Chapter Thirty-Six: Clenching Fists and Rubbing Palms
Since Taiwan declared independence in 1895, it has actually been in a state of war. At that time, the declaration of war with Japan was never lifted, and the entire industry and military of Taiwan were developed in the direction of fighting for independence. After nearly 20 years of effort, Liu Yi used his abundant funds and David's connections in various countries around the world to develop Taiwan's national defense industry to a level that surpassed many years of its time. In the years when the great powers did not notice Taiwan, Taiwan's navy already had more than 100 main battle submarines, half of which were newly equipped "Shark-class" ocean-going submarines. However, the number of surface warships in Taiwan was pitifully small, with only six Kee Lung-class destroyers and the rest being "Sea Swallow-class" torpedo boats. Although the Sea Swallow-class torpedo boats had matured after many years of modification, as a type of small ship for near-shore defense, they still could not follow the submarine fleet to attack at long distances. However, they were already sufficient for defending various ports in Taiwan.
In comparison to the illustrious Taiwanese Navy, especially its submarine fleet, the Taiwanese Army is relatively unknown. Due to Taiwan's limited population base, the army has consistently maintained a size of around 30,000 personnel, supplemented by less than 100,000 reserve personnel, making it a small force overall. However, as Taiwan is an island nation with only a few key ports that require defense, the army has adopted an elite policy, equipping itself with domestically developed semi-automatic rifles and hand grenades, as well as mortars and 75mm cannons, boasting a high equipment density far surpassing that of other countries' armies. Most impressively, the Taiwanese Army is also equipped with the world's first practical armored vehicle. In multiple army exercises held by the Ministry of National Defense, the Taiwanese Army's firepower has consistently outmatched that of other countries' mainstay land forces at the time, provided that the opponent did not have powerful artillery support. Of course, this assumes that the opponent wants to transport large quantities of heavy weaponry onto Taiwanese soil in an organized manner. In such a scenario, they would need to break through Taiwan's naval defense line composed of submarines, mines, and torpedo boats. Liu Wei is not worried about this situation, firmly believing that currently, no Asian country has a navy capable of breaching this defensive line, even if multiple countries were to join forces.
This time, the mobilization meeting for the war, all departments in Taiwan expressed their resolute support for the various orders issued by the Presidential Office, and from the next day on, they began to work, within the scope of the whole island, to publicize the significance and purpose of this battle, and to cooperate with the Presidential Office to do a good job in mobilizing for war. At the meeting, Liu also specifically instructed the internal affairs department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in front of the heads of various departments present at the meeting, to strictly monitor some unstable individuals and groups within Taiwan who had records in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and if any unusual movements were discovered, they must be resolutely and decisively eliminated, ensuring that there would be no chaos on the island.
The arrangements within the government have been made, and what remains is the military arrangement. Since most of Taiwan's ports are concentrated in the northwest, the General Staff plans to deploy 25,000 troops from the Taiwanese army in Keelung, Hsinchu, Changhua, Tainan, and Ilan, with the remaining 5,000 troops stationed in Taitung. These cities and ports have already been connected by railroads. If an enemy naval landing attempt is discovered, each garrison can reinforce designated locations within a day through the railroad, and with the high mechanization level of the Taiwanese army, large forces can also be assembled quickly via cars and motorcycles.
In addition to the army's deployment, the Taiwan Navy had a heavier task. Liu Ye concentrated the torpedo boat units of the Taiwan Navy in several important ports such as Keelung, Hsinchu, Tamsui and Chiatung. In addition, some small ports in central and eastern Taiwan and places that were easily accessible for landing began to lay mines. The first and second submarine squadrons of Taiwan were divided into more than 30 small teams, dispatched to the main military ports outside Japan, southern China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and the Philippines, taking turns monitoring the movements of various navies.
Apart from the deployment of internal affairs and military, there is another problem, which is Taiwan's resource issue. Although in recent years, Liu has spared no effort to procure a large quantity of metals and chemical raw materials that are lacking in Taiwan from all over the world, almost filling up the major venues and warehouses near Taipei, but once war breaks out, Taiwan will definitely be severely sanctioned by various countries, making it not so easy to obtain various materials and raw materials. Therefore, Liu directly telegraphed personnel at the US Department of the Interior, through David and Schneider's company, to procure a large quantity of various supplies from the US and Europe, which must arrive in Taiwan within 1 month, no matter if they are enough or not, every little bit counts.
Taiwan has begun to mobilize its people for war with a presidential decree issued by Liu, while the military conference in Hong Kong is not going smoothly. The first problem is that countries cannot determine what kind of weapon Taiwan's submarines are, although Japan, Russia and several other countries present may have been attacked by Taiwanese submarines, but no one can explain how these sea monsters launch attacks and hide for so long, let alone the legendary powerful torpedoes, which are beyond the understanding of naval personnel from various countries.
It is impossible to determine the combat effectiveness of Taiwan's navy, and countries cannot determine how much force is needed to suppress Taiwan's navy. If they cannot suppress Taiwan's navy, then their troop ships will not be able to transport troops to Taiwan. Although Taiwan is a small island, without an army, it still cannot be defeated or occupied.
After countless meetings and discussions among the naval elites of various countries, this issue still did not get a thorough solution. In desperation, the German Navy proposed to first determine the number of troops that each country could dispatch, and then decide whether to launch an attack on Taiwan. This proposal was recognized by the military and political leaders of various countries, and thus, a meeting to pledge troops began.
Firstly, the Japanese, their fleet was basically non-existent. However, Japan's army gained recognition from military officers of various countries in a series of battles, so the Japanese took it upon themselves to fully mobilize the army for this invasion of Taiwan. The Japanese Ministry of War planned to dispatch four regular divisions, totaling over 120,000 first-class soldiers, as the main force for invading Taiwan. However, transporting these troops required ships provided by various countries. At present, Japan couldn't even gather enough ships to transport supplies to its garrisoned troops in Lushun and Northeast China, let alone load an invasion force of 120,000 men.
Apart from the Japanese army, Russia also dispatched 20,000 troops stationed in Northeast China and Vladivostok, but transportation still required assistance from various countries. The remaining British, American, French, and German forces each sent several hundred to several thousand troops as a symbolic presence. In addition, these forces needed a nominal commander-in-chief; after deliberation among the nations, it was decided that command would be given to Major General Meckel, Commander of the German garrison in Qingdao, who would coordinate the military operations of the various national armies.
Due to the basic scrapping of the Japanese and Russian navies, the dispatch of warships was basically borne by the four countries of Britain, America, France, and Germany. Among them, Britain planned to send 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 5 destroyers; France planned to send 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, and 3 destroyers; the United States planned to send 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, and 4 destroyers; Germany planned to send 2 armored cruisers and 4 protected cruisers. Since Germany had only 8 main warships in the Far East, it was almost bleeding to dispatch 6 at once. Not only were there few German ships, but also the main fleets of Britain, America, and France in the Far East were not many. This proposal was a plan for deployment, which still needed to be sent back to each country for approval before suitable warships could be dispatched nearby. It is estimated that it would take at least 2 months.
