, but part of it is the Marine Corps, that is to say, the naval force responsible for landing on the beach. These people cannot participate. The naval battle of the navy is not the real navy, it can only be regarded as a branch of the army, if these people are thrown away, the navy only has more than 3 people." Chen Feng said.

"More than 3 people are a bit small, and more than 250 ships need at least 5 people!" Chen Shaokuan said.

"That's true, so I plan to expand the number of the navy. The strength is tentatively set at 68. There is no shortage of soldiers, but the quality of the soldiers cannot be guaranteed!" Chen Feng said.

Chen Shaokuan thought for a while and said, "Actually, we also have experience in training naval personnel!"

"What experience? Where did you get it from?" Chen Feng asked strangely.

Chen Shaokuan said: "The experience comes from the overturned Qing Dynasty. To put it bluntly, it is the Westernization Movement! That's where the experience comes from!"

Chen Feng knew about the Westernization Movement. It took place from the 60s to the 90s. It was a self-rescue movement adopted by a part of the Westernization faction in the feudal ruling class under the double blow of foreign invasion and domestic peasant uprising.It was also during the Westernization Movement, under the slogan of "strive for strength", they created the modern Chinese navy.But what is the relationship between the Westernization Movement and the training of naval personnel, Chen Feng is really not clear about this!

I saw Chen Shaokuan said rather sadly: "Although the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty suffered a heavy blow in the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-], the main fleet was wiped out. However, the measures taken by the Westernization Movement to cultivate talents for the establishment and strengthening of the navy are But it is effective and has left a lot of useful experience.”[

Seeing that Chen Feng was listening, Chen Shaokuan continued: "The foreign aggression of the Qing Dynasty came from the sea, so the late Qing government also attached great importance to the development of the navy. To be honest, China really owes its navy to the Western powers and Japan. Shame on Maru Oguni, especially the latter!"

"Looking at the western powers, I know very well that if they hadn't opened the door of China in a rampage, China is still a closed feudal country. To a certain extent, we really have to thank those western butchers with butcher knives! This point It is the same as Napoleon's conquest of Germany, which also promoted the emancipation of the mind! But I don't understand that thanks to the Japanese, why?" Chen Feng said with a smile.

"The relationship between Japan and China has been a master-servant relationship since the Han and Tang Dynasties. The Japanese have always regarded China as an object of study, and that kind of admiration comes from the bottom of their hearts. But this phenomenon in the West Great changes have taken place after the arrival of the great powers, especially after the Meiji Restoration, when Japan’s national power grew stronger and stronger, successively abolished a series of unequal treaties signed with Western countries during the shogunate era, regained national sovereignty, and finally entered modernization.”

"In 1874, Japan, a small and backward country in the eyes of the Qing government, was instigated by the United States to provoke the Qing Empire. It sent troops to invade Taiwan, annexed Ryukyu, and forced the Qing Empire to compensate military expenses and demand 50 taels of silver. This shocked the ruling group of the Qing Dynasty even more. At the same time, it also made the rulers of the Qing Dynasty realize the truth that the reason why foreigners dare to be domineering and unscrupulous in China's seas is because China does not have a strong navy. Foreigners Relying on one's own "ships and guns", there is fear."

"In the face of the continuous provocations by foreign invaders and the long and empty coastal defense line of the Qing Dynasty, many ministers advocated the strengthening of coastal defense construction, emphasizing that we must start now. Although it is too late to make immediate preparations, there is still room for recovery. Then General Wen Huang of Fuzhou, Li Henian, Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Shen Baozhen, Prime Minister of Shipping, jointly stated: "Japan...and those who dare to make a show of it are also peeking at the incompleteness of China's equipment and relying on the secret support of the United States. . . . The country still has the No. [-] iron-clad ship, although it is not complete, but it is more than enough to destroy ordinary ships. There is one but I, and the navy will take it away...' Request to form the Qing Dynasty's own navy, just like this China Only then did we have our own navy. Although we should not be grateful to the Japanese in the process, we had to do so in the end!"

"This is true, but does the experience of the Qing Dynasty's Westernization Movement really guide our naval construction? You must know that the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty was eventually wiped out by the Japanese. Sadly, if Li Hongzhang hadn't been assassinated and injured in Tokyo, I'm afraid China would suffer even more extortion, is their experience really useful?" Chen Feng was very skeptical about this.