After he finished speaking, he realized that he had missed the supply problem, so he said: "The supply will be solved by the iceberg plan submitted by the General Staff of your country." ”

"The iceberg program can only be used in the northerly seas, preferably north of 30 degrees north latitude, but Panama is obviously in the South Pacific, and if you pull the iceberg to the equator, even if it doesn't melt, how much power will it take to maintain it?" Yang Rui asked again.

"That's ......," Shitaro Shimada still sweats on his forehead, "we haven't calculated it in detail, but if we take reliable measures to keep warm, we believe that we can barely maintain the iceberg by relying on three times the refrigeration equipment." ”

"It's still a matter of experimentation." While speaking, Yang Rui imagined the situation of dragging a huge artificial ice city to the South Pacific, although it could not be so south, but the water surface temperature in the South Pacific Ocean in summer was 50 degrees, and the water temperature below 20 meters was also 30 degrees, and the artificial ice city was pulled here I really don't know if it could be maintained. As a matter of fact, the General Staff also has a plan to land in Panama, and the base is to rely on the US Jarvis Island, which is the closest to Panama, but it is also more than 8,000 kilometers from here to Panama, and it is next to the British Christmas Island.

A 180,000-strong Triangle Marine Division needs 220,000 tons of merchant ships, and six divisions need 1.3 million tons, which is about 150,000 tons of merchant ships, not including oil tankers, ammunition trucks, and grain carriers. Based on the four aircraft carrier formations' raids on targets 8,000 kilometers away, it is estimated that one million tons of oil will be burned in this trip, and the total amount of oil burned by merchant ships and oil tankers themselves is about 1.2 million tons. Combined with the ammunition and gasoline needed for the operation, the fuel for armored vehicles, and the supplies along the route and for a month of operation, this is another 300,000 tons. Oil tankers, cargo ships. In addition to the ships of the aircraft carrier formation itself, an overwhelming fleet of more than 300 ships will sail on the sea for half a month. It's really hard to keep it a secret.

It was precisely because of the impossibility of secrecy that the plan of the General Staff was not adopted during internal discussions. At this time, the U.S.-occupied Panama Canal Zone had just over 10,000 troops. However, there are more than a dozen ready-made military bases of the US military there, and there will definitely be more troops in wartime. Even if the U.S. military could not tell whether China and Japan would land on the West Coast, Hawaii, or Panama, it would be common sense that there would be at least three or four U.S. divisions here. And once the battle is stalemate, the southern army of the United States will definitely be reinforced, and in just one or two thousand miles, a few divisions can be pulled up in a few days, followed by an overwhelming number of fighters and bombers, and then the war will be difficult to fight.

The General Staff then made a supplementary plan. That is to send two aircraft carrier squadrons, with the secret assistance of Argentina, to enter the Atlantic Ocean to break diplomatic relations, initially pretending to sail to the east coast of New York, but halfway into the Caribbean Sea, which can be regarded as a front and rear attack on the Panama Canal. However, the supply of materials is still a problem, although according to the neutrality law, the oil tankers of the aircraft carrier group can sail into the oil-producing Venezuelan Rena to buy oil, fresh water and supplies, but the oil in Central America is basically controlled by Standard Oil, in case Venezuela does not sell or restrict the sale is also a troublesome matter. Cuba is anti-American, but the problem is that Cuba does not produce oil, only sugar. It's impossible to burn sugar.

From ancient times to the present, all operational plans have been constrained by logistical supply, and when one's own aircraft carriers have an advantage in numbers, it is also logistical replenishment, especially fuel consumption, that restricts the use of troops. According to the calculations of the East African campaign, the General Logistics Department believes that in the sea area about 5,000 kilometers away from the base, an aircraft carrier group must be accompanied by 200,000 tons of oil tankers. 10,000 kilometers must be accompanied by 500,000 tons of oil tankers. Not only are the large formations difficult to hide, but the tankers are also vulnerable to attack.

Another problem is that these high-speed oil tankers increase the cost of shipbuilding - to drive a tanker carrying 20,000 tons of oil at a speed of 28 to 30 knots, the power must be at least 120,000 horsepower. This has to be a steam turbine. The 120,000-horsepower powertrain required 3 million,[160] for even the worst, and the 26,000-ton displacement for a full load could cost as much as 6 million. Ten ships in one formation are 60 million. If 30 aircraft carriers are mass-produced every year, this is 300 million.

In view of the intention of Soviet Russia to conclude a treaty of mutual assistance against aggression. The General Staff Department has allocated 500 million yuan from the army's 5 billion military expenditure, and 2 billion yuan from the 10 billion military expenditure of the air force and naval aviation (mainly due to the high unit price estimate of aircraft in the early stage, which will be 100,000 yuan per aircraft after revision), and 2 billion of these 2.5 billion yuan will be allocated to the navy to build ships. Among them, in addition to 300 million for merchant ships, 500 million for low-speed oil tankers, 500 million for submarines, and 400 million for escort formations (under the jurisdiction of 1 10,000-ton 20-knot escort aircraft carrier, 2 1,500-ton low-speed frigates), the remaining 4.2 billion yuan is mostly used for the construction of aircraft carrier combat formations (under the jurisdiction of 6 aircraft carriers, 12 6,500-ton air defense cruisers, 24 2,600-ton destroyers, 1 high-speed supply ship, 1 high-speed ammunition supply ship, 1 high-speed repair ship, and 10 26,000-ton high-speed oil tankers).

There will certainly be a shortage of ships in the early stages of the war, but there will also be insufficient initial military spending, mainly through tax increases and the issuance of bonds, which can only be met by issuing additional paper money. Based on the calculation of 4.2 billion to build six aircraft carrier combat formations, each combat formation can be apportioned to 840 million, which is 60 million short of the total cost of each combat formation of 900 million, so Yang Rui is very entangled in whether composite armor should be used on aircraft carriers, no matter how much this thing is saved, it will cost 3,500, and six ships will cost 200 million.

According to the Japanese, the 35 million Chinese dollars were enough for them to build two Canglong-class aircraft carriers, and the Naval Design Bureau of the General Logistics Department meant that when the military expenditure was sufficient in the early stage, composite armor could be laid, and in the later stage, when the military budget was tight and the price was high, they would lay 3.5-inch VH armor, although it could only barely withstand 500 kilograms of bombs, but it was better than nothing. As for the distribution of these two types of aircraft carriers, the General Staff believes that it should be decided according to the pilot's flight time.

From the battle plan to logistics, then from logistics to wartime military spending, and finally to the pitiful military spending that could not make the aircraft carrier achieve the most affordable level of protection, began to be entangled in the aircraft carrier allocation ....... Yang Rui was distracted, and when he came back to his senses, he happened to hear Shigetaro Shimada complaining that composite armor was too expensive, and he couldn't help but say, "Then what's not expensive?" ”

"Your Excellency, the designer of our Naval Administration Headquarters believes that the ships provided by the Naval Design Bureau of your country are generally expensive, and the construction price of warships is very high. It's just a little cheaper than the United States. Shigetaro Shimada said: "In a naval battle, the planes sent by the air carrier can be seen as shells fired by battleships. The more shells there are, the more enemy ships will be hit, even if the hit rate is low. It's worth thinking about spending so much money on protection.

The Ship Administration Headquarters of our country also believes that with our excellent shipbuilding methods, each air carrier can save 30 percent of man-hours compared with the common shipbuilding method, and the production efficiency and cost of other parts and steel are also greatly better than those of the United States, and the wages of workers are only one-seventh of that of the United States, as evidenced by the fact that the cost of the Canglong of the United States is less than 40 million yen.

Although the combat of an air carrier is different from that of a battleship, the aircraft is like a cannon fired by a battleship, and the more planes there are, the greater the probability of victory. According to the Ship Administration Headquarters of the People's Republic of China. The 35 million composite armor should be abolished, and the design redundancy should be further removed, and the cost of carrying aircraft should definitely be reduced to less than 30 million Chinese dollars. ”

Composite armor is strongly promoted by China, but many in the upper echelons of the Japanese Navy believe that this is unnecessary, it is better to build an additional large air carrier, and the design redundancy everywhere should also be reduced or even removed. Yang Rui knew that the Japanese had complaints about the design of their aircraft carriers, and last year the two sides made a revision on the basis of the new Changning class, and came up with a wartime standard air carrier. But now he still wanted to reduce it further, and he said with some displeasure: "Your Excellency thinks that laying flying armor is not necessary?" ”

"It's not!" Shimada shook his head flatly. "The laying of 3.5-inch armor only adds 2.57 million yuan to the construction cost, which is less than one-tenth of the construction cost, which is not much, but the composite armor is too expensive. Almost more expensive than an empty mother. If the construction cost of an ordinary armored air carrier is 30 million Chinese dollars, then the construction cost of a formation is only 485 million Chinese ......"

"Four-eight-five million?" This time, Yang Rui was stunned, he glared and said, "You're not joking, are you?" ”

"How dare we joke!" Lieutenant General Shigetaro Shimada was serious. "Factories in your country are used to three years of depreciation. It's too ......" he couldn't find any words to describe it. This is actually a rule set by Yang Rui in the former Qing Dynasty, when the situation was precarious. And the sale is a good thing, so the goods are priced by skimming. The depreciation of fixed assets is reduced to three years. "After calculation, the Shipbuilding Headquarters of our country believes that 30 million Chinese yuan is enough to lay ordinary armor built in China's shipyard, and there is no need to choose 170,000 horsepower horses, but 150,000 horses."

Although the power system is expensive, it is not worth much, Yang Rui insists that the greater the horsepower, the better, so mobile, the combat formation is thousands of miles overnight. At this time, the Japanese actually came up with a half-cheaper cost, and he immediately asked: "Is there such a thing?!" Ordinary 30 million is enough? ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Shimada nodded, "Ten million Chinese dollars for a cruiser is enough, and half for a destroyer." He said: "Compared with the United States, we not only build ships faster, but the construction cost is only one-fifth of theirs. Before coming, Ishihara-san had commented on this: In terms of numbers, although the scale of our industry is only a quarter of that of the United States, if the price of commodities is calculated, the output of our industrial products is not less than that of the United States, because the prices of our commodities are at least half lower than those of the United States. ”

"Indeed, Your Excellency." Ishihara bowed again. "We should not only look at the total amount of the economy, but also at the quantity of goods produced. Countries impose high tariffs on our goods, and if we want to sell them in foreign markets, we have to pay more costs and costs than local companies, and the price of our goods is actually only half or even one-tenth of that of domestic products. The motorcycle of your country Shifeng Company lost the lawsuit precisely because the price difference between the motorcycle in your country and the motorcycle in the United States is too large. As a result, Mexico sued us for dumping our bikes, saying that the price of our bikes exported was too low, only $5 a piece......"

At this time, Shimada's words suddenly opened a window to Yang Rui - indeed, he had always looked at the gross domestic product, only compared with the gross domestic product of China and the United States, so that he thought that his industrial scale was only a quarter of that of the United States, but did not take into account the price of goods. If the price factor is taken into account, then even if the selling price is half of that of the American product, there is half the production in the United States. However, ......, the number of machine tools and workers does not show that China has half of the United States! Why is that?

Yang Rui thought about it for a few laps and didn't figure out why, and suddenly heard Shimada talk about Mexico, and he said angrily: "Mexico is a ********!" At the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Pai Hua signed a contract saying that he would pay us millions of taels, but now it has been almost 30 years, and he has only given 500,000 taels, and he dared to rule that we were dumping, so he sent a battleship to beat him! ”

"Your Excellency......" Fushimi Palace saw that Yang Rui was angry, and said that he sent battleships, obviously handing over this matter to Japan. He doesn't think it's wrong, because Japan produces no less bicycles than China. "What if the United States sends a fleet to protect Mexico?"

"It's not easy to handle." Shigetaro Shimada, who was bent on a Panamanian strategy, also objected. "Your Excellency, for the sake of the Panama Raider. On the contrary, our side should try its best to make good friends with the countries of Mizhou, instead of facing each other with gunboats like the United States. Commander Roosevelt of the United States also began to implement a good-neighborly policy, I wonder if he is worried that we will attack Mizhou? ”

Both of them said so, and Yang Rui had no choice but to stop, and he was about to ask about the cost of Shimada's ship when Kanin Miyazaihito and Ishihara whispered and said: "Your Excellency, if the army attacks Panama, it is best to use motorcycles in the jungle, which are more mobile and flexible than self-caries." ”

"Our Marines are already using motocross bikes." Yang Rui said. "Your country can buy it into the army, and you can refer to our price to get the goods. In fact, motorcycles are cheap. When the soldier has one in his hand, the jungle and the silent bicycle are alternately used in combination, and they will definitely be able to kill the opponent by surprise! ”

"Yo Xi! Motorcycles are best suited for jungle warfare. "The old devil is rarely excited. He proposed this because he heard that the Chinese Marine Corps was newly equipped with off-road motorcycles - at the end of last year, he personally sent a telegram to General Zhou Sixu to ask for three, and praised them after trying them. This guy was born in cavalry, graduated from the Saumur Black Knight Cavalry Academy in France, and he really regretted that the cavalry disappeared from the war, but the off-road motorcycle gave him hope, he originally wanted to install a bulletproof plate in front of the motorcycle, but after testing, it was found that the 6mm steel armor was also more than 200 kilograms. Only then did I understand why this off-road motorcycle was designed so simply, which sought light speed.

Later, it was Ishihara's follower Masanobu who used the instinct of the Japanese army's suicidal charge to go into battle in person, and he put on thickened nylon body armor. Aiming at the high-speed charge of the Makqin machine gun position, although he was half-killed by rubber bullets on the spot, he was subjected to the stained bullet points on his body and many tests. He actually thought that he could carry out motorcycle artillery (mortar) coordination, so he added this tactic to the jungle warfare lesson plan. It is promoted throughout the army and is also intended to be recommended to China.

In fact, when motorcycles are running all over the street. The General Staff has long seen its value, but this thing is not armored, except that it is faster than infantry, and it is not at all as good as armored vehicles, of course, on average it is cheaper than armored vehicles. The place where it can really be used is the jungle, where the chariot is not easy to go, but it is very flexible. The 175cc, eight-horsepower gasoline engine consumes only 3.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, and the weight is also light, and the 80 kilograms of additional parts are removed to ensure that two soldiers can be lifted, and the load is not bad, and it can carry two people in an emergency, and the most important thing is the price, the winning bid price of 78 yuan and 9 is cheaper than a semi-automatic rifle.

However, the old men of the Mystery Institute are still too expensive, saying that the Volkswagen car is only one hundred and nineteen, and you want to top a Volkswagen with three motorcycles? It's too black-hearted! A group of people deliberately went to Shanxi Second Automobile to investigate, and saw that a large number of manganese steel and nickel steel were used in the whole vehicle, and the engine was not an ordinary single cylinder but a double cylinder, and there were fewer doubts. But these people still did not give up, as soon as they came out of the Shanxi factory, they took the cost details provided by the Shanxi factory to the other three factories that failed in the bidding and walked around, and finally pondered and explored for a long time before they gave up - the old men were distressed about the money, so they wanted to find out the thief who stole their own taxes. But no, seventy-eight yuan nine, it's so expensive.

"The motorcycle force is good, but everyone must be able to repair it, everyone can drive it, and the fuel supply must be normal." Yang Rui didn't know what was behind the motorcycle winning the bid, and only remembered the performance of the motorcycle. "Seven liters of oil looks like it can run 200 kilometers, but in fact, it is very winding in the jungle, at most 30 kilometers, or even less than 30 kilometers."

"Your Excellency, we will let the soldiers carry fourteen liters of gasoline when the time comes, Panama is only more than eighty kilometers, and that is enough." Ishihara Wanerdo. It seems that the Japanese army and navy have communicated with each other, and a rare agreement has been reached - the Pacific Naval War Army did not sing, except to defend the island. Now the navy suddenly says that it is going to land in Panama, and of course they are one hundred and twenty willing.

Ishihara Waner said this, Yang Rui had to shake his head, Showa staff officer was really brave, he looked at Fushimi again, and saw that he was also looking forward to himself nodding, so he said: "We have also done the Panama landing plan before......" He saw that several Japanese were energetic, and emphasized: "Fighting a war is not a gamble, logistics is the focus of operations." The failure of the offensive not only killed people and lost money, but also seriously damaged morale and wasted a golden opportunity, so it must be considered that it must be full and sufficient. ”

After he said that, he looked at the Japanese again, Fushimi nodded frequently, but Xianyuan smiled stiffly, indicating that he agreed, and it was he who said: "The two of you will stay here for a few more days, tomorrow I will let Ji Mei come over, let's discuss it briefly first, the two plans are comprehensive, pick on each other's faults, but more importantly, put forward more constructive suggestions, don't blush." ”

"That's for sure." Fushimi smiled a little awkwardly. My family knows their own affairs, not to mention the army, even in the navy, there are many officers who drink too much and will beat people, because they have had disputes on specific matters. And with what Yang Rui has learned, the temperament of the senior officer of the little devil is to be proud when he gains power, and to lift the table when he loses power, and the internal factions are fighting very fiercely, and the more obvious ones are the treaty faction represented by Kato Yuzaburo and the fleet faction represented by Kato Kanji.

"Then now you are not worried about peace talks?" Seeing Fushimi's embarrassment, Yang Rui asked the next question.

"Don't worry." Fushimi and Kanin glanced at each other, and some spoke in unison. What they are most worried about is that Yang Rui has changed his mind, and Yang Rui is one of the only three remaining elders in Greater China, and the other two have the same idea as him. As long as Yang Rui remains unchanged and people don't panic, they will be determined in their hearts, not to mention that everyone has begun to discuss how to take the Panama Canal and reach the peak of national fortunes.

"Pavilion...... ...... next," Ishihara stammered a little, "Did the Tridame Stone Project really fail?" He asked.

Sure enough, it was a famous figure in later generations, Yang Rui thought to himself, he deliberately understated: "I'll know when the time comes." ”

"Your Excellency......" Ishihara Wan'er had a really such expression, his short legs hurriedly walked up two steps, and then asked: "May I ask if this is the secret weapon for landing in the Philippines and dealing with the bombers of the Mi Army?" ”

"Why do you say that this is something that landed in the Philippines and dealt with the bombers of the Mi Army?" Yang Rui didn't say anything because of his identity, so he had to ask rhetorically.

"Your Excellency has never been worried about the bombers of the Chinese army in the Philippines, but because you are worried that the bombers of the United States will spend a lot of money on the construction of fortifications on Iwo Jima, this seems very contradictory; Furthermore, you are never indulgent in handling things, and you grasp everywhere, how can a project with an investment of more than one billion yuan fail? Xiao Zhi judged that this weapon was powerful but extremely heavy, so his own transport plane could not transport it to Iwo Jima. "Ishihara Wan'er dissected like a detective, and he actually said that the head is the way.

"You're so smart!" Yang Rui looked at him and sighed, "But it's not good to be smart." Let me ask you, what should we do if we want to make the same judgment impossible for Americans? ”

"It should be ......," Ishihara thought for a moment, "Your Excellency, I shouldn't do anything." ”

"Nothing?" Yang Rui asked rhetorically. He remembered that Zhang Shi also said the same, but he wanted to induce the Americans - with the progress of physicists in various countries in various aspects, the secret of atomic nuclear fission really does not know how many years can be kept. It is very likely that as soon as the Philippines is bombed, there will be results over there.

"Yes, Your Excellency. No matter what you do, it's a cover-up, and a cover-up means it's important; And it will often remind people of this incident, and Xiao Zhi thinks it's better to forget about it. "Ishihara Wanerdao.

After he finished speaking, Yang Rui didn't nod or ask, just groaned, but Fushimi and Xianyuan looked at him, looking at him to reveal something, but after half a sound, Yang Rui pointed to the deer that came and smiled: "As soon as I came out, I hit a deer, it seems that I have good luck today." (To be continued.) )

PS: Note 160: Reference: From October 1933 to October 1935, the Kaga refitting cost 6,745,104 yen (the first in the history of Showa shipbuilding), of which the main item was to replace the 90,000-horsepower boiler with a 127,000-horsepower boiler, in addition to the addition of anti-aircraft guns, adjustment of the center of gravity after modification, addition of living compartments, extension of the hull, removal of the extended flue, etc. Based on the estimated labor cost of 40%, minus the cost of the anti-aircraft gun compartment and other expenses, the cost of the boiler system is about 3 million yen; In 1911, the winning bid for the steam turbine of the Hiei was 132,000 pounds, which was equivalent to 2.02 million yen according to the exchange rate and price index, and the total of the two was 5 million yen, or about 3 million Chinese dollars.