Chapter 155 Li Xiucheng's Defeat
Chapter 155 Li Xiucheng's Defeat
"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a minute."
Shao Quanzhong readily agreed and then began to look at the arms project.
Machine guns are powerful and consume a lot of bullets.
From the perspective of later generations, the performance of the 1.0 version of the Gatling six-barrel manual machine gun was nothing, and the firing rate was only rounds per minute. In a battle, if machine guns fired for five minutes, rounds of bullets would be used.
If we can't produce bullets ourselves, then we'll have to wait for cargo ships to bring back bullets and send out silver.
Fortunately, as long as we have the fulminate of mercury primer technology, it is not difficult to imitate this 19th century bullet, and the requirement for accuracy is not that high.
The bullets have been successfully trial-produced. The next step is to build a new machine gun bullet production line at the Wen Arsenal under the guidance of experts from the Ordnance Institute.
Only one Williams rapid-fire cannon was obtained. It was a direct-fire cannon that relied on hand-cranked opening and closing of the barrel to assist loading and increase the firing rate.
When it was first obtained, Ding Gongchen led his men to collect some ammunition for test firing. The shooting distance was two thousand meters and the effective range was one thousand meters. If the gunners cooperated skillfully, the firing rate could indeed reach twenty rounds per minute.
This type of gun has a lot of problems. Because the opening and closing of the barrel is controlled by hand, the barrel pressure cannot be too high, and it is affected by the strength of the soldier who cranks the handle. The caliber of the gun cannot be too large, so it can only fire the smallest one-pound solid bullet.
After firing, the barrel would quickly overheat, and a soldier would have to be responsible for pouring water on it. After firing for a while, they had to stop and clean the barrel.
Once the battle started, gunpowder smoke and water vapor filled the air around the guns, greatly reducing the gunner's aiming accuracy.
With so many problems, the only advantage is that it is fast.
One beauty can cover up a hundred uglinesses, Shao Quanzhong sighed, this thing was born at the wrong time, only I can use it.
This thing works together with the Gatling gun to deliver intensive firepower from both far and near. It's useless against bunkers, but good for hitting thieves.
The first generation Gatling gun had a range of 1,000 meters and an effective range of 500 meters. The Williams rapid-fire cannon had a range of 2,000 meters and an effective range of 1,000 meters. The enemy could be chased two miles away without even moving a step.
If it was available, Shao Quanzhong would not bother Mr. Ding to copy it. This thing is like the Hale rocket. Once the breech-loading gun appears, it will immediately become obsolete. After more than ten years of hard work, there are only a few dozen guns. It is not worth the trouble.
It’s a pity that this cannon was made in the Confederate Army’s territory and cannot be purchased.
Its fate is the same as that of the Gatling gun. Due to some unexplainable reasons, it cannot be equipped in large numbers to the troops in the short term.
Fortunately, the Maxim was not released until a long time later, so Dr. Gatling would eventually make money. Before the factory that produced this thing could open up its market, the breech-loading cannon was released.
As a result, this incredible rapid-fire cannon was doomed to fail, to the point that Shao Quanzhong had never heard of its existence before.
Now the sample cannon that Yang Changjiu led his men to seize at the cost of the lives of his soldiers has been dismantled into parts.
Fortunately, Mr. Ding Gongchen is not a naughty boy who would dismantle the alarm clock, and he can put it back after taking it apart.
Old man Dante looked melancholy. "We can imitate this cannon. After all, cannons are cruder than guns and easier to imitate. But we can't produce the springs used in the hand-cranked mechanism. Our ironworks in Xuzhou can't even produce spring steel."
It's all about technical barriers. It's very difficult to find out the secret of spring steel, because people are very strict about it.
Shao Quanzhong scratched his head. "Measure the specifications and send them to Sven. Ask him to buy springs from the United States. 1,000 of them. If they break, they can be replaced easily."
This is the only way for now. This gun cannot be imitated within a few months.
Modern spring steel was invented by the Prussians. Shao Quanzhong began to plan. If he couldn't steal the technology, he would just import it. He didn't mind spending a little more money. The problem was that even if he paid, they might not sell him the key technology.
What kind of bait can we use to make the foreigners voluntarily offer their technology to our China?
This matter was not urgent, Shao Quanzhong was ready to think about it slowly. After spending half a day at the arsenal, it was already afternoon when Shao Quanzhong arrived at Xiaoxiang Cliff.
As soon as he entered the door and kowtowed to his godfather, before he could stand up, Qiao Songnian kicked Shao Quanzhong on the butt.
"You are a provincial governor now, don't you have any patience? Your godfather asked you to come, and you dare to be so unhurried?"
Shao Quanzhong smiled playfully and stepped forward to give Master Qiao a back rub. "Godfather, calm down. I'm busy urging the Green Rapid Cannon and the Rapid-Fire Cannon to be used. They are our powerful weapons for winning battles."
Qiao Songnian was furious, "We don't even have a chance to conquer Nanjing, how can we win a battle? Your two things are so heavy, how can they be used to chase Shi Dakai in the mountains?"
"Godfather, be polite, be polite. You are one of the most famous writers and celebrities in the Qing Dynasty. How can you use vulgar language like a child?"
"Let's not talk about those annoying things. If Li Xiucheng enters Anhui, won't our territory be destroyed? What should we do? Can the Huai Army resist Li Xiucheng's 200,000-man army?"
"It's a small matter, a small matter. Nanjing is under siege and in imminent danger. Why would Li Xiucheng attack Anhui? He is just a passing immortal, borrowing the road to attack Wuchang. His idea is to attack Wei to save Zhao. So, if he is willing to borrow the road, then lend it to him."
"If he causes chaos in Anhui, wouldn't it be the same as attacking Wei to save Zhao?"
"In Wuchang, he can join forces with Chen Decai in Shaanxi to the north. In Anhui, there are many weirs everywhere, which is enough for him to survive for a year or two. So, godfather, you can relax. He won't be interested in Anhui."
"Report! Urgent report from the Intelligence Department. Li Xiucheng's way to Hubei was blocked by the Hunan Army. Bao Chao and Li Xuyi jointly surrounded him. Zeng Guoquan also withdrew ten battalions from the front line surrounding Nanjing to support Hubei. Li Xiucheng saw that there was no opportunity to take advantage of Hubei, so he led his troops north and is now approaching Shouzhou."
Ahem, Li Xiucheng, you are so disrespectful to me. You slapped me in the face in front of your godfather.
"Foster father, I will arrange the defense of Anhui right now. Someone, send a telegram to Fengyang and ask Shao Hengzhong to lead the left wing of the infantry to guard Shouzhou. Bring 20 Green Rapid Guns and tell him that defending Shouzhou is victory and he is not allowed to attack. If his soldiers dare to leave the Shouzhou city wall, I will kill them directly."
Lord Qiao was very worried, "You only sent four battalions to guard Shouzhou?"
"Godfather, you don't know the firepower of the Green Rapid Cannon. Given the situation in Shouzhou, if Li Xiucheng cannot capture the city in three days, he will definitely withdraw his troops."
Shao Quanzhong looks confident of victory here because Li Xiucheng also attacked Shouzhou in history. He doesn't believe that Miao Peilin can defend Shouzhou, but Shao Quanzhong with the Gatling gun can't.
As it turned out, not only did Lord Qiao worry in vain, but even Shao Quanzhong's worries were unnecessary.
Shao Hengzhong had just arrived in Shouzhou and hadn't even fought a single battle when Li Xiucheng withdrew his troops, but was still defeated.
Historically, when Li Xiucheng attacked Shouzhou, the northern Anhui region was devastated by Miao Peilin's gang, and Li Xiucheng's 200,000-man army could not find food and had to retreat.
This time, Li Xiucheng was even more miserable than in history. After crossing the Yangtze River and landing in Jiangbei, he never got any food.
There are many weirs in northern Anhui, and it is difficult to attack any of them. Even if you try your best to capture one, how much food can a weir have? Two hundred thousand troops are not enough to fill the gaps. It is even more difficult to attack a city. Once you stop the troops under a strong city, the Hunan Army will attack again, and the consequences will be disastrous.
To the west, the main force of the Hunan Army blocked the way. Li Xiucheng led his army all the way north, and unexpectedly, all the territory was fortified and cleared, and full of weirs were built. When the troops arrived in Shouzhou, they had run out of food, the troops mutinied, and disbanded, disbanded...
The followers fled, and Li Xiucheng led the main force to flee south in panic.
Shao Quanzhong calculated the time and rushed back to Fengyang, "Let's go! Let's go to Sichuan!"
Sixteen thousand troops boarded the ship and changed to a steam freighter at the port. The Haichang took the lead, going up the Yangtze River to Sichuan.
As soon as we reached the familiar Wuwei River, we found that the river was crowded with thousands of boats competing, and we just happened to catch Li Xiucheng's defeated troops crossing the river back to the south bank.
"Wow, I can catch up with him? Ma Han, fire your cannon and beat him up!"
(End of this chapter)