The complex and precise mechanical sights, the simple and robust elevation angle runner, all bring the meticulously crafted spirit to the extreme. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Li Zhongtang looked up at this unruly steel monster, paced back and forth, looked at it twice, and then muttered excitedly: "The caliber seems to swallow the heavens and the earth, the elevation angle is like unshakable, if there is a shore defense artillery like this, there is nothing to fear in a bloody battle!"

Frederick asked softly, "Is war imminent?"

Li Zhongtang's python robe trembled slightly--there was silence for a long time, and then the old man's trembling whisper came: "With these cannons, set up a fort in Wusong and a tower-lined tower at the mouth of Dagu, you can guard the country." ”

Frederick looked up at the cannon and frowned in agreement, "My lord." Peace is not negotiated. Peace is all about fighting. ”

"Yes. It is better to pay tens of millions of dollars and cut thousands of miles of land, than to fight a war! When the fort rises from the ground, the Son of Heaven guards the country, the king dies, the sea is a Japanese law, and the British bandits and Portuguese ships do not want to land one step!" Li Zhongtang took a deep breath, turned his head and asked Frederick: "How much is this cannon worth?"

"Depending on the caliber. The 210mm cannon was the most expensive, with a price of 80,000 taels of silver and a half-year delivery. The standard 120mm single-loading gun is more economical, suitable for a large number of nailing in coastal cities, and the price is 30,000 taels of silver. Frederick bowed his head and read the quotation for a while, then suddenly lost the document casually, looked up and said, "It is better to cut thousands of miles of land than to fight." I love this quote and for the sake of it, I have to give you a twenty-percent discount. ”

"I need to carry out a modification of the shore defense artillery. Li Zhongtang solemnly bent down to look at the base of the cannon.

Suddenly, a skirt floated out, and Elena heard Xiao Qian's translation, and immediately bent down enthusiastically to guide Li Zhongtang: "The modification is very simple, the gun carriage is inlaid with gears and embedded in the guide rail, which not only makes the gun more flexible, but also can add a rate of fire accessory, so that the cannon can reach two rounds per minute." ”

"Who are you?" Li Zhongtang was attracted by this dazzling girl.

"The head of Genie Heavy Industries, I am in charge of the Krupp Project. Elena saluted with her skirt, then pressed her fingers to her chest and happily introduced herself: "I am responsible for quietly making the Krupp cannon, and the president is responsible for putting the cannon into service." ”

Li Zhongtang listened to Xiao Qian's translation, and then asked countless questions, and Elena answered them one by one. The range, ballistic walk, bore rate, rate of fire, loading, all kinds of details were mentioned, and Frederick was dizzy to hear it, and he was glad that Elena came to the rescue. Otherwise, he would never have been able to answer these details.

And Frederick was keenly aware that Li Zhongtang was shrewd, and he was clearly comparing the products: he was constantly digging into the bottom of the problem to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the cannon and the British Armstrong cannon.

He speculated that British arms dealers were competing with him for the huge Far Eastern market. So he stared nervously at the picky Li Zhongtang - Xiao Qian Translation, Elena Sales, the two girls around the pitch-black python robe, how big the order he could win was still unknown.

Frederick was trying to revive the economy. Securing huge arms orders, which can create countless jobs in Germany, is crucial to economic recovery. A long-term trade market will give Germany a continuous blood transfusion, giving him the confidence to declare war on the entire continent at the same time.

So he stared at Li Zhongtang's back.

In the end, Li Zhongtang seemed to have made up his mind, and then put forward the most demanding requirements: to be an arms expert, to have railway technology, to buy steel, and to train for free.

Elena hesitated. The elven engineers she had on hand didn't even teach her students, and she was short of people.

Frederick and the officer corps discussed for a while, and clapped like a piece of meat: "Send five artillery captains to follow Li Zhongtang to board the ship and cross the ocean to the east to train artillery and pass on experience to friends in the East." ”

There was opposition in the officer corps. Some people questioned the credibility of the business, but Frederick was determined. He died to protect Li Zhongtang. Because in this old man, Frederick saw the sleek weakness of his superiors, and also saw the surging blood of the last Zhongxing.

As a nation that has been bullied, and with the same ambition to rejuvenate the country through practice, Li Zhongtang's long-cherished wish for national defense has made Frederick feel related. Frederick was determined to wear the same underwear as the Oriental, and send the Buddha to the west, all in one go.

Li Zhongtang was emotional, and hugged his fists with emotion: "The world bullied me and was weak, but I was treated with courtesy." The three-year mining right is temporarily offered, as long as I am Li one day, the agreement will be renewed. ”

Frederick's hanging heart finally landed. He knew that in Li Zhongtang's heart, the Armstrong cannon had been defeated. The huge Far Eastern market is slowly unfolding. And all this is up to Li Zhongtang.

"There are not many soldiers, but the most important thing is fine. Well-trained, advanced and retreated, 50,000 people are enough. Frederick was reluctant to let the old man go, and went up to take his hand, and carefully summarized his experience.

"I have people, but ......" Li Zhongtang wanted to say goodbye, but there was too much helplessness piled up in his throat. He decided to keep his mouth shut, changed his words, and lowered his head and sighed: "I can buy it for a while, but I can't buy it for a lifetime." Rich people revolve around the troupe, the industry is not prosperous, and it is difficult to determine all over the world, after all, it is a dilapidated house, and the pasteur is just making up for it. ”

Frederick was speechless, looking at him in amazement.

Li Zhongtang cheered up and waved his hand out: "Don't say it, don't say it." Also ask the shooting range to test the gun to determine the type of purchase. ”

Elena was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly tiptoed to command Paul: "Minister of Military Industry, you accompany him." ”

Paul hurriedly swarmed around. Xiao Qian looked back at Frederick and followed Li Zhongtang hesitantly, as if asking, "Aren't you coming to accompany you?"

But Frederick didn't see it.

The sound of the cannon sounded all afternoon, shaking the birds of the shooting range. Li Zhongtang finally tightened his belt, spent a lot of money, ordered a total of 328 large and small artillery pieces in one go, and signed a mining rights transfer agreement for three years, with a transaction amount of more than 15 million taels of silver, which was paid in three installments, injecting Frederick's military industrial system with an unprecedentedly powerful injection.

With the support of this agreement, Elena's "Krupp Cannon" program continued to develop and strengthen, and eventually became the mainstay of the country's military industry. After repeated improvements, the Krupp cannon was put into battle and immediately became famous. But no one knew that many years ago, high-quality Krupp cannons were installed on countless batteries on the far east coast through obscure ships.

Li Zhongtang's political career was short-lived, his career as fragile as life, withering rapidly in thirty years, but the navy he trained inherited the will of bloody war, and the cannons he purchased still stood on the top of the waves. Those forts, until decades later, were a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh of the invading army.

After a long, long time, even Li Zhongtang's bones had dissolved into the soil - but the forts that dotted the coast left an indelible blow to the invading army of the Sea and Japanese who threatened to "destroy the country in three months".

In 32 years, the Haiwei stormed the Wusong Fort for 28 days.

In 37, the Haiwei fleet attempted to land in Xiamen, and the capital ship Jizhu was fired into the soul by the Hulishan Battery, piercing and sinking in one go, forcing the invading army not to dare to attack and deterring the enemy for eight months.

Because these batteries cost the invading army dearly, the invaders developed a strange custom: after each capture of a fort, the invading army would assemble in front of the Krupp cannon, line up, fire guns, and raise flags. And these cannons have been rusted in the wind and rain for decades, and their quality can be seen.

Li Zhongtang claimed to be the last paster of the empire. Even if he can't rebel against history, the defense facilities he left behind will still bless future generations. He has knowledge under the spring, and he should also look at it.