Chapter 235 We must build an aircraft carrier! (Second update!)
"Master Mai, you will lead these 200,000 natives to Imphal." Long Wenjian looked at Master Mai in front of him and spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Master Mai’s expression froze.

What do you mean?
Let him lead 200,000 natives?
He has never led so many people in his life.

For a moment, Master Mai was a little panicked.

If anything happens to these 200,000 people, he will definitely be to blame.

"Master Mai, you are an American soldier. With you leading the team, General Stilwell will definitely allocate weapons and equipment to us without hesitation." Long Wenjian played the emotional card again.

Start talking about the benefits of having him lead the team.

I have to say, Master Mai really listened to the advice.

But when I thought about the burden of so many people, I couldn't help but hesitate.

"Master Mai, there will always be casualties in a war. You have to be more open-minded. They can only grow up after experiencing war." Long Wenjian advised again.

If it weren't so difficult to get the equipment for these 200,000 people, he wouldn't have come up with this idea.

Cun Yunsheng sent him a telegram, asking him to get the equipment as soon as possible.

As for how to report the loss, that is Long Wenjian’s business.

But there was only one requirement, that equipment for no less than 30,000 people be delivered to Lashio as soon as possible.

Therefore, what Long Wenjian had to do was to send these 200,000 natives to Imphal as soon as possible. As for who would be in charge of the subsequent operations, he had no interest at all.

According to the plan previously formulated, these natives were to be consumed.

If that’s not enough, there’s still the 500,000 from Siam.

It is said that the Khmer region is also recruiting natives, and it is estimated that 100,000 people should be no problem.

The lack of troops that Stilwell was worried about was not a problem at all.

In the Indochina Peninsula, as long as there are enough weapons, it is easy to mobilize an army of millions.

"Yes, I understand." Master Mai nodded solemnly.

After Master Mai left, Long Wenjian took out the telegram again, took a look at it, and sighed.

"Recruit another 200,000 natives to go to Cambodia to cooperate with the French army in attacking Annam."

Including the 200,000 indigenous people from India, the total number of indigenous peoples is 400,000.

As for how much he could get back, he didn't know.

But these have nothing to do with him. All he has to do is complete the task assigned to him by Cun Yunsheng.

Fortunately, Stilwell was temporarily responsible for the salaries of these natives.

But Long Wenjian speculated that it would not be long before Stilwell's military pay would be cut off.

Before that, I need to get more weapons and equipment.

"I hope Master Mai can be of some help." Long Wenjian murmured.

…………

Alexandria Port, after a period of cleaning, the port has regained a bit of its former scenery.

At this moment, the commanders of the four naval fleets were discussing the next combat plan in a house.

According to intelligence, the Allies are mobilizing their main fleet to rush to the eastern Mediterranean.

In other words, they don't have much time left.

They must come up with a new battle plan as soon as possible, otherwise, once the main fleets of the Eastern and Western Allied Forces arrive, they will be in trouble.

"Our strength is still too weak. We only have one aircraft carrier, a light one at that, and the number of carrier-based aircraft we carry is too small." German commander Colonel Rutte said meaningfully.

Yes!

The Four-Nation Naval Combined Fleet only has one aircraft carrier, the Hayabusa of the Japanese Navy.

The French aircraft carrier is still on vacation in South America and will not be coming back at all.

The German aircraft carrier is still under construction in the dock and it is not known when it will be launched.

The Italian Navy had only battleships.

In other words, in terms of overall strength, they were no match for the Allied forces.

Especially when it comes to the comparison of the number of aircraft carriers, the difference between the two sides is not just a little bit.

Therefore, the most serious problem facing them now is how to get more aircraft carriers?
In fact, both France and Italy can build aircraft carriers, but Italy believes that they do not need aircraft carriers, and having battleships is enough to defeat the Royal Fleet.

The results of it?
He was pinned to the ground and hammered by the Royal Fleet.

If this time, the German army had not sent hundreds of fighter planes to support.

It's not that easy to launch a surprise attack on Alexandria.

"Yes, we have too few aircraft carriers, but I have a question, why don't your two countries build aircraft carriers?"

"With your industrial level, you can definitely build an aircraft carrier." Nanyun Chuichi asked in confusion.

If Japan is a struggle between land and sea.

Then the German army is naturally in conflict between sea and air.

The only problem was that Air Force Marshal Goering stated that all flying toys would be under the command of the Air Force.

This means that even if the navy builds an aircraft carrier, there will be no carrier-based aircraft to take off.

Therefore, Colonel Rutte had no idea how to respond to Chuichi Nagumo's words.

As for Italy, they just give up, they don't need an aircraft carrier.

But now, after being taught a lesson by the Royal Fleet, they have also realized the importance of aircraft carriers.

As for France?
It’s not that I don’t have an aircraft carrier!
But it was my aircraft carrier that ran away!
Just not coming back!

What can they do?
Seeing that both Colonel Rutte and Major General Valerio Borghese were silent, Nagumo Chuichi probably guessed something.

He simply sighed and then suggested.

"The problem facing us right now is that the Allied main fleet will arrive soon. There are only two options for us to choose from."

"The first thing is to speed up the construction of aircraft carriers. Don't build heavy aircraft carriers, but mainly light aircraft carriers. I believe that with the shipbuilding level of the two countries, it should not be a problem to launch one in one or two months, right?" Chuichi Nagumo said while looking at the representatives of France and Italy.

"As long as we have three or five aircraft carriers and cooperate with the army's fighter jets, there will be absolutely no problem in defending the eastern Mediterranean."

Hearing this, Admiral Laborde pondered for a while and felt that what the other party said made sense.

More importantly, among the four navies currently present, only Chuichi Nagumo has experience in commanding aircraft carrier operations.

The other three countries don’t understand aircraft carriers at all.

"France can give it a try. According to our current shipbuilding speed, it should be no problem to produce a light aircraft carrier in one or two months. Of course, the speed can be accelerated, but it requires industrial integration." Admiral Laborde pondered for a while. The attack on the British fleet in Alexandria meant that there was no turning back for the French Navy.

Therefore, the French Navy now has no choice but to go down this path.

In fact, according to France's industrial strength, there is no problem in building five or six light aircraft carriers at the same time.

But it needs integration!
Seeing that the French Navy had expressed its position, Chuichi Nagumo looked at Major General Valerio standing beside him.

"Well, I need to write a written report to the Navy Command. It shouldn't be a problem." Major General Borghese pondered for a while and knew the importance of aircraft carriers. He said he would try his best to get it.

Major General Valerio's family is a very distinguished family. They have produced one pope, three cardinals, and Napoleon's sister Pauline Bonaparte, who was the princess of their ancestor Camillo Borghese, Prince of Rossano. So Arturo Ricciardi, the Minister of the Navy, would never sit idly by and ignore his opinion.

Seeing that the naval commanders of France and Italy had expressed their opinions, Nagumo Chuichi looked at Colonel Rutte standing beside him.

The meaning is obvious.

The other two countries have expressed their stance, what about you, Germany?

You can't have no attitude at all, right?

"We can build aircraft carriers, but we don't have carrier-based aircraft and pilots. All our flying toys are under the command of the Air Force." Colonel Rutte had no choice but to expose the family's dirty laundry.

There is nothing he can do!
This action is enough to prove the importance of aircraft carriers.

Hearing this, Nan Yunzhong was stunned for a moment.

Thinking of the conflict between his own land and sea forces, he had no right to blame others.

Finally he sighed.

Then he seemed to have thought of something.

"What if we can provide carrier-based aircraft and pilots, can you provide aircraft carriers?" A light bulb went off in Chuichi Nagumo's head.

In the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Navy suffered heavy losses and lost the strategic initiative and air superiority.

But in essence, they still have the strength to continue fighting.

It was not until the Battle of Guadalcanal began that the Japanese army completely lost its strategic advantage.

In other words, they can still provide some carrier-based aircraft pilots.

Although most of them are novices, they can grow rapidly after a few actual combat experiences.

More importantly, Nagumo Tadashi saw the German Stuka bombers.

It’s not that the Japanese army couldn’t build the Stuka bomber.

Rather, the navy is a steel behemoth, and they can no longer spare any more steel to build aircraft.

If we could purchase a batch of Stuka bombers directly from the German army and use them in the Battle of Guadalcanal, it would definitely deal a huge blow to the US military.

Because the US military certainly could not have imagined that the Japanese army would secretly equip a batch of Stuka bombers.

Thinking of this, Nanyun Chuichi felt more and more that this plan could be implemented.

Wouldn't it be faster to just buy it instead of waiting for the navy to be built?
Moreover, with the German army's industrial strength, dozens or even hundreds of fighter jets should be easily available.

If Colonel Rutte knew what he was thinking, he would definitely roll his eyes.

And take it out easily?

Didn’t you see that the North African Corps doesn’t have many fighter jets?
If it weren't for the surprise attack on Alexandria this time, it would be absolutely impossible to reinforce with hundreds of fighter jets at once.

Colonel Lutte pondered for a while about Nanyun Chuichi's proposal, and then said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, I can't give you a definite answer for now, but I can report your proposal to Field Marshal Dönitz, and I believe he should be able to give you a response."

Hearing this, Nanyun Chuichi was a little disappointed, but he was not discouraged. He took a deep breath and continued.

"The second is the sunken warships in the port. According to repeated confirmations during this period, except for the warship that was blown into two pieces, the other warships can be salvaged and repaired for a period of time before they can continue to be used."

"But it will take a long time, at least three to six months, and it may delay many things."

Upon hearing that the warship could be salvaged, the naval commanders of the other three countries' eyes suddenly lit up. This was good news.

But considering the long repair time, cleaning requirements, and issues such as the caliber of the shells, I eventually lost interest.

"So, considering the current situation, we can only stop the incoming Allied fleet by integrating our resources. Otherwise, we will be the ones to be sunk next time." Nan Yun Zhongyi said helplessly, spreading his hands.

Although the record is brilliant, the foundation is too poor.

Compared with the Allied warships, they were not just a little bit inferior.

But they still have a chance, which is to integrate resources.

Now it depends on the attitudes of Germany, Italy and France. If they refuse, then Nagumo Chuichi can consider going back.

Rather than staying here and waiting to die, it is better to go back and fight the Mi livestock fleet to the death. Maybe there is still a glimmer of hope.

Hearing this, the naval commanders of the other three countries looked at each other.

"We need a lot of rubber resources." Colonel Rutte spoke first.

Because of the supplies seized from Alexandria, there is a large amount of oil here, so it can hold out for a while.

But rubber resources have indeed reached their limit.

Whether it is airplanes, trucks, cannons, etc., rubber is needed.

"Two 30,000-ton cargo ships carrying rubber are on the way. In addition to rubber, there are also some scarce resources such as tungsten ore." After Chuichi Nagumo captured the Port of Alexandria, he discussed the matter with the Navy Minister Osami Nagano.

They believed that they could offer certain resources in exchange for some German technology, or even weapons and equipment.

For example, the navy is currently in urgent need of fighter jets.

Although the German army did not have carrier-based aircraft, the performance of the Stuka deeply shocked Chuichi Nagumo.

In the past, he had only heard of the other party's name, but after seeing it with his own eyes this time, he felt that the navy should be equipped with some land-based bombers, which could inflict a huge blow to the American fleet when necessary.

It is not surprising for the Japanese Navy to have land-based fighter jets.

Upon hearing about these resources, Colonel Rutte's eyes suddenly lit up. These were urgently needed resources.

In particular, tungsten ore can be used to make armor-piercing bullets!

This is a powerful weapon against armored forces.

"What do we need to pay?" Colonel Lutte knew that the other party would not raise these things for no reason.

"We need a batch of Stuka bombers, at least one hundred." Nagumo Chuichi stated his purpose.

"Is it equipment for your army? Your Zero fighter is not weak." Colonel Rutte asked doubtfully.

"No, it is our navy that needs these fighter planes. Although we can produce them, we don't have that much time now." Chuichi Nagumo shook his head and said.

In fact, the most important problem is that there is no steel.

The navy suffered so heavy losses that all the steel was invested in building battleships.

There is not enough steel to continue producing airplanes.

"I need to report this to Field Marshal Dönitz. After all, these all fall within the scope of the Air Force." Colonel Rutte thought for a moment and continued.

"Can you transfer your hydrogen peroxide torpedo technology?"

This technology has been something Colonel Rutte has been envious of for a long time.

Although it is unstable, it doesn’t matter. I believe that the German engineers can definitely solve these problems.

"Okay, we need steel, the more the better." After thinking for a while, Chuichi Nagumo agreed to the other party's request.

Compared with Japan's steel production of several million tons, Europe's steel production is more than 20 million tons.

Therefore, Chuichi Nagumo's next target was steel.

(End of this chapter)