Rebirth of South America as King

On August 7, 1868, Peruvian and Bolivian border forces arrived in the Acre border area, and then launched an attack on the local Brazilian garrison, recovering more than a dozen towns occupied by the Brazilian army.

Two days later, the reinforcements sent by the Brazilian empire arrived in the Acre area. The offensive momentum of the coalition forces composed of Peru and Bolivia was blocked, and the fighting temporarily entered a stalemate. Benefiting from the conflict between Peru and Bolivia, the Brazilian empire was temporarily distracted. It is difficult to concentrate superior forces to launch a counterattack against the Chinese Independent Army within the time.

Rows of Chinese soldiers scattered around the training ground outside Porto Alegre to guard them from strangers.

In the middle of the training ground, a group of senior officers gathered together, staring at the soldiers playing with artillery ahead.

The two Chinese soldiers took off the marching bag on their bodies, took out a black-painted cannon tube from the bag, and then installed two brackets, raised their right hand to test the front target test position, and then assembled a small artillery assembly. It was fixed on the ground and completed preparations for launch.

A soldier turned to ask for a combat instruction. The training field commander quickly lowered the flag with his right hand. The soldier noticed it, squatted down, took out ammunition and loaded it into the cannon. At the same time, the two soldiers blocked their ears, and they lay down quickly, almost in two. While the soldiers were lying down, the shells flew out of the barrel and shot towards the wooden house built forward.

The "hit" shell hit the target and the cabin collapsed instantly.

Li Mingyuan stood in the middle of the crowd watching the test fire. After the shell hit the target, he first smiled satisfactorily.

The Chinese Independent Army stabilized, and the rifle and ammunition production facilities seized from Peru were located nearby in Porto Alegre. A grenade with a simple production process was also formally established as a production factory under the unified management of the Arms Production Bureau under the name of the Ministry of Industry.

There are still a lot of guns in the Chinese Independent Army. The newly-built ammunition production plant for rifles and ammunition can be self-produced, but the production and construction of artillery and shells have been slow to find a solution.

Compared with artillery guns, artillery and artillery shells are weapons with higher technical content. The Chinese Independent Army also seized some small earth cannon production plants during continuous fighting, but the seized artillery production equipment is seriously behind the current level of war. It was used some time ago. Small artillery seized from the earth cannon factory was tested for firing. A total of less than five shells were fired. The artillery exploded. Three Chinese soldiers who operated the artillery died on the spot. Two soldiers near the test site were also killed. Cannonball fragments were injured.

Earth cannon production equipment is backward and aging, and the produced artillery is inferior in performance. Using such weapons to fight against the enemy seriously weakens the performance of the Chinese independent army.

Achieving self-sufficiency in artillery and artillery shells is a prerequisite to ensure the continued fighting effectiveness of the Chinese Independent Army. After learning about this problem, Li Mingyuan contacted Captain Hans, the representative left by Colonel West, to express his intention to purchase artillery production equipment. At the same time, Li Mingyuan also Considering how to use existing production equipment to design simple and effective weapons.

After meditation, Li Mingyuan spent two days really reminding him of a solution.

The actual situation of the Chinese Independent Army at this stage is that the weapons production facilities are weak and the industrial base is almost non-existent. In this case, only small artillery with simple manufacturing and low technology content is suitable for the Chinese Independent Army to produce itself. During the Russo-Japanese War Mortars invented by a Russian artillery captain are undoubtedly the most suitable choice.

The mortar can be converted from a traditional artillery. In a small artillery, the fixed wheels are removed, and two brackets are fixed. A simple mortar is declared a successful transformation. According to the steps of modifying the mortar, Li Mingyuan instructed the person in charge of the Weapons Production Bureau to transform two small artillery. After the successful test firing, Li Mingyuan officially ordered the production of the first batch of ten mortars. Today, the first batch of artillery on the training ground was the first batch. Produced mortars.

The test firing of the first mortar was successful. Although the power of the shell was not less than that of the mature mortar, Li Mingyuan was generally satisfied.

The workers used to make the mortars are employees of the captured small artillery production plant. Their technology for making artillery is too far away from their European counterparts, and the artillery production facilities are backward and aging. The quality of the steel produced is limited, which limits the performance of the mortar. Play.

Improving the level of artillery production involves the smelting of iron and steel, and the manufacture of lathe molds. To improve the quality level of artillery completely, a complete industrial system is required.

More than half of the gold in Li Mingyuan's hands is still useless. The material wealth collected in previous battles is also concentrated in the Chinese Independent Army Headquarters, which is relatively sufficient in terms of funds. This mortar test exercise was held on the one hand to let his men Senior generals are familiar with the use of new weapons. On the other hand, they took the opportunity to show Captain Hans the new weapons of the Chinese Independent Army and increase the depth of cooperation between the two parties.

After the test, the training site commander came to Li Mingyuan to report the test results.

"The test results were good, and the two soldiers operating the mortars were credited with their credit. After the exercise, they were verified and reported."

"Yes" the training field commander saluted the military salute and turned back to his place.

"Everyone, I named the artillery fired today. You can see the results of the test fire just now. The range and power of the mortar is slightly inferior to that of ordinary small artillery, but its advantages are obvious. The artillery manufacturing process is simple, which is convenient for large-scale industrial production and armed grass-roots units. At the same time, it is light in weight and easy to load and unload. Mortars can provide the most powerful support for frontline troops.

Before the main point of the enemy's machine gun and heavy fire, the relatively long attack distance of the mortar can pose a direct threat to the opponent, making it easier for our army to break through the enemy's position. "

Li Mingyuan briefly explained the use and role of the mortar on the battlefield, and the eyes of the surrounding officers quickly lit up.

The Chinese Independent Army has fought many battles since it became an army. Chinese officers who did not adapt to the hot-weapon war either died in battle or lost their qualifications for promotion and remained in the grass-roots units.

And all who can be in high positions are officers who quickly adapt to changes in the battlefield situation and are relatively familiar with the use of artillery rifles.

The advantages of mortars and combat methods were explained by Li Mingyuan in a popular way. Although not specifically used in actual combat, the officers present could also imagine the scene of using mortars to attack enemy forces.

The attacking party used mortars to constantly knock off the main defenses of the defending party, and the attacking soldiers then advanced along the gap that appeared on the defending side. At the same time, the grenades equipped by the Chinese Independent Army killed the enemy forces at close range, and the new weapon was added. Next, the battle will end quickly in a sideways manner.

"A perfect and cheap good weapon. The creativity of your general and your army is amazing."

Hans, standing next to Li Mingyuan, sighed.

"Thank you for your compliment. Although the mortar is a weapon that is simple to manufacture and easy to use, it is difficult to maximize its power with our current production capacity. I think if this weapon is placed in the Prussian army, Among them, it will definitely play a greater role. "

"General, do you mean?"

"This weapon is a gift from the Chinese Independent Army to Your Majesty King William. It is a gratitude for your country's cooperation with our army and the captain for helping to train our Marine Marine soldiers."

The principle of mortar manufacturing is simple. Once played on the battlefield, it is easy to be copied by other countries, so instead of hiding it, it would be better to give Prussia a meeting and to facilitate the subsequent cooperation between the two parties. There is no need to worry about the threat to the Chinese Independent Army. The Chinese Independent Army and Prussia are thousands of miles away. There is no possibility of conflict between the two sides now or for a long time to come. On the contrary, with the development of the Chinese Independent Army, the two sides There will be more common ground.

"I will convey the kindness of the general, and Your Majesty will surely be satisfied with the gift from the general."

An excellent weapon can even change the end of a war. In the face of the gift from Li Mingyuan, Hans could not refuse.

"The survival and development of the Chinese Independent Army cannot be separated from the support of rifles and artillery. The current conditions in Rio Grande do Sul cannot meet the requirements of the Chinese Independent Army. I hope to send representatives to Europe to visit Your Majesty and your arms manufacturers. Purchasing artillery, artillery shells, smelting steel, textiles and other industrial facilities from your country and employing a group of skilled workers.

Of course, your country need not worry about the price. The Chinese Independent Army will not be able to do nearly half of the Americas without sufficient funds.

So I hope the captain will report the situation to your country and reach a concrete cooperation project between the two parties as soon as possible. "

"Purchasing industrial production equipment requires domestic consent. I will contact the country quickly and reply to the general as soon as possible, but I believe that the domestic industrial owners will not reject the general's big business."

Germany was not unified, and Prussia was not the first German empire to dominate British and French during World War I. In this period, Prussia was relatively low-key in foreign affairs.

Two years ago, in 1866, because Prussia promised not to expand on Manchu land, and received the favor of Li Hongzhang, the first group of Manchu diplomats arrived in Europe to visit Prussia and purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment from Prussia ~ www.wuxiaspot. com ~ When Li Hongzhang carried out the Westernization movement, most of the weapons and naval ships were also purchased from Germany. In this regard, Germany can also say that the Prussians were much more sincere in doing business than Britain and France.

Purchasing machinery and equipment is not something that can be clearly stated in one or two sentences. Li Mingyuan gave the matter to the people below, and then continued to watch the grenadier drill.

After the grenade was invented, soldiers specialized in grenade-throwing began to appear in the Chinese Independent Army, but the establishment of the official formation of the grenadier was completed after arriving in Rio Grande do Sul.

The size of grenadiers is small. Each brigade or division unit sets up a grenadier company with a staff of about 150 and is under the direct command of the division and brigade.

The development history of grenadiers in Europe is relatively long. Captain Hans has some knowledge of grenadiers, but after the exercise, he just praised the high accuracy of Chinese grenadiers and did not show interest.

Li Mingyuan didn't care about Hans' performance. The grenades produced by the Chinese Independent Army were still relatively crude and could only cause small-area damage to the enemy forces. However, with the improvement of technology, the role of grenades will also become greater. At that time, others will pay attention to the grenade.