On the platform of the Chang'an (Córdoba) section of the Central Railway, a train with billowing smoke enters the station.

The first nine carriages of the train were carrying soldiers from the 2nd Regiment of the 3rd Mixed Brigade of the National Defense Forces, who had returned from the front line in Buenos Aires to rehab and replace themselves with the new Hanhua 1878 rifles.

The Hanhua 1878 rifle is a new imitation rifle named by Li Mingyuan himself and modified from the Mauser M1871 single-shot rifle.

In March 1872, the Han government introduced this single-shot rifle production line from Germany, and from 1873 to 1877 carried out small-scale experimental production, in 1877, the Han Iron and Steel United Group produced the first batch of imitation M71 rifle production lines.

In February 1878, it was delivered to the group's subordinate firearms factory for large-scale production of new rifles, and in April 1878, the first batch of 1,500 Hanhua 1878 rifles was delivered to the Wehrmacht Janissary Brigade for installation.

At the end of the war in Argentina, the main force of the Wehrmacht remained at about 160,000 men, and of the 160,000 troops, about 70,000 troops were still using replica Dresser needle rifles.

In 1872, the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the old-fashioned needle-type rifle was quickly eliminated by the times, and more than 60,000 Dresser rifles imitated by the Han National Defense Force became a product of the times in the following five or six years, in order to catch up with the average army equipment level of European countries, Li Mingyuan on the one hand increased the employment of military technicians from Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and other European powers, and the local iron and steel joint group was responsible for imitating the production line of M71 rifles, on the one hand, the new single-shot rifle was purchased from Europe. Replace the backward imitation Draser needle pistol.

With the purchase and localization of production, 90,000 regular troops of the Wehrmacht completed the pre-war rearmament, and at the same time, with the completion of the rifle production line manufactured by the Iron and Steel United Group delivered to the firearms factories under its jurisdiction in batches, the gap in the standard rifles of the main force of the Wehrmacht is being quickly filled.

Except for 30,000 of the eliminated replica Dlesai rifles that were delivered to the garrison and reserve militia, the remaining 40,000 rifles will be sold in the name of the government to civilians who have moved to the Patagonian wasteland at a low price.

The Patagonian wilderness is flat and grassy, but due to the frequent winds and lack of tall plants, it is not suitable as a food production base for agricultural development. On the contrary, the local population is sparse and the grassland area is vast, which is suitable for the development of animal husbandry.

In the western part of the Patagonian wilderness, the Andes Mountains on the border with Chile are fed by rivers that melt from the snow-capped mountains, providing water for the grasslands and the Chinese who have migrated to the area.

Therefore, when the relocation operation was over, the weapons eliminated by the troops were sold at a low price to the Chinese who had emigrated there, which could not only cultivate a qualified reserve source for the troops, but also serve as the vanguard of the Han State's development of Patagonia, suppressing the Indians who did not obey the management and dealing with the Chileans' counterattack attempts.

A shrill whistle sounded, and the speed of the train slowly slowed down as it approached the station.

The train stopped steadily, and a group of soldiers in dark gray uniforms and blue wide-brimmed hats stepped out of the carriages, and then assembled in a group under the command of the officers of the various units.

More than 1,000 Wehrmacht soldiers lined up, and on the platform in the middle of the station, several Wehrmacht officers accompanied three blonde and blue-eyed foreigners to step down from the carriages.

"It's hard to believe that the Argentines were defeated so quickly.

According to the advisory group's calculations, it will take at least a year for the Wehrmacht to defeat the combined Argentine and British and Brazilian forces, but I did not expect you to do it in just half a year. ”

The head of the German advisory group, Count Gottlieb, lamented.

"Your Excellency, you must understand that the Han State is not the Central Plains under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and in this newly born Chinese country, there are all kinds of possibilities, and it is not impossible to fight Argentina in half a year."

After fighting the Argentine War, the rank above the shoulder was changed to a small golden bean indicating a major general, and the title was successfully promoted to a hereditary earl, Wu Fengdian was at a moment of pride in his life, and his face was full of confidence and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Han has only been in trouble for eleven years, and at the beginning when General Ye and others defected to His Royal Highness, the Wehrmacht was only equipped with the old Dreiser rifle after the elimination of your army, and now, the 160,000 Wehrmacht has been fully equipped with locally produced Hanhua 1878 rifles, machine guns, mortars, and light and heavy artillery are equipped with each regiment-level combat unit.

Under the guidance of His Royal Highness, the Han Kingdom and the National Defense Force are changing every day, and I believe that His Excellency the Earl will slowly adapt to the speed of development here if he stays in the Han Kingdom for a few more years. ”

"General, I and the officers of the advisory group all think that the Wehrmacht is a fighting force, but it is a pity that we were not able to follow the Wehrmacht to the front line and witness the process of this war."

"Your Excellency, I hope you can understand that neither the Emperor of your country nor His Royal Highness the King of Han want the German officer corps to appear on the front-line battlefield, which may not be good for Germany and Han."

"England and Italy are very dissatisfied with your country's occupation of Argentina, and public opinion in Germany is also very unfavorable to your country, and His Majesty Wilhelm I has appointed me to meet with His Majesty the King of your country precisely in order to reconcile your country's relations with Europe.

General Wu, although the war is mainly fought by the military, the decision on the war is not in the hands of the soldiers, and I hope that the general and His Majesty the King of your country will understand Germany's position. ”

Several European countries, led by Britain and Italy, were greatly dissatisfied with the close economic and military ties between Germany and Han, and several governments of several countries exerted diplomatic pressure on Germany one after another, forcing Germany to sever ties with Han and join the blockade of Han.

Britain and Italy were able to make a decisive decision to sever relations with Han and impose a naval blockade on Han, but Germany could hardly make such a decision.

Germany had a surplus of industrial capital, and there was German investment in many economic and industrial fields in the Han Kingdom, and in return for the sale of industrial technology and the dispatch of skilled craftsmen to work in the Han Kingdom, the prices of grain, meat and other processed foods exported to Germany by the Han Kingdom were on average two percent lower than those exported to other European countries.

Germany lacked overseas colonies that could import grain, and local grain imports were in the hands of Tsarist Russia, a potential enemy country, and it was indeed worth the loss to let Germany sever ties with Han based on the likes and dislikes of the British alone, so the German Emperor Wilhelm I authorized Count Gottlieb, hoping to use the influence of the German officer corps on the Wehrmacht to persuade Li Mingyuan to compromise and take the initiative to coordinate with Britain to resolve the Argentine dispute.

"No one in the Wehrmacht wants to be an enemy of England, but the contradictions between Han and Argentina must be resolved by war.

Just like the war between Germany and France, only by defeating one can the other rise. ”

Wu Fengdian was noncommittal to Gotrib's explanation, he was only in charge of escorting them to Chang'an (Córdoba), and the rest of the matter had nothing to do with him. ……

"Your Royal Highness, the second phase of the construction plan of the industrial base of Xing'an County has been preliminarily completed, from the county seat of Xing'an County to the area of the Guaiba River in the area of 30 miles of heavy industry, has been built including smelter, forging plant, pig iron plant, Bese hemp steel plant, Shi Iron and Steel Factory, steel mill, rail factory, iron factory, wrought iron factory, machine factory, iron casting factory, iron factory, nail factory, Yangzhou Arsenal, gunpowder factory, needle nail factory, the first gun factory, artillery factory, a total of 18 large iron and steel, military industrial plants, and hundreds of related supporting factories.

Hanhua 1878 rifle, ammunition and rifle production line achieved local production.

The improvement of the production line of weapons such as 55 mm mortars, Gatling guns, 65 mm small mountain guns, and 75 mm field guns is underway, and it is expected that it will take two years to reach the average level of Western countries. ……”

Inside the conference hall, an official in charge of heavy industry and weapons production reported.

How much does it cost to produce weapons such as 55-mm mortars, Gatling guns, etc., "using a production line manufactured by the Iron and Steel Consortium", than the European powers? ”

"The cost is three and a half percent higher than that of the United Kingdom, two and a half percent higher than that of France, and two percent higher than that of Germany."

"Temporarily reduce the number of weapons production lines purchased from the Iron and Steel Group, and the Wehrmacht needs to replace machine guns, artillery and other heavy weapons according to the ratio of 7:3, and when Britain lifts the naval blockade, 7 percent of the heavy weapons will be purchased from Germany and France, and 3 percent will be produced using local imitation weapons production lines and the original weapons production lines."

"The last time Lord Hu returned from his mission to Europe, he told his subordinates that the merchants of the Austrian Empire were also willing to do business with the Han Kingdom, and their weapons and some production technologies could be sold to us."

"Austria-Hungary," Li Mingyuan thought in his mind for a while, and continued, "There are still many Austro-Hungarian businessmen in the new capital, send someone to contact them, and say that the Han State is willing to do business with them, and when peace is restored in South America, the Han government will send representatives to the Austro-Hungarian Empire to inspect in advance, and then talk about cooperation and transactions after the inspection." ”

"Yes, Your Highness, I will go back and arrange it."

After dealing with the affairs related to the construction of the Iron and Steel United Group, his eyes shifted to the stack of official memoranda on the desk, and from the cover of the recital, Li Mingyuan knew that most of the contents were about the British naval blockade and the losses suffered by local agriculture, animal husbandry, light industry, and other industries.

There is no way, Britain at this time is a well-deserved world hegemon, and the interests of the British in Argentina have been moved, and the Han State can only bear the losses caused by it, but the negative impact of the British naval blockade is becoming more and more serious, and Li Mingyuan is also at the time when he must lead the Han State out of the blockade as soon as possible and seek a proper solution.