Chapter 8 Forced

  "What? Please say it again... Alright, I will immediately convey it to the Commander-in-Chief!"

  About ten minutes after the phone call, Zhang Yu rushed back to Liuzhou by car. This road was a bit reckless, but what's surprising is that the People's Liberation Army had lost a record - that of never having run a red light, with zero traffic violations. But this time, Zhang Yu's special vehicle sped all the way, and after getting off the highway, who knows how many red lights it ran, causing a burst of surprised shouts before finally arriving at its destination.

  "The incident has caused a big stir, and so far no one or organization has come forward to take responsibility for the detention of personnel..."

  "Who started the trouble?" Zhang Yu interrupted the communicator's words, looking at a batch of telegrams in his hand with a serious expression. After the incident, Shanghai had been sending back telegrams non-stop. The situation was getting out of hand, and Zhang Yusheng had to call out Zhang Yu from the mountains. After quickly browsing through several telegrams, Zhang Yu's face turned iron-green, and his fists were clenched tightly, with bulging veins shouting: "The Japanese again! And now the British are also trying to get involved... When will the Premier arrive?"

  "I've arrived, just next door!"

  When Yu Sheng called to urge people to return quickly, he was already in the People's Armed Department. The economic loss suffered by Yamei Fashion Company this time is small, but it has caused human life, and even if only one person is killed, it will make the entire autonomous region angry. The former Yamei Group is of great importance to the autonomous region. Without the original Yamei Group, there would be no current autonomous region, nor would there be the thriving Rejuvenation Enterprise. Even after the Yamei Group was divided into several large companies, they are still the meritorious citizens of the autonomous region. Even if it's not a person from Yamei Fashion Company or a resident of the autonomous region, the Japanese shouldn't have such an outrageous behavior that offends both humans and gods.

  "The reason for the matter is simple. On August 14, 1927, a Japanese silk factory in Shanghai suddenly dismissed its Chinese employees without cause. Before this incident had subsided, the powers convened a conference in Shanghai and declared that they would implement special laws on China's industry and commerce. Proposals such as wharf donations were all passed by their foreign conferences. Without discussing whether it is feasible to enact laws on Chinese territory, as soon as these laws are promulgated, they will inevitably greatly harm the development of Chinese national enterprises. The result of this conference naturally aroused dissatisfaction among people from all walks of life in Shanghai."

  The reason why the powers did this is that national enterprises developed rapidly, and there were too many competitors in the small market space, especially the textile industry was greatly affected. Asia America Garment Company had always been the absolute protagonist of the high-end market in Shanghai, and it was also the number one object of restriction. In order to counter the opponent and oppose the resolution of the powers, Asia America Garment, together with other national textile enterprises, decided to mobilize workers to oppose the powers under the leadership of the Shanghai Party organization. Apart from a large strike and a large parade, they did not expect that Japanese ronin and British police would open fire, causing 15 deaths on the spot, countless arrests and injuries. Among the victims were seven ordinary employees of Asia America Garment's Shanghai spinning factory...

  Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu smiled wryly and sat down, staring at the teacup on the table for a moment before looking around the room, which was now empty except for the two of them. "Do you have any countermeasures?" he asked. "Will we continue with the grand parade or go on a massive strike?" Zhang Yu had been opposed to his brother's old methods for some time now. Although the previous civil rights movement had awakened the long-dormant sense of dignity in the Chinese people, it had come at a painful cost. However, as tragedy repeated itself, Zhang Yu no longer had the courage to get angry, knowing that doing so would not bring back the lives lost or change the current reality.

  The powers' invasion of China's economy has a long history, starting from the Opium War. A series of unequal treaties gradually made most Chinese cities treaty ports. The powers took advantage of a series of privileges to set up factories in the treaty ports, using China's cheap labor and raw materials to make huge profits. With meager wages and high-intensity labor, the powers' capitalists treated the Chinese as tools for making money rather than human beings. The textile industry was particularly harsh on workers.

  Yamei Fashion was Zhang Yusheng's first company established in the United States, and also the origin of the entire Yamei myth. It has now developed into a successful business in shoes, clothing, accessories and other fields, becoming the main supplier to high-end society in Europe and America, with a prominent position in the high-end consumer market. More importantly, after returning to China, it opened up a popularization route, and new and fashionable sportswear, casual wear, leather jackets and other types of clothing began to be popular in the market, becoming the company's new profit growth point.

  However, as Shanghai is an important textile industrial processing and sales hub in China, powerful countries, especially Japan, have a large market share in the region due to their unique advantages. After AsiaMei apparel, a large number of private enterprises in the autonomous region also entered Shanghai, making the originally sluggish textile industry even more impacted by the strong momentum of Chinese enterprises. The powerful countries had no good means and could only resort to despicable tactics for unfair competition, developing to the point where they had to promote special legislation to restrict Chinese enterprises. In fact, this also proves that the rise of Chinese enterprises has become unstoppable for the powerful countries, but who would have thought that things would develop to this point, and such a result would occur.

  "We must counterattack, especially those who are detained must be rescued. And their so-called special law, only the devil would recognize it!" Zhang Yu stood up, looking at Zhang Yusheng with a serious face: "I hope you will also restrain yourself, don't learn all that party stuff, knowing it's a disaster, you still want to let people go and stir up trouble, if reviving the business must be established on the bloodshed of the masses, then we might as well put down our armor and return home!"

  "So what do you think we should do? Should we just let the powerful countries bully and disregard the interests of workers? Should we ignore the benefits of workers in America, Britain, Germany and other places where we set up companies and factories, how they treat their own workers is clear to you, why can't they behave when they come to China to open factories?"

  For many years, the two of them have rarely quarreled like they did today. Even when China was treated unfairly at the Paris Conference, and the Revival Party launched a massive civil rights movement in major cities, Zhang Yu was kept in the dark and didn't know anything about it. Afterwards, Zhang Yu didn't make things difficult for others, but the stone that weighed on people's hearts needed to be lifted, and without resolving the fear and inferiority complex towards the powerful nations, the Revival cause would not be possible.

  But this time, things have just begun, and the powers are not as non-interfering and unresponsive as they were last time. Instead, they started by giving the Chinese a warning shot, with 15 lives lost being a warning of their tough stance. If the Chinese continue to be "crazy", it's likely that the good show is yet to come. As for Zhang Yu, he naturally doesn't want to see any more bloodshed, just like he said before, "Chinese people in the 30th century have never been bullied". Born during China's prosperous era, he cannot accept his compatriots being slaughtered.

  "I don't know what to do, it's no use talking about retrieving the situation now that things have happened, and the mistake wasn't ours," Zhang Yu said, taking out a cigarette from his pocket, handing one to Zhang Yusheng after opening the pack, and lighting one for himself. As the smoke rose, he slowly began to think.

  "First, organize a negotiating team and negotiate with the British and Japanese sides to get justice for the victims. Second, issue a statement that we resolutely do not recognize the series of unequal treaties signed by the powers and the former Qing government, including their so-called special laws. If there are any problems, let them come find me or our army. Finally... finally what I haven't thought of yet, you're in charge of politics, you're more capable than me, anyway my opinion is: we're all men, with something in our pants, who's afraid of whom? If it really comes to a fight, who's going to be afraid?"

  Zhang Yu didn't react immediately, his mind was a mess at this time. Zhang Yu is an impulsive person, the principle of "a gentleman takes revenge ten years later" doesn't work for him, he basically wants to take revenge on the spot if someone has a grudge against him. Especially now that the People's Army has some power, it would be easy for Zhang Yu to make something happen if he really wanted to, and this time the situation was extremely out of hand, but Zhang Yu was able to calm down in time and think about discussing with himself, which reduced his worries a bit. After the incident, he rushed here and waited for him, fearing that Zhang Yu would take extreme actions, but now it seems that Zhang Yu is more mature than he imagined.

  "It's not easy for the kids who grew up in a superpower country to have such perseverance today." Zhang Yu-sheng sighed and took a deep drag on his cigarette, saying: "What you just said is right, we can't tolerate this incident anymore, we must do something about it. Otherwise, the mass foundation that the Revival Party has established with great difficulty all over the country will be wasted, we can't lose the melon for the sake of the sesame seeds!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu-sheng extinguished his cigarette butt, he knew what to do next.

  Not long after Zhang Yu-sheng left, Zhang Yu lit another cigarette, read the telegram again, and thought for a while before making a phone call. An hour later, both Zhuang Jia-ming, the Chief of Staff of the People's Army, and Jiang Yang-ying, the Commander of the Air Force, arrived at Zhang Yu's office. The position of Chief of Staff was originally intended for Tang Ren-hui, but he loved to lead troops and fight battles, and did not want to sink into an office, so he went to become the commander of the First Army. After the reorganization of the army, Zhuang Jia-ming entered the Kunming Army Academy as the commander of the Second Division for further study, and became the Chief of Staff of the People's Army.

  This general, who rose through the ranks of the army, after becoming the chief of staff of the four major departments of the People's Army, fully utilized the special nature of this position. In addition to continuing to increase investment and construction in the navy and air force, more importantly, as an army man himself, he did not forget to "repay kindness", and the combat effectiveness of the four major armies under his care has been greatly improved. Zhang Yu calling over such a good warrior chief of staff and an air force commander who is not inferior to him, naturally means that the intention is quite obvious.

  "I won't say more nonsense, I hope the General Staff can quickly come up with several operational plans. The purpose of the plan is naturally to liberate all of China, while also paying attention to the intervention of the major powers, that is, to solve the problem of the foreign devils."

  Zhang Yu's meaning was very straightforward, he clearly knew that it was time for the General Staff Department to make corresponding preparations, otherwise, once the situation expands, the military powers of the major powers in China are almost all navies, while the People's Army does not even have an emergency plan or related plans, which will undoubtedly put the People's Army on the defensive.

  "I need time!"

  Zhuang Jiaying answered a realistic question very succinctly. The General Staff Department is a strategic department, and the overall planning of war and military force deployment are the focus of work, but it does not take charge of specific battle tactics command. However, Zhang Yu's purpose just now was simple, yet also very strategic. The staff department needs to consider all aspects before preparing corresponding combat plans, and time is undoubtedly crucial.

  "In the battle plan, part of the navy and air force can be used. I can only give you a month," Zhang Yu said, throwing his cigarette box over to him, knowing that Zhuang Jiaming's smoking habit was still quite strong.

  "Time is tight, tasks are heavy, I hope this time the general staff will take practical responsibility. If the situation continues to escalate, we may have conflicts with them, please both of you make preparations. In addition, Commander Chen Shaokuan of the Navy is already on his way here, and then he will go to the General Staff..."

  From Zhanjiang to Liuzhou, there is only more than 360 kilometers of straight-line distance. From the time the order was issued to Chen Shaokuan's Zhanjiang Naval Command, it took him about two hours after a phone call from Zhang Yu to arrive at his office in Liuzhou People's Armed Department.

  "How's it going? The navy has aviation troops now, isn't it more exciting?" Zhang Yu gestured for Chen Shaokuan to sit down and looked at the oil stains on his face. This naval commander was a restless sailor who liked to eat and live with his subordinates, especially those he treated like sons - the warships.

  "The navy officially received two destroyers, four frigates, three submarines, and twelve torpedo boats in October 1923. In the second batch of equipment in June 1925, there were only four destroyers and two submarines, all the rest were aircraft because you were building a naval shore-based aviation force. What are the results now? Are there any difficulties?"

  After Zhang Yu handed over the navy to Chen Shaokuan, he rarely inquired about the development of the navy, only asking if there were any difficulties, what help was needed, and what support was required. He never interfered with Chen Shaokuan's exploration and difficult development of the naval development path.

  The current naval fleet consists of a combat fleet composed of four destroyers, responsible for regular sea area combat patrols. A destroyer and four frigates form a coastal defense fleet, which is ready to support the combat fleet while patrolling and escorting in coastal areas. Another destroyer is left in port for rotation and combat readiness maintenance.

  In addition, the navy also has a marine brigade, a shore-based aviation composite division, and a submarine squadron.

  "I think the most promising one is still the air force, and facts have proven this. The United States, Britain, Japan and other countries are all building their aircraft carriers, and our path has not been wrong!" Chen Shaokuan was still very tough, for the development and growth of the navy, he didn't put his own face problem in his eyes, from the air force to poach people, from large enterprises to want people, from universities to pull people, etc., what he can do is to establish a high-quality naval force as soon as possible, even if its scale is not large.

  "How is the naval aviation division now?"

  "This is just an experimental aviation division, and there are still many problems to be solved, such as how the naval air force should develop and whether our organization is reasonable. Of course, at present, this division has three main regiments and one transport brigade, with each regiment having three flying squadrons, namely nine flying squadrons with 27 combat aircraft and four war reserve aircraft."

  Chen Shaokuan said, taking out a thick document from his briefcase and handing it to Zhang Yu: "The dive bomber, torpedo bomber, including the fighter plane, were all developed in October 1925 under the name of Naval Aviation. After repeated consideration, we came up with specific requirements for each aircraft. All three planes use the same type of Zhonghang engine. As for the fighter plane, our requirements are not much different from those of the Air Force - we hope it has good corrosion resistance, after all, the air in coastal areas has a high salt content, and long-term flight can easily cause chemical corrosion to the aircraft..."

  "In addition, the development plan requires that dive bombers must be able to carry 500 kg class aviation bombs and have good diving performance. The aircraft should also be robust and reliable, especially for two-seat flight crew protection. Torpedo bombers, as the name suggests, must be different from dive bombers. The flying height and stability when launching torpedoes are very important, so we require this type of aircraft to have excellent low-altitude flight performance, with a payload of around 1.6 tons, which can enable it to carry an 800 kg torpedo, making it a battleship killer, and also serve as a light bomber."

  "Afterwards, I knew everything. In February 27th, you accepted a batch of aircraft after the prototype, and the design indicators were all completed well, and quickly formed a training team, with such a synthesized aviation division. After actual use, do you feel very satisfied?" Before Chen Shaokuan could say his request, Zhang Yu spoke up first: "If it's really useful, then don't be afraid to spend money, I know that the navy's military expenditure has been surplus year after year, and exploring development for so many years has saved a large amount of money. If you're really looking in the right direction, then don't be afraid to spend money!"

  Chen Shaokuan heard this remark, and a smile immediately appeared on his face. He had indeed taken a liking to the two bombers, and countless experiments had already provided the navy with clear proof that in the face of air power, big guns and giant warships were outdated. Chen Shaokuan wanted to equip the "Fei Niao" torpedo bomber and the "Fei Yan" dive bomber on a large scale, both of which performed well and could be considered the "three great flying brothers" in the eyes of the aviation troops, and also Chen Shaokuan's favorites.

  The "Fei Niao" torpedo bomber has a maximum takeoff weight of over 5 tons, equipped with two heavy machine guns for defense. With 425 rounds of ammunition, it can carry an 800 kg aerial torpedo. At an altitude of 5,000 meters, it can reach a maximum level flight speed of over 380 km/h, or at sea level, it can reach a maximum level flight speed of 370 km/h. Its combat radius is 300 nautical miles (over 540 km), which can meet the needs of the navy's coastal defense.

  The "Flying Swallow" dive bomber, also liked by the Air Force's Jiang Yangying, was also due to its super-era performance. The wings had a heavy machine gun on each side and in the rear seat, with 425 rounds of ammunition for the wing guns and 350 rounds for the rear defensive gun. When carrying a 500 kg bomb, the maximum flight altitude was 8.5 km, the maximum flight speed at 5 km was 400 km/h, and the combat radius was also 300 nautical miles. Such performance would have ranked among the top few dive bombers in another time and space during World War II, or even first place, so the Air Force was very interested in it, aside from the Navy's fondness for it.

  "Building the naval aviation force is mainly for the long-term development of the navy. Of course, there's another purpose, which is to strengthen the people's military defense capabilities against the sea, especially against possible invasions from powerful countries by sea. If you really think about it, wouldn't that mean the navy is already preparing to build a large-scale aviation force? Commander Chen, have you ever thought about putting these three aircraft on board one day, in other words, making them carrier-based aircraft and turning naval aviation into true carrier-based aviation?"

  "Commander, aren't you making things difficult for me? Everyone knows that this issue is what I've been thinking about day and night, and I'm eager for these airmen to board the ship as soon as possible. But we need conditions, don't we?" Chen Shaokuan glanced at Zhang Yu, the report in his hand was not yet finished, but he couldn't care about that anymore.

  "Naval aviation can only go further and do better with the help of warships. If we're always stuck on land, we're just fighting for a place in the air force. To get them to leave the land, we need to build aircraft carriers, and with that comes the need for escort fleets, supply ships, medical ships... it's a whole chain reaction. And besides, I discussed this with engineers from the China State Shipbuilding Corporation the other day, they said building an aircraft carrier, cruiser or supply ship isn't actually that difficult. The technology is all in place, including propulsion, armor plating and artillery, we have the capability to build ships..."

  "What is it? If you have something to say, just say it all at once, don't keep hemming and hawing!"

  "In fact, nothing much, it's just that when we were doing the simulation and actual acting, we found that letting the aviation regiment organize its forces to attack our fleet of warships, namely the four destroyers, no matter how we organized the air defense formation, even if we told them in advance when, where, and at what altitude the planes would launch an attack, the destroyer was always a small ship. The 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft guns on the destroyer were not bad, but the actual result was often that the entire fleet was annihilated while the aviation regiment's attacking force lost at most five or six aircraft."

  "And how can this small destroyer, which is only a few thousand tons in size, withstand the attack of an 800-kilogram aerial torpedo, one of which would be enough to blow it in two? Not to mention the 500-kilogram armor-piercing bombs dropped by dive bombers. The result would be no less than being torn apart like a horse. What's even more serious is that when the torpedo bombers and dive bombers launch a simultaneous attack, this destroyer squadron will quickly fall, with no power to resist!"

  After multiple rehearsals and simulated drills, the navy is quite confident that the future development direction of the navy is carrier-based. Of course, they also found that aircraft are not omnipotent. When it comes to nighttime attacks, warships with strong attacking power, thick armor protection, and powerful guns are their dominant force. The navy has tried night attack exercises, even with the help of illuminating bombs, but the results were not ideal. Apart from almost causing a series of air crashes, the results of the night exercise plus the fact that wars do not necessarily break out during the day led to the conclusion: the navy believes in the strength of air power, but large surface warships are still necessary, especially for artillery and anti-aircraft capabilities.

  Chen Shaokuan was summoned urgently this time, so he didn't have any special report prepared. He selected a few important ones from the results of over 100 rehearsals and related inferences to bring back for Zhang Yu to take a look. Of course, he also knew that if nothing was wrong, Zhang Yu wouldn't have called him back.

  "So, the Navy is asking to build large surface-to-air defense ships, preferably a cruiser specializing in air defense?" Zhang Yu quickly browsed through the report and then rubbed his temples, saying: "Since you've shown me all this, you must have some special ideas, or even results already? You just said that a naval commander went to discuss things with shipbuilding engineers, do you still remember me, the Commander-in-Chief? I reckon the Navy is about to release a large-scale order for three types of aircraft, right?"

  "Commander, let's not talk about the navy for now. You hurriedly called me back, it can't be just to discuss the development of the navy with me, right? Before I came, I ran into General Zhuang and Commander Jiang in the underground parking lot."

  "It's actually just that simple, even if you have conflicts with someone, it's not the time for your navy to show up, let alone your air force. But I'll say something ugly upfront, if a certain powerful country's navy doesn't behave itself, no matter whether your aviation division is used for experimentation or combat, when war breaks out, you must bring out your true skills, otherwise I can only make them change their surname to 'Empty'..."

  Zhang Yu said this, handing over the telegrams of those bloody incidents on Shanghai Bund to Chen Shaokuan, implying that the navy should also make corresponding preparations. Whether it's a mule or a horse, no matter how fat or thin, they all have to be brought out for a spin, because the powerful nations have already bullied them to the point of humiliation. If they don't show their faces, others will really take the People's Army as a weak warlord.

  "Then why did you call in Air Force Commander Chiang? Are they also preparing for battle?" Chen Shaokuan put down the telegram, stared at Zhang Yu's expressionless face with a hint of a smile, and knew that someone was about to get angry again. This was an opportunity, and if the Navy seized it, their future would be even brighter. "Commander-in-Chief, all naval officers are ready to receive orders and prepare for battle!"

  Chen Shaokuan's mind was as clear as a mirror, the bloody incident created by the powerful nations on Shanghai Beach was making waves, this matter would not be settled so easily, and all parties' attitudes were very tough. Therefore, the possibility of further escalation is very high, Zhang Yu timely convened the three armies to make emergency preparations, which is to prepare for the worst, for the weak navy, whether it is eager for opportunities or fulfilling their duties, at a time when national interests and dignity are paramount, they have no other choice.

  "My advice to the naval and air forces is to make necessary preparations, but do not slow down development. Secondly, if you really need to go up, I will give you a message..."

  After finishing, Zhang Yu returned Chen Shaokuan's miscellaneous report and said: "The navy still has a lot of leftover military funds. Since it is the surplus from your province's frugal use, you can use it as you please. You need something, want to develop some project, etc., you are in charge, if there is not enough money, make another report, if there are not enough people, recruit them, anyway, the army will not be short of money."

  Zhang Yu's attitude of supporting the navy is already very clear from this conversation with Chen Shaokuan. The powerful countries have used the ocean to bring shame and sorrow to the Chinese nation time and time again, so the people's army also needs to use the ocean to return it to them, because they are forced to do so.