Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 42: War Machine
The Imperial Navy Headquarters is located on Zhoushan Island, east of Zhoushan City, bordering the Qitou Ocean.
This is the third headquarters base in the history of the Imperial Navy.
The other two are Dagu and Guangzhou.
More than fifty years ago, in order to cope with the threats from Japan and the United States in the east, the Imperial Navy moved its naval headquarters to the Zhoushan Islands. Since then, this place has become the heart of the Imperial Navy.
The only force stationed in Zhoushan Port is the Navy's East China Sea Garrison Fleet, a very small local patrol fleet, somewhat similar to the later coastal patrol fleet. Its main tasks are to protect fishery, combat piracy, and arrest smuggling ships.
However, Zhoushan Port is a very large port. After decades of construction, it has become one of the military ports with the most complete infrastructure of the Imperial Navy.
Every spring, the major fleets of the Imperial Navy would hold a military exercise in the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea. In name, it was to review the combat effectiveness of each fleet, but in reality it was to show off the might of the Imperial Navy to other countries in order to create a deterrent and intimidation effect.
At this time of year, most of the main warships of the empire's four major fleets (now five major fleets) and six regional fleets would gather at Zhoushan Port and complete military exercises lasting ten days to half a month here.
Zhoushan Island was designed and built to accommodate 80% of the Imperial Navy's main battleships.
This is not the first time Tan Renhao has come to Zhoushan Island.
During their internship before graduation, the "Zheng He" training ship they were on was based in Zhoushan Port and mainly operated in the Qitou Ocean.
However, this was the first time that Tan Renhao carefully observed the Imperial Navy Headquarters Base.
The base covers an area of at least two thousand acres and is divided into several areas. The most conspicuous of these is the Imperial Navy Headquarters Office Building. This is where Marshal Sagittin usually works and it is also the core place in the heart of the Imperial Navy.
The Naval Equipment and Technology Office where Tan Renhao currently works is located in a three-story building to the east of the headquarters building.
In name, this department is an office-level agency directly under the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, but in reality, it is a huge military administrative department.
The entire office is headed by Brigadier General Yu Gengnian, and has eight professional departments including main battleships, cruisers, destroyers and speedboats, submarines, combat aircraft, ammunition, electronic equipment, and the newly established aircraft carriers. Each department is responsible for the equipment and ammunition work in its own area.
The entire department has more than 300 staff members, and except for civilian staff and adjutants, all official military personnel are at least captains.
Obviously, Tan Renhao was promoted to captain for this reason.
General Yu Gengnian's office is at least one hundred square meters, but almost every corner is filled with bundles of books and various technical documents.
At the beginning, Tan Renhao had noticed that General Yu Gengnian had nine secretaries and assistants. Obviously, General Yu Gengnian's daily work was very stressful and busy.
"Captain, you must first familiarize yourself with the situation in our department."
Yu Gengnian picked up a card and asked, "How much do you know about the military's confidentiality regulations?"
"very clear."
Tan Renhao's answer was very straightforward, and he also realized that General Yu Gengnian was definitely not the kind of person who acted on impulse. Even when wearing a military uniform, he still maintained his true qualities as a technical worker.
"Very good. Now I will give you Class C authorization."
Yu Gengnian gave the card to Tan Renhao. He did not ask Tan Renhao to sit down or make tea for him.
"This is the pass to the underground data room on the first floor below ground. The manager there will tell you the scope of information that can be accessed with Class C authorization. I will give you ten days. During these ten days, you must familiarize yourself with the necessary knowledge as quickly as possible so that you can start the subsequent work. Do you understand?"
Tan Renhao nodded immediately. That was for sure. If he was not even familiar with the equipment of the Imperial Navy, how could he do his job?
"Very good, then, you may pass through now."
Yu Gengnian nodded, and when Tan Renhao walked to the door, he called Tan Renhao again.
"By the way, Captain, your luggage will be delivered this afternoon by your adjutant. What's his name?"
"Sergeant Duchenne."
"Yes, it was sent by Sergeant Du Xing. He is still your adjutant, so you have to make him understand the rules here."
Yu Gengnian smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, go ahead and do your work. If you have any questions, you can go directly to ask Lieutenant Colonel He Changfeng of the Aviation Technology Department, or come and ask me. Of course, you have to choose the right time."
Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, but he didn't think of asking anyone. It seemed that everyone here was very busy, and no one might have time to entertain him.
Tan Renhao spent the entire morning getting familiar with the situation of this new department.
What surprised him a little was that more than 80% of the officers in the Imperial Navy Equipment Technology Office were of technical background, and many of them were transferred here from major arsenals and equipment research institutes. There were also more than a dozen officers like him who were seconded from other units, and they were all responsible for the research and development of important equipment for each unit.
Obviously, the scope of authority of this Equipment and Technology Office is very broad. No wonder Brigadier General Yu Gengnian has such a high status in the eyes of Marshal Sajitin.
The building's underground floor, or basement, is a huge data and document warehouse with four managers.
Tan Renhao was received by a middle-aged woman.
Tan Renhao felt a little strange, but when he noticed the captain's rank on the shoulder of this middle-aged woman, he no longer felt strange.
This underground warehouse contains information on various equipment of the Imperial Navy, almost all of which are secret documents, many of which are even top secret.
Therefore, it is most appropriate to arrange military officers to manage it.
However, Tan Renhao did not find any guards, and it seemed that not many people dared to come here to steal information.
“You may find these materials useful.”
The middle-aged female captain took Tan Renhao to a row of shelves filled with information. "There is a reading room over there in the corridor. You can go over there, but you can only bring two sets of information at a time, and you must register first. In addition, all the information here cannot be borrowed, and you can only use the paper and pens here. No paper can be taken out. Do you understand?"
Tan Renhao nodded. He understood these rules.
Although he was not sure if there was anyone monitoring the reading room, he was sure that the administrator would check the information carefully when he returned it.
Tan Renhao was quickly attracted by the rich information here, and he even forgot to eat lunch.
If in his previous understanding the Imperial Navy was a powerful army, now he was absolutely certain that the Imperial Navy was the largest war machine in the world.
The Imperial Navy's reliance on equipment far exceeds that of the Imperial Army (the same is true for talent). Tan Renhao was surprised by just the superficial understanding of it.
The Imperial Navy has a complete management system for equipment research and manufacturing. This is a management system that has been developed over hundreds of years through countless practices and lessons learned. It is not the most efficient, but it is the most reliable.
At the same time, Tan Renhao also realized how huge the empire's war machine was.
The Imperial Navy has a total of five ship design institutes, namely Dalian Ship Design Institute, Qingdao Naval Research and Design Institute, Songjiang Ship Design Institute, Kaohsiung Ship Design Institute, and Guangzhou Naval Design Institute.
Among these five design institutes, Dalian, Songjiang and Guangzhou are the largest, mainly responsible for the design of cruisers and above-level warships, and each has its own related institutions, such as materials, ammunition, chemical industry and other related laboratories.
The Imperial Navy has a total of twenty-four shipyards, eight of which can undertake the construction of heavy warships of more than 10,000 tons, and four of which can undertake the construction of main battleships of more than 30,000 tons.
The largest shipyard is the Jiangnan Shipyard. The old site of the factory is on the Wusong River, and the new site is on Chongming Island. The factory area reaches more than 20,000 acres, with nearly 30,000 workers and staff. It has three large docks that can build 50,000-ton ships. If production is carried out under the wartime system, three battleships can be built in the dock at the same time, while the other three battleships can be installed on the dock.
These four shipyards have a total of nine large docks that can build 50,000-ton warships.
The total number of workers and staff exceeds 100,000.
There is no doubt that the strength of the Imperial Navy is not without any foundation.
After the last war, the Imperial Navy only operated these shipyards at less than one-third of their construction capacity, which was enough to ensure the normal renewal of the Imperial Navy's warships. If war broke out, the Imperial Navy could make all these shipyards operate at full capacity in a very short period of time and provide the navy with a steady supply of various warships.
Of course, such a huge shipbuilding capacity is based on the empire's huge industrial base. If it did not have the world's most powerful industrial bases such as steel, chemicals, electricity, etc., then the empire would not be able to maintain such a huge military manufacturing industry.
There were so many things that surprised Tan Renhao. In addition to the huge shipbuilding industry, the Imperial Navy's other equipment manufacturing industrial systems were not inferior at all.
Especially in the last war, the empire experienced the most tragic "failure" in its history and lost its throne of global dominance. This made all the soldiers and civilians of the empire reflect on why the powerful Tang Empire was unable to achieve a complete victory in the war and was forced to sign a series of armistice treaties with the Eastern and Western powers.
While saving face, he also lost his rightful status.
After learning from the painful experience, the empire began a comprehensive reform of its industrial system in the year the war ended, thus laying the foundation for the empire's rapid development over the past decade.
The motivation of the Imperial Navy does not come from just one kind of emotion. More often than not, it is forced to develop at an extremely fast speed under huge threats.
Tan Renhao felt this deeply when he saw the series of ships that the Imperial Navy was developing and would be equipped with in the near future.
These ships have a very distinctive feature, that is, they directly target the emerging ships that the three main opponents are equipping and developing. The tit-for-tat development is enough to overwhelm or at least restrain the opponents' warships.
For example, Japan secretly began developing the Yamato-class battleship last year, with a displacement of more than 60,000 tons, a main gun caliber of a record 460 mm, and armor thickness exceeding that of any other country's navy's battleships in service or under development.
The United States also put forward the development requirements of the "Iowa" class battleship almost at the same time.
The British Empire also came up with a similar battleship design.
Even the Kingdom of France, a country not considered a first-class naval power, proposed its own new battleship plan.
At the beginning of the year, the Imperial Navy proposed a new battleship development plan in response, requiring the construction of a new type of battleship that could completely overwhelm all other powers.
The three major design institutes quickly came up with their own design plans, and in order to obtain naval orders, the four shipyards all improved their docks to meet the new construction requirements.
This is the brutal and massive naval arms race .
The naval arms race is just a waste of money. Unlike the army arms race, the navy cannot overwhelm its opponents by expanding its strength. The importance of equipment is fully reflected in the naval arms race. Without the best warships, there will be no best fleet, and no most powerful navy.
Originally, all the world powers wanted to avoid this arms race that was almost built on gold, so nine influential maritime powers signed the Songjiang Treaty. However, the treaty is only valid for twenty years. In two years, the treaty will expire. As long as one party disagrees to extend the treaty, a new round of naval arms race will begin again, and a new global war will soon break out.
Obviously, there are definitely some countries that do not want to continue to extend the Treaty of Songjiang, so the various maritime powers have begun to develop new warships that are not restricted by the treaty at all.
Tan Renhao also saw the beginnings of a new arms race and even a new global war from a series of recent changes in the Imperial Navy.
The Imperial Navy's war machine has begun to accelerate, and more and more new warships, combat aircraft, and ammunition have been put on the development and equipment schedule.
This is like a marathon race with no end. Whoever can persevere to the end will win.
Immersed in great shock, Tan Renhao almost forgot the time. He was like a pauper who entered a treasure house.
As a result, when a captain who was on shift in the afternoon came to remind him, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. The database was closed at eight o'clock, so Tan Renhao left this treasure with some reluctance.
