Deep in a forest on the outskirts of the city of Essen in western Germany, the Krupp Armament Laboratory welcomed some of Germany's most powerful guests: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Field Marshal Hindenburg, Chief of Staff of the German Army, and Quartermaster General Ludendorff, the de facto owner of the German General Staff Headquarters

Outside the gate of the test site, they were greeted by a group of company executives none other than Gustav Krupp, president of the Krupp Group, a former diplomat who was personally arranged by Wilhelm II to join the Krupp family.

Greeted by the famous head of the Krupp military-industrial empire, Wilhelm II only nodded at him and ordered the driver to drive through the gate to the makeshift viewing platform at one end of the test site.

Military music sounded, colorful flags fluttered, Wilhelm II was distracted on the viewing platform, and as soon as he sat down, he turned his head and asked Hindenburg beside him: "So, the Austrian army and the Luo army have been defeated?" The Malvitz cluster, which you regarded as an ace, was also crippled? ”

Hindenburg, who had not yet sat down on his buttocks, hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, it is not so serious, the losses of the Austrian army and the Romanian army only account for a very small part of their total strength; As for the loss of the Malvits cluster, it can be made up for in the short term......"

Wilhelm II was not satisfied: "Anyway, the offensive on the Eastern Front has stopped, when will it be able to resume the offensive?" ”

Hindenburg hesitated, and reluctantly replied: "The departments need to replenish and recuperate, improve transportation, stock up on ammunition, and it will be a month before the offensive can be resumed at the earliest." ”

Kaiser Wilhelm II continued: "What if autumn in Russia is rainy, the roads are in poor condition, and the supply vehicles of the troops get stuck in the mud?" ”

Before Hindenburg could speak, Gustav Krupp approached again with a smirk: "Your Majesty's presence is a great honor for the contemptible people and the 200,000 employees of the entire Krupp Group......"

Wilhelm II glanced at him impatiently: "Zhilu Dao, what's the program today?" ”

Gustav Krupp bowed his head respectfully and said: "Your Majesty, today we will display a batch of cutting-edge weapons produced by our company, including hand-held machine guns, water-cooled light machine guns, anti-tank guns, high-profile machine guns, infantry portable mortars, 77mm light infantry guns and 150mm heavy infantry guns......"

Wilhelm II waved his hand at him: "Alright, let's get started." *-W-W-W-S-U-I-M-E-N-G-C-O-M-*”

Gustav hurriedly gestured to his men who were standing by. In a few moments, a short, thin middle-aged man in a gray tweed uniform approached Wilhelm II with a strange-looking firearm in his hand.

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce to you: The gun in my possession is called the 'Bergman MP16 Portable Machine Gun', developed by the Theodore Bergman Small Arms Factory in Sur, and is an individual automatic weapon that fires shè 9 mm pistol rounds."

"The gun was 81.5 centimeters long, and the total combat weight was 5.33 kilograms. The 32-round spiral drum of the Ruger P08 'Long Tube' pistol can fire up to 400 rounds per minute, with a maximum effective range of 200 to 300 meters......"

"The Army placed an order for 35,000 units in June this year, and we are one of the three manufacturers that received the first order......

Wilhelm II, apparently not interested in such a child-like thing, looked at it twice, then turned sideways and continued to ask Hindenburg: "If the Russians cannot be defeated before winter." What are you going to do? ”

Hindenburg was full of confidence: "Then we will continue the offensive after the opening of the chūn next year, until the Russians withdraw from the war, the troops on the Eastern Front can return to fight on the Western Front, the Ukrainian grain can fill our barns, and the Slavic slave labor can make up for our lack of manpower - so that we can be militarily invincible, and then take advantage of the contradictions between Britain, France, and the United States to divide and disintegrate our enemies." Strive for a decent peace. ”

"But we don't have any reserves anymore, can the Western Front really hold out until then?"

Wilhelm II was worried, and even Bergman's crisp and rapid shè sound of the MP16 failed to distract him.

"So we must first shrink the front, withdraw from the Somme salient, exchange space for time, and at the same time straighten the front, save troops, and squeeze out a reserve."

Hindenburg took the opportunity to mention the withdrawal of troops again, and Wilhelm II suddenly looked embarrassed: "Such a large-scale retreat will seriously damage the morale of the army and the people...... I'll have to think again. ”

Hindenburg took advantage of the situation and urged: "Please also ask Your Majesty to make a decision quickly!" Although for the time being, we put together some reserve divisions in the form of a downsizing of troops. But it will take time to produce and equip the corresponding automatic weapons, anti-tank weapons and infantry artillery, otherwise it will be difficult to play the desired role - the active retreat can buy us valuable time. ”

Wilhelm II turned his head unhappily: "Knowing the way - Gustav, what's next?" ”

Hearing the emperor's call, Gustav Krupp, who was originally worried, immediately came up with a smile: "Your Majesty, the next thing to show is the MG08/15 water-cooled light machine gun, which is improved from the MG08 heavy machine gun that our army has been equipped with in large quantities before the war. Although it was finalized last year, the transition to mass production began in March this year, and we are proud to be one of the seven contractors to receive an order for 130,000 units from the Army......

Accompanied by the introduction of President Gustav Krupp, a tall and sturdy soldier came to the stage with a huge weapon on his shoulder.

"The gun canceled the pry quadrupod mount for the MG08 heavy machine gun. Replace it with a lightweight bipod; Lightweight improvements have been made to the receiver; The cooling water cylinder was retained, but the water cylinder capacity was reduced from 4 liters to 3 liters; The shovel handlebar swing grip was eliminated and a rifle-style butt, a pistol-style small grip and an index finger trigger were installed...... After a series of improvements, the combat weight of the MG08/15 light machine gun was reduced to 19.5 kg, which was only one-third of the MG08 heavy machine gun......"

In the muffled sound of MG08/15, Hindenburg took advantage of the Kaiser's inattention and turned his head to Ludendorff beside him.

The demonstration lasted less than an hour, and the Kaiser and his entourage then drove away from the smoke-filled test site to a sumptuous Baroque villa on the edge of the forest, where a jīng-hearted dinner awaited them.

During the break before the dinner began, the beautiful and elegant Madame Krupp finally caught the Kaiser's attention, and Ludendorff took the opportunity to pull Gustav Krupp into the corner of the living room.

"Mr. President, let's make a long story short, I have won all the orders you want, and now it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Gustav Krupp was taken aback: "General, haven't I already cashed in?" I paid you a lot of the money needed to bring down Holweg, and I also led the public opinion campaign on the side of the Military-Industrial Federation - now that Germany is yours, what more do you want? ”

"Germany is not ours yet, Your Majesty has not fully trusted us, you have to work harder."

"What do you mean......"

Ludendorff glanced up at the other corner of the living room, where the Kaiser and Madame Krupp were chatting speculatively.

"In addition to money and public opinion, if necessary, you have to ...... at all costs"

……