Today, both sides of the Dawen River have become large-scale industrial areas, with an employed population of more than 400,000.
Zuo Mengeng can proudly say that this is definitely the largest industrial cluster in the world today.
At the same time, the permanent population of nearby Dongping County has exceeded 700,000, and all walks of life are extremely prosperous.
There are two supervisors in the entire industrial zone.
One is Jiang Wei, and the other is Zuo Dai.
Both are responsible for industry, but their division of labor is clear.
Jiang Wei focused on civil industry and regional administration.
Zuo Dai, on the other hand, focused on the military industry.
Arriving at the military industrial area, Zuo Mengeng was invited to the Weapons Research Institute.
"Look at our newly designed artillery."
Sun Yuanhua went to Jiaozhou Bay to improve naval guns. The research and development of artillery here was temporarily managed by Bi Maokang.
The old man was completely rejuvenated, and he was very happy all day long as he watched the weapons he imagined becoming reality one after another.
"This cannon..."
Placed in the small square of the Military Research Institute was an artillery piece that was very similar to an infantry artillery piece. But Zuo Mengeng had a keen eye and immediately noticed the difference.
"Mr. Dongjiao, did you use wrought iron casings?"
Bi Maokang was filled with emotion.
"No wonder everyone says you are the best military strategist in the world. This cannot be hidden from your eyes."
Looking back, Zuo Dai explained why the Wuhan Research Institute developed artillery in this way.
"After our army's artillery adopted new gunpowder, the frontline troops responded that the chamber explosion rate became higher. After thorough research, we found that it was because the current rifle barrel was too thin."
Zuo Mengeng understood it as soon as he heard it.
The earliest rifles used black powder. Because the material was steel, the barrel could be cast very thin.
However, when the gunpowder was replaced with collodion, the rifle barrel could no longer support the same amount of powder.
Zuodai added: "We originally planned to thicken the barrel, but found that if we did that, the weight of the entire artillery would increase by more than half. In this case, it would not be in line with the positioning of the rifle. After everyone brainstormed, we finally decided to use familiar
Iron is used to make a sleeve outside the steel barrel."
The Wuhan Research Institute plans to surprise Zuo Mengeng with a new type of artillery. Unfortunately, what has Zuo Mengeng not seen before?
He was afraid that they would all be shaken out and frighten these talents who had been cultivated with great difficulty.
It's just a matter of tightening the barrel, which is the only way in the history of artillery development.
The famous Armstrong gun uses this barrel technology.
Even so, this new infantry gun still gave Zuo Mengeng a great deal of relief.
Because the open breech behind the gun barrel has been eliminated.
Instead...
It's the breech block.
In other words, this is a veritable breech-loading cannon.
"Following your design, we worked on it for a long time and finally came up with this threaded breech block."
Zuo Mengeng squatted behind the gun, pushed the breech block to fit it with the breech, and then turned the handle. In the crisp and smooth clicking sound of the gears, he could clearly feel that the breech block and the breech were tightly integrated.
"What about the cannonballs? Have you made a one-piece cannonball?"
Everyone looked embarrassed and their eyes wandered.
It was Bi Maokang who exposed the truth.
"There's no progress on the forging machine, so don't even think about integrated artillery shells. But we have come up with separate ammunition, which can be used."
Bringing up the new ammunition, Zuo Mengeng understood.
Bi Maokang and the others separated the artillery shells that originally needed to be loaded into one body.
A warhead is a warhead, and a cartridge is a cartridge.
Unlike the metal cartridge of the original rifle, the new cartridge this time is made of paper.
"We took inspiration from the striker gun and came up with this paper cartridge that was individually charged. When you shoot, you insert the warhead first, then the cartridge. Close the breech, and then fire."
Separately loaded artillery shells are not unusual at all, and they are still popular in later generations even in the 21st century.
There are three issues that Zuo Menggen is concerned about.
"How's the range?"
It seems that Zuo Dai and others have done experiments.
"If gunpowder is used, the range can reach 2,300 meters, far exceeding the original rifle."
Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but nod, he couldn't be more satisfied with this data.
As a battalion-level infantry support artillery, with such a range in this era, it is completely unbelievable.
Second question.
"After firing, how do you deal with the debris in the barrel?"
For paper medicine cartridges, no matter how high the temperature of the gunpowder is after deflagration, he believes that there will be paper scraps that cannot be burned cleanly.
And these things remaining in the barrel are definitely hidden dangers.
Zuo Dai seeks truth from facts.
"We plan to develop a brush. We only need to use the brush to clean the barrel after each firing. It should not be a big problem."
Zuo Mengeng looked strange.
Unexpectedly, they just ordered to collect pig bristles and make brushes, and the Wuyan Institute came up with the idea.
When he told his order, everyone was overjoyed.
"This is called coincidence, and the new cannon should be released."
Zuo Mengeng asked the last question.
"This medicine cartridge is made of paper. It is afraid of water and damage. How do you plan to deal with it during normal transportation and storage?"
This Wuhan Academy really has a solution.
"We made a bamboo tube with a shape that fits the medicine cartridge. Each bamboo tube can store one medicine cartridge daily. When using it, just take the medicine cartridge out of the bamboo tube. The bamboo tube has a cover, which is waterproof and
Don’t worry about breakage.”
This is equivalent to adding a protective film to the drug cartridge. Although it will increase a lot of weight, it is also the best way at present.
Bamboo is everywhere, and weaving bamboo tubes is an ancient craft that has been passed down from generation to generation, so it is a great use of nature.
Zuo Mengeng thought for a while and pointed to the increasingly prosperous Dongping County in the north: "I suggest that the equipment department can leave things like making bamboo tubes to the private sector. It can not only save costs, but also help the private sector generate income. Kill two birds with one stone."
The current industrial development is obviously military-first.
This is the need of the situation and is inevitable.
But Zuo Menggeng always kept in mind the outcome of a disintegrated superpower in later generations, knowing that if he only considered military affairs, the consequences would be very serious.
Using the military to drive civilian use and developing the economy in an all-round way is the correct line.
The shell sleeve of the cartridge does not have any technical content, but it can be seen that the demand of the new army must be great.
Giving orders for this thing to the private sector will definitely improve the livelihood of a large number of people.
After Zuo Dai thought about it for a while, he understood.
"It's still your foresight."
The Wuyan Institute gave Zuo Mengeng a good gift with a new type of artillery. Zuo Menggeng also had an idea and needed help from the Wuyan Institute.
"Mr. Dongjiao, after several battles, I discovered a problem. That is, there is still a huge gap in our army's field firepower."
Bi Maokang is a weapons expert, but not a military expert. He has never been on the battlefield and does not know the situation on the battlefield.
Hearing Zuo Mengeng mention the problem, he immediately got into the mood.
"Our army's weapons, whether they are muskets or artillery, are far more powerful than those of today. But in order to be effective in the wild, especially when facing large-scale cavalry, barbed wire and trenches are still needed. But juniors
Thinking about it, our enemy is not stupid and cannot wait for us to repair our fortifications before attacking every time. If our infantry encounters a cavalry surprise attack in an open area in the wild, even if we can win, I am afraid it will be a tragic victory. So I
The army also needs a weapon that can produce a large-scale killing effect in a short period of time to make up for the shortcomings of field operations."