Chapter 524: New Weapons Beyond Shao Dashuai's Knowledge
Chapter 524: New Weapons Beyond Shao Dashuai's Knowledge
A 30-ton boat came rushing over and Zeng Xiaoyi jumped onto Shao Quanzhong's speedboat.
"Uncle, the losses from this explosion have been calculated. There were no casualties. However, two flat-bottomed boats carrying coal from Xuzhou to Hailing capsized when passing through the Gaoyou Lake section of the Grand Canal, resulting in the loss of 500 tons of coal."
Xiao Yi's Finney Statistical Investigation Bureau is responsible for all kinds of investigations, and this kind of emergency is also under his jurisdiction.
Gaoyou Lake used to be very prosperous. After Tesla moved into the lotus pond, thunderstorms occurred every day nearby, so the locals moved away. There are no fishermen in Gaoyou Lake, so there were no casualties.
But the fishermen's boats are still there. Now the lake is full of small wooden boats fishing, and they are no longer afraid of thunder. The fishermen have a good harvest, which seems to be much more than 500 tons of coal.
"Well, I guess the price of smoked fish in Hailing is going to drop."
Shao Quanzhong could only comfort himself in this way.
Tesla, the culprit of the explosion, had no awareness of the fact that he had caused the accident. He was very excited to see Shao Quanzhong rushing over.
"Shao, through this experiment, I have mastered the secret of the Earth's magnetic field. I found that as long as electromagnetic energy is emitted along the same latitude, the loss during power transmission can be minimized."
"At the same time, the higher the voltage, the longer the transmission distance and the less power loss. This experiment was limited by the power of the power plant, and I only got 20 million volts. As long as there are enough power plants, I will have no problem getting 100 million volts of high voltage."
Tesla looked ambitious. "So, I decided to build 20 50-megawatt thermal power stations as energy sources, connect them in parallel, and increase the voltage of the next electromagnetic energy emission to million volts."
Shao Quanzhong's body swayed. What the hell, 100 million volts? You boiled Gaoyou Lake with these 20 million volts. How much trouble can 100 million volts cause?
My dear brother, you are really good at getting into trouble. Even I, the best troublemaker in the world, have to admit that I am better than you. I, your big brother, can no longer protect you.
Tesla was just a little crazy, but not stupid at all. He knew what Shao Quanzhong was worried about. "Shao, don't worry. I won't use 100 million volts of high voltage in Gaoyou Lake. It's too dangerous."
Shao Quanzhong let out a long sigh, "So you know the danger."
Tesla was very proud. "Of course I know. I have tried it so many times. When has the lightning ever struck me?"
Tesla patted Shao Quanzhong on the shoulder and said, "Shao, you are very good. The territory you rule is very vast, and there is enough space for me to conduct dangerous experiments."
Shao Quanzhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. My ability was recognized by Tesla, should I express my honor?
Tesla took out a stack of maps from the drawer. Shao Quanzhong took a look and found that they were maps of the Crimean Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty, including the vast Siberia.
Tesla took a pencil and drew a circle at the northern end of Sakhalin Island. "I've taken a fancy to this place. There are few people within a few hundred miles. The Siberian ice sheet at the same latitude has no one for thousands of square kilometers. It is very suitable for me to conduct large-scale electromagnetic energy transmission experiments."
"Shao, prepare a construction team for me, dispatch a warship, and move my entire laboratory to Sakhalin Island. Build me a 300-meter-high iron tower there, and build 20 power stations around it."
Shao Quanzhong scratched his head and said, "Xiao Te, there is ice on the sea over there..."
"I know, so there's no rush. We can start when the business opens in June next year. During this time, I decided to take a vacation and help you design something that can make money."
Huh, huh, huh? Tesla feels that he has caused too much trouble and caused me huge losses, so he wants to make up for it? The layman group is expected to produce results.
Sure enough, after this incident, Tesla suddenly stopped making any noise, and there was no more thunder in Gaoyou Lake. Two months later, Shao Quanzhong called the layman group and asked, "Did Tesla invent anything?"
"Report to the Marshal, no, he is meditating."
Uh? What's this concept? I've never heard that inventing something requires meditation like the Indian Brahmin monks.
Well, geniuses are different from ordinary people. Shao Quanzhong decided to ignore Tesla’s affairs and just not get into trouble.
Shao Quanzhong was busy. He went to the Haoguozi Company to look at new guns.
Paul Mauser received Shao Quanzhong, the younger brother of the Mauser brothers. His elder brother unfortunately passed away last year, and the younger brother took over the position of vice president of German technology of Haoguozi Company.
"This is a bolt-action rifle of our new design. It has an ejector and a five-round magazine. The caliber of the bullet has been reduced to make it more suitable for using smokeless powder. I named it Mauser 83."
Well, there was no Mauser 83 in history, there were only Mauser 71 and Mauser 98. Shao Quanzhong spent money to let Nobel develop smokeless gunpowder ahead of time, and Mauser 98 was also released ahead of time.
It is said that after using smokeless gunpowder, the original Mauser 71 bullet had excess kinetic energy. Moreover, the old gun had no magazine and no ejector, so it was time to design a new gun.
However, the designers at Haoguozi Military Industry are all serious designers. In other words, their minds are not as imaginative as Tesla's.
When serious designers design, they have to conduct many final tests, repeatedly ponder and understand the subtle differences between various plans, and then consider battlefield needs, unlike Tesla who comes up with something at will.
So the new gun took five years to come out, and what Shao Quanzhong saw was already a mature and finalized product.
This is the normal speed of technological development. There is only one genius like Tesla who can design a new gadget in three to five days.
I weighed the new gun in my hand and pulled the bolt to test it. Yes, it was definitely the Mauser 98 that I remembered as a magic gun, not the Committee 1888 that the Germans used to fool Li Hongzhang.
The thing was poorly made. After the Germans produced 190 million of them, they found that the quality was not good, so they gave it the name of Mauser to deceive Li Hongzhang and sold it to the Qing Dynasty at that time. Later, the Qing Dynasty copied it and made it into Hanyang, which deceived Zhang Zhidong again.
Next to it is another anti-material rifle that shoots armor-piercing bullets and can attack tanks. It requires two people to operate. Well, the Mauser 1918 appeared ahead of time.
"Ren Jun, give awards to the design team—"
"Wait a minute!"
Paul Mauser quickly stopped him. "We don't need the bonus, but we have a request. Can we, the German experts, be allowed to return to serve in our country?"
Ah? You're leaving? Shao Quanzhong subconsciously wanted to stop him, but before he could open his mouth, Isabel ran over and said, "Shao, your phone is on."
The phone was a mobile phone, carried on the back of a guard, an overweight version of the first generation.
Shao Quanzhong picked up the phone and heard Yuan Rong'an's voice.
"Uncle, I don't know what you are planning. Now our five divisions have to go back to China. In Nanyang, the rule of the Red-haired devils has become extremely strong. We will suffer a great loss in this disaster relief. Should I just go back to Lan Fang?"
Shao Quanzhong quickly comforted him, "Don't worry, don't worry about Zhang Xiaoda's strategy, it won't be bad. You should first organize the resettlement of those able-bodied men, and make sure to have good relations with the natives and the red-haired devils, and the situation will turn around."
After appeasing his old boss and putting down the radio, Shao Quanzhong said to himself, "It seems that we need to increase our aid to Germany to make Waldersee go crazy faster."
He immediately turned around and smiled at Paul Mauser, "Your request is fine, but the bonus will still be paid. Also, you are still employees of Good Fruit Company. Return to Germany to work for a few years, and I will pay your salary."
Who says foreigners have straight knees? Mauser knelt down with a group of German experts, "We will never forget the great kindness of the Marshal to Germany. Once the situation in Germany improves, we will definitely come back to serve the Marshal."
The German experts immediately packed their bags, took the technical drawings of the Mauser 98 and Mauser anti-tank guns, and returned to their country to serve on the newly produced high-speed cruise ship of the Waigaoqiao Shipyard.
The Germans left, and Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Ren Jun, mass production of Mauser 98 and anti-tank guns——"
"Wait a minute!"
"Huh? Who else but Tesla dares to interfere with my issuing of orders?" This voice sounded familiar, but it seemed like I hadn't heard it for a long time.
Shao Quanzhong turned around and saw a tall, handsome and good-looking young military officer appear before him.
Oh, isn't this Zhang Zihuai? When did he come back from Madrid?
"Report to the Marshal, I am here to report on my duties and will be back to Madrid soon."
That's good, that's good, Madrid needs you.
"Marshal, I think the Germans have a problem with their thinking. This anti-tank gun can be equipped in large quantities, but the Mauser 83 is not suitable for the battlefield."
Shao Quanzhong put his hands behind his back and looked at Zhang Zihuai, "You know shit."
In Shao Quanzhong's impression, this is the best gun.
Zhang Zihuai's neck stiffened, "Marshal, you didn't participate in the most intense part of the European war, but I have actual combat experience."
"When I was fighting the rebels in Madrid, I found that the battles between the two sides were basically within a range of 400 meters. This Mauser rifle has a range of 1000 meters, which is a waste."
Huh? Zhang Zihuai has the goods. Shao Quanzhong was not so old and confused as to be complacent. "That is to say, it can be made lighter, with a smaller bullet, and easier to carry?"
Zhang Zihuai shook his head, "No, I have more requests."
"The guns we have now are bolt-action rifles for long-range fire, submachine guns and shotguns for short-range fire, and no medium-range rifles."
"A bolt-action rifle has a range of 1000 meters, a submachine gun has an effective range of only 150 meters, and a shotgun is even shorter, so it can only be used in trenches."
"During combat, firepower is most needed at a range of about 400 meters, so the bullets can be made smaller, but the number should be greater, preferably 30 rounds."
"At the same time, it needs to be able to shoot like a submachine gun while marching and assaulting, and also be able to aim and fire single shots. If such a gun is available, both bolt-action rifles and submachine guns will be eliminated."
Shao Quanzhong thought for a long time but couldn't figure out which gun would meet this requirement.
However, the requirements of actual combat are greater than heaven. He looked at Ren Jun and said, "Record Zihuai's requirements and develop new weapons for me."
"It's uncertain when the new weapons will be developed. Let's produce the Mauser 83 and anti-tank guns in small batches and try them out."
Zhang Zihuai returned to China to visit his relatives and casually stopped by the Haoguozi Company. A new type of firearm that was beyond Shao Quanzhong's knowledge was about to be released.
Shao Quanzhong felt that Zhang Zihuai was working too hard in Madrid, so he spent the New Year with him. After he saw Zhang Zihuai off, it was already the 1884th day of the first lunar month, February 2, 14, Valentine's Day.
Shao Quanzhong did not celebrate Valentine's Day. Instead, he went to Xiaoxiangya to inspect the construction of the world's first electronic tube computer, ENIAC.
This thing weighs 30 tons, covers an area of 170 square meters, uses 18800 electron tubes, and consumes 140 kilowatts of electricity. It's a huge thing, another national weapon.
Shao Quanzhong didn’t understand how to use this thing, but he knew that the computer age was about to begin.
Good things come in pairs. After the inspection, the layman team finally called and said, "Marshal, Tesla has started designing new things."
"What did he design?"
(End of this chapter)