Chapter 1341 The Empire's Thunderstorm Plan (3rd update, please subscribe)

"Take the initiative to attack!"

In the imperial palace in Zhongdu, Emperor Zhu spoke directly to Qian Degong.

"In future wars, we must ensure that we have a comprehensive advantage from the very beginning. And if we want to maintain the advantage from the very beginning, we must take the initiative in the war and completely disintegrate and destroy them..."

Emperor Zhu was sitting on the mahogany "dragon throne", tapping the armrests lightly with his fingers while speaking.

"So, I have ordered the military to draft a 'Great Thunderstorm War Plan'. They should come up with a plan soon."

The so-called "Big Thunderstorm War Plan" was formerly known as the "Red Plan", which was a war plan planned by the Imperial General Staff many years ago on the measures needed to enter a state of war with Britain. It was initially defensive, and now it has become offensive, and then the target of combat has changed from Britain alone to Britain's vassal states.

The plan proposed a series of preemptive actions that the Empire could take, mainly to invade and occupy some major ports and railways in Australia and New Zealand before the British reinforcements arrived, in order to prevent the British reinforcements from landing and cut off their supply routes. According to the plan, the Imperial Navy fleet would defeat the American fleet before the Royal Navy could deploy its forces, thus preventing the US and British navies from joining forces.

"Your Majesty has made up his mind?"

Qian Degong seemed very calm. On the issue of going to war with Britain, he, like most of the imperial officials, was convinced that war between the empire and Britain was inevitable.

The outbreak of war is only a matter of time. Now that Your Majesty has formulated this battle plan, it must be imminent.

And judging from the current situation, it is indeed imminent.

"For the current situation, if we don't prepare quickly, we will have to face the situation where the British take the initiative to attack us."

Emperor Zhu said bluntly.

"There is no justice in wars between imperialists. We must not let our country fall into the brink of crisis for a false reputation. So if the situation continues to deteriorate, we must fire the first shot before they are ready."

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was never a pedantic person. He was very clear about the power gap between the Ming Empire and Britain and the United States. That is why he advocated taking the initiative and inflicting heavy damage on the enemies before they had completed their preparations.

There is no justice in imperialist wars. To a large extent, all actions taken by the great powers are motivated by their own selfish desires. And now is also an era in world history when imperialism is rampant. In this case, why bother about false reputation?

"In fact, right now is an opportunity..."

Emperor Zhu said with regret.

"The Americans' Great White Fleet is showing off its might there, which is an opportunity for us. They have concentrated all their main forces in one area - in the next few months, they will stay in San Francisco. If we can seize this opportunity, we are fully confident that we can destroy them all there. In this way, we will not have to consider the threat of the US Navy in the next two or three years."

When mentioning the "Great White Fleet", Emperor Zhu still felt very sorry. After all, such an opportunity is very rare.

"Your Majesty, we are not ready, at least not yet, but I think..."

Looking at His Majesty, Qian Degong continued.

"Since they were able to give up the so-called Great White Fleet because of the Cuban issue, they will also reorganize into the 'Great White Fleet' in the future because of other similar issues. When the time comes, when they gather together again, it won't be too late for us to catch them all in one fell swoop."

Qian Degong's suggestion made Emperor Zhu nodded slightly. Although he knew that the possibility of the United States concentrating all its battleships together was not very high, he still said it.

“I hope so. I hope there will be such an opportunity in the future.”

In fact, Emperor Zhu was not the only one who felt sorry. Almost at the same time when Emperor Zhu was talking with Qian Degong, in the courtyard of the General Staff Headquarters, two young naval officers were walking there. The badge on their left collar was a bamboo node, which was the insignia of the general staff and meant "in control of everything".

“What a pity…”

Qiu Zhenzhi said with regret.

"If we are well prepared, then this time when the Americans show off their might with the Great White Fleet is our best chance. We can fully seize this opportunity and use a decisive battle at sea to destroy them. For example, when they cross the Strait of Magellan, we can take advantage of the opportunity when they pass through the strait, block the strait, and use submarines, warships and torpedo boats to annihilate them in the Strait of Magellan."

However, Qiu Zhenzhi, who is only 25 years old, is one of the youngest staff officers in the General Staff Headquarters. Three years ago, he graduated from the Naval Academy with the first place, and then served on the "Qingzhou". Last year, he was transferred to the First Section of the Military Affairs Department of the Atlantic Fleet Command and became a standing fleet staff officer.

This time, the reason why he had the opportunity to join the "Thunderstorm Research Group" which gathered almost all the elite staff of the imperial military was because he was strongly recommended by the fleet commander.

"The opportunity is a good one, but we also have to consider the reality. The reality is that we are not ready for war. Zhenzhi, you should think about it carefully. How can we defeat the US Navy before the Royal Navy intervenes?"

Like Pan Renwei and Qiu Zhenzhi, they are both naval staff officers. The reason they came to the General Staff Headquarters is to participate in the formulation of an extremely large and complex combat plan.

"It's not easy. After all, the United States is a country with a huge army and navy, and our national strength is similar. If we want to destroy the US maritime power before the British can use it, we must take the initiative, and taking the initiative is not easy. Because the US Navy is usually scattered in multiple military ports on the east and west coasts, this means that we must attack them from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans at the same time. Moreover, as you know, this plan is a global plan that requires the deployment of millions of troops. For such a huge combat plan, every detail must be considered, and the core is the navy! Even the invasion of the northern territory requires maritime transport to ensure its combat effectiveness, not to mention the Pacific region. Once the navy encounters an accident, failure is inevitable."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pan Renwei said directly.

"That's why our superiors asked us to formulate a battle plan that would give us 100% certainty of winning."

"One hundred percent sure? Baka!"

Although he has been naturalized for many years, Qiu Zhizhi can't help but speak a few words of the local dialect when he is excited.

"Is there anything in this world that is 100% certain? Sun Tzu said: "Before you can predict victory, you must first predict defeat." No matter what kind of battle you fight, the first thing you should consider is not what will happen after you win, but how to deal with the unfavorable factors. Now the issue we need to consider is not just winning, but what to do after we lose."

The book club group may have been blocked because the book friends were too unrestrained. I will apply for another one later... I have established a book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss the plot together.

(End of this chapter)