The Anti-Japanese War Begins with the Northeast Army

"Yes!"

Zhang Tingshu immediately stopped smiling, stood up with a righteous look on his face, and saluted his direct superior.

Even though he seems to be mischievous and arrogant on weekdays, this second young master is absolutely calm when it comes to serious matters.

Seeing how serious he was, Jiang Cheng also stood up, raised his hand and gently held the other's wrist, and put down his right hand that was saluting.

"Good brother, why do we need to do this between you and me?"

Jiang Cheng patted his shoulders twice and said, "As you can see, the development of the navy is really related to the future of Jilin."

"In fact, the Japanese saw through the fact that we in Jilin had no escort fleet, no coastal artillery, and so on, not to mention any ocean-going combat capabilities."

Zhang Tingshu took a long breath and nodded thoughtfully, "Yes. With our current combat capability, we can only scare away the combined fleet. Once they come to their senses, they will most likely target the merchant caravan again."

Jiang Cheng also responded: "That's right - so on the one hand, I want to ask Master Shuai and our 'foreign friends' to come forward and continue to put pressure on the devils;"

"In addition, I have brought a lot of workers from local factories, all of whom are skilled in welding and assembly. I will also give you all the artillery developed by our arsenal!"

"Brother, I need you to complete the repair, modification and upgrade of the entire fleet within three years—"

Zhang Tingshu agreed immediately and turned around to ask Wang Ziyu to call in the several German ship experts he brought back.

Jiang Cheng and these German experts had an in-depth discussion on repair and renovation, as well as strengthening firepower.

The Germans have a tough personality, but these highly educated talents tend to be more or less conservative in their speech... Even if Zhang Tingshu had told them in advance:
Jilin values ​​talent and is willing to pay high salaries and good treatment, but these intellectuals still seem a little nervous when facing the warlords who are decisive and ruthless.

But with Zhang Tingshu's translation and coordination, Jiang Cheng offered them three times their original salary and arranged housing, medical care and other conditions. These experts quickly let down their guard and started talking:
The current problems of the fleet and the various conditions required for maintenance and renovation, such as talent, materials, and relevant technical support.

The problem of supplies is easy to solve - now that the shipping route is open, we can buy them from all over Europe and the United States through the Russians in Vladivostok.

But talent and technology are difficult to solve, especially high-level technicians, which are in short supply here.

"I think we have to go to places like Europe to dig them up - bring them back to me in large quantities, no matter what the cost."

After sending these Germans away, Jiang Cheng put his hands on his hips, stared into the distance and said softly, "There is no time to waste."

Zhang Tinglan nodded seriously, but he really didn't understand why his superiors were so concerned about military reforms.

"Feilan, there's something I can't figure out - I understand that having our own escort fleet is important... but we already have the White Russian fleet, plus the dreadnoughts and these German warships. As long as we have enough artillery shells and sailors, there won't be any problem with escort."

Looking back at his bewildered brother, Jiang Cheng thought to himself: I can't tell you that there will be a big war between us and Xiao Ri Zi in the future -

Whether or not there is the ability to fight in the ocean can directly determine the direction of the war. Of course, he also understands Zhang Tingshu's concerns: even if it is not "choked" by the great powers in the current way of encirclement and interception, the cost of building a navy is much higher than that of the army, and even higher than that of the air force.

The navy is known as a gold-eating beast. Even the renovation of the port of Vladivostok cost nearly 10 million silver dollars.

The purchase price of a dreadnought is close to seven million silver dollars... If such a huge expenditure were invested in the army, at least three brigades could be armed.

In addition, a large number of ships need to be modified and equipped with firepower... The completed fleet also needs to be maintained frequently -

In his eyes, such high expenses, used only for commercial purposes such as "escort" and "waterway protection", have too low a cost-effectiveness.

"In fact, there is no need for our own fleet to be so large."

Zhang Tingshu still said what he wanted to say the most, "We just need to keep the two dreadnoughts, dismantle and reassemble the German warships, and build a fleet organized around the battleships."

"As for escort missions, just give those old Russians some money and let them take charge... Letting them out to find their own food is much more cost-effective than the plans you mentioned."

"After all - the navy's military expenditure is too high. We should save it to develop the mechanical brigade and the air force. I heard that the Zhi army has its own air force."

Jiang Cheng nodded silently.

In fact, even he, a brother who once studied at the British Naval Academy, still believed that the development of land warfare was more important for the Northeast.

"The devils will never give up invading Northeast China and China... Therefore, we must make all preparations. In addition, I firmly believe that a country must be protected by a strong navy!"

Listening to his leader's words, Zhang Tingshu was about to express his opinion, but he saw from afar his adjutant Wan Heze and two women walking towards him with a smile. Suddenly, a feeling of embarrassment, shyness, and uneasiness flashed across his face, and he almost shouted on the spot, "Come on and do it."

Raising his eyebrows meaningfully, Jiang Cheng looked at the two women. One of them was wearing a fashionable dress and had a Western-style Roman curl.
The other one was dressed as a maid in a plain cloth skirt, and she immediately guessed the identities of the two: "This, is my second sister-in-law?"

It was rare that the second brother, who was always eloquent and playful, showed an embarrassed expression: "Ah, come here, I'll introduce you."

The woman's name was Yang Yuzhen. Zhang Tingshu met her and fell in love with her when he was studying in the UK. They got engaged a year ago.
She originally had a respectable clerical job in the UK, and now that her husband has returned to China, it is natural for her to follow him.

I have come here now to prepare some gifts to visit the Governor-General, and I have also prepared some Western toys for him to take back to his wife and children.

Yang Yuzhen was beautiful and graceful. In particular, Zhang Tingshu said that his wife had made great contributions to the smooth progress of the purchasing business.

When Jiang Cheng heard this, he was naturally in awe and repeatedly expressed his desire to give credit to his sister-in-law.

"I say let's not talk about the commendation for now - when you see our father later, tell him about Yu'er's matter; hey, I haven't even told my father about such a big thing as getting married!"

Jiang Cheng curled his lips when he heard this: "So he's waiting for me here...Okay, let's just have a joke. You haven't been home for a few years, so you have to come back to Changchun with me to see your father, right?" (End of this chapter)