The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 420 The Combined Fleet is about to be destroyed

After the meeting, Zhang Chi and Zhang Guangjun walked side by side in the naval base.

Zhang Chi stopped and looked at the seagulls circling on the top of the warship's mast in the distance and said:

"We've already taken over 90% of Lion City's territory. I think the few remaining Japanese who are holding out will soon be gone. But your navy can't let up. Aside from the three Gallic colonies, the Japanese are all around us across the sea. Your navy will have a heavy task ahead of us, so be prepared."

Zhang Guangjun said with a serious expression: "The navy has expanded quite quickly. The first batch of students at the Naval Academy are now studying and practicing on board ships at the same time. From three old destroyers, we have expanded to three light cruisers and more than 20 destroyers in one go. Whether it's logistics or personnel, there are many problems."

"If there's a problem, just solve it." Zhang Chi smiled and pointed at Zhang Guangjun, saying, "I think you're just greedy. Just now you were thinking about salvaging the Japanese warships, and now you're complaining about a lack of manpower."

Faced with Zhang Chi's teasing, Zhang Guangjun could only smile awkwardly.

"But, the ability to salvage large shipwrecks is indeed necessary, and it must be in our own hands." Zhang Chi suddenly said seriously, "I'm willing to spend this money."

There was no insincerity in what Zhang Chi said.

In his opinion, on the one hand, since the Song Dynasty, a large number of merchant ships departing from Quanzhou have passed through the South China Sea. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, countless merchant ships and tribute ships sank on the seabed of the South China Sea due to various accidents.

As an important waterway of the Maritime Silk Road, the shipwrecks here include those owned by Westerners, second-hand Arab traders, and Chinese. The cargoes carried on board range from gold and silver precious metals to silk, porcelain, and various artworks.

Especially in the Strait of Malacca, near the Malay Peninsula, and near the Java Sea, Zhang Chi remembered that before he traveled through time, the news reported that the local country had salvaged a shipwreck full of blue and white porcelain, gold, silver, and jewelry.

When peacetime comes, these shipwrecks will be precious historical relics. Instead of being secretly salvaged and stolen by the so-called "explorers" from the West, it is better for the Anmin Army to master the salvage technology and salvage them themselves.

On the other hand, salvaging World War II shipwrecks after the war is also a good business.

45 years later, White Eagle and Big Hair will conduct a large number of atmospheric core tests, causing the content of radioactive isotopes such as cobalt-60 and cesium-137 in the global air to surge.

Modern steelmaking relies on air, which causes radioactive dust in the air to mix into the steel, causing it to carry trace amounts of radiation, which is background radiation.

Medical equipment (such as CT scanners), space probes, nuclear radiation measuring instruments, etc. all require extremely low-radiation steel to be manufactured, otherwise the accuracy will be affected.

As for the solution, it is to use steel produced 45 years ago (that is, pre-war steel), because the atmosphere was not contaminated by the nuclear explosion at that time and the steel had almost no radiation.

That’s right, if you ask where the largest amount of pre-war steel came from?

The steel used in the warships and merchant ships that sank during World War II was naturally smelted 45 years ago and was submerged in water, unaffected by the atmosphere, making it an ideal source of low-background radiation steel.

Therefore, the technology to salvage large shipwrecks was essential, and now that White Eagle was willing to transfer this technology, it was natural to acquire it.

"Then when do you plan to continue heading south?" After joking, Zhang Guangjun brought the topic back.

"No rush. The army needs to rest for at least two months first."

After several rounds of military expansion, the quality of the People's Security Army has actually declined. Even several of its main infantry divisions, armored divisions, and mechanized brigades have been infused with a large number of new recruits. This is completely different from its initial state of being small but elite, with a strength of just over 10, mostly composed of veterans.

Of course, after the large-scale expansion of the army, with the increase in establishment, the firepower of each unit has doubled. Taking Qiquan’s current Southward Army Group as an example, there are 3 directly affiliated heavy artillery regiments alone. Including the divisional artillery, there are nearly 300 artillery pieces with a caliber of more than 100mm.

There are also two regiments of self-propelled rocket artillery battalions. In terms of artillery firepower alone, this force of 13 people is not inferior to the main force of the White Eagle on the European battlefield.

But this also means that once the war breaks out, their logistical consumption will be terrifying, so Zhang Chi also has to set aside time to stockpile supplies.

"And as the territory expands, the security problem becomes more serious. Especially in the newly occupied Malay Peninsula, where the Malay people make up half of the population, and it will take time to digest them."

Previously, the Anmin Army and the Japanese invaders were in confrontation on the Malay Peninsula. Frequent small conflicts caused constant war in the area. About 30% of the natives were driven to flee their homes by the war, but the absolute number of local natives was still quite large.

"What are you going to do with those Sudanese guys?"

"They defected to the Japanese, so they definitely can't continue to rule. Most of them haven't done anything evil, and they even have a history of protecting civilians from the Japanese. Killing them outright doesn't make sense, and it might even spark a large-scale rebellion. So, put them under house arrest first and keep them well fed and well-fed."

Before the war, the Straits Settlements (including Singapore, Penang, and Malacca) were directly governed by the sovereign, John. The other states were nominally ruled by their respective sultans, with actual power resting in the hands of John's colonial officials.

This led to the indigenous elite, such as the Sultans, Datos, and other hereditary nobles and ruling class, generally maintaining a passive cooperative attitude towards the Japanese invaders who occupied the area. In other words, they did not actively resist, but they did not completely turn to the Japanese invaders either. They were submissive in name only, but in reality they were constantly making small moves.

As for these guys who had close ties with John's colonists, Zhang Chi could only take away their power in the name of expelling the Japanese pirates.

Only those native nobles who had completely defected to the Japanese and whose hands were stained with blood did Zhang Chi directly order to be killed without mercy.

"In the final analysis, conquering Malayland is a military issue, governing it is not. If we want long-term peace and stability, we must settle more people on the border. If the local population is 90% Chinese, I will demote all the sultans and datos to commoners!"

Zhang Guangjun was also helpless: "After all, the traffic volume of land ports is limited. The Stevenson Highway is mostly winding mountain roads, and the throughput of goods and personnel is just so-so. It still can't compare to sea transportation."

"Yes. The problem is that the White Party is not doing its job well." Zhang Chi sighed, "Guangfu, Shanghai, Tianjin, the first-class ports have all fallen into the hands of the devils, and not a single city has been liberated. Even if we want to go by sea, we can't go."

Thinking of the countless large ships of the Japanese combined fleet, and then looking at the few warships in his hands, Zhang Guangjun said:

"Commander-in-Chief, with our limited naval resources, even if the White Party truly liberates the major coastal cities, our ships will be completely annihilated by the Combined Fleet..."

"Combined Fleet? That thing will soon become a thing of the past." Zhang Chi looked up at the sky. The day was October 4th.

He had a premonition that as the Anmin Army took over Lion City, both the White Eagles and the Japs would seek a strategic decisive battle at sea.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was about to take place, and the Combined Fleet would soon become a fleet in existence.