No type of gun has ever been so highly praised. In a Paraná naval battle or a river battle, the performance of the Type 68 20mm Gatling cannon simply blinded everyone's eyes.
In this era of stand-up guns with a rate of fire of only 1 to 3 rounds per minute, the rate of fire of hand-operated Gatling cannons is as high as 150 to 200 rounds. Although the 20mm shells are not very powerful, they are useful for shooting.
The wooden hull boat is definitely very handy.
For this reason, after the Battle of Paraná, after realizing the astonishing power of the Gatling-type cannon, the Navy immediately placed a new order with the arsenal - to develop a more powerful Gatling-type cannon with a caliber of 40 mm.
Left and right, the range is 2,500 meters, and it can penetrate 40 mm to 50 mm thick steel plates at a distance of 300 meters...
Although the requirements put forward by the Navy seem to be very harsh, everyone knows what changes it will bring to naval warfare once such a weapon appears on the sea.
In fact, after the Battle of Paraná, the Type 68 Gatling gun became famous in one battle. Nanhua's large gunboats attracted the attention of navies from various countries almost immediately.
"Its speed is extremely fast. It is said that it can reach more than 20 knots. The speed itself is its weapon. This high-speed boat is difficult to hit. Even if it is hit with a shotgun, it is difficult to cause a fatal blow.
But it also possesses an extremely deadly weapon - the Gatling cannon!"
"We have reason to believe that Nanhua's Gatling-type machine gun has a caliber of about 20 mm, and its shell weight should not exceed about 150 grams. It is believed that this kind of shell using a special fuse is the source of its power.
!”
"With the help of the released Brazilian naval officer, we learned that this small artillery shell uses an impact fuse, which can easily blast a book-sized hole in a wooden-hulled warship. The most deadly thing is that it
It can fire hundreds of shells in one minute!"
…
Almost immediately, naval attaches from the United Kingdom, France and other countries stationed in Brazil or Buenos Aires learned about this powerful artillery through various channels.
They don’t understand!
The total tonnage of the British Royal Navy in 1870 was 630,000 tons, but the number of unarmored ships was as much as 300,000 tons. The French Navy had 457,000 tons of ships, half of which were unarmored. As for the Russian Navy, more than 80% of the warships
They are all unarmored ships.
What is an unarmored ship?
Well, it's a wooden-hulled warship.
The Battle of Paraná proved that wooden-hulled warships were vulnerable to Gatling cannon fire!
However, the navies of various countries have a large number of wooden-hulled warships, ranging from half to 70 to 80%. How can they not care about this kind of "sea assassin" who can easily send wooden-hulled warships to the bottom of the sea?
While those European naval yearbooks used a lot of words to describe that magical weapon, the naval attachés from various European countries in South China all worked hard to learn about that weapon through various channels.
Of course, it would undoubtedly be better if we could buy that kind of weapon. However, this is obviously impossible. How can a military weapon be easily revealed to others?
Philippe Restaurant in Buenos Aires is a high-end French restaurant, and embassy officials have always been regular customers here. After all, the British and French embassies are nearby, and this is what the diplomatic officials of the two countries have communicated with in private.
place.
"Want to try the victory wine?"
Marty asked as he looked at the menu.
"I heard that it is the favorite spirit of the South Chinese people."
"Still drink red wine. The taste of Victory wine is much worse than cheap corn whiskey. It is difficult for Europeans to adapt to that taste."
Bell shook his head and said that he had tasted that kind of wine at a reception held by the South China Army, and until now he still couldn't figure out why the South China people liked that kind of liquor.
Although they represent two countries, they are like friends when they sit at the dinner table and chat. In fact, they are really friends. Their status as soldiers does not hinder their friendship.
After ordering the meal, Bell stretched his neck and looked around, and then he said.
"Marty, you must have come to me this time because of that thing!"
"That's for sure. We all know that it, like the spaceship, has fundamentally changed the rules of war. Of course, it may not be effective against armored ships, but both the Royal Navy and the French Navy have a large number of
Wooden-hulled warships, even more so in other countries."
"It's true. After the armored ship appeared, all the wooden-hulled ships became obsolete overnight. But after it came out, all the wooden-hulled ships were eliminated!"
Bell nodded in agreement. At this time, the waiter brought the wine and poured it for them. They toasted to each other and sipped the red wine, and Marty glanced at him.
"I asked you to come this time. In fact, you also know what I think. I hope that we can jointly make requests to Nanhua,"
Marty continued,
"We can all make it, but we all know that they not only have a new type of small shell fuse, but they also have some kind of more powerful explosive."
As the British naval attache in Buenos Aires, Marty made this judgment based entirely on some kind of guesswork.
"We all know that Nanhua's chemical industry is very developed. As early as ten years ago, they had already produced new explosives. It is normal for them to be able to produce new explosives now."
Bell took a bite of the steak and then continued.
"But we all know that this is just speculation! They attach great importance to confidentiality!"
"Yes, Nanhua is a place that pays great attention to confidentiality. I have been to that place. In that place, they will only show you what they let you see. You can't understand the rest at all. What is it called? Even if it is you
I want to know through some people, but I can't understand the confidentiality level? Is that what you mean? Not everyone can access those secrets, just like an airship. Even if we purchase the airship, we cannot send our engineers to supervise the manufacturing.
, also because of the confidentiality level, at best we can only understand the progress."
While complaining about Nanhua's confidentiality system, Marty had a complaint in his mind. Originally, according to the practice of various countries, after customizing weapons, people can be sent to the factory to visit the manufacturing process. In fact, this is an opportunity to steal the work, but in Nanhua,
But the side is different. I won’t show it to you at all.
At most, the buyer is invited to visit a few times during the manufacturing period, that is, to see the manufacturing progress of the ordered airship.
As for visiting other places, it is simply impossible. Of course, there is no trace of the manufacturing process or full supervision.
"No, it's the same for us."
In this regard, Nanhua is still very fair, treating both the French and the British equally.
"But, you can easily buy what you need from them!"
Marty couldn't help but complain. Compared to France, they have a stronger sense of precaution against Britain. They don't share many things with Britain at all.
"Yes,"
Bell leaned on the chair, which was very comfortable. With a smile on his face, he looked at Marty and said.
"After all, we are closer to them."
"So, I want to ask you a favor."
Marty looked at him and said,
"You know, we all need that guy, but you can get it easier. I hope that after you get it, you can give us some. Of course, I will definitely repay your friendship. After all, this is
For the sake of our friendship."
When he said the word "friendship", Marty deliberately emphasized his tone. Everyone knew very well what his friendship meant.
"For our friendship?"
Bell said with a smile.
"I don't know, how much do you think our friendship is worth?"
Everyone is realistic, and Bell is no exception. I'm afraid he is a French officer, but so what? He also doesn't think it's a big deal to betray something. Besides, this is not betraying any French secrets.
Instead, we took out some of the things France bought from Nanhua.
This is not a betrayal of France. At most, it is a betrayal of Nanhua. Of course, this betrayal must come at a price, and the British must pay for what they get.
"£10,000!"
Marty made an offer that no one could refuse.
"Ten thousand..."
Bell looked at Marty in surprise. He was silent for a while before speaking.
"Yes, but I need time. I need time to convince the Nanhua people to sell those weapons to us."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Today is the fourth update. Something was delayed yesterday. I will continue the fourth update tomorrow... Please subscribe, collect, reward, and all kinds of things. I have created a book club group: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join, discuss the plot, and deduce the plot.