The Anhui Revolutionary Army shooting range outside Anqing City is like a blue sky, green mountains are stacked with green, and it is a sunny and good weather.

The banging gunfire was more dense than the firecrackers on Chinese New Year's Eve, and the Gurkha live-fire performance stunned the officers of the Anhui Revolutionary Army. Plum. Enfield's high-velocity firing was on full display in a one-minute shooting frenzy, with five or six men firing live rifles at the target, each firing 30 rounds in at least a minute, as if a machine gun was strafing. At a distance of 200 meters, at least seven or eight out of 10 rounds hit the chest target.

The Gurkha battalion was reorganized into Chai Dongliang's guards, and the guard company originally served by the Anhui Revolutionary Army was mixed into the training battalion. The uniforms of the guards were all changed to khaki khaki cloth, and the blue cloth wrap was changed to a majestic large-brimmed hat, with shiny calfskin riding boots and a Gogoli scimitar with the surname on the waist, and the short but stout Gurkha guards looked particularly capable and strong.

The captain of the guard, Suopan, arrogantly challenged the officers of the training battalion with wooden guns, and several officers who had graduated from high school in the army and received formal military education were not convinced and stepped forward one after another to meet the battle.

The result of the confrontation was overwhelming, the rope plate overturned the opponents one by one with a wooden gun wrapped in a lime bag at the end, and the officers' new uniforms were covered with white lime, and their faces were as if they had been fished out of the noodle jar.

The rope plate felt that one-on-one was not enjoyable, and waved his hand to signal the three officers to go up together, and the officers of the training battalion who were beaten out of the real fire did not pay attention to any rules, and the three of them held wooden guns at the same time and opened the siege posture. The head of the rope pan gun shook slightly, and an officer stumbled over with all his strength, eager to stab the old man through at once. The rope plate was only slightly on one side, and the wooden gun slid against his waist, and then he hooked his foot, and the officer lost his center of gravity and fell into the mud. The other two officers moved at the same time, separated one of the rope plates with wooden guns, and then pulled out the Gogol scimitar stuck in the armed belt, slashed one with the back of the knife, and then turned briskly and knocked over the last opponent with another shot.

From the mountain road near the shooting range, the results of the mountain offensive and defensive exercises with companies as units also came out, and the Anhui Revolutionary Army, which was sentenced to death with a towel on its arm, ran back to the shooting range in groups, and behind them was a group of Gurkha people with solemn expressions.

Assassination, shooting, detachment exercises, the Gurkha Guards won by an overwhelming margin??? This is still on the training ground, if the battlefield is changed to a battlefield full of artillery fire, these rookies of the Anhui Revolutionary Army will definitely be killed by the Gurkhas, who have experienced a hundred battles.

The Anhui Revolutionary Army can be regarded as having opened its eyes, especially in the exercise of the mountain detachment, the Gurkha people took off their brand-new leather boots and hung them on their waists, and ran barefoot on the strange rocky mountain road, running faster than on the flat ground, making people feel that they were still in front of them a moment ago, and they ran behind them in the blink of an eye. The cliffs that the soldiers of the Anhui Revolutionary Army thought were impossible to climb were more accustomed to the Gurkhas, who grew up in the Himalayas than on a flat road. Some people didn't even touch the ground from head to tail, and kept climbing the branches and swinging over, and the soldiers of the Anhui Revolutionary Army were dumbfounded, is this a person? It's clearly a group of mountain monkeys who have become fine!

The Anhui Revolutionary Army, which has always prided itself as an elite, has been completely subdued, and at the same time, many people have a fear in their hearts, and the foreign soldiers are so powerful that they may not be able to reach their level no matter how much they train.

Gu Mazi's face was flushed, at first he looked down on these short men who were generally less than one meter six in height, and told his subordinates to teach these descendants of Wu Dalang a good lesson, but when he got serious, he realized how terrible these dwarfs were.

Gu Mazi made meritorious contributions to defending Anqing City and was promoted to the commander of the teaching battalion, but as soon as he took office, he was beaten and swept away, and he was angry.

Chai Dongliang also saw the difference, the officers and men of the teaching battalion were generally high-spirited but impetuous, and they screamed before they could make a move, while almost everyone in the Gurkha guards was expressionless, and they were quiet from beginning to end without saying a word.

Quiet as a virgin, moving as a rabbit!

Since the first time I met the Gurkhas, it seems that they only talk and laugh during meals, and everyone is hardly silent.

Every day only the captain of the Cable Guard could be heard shouting slogans in a hoarse voice, while the others were like three hundred mutes. When talking to each other, they also keep their voices down and never disturb other comrades.

The elite who have been trained for a long time and have been experienced in a hundred battles is really not comparable to ordinary armies. In addition to their heroic and warlike national surnames, the British were systematically trained for their surnames.

With the sound of a rallying trumpet, the disgraced training battalion was summoned, and the confidence and arrogance on his face were no longer peaceful, and they were replaced by a deep depression.

Chai Dongliang walked past the front of the team with a horsewhip in his hand, his eyes were full of critical gazes, and all the soldiers subconsciously avoided his gaze, unwilling to look at him.

"Convinced?" Chai Dongliang asked loudly.

"I'm convinced."

"Yes."

"If you don't accept it, you can't do it."

The teaching camp's answer was sparse, and he seemed very unconvinced but not confident in defeating the opponent.

"You can see clearly, these Gurkha soldiers opposite you were originally the British army, known as the hegemon at sea, but the army was only a second-rate army of the British Empire, if you faced a more well-equipped and powerful German army, and a Russian army that could endure all the most difficult conditions, what kind of achievements would you show??? Since the beginning of the rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, your enemies have either been the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Green Battalion or the new army that sympathizes with you??? Are you proud after defeating a few rabble? I thought Lao Tzu was the best in the world??? Today you are facing only 300 Gurkha warriors with only rifles, and one day in the future, you will face thousands of foreign soldiers armed with cannons and ironclad warships. Did the state raise you to fight a civil war? ”

Chai Dongliang's roar echoed in the shooting range, and the officers and soldiers of the teaching battalion were speechless, they had only heard of the power of foreign soldiers, but they had never seen it, and they always thought that it was just a head on the neck, as long as they were not afraid of death, they could earn one by fighting hard.

After a maneuver, they were completely wilted, and the Gurkhas, like seasoned hunters, rounded up the beasts, no matter how they showed their teeth and claws, they could not hurt them in the slightest??? The training camp didn't know where to use its strength if it wanted to do its best, and it felt like it was defeated.

Chai Dongliang deliberately raised the combat effectiveness of the foreign soldiers, and said that the Gurkha was second-rate, but fortunately they could not understand Chinese, otherwise they would definitely have to protest. If the Gurkha Legion, known as the king of the mountains, is also second-rate, I really don't know what a first-class army should look like.

"Have you taken it?" Chai Dongliang asked again.

The teaching camp said in unison: "Served!" ”

Chai Dongliang took a sip and said disdainfully: "If you take it, it's useless." ”

Gu Mazi couldn't cry or laugh, and asked boldly: "Then the governor thinks we should be convinced or unconvinced?" ”

Chai Dongliang glared at him and shouted: "Although your military literacy is not worth mentioning, you are already one of the strongest armies in China, 90,000 miles of rivers and mountains have been entrusted to you, 40,000 people need you to defend, the people are frugal to provide for you, and it is your unshirkable responsibility to protect your family and defend the country!" Then he pointed to the rope pan and said: "Look at them clearly, they were originally a group of hunters and farmers, and their military literacy is not as good as that of you who have received formal training and military school education, but now they have become an elite division through strict training??" Learning from them, catching up with them, surpassing them, and finally defeating them is your only goal, and the only thing you have to do, only by surpassing them, you have the ability to fight against the great powers, defend the country and the people!

And I will provide you with the best possible equipment and the best possible training conditions, and temper your scrap iron with empty brains and blood into the iron fist of the republic! ”

The training camp, which could not be lifted by the trained heads, also raised the hope that if the Gurkhas could be trained from a group of illiterate hunters and peasants to an elite division, why could they not surpass them?

After Chai Dongliang finished his lecture, he mixed a company of the training battalion into the Gurkha Guards, and one-fifth of the officers from other units were also mixed in, and a new batch was changed every three months. Even the military uniform was changed to an earthy yellow clicker, the only difference was that the rifle was still the original imitation Mauser 88.

"Governor, let's change it to that kind of gun, this gun is not easy to use." Gu Mazi saw the Gurkha Li. Enfield's rifle was hot, and he took the opportunity to make conditions.

The first brigade of the Anhui Revolutionary Army is generally equipped with the original Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau imitation of the Mauser 88, the name of this gun with a Mauser, in fact, has nothing to do with the Mauser factory, the officials of the Qing Dynasty have a kind of obsessive love for the Mauser gun, heard this name and received the Germans' silver, immediately ordered in large quantities, and then the various manufacturing bureaus also began to imitate. Since then, it has become the standard standard weapon of the new army in the provinces.

This kind of 1888 committee rifle recommended by German destroyers, even the Germans themselves do not want to use it, the neck of the cartridge case is easy to break, and it is common to explode the chamber when the shell is drawn, and this gun uses a Manlisia-style five-round magazine, which needs to be loaded with a bullet card, and what is even worse is that the magazine is left in the magazine, and it cannot be reloaded before the magazine is exhausted. On the battlefield, this is a design flaw that kills people.

This was true of German goods, and even less so of domestic imitations, and the management level of the bureaucratic enterprises of the Qing Dynasty was conceivable, and the quality of the guns issued to the new army was outrageous.

Chai Dongliang relocated the Anqingnei Ordnance Institute to Wuhu, renamed it Wuhu Arsenal, improved the production process, and produced the Mauser 88 on the assembly line, which was already on par with the quality of German imported products, but most of these guns were sold to Li Yuanhong in Hubei and Sun Wen in Nanjing, except for a part of the sealed storage, and were not distributed to the soldiers of the First Brigade of the Anhui Revolutionary Army.

Not long ago, there was a joke, Chai Dongliang's people and the German destroyer happened to collide in the War Department, Shanghai Jebsen foreign company ran to the War Department to find Huang Xing, and happily took out the unsalable Mauser 88, and said that this is the latest product of the Mauser factory, to sell for eighteen taels of silver a rod, the sales manager of the Wuhu Arsenal laughed and fainted at that time, he sent someone to take out this kind of gun, and it is an improved version of the barrel, deepened the rifling, and replaced the round-headed straight handle with a pull-down curved handle. The price is only 12 taels of silver per shot, and 50 rounds of ammunition are also given.

Huang Xing, who realized that he had been deceived, slapped the table and scolded the German businessman, and then immediately ordered 10,000 from the Wuhu Arsenal.

The guns of the Anhui Revolutionary Army were of such inferior quality that Gu Mazi and others saw that Li. How can Enfield's high rate of fire not be hot? It is no longer critical of its ugly bayonet either.

Chai Dongliang said with a smile: "Do you think this gun is fast?" ”

Gu Mazi nodded like a chicken eating rice: "It's not, people shoot three times, it's good if we can shoot one shot!" It's not because our brothers don't train well, and they really use this gun and don't make faces for our masters. ”

Chai Dongliang chuckled: "Don't worry, when I turn around, I will be equipped with guns with higher rate of fire and more powerful firepower??? But now I'm going to change your luggage. Enfield is impossible, the consumption of bullets alone can hollow out the Treasury Department. ”

Gu Mazi was disappointed, and looked at Li who was carrying the Gurkha guards not far away. Enfield, swallowing his saliva.

Chai Dongliang couldn't help but secretly laugh when he looked at him, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Feel uncomfortable?" Don't look like you're out of shape. ”

Gu Mazi secretly scolded the governor for being biased, the guards used good guns, and the troops used inferior goods.

"Scolding me in your heart, isn't it?" Gu Mazi's joy, anger and sorrow were almost written on his face, and Chai Dongliang could see his thoughts as soon as he pouted.

Gu Mazi hurriedly denied: "My subordinates don't dare." ”

Chai Dongliang scolded with a smile: "Don't dare, why don't you dare to be a rabbit cub?" Sensei pouted??? Lao Tzu has prepared a batch of good gadgets for you to change your clothes! ”

Gu Mazi's eyes widened: "Really? ”

Chai Dongliang kicked him in the ass: "What did Lao Tzu lie to you?" ”

With that, waving to the rope plate, the Gurkha guards ran to the warehouse, and in a short time a wagon dragged a dozen narrow wooden boxes.

The cable plate used a nail hammer to open the nails of the four-inch factory of the wooden box one by one, and when the lid of the box was opened, it was a tight rifle wrapped in oiled paper.

Gu Mazi couldn't wait to jump into the carriage, tore open the oil paper, and saw a new rifle. The blued barrel glows black, the butt and handguard are streamlined, the weight in the hand is just right, the bolt is smooth and sleek to pull, but the length is a little weird, shorter than an ordinary rifle, but slightly longer than a riding gun, and the narrow quadrangular pyramidal bayonet is even sharper.

Gu Mazi pushed and pulled the bolt several times in a row, and then pulled the trigger, and his crisp voice couldn't help but admire: "It's really a good gun!" It's a Mauser, right? ”

Chai Dongliang said with a smile: "This is a gun we made ourselves, and I named him Hanfeng Type I!" In the future, this will be the standard rifle of our Anhui Revolutionary Army! ”

Gu Mazi took a closer look, and saw that the gun was engraved with the following words: Hanfeng Ι type.

"This is our Chinese gun? Our own guns! Gu Mazi raised a gun and jumped around the carriage excitedly.

Wei Qing chased the Xiongnu in the north, Huo Qu was sick and sealed the wolf Juxu, and Ban Dingyuan shocked the Western Regions??? Han Wind Hunting! A steel gun uses this as its name, silently announcing its birth mission!

The soldiers came to see it, and when they grabbed it, they couldn't put it down, but the old man was full of disdain, and muttered in a low voice in English: "This gun is only suitable for hunting." ”

Chai Dongliang only smiled when he heard it, the rope plate had tried this gun before, and the accuracy, weight and reliability were not lost to Li. Enfield, in particular, had even a slight advantage in shooting accuracy. However, as someone who has served in the army for more than 30 years, he knows very well what the rate of fire means for a soldier, especially in the jungle and mountainous areas where it is difficult to provide fire support with machine guns and artillery. A well-trained Lee. Enfield Marksman, who can challenge two equally well-trained Mauser rifle shooters at the same time.

Chai Dongliang also understands that if there is a face-to-face heads-up, it will undoubtedly be Li. Enfield has an advantage, after all, it is impossible for every soldier to be a sharpshooter, and it is only the myth that a sniper is just a sniper to eliminate an enemy with one bullet. For ordinary soldiers, firepower is far more important than accuracy. However, that high rate of fire requires a large number of bullets as a guarantee, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge to economic capacity and logistics??? Regrettably, Chai Dongliang does not currently have this ability.

The rain of bullets is not only bullets, but also a huge amount of money.

After comprehensively considering the reliability, accuracy, and difficulty of manufacturing and processing, Chai Dongliang chose the Mauser 98K rifle, which is popular among the Chinese, as the standard configuration of the Anhui Revolutionary Army.

Chai Dongliang likes it not only out of national feelings, but also because of the physical fitness of the Chinese, compared with several famous guns of the same era, whether it is the Spring Field 1903 in the United States or the Mosin Nagant in Russia weighs more than Mauser 98k, for the road conditions are very poor, and the animal power such as mules and horses is also insufficient, and the weight of the gun is also a very key consideration for Chinese soldiers who often need to travel long distances. On the other hand, the caliber of the Mauser 88 is also 7.92 millimeters, and the large number of bullets originally in reserve can now be used, which is also tempting for Chai Dongliang's weak logistics support. Moreover, both the Mauser 98k infantry and cavalry can be used, and the originally equipped Manlisha cavalry rifles can also be eliminated.

Thanks to the enthusiastic book friends and the almighty Du Niang, the book friends actually searched for the detailed drawings of the parts of various classic guns, which is undoubtedly a huge help to Chai Dongliang.

In view of the fact that trench warfare is undoubtedly the protagonist in future battles, he suggested that the original Mauser 98K single-edged bayonet should be cancelled, and then this gun should be equipped with two bayonets at the same time, one is a quadrangular pyramidal bayonet suitable for hand-to-hand combat, and the other is a multi-purpose short bayonet with a single blade and a zigzag on the other side, the single-edged bayonet can be used for cutting, and it can be turned into a steel plier that can deal with barbed wire with a steel scabbard.

The first 500 rifles were successfully manufactured at the Wuhu Arsenal and arrived in Anqing by water. As more wagons arrived at the range, 500 guns and matching ammunition had all arrived.

"Here, take it and try it." Chai Dongliang pointed at the box with a horsewhip. The officers of the training battalion happily snatched up the new rifles.

After using the standardized production process, the quality and output of the Wuhu Arsenal have been greatly improved, and the cost has been reduced a lot??? The only thing that makes Chai Dongliang a little regretful is that the high-quality steel used to produce guns still depends on imports, and the development of national industry still has a long way to go.

"Governor, good, good, this gun is really good!" After Gu Mazi fired ten magazines in a row, he was full of praise.

Chai Dongliang smiled slyly: "This is satisfied? ”

Gu Mazi comprehended and said in surprise: "The governor still has good things?" Take it all out, don't whet our appetite! ”

(To be continued)