Liu Zhongjiao and his party continued their "Journey to Heaven" and marveled at this peaceful and prosperous age. What they didn't know was that behind this peaceful and prosperous age, there was actually an undercurrent surging. At this moment, the Ming Dynasty
It is still implementing its war preparation plan in an orderly manner and under strict confidentiality conditions.
In fact, even if there is no confidentiality, it is difficult for the outside world to know Ming's war preparation plan - because not many people pay attention to Ming in South America.
Moreover, not many people in the world can go deep into the vast and desolate Patagonia Plateau to explore the military power of the Ming Dynasty. The largest military camp of the Ming Dynasty, the Red Room Fort, is located in the desert of the Patagonia Plateau.
Although it is called a fort, it is actually a large comprehensive training base. Tens of thousands of troops are stationed here all year round and conduct training here.
The Imperial Army of the Ming Dynasty, er, the Royal Army, marches long distances from their base to come here every year for military training and exercises. The vast plateau is their training ground.
Although a country is strong, it will be in danger if it forgets to fight.
Transforming the army into actual combat was the basic national policy of the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Preparing for war is a perfectly normal thing.
On this day, a blue train roared along the track and entered the Red Room Fort. The so-called "Red Room" was not even the legendary "Red Tent", but... a red house. The barracks of the military camp were all red.
Brick building.
Entering the military camp, of course Emperor Zhu Da would not bring a group of female officers, but the Ming Dynasty also had female soldiers! Although the beautiful military uniforms worn by the female soldiers were full of the temptation of uniforms, Emperor Zhu Da would never take action.
The army!
The atmosphere should be as pure as possible.
As soon as the train stopped, among the officers standing on the platform, Liang Shan, the commander of the Southern Theater Command of the Ming Dynasty, hurriedly stepped forward among the officers standing on the platform, waiting expectantly for His Majesty the Emperor to get off the train.
The car door opened, and Emperor Zhu Da walked out, wearing an Army Generalissimo uniform as usual.
That's right, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the supreme commander of the Royal Army and Royal Navy of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Da also had the military rank of Grand Marshal of the Army, and even wore a gorgeous Grand Marshal uniform.
But now, the Royal Army of the Ming Dynasty has no marshal. Even Sun Hu is just a general. As for Liang Shan, the first army commander to invade Buenos Aires and the commander of the Southern Theater Command, also known as the Central Military Commission.
That's all.
After all, there will still be wars in the future, and there must always be some room for advancement for them.
Amidst the sound of military music, Liang Shan and others saluted.
"Your Majesty, welcome to Red Room Castle."
Nodding slightly, Zhu Xianhai walked up to the other officers as before and chatted with them one by one, reminiscing about old times. What is the biggest characteristic of the middle and high-level generals of the Ming Dynasty army? They are basically first-generation immigrants.
Their abilities may be limited, but it is undeniable that their loyalty is impeccable, and for them, His Majesty is not only Your Majesty, but also their savior!
After chatting briefly for a while, Emperor Zhu turned his head and asked.
"Okay, let's finish the conversation today. I will have a good chat with you at the banquet in the evening. How about it? Are you ready?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, we will be at the training ground in a moment."
Soon Emperor Zhu Da got into a Maxima car. After driving on the road for more than half an hour, the car stopped near a wilderness.
Here, there was a group of people waiting for a long time early, including officers in military uniforms and technicians in civilian uniforms.
"My lord, Zhu Sihai and Wang Chengxin respectfully welcome your Majesty!"
Zhu Sihai was the commander of the Ming Dynasty's First Armored Division. During the expedition to France, he commanded an armored brigade that defeated tens of thousands of Prussian troops. He was the commander best at mechanical warfare among the Ming Dynasty's army. In several exercises, his first
Armored divisions are the sharp knives of attack. They have severely damaged multiple infantry divisions and even infantry corps time and time again.
It was through those several exercises that Ming Dynasty determined its future development goal-armoring.
While other countries were still posing with their war horses, Ming Dynasty had already left them far behind. At least to a certain extent, this is the biggest advantage of being a future person. It can not only bring about technological changes, but also
What matters is the change in thinking.
It doesn't matter if others don't agree. Since Emperor Zhu Da has decided, they must either obey, agree, or... get out.
Emperor Zhu Da smiled and gave a non-standard military salute to the two, and then asked:
"I came today to see the "water tank" project. I heard that the "water tank" has been put into use?"
"Water tank" is a tank.
Anyone who knows something about the history of modern military equipment knows that tank is the transliteration of the English "tank", and its original meaning in English is "water tank".
In March 1915, two British naval officers designed a "land battleship" based on the American crawler tractor. In order to keep it secret, they gave it a name "tank" which translated into Chinese means "water tank".
From then on the name tank came up.
From the very beginning of its creation, tanks were born to break the deadlock in trench warfare and to crush infantry.
After returning from France, Emperor Zhu Da of course also thought about tanks. After all, although armored vehicles performed very well in France and brought land and warships to the Ming Dynasty, armored vehicles... sometimes got stuck in the mud. After all, wheels
It's a normal armored vehicle.
But the tank is different. It was invented to travel in the wild and on muddy battlefields.
Therefore, after returning to China, Emperor Zhu Da assigned the task of developing tanks.
The world's first tank, the Mark 1 tank, weighed more than 18 tons. Such a huge size and weight may be standard equipment for tanks. But it is definitely not suitable for this era.
Why is it not suitable?
First, heavy tanks have too high requirements for bridges, and not every bridge can meet its needs.
Second, the structure of heavy tanks is too complex.
Well, actually the Mark 1 tank is not complicated either.
However, in the eyes of Emperor Zhu Da, it was still too complicated.
What Ming Dynasty needed was a simple, cheap tank that could even be built using existing parts.
How cheap can it be?
Just a little more expensive than a horse and carriage.
Is there such a good thing in the world?
Isn’t this a daydream?
Nothing is absolute. How can there be no exceptions in the world?
Standing on the shoulders of historical giants, Emperor Zhu Da was definitely a very modest person. He liked to learn from the great teachers in history and learn from their strengths.
Based on the reality of the 19th century, if we are to develop weapons that transcend the times, then the best reference objects should be Japan and Italy, the most typical representatives of poor imperialism in World War II.
Whether it is the Japanese "Bean Tank", which is the Type 94 ultra-light tank, or the CV29 light tank produced by Fiat, they are the best reference objects.
This kind of tank weighs only 1.7 tons, and the armor thickness is only 4-9 mm. Although it is thin, it is invincible in this era. You must know that the armor of the "Tiger Armored Vehicle" is not that thick.
An ultra-light tank with such a flexible tonnage is a cross-era weapon specially prepared for the Ming Dynasty!
However, after much thought, Emperor Zhu Da still did not choose it.
Because it... is still too complicated!
It definitely does not meet the needs of Ming Dynasty.