Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 37: Mockery (Part 2)
In the evening, General Liao Hanxiang called Ji Xiaobin and Tan Renhao over.
He lived in the generals' area of the hotel and had a separate room that was like a small villa.
This was a special treatment given to the generals of the Imperial Navy. Ji Xiaobin could only live in a senior officer suite, while Tan Renhao lived in a single room, which was the treatment for low-ranking officers.
When the two arrived, Liao Hanxiang had already ordered a few side dishes and was drinking and chatting with Wu Xianyu.
Wu Xianyu lived in the small "villa" next to General Liao Hanxiang, and he also enjoyed general-level treatment.
"Jianqiang, go get two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and get two more bottles of wine!"
Liao Hanxiang was very happy. The bottle of wine on the table was only half empty. As he spoke, he waved to the two of them, "Come and sit down. Don't be polite. Just treat it as your own home."
The two of them found chairs and sat down. Soon the waiter brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and then went out to ask the hotel waiter for two bottles of wine.
“I am very happy today!”
Liao Hanxiang patted the table and said, "So, I called you two here so that you can also be happy. The status of our Fifth Fleet has finally been recognized!"
Tan Renhao frowned slightly. Even if General Liao Hanxiang didn't say it, he knew that the general was very happy.
"Marshal Sagittin has approved the final design of the new aircraft carrier and has ordered the three ship design institutes in Dalian, Songjiang, and Guangzhou to come up with a basic design plan before the end of this year and complete the final design demonstration at the beginning of next year. At the earliest, the construction of the new aircraft carrier can begin at the end of next year or the beginning of the year after."
Wu Xianyu must not have drunk much, or he could drink a lot, he seemed very calm, "In addition, the Fifth Fleet's activity and construction funds will increase to 40 million next year, while the First Fleet's will be reduced to 45 million.
In name, the First Fleet is still the main fleet of the Imperial Navy, but the Fifth Fleet's funding will be the second largest among the five fleets.
If we can perform better next year, the funding will be increased to 60 million the year after next!"
“That’s great news!”
Ji Xiaobin also immediately became happy. "General, Chief of Staff, we should indeed celebrate . If the construction of the new aircraft carrier can be successfully started, then we will become the most powerful fleet in the empire within three years."
"But now there are new problems."
Wu Xianyu smiled bitterly, "I don't know what's wrong with General Pei Yuming, he asked the Marshal to add two aircraft carriers to the First Fleet.
Although the marshal has not yet decided which fleet the new aircraft carrier will be assigned to, it seems that General Pei Yuming is determined to get it.
In addition, I heard that the Second Fleet, the Third Fleet, and the Fourth Fleet are all drafting relevant reports, hoping to be strengthened.”
"That is to say, the new aircraft carrier may not be allocated to us?"
Ji Xiaobin was stunned, then glanced at Tan Renhao next to him, hoping that Tan Renhao would also say something.
"There are still many problems, but I heard that Marshal Sagittin has also encountered a lot of resistance. Now even the design and construction of the new aircraft carrier may have problems!"
Wu Xianyu shook his head. "Not all naval commanders support the development of aircraft carriers. Judging from Pei Yuming's strong demand for aircraft carriers, his intention to suppress us is the most important."
"Chief of Staff, I heard that Shenfei is developing a new fighter, and the Feng 12 engine is about to be finalized. Is this news accurate?"
Tan Renhao raised an unrelated question.
Wu Xianyu looked at Tan Renhao a little puzzled, then nodded.
“The Feng 12 was finalized last month and is now undergoing the final stage of performance testing.
At least six new fighter jets will be powered by this engine, including three for our navy, and the design work will be completed as early as the middle of next year.
Why are you asking this?"
"I think new fighter jets are more important than new aircraft carriers!"
Tan Renhao paused for a moment, and when Liao Hanxiang's eyes fell on him, he said: "From this bombing experiment, the key to the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier is the combat aircraft it carries.
Now the performance of our four types of fighters, 'Gull', 'Gannet', 'Pelican' and 'Cockatoo' are very limited, making it difficult to bring out the full power of the aircraft carrier.
To make an inappropriate analogy, an aircraft carrier is like an excellent archer, and a battleship is the heavy infantry. Whether the archer can defeat the heavy infantry depends on the bow and arrow in his hand and whether the arrow is powerful.
The combat aircraft is the archer's bow, and the ammunition is the arrow.
Now we had proven that arrows were sharp enough to tear through the armor of heavy infantry, but there were no suitable bows for archers to use.
Therefore, I think the new focus should be on the aircraft carriers.”
The other three nodded, Tan Renhao's analogy was very appropriate.
Wu Xianyu glanced at Liao Hanxiang, and then said: "In addition to the Feng 12, Chengfei's Feng 13 and Xi'an's Feng 14 will be finalized before the end of this year.
We took out three high-power engines at once.
I heard that the Army Aviation has placed an order with Chengfei, planning to use the Feng-13 as its power to develop a four-engine heavy bomber for the Army Aviation.
Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation's Feng 14 is mainly used to manufacture fighter jets for the Army Aviation.
Lao Liao, shouldn't we also put some pressure on this aspect?"
Liao Hanxiang nodded, thought for a while, and said, "Xianyu, the day after tomorrow, you and Xiaobin will return to the fleet to strengthen training. I will take Lieutenant Renhao to Shenfei to have a look. If it is confirmed that the new fighter designed by Shenfei can meet our requirements, then I will immediately submit a demand report to Marshal Sagitin and strive to equip the fleet with new combat aircraft as soon as possible."
Wu Xianyu nodded. In fact, according to convention, at any time, one of the fleet commander and the fleet chief of staff must stay in the fleet. If Marshal Sajitin had not invited the two to Dagu this time, Wu Xianyu would have returned to Naha with the fleet.
"Renhao, please come up with a demand analysis report as soon as possible."
Liao Hanxiang made a decision very quickly. "Combining the data from the bombing experiment, I will focus on the parts we lack to write this report. Of course, I need detailed performance requirements so that the engineers at Shenfei can know what kind of combat aircraft to build!"
Tan Renhao also nodded immediately. This was another very important task.
"You must all be on time for the banquet tomorrow night. I have already ordered formal dresses for you. Don't let anyone look down on the Fifth Fleet."
Tan Renhao was stunned, only then did he realize that Liao Hanxiang brought him to Dagu to attend a banquet hosted by Marshal Sajitin.
