Liu Yiliang had never heard of any tanks, and he didn't know what this tank battalion was, so he hurriedly asked Fang Yuan for advice, "Regent, this, what is a tank?!" ”

How can this kind of cross-era weapon of war be explained clearly in a few words? I can only take Liu Yiliang to see the actual tank at a glance.

Before leaving for Shandong, Fang Yuan bought two tracked agricultural engineering vehicles with a load of three tons on Taobao, installed solar energy installations, and used electricity as the driving energy. Then the doors, windows, and compartments were modified to make it possible to install two small and medium-sized guns.

A month ago, the arsenal sent a reply to the palace that the first tank had been modified and could be inspected at any time.

Fang Yuan saved a lot of saliva, smiled and said, "Yiliang, tomorrow we will go to the arsenal together to inspect and inspect, and you will know what a tank is." ”

In the early morning of the next day, Fang Yuan took Liu Yiliang to the Changshu Arsenal to inspect the tank that Fang Yuan provided the main components and materials, and then assembled by the Changshu Arsenal.

In the arsenal's most secret tank workshop, the first original tank of the Ming Dynasty has been refitted. As the director of the Changshu Arsenal, Tang Ruowang introduced Fang Yuan's performance to Fang Yuan one by one.

He first took Fang Yuan from the back of the carriage, opened the door and entered the carriage. The carriage is fully enclosed, with a two-story structure, separated by a layer of iron plates and a layer of wooden boards.

On the left and right sides of the lower floor, a small gun port was opened, and two small cannons were installed, which were responsible for the shelling of the enemy troops besieging the flanks, and two shooting holes were also opened, and two sergeants fired from the left and right sides of the carriage.

Fang Yuan looked out from the shooting hole, his field of vision was not bad, except for a few special blind spots, he could see it at a glance. The long-range enemy forces rely on small artillery, the approaching enemy troops rely on muskets, and the enemy, whether cavalry or infantry, wants to get closer, and must risk considerable losses.

Tang Ruowang took Fang Yuan and Liu Yiliang from the lower carriage and went up the wooden staircase to the upper carriage.

Directly in front of the upper compartment was erected a medium gun, which was carried out by two sergeants, and the shelling came from the enemy in front. In addition to one artillery on the upper floor, two firing holes were opened in the rear, which allowed two sergeants to fire at the enemy in the rear.

Under Fang Yuan's suggestion, Tang Ruowang's main body design is very reasonable, front, back, left and right can be shot, there are artillery strikes, and there are also fire shots, which eliminates the shooting blind angle to the greatest extent.

Fang Yuan was very satisfied, but he was a little depressed after staying in the carriage for a long time, looking at the exhaust fan above the corner of the carriage, which was also an industrial product that Fang Yuan bought from Taobao, and it only needed to be connected to the circuit of the car body to operate.

He smiled slightly, "Can the large amount of smoke after the cannon fire be discharged?" ”

"Following the Regent's instructions, it's already done!"

John Tang ordered the sergeant to light a torch, and the billowing smoke dispersed, and John Tang pressed the button of the exhaust fan, and the fan blades flew around, and a large amount of smoke was expelled in a short time. The inside of the carriage was stuffy, but it wasn't unbearable.

The problem of exhaust in the carriage was also solved, Fang Yuan covered his nose with his hands, and couldn't help coughing, while coughing, he nodded and said, "Okay, very good!" ”

Because the thick smoke in the carriage was stuffy, Tang Ruowang hurriedly pulled Fang Yuan out of the carriage to breathe fresh air.

Fang Yuan took a deep breath before he was relieved, and said, "One exhaust fan on one floor is not enough, two must be installed." ”

Tang Ruowang hurriedly took notes on Fang Yuan's explanation and installed four exhaust fans.

Fang Yuan saw that the outside of the car was completely covered by linen, and asked, "What if you are besieged by the enemy and climb the tank?!" ”

Tang Ruowang ordered the sergeant to tear off the wrapped linen, and the outside of the car was covered with prismatic thorns to prevent climbing, and the prisms were abnormally sharp, with Fang Yuan's eyes, he himself would not be able to climb up anyway. Even if you climb up, you will inevitably be covered in bruises.

Fang Yuan ordered the two sergeants to climb to do an experiment, and sure enough, the two of them hadn't climbed a few steps just now, and they had already been scratched to blood. He hurriedly ordered the two to come down, arranged for someone to stop the bleeding for them, and rewarded each of them with five taels of silver.

Tang Ruowang pointed to the four-edged knives on both sides of the car body and said, "This double-edged knife can be disassembled, and when fighting, as long as the body advances, retreats, or even turns, it can cut down the enemy cavalry around the body, even men and horses, and be invincible." ”

Fang Yuan touched the blade of the double-edged knife, it was really sharp, if the battlefield advanced and retreated like this, spinning, the surrounding enemy troops would definitely not be able to get close. One can almost imagine the scenario on the battlefield, where this tank is invincible.

Fang Yuan was very satisfied with the offensive performance of this tank, and the next step was the investigation of defensive performance and maneuverability.

Fang Yuan pushed the body of the tank, but because the weight of the tank was too large, it didn't move at all. He ordered ten more sergeants to push, and the body shook slightly. Add another twenty people, and start pushing with all your strength, and the body begins to tilt.

He already knew in his heart that on the battlefield, if a single tank was indeed possible, it could indeed be overthrown by the enemy. But if it is ten or thirty vehicles to coordinate and cover the operation, the enemy should not have such a chance.

Fang Yuan patted the iron armor on the car body again and asked, "Can you withstand the bombardment of the artillery?!" ”

In the First and Second World Wars before the crossing, and even in the 21st century, the biggest enemy of the tank was actually anti-tank artillery and anti-tank armor-piercing shells. So the most important thing for a tank is the thickness of the armor, especially the thickness of the frontal armor.

John Tong said, "Regent, we have passed the artillery test and destroyed a tank. If it were not hit head-on by artillery fire at close range, the armor would not have been able to penetrate. Even if it is hit head-on, it will take at least ten shots or more to penetrate it.

"It's just that the only weakness of this tank may be the wheels underneath. If you are hit by artillery, you will be unable to move on the spot and will be slaughtered. ”

The track part is the biggest weakness of the tank, and Fang Yuan also knows this, since the problem that the modern industry before the crossing cannot solve, Fang Yuan does not need to bother to solve it.

The artillery of this era could not be positioned and aimed, where was it so easy to hit the track. It's going to hit, that's luck. Luck can't be controlled, and there's no need to work hard to overcome this technical difficulty.

The defensive problem is also considered to be passed.

Fang Yuan looked at the behemoth in front of him, which was as tall as a double-decker bus, worried about the drive, and asked, "Mr. Tang, have you done experiments?" Can it be started? ”

Fang Yuan had a driver's license before crossing, and before he set out for Shandong, he personally found two clever craftsmen in the Changshu Arsenal and taught them how to drive this kind of tank in the wheelhouse.

It took half a month, and although these two craftsmen did not know the principles of tank starting, advancing and retreating, and turning, they still learned the driving skills according to the gourd drawing.

In accordance with Fang Yuan's instructions these days, John Tang has trained a large number of craftsmen who can drive tanks in the arsenal, and in half a year, thirteen people have learned this driving technique.

In the cab, Fang Yuan sat in the passenger seat, the craftsman in the driver's seat began to operate skillfully, and the tank also started slowly, driving out of the workshop, and in various experimental sites, including simulated official roads, muddy ground, gravel ground, and grass fields, all of them were unimpeded.

After walking around various fields, I slowly drove back to the tank workshop.

Fang Yuan was most concerned about the tank's forward speed, which was displayed at 35 kilometers per hour on the meter. Military tanks can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour, and civilian vehicles can reach speeds of 35 kilometers. If it is accelerated, there is a danger of capsizing.

Fang Yuan got out of the tank and finally asked, "How many hours can the modified tank be continuously charged once it is fully charged?" ”

Tang Ruowang replied truthfully, "Before the modification, it was 6 hours, and after the modification, the weight was increased, and it could only maintain 3 hours of combat time." ”

35 kilometers is 70 miles, and according to the 6-hour combat time, it can travel 400 miles at night, and if the sun is charged during the day, it is estimated that it can reach 500,600 miles. This combat distance is indeed too simple for modern warfare, but it is enough for the war of the Ming Dynasty.