World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

2 PM, base conference room.

Aviation maps and design drawings were spread out on the long table, and three-sided images of the "Kunpeng" and "Falcon" hung on the wall. Chen Feng sat in the main seat, with Lin Huaimin, Zhao Xuecheng, and other base leaders seated on either side.

"Today's demonstration was a great success," Chen Feng said. "But success is not the end, it's the beginning. Chief Engineer Zhao, could you please tell us about the production plan?"

Zhao Xuecheng stood up, walked to the wall, and pointed to the blueprints with his pointer: "Currently, the monthly production of 'Kunpeng' can reach two aircraft, and 'Falcon' four. But this is the low-speed production during the trial production phase. If full-scale production begins, with sufficient raw materials and workers, producing eight 'Kunpeng' aircraft and sixteen 'Falcon' aircraft per month will not be a problem." (This is without full industrial focus.)

"What about worker training?"

"The aviation technician training school has already run three sessions, graduating 600 students, which basically meets the current demand. If we want to expand production, we need to start training six months in advance."

Chen Feng nodded and turned to Lin Huaimin: "Director Lin, tell me about your military expansion plan."

Lin Hwai-min opened a thick folder: "In accordance with the President's instructions, the Air Force Preparatory Office formulated the 'Blue Sky Plan.' The goal is to establish a professional air force of 10,000 men within three years."

He turned to the first page: "Total number of personnel: 12,000. Among them, there are 3,000 pilots, 6,000 ground crew, and 3,000 command, logistics, and technical support personnel."

"Three thousand pilots?" Zhao Xuecheng exclaimed in surprise. "We don't even have three hundred right now!"

"Therefore, training is necessary," Lin Hwai-min said. "I plan to establish a three-tiered training system: primary flight schools to cultivate basic flying skills, intermediate flight schools to provide specialized training based on aircraft type, and advanced tactical schools to cultivate commanders and elite pilots. With a capacity of one thousand graduates each year for three years, we can achieve our goal."

Chen Feng asked, "What about the planes? How many planes do we need for three thousand pilots?"

"Based on the ratio of front-line troops, second-line training, and third-line reserves, at least 1,200 combat aircraft are needed," Lin Hwai-min said. "Among them, 400 are bombers, 600 are fighters, and 200 are reconnaissance aircraft and other special-purpose aircraft."

A collective gasp filled the conference room. Twelve hundred aircraft—in an era when most countries' air forces possessed only a few dozen planes—was an astronomical number. (Aircraft were only truly used for military purposes during World War I.)

"Where will the money come from?" the logistics director asked. "The cost of one 'Kunpeng' is 400,000 Lanzhou dollars, and one 'Falcon' is 150,000. With 1,200 aircraft, plus spare parts, ammunition, fuel, airport construction... the total budget is at least 200 million Lanzhou dollars."

"Our total military spending last year was only 120 million," someone added.

Everyone looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng calmly took out a document from his briefcase: "This is a forecast just made by the Ministry of Finance. This year, Lanfang's total foreign trade volume will exceed one billion Lanfang dollars, and its fiscal revenue will reach 350 million yuan. Among them, profits from trade with Germany, revenue from arms sales, and technology transfer fees will total over 120 million yuan."

He pushed the documents to Lin Hwai-min: "The Air Force's first budget, 50 million NT dollars, has been approved. It will arrive in the account next week."

"Fifty million..." Lin Hwai-min's hands were trembling.

"But this 50 million isn't for you to squander," Chen Feng said seriously. "I want to see results. First, train 1,000 qualified pilots within a year. Second, within two years, the 'Kunpeng' and 'Falcon' aircraft should achieve initial operational capability. Third, within three years, I want an air force capable of winning battles."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the planes on the runway outside: "Gentlemen, you may think I'm crazy. Spending so much money, building so many planes, training so many people. Why?"

He turned around: "Because in future wars, air supremacy means sea supremacy, land supremacy, and victory. Whoever controls the skies controls the battlefield."

"But President," an engineer whispered, "these days, airplanes are mostly used for reconnaissance and bombing. How effective can they really be?"

Chen Feng walked back to the table, took out a piece of paper, and began to draw.

"This is the battlefield now." He drew two parallel lines to represent trenches. "The two sides are facing each other a few hundred meters apart, machine guns, barbed wire, artillery, neither side can get through. Stalemate."

He then drew an airplane swooping down from the sky: "But what if there were a hundred 'Falcon's' that could precisely destroy the enemy's artillery positions, machine gun bunkers, and command posts before the attack even began?"

Draw another group of airplanes: "What if a hundred 'Kunpeng' planes dropped three hundred tons of bombs behind enemy lines, destroying railway hubs, arsenals, and supply depots?"

He put down his pen: "The stalemate was broken. The attackers could advance, and the defenders could only retreat. That's the value of air power—it transforms the battlefield from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, from a plane to a three-dimensional space."

The meeting room fell silent. Everyone was pondering the scene.

"But that's not enough," Chen Feng continued. "Airplanes take off from land-based airports, and their range is limited, only covering an area within 300 kilometers of the coastline. What if we want to control more distant sea areas? What if we want to project power into the depths of the ocean?"

He looked at Lin Hwai-min: "Director Lin, bring that out."

Lin Hwai-min took a sealed kraft paper bag from the folder, broke the seal, took out the drawings inside, and spread them on the table.

It was a ship's blueprint. But unlike any existing ship, it had a flat deck, no turrets, an island superstructure on the starboard side, and rows of small airplanes painted on the deck.

"This is..." Zhao Xuecheng leaned closer to look, "The aircraft carrier the President mentioned before?"

"That's right," Chen Feng said. "The Lexington-class aircraft carrier design. Standard displacement 36,000 tons, speed 33 knots, and can carry 90 aircraft. It doesn't carry cannons; its weapons are its aircraft."

He pointed to the blueprints: "With this, our air force can operate at sea. Far from land, we can seize air superiority, cover our fleet, bomb enemy ports, and blockade shipping lanes."

Everyone was shocked. This concept was so ahead of its time, so advanced that it was difficult to comprehend.

"Commander-in-Chief," Zhao Xuecheng swallowed hard, "can we build a ship like this?"

"We can't build it now," Chen Feng said, "but we can prepare for it. I've asked the Ministry of Industry to start preliminary research: catapults, arresting cables, elevators, hangar design, aviation fuel storage... all these subsystems need to be pre-researched. At the same time, we need to design a special carrier-based aircraft—smaller and lighter than the 'Falcon,' capable of taking off and landing on a short deck."

He looked at Lin Hwai-min: "That's why I need 10,000 air force personnel. Because future aircraft carriers will require a large number of pilots. An aircraft carrier has 90 aircraft, which requires at least 180 pilots (two-crew), plus reserves. What if we have six aircraft carriers? Eight?"

Lin Hwai-min's eyes lit up: "Then we need five thousand, or even eight thousand pilots!"

"So we're starting to train them now," Chen Feng said. "We'll build an air force capable of simultaneously operating land-based and carrier-based aviation within three years. By then, Lanfang will truly possess the capability for long-range operations."