At this time, Zhou Changfeng was distracted, thinking about what it would be like to have children in the future.
What should the son be named, and if it is a daughter, what should she be called?
No matter what, my daughter will definitely be a beautiful woman in the future!
"Ahem!" A civilian major coughed loudly twice before he came back to his senses.
The colonel in front continued to say, "Even though the multiple rocket launchers have poor accuracy and a large spread, they can be launched continuously in a short period of time. The density of firepower projection is considerable, and they are used to suppress attacks at shallow depths and near the beach." The enemy force is very effective. This is what Zhou Changfeng and Zhou Kexing proposed, because the ship acts as a carrying platform and does not need to be specially designed for it. It can be used by renovating old ships."
Because the technical content and construction difficulty of the fire support ship are very low, the Navy only ordered a batch of specially-made 144mm fifteen-unit rocket launchers from the Wuhan Army Arsenal.
At the same time, the Hangzhou Naval Shipyard was ordered to simply renovate the three 600-ton Taiping-class destroyers that were on the verge of being scrapped, dismantling all the guns and torpedo launchers, and installing seven rocket launchers.
Rocket launchers are readily available. The Ming Dynasty Army is equipped with Type 35 144mm seven-unit rocket launchers arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Now, in accordance with the requirements of the Navy, the arsenal has arranged the launch tubes into five horizontal and three vertical tubes, turning into a box-shaped fifteen-unit assembly.
The technical content of the rocket launcher itself is not high, the core is the rocket.
As the earliest (modern) rocket-propelled weapon in service in the world, the Ming Army's rockets were launched from launch tubes instead of guide rails. When inside the launch tube, the four tail fins are in a folded state and automatically pop up and unfold after leaving the tube, thus stabilizing the flight of the rocket.
This is a way to balance cost and accuracy. In fact, weapon developers are also trying to have another stabilization principle - spin stabilization.
Rockets using this principle have no tail fins at the bottom, and their tail nozzles are divided into multiple parts, each with a certain inclination angle.
In this way, when the ejected gunpowder gas pushes the rocket forward, it will also rotate at high speed to obtain directional stability through the gyroscopic effect.
The manufacturing cost of rockets of this design is higher. The Army believes that the characteristics of rocket launchers are "strength in firepower and weakness in accuracy." So it has to pay a lot of costs to improve some of its inherent shortcomings? This was not cost-effective, so I chose the folding tail rocket.
A landing fire support ship has a total of 7×15 launch tubes, which can pour more than a hundred 144mm rockets on the target in less than ten seconds.
This is almost equivalent to the projection intensity of four artillery battalions equipped with six-inch howitzers. There is no doubt about the rapid firepower.
As for the platform itself, the old Taiping-class destroyers were the product of the fifteenth year of Zhichang. At that time, the European War was in full swing, but the Ming Dynasty in the Far East was calmly selling ordnance. In addition to the twelve destroyers of this class retained by the Ming Navy, , the remaining three ships were also sold to Italy.
The standard displacement is 620 tons. Four oil-coal mixed-fired boilers and two triple-expansion steam engines can enable it to reach a maximum speed of 29 knots. It is equipped with one 112mm naval gun, three 80mm naval guns, and two twin 448mm naval guns. torpedo launchers, and several heavy machine guns.
After so long, these old small destroyers have long been studied to take a back seat and be used as frigates.
Now it is being prepared to be completely scrapped. Some of them will be directly returned to the factory for dismantling, and the other part will be converted into a radio-controlled target ship for the Navy to conduct gunnery training.
Being able to be transformed into a landing fire support ship gives these old warships that have witnessed history a chance to exert their remaining heat.
During their service, they did not engage in imaginary battles to defend the empire's maritime borders. They spent most of their lives in peace and ease, but in the end they had to participate in another form of reviving the Celestial Empire in their twilight years?
The offensive and defensive momentum...has long since changed.
As the meeting came to an end, everyone was already thinking about the meeting ending uneventfully, and their thoughts were far away.
However, a few words from the Ministry of Defense and the Navy instantly drew everyone's attention back.
"The last thing to mention is that the current scale of the Marine Corps can still only meet the basic needs and cannot meet more situations. There must be at least three units that can operate independently. Today there are only two, and the scale is still small. .”
The basic requirement is a landing operation when conquering the Southeast Asia. In more cases, it means that when the United States intervenes, it must also attack important islands such as Guam and Wake Island at the same time.
"That is to say, we need to add another regiment?" a lieutenant colonel asked.
"More than that, we need to expand the existing two regiments into a brigade, and add two more regiments as appropriate." The naval officer answered clearly and without perfunctoryness.
Uh-huh? Marine Corps expansion sooner than expected?
Thinking about it, the current situation is indeed not good.
The enemies of Britain and France continue to torment the Germans, and now even "Swedish exports of iron ore to the German Society" will continue to increase restrictions.
The Germans refused to give in, and the Swedes were caught in the middle. They were in a dilemma, and the smell of gunpowder suddenly became strong.
Tsarist Russia was still struggling to cope with popular protests. A mutiny in Tsaritsyn was suddenly exposed half a month ago and had to be launched in advance.
However, the Tsarist Russian troops who went to "counter-rebellion" had a negative attitude and were slow to march and fight. Although they had a numerical advantage, the mutiny was only resolved today.
The current world situation is really like a warehouse with many powder barrels piled up. Any spark may ignite one of the powder barrels, causing a series of explosions!
Zhou Changfeng and Xu Zhanming originally expected that the expansion might not start until the end of the year, but the plan could not keep up with the changes.
The new Prime Minister Gao Qingkui's style is quite neat. If the previous Zou Zhuoyun was slow and leisurely, then Gao Qingkui can be said to cut through the mess with a sharp knife.
The Special No. 3 Ordnance Industry Expansion Plan was quickly included on the agenda and was quickly passed. It is planned to build a brand new weapons manufacturing base in Handan Prefecture to further expand the scale of military industry and war potential.
The increase in combat readiness has naturally affected the army, navy and air force, which is why the Navy has begun to expand the Marine Corps in advance.
"Phew - it's so hot."
"Sir, wait a minute, I'll pour you some tea."
Zhou Changfeng complained about the hot weather as soon as he walked in. Xia Xiaoshi, who had taken leave today because of toothache, bowed and went back to the house to pour a full cup of herbal tea.
"There's good news, do you want to hear it?"
"Of course, what's a good thing?"
Zhou Changfeng, who was originally smiling, deliberately said seriously: "You really want to know? Then call my husband to come and listen."
oops! annoying!
After struggling for two seconds, Xia Xiaoshi whispered shyly: "Mr.
"The sound is too low to hear clearly."
"Huh huh huh - don't say it anymore, sir, just tell me."
"Okay, no more joking." Zhou Changfeng coughed lightly and said seriously: "The expansion of the Marine Corps has been advanced. I will probably be promoted to the chief of the Marine Brigade soon, I guess... in the fall."
"So soon?" Xia Xiaoshi thought about the past and said with emotion: "It feels like we have known each other for a short time. At this time the year before last, you were still serving as the camp commander of the Forbidden Army. In just two years, you will be promoted to the brigade commander."
Divisions and brigades are basic strategic units, and their chief officers have an extraordinary status. You must know that there is a chasm between a colonel and a brigadier general. It can even be said to be a chasm. It is comparable to the ascension of a cultivator. On average, only one of a dozen colonels can reach the position of general.
However, according to the underlying rules, although the brigade commander is also a colonel, he is the colonel with the greatest potential to be promoted to brigadier general, with a high probability. The rest of the colonels can only try their luck or have connections in the court.
Therefore, Xia Xiaoshi now fantasizes about becoming a general's wife, and according to convention, once promoted, a decree will be given to his wife, which is to confer the title of wife.
What an honor that would be!
snort! I really want to see the expressions on those relatives.
Xia Xiaoshi thought of the scene when her family gathered together when she returned to her hometown during the Chinese New Year when she was a child. Those snobbish relatives thought that Xia Bing had no chance to prosper, so they were a little left out, not to mention her own treatment.
The peaceful day passed like this.
The next few days were equally comfortable. Except for the increase in meat prices in the capital, everything was business as usual.
July 18th, morning.
The Forbidden City is still the same as before, with the imperial guards patrolling along fixed routes, the Han generals carrying pumpkin hammers standing guard at the city gate, and the palace ladies watering the flowers, plants and trees in the palace.
However, something seemed to be wrong in the Qianqing Palace, or something must be wrong - because two cars drove all the way to the Qianqing Gate, and the few imperial doctors who got out of the car were walking in a hurry.
"Your Majesty, the doctors will be here soon. If you feel uncomfortable, just vomit if you want."
In the West Room, the emperor was leaning on a chair, covering his forehead and frowning. There was still unfinished breakfast on the small round table next to him.
The female officer next to him looked anxious. She looked at the vomit on the ground and then looked out the door, hoping that the doctors would arrive soon.
Finally, with the sound of messy footsteps, several panting figures crossed the threshold and arrived at the Nishiji Room.
Seeing this scene, the leading doctor's eyes narrowed and he asked seriously: "How long has your Majesty been like this? Tell me in detail."
The female officer took a deep breath and managed to calm down her inhibited mood, "Not long ago, about a quarter of an hour ago, His Majesty was still eating, and suddenly he said he had a headache... After a while, the pain worsened, and he said he felt nauseous. Then he vomited and called you to come."
"Can you move?"
"No...no, my hands and feet are weak."
The tall and thin middle-aged imperial doctor looked at the emperor who was leaning on the back of his chair and said solemnly: "Ninety percent... no, it must be a stroke! Get a stretcher!"
At this time, someone had already stepped forward to check his pulse.
After just a few seconds, he stood up and turned around, with a solemn expression on his face, and said sternly: "Quick! Quick! Quick!"
Although the incident occurred suddenly, the generally complete system still played its due role in a timely manner.
When the emperor was sent to the Taiyuan Hospital, all the ministers in the cabinet also learned of the matter.
It is self-evident that the disability and death rate of cerebral hemorrhage are high. As the head of state of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor had to deal with this kind of thing with caution.
If handled improperly, the resulting series of problems can turn Ming into a mess in the blink of an eye.
"...This has nothing to do with the word 'taboo'. The court cannot be in chaos." Li Guangyuan slapped the table and said loudly: "As a cabinet minister, being hesitant at this moment is no different from dereliction of duty!"
It is known that the fatality rate of cerebral hemorrhage is very high. Considering the worst case scenario, immediately after the death of the emperor, a heir apparent will succeed him, and the transfer of power must be ensured securely.
But...the Crown Prince is still inspecting the Japanese Islands at the moment!
The cabinet ministers present were extremely helpless. They were helpless rather than complaining because everyone knew that this was indeed not Zhu Lizheng's fault - who could have expected that such a thing would happen? No one can predict the future.
"Let's impose martial law immediately. At least ensure the safety of the capital first." The Transportation Cabinet Minister suggested.
"How can that be done?" Yu Shenhua immediately refused, "How can we easily announce the emperor's situation? In this way, the capital is under martial law for no reason, and the rumors among the people can be overwhelming in just half a day."
"Indeed." Lin Xi nodded and said: "We must keep it secret for the time being, and then let the prince and Prince Jiang return to the palace immediately."
Prince Jiang, the second prince, was born to a noblewoman and is the half-brother of Zhu Lizhen and Zhu Lingjing. He is still studying at Imperial Gezhi University.
Gao Qingkui's hand was stroking his short beard. He said "Yeah" and agreed: "That's it. Also, let the princess enter the palace."
It is now about seven o'clock in the morning, and the huge Yingtian Mansion in the capital has already fully awakened from a night's rest. Workers, traders, soldiers, and officials are all busy with their respective tasks.
But at Princess Ningyou's house, Zhu Lingjing was still sleeping. Her breathing was gentle, her expression was relaxed, and she seemed to be enjoying the things in her dream.
The faint morning light shines into the room through the slits of the bamboo curtains, reflecting stripes on the expensive tapestry quilt.
There is no pressure in life, and I occasionally worry about things that interest me. Not to mention how nourishing and comfortable my life is.
But today's affairs couldn't be delayed by any second. Su Yiyi knocked on the door extra hard and shouted eagerly: "Your Highness! Your Highness! It's urgent!"
It is naturally extremely uncomfortable to have a sweet dream interrupted. Subconsciously, a trace of irritation arises spontaneously, but as the conscious mind takes over, this irritation immediately disappears.
She sat up slowly and said calmly: "Come in, what's the matter?"
Su Yiyi, who pushed the door open and entered, was speechless for a moment. She swallowed before speaking nervously: "Your Highness, there is news from the palace that His Majesty suffered a stroke and is being treated at the Imperial Hospital. The cabinet asks you to enter the palace immediately."
I thought it was a fight between factions, but it turned out to be this?
Zhu Lingjing's eyebrows immediately knitted together, the gaze in her eyes was very sharp, and her tone suddenly became extremely serious, "Is this matter still kept secret? Has it been exposed?"
Su Yiyi shook her head and said: "It has not been announced to the public."
"Go get someone to prepare a car, I'll do it as soon as possible."
"yes."
Zhu Lingjing immediately got out of bed and opened the wardrobe on the side. Without any time to think about whether it looked good or not, she casually took out a dark shirt and skirt.
After all, she had studied medicine. The bachelor's degree in pathology from Heidelberg University School of Medicine, which she had worked so hard to obtain, was still on the shelf. Zhu Lingjing knew the dangers of stroke.
The same is true for stroke, ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke are very different, and the mortality rate of the former is much lower.
Now, I just hope it won't be the latter, otherwise... the chances are bad.
(End of chapter)
