The number of the previous chapters is wrong, and after doing the math, it should be 898 chapters now, so this chapter has been changed to the correct number of chapters. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

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In fact, after the invention of the bicycle, it was widely used for military purposes.

As early as 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Prussian heralds began using bicycles. In the Boer War and the Spanish-American War, the British army's bicycles were killed, which can be said to have made great contributions.

During the ensuing First and Second World Wars, bicycles were used extensively by military units of various countries.

In the rugged and mountainous regions of Asia, bicycles are also used on the battlefield. In December 1941, Japanese troops on bicycles launched a blitzkrieg in Malaysia and Singapore, capturing the Malay Peninsula and Singapore in just two months.

At that time, the British army was rushing in the Malay Peninsula, and there was only a chance to flee and surrender. The tens of thousands of wheels of Japanese bicycles converged into a noisy group, and the retreating British troops were terrified, thinking that tanks were chasing them. ”

Bicycles can go on a rampage in the rugged Malay Peninsula, which shows that this equipment has a lot of adaptability, and it is not a problem to gallop on the plains.

In fact, Li Zhi's rubber laboratory is subordinate to the arsenal and is managed according to the military establishment.

Cao Yu, who was in charge of the Tianjin Arsenal by Li Zhichao, asked: "Manager Cao, how many bicycle tires can we produce from rubber now?" ”

Cao Yu arched his hand and said: "Back to the prince's words, this time the three steamships brought back fifty tons of natural rubber. This rubber can produce tires for 60,000 bicycles. ”

Li Zhi thought for a while and said, "Bicycle tires, especially inner tubes, are consumables. We have a spare tire for each bike. Therefore, these 60,000 sets of bicycle tires can only be equipped with 30,000 bicycles. ”

Cao Yu arched his hand and said: "Lord Shengming! ”

Li Zhi said: "Let the lathe factory start mass production of bicycles, and strive to produce 30,000 bicycles within six months." Turning to look at Lu Hu, Li Zhi said: "At the same time, our navy will continue to go to Brazil, where we will buy natural rubber from the natives and continue to transport rubber back." ”

Lu Hu arched his hand and said: "Lord Mingjian, the third batch of steamships sent to Brazil has already departed two months ago. Those indigenous Brazilians have exchanged a lot of rubber for goods, and they have tasted the sweetness, and I guess this time the ship will be able to bring back more rubber! ”

Li Zhi nodded and said with a smile: "Okay! When we attack a new enemy, I want the Tiger soldiers to move fast on their bikes! ”

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Kuhn, the Dutch governor of Batavia, stood on the training ground and looked at the latest product of the Slant Gun Factory: a front-loading rifled gun.

The gunners operated the rifled guns in the same way as the smoothbore guns, loaded the charges, and finally fired at the steel-hulled target five miles away, penetrating the five-centimeter-thick steel armor.

The rotating steel-core lead-shell conical bullet rotated and broke through the armor, wringing out a hideous wound like a twist on the armor. The shell pierced through the armor and went castrated, sinking deep into the mound of dirt behind.

Seeing the powerful armor-piercing ability of this artillery, the officers around Kuhn were overjoyed and applauded.

Even the Han slaves around the target were full of panic, and they were shocked by the power of this new type of cannonball.

A battleship captain who had just been transferred from India grabbed the telescope and looked at the target in the distance, his eyes full of excitement, and said: "Good job, Slant, this is the most powerful artillery I have ever seen." The accuracy is also outstanding. ”

Slant, the director of the Srant Gun Factory, said with a smile: "Captain, this is what we learned from the shells of the Ming people, front-loading rifled guns. The core of this shell is a steel core, with a layer of lead cast on the outside and a hollow tail, on the same principle as a Formosa rifle. The process is simple, but the lethality is amazing. ”

The captain was stunned and asked, "Is this cannon also rifled?" ”

Slanter smiled and said, "It is very simple to load rifling cannons, our cannons are all copper, and it is easy to draw rifling on them, far easier than rifling them on iron rifles. It is only necessary to use more materials when casting, and cast the cannon barrel thicker, so that the pre-loading rifled gun can be used. ”

The captain nodded, and praised, "Slanter, you are the best gunsmith I have ever met, and you should go back to Europe at once and pass on your skills to all the Dutch gunners." God, this will greatly increase the combat effectiveness of our Dutch Navy. ”

Slant smiled and said, "Captain, this kind of artillery is very advanced in concept, but as long as you understand the principle, the technical difficulty is very low." In fact, I had written down the tips for making this new gun in a booklet that had it shipped back to the Netherlands. It won't be long before all our Dutch battleships will be equipped with this new gun, which can easily penetrate the enemy's thick armor from miles away. ”

The captain nodded, looked at the target in the distance with his binoculars, and shook his head with emotion.

However, watching Slant talk eloquently, Kuhn, the governor of Batavia, had a calm face, and he didn't seem to be happy at all.

Kuhn had no reason to rejoice. The combined Anglo-Dutch fleet he organized can be said to have used all the forces of the Dutch and the British in Southeast Asia, but all of them surrendered to Li Zhi's fleet in the first battle. It is said that the tens of thousands of European sailors on the fleet were all sent by Li Zhi to the Shilu Iron Mine in the capital of Qiongzhou in the Ming Dynasty as slaves, and they went to the mine every day to dig stones.

This defeat wiped out the Dutch maritime power in the Far East, and Kuhn was under great pressure. If Kuhn could do anything more, the Dutch parliament could take him from office or even put him in prison.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Kuhn got Li Zhi's shells and discovered the secret of the front-loading rifled gun.

However, all Kuhn could get was a front-loading rifled gun. And Li Zhi's cone-shaped flowering bomb produced by the super-era machine in Fanjiazhuang with a super-era machine, he could not imitate it.

Kuhn asked Slant, "Mr. Slant, can't we imitate the Ming people's blasting bombs?" ”

Slant curtsied Kuhn and said, "Your Excellency, it is unfortunate that with our technology, we cannot produce explosive bombs in any case. ”

With a wave of his hand, the worker next to him took out the cone-shaped flowering bullet that did not explode from the box.

The shells have already been cut.

"Your Excellency the Governor, you see, the internal structure of this flowering bomb is complex, there is a powder room, a fuse room, and a steel slag room. However, I really don't understand what kind of machine is used to create such a complex internal structure. If we had created this conical shell by hand, we would have produced a shell that would not have been able to withstand the bore pressure of the cannon when fired. ”

Kuhn took a breath and didn't speak for a long time.

Lee Sik is a devil, Kuhn can only think so.

Originally, in Kuhn's concept, the Han people were just lowly slaves. Batavia was full of slaves taken by the Dutch from the Ming coast. Kuhn never respected a yellow man. But why were the inferior yellows able to make such advanced shells that the Dutch couldn't even imitate them?

After thinking for a long time, Kuhn said: "Write to the parliament at once, and ask all the battleships sent by the council to the Far East to be loaded with rifled guns." Damn it! Without rifled guns, we can't even penetrate Li Zhi's ironclad ship, and if we come, we will be sent to death! ”