Chapter 48, Girls’ Yamato (Part 2)
One month later.
Beside the pier of the Wu Gang garrison, the first ship of the Yamato-class battleship and the former flagship of the combined fleet, the Yamato, is moored quietly.
As one of the supreme kings in the era of large ships and large guns, the Yamato battleship can be said to be a symbol of the maritime power of the Japanese Empire. It represents the pinnacle of the battleship era and the highest state of the shipbuilding industry in this era. It is also the totem of faith in the maritime power of the Japanese Empire.
For ordinary Japanese citizens of this era, she is a symbol and a legend.
As a resident of the Wu Port Naval Guard House, Minako Akiyama naturally heard about this legendary invincible ship and even admired it after many years of exposure. However, she had never imagined that she would be like this. A young woman actually works on this giant ship.
——Although I am just a handyman in the soldier's kitchen of the battleship Yamato...
When fully manned, a Yamato-class battleship requires 2,500 to 3,000 officers and soldiers of all levels to serve on the ship. In order to meet the dining needs of so many people, each Yamato-class battleship is equipped with multiple kitchens. Each kitchen is equipped with special food cold storage, cooking stations, cooking stations, dining stations, and in this era of Japanese very A rare all-electric cooker, rather than a charcoal or briquette stove - mostly for fire protection.
The ship is equipped with a total of six huge six-bucket (110-liter) electric rice steamers, two stew pots of the same size, a 36-liter special porridge pot, and two can cut radishes, peel potatoes, and stir meat. "Synthetic conditioning machine" for mud, as well as electrified automatic cooking equipment such as automatic rice washing machines and tableware sterilizers. There is also an oven where you can bake your own bread, cakes and puddings. In addition, the ship can also make homemade tea soup and yokan, and use the carbon dioxide used for firefighting to make lemonade and other refreshing drinks. Each kitchen is then equipped with a freezer that can be used to make smoothies and ice cream.
All in all, except for the lack of a microwave, the kitchen of the Yamato-class battleship is almost the same as the kitchen of a restaurant in a modern city.
However, no matter how advanced the kitchen equipment is, it still requires chefs and assistants to operate it in order to cook a variety of delicious dishes.
Therefore, before dawn, Minako Akiyama had to get up from her bunk and go to the kitchen to start the busy day.
On this day, the first ingredient Akiyama Minako needed to prepare was the red beef stew as the main dish for lunch: each extra-large stew pot, which was much larger than her rice vat, was filled with the pre-prepared ingredients. Prepare the cooking ingredients, carefully simmer the fried vegetables and tendons, and cook at the same time While removing the foam, add a large amount of frozen candied sauce to adjust it to the sweet taste that Japanese people like...and then cook it slowly and gurglingly until the meal is served at noon. , to be considered completely delicious - this is what the recipe sent to her said.
After preparing the beef stew for lunch, Minako Akiyama turned to prepare breakfast. The battleship Yamato, known as the Yamato Inn, was always known for eating well. Even in wartime when supplies are scarce, even the lowest-level soldier can enjoy a Japanese breakfast including dried fish, seaweed, miso soup, pickles, and rice; or fried ham slices, poached eggs, bread, and butter Composed of western style breakfast.
However, today's Yamato is no longer the flagship of the combined fleet, but a training ship parked in the port. Naturally, the food standards have to be lowered accordingly. The breakfast prepared by Minako Akiyama today is a traditional meal for the poor in Japan. ——"Cat Rice".
The so-called "cat rice" is a kind of cheap meal for the lower class people in Japan. It is made by sprinkling some pieces of dried bonito (called "bonito" by the Japanese) on the cooked rice (also called "bonito flakes"), and then Top with a little soy sauce or miso soup. Since Japanese cats like to eat bonito, Japanese people are also happy to feed their domestic cats with this cheap bonito. Therefore, this simple meal that only uses bonito flakes and seasoning as a side dish is called "cat rice" . Of course, in the harsh and scarce war years, even such "cat rice" was considered a delicacy for the poor Japanese who were almost unable to eat white rice. At least Akiyama Minako didn't think it was shabby to have this for breakfast - even just having breakfast was a luxury enough.
However, even if it is such a simple "cat rice", it takes a lot of effort to make it well-the so-called "bonito", also called bonito or dried squid, is a type of tuna fish. After removing the head, fins, bones and abdominal fat, the bonito is boiled and Dried condiments made through smoking, molding and other processes are called "the hardest food in the world" or "fish mummies". If you chew them directly, your teeth will probably break. Generally, you need to cut them into thin slices with a planer in advance. That is to say, "bonito flower" can be eaten with rice. To obtain high-quality bonito flakes that are "as thin as goose paper and as bright as glass" not only requires a sharp planer, but also tests the cook's knife skills and arm strength. Although as early as the end of the Meiji period, someone had already invented a bonito chipper and opened a factory to sell ready-made bonito flakes. However, pre-sliced bonito flakes are not conducive to long-term storage, so the Yamato's food store still stores whole pieces of bonito... When Minako Akiyama and several kitchen helpers finally managed to put together what so many people needed for breakfast By the time all the "bonito flowers" were dug out, I was already so tired that I was sweating all over and my hands were a little numb. Alas, the rich cuisine of the navy is really not that easy to eat!
However, Akiyama Minako's work this morning was far from over. She looked up at the wall clock embedded in the bulkhead, then hurriedly changed out of her apron and headscarf, put on her uniform and military cap, and then took it out of the locker. A gleaming brass trumpet, she went out and took the elevator straight to the deck: this was Minako Akiyama's real position on the warship - the trumpeter of the Yamato military band, and sometimes she also played the guitar part-time.
In order to please the guests, she had learned to play Western musical instruments for several years, but she never imagined that she would be using them in such a place now.
Just when she walked out of the elevator door, a crisp electric bell rang in every cabin of the ship...
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"...Ring ring ring——"
"...Gather! Gather! Get ready for the flag-raising ceremony!"
"...Get up! Lazy pig! Everyone on the front deck!"
"...Ah! We're going to be late! We're going to be late!"
"...Baga! Which bastard stepped on someone's shoes?"
"...Idiot! Where are you running! You're going in the wrong direction!"
Amidst the crisp sound of electric bells, several middle-aged women wearing armbands with the word "Gui Ji" on their arms, holding sticks wrapped in white cloth, walked through the narrow cabin aisle, tapping the cabin doors one after another. Urging the newbies on the ship who were still in a daze to get up quickly and gather together.
——Although they themselves have only been on the ship for a few weeks, they are already proudly considering themselves as seniors.
Then, groups of disheveled and unkempt girls in sailor uniforms poured out of various cabins in a mess.
Yes, there are really groups of girls in sailor uniforms - although some of them have obviously reached the age of ladies and even aunts... I saw them scurrying around in the narrow steel passage like headless flies. Come and go. Although all new recruits boarding the ship must undergo four to five days of training to learn the ship's regulations and become familiar with the locations of various departments within the Yamato-class ship. However, women generally seem to have a poor sense of direction, and there are still many road warriors who often get lost in the ship all day long - the only exception is the road from the residence to the canteen, even the stupidest people can remember it...< br>
The reason why there are so many women appearing on this giant steel ship that is supposed to be full of masculine atmosphere is naturally due to necessity.
——Since acquiring the super cheating machine [Era of Time Vending Machine], the red Japanese government, which can legally print Japanese yen banknotes, instantly transformed into a shopaholic party and immediately started a crazy super purchase: Fuel, food, guns, ammunition, cars, military horses, aircraft, warships...everything imaginable is bought and bought. In particular, the Yamato-class battleships, which have become world-renowned over the years, bought the No. 6 ship "Ezo", the No. 7 ship "Tsushima", the No. 8 ship "Dewa", and the No. 9 ship "Kai" in one go. ", No. 10 ship "Satsuma", No. 11 ship "Wakasa", No. 12 ship "Aki", No. 13 ship "Echizen", No. 14 ship "Echigo"...< br>
Coupled with the newly repaired and launched No. 5 ship Kii in the Wugang Governor's Naval Arsenal dockyard, the Navy's combined fleet suddenly added ten Yamato-class battleships. Together with the original four Yamato-class battleships, the total is up to ten. The four ships can be said to be the most prosperous military appearance, which makes people feel proud.
However, before the senior navy officials were happy about the sudden increase in military capacity, they found themselves in a huge trouble:
Although there were countless powerful warships all at once, there were simply not enough manpower to sail them!
As mentioned before, when fully manned, a Yamato-class battleship requires 2,500 to 3,000 officers and soldiers of all levels to serve on the ship in order to operate and fight normally. With the addition of ten new Yamato-class ships, at least 25,000 skilled sailors are needed to be able to play successfully.
What's even more terrible is that the Navy not only bought ten Yamato-class battleships from [chronological vending machines], but also bought a large number of submarines, torpedo boats, supply ships, aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers, making the entire military The total tonnage instantly increased by more than two million tons. In addition, three million tons of fast-transport merchant ships were purchased...According to the calculations of the naval staff, in order for these ships to run at sea instead of piled up and rusting in the harbor, naval pilots and ground crews alone need to be recruited. At least 100,000 people are needed, and as for sailors and port staff, about one million are needed. Obviously, even if all the personnel of the entire navy are used, even if the coolies at the dock and the cleaners from the headquarters are filled in, it will still not be enough.
Faced with such a huge human resource gap, the Navy must carry out a large-scale recruitment and mobilization no matter what.
However, the brutal war that lasted for more than ten years has pushed the number of strong men in Japan to the limit. Moreover, with the large-scale landing of US troops, the Kinki Plain, Tokaido area and Kanto Plain, the most densely populated areas on the Japanese archipelago, have all become enemy territory. The core base areas that the Hiroshima Base Camp can still really control are actually only most of the Saikoku region west of Kobe, plus half of Shikoku Island. They are all sparsely populated and barren places. The Kyushu Island side is still aloof for the time being. Moreover, the human resources on the remaining territory must be shared with the army.
As a result, the top brass of the Navy soon painfully discovered that if they did not intend to leave a large number of warships floating around without being piloted, and eventually become the enemy's trophies shamefully, then there were only two options left: either to conscript them A group of disobedient children and trembling old men can only let women on warships - that is, either turn the Japanese Navy into Boy Scouts and nursing homes, or turn the Japanese Navy into a women's army.
This is really an extremely difficult choice, so difficult that it almost brings the traditional and conservative naval admirals to the brink of mental collapse.
However, no matter how difficult the choice is, there is no room for escaping after all - after carefully weighing the difficulty of training naughty children and training young female workers, the top brass of the Navy finally pinched their noses and made the decision to "establish a women's naval fleet." The decision...
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In fact, as early as 1932, at the beginning of the war, out of consideration for wartime mobilization, Japan established the "Great Japan National Defense Women's Association" in order to organize ordinary housewives and provide various support for soldiers going to war. Serve. Her uniform is the daily attire of Japanese housewives - a white apron with a belt that reads "Japan Defense Women's Association" draped diagonally outside. Members not only included housewives, but also gradually expanded to working women in various industries such as textile workers, military factory workers, sales assistants, and eventually even actresses, waitresses, and prostitutes.
In the first few years, the female members of the "Japan Defense Women's Association" only made and sent condolences bags to soldiers, greeted troops leaving or returning home, held condolence meetings, condolences to the fallen, cleaned cemeteries, and expressed condolences. Military families, caring for wounded soldiers, promoting national defense knowledge, etc.
Well, there is also the mobilization of some unemployed women to serve as comfort women in frontline battlefields, which is also one of the tasks of the "Japan Defense Women's Association".
But soon, as the war continued to escalate and expand, in order to maintain Japan's domestic economy, support the wartime system, and fill the domestic labor gap caused by large-scale wartime conscription, the "Great Japan Defense Women's Association" was forced to break through Japan's traditional concept of "women's virtue" began to mobilize women into various types of military service Factories, producing aircraft and artillery shells for the front line, and even unloading goods at docks and digging coal in mines like men... Therefore, after the Navy made the decision to "establish a naval women's fleet", it quickly passed the "Great Japan Defense Women's Fleet" in the Hiroshima area Through the organizational channels of the People's Association, hundreds of thousands of women of working age were recruited. But the quality of the personnel... basically there is no need to count on it. Among them, there are only a handful of female drivers who can drive a car, and there are only a limited number of female workers who know how to operate pipeline machinery. As for those who have driven large motor boats alone, there are not a single one who has ever driven a large motor boat. However, there are many fishermen women who have a little knowledge of rowing sampans and operating sails. Know a thing or two - basically you have to learn everything from scratch anyway.