Part 6 Chapter 13 Promoter of Interest

Today's Netherlands is no longer the "sea coachman" he used to be. Today's China is not the Qing Dynasty he used to be.

As the American Minister Rou Keyi said in his report to the president. Over the past 20 years, the Chinese government has adopted tough policies, ruthlessly suppressed the old Manchu forces, and forced the traditional ruling class, landlords, to give up the habit of relying on land to eat and join the ranks of industrial development. Although China's industrial development over the past 20 years is still not comparable to that of the United States as a world industrial power. However, China has accumulated too much wealth since the Ming Dynasty, when the nation's wealth potential is passed by Chinese politics.

After the government excavated it with various means, we were surprised to see that it took only twenty years for the Chinese to establish a military industrial system that was enough to confront any industrial power in the world. We were even more surprised to find that the Chinese people, with their unique hard-working qualities, silently endured the pains of social change. Although occasionally people would complain a little dissatisfied, most people still chose to support the rule of Shen Congyun, a dictator, in the face of the great satisfaction of national self-esteem again and again.

Looking at the past twenty years, the Chinese government has devoted its main energy to railways, mines, shipbuilding, military industry, and other areas of people's livelihood to encourage private capital investment. China has enough cheap labor and raw materials, and the cost of grey cloth produced by China is only one-third of that of American goods. There are too many such examples, so I will not give them one by one. Just open your eyes to see who is occupying the mainstream sales channels in the current Chinese market and who is controlling the vast rural and township markets. We should pay enough attention to the power of China's new bourgeoisie. The US government should realize that in the future space competition in the Pacific, China will be the main rival of the United States.

China and the United States have had a good cooperative relationship in the past. I have a good personal relationship with Mr. Shen Congyun, but from the perspective of national interests, I still want to reiterate a point of view to the President again - it is time to appropriately restrict China.

Rou Keyi is undoubtedly a visionary politician, but this report did not attract the attention of the US government. The reality is that the US government is now busy paying attention to the situation in Europe. Coupled with the isolation policy that the United States has always pursued, a report by the ambassador to China is really difficult for the US government to shake its long-term expansion of its influence in China and increase cooperation with China in various fields.

More importantly, in the past decade, the United States has experienced two economic crises. During these two economic crises, a large number of Chinese orders have helped the US machinery manufacturing industry overcome difficulties. A large number of Chinese companies have come to the United States to recruit technicians, alleviating the difficulties in the US employment rate. The most important thing is that in the past two decades, China has been the world's largest importer of American products, although China's imports are mainly finished machinery and raw materials.

To rashly change the current Sino-US relations, a large number of American consortiums investing in railways, oil and automobiles in China cannot agree. Losing China, the largest overseas market, is unimaginable for the US government.

Just when the Dutch government was active internationally and shouted for the international government to interfere in the Sino-Dutch Indonesia dispute, Shen Congyun rejected the Dutch government's negotiation proposal and announced the formation of a joint fleet, threatening to fight with the Netherlands at all costs.

"Don't anger China at this time!" Rou Keyi received such an instruction from the US Secretary of State, which was a strong signal that the US government decided to choose between China and the Netherlands.

The German and Austro-Hungarian Empire also responded positively. The two countries expressed in unison, "The Chinese government sent troops to Indonesia on the basis of protecting the expatriates, showing from another aspect that the Dutch government's long-term discrimination against Chinese in Indonesia, which eventually led to an irreconcilable outbreak of conflicts." It is obvious that the allies did not regard the interests of the Netherlands as a club at all. It was between a China with the most well-equipped army today, with an army of 800,000, and a small European country.

It's easy to choose. In fact, the essence of the expulsion trend in Surabaya was the consistent method of the Dutch colonists to use the indigenous checks and balances the Chinese. This was a strategy adopted from the perspective of the rulers. Unfortunately, although the great powers were all doing this in their respective colonies, they could only express their regrets about the life and death of the Dutch government. Of course, some politicians in private might even pity the Dutch people's bad luck, that's all.

Britain and France, which have given up a lot of interests in China, naturally do not want their previous work to be done in vain. It is undoubtedly unwise to offend China for a small Netherlands.

"Follow, regret, worry, and no help." These words are almost the most common words in European politicians in the past month. Just as the Americans launched the Spanish-American War, the Dutch government discovered that in the blink of an eye, they had been abandoned by the world's powers and could only face China alone. At this time, China was like an African lion who had just grown up, and had a good appetite and reached out to build a territory of its own.

Although the Dutch government did not feel that its strength could be comparable to that of China, which defeated Russia, the things in its pocket were taken away and they were always reluctant. On June 3, the Dutch government announced that if the Chinese government insisted on sending troops to Indonesia, the Netherlands would fight at all costs.

War is a continuation of politics. In fact, no government is willing to fight if it is done or not. Isn’t life of peace and stability very nourishing? In the final analysis, interests are the real driving force behind the war.

In Indonesia, the Dutch basically adopted the management of local indigenous peoples by Chinese, and used the local indigenous people's anti-rich mentality and balanced the Chinese. After the anti-China trend broke out, the Dutch authorities still expressed their willingness to negotiate with each other with sincerity. It was easy to discuss whether to lose money or open the Indonesian market, as long as China did not send troops.

The attitude is very sincere, but driven by greater interests, China closed the door to peace talks and insisted on sending troops. What this involves is not just the issue of protecting overseas Chinese, but China wants to send troops to Indonesia. The interest groups involved are not only China and the Netherlands, but also the interests of Britain and the United States.

Since it involves the issue of interest distribution, we must sit down and have a good talk. What to talk about and how to talk about it, there is no need for Chen Congyun to come forward. All Chen Congyun needs to do is to give a general direction and then bargain with representatives of all parties. One thing is very clear. As the party sending troops, China must occupy the majority of the interests.

……………………………………………………

After entering the new century, "big ship and giant cannonism" became a new direction for the development of naval forces in various countries. A naval arms race was also launched between Britain and Germany, and plans for the construction of new warships were introduced. As an emerging Asian force, China did not seem to be involved in the naval arms race during this period.

After 1910, the Chinese government proposed a plan to build two Fearless Class battleships. After the two new Fearless Class warships were officially put into service in early 1913, China never proposed a new construction plan. Regarding the low-key actions of the Chinese Navy, the Chinese government explained that the development strategy of the Chinese Navy is "offshore defense" and has no intention to extend its tentacles to the world. Therefore, although the Chinese Navy is constantly manufacturing new warships, its main development direction is to the development of submarine technology.

The great powers were more willing to believe that the Chinese government gave up the large-scale development of the navy because of financial resources and focused on developing the army. At least on the surface, it could only be understood in this way.

In May 1913, while the negotiations on the distribution of interests were underway, the work of China to form a joint fleet was not affected at all and proceeded in an orderly manner.

It was at this time that a meeting on the future development direction of the navy was quietly underway in Beijing. All the main leaders of the Chinese Navy were absent, and no one dared to be absent, because the person who chaired the meeting was Chen Congyun, and the person who formulated the naval development strategy was also Chen Congyun.

"With China's existing industrial strength, if we want to compete with Britain for maritime hegemony, it is definitely a strategy that lacks long-term strategic vision. So we need to find another way. Vigorously developing submarines is only one of the measures. On the other hand, we must also look at it longer-term and vigorously develop the field of combining aviation technology with naval tactics. ......................... Some people may not understand the idea of ​​this strategic decision, but what I want to say is that if you understand or not, you must firmly implement it."

Chen Congyun has formulated the strategic direction for the development of China's navy in an arbitrary manner. At this stage, aircraft manufacturing technology is still in a relatively backward stage, and no one can understand the long-term vision of Chen Congyun's development strategy.

In fact, Chen Congyun could not explain clearly, so he could only do it with his personal rights and prestige to do this. From the deepest point of his heart, Chen Congyun didn't know how long he could live. Although he was in his early fifties and looked only thirty-five or six on the outside, Chen Congyun believed more about the saying "There is an unexpected situation in the sky", so he would not hesitate to carry out a dictatorial reputation and forcibly implement more advanced naval warfare theory. At least he should deeply root this concept in the soil of the navy.

After Chen Congyun's programmatic speech ended, the next topic of the meeting turned to sending troops to Indonesia. This time the protagonist is undoubtedly the navy. The comparison of naval power between China and the Netherlands. In the words of the commander of the East China Sea Fleet, Deng Shichang, "The Dutch Navy is a native chicken and a dog." Although it is a bit exaggerated, it is not an exaggeration at all. With the current total tonnage of the Chinese Navy of millions of tons and the fifth-largest gross tonnage in the world, the Netherlands is indeed not on the same level.

There was no big controversy about the selection of the Joint Fleet Division. Chen Congyun directly appointed the younger Li Jun as the commander of the Joint Fleet on the grounds that he was too old. He finally determined that a fleet consisting of two Fearless Class warships, twenty armored cruisers as the main force, and a total of 300 ships were carried to the Indonesian Archipelago on a division of Marines.

The day after the meeting, the media across the country were exaggerating the persecution received by overseas Chinese in Indonesia and the controversiality of our army's dispatch. Chen Congyun left Beijing overnight and quietly headed south by a special train.

The speeding train was heading forward in the night. In the brightly lit carriage, Nie Zixiu and Xu Yifan stood straight in front of Shen Congyun. Nie Zixiu, wearing a pair of glasses, was talking.

"Due to the inclination of national policies and the continuous investment of joint funds, our research on aircraft manufacturing technology and aircraft use for war purposes is no exaggeration to say that we are already at the forefront of the world. At present, when the Western powers use aircraft only remain for reconnaissance, we have developed new aviation bombs."

When Nie Zixiu said this, Chen Congyun raised his hand and asked, "Wait a minute, how many bombs can the planes now carry? If they encounter an enemy plane during the flight, what measures do you have to deal with?"

Nie Zixiu proudly said with a proud look on his chest: "Following the development ideas provided by the adults, take the latest Longxiang series aircraft developed as an example. The Longxiang 3 bomber independently developed by my country has a speed of up to 200 kilometers less than an hour, a flight distance of 300 kilometers, a flight altitude of 2,000 meters, and a loading capacity of 1,500 kilograms. We also equipped the aircraft with two Maxim, and once we encounter enemy aircraft, we can attack with machine guns......"

From Nie Zixiu's fluent speech, Chen Congyun roughly understood this outline. Nie Zixiu, the commander of the Air Force of New China, is now considered a big business. There are more than 800 aircraft of various types, including destroyers, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, trainers, etc. Nie Zixiu also serves as the general manager of Oriental Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which is considered an integration of official and business. In fact, Chen Congyun also knows that this is not good, but at present, this is also a temporary solution. Chen Congyun still believes that Nie Zixiu should focus on the tactical development of the air force and military construction.

"This time, when adults arrived in Weihai, they could see the new seaplane developed by Oriental Aircraft Manufacturing Company. The biggest feature of this aircraft is its fast speed and a large range. It can be said to be the best seaplane in the world at present. Our fleet is equipped with this type of aircraft, and undoubtedly has a clairvoyance. Judging from the development trend of the world's aviation engineers today, on the battlefield in the future, whoever controls the sky will win the war."

When Nie Zixiu heard this, Chen Congyun's eyelids twitched. Isn't this the prototype of "air supremacy"? This kid has two tricks.

"I have a reluctant request. I hope that after the inspection of the south, I will go to the Shenyang Oriental Aircraft Manufacturing Company to take a look. Of course, it would be even better if you can go to the air force base on the border."

Chen Congyun glanced at Nie Zixiu. The boy's eyes were indeed flashing. He knew that he had other thoughts in his heart and was holding back something.

Chen Congyun smiled faintly and stretched out his hand and said, "Take it."

Nie Zixiu scratched his head embarrassedly and took out a report from his bag. Chen Congyun took the report and smiled and said, "I knew you are famous and you plan to ask for money or to have a place? I will agree first. I don't have anyone to ask for. You can find a way to go abroad."

Chen Congyun said as he handed the report to the adjutant behind him, and then smiled and said, "I will read it tonight and I will give you a reply tomorrow."

At this time, Xu Yifan pushed Nie Zixiu away with a little dissatisfaction and stepped forward and said, "Sir, why don't we put our submarine force on this joint fleet? Our new submarine already has ocean-going capabilities and is just when actual combat testing is needed. Recently, the research fund for submarines has been reduced in terms of the Navy Research Institute. It is said that it is necessary to study the Navy's combined aircraft combat topics and aircraft carriers. What is this? It's not a single thing yet. It's just a matter of setting up a standoff and it will occupy our funds."

Of course, Chen Congyun knew that the concept of aircraft carrier was also proposed by Chen Congyun. However, it is obvious that it is not obvious that it is used to build an aircraft carrier. The Naval Research Institute is just to find a few experts to discuss the feasibility of aircraft carriers. Chen Congyun knew very well that aircraft carriers are the overlords of the future sea surface. The concept of aircraft carriers was not created now, but was just used as a topic to study.

"It is worth encouraging to take the initiative to seek war, but I don't think that this time I send troops to Indonesia, you need to use your submarine force. You should keep an eye on your troops and train quickly. There may be many opportunities to go to the battlefield in the future. I don't want your submarine power to be exposed to the world." Chen Congyun's words cut off Xu Yifan's idea of ​​going to the battlefield.

………………………………………………

Shanghai, Wusong Wharf was crowded, and countless people who were seeing off were waving their hands, sending off the huge joint fleet slowly lined out of the port.

The Fearless Class Battleship "Qianlong" is the flagship of the Joint Fleet. The new fleet commander Li Zhun looked at the direction of the dock with confidence, and stood straight on the fore deck with his waist. Li Zhun subconsciously did this because he knew that on the tallest building of the dock, Shen Congyun was watching the fleet's departure.

After sending off the joint fleet, the smile on Chen Congyun's face disappeared because two people came in at this time, two officers wearing major generals' uniforms.

"Principal! Salute!" Yang Zhi and Shen Yiyang shouted loudly. After Chen Congyun glanced at them, he hummed coldly, turned around and walked out.

The two of them looked at each other and quickly followed, and came to Shen Congyun downstairs to get on the car. Yang Zhi and Shen Yiyang looked at each other. Just as they were about to go back to their own car and follow Shen Congyun's car back to the cabin, Chen Congyun rolled down the window and shouted at the two of them: "You two bastards, get in the car for me."

Yang Zhi and Shen Yiyang breathed a long sigh at the same time, happily getting on the extra-length sedan made by Shen Congyun, reaching the opposite of Shen Congyun.

"I have read the report on the combat effectiveness evaluation of the two armies of Germany and France that you two jointly handed over. Now I will give you two a chance to compare the combat effectiveness of our army with the combat effectiveness of Germany, France, Russia and Britain." Chen Congyun had a gloomy face, Yang Zhi and Shen Yiyang looked solemn, and his waist became more and more straight.

"Just judging from the physical conditions of soldiers, Asians obviously suffer some losses, and we can make up for this through hard training. From the perspective of the army's equipment, the army of European powers, except for the large-caliber heavy artillery more than our army's equipment, the number of other artillery automatic weapons and equipment is far inferior to our army. In terms of tactics, in addition to the German army, other countries are still using the tactics of the Napoleon era. Our army has begun to try the offensive tactics of high-level infantry artillery coordinated with the support of the air force's firepower. In terms of tactics, our army is far ahead." Chen Yiyang stopped here, and the meaning is already very obvious. His judgment is that the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army has stood at the highest point in the world.

Yang Zhi's view was not so optimistic. He took over Chen Yiyang's words and said: "Although our soldiers have first-class military qualities, once the future European war breaks out, it will only be a large-scale battle between millions of troops. If our army participates in the war, it must mobilize in a general way. Due to historical reasons, the education level of the people is far from meeting the European and American countries. In this way, our army's quality advantages will be diluted. My idea is that if our army wants to join the future war, it must force Russia to surrender in a short period of time. If this fails, our country will fall into a long-term state of war, which will be a severe test for our military and industrial capabilities."
Chapter completed!