In 1904, the focus of the whole world was in the Northeast of China, and Japan and Russia also followed the headlines of news newspapers from various countries. Japan's performance on the battlefield really attracted the attention of the whole world. Of course, there was only the East China government.

Although the East China government had been struggling with Japan for a while on the issue of joint troops in the early days of the war between Japan and Russia, it ended with the continuous victory of Japan's military. In October 1904, the East China government received a group of revolutionaries from Japan, but this was just a small episode. In fact, throughout 1904, the East China government's main work only had two words "preparation for war".

After entering 1905, just after the New Year, the East China government recruited the Executive Council and gave a comprehensive summary of the preparations for the war last year.

First of all, in terms of military affairs, since the process of the Russo-Japanese War in this era is basically the same as that of the old time and space, the time node for the East China government to participate in the war was also set on May 20, 1905, the day when the Battle of Ma Hai took place, and the General Staff was looking at the hands to formulate detailed combat plans and arrangements.

In the naval aspect, two armored cruisers built in Germany have been delivered to the officers and soldiers of the East China government, and have started from Germany. It is expected to arrive in Qingdao in January 1905, and there are also battleships that have entered the final period of outfitting. Trial voyages will be conducted in February 1905 and can be delivered to the East China government by May.

Among the self-built warships in Qingdao, the 7,000-ton armored cruiser has basically completed outfitting and will be tested soon; the 10,000-ton armored cruiser is expected to be completed in March for testing; while the battleships will not be fully completed until 1906 and delivered to the army.

Overall, the warship construction plan is basically completed according to the expected construction progress. However, the Navy hopes to add two more orders for the Qingzhou-class protective cruisers, because once the East China government participates in the war, in addition to the sea decisive battle, there are tactical tasks such as breaking the trade, controlling maritime routes, and escorting. Just like in the Russo-Japanese War, the Vladivostok squadron had only two armored cruisers. A large protective cruiser sank nearly 50,000 tons of Japanese cargo ships, causing much damage to Japan than the Pacific Fleet. However, if you carefully analyze the achievements of the Vladivostok squadron, you don’t need two 10,000 tons of armored cruisers at all. A 5,000-ton class protective cruiser is enough, and it is even better. After all, generally speaking, the speed of the protective cruiser is faster than that of the armored cruiser.

According to the cost calculation, the two armored cruisers of the Vladivostok squadron and a large protective cruiser are enough to build 6-7 5,000-ton protective cruisers, which can form 2-3 breaking formations, which will achieve greater results. Therefore, after completing the five-year shipbuilding plan, the number of main battleships of the People's Army Navy is basically enough, but the secondary warships are not enough. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out tactical tasks such as breaking through, controlling maritime routes, and escorting, which requires a large number of secondary warships.

The Qingzhou-class protective cruiser has been in service for more than a year. The Navy Department is very satisfied with the performance of the Qingzhou-class, because the Qingzhou-class protective cruiser can not only complete, but can even conduct medium and low-intensity maritime operations. There are only 4 ships now, but it is not enough. If there are 6 ships, it can form three dual-ship formations or perform combat missions separately, or lead a portion of auxiliary warships to complete combat missions.

In addition, after the completion of the two armored cruisers, all the construction of the Qingdao Shipyard is small and medium-sized warships. One of them is empty from the docks for building large warships, which is a waste of waste resources. In addition, technical workers also need to have enough construction projects to consolidate the technology learned in the previous stage. The technical level of construction of small and medium-sized warships is obviously not enough. Therefore, the construction of two Qingzhou-class protective cruisers is also able to maintain the technical level of the shipyard.

In addition, the eight Russian warships captured in August have basically completed the repair work. Only the Crown Prince's front turret and main gun were ordered in Germany and will arrive in Qingdao with two armored cruisers, but other damages have been repaired. Therefore, all the eight Russian warships were included in the People's Army Navy and renamed.

The battleship Prince was renamed the Overocean and was incorporated into the battleship detachment; the protective cruiser Ascolid was renamed the Haike, the Di'an was renamed the Haidi, and the Novik was renamed the Hainuo, which pulled out the original Haipa of the First Cruise Detachment and formed the third cruiser with the three warships; the four destroyers were individually organized into a squadron. This further strengthened the combat effectiveness of the People's Army Navy. Of course, the newly added warships still need to be adjusted, and the soldiers on the ship must also be familiar with the warships, but there is still time now.

In addition to the newly added warships, the four old ships with the word "Zhentou" that have been transferred to the reserve have also resumed their active service and have been included in the navy sequence. Although these four warships have long been outdated and have slow speeds, even the main guns use old-fashioned artillery, these four warships have thick armor and large-caliber artillery after all. Although they are not as capable as part of the sea decisive battle, they are still qualified for firepower support to land. And now it is time to use ships, so these four old ships can still use their remaining energy.

In addition to warships, the Navy's preparations also include the Marine Corps. Although the Marine Corps now has only one division, the total number of troops exceeds 18,000, of which the combat personnel are 1.2, which is about 20% more than the other divisions. Of course, the Marine Corps is very different from that of the Army Division, and there is also the formation of the landing fleet. The four old ships with the word "Zhen" are actually commanded by the Marine Corps. Now the Marine Corps is undergoing strict training under the command of Luo Yue.

Overall, when the East China government participated in the war, the navy could complete the preparations according to the original plan and participate in the battle in the best condition.

In the army, all 15 main divisions have been organized, and the weapons that each division should be equipped are also equipped in place, and various tactical training is being carried out. These 15 divisions have a total of about 200,000 people, of which the combat personnel are about 150,000, forming the main force of the People's Army. At the same time, 18 reserve divisions have been organized, about 220,000 people. The reserve army is basically composed of civilian troops from all over the country. After the establishment of the East China government, the militia system was implemented in various places. On the one hand, it is to maintain local public security, and on the other hand, it is also to serve as the reserve force of the People's Army. The militia has basically received certain military training, and some militia troops have also conducted some low-intensity battles and have some combat experience, which is easier to form combat effectiveness than recruiting new recruits.

In addition, there are two divisions in the river and lake base areas. If the Shanghai Marine Corps is added, the total army force of the East China government will reach 36 divisions, with a number of about 450,000 and a combatant of about 300,000-350,000.

In November 1903, the reserve divisions gathered in five locations, conducted three-month military training, and had to conduct two military exercises. The training was approaching its end; at the end of January, all reserve divisions would be disbanded, go home to celebrate the New Year, and carry out spring plowing. They would gather again by the end of March 1905, and they were ready to join the war.

In addition, the Army Department will form another 8-10 reserve divisions with a force of about 100,000 to deal with special circumstances.

In addition to the conventional army, the army also has several special troops and several aces built by the army. They have all been formed. First, they were cavalry units. In fact, the 15 main divisions had a small number of cavalry units, but they were all based on companies and their tasks were reconnaissance, not combat. However, the cavalry unit was a unit with cavalry combat as its main task, with two regiments, totaling more than 5,000 people. This was also the only cavalry in the army with combat capabilities.

Of course, the cavalry unit cannot be called ace, but armored trains are definitely ace. Now two armored trains have been built, with each armored train being about 1,200 people, of which there are about 900 people on the train, including two companies of combat troops. One armored train is designated as battalion-level organization, and the target system is temporarily directed by the Army Department. After the war begins, it will be incorporated into its corresponding army.

At this time, the armored train was conducting joint training with the main division, and it also received unanimous praise from the joint training units. Because the armored train has strong mobility and fast reaction speed, it can provide good fire support to each unit. In the battle, the two 240 mm caliber 35-diameter main guns on the armored train can play a huge role. Therefore, the army also decided to build two more armored trains, and the power of these two armored trains is even stronger, and the caliber of the main gun has been increased to 280 mm. In addition, the cargo ships used to carry armored trains have been transformed and can transport one armored train at one time. The next step is that the armored train will be equipped with imperial training.

In addition to armored trains, there are four 200mm caliber 40-caliber self-propelled artillery, which have been transformed and installed. Each self-propelled artillery must be equipped with about 200 soldiers, which is designated as a company-level organization. In addition, 2 trucks and 8 carriages are required to transport shells, oil, accessories and personnel. Although the caliber of the self-propelled artillery is smaller than that of the armored train, the 200mm caliber is considered a giant cannon for army artillery. In addition, self-propelled artillery does not need to rely on track operations, so it has stronger mobility and is more flexible in layout. Moreover, the self-propelled artillery troops are also independently organized like armored trains and can be flexibly arranged according to combat needs.

The last ace is the 155mm caliber towing artillery regiment. Although its power is not as powerful as the 200mm cannon and 240mm cannon, the 155mm cannon is considered a large caliber among the army cannons, and it is even better than the number. There are 16 155mm caliber 40-caliber artillery guns, each cannon is pulled by a car. Moreover, since the self-weight of the 155mm cannon is more than twice that of the 200mm cannon, its maneuverability is stronger than that of the self-propelled cannon, so it can be arranged more flexibly on the battlefield, forming a firepower advantage in local battlefields, and suddenly strengthening the firepower in local battlefields in a short period of time. The actual combat value cannot be underestimated.

It can be said that these three aces are the greatest confidence of the Army. In the remaining time, they will further work with the various army units during training.
Chapter completed!