Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 28: A First Look at the Gun Factory
The weather by the river is as changeable as a baby's face, especially in late summer and early autumn. It was drizzling when we were doing morning exercises, but now the sun is shining brightly.
Yang Qiu first appointed Lei Meng as his adjutant, and then he and Xiao Anguo had a quick bite in the soldiers' canteen. Finally, he changed into a loose short-sleeved shirt and took two M1911A1s. After what happened last night, he knew how "attractive" he, a freshly-minted authentic Qing Dynasty "hero", was at this moment when the enemy was unclear.
For convenience, he also brought Zhang Wenjing and Lei Meng. The former was a clerk who usually handled miscellaneous matters, and the latter... I don't know whose military uniform he took off, but he acted very arrogantly all the way, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he had been promoted.
The gun factory was not far from the parade ground, about twenty minutes' walk away. As the chimneys in the distance got closer, Yang Qiu's heartbeat began to accelerate.
The river breeze brought the low sound of steam engines. Listening to the unique rhythm of this era, he seemed to see the splashing and dancing of red molten steel in front of his eyes. He was carrying a data machine full of drawings, but was unable to turn them into reality. He even had to be careful and cover up so that people would not see desire and ambition for the two factories. This kind of life was really not a life for a human being.
He really wanted to throw everything aside and directly take over the arsenal, use the equipment inside to build all kinds of machinery and equipment, and realize his dream in a flash. But reality told him that he must be patient, patient and patient again!
Neither the Central Empire, which has existed for three hundred years, nor the various factions that are eyeing him covetously, will allow him to easily get involved in this region that controls the heart of China and has unique conditions and resources.
Therefore, he still needs to wait, wait for an opportunity, an opportunity to draw his sword!
While their thoughts were flying, the group had already arrived at the gun factory. From the outside, the scale of the gun factory was indeed quite large, with rows of factory buildings stretching for thousands of meters, and black smoke emitting from the chimneys from time to time.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Lei? How come you have time to come to the factory today? No, this military uniform... means you've been promoted!" As soon as he arrived at the factory gate, several young men with guns on their backs surrounded Lei Meng. One of them, who seemed to be full of energy, was very familiar with him. He pointed at the military uniform with green eyes and spoke in an especially cordial tone.
"When Lei Meng first came last year, he had a . I didn't expect that they would become familiar with each other after a few interactions." Zhang Wenjing introduced Yang Qiu and said with a smile: "Go and call your captain and tell him that the new commander of the 42nd Battalion, Lord Yang, is here to see him."
The news that Yang Qiu took over the 42nd Battalion had spread throughout the three towns of Wuchang. The energetic young man immediately sent someone to find the captain, and he and the others came to pay their respects: "Security Team Su Xiaohu greets the commander-in-chief."
Yang Qiugang helped Su Xiaohu up, but before he could say anything, a 30-year-old man with a pistol ran out of the factory. When he saw Yang Qiugang, he saluted and said, "I am Ma Dabiao from the Gun Factory Security Team, meeting the Commander-in- Chief."
Ma Dabiao is an honest man. He has been working in the security team of the gun factory ten years ago. After so many years of trepidation, he finally became the leader of the security team. Therefore, he dare not neglect Yang Qiu, who is now in charge of him.
"Captain Ma, you're welcome. I'm not here to pick on you. First, I want to come and see you all. Second, I need to restock my pistol with bullets. The army doesn't have this model, so I wanted to see the master if I could order a few."
Ma Dabiao glanced at the pistol tied to Yang Qiu's leg. It was the first time he saw someone carrying a gun like this. He wondered if Yang Qiu was just a useless person. He quickly called Su Xiaohu and ordered, "Go, find your father."
Seeing Su Xiaohu taking orders and leaving, Ma Dabiao said, "Your Excellency the Commander, you may not know that Su Xiaohu's father is the manager of the gun factory and is the best master here."
"That's great. I wonder if Captain Zhang could show me the gun factory? This is my first time here."
42 Mark is now in charge of the security team, how dare Ma Dabiao disobey, and quickly took Yang Qiu and others into the factory area. After entering the factory area, everyone was attracted by the grand scale in front of them. The brick and tile factory buildings that were similar to those in the 1950s and 1960s looked pretty good, but when they entered the factory, Yang Qiu suddenly frowned.
There are only three words to describe it: dirty, messy and broken!
Dense electric wires were stretched across the beams in no order like a spider web. The furnishings in the factory were in a mess. The machines were very old, and many of them were rusted. Although they were still in operation, the ground was covered with yellow soil and stagnant water. A large pile of gun stocks were piled up in the corner, and judging from the color, many of them were already moldy.
Although all the workers stopped their work and saluted Yang Qiu at Ma Dabiao's introduction, he had no intention of giving any consolation speech when he saw this scene.
After looking at the skiving and washing workshop, sulfuric acid workshop, shell stamping workshop, primer workshop, etc. one by one, the wrinkles on Yang Qiu's forehead began to deepen, especially when he saw the artillery factory that had actually stopped working, he sighed deeply in his heart.
Before coming here, he had thought about the environment and manufacturing capabilities here, and thought he was mentally prepared, but he still didn't expect it to be so bad. Let alone the manufacturing capabilities, the extremely dirty and messy working environment alone was unbearable for a retired soldier who had worked in one of the best Shanghai Volkswagen Automobile Manufacturing Plants in China in the future, not to mention the rusty machines and equipment.
What can be made with this kind of technology and equipment? Moreover, Hanyang adopted the backward contracting system, which means that three or four people formed a production team, and then contracted the materials and labor themselves. They were paid once for each gun they made. Many workers had to do everything from parts to butts by themselves, which was extremely inefficient.
"Twenty years!"
Seeing Yang Qiu was depressed after entering the factory, and suddenly said this, Xiao Anguo asked beside him: "Brother, what twenty years did you say?"
Yang Qiu laughed bitterly, picked up a half-finished gun barrel, and said helplessly: "Twenty years ago, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong initiated the Westernization Movement in order to strengthen the army and the country. They traveled all over Europe and the United States to set up iron smelting plants and gun factories, introduced the best machines and equipment in Europe and the United States at that time, and invited foreigners to supervise the production. They established many manufacturing bureaus in Jiangnan and Dagu. But now, the equipment has not been updated in the past twenty years, and the technology has not caught up. We have made no progress at all. We have wasted twenty years in vain!"
Yang Qiu's words deeply touched Zhang Wenjing next to him. This was not his first time to come to the gun factory. Not to mention the more developed Europe and the United States, just the several factories in Yokohama that he had visited in Japan before, compared with them, his factory was indeed a bit old.
"Well said, twenty years have indeed passed in the blink of an eye, but there is no need to underestimate yourself. Although we in Hanyang cannot compare with foreigners, we should not be underestimated." Just as everyone was moved by Yang Qiu's words, a voice suddenly sounded behind them. Turning around, they saw Su Xiaohu walking towards them with an old man who looked somewhat similar to him.
The old man was stubborn. When he heard Yang Qiu belittling Hanyang, he said in a bad tone, "Su Hongsheng, the manager of the gun factory, has met the commander-in-chief and all the gentlemen. I wonder if the commander-in-chief has any advice for you!"
"Sir, this is Su Xiaohu's father, Su Hongsheng. He is the best master here. When the factory first opened, he went to Germany to study manufacturing for three years. Even the German masters said that he has superb skills and is familiar with gun manufacturing."
After listening to Ma Dabiao's introduction, Yang Qiu also looked at Su Hongsheng carefully. He had gray hair, wore a pair of glasses, and was dressed in a clean navy blue robe, making him look like a teacher. He walked with a sense of elegance, but his hands were covered with calluses, which were obviously caused by years of operating machines.
As for the hint of arrogance on his face, Yang Qiu simply ignored it. It was hard to find skilled workers in the country these days. People like him who had studied in Germany were considered great talents. Even if Yuan Shikai was in front of him, he would have to endure his arrogance.
"Yang Qiu has met Mr. Su."
"You are too polite, you can just call me Hongsheng." Su Hongsheng simply bowed and said, "I heard that you want to make a few bullets. Xiaohu, please write down the dimensions and send them to the bullet factory."
He asked Su Xiaohu to trace the size and imitate it before he even saw it. It was obvious that he was not satisfied with Yang Qiu's previous remarks that belittled Hanyang. You know, this is the best gun factory in China, and he has spent decades of hard work on it. How could he allow others to talk about it?
Yang Qiu was not angry. He smiled and took out his pistol. He also asked Xiao Anguo to bring the Mauser 1896. But what was strange was that he did not hand the gun to Su Hongsheng. Instead, he walked to the table next to him. Under everyone's surprised eyes, he moved quickly and lightning fast, and disassembled the two guns into parts in a few seconds.
This move might not be a big deal to others, but those present were either gun players or gun makers. They all knew something about disassembling guns, but they had never seen it done so quickly. Especially since Yang Qiu didn't use any tools at all. Even when disassembling the more complicated Mauser, he only took a bullet to do it.
Lei Meng's eyes turned green with envy. He finally understood what it meant to hide one's talents. He thought to himself that the other person did have real skills. So it was not shameful for him to lose in the morning.
"Your Excellency is wise."
While Zhang Wenjing was boasting, Su Hongsheng had already picked up the parts of the two guns and examined them carefully. The more he looked, the more unnatural his expression became. Just now he had boasted that Hanyang should not be underestimated, but when he saw the two guns, his expression changed slightly.
"American-made Browning 1911 pistol, caliber 1.143 cm (cm is equivalent to centimeters, as it was called in China at the time), recoil-type barrel, eight rounds of ammunition loaded at a time, 6,000 rounds of trouble-free firing, automatic burst, using rimless pistol bullets, one shot can ensure that a grown man loses his ability to move!"
After Yang Qiu finished speaking, he picked up Xiao Anguo's Mauser. Because this gun was not really introduced into China until 1912 because of the purchase of Beiyang and Germany, so everyone was not familiar with it. He took Maqui's gun and demonstrated the loading method while introducing it: "The German-made Mauser 1896, known as the automatic semi-automatic pistol, has a caliber of 0.763, fine workmanship, six rifling grooves in the barrel, can fire continuously after loading, fixed magazine, bullet bridge loading, can load ten rounds at a time."
Semi-automatic pistols have just become popular even in Europe and the United States, so there are no military units in the country equipped with such pistols. Only a small number of high-ranking officials or people like Du Laoliu would buy a few from the black market for self-defense. So after Su Hongsheng looked at all the parts, his face changed completely.
"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, this old man is really ..."
Yang Qiu quickly reloaded the two guns, put them away under Su Hongsheng's shining eyes, took out an 11.34mm and a 7.63mm bullet respectively, handed them to him, and said: "Here are the samples of the bullets. I will come to pick them up in ten days."
Seeing Yang Qiu was about to leave, Su Hongsheng, who had devoted his life to the research and manufacture of guns, suddenly forgot what he had just said and said anxiously, "Sir, can you leave these two guns here for me to admire for a few days?" He was afraid that Yang Qiu would be worried, so he promised, "Don't worry, sir, I guarantee with my life that I will return them in three days!"
Seeing Su Hongsheng say this, Xiao Anguo was a little tempted. In addition, many people in the army knew Su Hongsheng's name, so he was about to draw his gun. Unexpectedly, as soon as he grasped the gun handle, he was held down by Yang Qiu.
"Mr. Su, I have the detailed design drawings of both guns. It's okay to give them to you, but how many can you make in a year?" Su Hongsheng was speechless. Yang Qiu paused and said, "Twenty years of technological gap, do you really think you can make up for it with your guts? Let me tell you, now let alone Germany, even Japan, as long as they get the design drawings, can make tens of thousands a year!"
"What's the point of following someone else around all your life!" After saying this, Yang Qiu turned around and left without paying attention to the people around him who were thinking about something.
