"Ruzhen, you are in a hurry to come back this time, but what happened to Liaodong?" Jiang Chuan looked at Hu Ruzhen who was doing it and asked.

"Your Majesty Shengming, but it's not Liaodong, it's Fusang." Hu Zongxian looked solemn.

Hu Zongxian quickly explained the matter.

"Are you saying that the British, who appeared in the waters of Fuso, were not only equipped with new ironclad warships, but also equipped with muskets that could fire continuously and quickly?"

Jiang Chuan asked with a slight frown.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This time the British did not come well, apparently they came prepared. Their battleships are fast, and it is difficult for our ships. And their muskets, which can be fired continuously and quickly, have caused us a lot of trouble, but fortunately at sea, their accuracy is not high, and our navy has not suffered too many casualties. And it seems that they are not equipped with too many muskets of this kind, and they can't shoot all the time. ”

Jiang Chuan listened intently.

"After discussing with Marshal Ran, they all thought that the British dared to provoke this time because they felt that they had confidence, so they dared to test our strength. As soon as we can't suppress them, they will soon come in a big way, and Fuso will definitely bear the brunt. ”

Hu Zongxian stopped here and looked at Jiang Chuan.

Jiang Chuan understood what he meant, and Hu Zongxian rushed back in person to obviously realize the importance of this matter, so he had to state the benefits to the emperor in person.

Hearing the continuous firing of muskets, Jiang Chuan first thought of the word machine gun.

It was not too late for machine guns to appear in the history that Egawa was familiar with, the prototypes even appeared in the seventeenth century, and the real machine guns appeared in the eighteenth century.

The earliest machine guns were like a small car with two wheels and were relatively large, requiring two soldiers to push them together to operate, which was relatively cumbersome and cumbersome.

In terms of firing range and continuous firing time, as well as accuracy, it is clear that it also cannot be compared with the machine guns of later generations.

But the appearance of machine guns also had a huge impact on the situation on the battlefield, and the dense and continuous fire was simply a nightmare for the soldiers who charged intensively.

The machine gun was at its most powerful during World War I. At that time, trench warfare was prevalent, and the two sides repaired their trench positions, set up machine guns and artillery and began to attack.

At that time, the combat thinking still retained more or less the style of queuing to shoot in the flintlock era, and it was because of this that the machine gun would cause great and terrifying lethality.

In the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 60,000 British and French soldiers were killed by German machine guns in one day, which shows the dominance of machine guns on the battlefield at that time.

By the time of World War II, military thinking had changed, tactics had changed dramatically, and fewer and fewer people died under machine guns. The role of machine guns in battle was more about fire suppression.

It's just that Jiang Chuan didn't expect that the British would have already figured out a machine gun now, and even applied it to battleships, and they came to provoke themselves.

No matter how you look at this matter, it's a bit ironic, before the traverser has come up with a machine gun, the British guy has done it first, which makes people a little angry and depressed when they think about it.

And the British had apparently put the steam engine on the warship, and also put the warship with an iron shell, which made great progress in terms of speed and armor.

Coupled with the armament of machine guns, this should be all the confidence of the British to come and provoke again.

Do the British have any other unknown hole cards?

Jiang Chuan thought about it, and he didn't seem to be able to think of what else the British could come up with? If the British open up and make up battleships and planes or something, then they don't have to think about anything, just run away.

But it's impossible to think about it, I haven't done anything really open, and if the British can do it, hell it.

However, it seems that Hu Zongxian and they are a little worried.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chuan chuckled and said, "Ruzhen, I know that your concerns and worries are nothing more than worrying that the British's new warships and repeating muskets are something we can't deal with at the moment, and once the British's ambition is won, I'm afraid there will be chaos on the Fuso side." Right? ”

"Your Majesty, the minister does have these concerns. But seeing that His Majesty is so indifferent, he must already have a way to deal with it? Hu Zongxian looked at Jiang Chuan with an expectant look in his eyes.

Of course, Jiang Chuan has to reassure the ministers.

"Yes, I do have a way to deal with it. The British came to provoke this time on the basis of their new warships and repeating muskets, which were not to be feared. The British have ironclad battleships, and we have too; The British's muskets can fire continuously, and our muskets can not only fire continuously, but they are more powerful than theirs. If the British want to use new weapons to take advantage of us this time, then let's open the door and welcome them, cut off their claws, smash their mouths of teeth, and see how they will be rampant in the future. ”

Jiang Chuan's tone was confident and light, and Hu Zongxian looked surprised and a little dazed when he heard it.

I haven't heard of these things before from Your Majesty, could it be that Your Majesty asked you to study them secretly? Or is His Majesty fooling me?

In fact, he didn't guess wrong, Jiang Chuan was indeed fooling him.

But it's not a fool.

Whether it's an ironclad battleship equipped with a steam engine or a machine gun, these things are really not available at the moment.

But it doesn't matter, it's called fooling someone else. But for Jiang Chuan, the Great Qin Emperor who opened the hanging, it was naturally very different.

The fortress base is his biggest hole card and reliance. Now that the base has been upgraded to the post-industrial era, many impossible possibilities can be turned into possibilities.

"Ru Zhen, I know you don't believe it. In this way, in three days, you and Shanjia will take some people to the arsenal experimental base on the outskirts of Beijing to have a look, and I promise to convince you. ”

Jiang Chuan said with a smile.

"As for the new warship, I will go to the Shanhaiguan Naval Base to inspect in ten days, you go with you, let's see my Daqin's new warship together, it will definitely open your eyes."

Looking at the confidence on the emperor's face, Hu Zongxian also believed seven or eight points, and immediately bowed down and said, "The minister obeys the order." If it is as His Majesty says, then the British have nothing to fear. It's just that Fusang's side is arranged, and I ask Your Majesty to show me. ”

Jiang Chuan thought for a while and said, "You write a letter to Ran Wu and let him grasp it himself." While reducing casualties, we must deal a severe blow to the arrogance of the British, and let them know that Fuso is our territory, not a place where they can stretch their claws casually. In addition, it would be best if the new battleships and repeating rifles of the British could be captured. I'd like to see how good the British can do with these things. ”