"One ton of pure copper for the most commonly used 7.62mm rifles and machine gun bullets can produce almost 30,000 rounds. As for the Baoding factory, everyone knows that almost a quarter of the country's artillery shells and bullets are produced here...
Not to mention anything else, the daily output of rifle and machine gun bullets alone is more than 100,000 rounds. And those pistol bullets, artillery shells, warhead cartridge cases, combined, should use almost 5 tons of copper a day."
Mu Long walked around the room with his hands behind his forehead and his belly puffed out, his eyes shining with excitement. The two financial officers were sitting there with the selected data in front of them, looking at their bosses respectfully.
, listening.
Mu Long turned around and asked:
"5 tons of copper a day, how much does it cost in a year?"
A financial officer smiled respectfully and said: "Sir, it is 1825 tons."
Mu Long waved his hand and said through gritted teeth:
"That's 1,825 tons of copper a year! But how much do we see in the warehouse? 20 tons is amazing! 5 tons are used a day, and there are only 20 tons in the warehouse? Hum, there is no copper factory near Baoding. We have to go there.
To transport it more than 600 miles away!... With such a long distance, is it possible that he only travels every three or four days? It's not enough for gas!... Copper should be used to produce bullets, but he doesn't save copper, but instead saves so much
What does steel do? Do you think I don’t know?
"...use me as a mallet, right? Use steel and cast iron to make bullets, and use ink money to buy copper...This trick is now being played in arsenals across the country. He thinks I don't know? If he had explained to us properly,
, then it’s easy to say anything. Now that he’s using us as a mallet, we can’t be polite to him. Just think about how much Niu Zhongqing can make in a year.”
The financial officer under him had already settled down and said with a smile:
"Sir, one ton of pure copper now costs 554 oceans, and one ton of steel, the steel they use to make bullets, only costs 72 oceans per ton. In this way, he can get 482 oceans per ton. Using 1825 tons a year, that is
879650 Oceans! Sir, this is only calculated based on the weight of copper, not counting the difference in specific gravity between copper and steel! The specific gravity of copper is 8.9, while the specific gravity of steel is only 7.8. For example, if a warhead of the same caliber is made of copper, it will
Use 8.9 grams. If it is made of steel, you only need 7.8 grams. The less used part has not been taken into account!
"And, sir, this is still talking about steel. If he uses cast iron, a ton of cast iron only costs 25 oceans! He can ink 965,425 oceans a year! Sir!"
Mu Long'e sneered, calculating in his mind, and said:
"No, he doesn't dare to use all cast iron. Cast iron is too rough, and besides, he can't make much money... The most he can do is mix in part. We give him two equal parts, even if he makes 900,000 a year.
The ocean is ready."
"Sir!" Another financial officer immediately reminded, "This is just a small head! The big head is not copper, but tungsten!"
"Oh? By the way, I almost forgot. Armor-piercing bullets are also produced here."
Mu Long'e sneered and calculated one by one:
"Although the number of armor-piercing bullets is small, each round uses a lot of tungsten alloy! Those anti-tank guns are at least 14.5 mm in caliber, and there are more than 20 mm, more than 30 mm in caliber... and armor-piercing
Artillery shells, more than 40 millimeters, more than 50 millimeters... There are also naval gun shells, more than 100 millimeters, more than 200 millimeters... There are even bigger ones, coastal defense guns in various coastal defense zones, more than 200 millimeters.
There are also many doors... Hum, a few rounds of tungsten cores in that cannonball are enough for one ton... How much does tungsten alloy cost per ton?"
The so-called tungsten alloy, later known as "tungsten carbide", is 95% tungsten carbide plus 5% cobalt, and cobalt is more expensive than tungsten. It is also commonly known as "tungsten steel", but there is no iron component in it, so it is not steel.
The hardness of this thing is super high, comparable to diamond. It can be made into various lathe tools, which not only cut iron like mud, but also cut steel like mud. It is called the "teeth of industry" and is the basic raw material of a country's machinery manufacturing industry. And it
Resistant to high wear and high temperatures, it is also an important raw material for the arms industry.
…
"Sir," the first financial officer rushed to say, "One ton of tungsten alloy costs 8,630 oceans!"
Eight thousand oceans per ton... Such a sky-high price can almost be called a precious metal. But Mu Long'e understands that in the Qing Dynasty, tungsten is so expensive now. As the most important mineral resource for industry and military, tungsten is
There are very few in the Qing Dynasty. There is no way, God always seems to like to put certain things together in one place. For example, tungsten, 70 to 80% of the world is in Nanming, and the price in Nanming is less than half of this.
However, it was changed hands by Japan and then sold to the Qing Dynasty for such a sky-high price.
Of course, it could not have been that expensive, six or seven thousand a ton would be enough, but the Japanese middlemen fed all the relevant officials in the Qing Dynasty, and one ton was easily sold for one or two thousand more, so that in the Qing Dynasty,
Now we can only use more than 8,000 tons of tungsten.
Mu Longer estimated that the production of armor-piercing bullets is not as stable as ordinary bullets and artillery shells, but it is still very realistic for this factory to use two hundred tons of tungsten a year. He asked someone to do the calculations. If calculated at 200 tons, it would be
You can spend 1,726,000 oceans.
Adding up the two pens of copper and tungsten, this arsenal was worth 2,626,000 yuan a year!
More than 2.6 million oceans, and this is just this one arsenal. The arsenals across the country are basically like this, and this is already an open secret. It can be said that the entire empire has eliminated the emperor who is not greedy for ink, and everyone is greedy for ink. It’s just that
When it comes to ammunition, tens of millions of dollars go into the pockets of relevant officials across the country every year.
...The price is: except for a few Eight Banners Divisions and some key troops who can use copper bullets, 90% of the Han army uses steel bullets, or worse, cast iron bullets. The cannons also use steel bullet cases.
, instead of copper shells. Countless anti-tank guns, anti-tank guns, tank guns, coastal defense guns, naval guns...these weapons that require armor-piercing, the so-called "armor-piercing bullets" they fire basically have a "tungsten core"
They are all steel-core. The tungsten-core bullet has become a "black-core bullet", and you can imagine how much armor-piercing effect is left.
The price of bullets made of steel instead of copper is: First, the rifle line on the barrel wall is seriously worn, and the life of the weapon is greatly shortened. Second, steel is lighter than copper, and the range, bullet flight stability, etc. are inferior.
Quite a few. Third, steel does not have as good ductility as copper. It cannot quickly fill all the gaps in the barrel under the high pressure of explosion like copper, and the thrust effect in the barrel is not ideal. What's more terrible is that if the barrel is made
If it is not precise enough, the steel bullet may get stuck in one place and cannot be shot out, causing the chamber to explode. Fourth, it is not easy to deform when it is inserted into the human body and has low lethality. Fifth, it is easy to jam.…
In addition, there is another saying: the collision and friction between steel and steel can easily produce sparks, which can easily lead to fire...
…
The reason why the military industry system dares to cut corners so blatantly is because, in addition to corruption at all levels and a seamless protection network, a very important reason is that they know that these crudely made munitions will never be used. Since the end of the 19th century
Since the last Ming and Qing wars, arsenals all over the country have been producing these rags. Year after year, the old ones are scrapped and new ones are issued. The Qing Dynasty's "Thousand Division Army" has never fired a gun. Even if it is rags, it can still be used.
how is it?
Especially after the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Manchu Qing launched a strategic offensive against the Nanming, the entire empire, from the emperor to the common people, had a deep-rooted view: Only the Qing could attack, not the Nanming. In addition, the Nanming was extremely frightened.
The Yangtze River defense line seems to be able to block the Qing army. Thank God... "It is impossible for Nanming to attack, only the Qing Dynasty can attack." This concept has become even more entrenched.
However, under the influence of this concept, the originally relatively decadent Manchu Qing Dynasty quickly became more decadent after the success of the reform and great achievements... On the contrary, the originally relatively clear Nanming Dynasty, in the past few decades,
It has embarked on the path of gradually establishing a constitutional monarchy and making politics clearer.
Until the latest Ming and Qing wars not long ago, these military-industrial system bugs were really sweating. In this short battle, the quality problems of arms were not obviously exposed. The biggest reason was the actual confrontation with the Ming army.
The main ones were the Eight Banners Division. As an elite force, the Eight Banners Division's weapons and ammunition were all "specially supplied" and the quality was pretty good. Those Han troops were either killed and used as cannon fodder in the river, or they were captured
He returned to the south bank and became a prisoner. To exaggerate, he didn't even have a chance to shoot.
This "conflict" ended in a flash, and the entire corrupt Manchu official group breathed a long sigh of relief. Originally, they had even decided on their own scapegoats, but now it was a false alarm. Soon, the arms system began to act unscrupulously again
To manufacture junk arms, the entire corrupt official group began to collect protection fees unscrupulously, giving the green light for junk arms.
…
Mu Long'e ordered:
"Bring that plaque over again."
Two subordinates immediately took out a plaque from the cabinet. This plaque was delivered by Niu Zhongqing, who arranged for hundreds of workers to beat gongs and drums before eating "Women's Body Sheng" in the evening. There were four old-fashioned characters on it: Love the people as you are.
Zi. Although the characters are old-fashioned, they are valuable. First of all, the wooden plaque is made of two wide red sandalwood blocks. Rosewood is the most precious wood, and aniseed is even more scarce. Although this is not a whole plaque, it is
The two pieces are spliced together, and each red sandalwood board is extremely valuable. The four big characters are written by the first-class celebrities in the country and plated with real gold. This plaque alone is worth tens of thousands of oceans.
However, Mu Long'e, who has extensive experience in receiving gifts, naturally understands that the mystery usually lies behind the plaque. He has received countless such "sandwich plaques". But he hasn't had time to open this one yet.
He knocked with his hands, and sure enough, there was a thin layer of cardboard behind the red sandalwood board. At the same time, the scent of ink also came out. He gently pried it up, and a whole plaque of "paper" was exposed underneath.
Not banknotes.
These papers are stacked in stacks, as big as books, neatly arranged, and each stack is tied with kraft paper tape. Although they are not banknotes, they are printed with exquisite and complicated patterns, and there are also foreigners'
Avatars. Each one has Arabic numerals on it: 1000
The two subordinates understood it at a glance. Mu Long'e was well-informed and had received countless gifts, so he already understood what it was. The only thing he asked was:
"Which bank is this from?"
A financial officer swallowed lightly and said:
"Sir, from Citibank USA."
Well, this is the bearer bond of Citibank of the United States. Each bond is US$1,000.
This kind of bearer bond is equivalent to a large-denomination banknote, which can be exchanged for cash at the bank at any time. And it is not like a check or something that requires a real name. It is very convenient.
Mu Long grabbed the stacks of bonds, took them out, and placed them on the table. Although there were entire plaques lined up, each stack was not thick, only about a dozen of them. Because the plaques themselves were not thick.
.
After taking them all out, I counted them and found that there were 100 in total, worth one hundred thousand dollars.
It is equivalent to 329,000 clear oceans, or 143,000 open oceans.
Mu Longer sneered and threw the pile of bonds on the table:
"They really treat us like a hammer. They make more than two million yuan a year, and now they want to spend more than three hundred thousand to get rid of us? What a joke."