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Chapter 184 A transaction that everyone is happy with

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    According to post-war declassification, during the Great War from 1914 to 1917, Russian factories produced a total of 58 million rounds of artillery shells. However, its annual demand for front-line artillery shells reached 50 million rounds.  Because the industrial production capacity is insufficient (Russia has a poor industrial base, and more importantly, the adults are on the battlefield, and the industrial production and logistics support capabilities are seriously insufficient), the Russian government has to send the production and ordering of artillery shells to foreign countries.  During the war, a total of 56 million rounds of 3-inch artillery shells were ordered and produced abroad. About 13 million rounds were actually shipped to Russia, which is less than a quarter.  As a result, the Russian army experienced a severe shortage of military supplies throughout the war.  This resulted in the Russian division commander having to control the average daily number of artillery fires to 5 to 10. The diaries of Tsarist Russian soldiers even complained that "Germany fired 20 rounds of artillery, and we could only fire back one."  "Such a situation.

    Later, due to lack of necessary weapons, they could only use the flesh and blood of countless soldiers to resist the attack of the German army.

    It¡¯s not that allies such as Britain, France and the United States are unhelpful, but they lack suitable ports and cannot carry out large-scale assistance.  In addition, perhaps they also have a small idea, that is, to let the two powerful powers Germany and Russia fight on the Eastern Front to compete for the right to speak after the war.  Russia had just transformed from serfdom into a backward agricultural country, and its military-industrial strength was not strong. After the whole country was mobilized to participate in the war, the disadvantages of its weak industry immediately became apparent. It even bought artillery shells from Japan, which was even weaker in the east.

    The same goes for rifles: the Russian army has a shortage of about 3 million rifles per year, and even spends a lot of money to buy Type 38 rifles from Japan; the frontline requires 3 billion rounds of ammunition every year, but the annual production capacity is only 500 million rounds.

    ??Almost all artillery of the Fengtian army, including the Beiyang army, uses 75mm shells, which is exactly what the 3-inch caliber cannon needs.  If, if, Zhang Hanqing put forward the hypothesis to Neshinsky: "If you use this loan to provide us with lathes and other equipment needed to produce artillery shells, we will produce at full capacity and give you priority at preferential prices.  Provide shells.¡±

    To say that Tsarist Russia is as backward as China - I refer to concepts, not entities: a camel is bigger than a horse. For example, on the eve of the war, Russia had 7,088 artillery pieces, while China only had, well,  Each division has 54 divisions. By the beginning of 1918, there were only 16 such standard divisions in the Republic of China.  16, the full number is only 972!

    Unfortunately, only 40 of the many artillery pieces in Tsarist Russia are heavy artillery. The reason for this is that its generals believe in the theory of mobile warfare (Tukhachevsky laughed it off), that is, mass production of light artillery that can be used for battlefield maneuvers.  Infantry charges, while heavy artillery is an "outdated and cumbersome" weapon suitable only for "defensive warfare". As a result, of the 11,000 artillery pieces produced in the entire war, the number of heavy artillery only accounted for 3%

    Therefore, when the Russian soldiers in simple uniforms met the German soldiers in fine uniforms, they were immediately overwhelmed. It was helpless to use the advantage of numbers to make up for the lack of weapons. This was the same as the Chinese Anti-Japanese War later. On the battlefield, human lives were used to fill the guns.  Bullets, as exaggerated in a movie: "A large number of unarmed personnel lined up behind each formation, waiting to pick up the guns of the fallen"

    ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? As a patriotic and loyal businessman and financier, Neshinsky greatly admired Zhang Hanqing's astonishing judgment on the Russian front, and also admired Zhang Hanqing's sympathetic support for Russia. He said he would work hard to promote this win-win business.

    To be honest, if Fengtian can produce the guns and ammunition that the Russian army urgently needs, it will be much faster and more convenient than purchasing them from Japan. You must know that through the Middle East Railway, Fengtian is very likely to become Russia's rear supply line.

    Russia does not lack machines, but now it is in urgent need of manpower; Fengtian lacks machines, but it does not lack people.  The two sides hit it off immediately, and Neshinsky sent the news to the country in a top-secret cable.

    This was good news for the Russians who had just experienced a tragic victory in the summer offensive. They had just supported France and Italy, which were almost defeated by the Allies, at the cost of more than one million people. However, they took advantage of the short peace period in early 1916.  The accumulated military supplies were almost exhausted.

    "However, even if this is the case, the Russians are not willing to support China. They are only willing to sell machines for producing artillery shells and bullets.  Zhang Hanqing was very disappointed when he refused to mention the 75mm field gun production line that Zhang Hanqing desperately wanted.

    " Two artillery shell production lines and three bullet production lines cost a total of two million rubles. They were loaned by Daosheng Bank with an interest of 12%. The principal and interest will be repaid in full after one year.

    Although Zhang Zuolin initially wanted to negotiate a price, he now feels that the deal is worth it. In any case, it is a huge progress for his army to be self-sufficient in artillery shells.  I also thought that Xiao Liuzi could think of arms production without being controlled by others at this time, which was really far-sighted.

      The transaction went smoothly, and Neshinsky also benefited a lot from it.  Maybe he was in a good mood, but he didn't pay attention to Zhang Hanqing's clich¨¦s, and Zhang Hanqing roughly guessed the reason: technological blockade - it turns out that the Japanese are also defensive against China.

    However, this did not trouble Zhang Hanqing. He thought of a weapon that the Russians would not take seriously but would be of great benefit to improving the Fengjun army - the mortar: "Mr. Neshinsky, in light of your contribution to your country."  Understand, is there any chance for us to get a mortar production line from your country? If you can facilitate the transaction, I think we will be grateful."

    The First World War was mainly a defensive war. Maxim machine guns, aircraft, and second-line ** artillery and cannons had formed a good line of defense. Mortars, ordinary small-caliber guns that were not maneuverable enough and whose firepower range was not as good as the main artillery, were useless.  It seems that no one takes it seriously, even in Russia.

    However, Zhang Hanqing knows its huge role, especially in China where heavy firepower is insufficient and heavy industry is underdeveloped. This portable, simple-to-operate, low-cost weapon is an excellent firepower supplement for an army dominated by infantry.  In line with the principle of eating food one bite at a time, it is not bad to be able to do the next best thing and obtain its production.

    Neshinsky understood his hint, and according to his immature knowledge, this mortar was not a new gadget, and the technical content was not high, so he expected little resistance.  He nodded: "I'll try again and do my best, my young commander."

    A loan of two million yuan, from which he received a commission of 20,000 yuan, of course he would be happy to facilitate new transactions.  With his hard mediation, Zhang Hanqing finally came back with a very happy reply a few days later: "Mr. Marshal, I communicated with the Supreme Command several times and finally got approval. Our country agreed to sell a 60mm caliber mortar production line.  Three pieces, worth four million rubles, no counter-offering, and the full amount must be paid in one lump sum."

    It doesn¡¯t matter, banks and governments behave differently.  For four million rubles in cash, Zhang Hanqing just went through the formalities from the bank.  For Dowson Bank, it is a relationship between the left hand and the right hand.  In fact, he didn't need to say anything, Zhang Hanqing was also planning to loan money from his family to complete this transaction.  Anyway, I have no intention of repaying this debt. Now I can use their money to buy their machines. As long as I can get it, I can say anything.

    Zhang Zuolin had received detailed explanations from Zhang Hanqing beforehand.  He still understood the role of mortars very well, but he was still doubtful that the money would not be repaid in the end.  However, he still agreed to do things that could increase the combat effectiveness of his army.  He had borrowed money many times in his life, and the repayment process was very clear.

    We have already inquired about the market price, and the prices we found from Li and Matheson are similar to this. It seems that in order to obtain a commission, Neshinsky really didn¡¯t ask as much as a lion, and the price he quoted was completely conscientious.

    Three lines, with an annual output of 150, can equip 25 6-gun mortar companies, or a larger establishment, 167 9-gun mortar companies.  Compared with the Japanese Army, which generally equips infantry artillery directly under the front-line combat infantry, the Beiyang Army's infantry, except for machine guns, is truly "pure infantry"!  Given China's current conditions, it would be a good idea if the regiment or even the battalion level could be equipped with such a mortar company.

    The standard artillery battery under the Beiyang Division Artillery Regiment is a 6-gun system, which has inherent advantages over the 4-gun system common in the West and East.  If we want to overwhelm the Japanese army in terms of supporting artillery, it is a bit unbelievable given our current economic capabilities.

    And it seems that infantry artillery in various countries were later replaced by mortars.  Relatively speaking, infantry artillery is far less powerful than cannons. In terms of its support function for infantry, its direct fire function is not as good as rocket launchers, and its curved fire function mortars are famous for their almost no shooting dead spots.  Mortars are lighter in weight and simpler to maintain.  In the long run, introducing mortars is definitely the right way to go.

    In order to thank Neshinsky for his "contribution", he once again received a reward of 50,000 rubles, because this time Zhang Zuolin gritted his teeth and renewed the loan for 5 million.

    The reason why the additional one million was added was because Zhang Zuolin saw that Zhang Hanqing was busy preparing for the expansion of the arsenal, and the Guard Brigade also dispatched a lot of manpower.  The eldest son, who was working hard to earn money for his subordinates, did not spare a penny for the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the Guard Brigade. All the loans were used for equipment related to manufacturing artillery shells.  When Lao Zhang saw it, he was filled with emotion.

    "My son has worked hard for this fortune, and as a father, I can't be blind."  Regardless of whether I want to pay it back in the future, anyway, I have too many lice now and are not afraid of itchiness. Let¡¯s get over this hurdle first.  Of course, Zhang Hanqing was extremely happy about this. Not to mention that his own financial difficulties were solved at once, this real equipment was hard to come by.  I'm not afraid of not being able to pay it back, I'm just afraid that I won't be able to get a loan. Dad is certainly worthy of praise for having such insight.

    In order to avoid long nights and many dreams, Zhang Hanqing kept urging, and Nesinsk also mobilized all relations and contributed a lot to the completion of this batch of equipment.  Is it okay if it¡¯s not fast?  Once it is delayed until November, Russia changes drastically and everything becomes in vain.  The money is good, but the equipment is worth more now!  In order to avoid attracting public attention, especially the "concern" of the Japanese, the equipment entered Fengtian in batches from several directions and announced to the outside world that it was a coal mining machine.  This is partly true, as Fengtian also lacks such equipment.  Zhang Hanqing incidentally asked Neshinsky to buy some more, in the name of covering up people's eyes and ears.

    Neshinsky made some profits from this transaction, but if he knew that in the future this loan would be equivalent to a free gift to the Zhangs and his son, would he feel like buying a coffin for a pearl?  (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com)valuable!  In order to avoid attracting public attention, especially the "concern" of the Japanese, the equipment entered Fengtian in batches from several directions and announced to the outside world that it was a coal mining machine.  This is partly true, as Fengtian also lacks such equipment.  Zhang Hanqing incidentally asked Neshinsky to buy some more, in the name of covering up people's eyes and ears.

    Neshinsky made some profits from this transaction, but if he knew that in the future this loan would be equivalent to a free gift to the Zhangs and his son, would he feel like buying a coffin for a pearl?  (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com
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