Chapter 3 Navy

  The next evening after dinner, the Director said: "Younger brother, your several projects and ideas are indeed very good, I have asked them to implement it."

  "My younger brother is young and ignorant, but he's just a know-it-all."

  "Little brother is very talented and resourceful, even the air force has a way to deal with it. Not bad, not bad... I wonder if you have any new views on the navy? Do you have any opinions?"

  "State affairs? I'm not familiar with politics?"

  Third sister interrupted: "Little brother can say what he wants, there's no outsider here."

  "Alright, we're all family here, feel free to speak your mind."

  "I don't dare discuss national affairs if I'm not knowledgeable about them; but when it comes to military technology, I can offer some insights."

  "Let's talk about weapons then!"

  "Yes. In my opinion, building a navy requires a lot of time, money and industrial technology, which we currently lack in all three aspects; facing the Japanese Navy, which is the world's third strongest, we can only take the path of a poor country's navy and use mines to play a defensive role."

  "Torpedo?"

  "Yes, naval mines have existed since ancient times, with examples such as the "Mixing Dragon" and "Water Floating" from the Song Dynasty. Modern Western naval mines mainly include floating mines on the water surface and anchored mines lurking underwater, posing a huge threat to warships that come into contact with them. Moreover, the production of naval mines is simple, with each one costing less than 10,000 yuan, and if mass-produced, the cost can be further reduced."

  "Isn't it hard to use torpedoes?"

  "Mines are used for both offense and defense. Offensive mines need to be deployed near enemy territory or enemy fleets, which is not easy with the current ocean-going vessels; defensive mines only need to be deployed near one's own country or military, small ships are enough, dozens or even hundreds of mines form a minefield, enough to block the enemy's powerful naval attack."

  "How is torpedo production going?"

  "Our little brother has already prepared for mass production at Xiangshan Factory, and the selling price will not exceed 800 yuan."

  "I wonder what Minister Chen of the Navy has in mind? For years he's been chasing me for money to build big warships."

  "If the Chairman agrees, I am willing to have a talk with Minister Chen of the Navy."

  "Alright, go and talk to him!"

  "It's fine to talk, but the naval budget is less than 5% of national defense spending, only a few million yuan per year? Even if mine warfare is the cheapest among naval weapons, it still requires expenditure..."

  "Compared with the army and air force, the navy's budget is too small."

  "All right, as long as Commander Chen agrees, within five years, as long as he doesn't ask me for money to build warships again, I'll increase the naval military expenditure by one million yuan every year!"

  Only 10 million? Not enough for me to set up a factory! Not even enough for the private house money I've earned for him in these few years! I despise it!

  Ministry of the Navy, Republic of China. The Minister's office. A group of naval officers stood around. I bowed to Minister Chen Shaokuan, whose integrity was respectable but whose ability was not impressive: "Good day, Minister Chen. I am Song Zian, and I have come to report to you on the results of the discussions between Chairman Bai and Mr. Li regarding naval matters."

  "Please go on."

  "I came straight to the point: 'The last time Shanghai fought against the Japanese army, Commander Chen must still remember it clearly.'"

  Chen Shaokuan glared at me: "Yes, back then our navy didn't participate in the war and was ridiculed by our own people, so now we're not well thought of by others. What can Baili and the others do about it?"

  "Minister Chen, now we and Japan may go to war at any time, the navy must participate in the battle this time! Chairman Chiang and the General Staff suggested that the Navy develop torpedo warfare."

  "Torpedoes are fine, but only for coastal defense; I think we should still develop warships, China's navy is simply too weak!"

  The 1935 Nationalist Navy Formation

  First Fleet Admiral Chen Jilong (Coast Defense Fleet): 2 new-style 2500-ton cruisers (Ninghai, Pinghai), 2 old-style 3000-ton cruisers (Haiyung, Hairong), 9 small cruisers and gunboats of 500-1500 tons, 4 gunboats.

  The Second Fleet was formerly known as the Jiangnan Fleet: 15 gunboats below 500 tons, 4 torpedo boats.

  Third Fleet Rear Admiral Shigekazu ōmori ( Northeastern Fleet ): 5 gunboats of 500-1000 tons, 1 old destroyer, 7 gunboats.

  Fourth Fleet Zhang Zhiying (Guangdong Fleet): 1 x 2,500-ton old-style cruiser (Zhaohe), 9 gunboats, 13 small gunboats, 4 new torpedo boats.

  Exercise fleet under Lieutenant General Wang Shou-ting: 1 old-style cruiser of 2,500 tons (Ying Rui), 2 old training ships.

  Torpedo Flotilla: 2 old destroyers, 8 old torpedo boats.

  Patrol Flotilla (Gunboat Flotilla): 14 gunboats.

  Deng Lei School Ouyang Ge (Torpedo Boat Squadron) 15 new torpedo boats, 2 gunboats, 2 supply ships.

  Ministry of War directly under: 2 old-style cruisers (4,300-ton Hai Yih and 3,000-ton Hai Chen).

  "Look, this 300,000-ton warship is not even as heavy as a single Japanese battleship. Most of the main warships were still purchased during the Qing dynasty. If we really go to war, those few Japanese warships in the Huangpu River can't be beaten."

  "The warship should indeed be developed, but now it is possible to fight with Japan at any time. Relying on the government's current annual military expenditure of 200 million, even if all of it is used for the navy to purchase warships, it will not catch up with the Japanese Navy in ten years. How can our warship be a match for theirs? As I said a few years ago, I would suggest that Minister Chen go to Germany to purchase three types of submarine main components and assemble them himself. Even dozens of submarines would be enough to complete the coastal defense. But now it's probably too late. However, we can now buy existing products, although the price is a bit expensive, the Type II submarine is currently used by the German Navy, as long as the transaction is successful, it can be delivered immediately, so that we can get usable submarines within 36 years. Moreover, although the Type II submarine is an old model of Germany's, its combat power is relatively weak, but it has a displacement of over 500 tons, a range of 3,000 nautical miles, and five torpedo tubes, equipped with German 533 torpedoes, which is enough to let the Japanese see how their ships are sunk. Of course, even so, I think that when the navy fights with Japan, it should first retreat to the river defense and use mines to block the enemy's attack. In short, mines will be the most important thing in this future war."

  (Historical fact: Before the Anti-Japanese War, **planned to purchase 4 Type II small submarines, 2 Type III medium submarines and 1 submersible mother ship from Germany. The agreement was signed, but due to pressure from Japan and the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War during the manufacturing and delivery process, it was cancelled.)

  "Oh... what are the benefits of a torpedo? What role can it play in war?"

  "Making mines is inexpensive; they can be produced in large quantities; deployment is quick; and training the crew on board, it's impossible to do well in just a few years. The Chairman and the General Staff have analyzed that we will go to war with Japan in two or three years' time, there won't be enough time to train the sailors on the warships, while training the mine-laying soldiers is quick; most importantly, now it's Japan attacking us, not us attacking Japan, mines are quite good for defense. Minister Chen, I hope you will think thrice before acting."

  "Hmm..."

  I saw him still hesitating, so I said: "The Chairman said that if the naval officers develop torpedoes and form a navy with mining as its core, he can add 10 million yuan to the military expenses for the navy."

  "The production of naval mines is simple and can be put into production quickly at the Xiamen factory, and the Fuzhou factory of the Navy can also produce it; it's no problem to accumulate 10,000 naval mines within two years."

  "Alright! Since it's the central government's intention, I can develop the naval mine-laying force." Chen Shaokuan finally agreed. "Please speak inside."

  As we entered the inner hall, Chen Shaokuan glanced at the people around him and then smiled at me: "Zi An, my brother, it's been a long time since our spiritual connection. Thank you for your help to the Navy. When we went to purchase submarines from Germany, their navy told us that all active warships are not for sale."

  Nothing, I've already discussed this with the German Navy when I was in Germany. I impressed them with a submarine improvement technology and exchanged it for a new submarine concept; as long as they nominally decommission the submarines they want to sell us, that's fine.

  "What new technology?"

  "A new concept and preliminary idea for submarine design that can change the way submarines operate."

  Chen Shaokuan was overjoyed: "Great, with these 6 submarines, the Chinese Navy will have the power to strike at the Japanese Navy!"

  Chen Jiliang also happily said: "If this matter is successful, little brother's merit will be great!"

  I repeatedly said I didn't dare, but in my heart I secretly sighed: What a pity that the new concept of 21/23-type submarine design was wasted. If we could mass-produce it ourselves, little Japan would be waiting to die on the island!

  In the 1944-45 actual combat, the 21/23-type submarines were only a cross-sectional 8-character boat body, with battery packs installed at the bottom, and a semi-automatic torpedo loading sub-project design concept.

  Returning to the residence of the chairman, I met with Chiang Kai-shek: "Chairman, I have already reached an agreement with Minister Chen. On the basis of increasing the naval military expenditure by one million yuan per year, the navy will not apply for new ship purchases within five years except for completing the existing shipbuilding plan."

  "Good, good, good! Little brother's contribution is not small!"

  "It's all thanks to Chairman Mao's strategic planning and Minister Chen's understanding of the overall situation."

  "But Minister Chen said that the Chinese Navy's strength was originally weak and scattered among several households, with the Central Navy in one household, the three fleets in another, the four fleets in another, the electrical school in another, and even the Military Affairs Department had to be counted as one household. In peacetime it wasn't so bad, but in wartime there would be more entanglements and it would be harder to exert its strength."

  (Note: Before the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang's direct lineage referred to the Central Army and Central Air Force. Although the Central Navy had the name "Central", in reality most of its officers were from Fujian Province and belonged to the Min faction. It wasn't until after the end of the war when Gui Yongqing came to power and eliminated the Fujian clique from the navy that the Central Navy truly became part of Chiang's direct lineage.)

  "This... authority to wage war can be given to them."

  "The chairman is wise. Also, the submarines ordered by the Navy from Germany have been agreed upon by the German side, and the Navy requests that the chairman allocate the remaining payment according to plan."

  "I remember Germany didn't refuse spot supplies, did they?"

  "After persuasion from below, the German side agreed to hand over two Type III submarines that were about to be built and decommission four Type II submarines that had just been put into service last year, meeting our order."

  "Haha, little brother is really capable! No problem, I'll allocate the funds."