Chapter 3591
Shi Chengwu captured two counties on the north bank of the Yangtze River in a bloodless manner. After this good news was spread back to Hangzhou, it naturally dispelled many previous doubts about this operation.
Before this, there were many people who doubted Shi Chengwu's ability to command such a military operation alone. Others were worried that it would be easier to start a war than to end it, dragging Haihan, whose military resources are currently stretched thin, into a new round of attrition war.
Some people even pointed the finger at Shi Diwen, thinking that he was too eager to arrange for his own children to gain military exploits, which might cause damage to the country's established policy.
But Shi Chengwu's near-perfect performance was the best response, and the relevant news reports appeared on the front page of Donghai Times, the largest local circulation newspaper, the day after they were reported to the executive committee, and immediately became public opinion. A new focus of attention.
Compared with the Japanese civil war thousands of miles away, the development of the New World thousands of miles away can attract more public attention than these insignificant news. Of course, it is the major events that occur in nearby areas. The public's views on the relationship between Hai, Han and Daming are even more radical than the official ones.
When will the Ming Dynasty be replaced to rule the world? This has been one of the hot topics among Haihan people in recent years. Every time military action is taken against the Ming Dynasty, similar topics will be discussed again, and this time is no exception.
After reading the newspaper news, many people had similar views to Shi Chengwu who was far away in Nanjing. Since there was almost no resistance in the capture of these two counties, it means that the opponent's will to fight has almost disappeared. Should we take advantage of this situation? Good opportunity, continue to pursue the victory and seize more territory from Ming Dynasty?
The fertile land of Jianghuai, with its large population and rich products, isn't it more valuable than the remote land thousands of miles away overseas?
However, private discussions are just for lip service, and the executive committee, as the decision-maker, has many things to consider.
Although the battle report returned from Nanjing is exciting news, it does not mean that the Executive Committee will immediately increase the scale of its operations in the region.
For the Executive Committee, there are currently too many places where military resources need to be invested, and it is difficult to have the energy to open a new, larger-scale battlefield at this time. Limited by the existing military production capacity, if a war starts in the direction of Nanjing, it will inevitably reduce the equipment and materials that should be shipped overseas and delay the expansion operations that are underway in many overseas regions.
Bai Kesi and Qiao Zhiya, who were in charge of arms production, jointly submitted a plan to the Executive Committee at this time. The content and intention of this plan are very clear, which is to comprehensively expand the production capacity of the ordnance industry system and related industrial chains to prepare for large-scale military explosions.
"The reason why Lao Bai and I proposed this plan is very simple. The only thing that can stop us from expanding is no longer our traditional opponents. Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or European countries, it is difficult for them to confront us militarily. What really limits us is Yes, it is our own army size and military production capacity! ”
“We now have a huge population base and a large number of workers who have received basic education and vocational training. We are fully qualified to push the country into a truly rapid expansion period. While our generation is still alive, we will continue to expand as much as possible. Save some more land for future generations! ”
"In addition, the development of the ordnance industry will definitely promote the speed of our industrialization. In the future, ordnance industry technology will gradually be transferred to the civilian field, which will also greatly improve the level of productivity. I think everyone should agree on this."
Qiao Zhiya's speech was sonorous and powerful, and he seemed very confident. This is the most important item among the various bills he has submitted since he was elected to the executive committee last year.
This is likely to be the most influential project he has led during this term. However, Qiao Zhiya is also very aware that his energy may not be enough to push this plan through review alone, so he specifically persuaded Bai Kesi to co-sign.
Bai Kesi has been one of the organizers since the time of the time-travel operation. He has been a member of the executive committee for thirty years and is also the official in charge of the arms industry. With his help, the probability of such a success will be greatly increased.
There is not much controversy as to where Haihan's current restrictions on external expansion come from. However, the proposal they proposed regarding the expansion of the military industry also made everyone present wonder after reading it. Got a little shock.
This plan proposed that the nine major shipyards currently operated by the government, including Sanya, Danzhou, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Zhoushan, Lushun, Jinlan, Xingdao, and Manila, as well as more than 20 smaller shipyards at home and abroad, will be comprehensively Carry out capacity upgrades to ensure that each official shipyard has the ability to build and maintain all combat ships currently in service.
After the upgrade, the number of ships the Navy can receive each year will be more than four times higher than the current number, which should be able to meet the needs of overseas expansion in the future.
As for the setting up of weapons arsenals, the plan more boldly proposes to abandon the previous practice of concentrating on Hainan Island and build more arsenals across the south and north of the country to achieve production capacity improvement and nearby resource allocation.
For example, in the past, the places where firearms were produced were all concentrated in a few workshops in Tiandu Industrial Zone, Sanya. There was almost no space for new factories in that valley.
The plan recommends relocating some of the production lines of old weapons and building arsenals with firearms production capabilities in each region. As for the manufacturing of artillery, it can be placed in coal-iron composite industrial bases such as Changhua in Hainan and Shenyang in Liaodong.
The number of additional arsenals proposed in the plan will increase from less than ten at present to more than thirty in the next five years. As for the production capacity of guns and weapons, it will also be gradually increased, not only to meet Haihan's own needs for military expansion, but also to take care of orders from the international arms market.
Of course, for the sake of security and checks and balances, research institutions and manufacturing sites for various types of ammunition and advanced weapons still need to be placed in a safe area under the nose of the Executive Committee.
Some ordnance industry research institutes currently still in Sanya will also be relocated to nearby Hangzhou in the next few years.
Of course, the funds that will be consumed by expanding production sites, recruiting and training a large number of professional workers, and relocating related institutions are also a very scary astronomical figure - this even far exceeds the current annual military budget of the Haihan Army. .
So the question has to go back to the most essential place, where does the money come from?
"The ordnance industry system raises part of it by itself, the national and local finances provide part of it, and the rest is filled through long-term loans from banks."
Bai Kesi was already prepared for this and immediately stated his plan without thinking.