Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 99 Gatling Gun "Clockwork" Version
It turns out that ever since Korea and Japan started trade, Korea's grain has always been the target of Japanese plunder. As early as 1889, the "Grain Prevention Order" incident occurred because of this.
In those days, because Japan forced Korea to sign an unequal treaty, Japanese merchants obtained a large number of economic privileges in Korea. Due to the hoarding and panic buying of grain on the Korean Peninsula by Japanese merchants, the price of grain on the Korean Peninsula soared, and famine even occurred in some places. For a time, there were starving people everywhere and people were living in dire straits. When the then Chinese Minister to Korea, Mr. Yuan Datou, learned about this, he was very annoyed. He directly ordered Cho Byung-sik, the Inspector of Hamgyong Province of Korea, to prohibit the export of grain from Wonsan and other places to Japan, which was the famous "Grain Prevention Order". Due to this ban, Japanese merchants suffered a loss of 140,000 yen. The Japanese lodged a strong protest to King Gojong of Korea (the King of Korea actually didn't know about this at the time, and later learned that it was Yuan Datou's order). As a result, a four-year "marathon" lawsuit was launched. Finally, under pressure, the Korean government compensated the Japanese merchants for their losses in full in May 1893, but the Koreans hated (this incident caused by Mr. Yuan Datou provided a "good" excuse for Japan to incite public opinion and go to war with the Qing Dynasty later).
This time, because Japan once again purchased a large amount of grain in Korea , it aroused Queen Min's vigilance, because Japan was heard to be not short of grain now, and the Japanese hoarded a large amount of grain at such a high price and shipped it back to the country, which was probably for military purposes (this woman who was later called Mingcheng had an innate sensitivity to certain things. In contrast, in later generations, the Japanese purchased a large amount of coal in China and shipped it back to the country, sealed it with cement and sank it into the sea. It had sunk half of Taiyuan, but no Chinese official thought there was anything wrong). After discussing with Yuan Datou, she once again issued the "Anti-Grain Order", prohibiting the export of grain to Japan, and dispatched the navy (Yuan Datou used the compensation from Japan to Korea to buy three small unprotected cruisers and two Randall gunboats for Korea in China, and rebuilt the Korean navy) to patrol ports such as Wonsan to prevent grain smuggling. As a result, Japanese merchants and Korean people clashed in Wonsan, and 14 Japanese merchants and 21 Korean people died in the conflict.
The actions of the Koreans seriously hurt the "self-esteem" of the Japanese. How could the small Korean navy dare to challenge the majesty of the Imperial Japanese Navy? They immediately dispatched warships to "protect the overseas Chinese". The Korean navy had long been holding its breath against the Japanese. This time, with the new warships, it suddenly felt much stronger. When the warships of the two sides met at sea, they fought without saying a word. The Japanese cruiser "Tatsuta" was hit by two shots, and six sailors were killed. The Korean cruiser "Hanyang" was hit by three shots, and four sailors were killed and five were injured. The British and Russian fleets nearby heard the news and rushed to the scene. The cruiser "Haifeng" of the Beiyang Fleet was escorting on that route and also arrived in time to avoid a greater conflict between the two navies. Afterwards, the Japanese government lodged a serious protest to the King of Korea, accusing the Korean government of "deliberately causing trouble". The Korean government's position also became tough this time, and it was prepared to announce the severance of trade with Japan in response. The situation between the two countries is now very tense.
"The mess about Confucius and Christ in China has not been resolved yet, and they are making trouble again." Sun Gang smiled bitterly, "But Yuan Datou can't be said to be wrong. Who knows what tricks the Japanese will play next."
“If we let the Beiyang Fleet go to Japan for a tour, won’t the Japanese know what to do?” Ma Yue asked him seriously, tilting her head. The last time she used the "Oriental Princess" to engage in "gunboat diplomacy" with the Dutch, she tasted the "sweetness" and has since believed that "the bigger the fist, the harder the truth." Sun Gang saw his beloved wife "going astray" but could not think of any good way to make her "reform."
"Does the imperial court still not know about this?" Sun Gang asked again.
"The Haifeng hasn't come back yet." Ma Yue said, "But Yuan Datou's telegram should have been sent to Tianjin, and it should not have reached the Zongli Yamen yet."
"Tell Brother Lin first." Sun Gang picked up the phone, "Let him know so that the fleet can prepare early."
After learning about this, Lin Taizeng immediately began to make arrangements. Except for several cruisers that had not yet returned from the escort mission, the main battleships "Dingyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Kaiyuan" and "Haining" were all there, as well as four submarines. Lin Taizeng ordered all ships in port to immediately stockpile ammunition, and the balloon team was also ready to depart at any time. He also sent a telegram to Ding Ruchang, the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang. Soon, Ding Ruchang replied, ordering the Beiyang Fleet to set off immediately to Wonsan, Korea to control the situation.
Sun Gang saw that he had nothing to do, so he dragged his beloved wife to participate in "military training".
During these days, after work, he spent all day hanging out with Zhan Shuxiao, Su Xin and others. After spending a long time with the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Special Attack Team, he gained a certain in-depth understanding of the internal situation of the Qing Army. He realized that there were also many problems in the organization of the Qing Army.
At that time, the Qing army had not yet implemented universal conscription like France, Germany and Japan. The relationship between officers and soldiers in the army was basically like a patriarchal system. The commander's personal prestige held the entire army together. This relationship had certain advantages, but also brought considerable disadvantages. The advantage was that soldiers and officers could be united and cooperate well in combat, but the disadvantage was that it was difficult to manage, and once the main officers were killed in battle, the morale of the entire army was in danger of collapse at any time. Take the Beiyang Special Attack Team as an example. The main members were members of the Beiyang Guard and Underwater Special Attack Team. They had a very close relationship with Zhan Shuxiao and Su Xin, and the actual leader of the entire unit was Sun Gang. This small unit of about 500 people was well-equipped and well-paid (and there was no arrears of food and wages like other units). The officers and soldiers were very supportive of Sun Gang and were actually loyal to him alone. In fact, he didn't need to "cultivate" them specifically. This unit was already his "private army". Of course, the officers and soldiers themselves did not realize this.
There is also the Beiyang Military Intelligence Office. Since its funding mainly comes from the "Beiyang Shipping Company", it has actually become the "private spy agency" of his beloved wife Ma Yue. Sun Gang has no way of knowing how much potential power it now possesses.
Perhaps he was too deeply impressed by the movie "The Terminator" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had a special liking for the six-barreled Gatling machine gun equipped by the special forces and always wanted to hold the gun and fire it himself. However, after trying it a few times, he was depressed to find that this machine gun, like his charger, needed to be cranked by hand, and could either be mounted on a tripod or on a unicycle (or a balloon), otherwise he could not play with it by himself.
"It would be nice if you didn't have to shake it, right?" His beloved wife guessed what he was thinking and said with a smile.
"Yes." Sun Gang said, "I only know that the Americans later used electric motors to replace hand cranks, but it is definitely not possible now."
"Can't we try using a clockwork spring?" Ma Yue tilted her head to look at the still smoking six-barreled machine gun, blinked her beautiful big eyes, and said.
"My dear, you are so talented." Sun Gang was stunned and nodded in admiration. Yes! Use a clockwork instead of a hand-crank, and find a way to reduce the weight of the gun. Wouldn't it be possible for one person to carry it and shoot?
He immediately called over a few ordnance personnel, and called over the strange man named "Find the Passbook", and told them the idea. They immediately became excited, "Absolutely, sir." Zhao Chunze said, "Replace the crank with a detachable spring barrel. When the spring runs out, you don't need to wind it up like a clock. You can just replace the spring barrel and continue to play."
Sun Gang was surprised again when he heard his words. If it was true as he said, a Chinese soldier equipped with a Gatling machine gun that could be operated individually, and the firepower of one person could deal with dozens of people, it would definitely be the enemy's nightmare on the battlefield!
Gatlin himself probably could not have imagined that his invention would be recorded in history in the near future, along with countless souls, by a casual remark made by a woman in an ancient country far away in the East.
"This is my patent, you are not allowed to steal it." Ma Yue said to Sun Gang when they returned.
She could never have imagined how many Japanese people would be "killed" by her "patent" in the future.
