Chapter 28: A Glimpse of the Arsenal

  The weather by the river is as changeable as a doll's face, especially in late summer and early autumn. When I went out for exercise in the morning, it was still drizzling with light rain, but now it has turned into bright sunshine.

  Yang Qiubai first arranged for Lei Meng to be his deputy, then he and Xiao Anguo had a casual meal in the soldiers' cafeteria. After that, he changed into a loose-fitting short-sleeved shirt and brought both M1911A1s with him. After last night's events, he knew even more how "attractive" this new, genuine Manchu "great hero" was during these uncertain times when friend and foe were unclear.

  For convenience, he also brought Zhang Wenjing and Lei Meng. The former was usually a clerk who handled miscellaneous matters, while the latter... didn't know whose cavalry uniform he had stripped off, and all along the way, he was showing off as if afraid others wouldn't know he had been promoted.

  The gun factory was not far from the school field, and it would take about twenty minutes to walk there. As the chimneys in the distance got closer, Yang Qiu's heart began to beat faster.

  The river wind brought a low hum of steam engines, listening to the unique rhythm of this era, he seemed to see a picture of red hot steel splashing and jumping in front of him. He had a data machine full of drawings, but it couldn't be turned into reality. Even now, he still had to be careful not to reveal his desire and ambition for the two factories, hiding and covering up. These days were really not worth living.

  He really wished he could throw away everything and directly receive the arsenal factory, using the equipment inside to create all kinds of machinery and equipment, completing his dream in a flash. But reality told him that he must be patient, patient again!

  Whether it was the Central Empire that had experienced three hundred years, or the various factions and sects that were eyeing each other, none of them would allow him to easily lay hands on this region that controlled the throat of China and possessed unique conditions and resources.

  So he still needs to wait, waiting for an opportunity, a chance to draw his sword!

  In the blink of an eye, a group of people had already arrived at the gun factory. From the outside, the scale of the gun factory was indeed not small, with rows of buildings stretching for thousands of meters, and chimneys occasionally spewing out black smoke.

  "Hey, isn't this Big Brother Lei? How come you have time to visit the factory today? Wait a minute, that military uniform... you've been promoted!" As soon as he arrived at the factory gate, several young men with guns on their backs surrounded him, shouting and cheering. One of them, who seemed to be bursting with energy, was particularly familiar and pointed at the military uniform with envy in his eyes, speaking in an especially affectionate tone.

  "Last year when Lei Meng just arrived, he had a fight with these kids. Who would have thought that after all the commotion, they became familiar with each other?" Zhang Wenjing said with a smile while introducing Yang Qiu: "Go call your team leader over and tell him that the newly appointed 42nd Banner Commander Yang has come to see him."

  Yang Qiu took over the 42nd banner, and the news had long spread throughout Wuchang's three towns. The young man with a strong physique hastily sent someone to find the team leader and brought others to pay their respects: "Security Team Su Xiaohu pays his respects to General Yang."

  Yang Qiugang helped Su Xiaohu up, and before he could speak, a burly man in his thirties with a pistol holstered at his waist ran out of the factory. Seeing Yang Qiugang, he hastily saluted: "Ma Dabiao, head of security at Gun Factory, at your service, Commander."

  Ma Dabiao is a honest man, ten years ago he was already working in the security team of the Gun Factory, after so many years of hard work, he finally became the leader of the security team, so he doesn't dare to slack off under Yang Qiucan's management.

  "Ma Guan didn't need to be polite, I'm not here to pick faults today. Firstly, I wanted to take a look at everyone, and secondly, my handgun needs some bullets replenished. The military doesn't have this model, so I thought of coming to find Master to see if you can make a few for me."

  Ma Dabiao glanced at the pistol tied to Yang Qiu's leg, he had never seen anyone carry a gun like this before. He wondered if Yang Qiu was just a pretty face, and quickly called out for Su Xiaohu to come over and instructed him: "Go get your dad."

  After seeing Su Xiaohu leave, Ma Dabiao said: "General Biao doesn't know that Su Xiaohu's father is the manager of the gun factory and is one of our best masters here."

  "That's great! I wonder if Zhang Guan can take me to see the artillery factory? This is my first time here."

  42 led the security team, Ma Dabiao didn't dare to disobey, and quickly took Yang Qiu and others into the factory area. After entering the factory area, everyone was attracted by the grand scale in front of them. The brick-and-tile factory buildings that were similar to those of the 50s and 60s looked pretty good, but when they entered the factory building, Yang Qiu suddenly frowned.

  Only three words can describe it: dirty, messy, broken!

  A tangled web of wires hung from the rafters like a spider's web, with no apparent order. The interior of the factory was cluttered and chaotic, with ancient machinery on display, many of which were rusting away. Despite still being operational, the floor was covered in yellow dust and stagnant water. A large pile of rifle stocks and parts lay scattered in the corner, many of which had already begun to mold.

  Although the workers all stopped what they were doing to pay their respects to Yang Qiu at Ma Dabiao's introduction, he lost the heart to make any comforting speech upon seeing this scene.

  The workshops for gun barrel turning, sulfuric acid production, shell pressing, and fuse manufacturing, etc. As Yang Qiu looked over each workshop, the wrinkles on his forehead deepened, especially when he saw that the cannon factory had actually stopped production, which made him sigh heavily in his heart.

  In the meantime, he had thought about the environment and manufacturing capabilities here, and he thought he was already mentally prepared. But still didn't expect it to be so bad. Not to mention the manufacturing capability, just the dirty and chaotic working environment made him, a retired military officer who used to work in one of the best Shanghai Volkswagen factories in China, unbearable to see, let alone those rusty machines and equipment.

  What can be made with this technology and equipment? Moreover, Hanyang adopted the backward package system, simply put, a production group of three or four people was formed to work on their own, and one gun was counted as one payment. Many workers had to do everything from parts to gun stocks by themselves, with extremely low efficiency.

  "Twenty years!"

  After seeing Yang Qiu enter the factory area, he became depressed and suddenly said this sentence. Xiao Anguo asked beside him: "Brother, what did you say twenty years?"

  Yang Qiuchan let out a bitter laugh, picked up a half-finished gun barrel and said: "Twenty years ago, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong started the Westernization Movement to strengthen the military and the country. They traveled all over Europe and America, set up iron foundries and munitions factories, introduced the best machines and equipment from Europe and America at that time, and even invited foreigners to supervise and manage the manufacturing bureaus in Jiangnan and Dagu. But now, looking back, our equipment has not been updated for twenty years, our technology has not caught up, and we have made no progress whatsoever! We've wasted twenty whole years!"

  Yang Qiu's words struck a chord with Zhang Wenjing beside him. He wasn't visiting the Gun Factory for the first time, and not to mention more developed Europe and America, just comparing it with the few factories he had visited in Yokohama, Japan before, his own side was indeed somewhat outdated.

  "Well said, indeed twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. But, sir, you don't have to be overly modest, I may not dare compare myself to foreigners, but I also won't belittle myself." Just as everyone was moved by Yang Qiu's words, a voice suddenly came from behind, and when they turned their heads, Su Xiaohu brought over an old man who looked somewhat similar to him.

  The old man was stubborn, and when he heard Yang Qiu belittle Hanyang, his tone was unpleasant: "Gun factory manager Su Hongsheng has met with the banner commander, met with all the dignitaries, I wonder if the banner commander has any instructions!"

  "This is Su Xiaohu's father, Su Hongsheng. He is the best master craftsman in our area. When the factory was first established, he even went to Germany to study manufacturing for three years. Even German masters said that his skills are exquisite and he is well-versed in gun manufacturing."

  After listening to Ma Dabiao's introduction, Yang Qiu also carefully examined Su Hongsheng. His white hair was combed neatly, and he wore a pair of glasses. He was dressed in a clean, dark blue changshan, which made him look like a teacher. His gait was dignified and elegant, but his hands were covered with calluses, clearly the result of years of operating machinery.

  As for the hint of arrogance on his face, Yang Qiu directly ignored it. In this era, domestic technical workers with superb skills are hard to find, and someone like him who has studied in Germany is considered a great talent. I guess even if Yuan Shikai were in front of him, he would have to tolerate a few arrogant words.

  Yang Qiu has met Old Su.

  "You can just call me Hong Sheng, sir." Su Hongsheng simply cupped his hands and said: "I heard that you want to have some bullets made, Xiaohu, draw the dimensions and I'll send them to the bullet factory."

  Not having seen it yet, let Su Xiaohu take the dimensions to imitate. It's clear that he was dissatisfied with Yang Qiu's earlier belittling of Hanyang. After all, this is China's best gun factory, and he has spent decades of his heart's blood here. How can he tolerate others speaking ill of it?

  Yang Qiu didn't get angry, and with a faint smile, he pulled out his own pistol. He also asked Xiao Anguo to bring over the Mauser 1896, but what was strange was that he didn't hand the gun over to Su Hongsheng. Instead, he walked over to the side table, and under everyone's astonished gaze, he quickly disassembled both guns into parts with swift movements, like lightning.

  Others may not think much of this move, but the people present were either gun enthusiasts or manufacturers, and they all knew a thing or two about disassembling firearms. However, none of them had ever seen anyone do it so quickly. Especially Yang Qiu, who didn't even use any tools - with the Mauser, which was particularly complicated to disassemble, he simply used a bullet to get the job done.

  Lei Meng was even more astonished, only then did he understand what it meant to hide one's true abilities, thinking to himself that the other person indeed had real skills, and considering this, his loss earlier didn't seem so embarrassing after all.

  "You're absolutely right."

  Zhang Wenjing's boastful voice, Su Hongsheng had already picked up the two guns' parts and examined them carefully. The more he looked, the less natural his expression became. Earlier, he had boasted that Han Yang should not be underestimated, but when he saw these two guns, his face subtly changed.

  "American-made Browning 1911 pistol, caliber 11.43mm (mm equivalent to inches at the time), recoil-operated, with a magazine capacity of eight rounds, 6000-rounds without failure, automatic continuous firing, using rimless pistol cartridges, one shot can guarantee to make an adult male lose his ability to act!"

  Yang Qiu finished speaking and picked up Xiao An's Mauser pistol, because this gun did not truly enter the country until 1912 due to purchases by the Beiyang government and Germany, so everyone was still unfamiliar with it. He took out Marquina's pistol and demonstrated how to load it while introducing: "German-made Mauser 1896, also known as a semi-automatic pistol, caliber 0.763 inches, fine workmanship, six grooves in the barrel, can fire continuously after loading, fixed magazine, bridge-loaded, can hold ten rounds at a time."

  Semiautomatic pistols had just begun to rise in Europe and America, so the domestic military units were not equipped with such pistols at all. Only a few high-ranking officials or people like Du Lao Liu would buy a few for self-defense from the black market. After Su Hongsheng finished looking at all the scattered parts, his face had completely changed.

  "Who would have thought, who would have thought, I am indeed......"

  Yang Qiu quickly reloaded the two guns and handed them back to Su Hongsheng, who had a gleam in his eye. He then pulled out one 11.34mm and one 7.63mm bullet and gave them to him, saying: "The bullet samples are here, I'll come back for them in ten days."

  Just as Yang Qiu was about to leave, Su Hongsheng, who had devoted his life to the study and manufacture of firearms, suddenly forgot what he had just said and hastily asked: "Sir, may these two guns be left here for me to admire for a few days?" He feared that Yang Qiu would not be at ease, so he guaranteed: "Sir, rest assured, I pledge my family's life and property that they will certainly be returned within three days!"

  When Xiao Anguo heard Su Hongsheng say this, he was somewhat moved. Moreover, many people in the army knew Su Hongsheng's great name, so he wanted to go and pull out his gun. Unexpectedly, as soon as his hand grasped the gun handle, it was pressed down by Yang Qiu.

  "Su Lao, I have the detailed design drawings of both guns, it's no big deal to give them to you, but how many can you make in a year?" Su Hongsheng was speechless, and Yang Qiu paused for a moment: "Twenty years of technical blankness, do you really think that relying on morale alone can make up for it? I'll tell you, even if we don't mention Germany, just Japan, as long as they get the design drawings, they can produce tens of thousands in a year!"

  "What's the point of following others' ass all your life!" Yang Qiu said, not caring about the thoughtful people around him, and turned away.