Chapter 572 I Can't Return
Chapter 572 I Can't Return
"Report, Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Beiyang of the Qing Empire, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, the Foreman of the Military Affairs Council, and the First Class Earl of Suyi, is inspecting Vancouver and intends to visit the Federation on the way."
Cleveland rolled his eyes, "Send an invitation and give a grand reception."
Four days later, Li Hongzhang arrived via the Transoceanic Railway and visited New York, where an arch was specially built to welcome the ruler of the Qing Dynasty.
Federal cavalry led the way, and General Luger, commander of the Federal Eastern Army, dressed in a tuxedo and a sash, came to greet Li Hongzhang solemnly and accompanied him to the Maybach welcoming car. Five hundred thousand people lined Fifth Avenue and Central Park to welcome him.
Cleveland rushed to New York and met Li Hongzhang at Whitney's residence.
Cleveland was so concerned because Marshal Nie Shicheng of the Qing Dynasty controlled 100,000 troops in Vancouver.
He really didn't want to be stabbed in the back again during the duel with Daxia, and be forced to fight on two fronts, which would result in the loss of the West Coast.
Li Hongzhang sat in the car, looking calm and composed. After Zhang Zhidong finished talking to him, he understood Shao Quanzhong's intention and knew that his trip would be a great success.
No more instructions are needed, smart people know everything. With Daxia as a strong backing, Li Hongzhang came to take advantage of it. When it comes to pretending, Li Hongzhang is a professional, his waist is not naturally bent.
Cleveland walked out of the hall, took a few quick steps, leaned forward, and warmly welcomed Li Hongzhang.
Both sides were very enthusiastic, but Li Hongzhang was not polite at all. They exchanged national gifts. After the host and the guest took their seats, Li Hongzhang waved his hand and his men came over with a projector.
The silent black-and-white film being screened was a film of the exercises of the Fengtian aircraft carrier formation of the Great Xia stationed in Vancouver.
Daxia has now built ten aircraft carrier fleets, and there are only eight 100,000-ton Liangguang-class aircraft carriers. Liao Rong said that the 60,000-ton Fengtian and the 80,000-ton Minzhe were "still usable" and were retained, with one fleet stationed in Vancouver and one in Hawaii.
The only ones that actually became training aircraft carriers were the initial 10,000-ton aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Feng Xiang.
Because of the Second World War, most of the Federation's ships were on the Atlantic side. The two-ocean fleet had just been built, and the Pacific Fleet had not yet taken shape. Looking at the majesty of the Fengtian aircraft carrier formation, and thinking that Hawaii seemed not far away, Cleveland's face changed.
The second short film played by Li Hongzhang was the drill of Nie Shicheng's 100,000-man mechanized troops, which was no worse than the Daxia regular army encountered in the European war.
Li Hongzhang smiled and leaned towards Cleveland. "Our navy is protected by our sovereign country, but we, the Qing Dynasty, can still have the final say over Marshal Nie's army."
No matter how bad Cleveland was, he was still a smart one. He immediately hosted a banquet for Li Hongzhang and talked to him about their personal friendship.
After the banquet, Cleveland's appointed assistant, Secretary of State Gresham, held talks with Li Hongzhang, and the two sides signed a large number of business treaties.
The Federation granted the Qing Dynasty unilateral most-favored-nation treatment, unilaterally reduced import tariffs on goods from the Qing Dynasty, and actively subsidized agricultural products and minerals exported to the Qing Dynasty.
Judging from these treaties alone, the Federation was simply servile and humiliating.
Li Hongzhang greatly enhanced the prestige of the Qing Dynasty. For the first time, he signed very advantageous commercial terms on behalf of the Qing Dynasty with the world's second most powerful country. The products of Osaka and Vancouver would be dumped in large quantities in the Federation.
Neither side mentioned a word about military cooperation, but it is obvious that if a war breaks out, the Qing Dynasty will not be able to gain any of these advantages.
In fact, as a vassal state, the Qing Dynasty had no power to sign military treaties with other countries. Would Nie Shicheng's troops dare to disobey Marshal Shao's orders? Don't mention those things that don't exist.
After leaving the Whitney Residence, Li Hongzhang stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and accepted an interview with the New York Times, talking at length about the friendship between Qing and the United States, enjoying an unprecedented moment of glory.
Li Hongzhang took advantage of the summer conflict with the United States and left. Cleveland also stabilized the rear and decided to show his power in the Caribbean.
The Atlantic Fleet sailed from Puerto Rico and Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, heading directly for Havana.
Before the fleet arrived, reconnaissance was carried out first, and a large number of reconnaissance ships and reconnaissance planes flew towards Havana.
18 km south of Havana, Jose Marti Airport.
"Report, radar shows that a federal reconnaissance plane has entered our airspace."
"Meet the enemy, send two fighter jets to drive it out." The two sides have not yet officially gone to war. The reconnaissance plane "accidentally" crossed the border, and protesting and expelling it are normal operations.
An RB-17G reconnaissance aircraft had just flown into the waters off Havana when it was detected by the radar here.
This is a large reconnaissance aircraft, modified from the B-17 bomber. It is a four-engine propeller piston aircraft that weighs more than tons and has a range of kilometers, which is enough for reconnaissance from the Florida Peninsula.
The Federation has as many engineers as Daxia, and its aviation technology is not weaker at all. The B-17 was the Federation's main bomber in the European war, and more than were built.
Engineers installed photographic reconnaissance equipment on the nose and rear fuselage for long-range reconnaissance missions, and the B-17 became the RB-17G.
Looking at the distant horizon, the driver Jack ordered, "Get ready to start taking pictures"
The two reconnaissance personnel on the same plane were about to turn on the camera, and the machine gunner was chewing gum out of boredom when they suddenly saw two Feng-2s coming towards them.
"Warning, warning. You have entered our airspace. Please return immediately, or you will be attacked by missiles."
Hearing the warning from the public channel, Jack made a "Pooh" sound, sighed, and the reconnaissance plane began to turn. A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him.
One of the two Feng-2 fighters was at high altitude, with its radar locked onto the reconnaissance aircraft. The other one tilted its wings, moved closer to the reconnaissance aircraft, and flew several dozen meters away from the RB-17G.
This is the situation of being escorted out of the country. Jack was furious. The enemy's radar is really damn good. They found us so quickly.
Humph, when our army arrives, you won’t be able to be so arrogant anymore.
The two planes were flying northwards at a distance of several dozen meters. Jack could clearly see the face of the other plane's pilot - a nasty Daxia man.
Jack has long been brainwashed by the large amount of broadcasts he hears every day.
On the sea ahead, two warships broke through the waves. They were the battleship USS Iowa and the cruiser USS Indianapolis, the vanguard of the Federal Essex-class aircraft carrier formation.
The Federation's warships are particularly easy to recognize. The masts that receive and transmit electronic signals are iron towers, not masts, and are jokingly called "wastebaskets on the head."
Jack was overjoyed. Our fleet has arrived, but your reinforcements from eight nations have not yet crossed the Red Sea. Your doom is imminent. Why should I endure such humiliation?
He grinned at the pilot opposite him, and the wings of his huge reconnaissance plane tilted, suddenly crashing into the thin Feng-2.
The thirty-ton reconnaissance plane collided with the ten-ton fighter plane. The Feng-2 suddenly cracked, stalled, and flew towards the sea.
The friendly plane above him noticed something was wrong and called out, "192, 192, Captain, what's going on? Please respond. Your flight status is abnormal. Please return immediately."
Close-range escort flying is a very dangerous operation. Captain Colonel Shao Jishu was worried about his Cuban rookie pilot apprentice, so he went into battle himself.
Shao Jishu's voice came from the communication channel, "I can't return, you keep going and kill him!"
Without hesitation, his men fired an AA-1 missile straight at the enemy reconnaissance plane.
In the air, two planes crashed into the sea one after another, and five parachutes floated in the sky.
On the cruiser Indianapolis, the captain who was watching the aerial friction held a telescope and saw the result of the fight between the two sides. He pointed at Jack and said, "Quickly send a small boat to rescue our pilots!"
A small boat was lowered and sailed out through the waves. Jack and three accomplices were quickly rescued and loaded onto the boat, which then headed for the cruiser.
They deliberately ignored Shao Jishu who was parachuting. Shao Jishu fell into the sea and floated on the sea surface. Just as he was waiting for a ship from his own port to rescue him, a large group of sharks surrounded him from below the sea surface...
On the cruiser Indianapolis, Jack and his group of four and the sailors who had just been rescued looked at Shao Jishu who was in desperate situation and laughed wildly.
(End of this chapter)