The timetable for the Qin General Staff to attack the Western Regions was scheduled for the beginning of April, because at this time, the ice and snow in the Western Regions melted, and after a very short period of spring, it entered summer. At that time, it was very conducive to offensive operations. It's only mid-December. In addition to the two months of training preparation time, plus two months of assembly time. The Qin State had a lot of time to speed up production and equip the Li Lin-style machine gun.

Not only that, but Qin will send his Celestial Army troops to participate in the battle this time. The Qin Heavenly Army was newly organized into two airship bombing brigades. Each brigade has three airship bombing squadrons. Two heavy and one medium bombing squadron. The Qin state's arsenal used the method of casting to cast a heavy sixty-stone iron cast bomb. Contains nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth added to it after careful compression. Use a detonator as a departure fuse. In order to ensure that the bomb explodes, a clockwork timing fuse is also added to the tail of the bomb. The clockwork will trigger the tail detonator when it reaches the final position. The bomb will then be detonated. This was the first aerial bomb of the Qin State.

To this end, the state of Qin will send an airship bombardment brigade as the main force to participate in the battle. A medium and a heavy airship bombing squadron will be ready to intervene in local battles as a reserve force.

The Qin State had apparently used the Western Regions as a place for testing new weapons. This time, as a commercial organization participated, the national army intervened as a supporting force. There are fewer troops involved, so they have ample funds to buy new types of weapons.

For example, a new type of artillery, a new six-inch gun with a steel gun mount. The gun had threaded rifling inside, reloaded, and the shells had a monolithic charge, and the propellant used picric acid. The shell uses a detonator-acting fuse, and the fuse member needs to be mounted on the top of the shell when firing. In this way, it is possible to determine the point and time of landing of the shell without having to calculate the distance.

But unfortunately, the gun carriage at this time did not meet the requirements of the kind of artillery in later generations. The main reason for this is in the production of steel, which was also just produced at this time. Despite the great power of the artillery, it did not use elastic gun mounts. That is, without the use of hydraulic buffers, the power of the artillery after the use of picric acid was huge, and it was completely supported by a rigid gun mount. And the overall artillery looks a little bulky.

It is for this reason that the old guns are still used on a large scale after the modification and reloading, and the new ones are rarely used. Weapons are not always newer, soldiers want a reliable weapon, not a new one.

However, the Government's procurement of new weapons has not been relaxed. After large-scale layoffs, the armed forces have a lot of money to buy new types of weapons, so major arms companies compete to develop new weapons and provide them to the army free of charge. It is hoped that the army will recognize the weapon in this war, so that it will be possible to receive a large military order.

The Governor's Office, the main department responsible for military procurement, will evaluate all kinds of new weapons, and it is this assessment that keeps the Governor's Office busy. Every day, personnel from major companies submit applications for the entry of relevant military personnel.

Shang Wen had to deal with some economic issues. Because the queen of Korea sent a letter, the content of the letter was that she hoped to introduce the relevant technology of Qin, and there was no problem with funds. Shang Wen didn't rush to answer her question. Instead, look at a new report. This report is about the construction of the Navy.

Qin's navy had to move south due to the export of the Yellow River. Although the water source of the Yellow River allows some wooden boats to sail, it is difficult to reach overseas, and even if it does, it is very difficult to return to the home base. With these in mind, Shang Wen decisively let the navy move south.

But Zhang Han soon sent a report. Shang Wen was a little worried.

The navy moved south quickly, and they set out from the merchant land and passed through Hanzhong and Wuguan. Out of Wuguan and into Nanyang County, directly southward through a section of Chu occupied by the Qin State in the Baiqi era, to the Yangtze River. In an unknown place, that place was very close to Ying, the old capital of Chu State.

There is a mountain to the north, and there is a large amount of timber on the mountain that can be used as a timber base for the construction of ships. At the same time, it is also conducive to the defense and placement of batteries. To the south is the Yangtze River, which can be used as a port for the navy to dock.

The report also drew a sketch for Shang Wen to see. As for the ships, since the south is a low-developed position, the fastest development of the Qin State is Guanzhong, two states in the north and one state in the west, and the rest of the development is in the stage of primitive accumulation of capital. Especially in the south. Qin's exploitation of the south was very inadequate. The main thing is a traffic problem. The state of Qin is trying to solve this problem. But it takes time, a lot of time.

It is precisely because of the lack of development in the south that the ships are returned to their original places, and the sails will be reused in the construction of the ships. It took a long time for the steam engine to arrive, not only the steam engine but also the coal. If you use wood, it can cause great damage to the boiler, and wood contains far more carbon ash than coal. Incidents of clogging chimneys occur from time to time.

However, in terms of weapons, the Qin State was relatively advanced, and the Qin State installed a different number of artillery pieces according to different ship types. The largest gouged holes in the ship's side, and the number of guns increased to 42 guns. Among them were two heavy mortars for the siege. Medium ships will be equipped with thirty guns, no siege mortars, as well as fast warships with ten guns, and small patrol warships with one gun. The whole system is relatively complete.

The material of the ships was still made of wood, and Shang Wen was a little worried, because in this era, it was possible to destroy these ships with a single fire attack, not without history, but the subsequent history proved it. Isn't it the case that the Three Kingdoms burned Chibi? Moreover, this is on the Yangtze River, not on the surface of the sea. It is a long and narrow river, not a wide sea. The state of Chu occupies the downstream, the state of Qin occupies the upstream, and although there is an advantage in the flow of water, you do not occupy the downstream hydrological situation. It's easy to be caught off guard by the other party, your boat is not fireproof. If the other party suddenly attacks, the consequences are unimaginable.

Although the Qin State had advanced instruments and equipment such as sextants and navigation clocks, these things were used on the sea, not on rivers and lakes. The Qin state fought in the Yangtze River valley. Shanvin believes that the Navy does not have much advantage, and, most importantly, no commercial organizations enter. In other words, there were no merchant ships in the Qin State, and there were fishing boats that could only be regarded as individual fishing, and there was still a serious shortage of such vessels that were specifically used for navigation.

Qin and Chu maintained good foreign trade relations, and Chu imported a large amount of Qin's industrial products. The South needs to be developed. Although there has been a certain amount of development, the development efforts are not enough. Shang Wen should strengthen this aspect.