The way of thinking is different, and it is not possible to say absolutely who is right and who is wrong, and the revolutionary army does have the strength to fight a decisive battle with the current Qing army, and there is a possibility of winning the battle. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

If it really develops according to this assumption, the revolutionary army will not only gain a firm foothold in southern Yunnan and western Guangxi, but will also be able to take advantage of the great victory and take advantage of the enemy's weakness to set off another upsurge of attacking cities and seizing land.

Chen Wenqiang's idea was to enable the revolutionary army to "feed on the spot" as soon as possible and greatly reduce its dependence on external support. As for the territory that has been occupied, such as southern Yunnan, Chen Wenqiang believes that he must defend against the enemy in other places.

"The key now is the supply of materials, even if the legal person compromises so that we can ensure the passage of transportation, but the party's finances will not be able to support too many troops." The problem that Chen Wenqiang said is the core, let you luck, but what can you ship if you don't have money?

"I remember that the original strategy was to try not to attack the fortifications and not to defend them, so why do you take the territory you have occupied so seriously?" Chen Wenqiang continued: "Concentrating troops in southern Yunnan is too expensive to spend money and food. In the vast areas such as western Yunnan and southwestern Yunnan, the Qing army was weak in defense, so why not vigorously expand it? Divide 3,000 men and horses, can't western Yunnan and southwest Yunnan still support them? ”

"We all know that the financial pressure is very great, especially for Wen Qiang, and the payment is incalculable." Wu Luzhen pondered the words and said slowly: "But there is no immutable strategy, and it is relatively normal to make adjustments with the changes in the situation. Of course, Wen Qiang's worries are also reasonable, but they are from different angles, and the problems and difficulties considered are somewhat different. ”

"I don't know the price of firewood and rice, but I understand Wen Qiang's distress very well." Wan Fuhua scratched his head and said with some distress: "Everyone has seen the latest financial statements. If the confrontation with the Qing army continues as it is now, food and supplies will continue. Obviously, even without taking into account the position of the French. It's also very difficult. Moreover, this does not take into account the constant expansion of troops. ”

"The enemy is not moving, it is estimated that he is waiting for reinforcements, or waiting for more powerful weapons." Chen Wenqiang said: "According to the latest intelligence, the Qing court is purchasing Makqin heavy machine guns, and they are very large. So. I think it's a bit passive to confront the enemy like this, hoping that the enemy will show his flaws and win a big victory. ”

Although the Russo-Japanese War had shown the world the ferocity of machine gun battles, it was a war that took place in the "distant and mysterious East". For most Europeans, it was in the First World War that they really experienced the power of machine gun warfare, and it really became the mainstream of the battlefield.

Today's soldiers are still trained to attack with rifles and bayonets. The soldiers of the attacking side charged, crossed the middle ground between the two trenches and reached the enemy trench. Destroy enemies in hand-to-hand combat.

If we trace back to the source, China's machine guns are less equipped, but it has a lot to do with Li Hongzhang, Li believes that machine guns are too wasteful of bullets and are not suitable for China's national conditions, so later Chinese arsenals imitated and successfully produced heavy machine guns. Historically, when the Xinhai Revolution broke out, the Qing court had only the Beiyang Army's machine gun battalion in the new army, and the southern new army not only lacked heavy equipment. Even the equipment system is not uniform.

And now, or the touch of the Russo-Japanese War. Or perhaps the shock of the revolutionary army's use of machine guns, the Qing court began to purchase heavy machine guns in large quantities two years earlier than in history.

So, in 1888, the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau had already begun to imitate the Makqin heavy machine gun, but why did the Qing court still purchase it from foreign countries? This is to talk about the pursuit of military technology in the late Qing Dynasty and the development of the military industry.

Year 1888. The Jinling Manufacturing Bureau began to imitate the Makqin heavy machine gun (although it was not mass-produced at that time); In 1900, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau had begun to produce fast-firing repeating rifles developed by China itself; In 1895, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau successfully imitated nitrocellulose smokeless gunpowder; In 1905, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau began to produce its own 14 times the diameter of the 75mm tube retreating gun. Even in 1880, the Tianjin Machinery Bureau experimentally built China's first submarine; Year 1868. The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau built China's first steamer, the Tianji, and the boilers and main engine could also be built themselves......

Can these achievements show that the late Qing Dynasty's pursuit of military technology has greatly narrowed the gap with the rest of the world, and some of them have even caught up with the pace of world development?

Obviously, such conclusions are still premature, and there are still big deviations. You must know that the military industry is also an industry, and large-scale production requires the level of the overall product, not the performance of a single product.

In this regard, due to the lack of modern management and scientific and technological experience in the development of the military industry in the late Qing Dynasty, most of the products produced by the military industry were of inferior quality and high price, and the prices were much more expensive than those of imported foreign goods. In the final analysis, the reason why there were such big problems in the military industry of the late Qing Dynasty was inseparable from the inherent institutional stubbornness of the Qing Dynasty and its own fragile national strength, and it was also doomed that it would be difficult for the development of the military industry in the late Qing Dynasty to achieve real success.

First of all, in the late Qing Dynasty, the industrial base of the whole country was too poor and the dependence on raw materials was too strong, and the military industry was the top product of the pyramid of industrial society. The Qing Dynasty at that time lacked knowledge of steel mills, metal smelting, coal plants, power construction, railway transportation, technical schools and related management. The bottom of the pyramid is all virtual space, only the tip is real.

Therefore, most of the raw materials needed for the manufacture of military factories rely on imports, which is equivalent to saying that the military industry in the late Qing Dynasty is equivalent to a tree without roots. This situation is sufficient to cope with the daily equipment of the army and small-scale wars, but if it enters into large-scale wars, or even full-scale wars between countries, it is absolutely impossible to form large-scale production capacity, and of course it will not be able to cope with wars of this level.

Secondly, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, most of the military industry was operated in the form of a combination of government and business or government, and this business model was more effective in the initial short term, on the one hand, it obtained an orthodox name for the emerging enterprises, and on the other hand, it was to make up for the lack of financial situation of the imperial court, and mobilized private commercial capital, which was also considered a kind of institutional innovation at that time.

However, in the course of their business, a group of successful businessmen-compradors were quickly assimilated by the traditional bureaucracy, and they abandoned their market-oriented significance, and began to use all resources to establish themselves as stewards, using capital or connections to buy specific official ranks.

That's where the problem comes in. Official supervisors also began to interfere in the company's business progress on a large scale, and the game of interests between the two sides soon became fierce, with the result that on the one hand, the bureaucracy was constantly changing the company's managers, and on the other hand, these professional managers, mainly compradors, stopped making new investments. As a result, the pace of development of the corporations slowed, and the so-called official supervisors became more and more like real bureaucrats, and the companies dominated by them could only rely on limited monopoly monopolies and state financial allocations to sustain their operations.

And the queen mother, the emperor and the ministers above the temple only looked at the year and month when the chapter was written in beautiful block letters, how many guns and how many cannons were produced by that factory. I think this factory director is a capable talent. There is little interest in knowing the quality of the product.

As a result, professional managers are run by bureaucrats who do not understand management and science and technology, and there are no modern skilled workers, only ancient officials, slaves, and craftsmen. There is a lack of mining, steel mills, chemical plants, but they directly want to make artillery warships. Although the inefficient military factories can produce new rifles, heavy machine guns and cannons, they can only look beautiful, but it is difficult to grow into a military industrial giant, let alone support a large-scale war similar to the country's defense against foreign aggression.

Of course. Chen Wenqiang has changed this embarrassing situation to a greater or lesser extent. Both the Hanyang Iron Works and the Qiongya Special Steel Works have produced qualified steel, as long as the output is greatly increased. The problem of raw materials for building guns, guns, and ships should be basically solved; Acid plants, alkali plants, and combined chemical plants are also a solid foundation for promoting industrial development.

It's just that Chen Wenqiang is a big moth lurking in the system, not only concealing the real production situation of the Qiongya Special Iron and Steel Plant and the Arsenal, but also the Hanyang Iron Works and the Hubei Gun Factory, which are connected to each other. At present, the Hanyang Iron Works mainly produces steel rails, and the Hubei Gun Factory can manufacture Mauser rifles, but the output has been tepid. And it needs to be purchased in cash. Only half or even a third of the amount of ammunition produced is reported, and the rest is secretly hoarded.

Hearing the latest information stated by Chen Wenqiang, Wu Luzhen and several staff officers were a little surprised. If this is the case, waiting will be very bad for the revolutionary army.

"It's not just the Qing court's purchase of heavy machine guns, but also the consideration of sending reinforcements. This possibility is still very high. Chen Wenqiang continued: "Although the current situation is more optimistic than planned, and the results achieved are greater, the Qing court's counterattack will undoubtedly be more violent. etc., it is not good for our army. A corner of the enemy is the whole country, but the territory of southern Yunnan and western Guangxi, the strategic space is still small. ”

Wu Luzhen stared at the map and pondered for a long time, and when she spoke again, her tone had loosened, "Perhaps, it's also a good choice to move." If the enemy can be mobilized because of this, will there be more opportunities to destroy the enemy? ”

"Maybe it can play a role in luring the enemy deeper." A staff officer pointed to the map and said: "If the Qing army occupies southern Yunnan, it will ostensibly separate the Guangfu Zone, but it will also be under the attack of our army from the east and west. Especially after the Qing army penetrated deeply, it could pose a threat to its flank and rear from western Yunnan or western Guangxi. ”

"That's a good idea." Chen Wenqiang was inspired and began to play along this line of thought, "The Qing army is a large regiment that makes us have no way to start, but if we move, the Qing army will inevitably have to make adjustments." Whether it is the division of troops or the in-depth development, I think it is easy to create opportunities for us. This is not just about getting food for the place, the more enemies you can annihilate, the more you can capture, and the better if you can feed the war with war. ”

"Don't rush into a decision just yet." Wu Luzhen said cautiously: "After the meeting, I will carefully study and discuss with the staff officers, after all, this is related to the lives of hundreds of soldiers on the front line. ”

"I am also talking about my own opinions, military, or the opinion of the General Staff." Chen Wenqiang smiled and spread his hands, "However, financial difficulties are real, and the General Staff should also seriously consider this." ”

"Of course, you have to think about it." Wu Luzhen smiled a little helplessly and said, "Without money and food, what kind of battle are you fighting?" You've just captured the key. ”

"It's enough for you to admit that it's the key." Chen Wenqiang smiled faintly and said, "How many have you put in before and after?" Even gold and silver are not enough! What's more, this is just the beginning, but in the future, you don't have a headache when you think about it? ”

"I'm only in charge of training and fighting, and I'll leave you with a headache for financial matters!" Wu Luzhen joked, "However, I still admire your foresight, that set of machinery and equipment that can produce and manufacture reloading bullets is more effective than sending hundreds of thousands of bullets." ”

"It was originally the idea of asking them to be self-reliant." Chen Wenqiang pursed his lips disapprenorovingly, "I didn't expect to play so smoothly and expand my strength so quickly." This is a good thing, but it also has a bad side. In short, as long as the revolutionary army does not suffer heavy losses, some setbacks can be bearable. ”

"It is true that the current revolutionary army cannot be extinguished all at once." Wu Luzhen was more confident, pointed to the map, carefully explained the situation of the enemy to Chen Wenqiang, and finally came to a conclusion, "There is a basis for advancing and retreating, and it is no longer a tree without roots." Even if there is a small defeat, it will not collapse, let alone get out of control. ”

"Then I'm relieved." Chen Wenqiang exhaled a long breath lightly and said slowly: "I am self-aware, and I am not good at military affairs. After you say this, I can concentrate on business and business, after all, I still have to make money! Moreover, this big mess is enough for me to be busy. ”

"You're leaving Qiongzhou again?" Wan Fuhua asked suspiciously: "I think it's better for you to stay for the time being, now should be regarded as a critical time, right?" When the rainy season you mentioned arrives and the battle situation eases somewhat, it's not too late for you to leave. ”

"It doesn't make much difference for me to stay." Chen Wenqiang shook his head and said, "Some things don't have to be solved on the battlefield. I am operating outside, and I may be able to create a lot of favorable conditions for the revolutionary army! ”

"What about that army in Luofu Mountain?" Wu Luzhen looked at Chen Wenqiang and said, "Without help, I'm afraid they won't last long." With your relationship with the Guangdong government and the power in Guangdong, you are the only one who can help them. ”

"You'll have to let me think about it." Chen Wenqiang pondered for a while, did not say too much, and said euphemistically: "If our people can master this armament, it will be easier to do." If it's still the leaders of the party leaders, I don't think there's any need to worry. ”

"Real gold is not afraid of fire?" Wu Luzhen was a little puzzled, "It's more testing in adversity, aren't you thinking about it?" ”

Chen Wenqiang smiled and did not answer directly.

…………… (To be continued.) )