The shape of war has completely changed. It is no longer the time when everyone is lining up to shoot. As a well-known consequence of Xiaoyu's leak, the Mongols have mastered the technology of fixed ammunition. However, looking at the steel of their barrels, they are still relatively primitive.

Steel pipe. This kind of thing will be useless after a few hundred rounds of bullets, let alone be made into a machine gun that can shoot rapidly.

After inspecting the Yinchuan battlefield, Li Xiao fell into deep thought.

Li Yongfang's power needs to be increased, especially for military production, which must be produced separately and then assembled centrally. Even the workers don't know what the things they make are used for.

Only in this way can the secret of the weapon be guaranteed to the greatest extent. Even if the secret is leaked, it cannot be leaked so completely.

The army must also adapt to modern tactics, and the infantry must learn how to build trenches. The artillery must also learn how to conduct artillery battles with the opponent. In terms of the style of war, future wars will be more like World War I.

Both sides put their troops into a meat grinder and strangled them desperately. The winner will be the winner in the end.

Thinking of trench warfare, Li Xiao suddenly remembered an artifact.

"Get Zhao Shizhen for me."

Zhao Shizhen, who was still reporting his work at the Ministry of Works, heard Li Xiao's call and hurried from the Ministry of Works to Li Xiao's study.

"Produce qualified gun barrels as soon as possible, and produce this kind of gun as soon as possible. We may need a lot of them in the future!" Li Xiao threw two drawings to Zhao Shizhen.

Zhao Shizhen looked at what was painted on it, a machine gun with a front tripod. It seemed to be fed by a bullet belt, and there was a honeycomb sleeve around the barrel, which should be used to cool down.

Another drawing shows a firearm with a wooden handle. However, the ammunition supply method is a magazine, and this thing is still in the research stage. The main problem is that the processing technology and accuracy have not been solved!

"There has been a breakthrough in the steel-tungsten alloy and trials are ongoing. However, judging from the current situation, there should be no problem in making the barrel. As for this firearm, since the commander-in-chief has drawn the composition, I will try my best to make it."

"Your Changxing Island is responsible for manufacturing the barrels, and the receivers are manufactured in Jinzhou. The remaining parts can be allocated to the factories in Jinan and Penglai, and the final assembly will be carried out in the capital. I want you to do it, put a number on every part. Even if

It is a defective product and is not allowed to leave the factory. Li Yongfang's people will closely monitor all steps and no parts are allowed to be lost during transportation.

Zheng Sen is in charge of this matter, and you will report directly to Zheng Sen. Do you understand?"

"Commander! This is a bit difficult." After reading the drawings and listening to Li Xiao's words, Zhao Shizhen was very embarrassed.

"how?"

"Although we have lathes, the tolerances are still very large. Our current production requires final debugging by masters. If you decentralize production now, problems will occur during final assembly."

"Try to control the tolerances as much as possible. We need skilled workers to be trained by Jinzhou Institute of Technology. We don't have much time. We must mass produce within two years. R&D and production are your responsibility, go ahead and do it!"

"Uh...! No!" Li Xiao's tone was firm, and Zhao Shizhen had no choice but to accept the job. He was not an experienced fisherman, and Zhao Shizhen felt it was difficult to breathe in front of Li Xiao.

"Please let the commander decide on the serial numbers of these two guns."

"Oh!" Li Xiao wrote mg34 on the first piece of paper without thinking. On the second piece of paper, he wrote ak-47.

Zhao Shizhen once saw Tang Ruowang writing Western characters, which seemed to be very similar to what Li Xiao wrote. But he didn't know that the commander-in-chief wanted to write Western characters on the serial numbers of his products. If Li Xiao didn't say it, Zhao Shizhen naturally didn't either.

Dare to ask.

"Also, the next step for the imperial court is to focus on the Mongols in the northwest. An arsenal will be set up in Xi'an to mainly produce ammunition. Now the entire army only uses one caliber of bullets, and the caliber of the artillery shells should be as uniform as possible. In this way, supplies can be facilitated.

You must organize all the necessary machinery and personnel. The new factory must be started before the end of next year. You also discuss this matter with Zheng Sen. "If there is a war, Xi'an will naturally be safer than Gansu. Set up a factory in Xi'an, Guanzhong

Producing ammunition is much more convenient and faster than transporting it from far away from Liaodong.

"No!" Zhao Shizhen hesitated. This requires transporting a lot of machinery and equipment and deploying a lot of personnel. It is also troublesome to select a site in Xi'an and build a factory. This is a big project, a very big project. It will be produced by the end of next year.

, the difficulty is indeed relatively high. But Li Xiao’s tone is unquestionable, and Zhao Shizhen has no choice but to agree and start working first.

"There is nothing else to do. You are now in charge of weapons research and development and production. The burden on your shoulders is not light. If you do these things well, the imperial court will never treat you badly. The imperial court is currently planning to establish a general equipment department to be responsible for weapons.

Regarding equipment and other matters, the status is equal to that of the Ministry of War.

I have proposed that you be the Zuo Shilang. Mr. Sun also thinks you are the most suitable person!" Li Xiao would not do anything but just let the horses work without feeding them.

"Thank you, Marshal, for your support. I will do my best to ensure the supply of the army." Zhao Shizhen's eyes suddenly lit up. Zuo Shilang, deputy minister!

Zhao Shizhen had just left when Shunzi came in to report. Cao Wenzhao came with Cao Bianjiao and was waiting outside.

"pass!"

"Hello, Commander!" Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao walked in wearing straight military uniforms. Without saying a word, they knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Xiao.

"Get up! The new army doesn't practice the etiquette of kowtow. Now it's all about saluting." Li Xiao quickly went to pull Cao Wenzhao's uncle and nephew who were kneeling on the ground.

"Without the commander-in-chief, I, Cao Wenzhao, would not be where I am today. You are a benefactor, so you naturally deserve this gift." Cao Wenzhao stood up and saluted Li Xiao again. Cao Bianjiao behind him also got up and saluted!

"Don't talk about this, sit down! Come here, serve tea!" Li Xiao pointed to the sofa next to him and asked his uncle and nephew to sit down.

"Commander, I heard that there is a war in the northwest. Do you want to transfer us to the northwest? Send me to the northwest to twist off Batur Hutaiji's head and use it as a ball for you to kick." Cao Wenzhao said with a broken voice.

, the vibration made the glass "buzz" and "buzz" sound.

"I want to mobilize you to the northwest, but it's not a big fight with Baturhui. You just need to defend Gansu! To be honest, my Ming Dynasty cannot afford to fight this battle." Li Xiao stood up and came to the wall to hang up

In front of a huge battle map.

Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao also quickly stood up and followed Li Xiao to the front of the map.

"The northwest is too vast. This time the Mongolian army attacked Yinchuan. Yinchuan City was almost destroyed. If the airships that were still in the experimental stage were not urgently called, Yinchuan City would have been breached."

"Yinchuan is the defense area of ​​the Fourth Division. What does Zu Dashou do? He actually let people fight under Yinchuan City for more than ten days, but he failed to reinforce." There were frequent collisions between strong generals, and Cao Wenzhao was not convinced by Zu Dashou.

"This matter has nothing to do with Zu Dashou. The sparsely populated cities in the northwest are spread out over a wide area. This is very different from your Jiangnan. Zu Dashou is stationed in Xi'an. Do you know how far it is from Xi'an to Yinchuan?"

"How far?" Cao Wenzhao scratched his head. He was really not familiar with the Northwest.

"More than 1,800 miles, more than ten days..., haha! If it were you, Cao Wenzhao, the march would have taken more than twenty days." Li Xiao looked at Cao Wenzhao and sneered.

"Eighteen hundred miles!" Cao Wenzhao said nothing, but Cao Bianjiao beside him screamed in surprise.

In the south of the Yangtze River, there are many large cities with a population of over one million within 1,800 miles. Jinling is only more than 500 miles away from Hangzhou. It is less than 500 miles away from Suzhou and less than 20 miles away from Yangzhou.

Hundreds of miles.

Cao Bianjiao didn't expect that there was a distance of 1,800 miles from Xi'an to Yinchuan in the northwest.

"In these eighteen hundred miles, there are very few villages, herdsmen, and small towns. Often there is only a small town with a few hundred people within a hundred miles. Zu Dashou's tens of thousands of troops, let alone provide food and accommodation, even if one person drinks

One gulp of water can drain their well.

In the northwest war, we are not fighting soldiers and horses, but logistical supplies. The Mongols can travel two hundred miles a day on horses. With our two legs, we can travel eighty miles a day, which is pretty good. Especially when there is a battle.

, if there is no reliable logistical support.

Once surrounded by the superior Mongols, the daily consumption of food and ammunition was astonishing. The reason why Yinchuan City was spared this time was entirely because the garrison division's warehouses were all in Yinchuan City. A lot of food and ammunition were accumulated, so that they would not run out of food.

bomb.

Even after two years of hoarding, not much was left after more than ten days. Sun Yuanhua, who was guarding the city, told me that at the last moment, the ammunition was not even enough for one day. He was ready to die for his country!

This time when you go to the northwest, you must go to Yinchuan City. It is really a city full of ruins, with only one house out of ten. The residents suffered heavy casualties. There were more than 70,000 people in Yinchuan City before the war. Less than 30,000 people survived the battle.

, this is because Sun Yuanhua had foresight and dug many tunnels to preserve it."

"The beating was so brutal!" Cao Bianjiao made a "gudu" sound and swallowed a big mouthful of saliva!

"Let me tell you, the Mongols have rockets and mortars, not the ones used by Houjin and Nanming, but the same mortars as ours. They also have a long-barreled gun, which is ours

The cannon has a long barrel and extremely accurate shooting. It is the best weapon for bombarding the fortifications on the city wall.

They also have guns with magazines. Although they can only hold five rounds of bullets, their performance seems to be better than our large eight-pellet ones. People from the Ministry of War are working with people from the Ministry of Industry to compare these things. I believe they will be available soon.

There are results.

This time the Mongols failed to capture Yinchuan City. One of the most important reasons is the difficulty in transporting artillery shells. You know, the Ili River Valley is two to three thousand miles away from Yinchuan. It is more difficult for them than us!"

"That means that if we want to hit Ili now, we have to carry enough food and ammunition. And carrying so much food and ammunition will make the troops move very slowly. In this way, more supplies will be consumed.

." Cao Wenzhao thought for a moment and said the key point.

"That's it. The imperial court cannot provide enough food and ammunition supplies now. Therefore, you cannot attack the Ili Valley. The only thing that can be done now is to transfer you to Gansu. It will be assigned eight garrison divisions to be responsible for the entire Gansu area.

Defense. Try to stop the Mongolian soldiers from advancing eastward!

At the same time, the Khalkha Mongolia behind you will also provide you with some support. Geritu Khan is our friend.

What I'm worried about is whether your troops can bear it when they go from the prosperous land of Jiangnan to Gansu to eat sand."

"Don't worry, Commander. We can enjoy the blessings in the south of the Yangtze River because of the Commander-in-Chief's favor. Now when we go to the northwest to eat sand, it is naturally the Commander-in-Chief's favor. As long as the Commander-in-Chief says a word, even if he wants Baturhun's head, I, Cao Wenzhao

I’m going to pick it off for you and use it as a ball.”

"The imperial court's strategy is to build a railway line from the capital to Xi'an via Shanxi and Tongguan. At the same time, construction will begin on a railway line connecting Yinchuan and Baoji from Xi'an. The survey team has already set off and construction will start next year at the latest.

You must be prepared to endure hardships during the two years it will take to build the railway. It is not easy for the imperial court to transport grain from the mainland to Guanzhong, and half of the grain will be lost on the road. This does not include the loss of laborers and livestock!

Not to mention, transporting grain from Guanzhong thousands of miles to Gansu. Out of 100%, only 20% of the grain can be transported. Now the Ming Dynasty is in ruins and waiting to be revitalized, and the court is also in difficulty!"

"Commander, you don't need to say it. Our three divisions can bear this hardship." Cao Wenzhao beat his chest so hard that it made a "bang" and "bang" sound.

"The hard work is temporary. As long as the railway is built, supplies from all over the country can be easily sent to Gansu. From the capital, it only takes three or four days to get to Yinchuan or Baoji. The loss on the road is very low!

Therefore, you must protect the railway line. The layout of the garrison division and the construction of bunkers must also surround the railway. Do you understand?"

"The general will understand that as long as there is a railway, there will be food and ammunition. If you want to win the battle, you must protect the railway. According to the old saying, the railway is our food route." After all, Cao Wenzhao has been in the army all his life.

Li Xiao immediately understood the key to this.

"If you understand this truth, Gansu will be fine.

Don't look at Gansu's poverty, but there are countless mineral deposits in Gansu. When the mineral deposits are mined from the ground, they are gold mountains and silver seas. Iron and steel mines, copper mines, gold mines, and coal mines. These are all things that the imperial court urgently needs, and there are some

Rare mineral deposits, the things inside are even more valuable.

If we hold on to Gansu, we can stop the Mongols from advancing eastward. The Ming Dynasty is currently resting and recuperating, and the Rakshasa people in the north were defeated by Man Ye. It is estimated that we will not dare to advance eastward again. Geritu Khan is our ally, and we will not

There will be territorial intentions.

North Korea and Japan in the east are now vassal states of our Ming Dynasty.

Although the southwestern vassals are rebellious, they are still submissive to the court. In the South China Sea to the south, although there are forces from various countries, our naval fleet has gone south, and their goal is to seize Temasek and build a castle there.

ocean passage to completely control the South China Sea.

Now in the east, west, south, and west of our Ming Dynasty, only the Mongols in the west are ready to move. You are actually guarding the entire Ming Dynasty. You must not make any mistakes!"

"Commander! If anything goes wrong in Gansu, I, Cao Wenzhao, will come to see you."
Chapter completed!