Volume 2: Famous Chapter 18 New Machine Guns and Industry
In just two days, after being reprinted by dozens of domestic and foreign newspapers, the news that Yang Qiu took charge of the National Defense Army and sent a nationwide telegram to persuade Yuan Shikai to correct his mistake caused a sensation across the country. Even the Tianduo Daily, which was the first to report on the battle of Wushengguan, became famous overnight, and Dai Tianchou became the most sought-after war correspondent in the country.
Whenever people see that classic photo in the newspaper, with the war as the background, Yang Qiu leaning against the Flying Tiger flag, with his finger pointing at the soldiers jumping out of the trench to launch a counterattack, they cannot sleep.
Young people regard him as an idol because he is only 22 years old! And the main officers in the National Defense Army are almost all young people! Those who applaud him call him the reincarnation of Huo Huqi, because General Huo Qubing, who sealed the Wolf and Juxu, died young at this age. Those who hate him gnashed their teeth and believed that he was self-reliant, causing trouble for the country and chaos, and was a heartless person. He attacked his comrades at the beginning of the war.
However, no matter who you are, you must face up to his legendary experience.
Eight regiments of the baggage soldiers, the Manchu Baturu, the commander of the 42nd Battalion, the commander of the right wing army, and then the commander-in-chief of the national defense army! It took a total of more than a hundred days. Seize Yangxia, the first battle of Liujia Temple, capture Ruicheng, and defeat Zhang Biao! Fly to Wushengguan, go against the current of the small northern expedition, recover the whole territory, fight bloody battles in the Beiyang, and then the amazing comeback that just happened! Brilliant military exploits and strong determination. Countless rumors and deeds seem to be attributed to the new commander-in-chief of the national defense army at once. The expectations of the constitutionalists, the dreams of the party members, and the deep curse of the north are all entangled in one person.
In teahouses, street corners, hotels and even brothels, as long as there are people gathering, there will always be a few words of gossip, envy, jealousy or admiration..., and her fame begins to expand rapidly in the rumors on the streets.
But no one knew that the commander-in-chief, who was nicknamed "young and rich" by Yang Du, was lying in the mud in the experimental target area of the Hanyang Gun Factory, operating the newly finalized ZB26 light machine gun like an ordinary soldier.
Hoo hoo… Hoo hoo…
A tongue of fire shot out from the trumpet-shaped muzzle cap, and with a low and powerful roar, the double-legged gun mount was deeply inserted into the soil. Bullet casings kept bouncing out of the receiver, and the heavy door target opposite was riddled with holes.
After firing six magazines in succession, Hao Wenbao and several other machine gunners from the guard company who were watching nearby thought that it needed to let the barrel cool down and rest like Madsen. However, unexpectedly, a pair of large hands wearing thick gloves suddenly stretched out, grabbed the fixing ring of the barrel and turned it upwards. The barrel instantly disengaged from the locking groove, and then the operation was reversed to replace it with a new barrel. The whole process took less than half a minute before the machine gun resumed its roar.
Hao Wenbao and other machine gunners are the best of the best. They not only memorized the "Machine Gun Tactics Regulations" written by Yang Qiu himself, but also fought for many days in Wushengguan. In terms of experience, they are definitely the best in the current National Defense Army. So they immediately saw the value of this new light machine gun. The speed and firepower are comparable to Madsen. Because it has a 20-round magazine, the firepower sustainability is a bit worse, but the parts are half the number of Madsen, making it easier to manufacture. More importantly, the design of changing the barrel completely solves the problem of the machine gun needing to rest after the barrel overheats.
But Yang Qiu was not satisfied. The main problem was the heat resistance of the barrel. A normal ZB26 needed to be replaced after at least 200 rounds of continuous firing, but this one needed to be replaced every 150 rounds at most. Therefore, the barrel had to be thickened to increase the heat capacity, and the trumpet-shaped muzzle cap had to be changed to a dust-proof recoil device.
In addition, the loading port and the magazine are obviously too loose , the originally beautiful threaded heat sink is simply unsightly, and the barrel locking ring vibrates when shooting, indicating that there are problems with the chipping process. In addition, there is another big problem, that is, when using the Hanyang imitation steel shell 7.92 pointed bullet, six magazines jammed three times, all because they did not fit the chamber, which shows how big the defects are in the processing of the bullet and the barrel, and the recoil of this bullet is too large, far inferior to the 7.62×54R rimmed bullet that I like the most. As for the workmanship of the whole gun...
All I can say is that QQ and BMW...are both sedans!
After handing the gun to Hao Wenbao, who had been eager to get the gun, Yang Qiu stood up and smiled at Su Hongsheng beside him: "Mr. Su, you are really my timely help this time."
Su Hongsheng also looked a little proud. Ever since Yang Qiu gave him the correct blueprint that night, he immediately organized the best craftsmen to work hard to make this kind of machine gun. In addition, he had spent more than a month studying the blueprints and made several sets of parts, so this time he produced 10 new light machine guns at once. However, he did not dare to take credit in front of Yang Qiu, and smiled and said, "This gun has no name yet, Commander, please give it a name."
"Since it is the first machine gun made in Hanyang, let's call it the Han-1 light machine gun."
"Han-1, great! It means it was made in Hanyang, and it's the first machine gun made by the Han people themselves." Xiao Anguo applauded and picked up a machine gun and weighed it a few times: "We consumed a lot in Wusheng Pass, and lost 4 heavy machine guns at once. This time we can finally make up a little bit, but... the magazine capacity is a little small."
"As for light machine guns, they cannot be compared with heavy machine guns." Yang Qiu did not care about the magazine capacity. Light machine guns and heavy machine guns are two different things. The latter consumes too much energy. If it were not for this war, he would not even want to equip himself with it. Therefore, in the subsequent transactions with Germany, he did not propose to continue purchasing Maxim, but put forward strict requirements on production and subsequent improvements.
"This gun has few parts. After using the piece-rate system you mentioned, Commander, we can now produce one every three days. This is because the workers are unskilled. We can guarantee one gun a day in March and May." Several people walked towards the gun factory. Along the way, they could see soldiers from the garrison battalion guarding the place with live ammunition. Because Yang Qiu attached great importance to this place, Xiao Anguo specially stationed several battalions of new recruits nearby to patrol at night, for fear that someone would cause sabotage.
The speed of ten guns a month is really nothing, but if Su Hongsheng had not made a similar Madsen, he might not be able to make it in three months. It is purely manual and it is the first time to manufacture it. This speed is already very good. Once the German equipment arrives and the Austro-Hungarian technical workers serve as guidance and the ammunition caliber is unified, it will be possible to upgrade and manufacture a better Bren type.
After entering the factory, the dirty and messy situation has improved a lot. Although the battle on the front line is intense, Yang Qiu has never forgotten that this is currently the best equipment manufacturing base in China, so he put a lot of effort into reorganizing it according to his understanding of a modern factory. Not only did he adopt the piece-rate system, but he also subdivided each workshop. Recently, he even set up an independent R&D team composed entirely of experienced craftsmen.
Seeing that he was not as picky as he was the first time, Su Hongsheng finally felt relieved. He rubbed his hands and asked, "Commander, I heard from Xiaohu that you bought a batch of new machines from the Germans?"
Yang Qiu was slightly stunned. Only a few core personnel knew about the transaction with Germany, especially the sale of British secrets, which must not be leaked. So he immediately looked at Zhang Wenjing, who quickly said, "I told Xiaohu that the commander spent a lot of money to buy mechanical equipment, so let Hanyang prepare it to avoid being in a hurry."
Hearing him deliberately say that he spent money through normal commercial channels, Yang Qiu was relieved and said, "Yes, I bought some. The total amount of equipment is probably more than two Hanyangs, all of them..."
"Two Hanyangs are too much!" Before he finished speaking, several managers jumped up immediately. What is the scale of Hanyang? Zhang Zhidong worked hard and spent millions of dollars to build it to its current scale, but Yang Qiu bought two without any hesitation! Is he a relative of the German emperor? Su Hongsheng glanced at the German bodyguards who followed him from a distance.
"The machinery and equipment are not a problem. They are all the latest models. Germany will send at least 200 technicians to stay for three years . As for whether you can learn all of them, it depends on you." Yang Qiu said: "In addition, such a large scale is not something that Hanyang can roll out. So I have asked Ma Kui to go to Chongqing to select a site. We are going to build a new factory there with the Sichuan Manufacturing Bureau as the base."
Su Hongsheng and others had no objection to building a new factory in Chongqing, but they were very unhappy about using the Sichuan Manufacturing Bureau as the team. They immediately said, "Commander, the Sichuan Manufacturing Bureau has been out of work for a long time. The guns and ammunition they made before were not up to standard, and the workers and technicians were not useful."
They did not lie. The late Qing Dynasty did not stand still in modern industry. It did set up many machine manufacturing bureaus, but the levels were uneven. Generally speaking, Hanyang, Jiangnan and Dagu were the strongest, and Mawei in Fujian was mainly engaged in shipbuilding. As for Nanjing, Guangdong and Sichuan, the levels were very poor. In recent years, except for the manufacture of black powder, they have basically stopped. But he had no choice. This was the current situation of the domestic industry. It was better to learn the basics than not to learn anything at all.
Su Hongsheng was the most anxious, and was ready to bet his entire future on this. He said anxiously, "Don't worry, Commander. I have already sent a telegram to the old buddies who studied in Germany. Many of them are willing to come, and several have already set off. If you think it's okay, you might as well let them do it."
"The whole country is in turmoil now. Sooner or later, Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be in turmoil. Especially in Jiangnan, there are many overseas technicians. We can take this opportunity to recruit a group of them at a high price. After the German technicians arrive and train for two or three years, there should be a few people who can stand on their own." Zhang Wenjing also said: "In addition, I think the ownership issue of the Hanyang Factory should also be dealt with. Now that you, the commander, are in charge of the military power, Wuchang will have to endure it for the time being, so the reform should be completed as soon as possible, so that no matter who is in power in the future, they can't take it away."
The two's words touched Yang Qiu's heart. He had long wanted to take action against the Hanyang Factory and its affiliated steel and medicine factory, but because the party members and the old foxes were so powerful before, he would inevitably be opposed after proposing it. But now he holds the military power, as long as the war is not over, they must compromise on this matter. At most, they will give a few shares, which is better than mortgaging it to foreigners in case Yuan Datou or Sun Dapao gets the urge to do so. As for technical workers, he has also considered it, but Shanghai is far away from Hubei, and the Chinese people have a strong sense of local culture, so it may not be possible to attract so many people. However, this is the only way at present. After this war is over, it will be a long-term plan to set up a technical school and a polytechnic university.
"You guys discuss these matters with Shen Shukai, transfer Hanyang and Steel Pharmaceutical Factory to my name as soon as possible, and restructure it into Hubei Industrial Company. I will go and say hello to Li Du." Yang Qiu had just finished speaking when he saw Chen Zutao running over in a sweat. Zhang Wenjing asked first, "Mr. Guo, what's the matter?"
As soon as the headquarters was established, he was transferred back to the secretariat as a military secretary. This young man is still a "little angry youth". The experience of Wushengguan made Yang Qiu an idol. He immediately saluted and said, "Commander! Xiaogan reports that the Beiyang has begun to attack Xiaochang."
"It seems..."
Zhang Wenjing smiled bitterly and said, "The Grand Marshal of the Army of the World is still not enough to satisfy Yuan Gongbao's appetite. He is showing his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty."
