Even though it was just a volcanic island, it was full of sulfur and foul smell; Although there is not a drop of fresh water to be found on the island, unless it rains, spring is spring after all, and in the hot sea breeze, nameless flowers and large weeds grow wildly all over Iwo Jima.

This sparsely populated and small island in the Central Pacific Ocean happens to be located between the Japanese Mariana Islands and Tokyo, and in the eyes of the Chinese and Japanese staff officers, after the war against the United States, the Mariana Islands will be the last line of defense between China and Japan -- it is certain that once the US Navy occupies Marianas, the bombs dropped by B29 bombers will fall on Japan.

In China, the industrial layout is mainly Liaodong Industrial Zone, Shanxi-Wuhan Industrial Zone, Nanjing Industrial Zone, as well as Baotou-Xi'an-Chengdu Industrial Zone and Beiting Industrial Zone in the Western Regions under construction. The oil field is one north and one west, Daqing in the north and Beiting in the west. As for the Yumen Oilfield and the Northern Shaanxi Oilfield, the Ministry of Industry believes that even if the cost of expansion is disregarded, the combined output of the two is only 2.5 million tons, which is better than nothing.

If only the Mariana Islands are lost, then under normal circumstances (US planes do not carry out in-flight refueling or one-way bombing), the entire Chinese mainland is safe -- Shanghai, Fuzhou and other places are about 3,000 kilometers away from the Mariana Islands, far beyond the B29 range, but if even Iwo Jima is lost, then the Nanjing Industrial Zone, the Liaodong Industrial Zone, the vicinity of Wuhan, and even the Daqing oil field are within the combat radius of the US bombers.

Even though the Daqing oil field is mysterious and difficult to find, the consequence of the loss of Nanjing Industrial Zone, Liaodong Industrial Zone and Wuhan is that all shipyards will be shut down under strategic bombardment, and the sea will be calm except for building some small submarines to continue fighting. That's why. The factories in the Baotou-Xi'an-Chengdu Industrial Zone and the Beiting Industrial Zone in the Western Regions are all as decentralized, hidden, and fortified as possible, but what is the use of losing the coastal areas? Although not afraid of the landing of American troops, although there is (and perhaps) the Persian Gulf, the Eurasian Canal. But strategically, the war has been lost. So in the General Staff plan, like the Luzon Peninsula to the south, Iwo Jima will be China's last line of defense.

On the grassy Oribo Mountain, looking at this small island, General Xu Jingxi, chief of the General Staff, kept shaking his head. He stomped the black volcanic ash under his feet and scolded: "How can you defend this bullshit place if you really fight?" ”

Accompanying Admiral Xu Jingxi on the mountain were General Pei Shoutong, former chief of staff, General Zhou Sixu, director of the General Logistics Department, General Lin Songjian, commander of the engineering corps, and General Lu Mengxiong, commander of the Marine Corps. Xu Jingxi shook his head, and the rest of the generals sighed. And from the moment I landed on the island, I began to sigh. The map marks that the island is eight kilometers long and one to three kilometers wide, although I know that it is small, but I did not expect it to be so small, and there are almost no hills and ravines on the island, it is difficult to hold on, there are many underground caves, but there is not even a drop of fresh water on the island.

"The best thing to do is to make the island disappear." Pei Shoutong was also extremely disappointed with Iwo Jima under his feet, but he always had to think of a way. "This is a volcanic island, if you can detonate a volcano. Then there is no question of whether to keep it or not. ”

"Hmm." Xu Jingxi nodded, let this island disappear or not be usable It is of course the best, I don't know if it is impossible.

"It's not that it can't be kept, the key depends on how the fortifications are repaired." It was General Lin Songjian, who was born as an engineer, who spoke. "As long as there's electricity. Supplies are not a problem, nor are the maintenance of underground fortifications and the supply of ammunition. ”

"But where is the electricity? There was no coal or oil, even if there was smoke wafting up. The bombs of the Americans also came. Admiral Lu Mengxiong felt very dissatisfied--it must be his soldiers who will defend the island in the future, and of course it is best not to defend it. But you have to be prepared for a war, just in case.

"Isn't this electricity?" Admiral Lin Songjian stepped on his feet. "Where there is a volcano, there is geothermal, and if there is geothermal energy, it can generate electricity, so why do you need a chimney? More than 20 years ago, Italy, the one that the Navy was about to pump, launched a 250 kilowatt generator set. I don't think there are any other islands, but there are a lot of volcanic geothermal heat, there are here, there are there, you really have to be willing to spend effort to operate, electricity is definitely not worried. If electricity is not worried, water is not worried; Ammunition...... If the reserves are insufficient, use the explosives back to the forest and deep river, there is sulfur, there is a lot of nitrate in the feces and urine, and then pull some charcoal to ......"

Although Lin Songjian's geothermal power generation made the generals' eyes shine, his nonchalant tone made everyone laugh. However, his tone was like this, but his thinking was serious, and the laughter of everyone did not affect him at all.

“…… Fortifications, factories, warehouses, these can all be built underground, if only the Americans are not allowed to build airfields, then it will not be a problem to hold them for a few years. The key is food and ammunition. He pondered, and finally repeated: "The most important thing is food, if you have two divisions, you will need more than 30,000 tons of food a year, and there is no port on this island at all, once it is surrounded, it will be a dead island, and there is no way to replenish it." ”

"If there is electricity, food is not a problem." Zhou Sixu, the chief of staff of the expeditionary force to Europe, was transferred to the General Logistics Department by Yang Rui very early, and he has a concept of logistics. "As long as the environment is proper, it is not a problem to store grain for three or five years, and meat, oil, salt, tea, tobacco and sugar can also be placed in cold storage, and space is not a problem. It's just that large-scale cold storage consumes 0.02 kWh of electricity per ton of grain per hour, which is 100,000 tons in three years; Meat consumes 0.08 kilowatts of electricity per ton per hour, which is 25,000 tons in three years, plus pumping, aeration, desalination, lighting, machinery, logistics, ammunition, ......" He looked up at Lin Songjian, "The total installed capacity shall not be less than 5,000 kilowatts, can it be done?" ”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Si was serious, Lin Songjian was stunned before saying, "How do I know?" But as long as it is a volcano, there is a lot of geothermal energy, and if it is not enough, it will hit the pipe to a few hundred meters below the ground like oil, and if it is not enough, it will hit a few more, anyway, there are volcanoes at both ends of the island, and the installed capacity is enough. I have another concern, what if the US military uses 10,000 tons of explosives to be blasted in a centralized manner? The island is made of volcanic rock, and it is solid, so I am afraid that someone will concentrate on blasting, which will cause the underground fortifications to form faults and make it impossible to communicate between the north and the south. Lin Songjian said the worst-case scenario, and then looked at Xu Jingxi: "Old Xu, it is better to guard this broken island than to guard the islands in front." This place is really, really too narrow! ”

"Of course, the islands in front of us must also be defended, and the geothermal power plants and large cold storage you are talking about must be built. This thing is much better than thermal power, there are no chimneys. Grain, meat, oil, salt, tea, tobacco and sugar are all ...... But what about vegetables? Xu Jingxi's thinking turned as soon as he was concrete. I'm worried about vitamins.

"If the submarine can't be refilled, the island can't be planted. Then you can only eat sprouts. The General Logistics Department of the Military Grain Department has repeatedly tried and found that mung beans are the best to store, broad beans are prone to insects, and soybeans are the worst. Mung beans are stored at low temperature vacuum for three years, and the germination rate is more than 50 percent, and 10 percent for five years. Zhou Sixu said. After he said that, he looked at Xu Jingxi and blamed: "At the beginning, you are ......, if you really want to build a geothermal power plant and build underground fortifications on this island, maybe you will have to spend two or three hundred million yuan, and with this money, it is better to build more aircraft carriers, what if the Americans jump off the island and attack?" This money is not thrown in vain! ”

Zhou Sixu's questioning also spoke of other people's thoughts, this island is lonely overseas. There is not even a waterway to a submarine, so what is the value of building fortifications? Xu Jingxi smiled helplessly: "The Japanese care about the Mariana Islands, and we care about two islands in the sea here, one is here, and the other is the Ogasawara Islands, and there are two islands over there." The rest of the Philippines, Taiwan, and Okinawa are all under the Army, and the islands are guarded by the Air Force.

The island-hopping tactic is feasible because there are other islands to jump on, west and north of Marianas, which can be used as a landing field for large bombers, and are isolated overseas and not within the protection of the Air Force. There are only three islands: Iwo Jima and Ogasawara. Mr. once said, we are poor ghosts, no better than the United States, they can build tactical aircraft and strategic aircraft; What about us? Resources are limited. It is entirely worth it to build carrier-based aircraft and land-based fighters, and if it only costs 1 billion yuan to eliminate the threat of US strategic bombing.

And the fortifications were repaired before the war. It was only during the war that large-scale aircraft carrier construction began. If you built aircraft carriers before the war, not to mention that the Americans would build them too. We can't make them. In case the Americans think the same way as the Japanese, they don't turn around. Or is it mainly battleships and aircraft carriers as auxiliary, doesn't this mean that it reminds them? ”

"Then the Mariana and Guam will not be repaired?" Xu Jingxi's words seemed to have some truth, and Lu Mengxiong, who was concerned about the mission of the Marine Corps, asked again.

"Of course, we have to fix it, but how to fix it has not yet been determined." Xu Jingxi pounded his head and said, "Based on the size required for large bombers to take off and land, there are about five islands over there that need to be fortified, and there is no geothermal heat over there." The only thing to rely on is the depth of the water over there, and as long as it is properly designed, the supply submarine can be resupplied at night. ”

"You're not going to throw all my soldiers on these broken islands, are you?" Thinking that an island as big as Guam had to be replenished by a submarine at night, and Xu Jingxi said it clearly, Lu Mengxiong was finally shocked, and he turned to look at Pei Shoutong, "What about the navy?" What about the fleet? What about Zhu Tiansen, damn it, I'm going to find Mr., how does the navy fight! ”

"Don't look for it!" Pei Shoutong patted him on the shoulder, "According to common sense, we can't build a large aircraft carrier before the war, because we have to lead the US military to the battleship." After the start of the war, there are more natural aircraft carriers than the US military, which is also the reason why many of our things are hidden and not revealed, but with the industrial strength of the United States, he will catch up after all.

Last year's intelligence showed that someone in the United States had applied for a patent for submerged arc welding, which means that because he could get rid of traditional riveting, his shipbuilding speed would be faster than before, but it is unknown whether they can promote submerged arc welding and whether they have mastered the truth of matching welding technology and steel. However, based on the potential capacity of the American shipbuilding industry, it is estimated that he has at least 20 dock slipways that can build capital aircraft carriers, and some can launch 30 ships in extreme terms; According to the CIA's estimates, the construction time of each ship is about two years in the early stage, and according to the learning curve in the later stage, after three or four years, it may be compressed to one and a half years or less. This is only the main aircraft carrier of more than 20,000 tons, and the simple aircraft carrier rebuilt by merchant ships is not counted......"

Bei Shoutong thought that Yang Rui's judgment on the American improvised aircraft carrier in the war was in the hundreds, and his expression suddenly became ugly. "It is very pessimistic to say that from the beginning of the third year of the war, no matter how great the previous victories of our army were, it would gradually be overtaken by the enemy, not only in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality. And once the navy loses in the decisive battle, then Trick, who has no danger to defend, must give up, and Mariana becomes a battleground. Whether attacking from the North Pacific or the Central Pacific, this is the best axis of attack; If the situation cannot be opened here, then the US military can only advance along the South Taiping towards the Philippines. The navy is a technical branch of the armed forces, and ships are the prerequisite for warfare, but the army is not exactly, especially when we are waiting for work.

It can be said that as long as we can hold on to the Mariana and Bataan Peninsulas, then domestic industry will not be at risk of being destroyed by US strategic bombers. Even if they are defeated, they are defeated one after another; As long as the United States drags on long enough and dies long enough in the course of the offensive, there will always be chaos at home. Pei Shoutong smiled and said, "Mr. said that the United States is a theocratic republic. But the last time I went to see it, I always thought that except for the southern states. Americans in other states are not so religious. ”

After leaving office, Pei Shoutong deliberately stayed in the United States for a period of time as a military attache in the United States, while Xu Jingxi stayed even longer, he went to the United States very early, and now he can talk directly to the Americans without the need for an interpreter.

"Let's just retreat all the way, and kill and wound the enemy by defending island by island in order to end the war?" When the others didn't speak, Zhou Si, who had been the chief of staff for half his life, was a little incredulous, the two most talented people in Nanyang Public School back then, they could only come up with such a battle plan?!

"Of course we will attack!" Xu Jingxi's eyes immediately sharpened. It seems to be able to break through the oncoming sea breeze. "But only to destroy the enemy's living forces. If carrier-based aviation is used to confront land-based aviation, it will be a very disadvantageous thing. In a war, it is not only necessary to kill the enemy, but also to settle accounts -- it is impossible to exchange a sea-based air force that can barely get on board in 300 hours to a land-based air force that can be used in 150 hours, not to mention that they also have land-based antiaircraft artillery to help them.

And even if we take the island, how many resources will we have to spend on defending it? Once the Americans jump islands, the resources invested are worthless, so they only have islands, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Pagan in the Marianas. and Iwo Jima, Ogasawara's Chichijima and Matoshima, the eight islands on the axis of attack that are worth the huge amount of resources we have invested in defending; The other is the Philippines, with a focus on the Luzon Peninsula, and these two directions are battleground for the US military. If these places are held, then the US military will have to pay a staggering number of casualties for every step forward. If there is a stalemate, the result will be peace talks; If we don't hold it, US strategic bombers will bomb our rear. The entire country's industry has come to a standstill, and we can only retreat to Yanzhou and Liaodong to fight guerrillas. ”

"The Americans launch thirty aircraft carriers a year. What about us? How much can you get into the water? The Ministry of Industry has been preparing for so many years, and hundreds of millions of machine tools have been bought in the past few years. All this money is always well spent, right? Zhou Sixu felt that Xu Jingxi's stubborn defense island by island might not be wrong, but he was a little unwilling, and the most unwilling thing was that China and Japan did not provoke the United States, why did they commit it?

"The result of the Ministry of Industry's assessment the year before last was that a maximum of 10 ships were launched a year, compared to the normal eight, and the construction period was slightly shorter than that of the United States. But don't expect anything from an improvised aircraft carrier. Xu Jingxi said. The output of destroyers and submarines will not be high, twenty or thirty a year, which is basically enough; There is also a standard merchant ship, which can basically make up for wartime losses. Tankers, cruisers will be nervous, it is estimated that tankers will be better. Xu Jingxi recalled a simple report provided by the Ministry of Industry the year before last.

"Can't we build more dockyards?" Lin Songjian saw that the gap in numbers was so big that he had to interject. "There are many places along the coast that can build ships, and if there are more docks, then the ...... that go into the water is not enough steel and workers?"

"It's neither, it's not enough money!" Bei Shou is the same way. "The most optimistic estimate is that the annual military expenditure after the start of the war will only be 30 billion. This is the estimate before the depreciation of the Chinese dollar, but the depreciation is only for foreign exchange, and how much the country can produce each year remains unchanged. Forty percent of the wealth created by the people of the whole country is invested in war, which is the limit of the wars in Europe, which is still the proportion of the rich industrial countries of Europe, and even less if it were an agricultural country like Tsarist Russia.

The GDP of the Americans before the war was close to 100 billion US dollars, and although it was depressed, there were all industries, mines, workers, and technology, and the Chinese people had a lot of savings, so the CIA believed that in a five-year period, the average annual US expenditure on the war would exceed 60 billion US dollars. It's clear that it's less than ten to three.

According to the previous analysis of the General Staff Headquarters, there are only two ways to win a naval battle: one is that the cost of our ships is only half that of the United States, so we can open more docks and start construction, and then 20 ships will be against 30 ships, plus the early advantage, and we will barely tie; The second is to spend all the wealth accumulated in the past 20 or 30 years, and to build it faster and twice as fast than the United States in the early stage of the war, and then rely on the tactical superiority and numerical superiority in the early stage to continuously fight wars of annihilation and make the enemy form a tactic of adding fuel.

But it's impossible! Pei Shoutong immediately denied the second method, "Knowing that the enemy is invincible, the US Navy will definitely hide in the military port and not come out, relying on the land-based air force and our hard attrition, and we do not have a strategic air force to bomb the United States, so we ......; As for the first method, although Mr. and the people of the Ministry of Industry are thinking of a way to push a big project, don't forget that we are a mainland country, and we have an increasingly powerful neighbor to the north, and a part of the military expenditure must be allocated to the Northwest Army. ”

“…… And then...... Let's ...... at the end Surrender?! After a long time, Zhou Sixu muttered dumbfounded, he didn't know what he was talking about.

"There is no surrender." Xu Jingxi immediately denied it. "Even if the casualties of the war at sea are not enough for the United States to negotiate an armistice, he does not have the ability and courage to go deep into the interior to fight a land war with us, and at the same time there is no need. After occupying Japan, he could use the first island chain as a base to carry out daily bombing and blockade of us, which achieved his original strategic goal - to nip our future threat to her in the bud. The world will be theirs, not ours. ”

Xu Jingxi's last sentence was melancholy, which only made everyone's hearts chill when they heard it. Everyone knows the historical position of the current era - the late Warring States period. At this time, the United States, which had two oceans and enjoyed the Americas, was Qin, the Soviet Union, which ruled the country with empty theories, was Qi, the poor but belligerent Germany was Zhao, the former hegemon but weakened Britain was Wei, France was Yan who begged for alliances to keep peace, Italy had no sense of existence but was invincible, and China, which had too thin foundation and shallow foundation, was only Chu, and Japan was annexed by Chu.

The state of Qi is destined to die out naturally and disintegrate itself, the state of Wei can only chisel the wall to steal the light, the fox and the tiger are mighty, France is surviving and Italy is not worth mentioning. The state of Zhao, which was able to compete with Qin, was defeated by the four kingdoms of Qin, Wei, Han and Qi twenty years ago, with millions of casualties among the Zhao soldiers and only 100,000 casualties among the Qin soldiers. The casualties are still secondary, the important thing is that Zhao has been poor and white since then, and his geographical location is really tragic, not to mention that he has no resources, and he is also surrounded by Qin, Wei, Yan, and Qi.

Only Chu is a potential opponent of Qin, but although Chu has a vast land and a large number of people, there are many barbarians and poor people; It was good not to be civilized before, but in recent years, the state of Chu has changed the law and is getting stronger and stronger, how can the state of Qin sit idly by? If you wait for the people of Chu to be rich and strong, don't say that they are hindered from dominating the world (Qin Jun has not yet decided to dominate the world at this time, the book is the same as the text, and the car is on the same track, but Qin Xiang and Qin Chen have long had the heart to win the world), even if they do not dominate the world, the Qin State must be worried about the rise of strong neighbors and the border is restless.

'Speak kindly, but with a big stick in your hand!' The motto of the ancestors of the Qin State is straightforward and concise, and its focus is not on 'harmony' but on 'big sticks', and domineering is better than kingship. It is the right thing to destroy the changes before the rise of the Chu State, and the war between the two countries is also in line with Qin's principles, not to mention that the Qin State has been unfavorable for several years, and the slaves are on the verge of rebellion, so if they don't spread their grievances to the outside, the political situation of the Qin State is afraid that it will be unstable. If this battle is won, Qin Jun will be at ease at the border, Qin Chen will be in the world, and the monarch and the minister will receive both; If this battle is lost, then please stop the loss in time for the peacemaker Wei Guo, in order to plan for the future, and at the same time the political situation is safe, it is also a double win.

History is always strikingly similar, and the reason is that intelligent human beings can only move forward according to their inherent thinking; And the fate of civilization is like the sand in an hourglass, irretrievably extinct. But the men who are constantly fighting in their fate always have to draw their guns and storm in the face of a strong enemy - since everything is going to die, why not be reckless before they die? Why don't you wash your boots with the blood of the captives?

The sky was cloudless, the sea breeze was hunting, and the five former generals of the Revival Army stood on the top of Zhebo Mountain completely silent, and in the distance, Lieutenant Colonel Chen Jiliang, who ran out of the exercise headquarters in the middle of the island, waved his hand to the top of the mountain, and after a while, the adjutant shouted the news:

The two armies were less than 200 nautical miles away from Iwo Jima, and in four hours, at dusk, the two fleets would be within striking distance. At that time, the aircraft carrier fleet commanded by Admiral Zhu Tiansen and the combined fleet commanded by Admiral Kato Kanji do not know whether they will be taught in the dark night; If not, then Admiral Kanji Kato will send people to the island at night, and according to the regulations of the exercise, the land-based air force of the landing side will join the exercise at a rate of two flight squadrons (32 planes) every 24 hours until 200 planes. This land-based force should not be underestimated, and once the combined fleet is sheltered by this, the exercise will not be so simple. (To be continued.) )