1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2274
The vast majority of people present did not have the level of vision and insight of Li Nai, and they would not even consider what price Haihan would have to pay for equipping and using this weapon. They were just surprised by the combat effectiveness of this weapon, And simply think that since Haihan has been able to manufacture machine guns, it is logical to equip them in the army next.

And this is also the main purpose of Haihan's official arrangement of the exhibition. It is to use this method to make the outside world think that the strength of Haihan's army has far exceeded what they can resist. From now on, they will obey Haihan honestly. Arrangements are fine, don't try to challenge Haihan's authority on the military front.

However, this is not the end of today's display. After the display of firearms, Beks announced that he would also show Haihan's latest achievements in artillery development to the guests present.

A cannon pulled by a pack horse soon appeared in front of everyone. The caliber of this cannon did not seem large, but the barrel was more slender than ordinary cannons.Bai Kesi introduced to the guests present that this is the latest breech-loading rifled artillery developed by Haihan Ordnance Industry, and its combat performance in terms of effective range and shooting accuracy is significantly improved compared with the old artillery.

In fact, the breech-loading gun has been developed for a long time, and it is not the first time that the breech-loading gun has been semi-publicly demonstrated.The two main naval guns mounted on the naval experimental ship "Black Shark" have already used advanced breech guns.However, compared with the naval gun equipped by the navy, the performance of this gun displayed this time has been upgraded, and it can be regarded as a newly updated version.

This is indeed the first time that the latest artillery that has just been developed will be shown and explained to the public at close range.And daring to take out this secret weapon for a public appearance also shows Haihan's full confidence in the related ordnance technology from the side. Even if the outside world sees the shape and structure of this new artillery, it is impossible to have a high enough weapon. Manufacturing technology to imitate.

However, this kind of artillery with advanced design is still a bit embarrassing for Haihan's existing ordnance manufacturing capabilities. Just like the machine guns shown just now, it can still be slow to manufacture such a two experimental products regardless of cost and time. It will be pieced together slowly, but it is still difficult to achieve mass production relying on Haihan's current industrial level.

Of course, this is the real military secret. The outside world only knows that Haihan has the ability to manufacture this kind of weapon, but they can't confirm Haihan's production capacity, and there is no way to speculate when Haihan will deploy such a weapon to combat. to the army.

The demonstration of the artillery's combat performance was as simple and crude as before. The target was a large piece of wooden piles located hundreds of feet away, densely packed with about half an acre of land. One end of these wooden piles was buried in the ground, and the part exposed to the ground was about five feet high. , used to simulate the enemy formation.

Few of the guests present had seen the Haihan Army display this unique breech-loading gun in previous military exercises, and most of them saw this kind of loading method for the first time, and they couldn't help but have a look on their faces. With a dumbfounded expression.After all, in their cognition, the cannon is a weapon that needs to be loaded with shells from the muzzle, but this new type of artillery actually opens the back end of the barrel to load the shells. To explode?
Of course, there are also some smart people who think of the Lianju rifles and machine guns I saw just now, and it seems that they also load ammunition from the back of the barrel.The principles of these guns are similar, and the new artillery also adopts the same structure, so the understanding seems very reasonable.

With the sound of a cannon, the wooden pile in the distance exploded, and the dust and wood slag aroused were as high as several feet, and the audience present also gave out a sound of admiration.

The artilleryman opens the breech, ejects the casing, and inserts the second round.In this way, after firing three cannonballs in a row, the operation stopped.

And the wooden pile in the distance is already incomplete at this time, and it has completely disappeared from its previous appearance. Even if you don't go close, you can clearly observe the huge damage caused by the three shells.

However, the first reaction seen by insiders is not the destructive power of this gun, but the accuracy of its shooting.The cannon came into the arena after Beks ordered it, and the positioning and aiming was quickly completed. The three cannons hit almost the same place. The old artillery certainly did not have such accuracy.

Of course, it is also possible that Haihan has already completed the positioning and calibration of the artillery before this, so he can perform so well. However, considering that Haihan has no plans to promote this new weapon, it seems that there is no need to play this small game. patterns.

Bex walked up to the cannon and briefly introduced the relevant data, but in the end he didn't talk about the deployment of troops or the arrangement for selling it.Although the big arms buyers were envious, they also knew that Haihan never sold the latest weapons, so they could only drooling at the cannon from a distance.

But it was getting late at this time, and the weapon display event was over.Although there were only three types of weapons in the afternoon display, each weapon can be said to be a big killer that can change the balance of strength between the two sides on the battlefield.With the strength of the Haihan army, if these three weapons are fully equipped, there will be no opponent who can fight against it.

According to the official arrangement of Haihan, the guests will return to Victory Port by boat, and then they can choose whether to participate in the official dinner.

Today's dinner does not have any specific theme, for most of the guests, it is probably just a simple social entertainment.However, the next few big buyers who will participate in the arms purchase will definitely take this opportunity to have necessary communication with the high-level figures of Haihan first.

Both Fei Cexian and Su Keyi chose to leave on their own and did not attend the dinner.The weapon display after today's competition was not a good experience for them.The stronger Haihan's army is, the more powerless their respective camps will be when facing Haihan.

However, Su Keyi knew that it would be difficult for the East India Company to obtain permission to purchase arms from Haihan in the near future, so he simply went back earlier, sorted out what he had learned in the past two days, and wrote a written report back to Batavia.

Haihan's main area of ​​activity in recent years has been in Daming. Fei Cexian has reason to worry that Haihan will intensify his actions in the coastal areas of Daming after his military strength grows further, and even openly launch military invasions in certain areas.At that time, Da Ming won't fight, and it won't work if he doesn't fight. He will definitely fall into a dilemma.

At the dinner, someone also raised a similar question to Li Nai from Daming, that is, whether they would be worried that after Haihan's military strength grows, it will cause security troubles to Daming.

Li Nai's opinion is different from Fei Cexian's: "I don't think Haihan's equipment upgrade will pose a threat to Da Ming, on the contrary, I think that in the future, the safety of the coastal areas of Da Ming will be better. Guarantee...may not be limited to the coast of Daming, it should be said that Haihan's allies will benefit from it, and the chances of military conflicts will be greatly reduced."

Li Nai believes that all parties present today will have a new understanding of Haihan's military strength, and will realize how risky it is to challenge Haihan militarily.This will reduce the possibility of armed conflicts between all parties and Haihan, especially Ming and the Netherlands, which have established diplomatic relations with Haihan but are not very harmonious. They should carefully examine the conflict of interest with Haihan and actively avoid it. Take drastic measures.

When Li Nai was talking, Tao Donglai came out from behind him to answer the question: "Does the third young master really think so? Are you not afraid that our country will launch a surprise attack on Daming?"

Li Nai turned his head and saw that it was Tao Donglai, and responded with a smile: "Mr. Tao is joking, if your country really intends to use some military means, then there is no need to display new weapons on this occasion, but should put These powerful methods are well hidden, and they will be revealed suddenly when the action is taken, so that the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort will be achieved."

Tao Donglai said: "It seems that the third young master has a thorough understanding of our country's strategy! You are right, the reason why we invite everyone to witness the unveiling of new weapons this time is to let all parties know that our country is not in Today, I am planning to go to war on the territory of various countries. What our country needs is a peaceful international environment, and we also hope that the positions of all countries will be consistent with our country.”

Tao Donglai specially emphasized the words "to be here today", and those who are interested will realize that Tao Donglai is actually referring to something. The countries that are not present today are obviously not among Haihan's peace promises. guilty.

In the past two years, there are not many countries that have had war records with Haihan. As long as the news is not too closed, people can count them immediately-Spain, Manchu, Japan.

These countries have different reasons for their hostilities with Haihan, but Haihan's method of dealing with them is very consistent, that is, to send troops to fight.Although the territory of these three countries is far away from Hainan Island, as long as Haihan takes action, he will make a big move. He has successively captured the Manila area controlled by Spain and the Jinzhou Peninsula area controlled by the Qing Dynasty.Japan's luck was a little bit better. The Haihan army withdrew after the battle and did not garrison the local troops. However, it burned down its most important foreign trade port before leaving.

The degree of conflict between these three countries and Haihan is obviously far greater than that of Ming and the Netherlands, and so far there is no sign of reconciling the conflicts. If Tao Donglai then announces to continue the war against one of them, it seems that Not something unimaginable.

But no matter who the next unlucky guy Hai Han is aiming at is, it’s fine if it’s not his turn anyway. After seeing the new weapons and equipment that Hai Han displayed this time, no one has the courage to think about confronting Hai Han again. possibility.

Zheng Zuo took the opportunity to test Beks' tone, and sure enough, as he expected, all the weapons and equipment displayed during this competition were not included in the sale list, and there were no exceptions or special treatment at all.

"Little prince, you are my own, and I will not hide it from you. The manufacturing process of these new weapons is very complicated, and the production capacity is far from enough to supply the needs of our army. Moreover, the design of these weapons involves a lot of secrets. We have to wait until our country sells them , that probably has to be after our country has more powerful weapons, and I can't give you an exact timetable." Bai Kesi's response was rather tactful, but his attitude was very firm.

Zheng Zuo was still unwilling to ask: "It's okay to buy a few renzhu rifles here and there for my father's personal guards to use?"

When Bai Kesi heard him bring up Zheng Bing's name, he smiled and said: "The king of Qingdu is very powerful in your country, who dares to threaten his safety? How can such a weapon be used for protection? The little prince is just joking."

After the Annan civil war, Zheng Bing actually controlled the Annan regime in the name of the regent. The original Li-style royal family had completely become a puppet, and the Ruan family who controlled the southern region was also liquidated. Zheng Bing overthrew the Li family. It was only a matter of time before the shi became king by himself, and there was no one in Annan who could threaten his rule.

Taking a ten thousand step back, even if something goes wrong with Zheng Yi, it must be that Zheng Zuo, who has already paved the way, will take over the power.Moreover, Zheng Zuo has Haihan's support behind him, and I believe that no one in Annan's country can compete with him.From this point of view, Zheng Zuo is the biggest beneficiary of this extreme situation.

Zheng Zuo had no choice but to find another breakthrough: "Since this kind of renzhu rifle cannot be sold, more ordinary rifles must be sold to foreign countries. The [-] rifles ordered in your country last year have not yet been delivered. With hundreds of guns, you have to hurry for me."

Bai Kesi said: "I remember that the delivery period agreed with your country was one year. Isn't it not yet one year? Please rest assured, little prince, all will be delivered to your country before the deadline!"

The weapons that Haihan sells the most are muskets, mainly the front-loading flintlock guns that were finalized in the early years.Every year, there are at least [-] muskets sold to Fujian and Annan alone.Coupled with scattered orders from other places, Haihan has sold more than [-] firearms per year on average in the past two years, which is a great test for the production capacity of the military industry department.

At the same time, the ordnance department has to give priority to meeting the needs of the Haihan Army's own weapons, so in the case of limited production capacity, it can only produce and deliver weapons for export in batches, and the entire delivery period may be as long as more than a year. .Although buyers will be dissatisfied with this delivery speed, after all, there is no other branch in this one, and there is no other place where you can buy weapons with comparable performance. No matter how slow Haihan's delivery is, you can only recognize it .

Of course, a regular customer like Zheng Zuo will rely on his relationship with Haihan's senior management to deliberately exert some pressure during communication, so as to force Haihan to deliver the order in time and in sufficient quantity.But when he met Bai Kesi, an old Jianghu who was good at Taijiquan, this trick was not so easy to use.

(End of this chapter)