In July 1905, the Munich Exhibition was opened again, the largest platform for the Germans to showcase their industrial achievements, with sophisticated, fine machinery and industrial products filling all the display stands, and many products displayed in the open air also attracted a large number of onlookers.

Compared with the World Expo, there are not many countries participating in the Munich exhibition, and many regions are exhibiting as enterprises, with a large number of American companies, Central European companies, and Southern European companies, but almost no British and French companies participate. Because they know that German companies are their main competitors, and they are competing with themselves in the world market, how can they participate in the exhibition of their rivals?

Carl, the inventor of the automobile, walked through the show and many people knew the inventor and business owner, who was arguably the star of the show, and his company also exhibited cars.

Dressed in a crisp suit, his hair brushed back to reveal a broad forehead, and his two large beards were well groomed, he looked elegant and wise at the age of sixty. But his heart is not as calm as it seems.

Since the invention of the automobile, until 1903, the German Benz Automobile Company led the automobile industry, and its own invention has been in the leading position, but since 1903, an American automobile company suddenly released a new type of car, and I have seen the photos of the car, and I have also learned about the performance data of the car from various channels, and I have to admit that the American car has completely exploded its own invention.

Ambrera Motors' Ford Model T sedan, the body is completely covered with steel plates, and the hand-cranked glass windows look beautiful and generous, seven or eight grades higher than their own "Victortodea" brand cars, which is clearly the gap between children and adults. How did that company have such mature technology in the production and manufacture of automobiles? How could such an advanced model be designed?

Fortunately, Germany has protected its own automobile industry, so that American cars cannot enter, which gives its own company time to catch up. But the new cars exhibited by Benz Motors at the show still can't catch up with the Model T, let alone trucks, pickups, vans and other models.

"Hey" Benz sighed softly, pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, and was about to smoke a cigarette to light it to blow away his depression, but he didn't expect to run into a young Gustav Krupp here.

Gustav Krupp is only younger than Bentz, in fact, he is also 35 years old this year. The two exchanged a few polite words. Then Krupp lit a cigarette for Bentz.

"Congratulations, Mr. Krupp, it's a good thing that you're getting married soon." Benz said.

Gustav knew what Benz was talking about, Friedrich, the second president of the Krupp company, committed suicide after a homosexual scandal, the Krupp family left only one daughter, and the outside world thought that it was too incredible for the Krupp company to be run by a woman, and His Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm II personally selected the Prussian diplomat Gustav Harbach and married Berta Krupp. And bear the surname of Krupp.

The transformation from a diplomat to the head of the Krupp company was indeed a good thing, and it was no secret in the upper circles of the German aristocracy.

"Thank you, Mr. Bentz, your company's cars are in high demand at the show, and I congratulate you on this, and I hope that this car company will go to the next level. And look forward to the future cooperation between the two companies. ”

Karl Benz shook his head and said to Gustav with some disappointment: "Mr. Gustav doesn't know anything. Although I am the inventor of the automobile, I have now been overtaken by latecomers, and the American company Ambrera produces much more sophisticated cars than those of the Benz company, and if it were not for the protective policy of His Majesty the Emperor, the German car market would have been occupied by the Americans. "It's a shame, but Benz isn't afraid of anyone knowing. What's the use of covering up, covering up and stealing the bell, this shows that Benz is still ambitious.

"Is it so, that the industry of our German Empire has been overtaken by the American nouveau riche? It's incredible, I know their power technology isn't leading. How can it progress so quickly in the car? ”

"There are inventors in Germany, and there are Edison in the United States, and technological breakthroughs are often in the middle of the line, and inspiration and accumulation are indispensable."

"To be honest, Mr. Bentz, the Krupp company has also been challenged recently, knowing that our company's traditional business items are munitions and artillery, but in the Far East, we noticed that the artillery in a war actually surpassed the Krupp artillery, whether in terms of range, power, accuracy, and weight, which made us feel incredible. When His Majesty the Emperor heard about it, he personally ordered the Krupp Company to produce more advanced artillery, which was a huge challenge for me, who had not yet officially taken office. ”

After the two finished smoking, they talked while walking in the exhibition area: "Are you talking about the Russo-Japanese War, I heard that China entered the war and fought on the island of Kyushu in Japan." But most of the artillery used by Japan and Russia came from Krupp, or copied from Krupp's artillery, did they produce more advanced artillery? ”

"It's not Japan and Russia, it's China, it's incredible, our battlefield observers found that the Chinese army has artillery that surpasses Germany, rifles and heavy machine guns copied from Britain and Germany, but there is a light machine gun that has never been seen before, and there is also an infantry support artillery called a 'mortar', and there is also an armored combat vehicle, which is powered by a car and covered with armor, and rampage on the battlefield. Can you imagine? A newborn Far Eastern country, a country that has just emerged from serfdom, should have such a powerful army! In addition, the Chinese army has a large number of trucks, jeeps and other vehicles, which are also widely used in their country, which is really incredible! ”

Gustav said and sighed that this was not a military secret, and the mainstream countries knew about the weapons that China had, but Benz focused on the car and did not pay attention to that information.

Benz doesn't know what to say anymore, the United States is just that, how can China be so perverted, do the United States and China have ulterior secrets? The popularization of high-level cars in China is another big blow to Bentz.

"We got a lot of that kind of advanced vehicles, and after dismantling them, we found that there are many technologies that we can't do now, which requires the improvement of the entire industrial level, and it cannot be said that the industrial level of the United States has surpassed Germany, which is what we are most puzzled about. As for China, it should be that the relationship between the United States and it is extraordinary! Benz concluded.

The two of them sighed for a long time, and found that they had unconsciously walked to the innermost part of the exhibition, which was the most badly located exhibition area, and several people with oriental faces stood around the exhibition area, and their faces were also a little anxious, because there were no visitors near the booth except for Benz and Gustav.

Benz and Gustav walked quickly to the booth, attracted not by the oriental script (with German below), nor by the elaborate booth under the lights, nor by the wonder why no one was visiting, but by the products on display.

The Chinese delegation participating in the Munich exhibition did not participate in the form of enterprises, but organized by the Ministry of Industry, and selected more than 100 representative products to be displayed. Led by Lu Liu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry, compared to the five young people of the Ministry of Industry who were responsible for labor, Lu Liu was very calm, because this time he did not come to open up the market, but had a political task.

Finally, when I saw two people coming to visit, a young man in a Chinese costume walked forward excitedly and greeted them in German. The strange thing is that the people just nodded their heads, and then rushed to the front of the booth, the excitement on their faces overflowing.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Benz didn't care about the elder's reserve, and sighed excitedly as he stroked a steel plate.

"Oh my God, how can such a thing be at an exhibition? They should be in the workshop of the Krupp company! Gustav was also intrigued, staring intently at the object in front of him.

This is the first generation of half-track armored vehicles produced by the military industry in southern China, which was shipped from Shanghai and sealed in canvas until it was unloaded at the port of Hamburg, Germany, and then arrived in Munich by rail, without showing up, and it was transported to the stand. From the German customs to the exhibition staff, they did not look carefully after seeing the car marked on the document, and a piece of munitions appeared in the exhibition in such a grand manner.

ZZ01 half-track armored car, total length 4.56 meters, total width 1.94 meters, height 1.66 meters, weight 5.5 tons, crew two, 4 soldiers, armor 8-15mm, a 7.92 mm heavy machine gun on the roof, output power of 130 horses, maximum range of 300 kilometers. As a result, troop carriers, command and communication vehicles, telephone line laying vehicles, artillery observation vehicles, ammunition carriers, reconnaissance vehicles, field medical vehicles, and so on are derived, which are currently one of the main armored vehicles of the Chinese army. (To be continued.) )