Chapter 48: Poaching from the Department of Civil Engineering

  The next day, Tan Xiao woke up with a bit of dizziness, he had drunk too much yesterday! However, he must go and take a look at the weapons that came from India. When he arrived, Peng Hanbai and Sun Liren were already there as scheduled.

  This time, the number of weapons transported from India was not small, but the variety was not many. Apart from 30 Type 91 105mm field guns, there were only submachine guns and machine guns. In addition, there were a large number of molds, equipment, and parts - the Zero Ling Ordnance Factory would finally start mass-producing firearms. Sun Liren saw these "Miss Container's Candy Bars" for the first time, which were called squad-use machine guns. After asking some performance data and doing several long and short bursts, Sun Liren was excited to jump up, this was the best squad-use machine gun he had ever seen! Those "Close Combat" submachine guns that looked similar to MP18 also received his praise after trial use!

  This is of course the best submachine gun and machine gun in this era! Tan Xiao was very pleased. This time, a total of 600 machine guns and 800 submachine guns were sent, all of which were trial products from various factories. After carefully examining the tolerances of each part of these firearms, Tan Xiao couldn't help but sigh: The products from six factories are completely indistinguishable in terms of content, and the industrial level of the United Kingdom, which claims to be the world's industrial leader, is really too high!

  Sun Liren now knew that these cannons were imitations of Japanese products from British factories in India, and couldn't help but feel puzzled: since they were made by such advanced British factories, why did they still need to imitate Japan?

  "Folks, you should know that Japan lacks resources, so their products must be made with thriftiness and durability in mind. Our future domestically-produced weapons will also have to follow this path, which is why I intentionally asked India to emulate the Japanese model!" Tan Xiao explained: "Take this cannon for example, its caliber is 105mm, the shell weighs 15.76kg, and its range exceeds 10 kilometers. Guess how much it weighs? Only 1750kg! That's just over 300kg more than the 75mm caliber L/29 Krupp! If we calculate based on caliber power versus weight ratio, Japanese cannons are actually more advanced than those of Europe and America in the 105mm caliber range!"

  For Sun Liren, who has always advocated for American machinery, it is rare to make a comprehensive comparison of various countries' weapons. However, he now has no doubt about Tan Xiao's military level, and he also finds that Tan Xiao considers weapons from the perspective of war rather than battles. This also makes him more respectful of this young genius commander, Tan Xiao is wholeheartedly preparing for the Sino-Japanese War!

  Although the time for the military exercise is still far away, the competition between Sun Liren and Peng Huanbo's two divisions has already reached a white-hot stage. As the vanguard unit of the entire division training, Peng Huanbo naturally wants to give Sun Liren, this outsider, a show of his skills. However, the foundation of the Taxation Police Brigade is actually very solid, although it was temporarily disrupted by Huang Jie's careless actions, but soon rectified by Sun Liren; plus, the grassroots commanders of the Taxation Police Brigade have high cultural levels and most participated in the January 28th Shanghai War, whether in combat experience or understanding of new tactics, they are not comparable to ordinary units with little fighting experience. As a result, Peng Huanbo's division, which had been intensifying its training to widen the gap, not only failed to achieve its goal but also saw the Taxation Police Brigade narrow the gap in tactical skills, and if the situation continues for another month or two, there may even be a trend of surpassing!

  This competition is what Tan Xiaole is happy to see, because of their benign competition, coupled with the increasing number of old soldiers in the original Wild One Division who have reached the standard, the training level and improvement speed of the Wild One Army have also entered the acceleration phase. All along, Tan Xiaole has believed that the soldiers of this era, due to the gap in knowledge, will definitely mature later than those of later generations; however, he overlooked one point: combat experience! The soldiers of this era, especially those who participated in this comprehensive training, are basically all veterans who have participated in multiple large-scale wars! Therefore, although the new-style training has just begun and the soldiers' understanding of tactical arrangements is not yet in place, they can still complete tactical drills very well under the leadership of grassroots commanders! It's not just the Wild One Army that's like this; most of the troops that participated in the comprehensive training are the same, which really satisfies Tan Xiaole. If things go on like this, whether it's developing habits or truly understanding the essence of tactics, all troops will have a qualitative leap in combat effectiveness!

  Sun Peng's competition is now ubiquitous, looking at the thousands of light machine guns and assault rifles, the two have already begun to verbally probe Tan Xiao, competing for priority equipment.

  "You guys only know how to fight over trifles, have you seen those thirty large cannons?!" Tan Xiao pointed at the distant artillery position that was starting to conduct test firings: "The training intensity of our Wild One Army's artillery is even higher than what the US military understands! This level, I dare say, is world-class! You see those Type 91 105mm field guns, they're so light, and with our special disassembly transportation training and targeted design of transportation tools, eighty people can handle one cannon with ease. So my equipment is thirty cannons per main combat artillery regiment, and since we have many excellent gunners, there's no need to waste them. Therefore, my artillery regiments are larger than the average main combat division's artillery regiments. Each regiment has an additional ten Type 92 105mm field guns for suppressive fire, which is currently the longest-range 105mm cannon in the world! This way, the number of people in my artillery regiments matches that of the infantry regiments, and it's easy to calculate the numbers!" Tan Xiao suddenly had an extra 47 million, and he felt rich and powerful again.

  Sun Liren and Peng Hanbo were thrilled to hear that! Although the Japanese had more than 50 guns in a division, they were mostly 75mm, like the First Army, where each division's heavy artillery battalion was equipped with 105mm, and incredibly, there were as many as 40! That is to say, any main combat division of the First Army had much stronger firepower than the Japanese Type A main force divisions. Sun Liren felt this deeply, although the Taxation Police Brigade had always been better equipped than other armies and was used to big scenes, but compared to the current First Army, it was still far inferior! After all, going all out to fight against Japan and having a lot of enthusiasm is not the same thing!

  "This doesn't even count my artillery brigade! That's a division equipped with 150mm big guns! Plus the light artillery, anti-aircraft troops' high-altitude cannons, I dare say that in terms of firepower, my Wild One Army is stronger than four Japanese divisions combined!" Tan Xiao spoke confidently: "You're all thinking about these machine guns and submachine guns, but I'm telling you, within six months, all the light machine guns and submachine guns in my entire army will be replaced with the two models you see now! As for heavy machine guns, there are even better ones than the current Type 24 coming soon! Don't be so petty..."

  "Your Excellency, I think we should no longer call our big gun the Japanese model, it sounds awkward!" Sun Liren suggested: "Since it has a connection with Japan, let's keep a Japanese character and name it 'Shooting Sun'?"

  "Great!" Tan Xiao laughed and was overjoyed: "Then let's call it Ri Yu! ... Deputy officer, take note and go back to carefully list the names. All Japanese cannons selected and copied by our army will be called Ri Yu! This one will be called 'Ri Yu Style' 105mm field cannon! Too awesome, Ri Yu!"

  Just as they were discussing the pros and cons of these weapons and their new names, Gui Yongqing, Guan Linzheng, Huang Wei, and Wang Jingjiu arrived. Gui Yongqing was one of the few people who knew that Tan Xiao had brought back a batch of standard weapons from India for the Wild Army to equip, so he came early to observe - he had already made up his mind to let the Central Instructional Corps fully equip with the same weapons as the Wild Army, except for rifles! As for Guan Linzheng, he also had the same idea; Wang Jingjiu and Gui Yongqing had a good relationship, so he wanted to come along for the ride; Huang Wei only found out yesterday that the equipment was not just talk, but actually being transported. The 11th Division had just finished replacing all its German-style weapons with those from other armies, and he couldn't be happier. When he heard that Gui Yongqing and the others were coming to see Tan Xiao, he also came along, thickening his skin.

  As for the plan to command the instructional troops, Tan Xiao had known about it long ago. This is a good thing! With one more elite troop and one more anti-Japanese force, Gui Yongqing is not someone who would take things for free. The Instructional Corps has plenty of money! As for Guan Linzheng and Wang Jingjiu, there's no problem either. The 25th Division was originally a mid-stream anti-Japanese force in the north, and it was one of the first to be equipped with tanks; the 87th Division is also a top-notch division, and its equipment costs must be much higher. They definitely won't take things for free either. However, Tan Xiao hesitated when it came to Huang Wei's 11th Division: this is Chen Cheng's faction, and they deliberately delayed their arrival during the military reorganization, making it clear that they didn't submit to Tan Xiao. But this stubborn "bookworm" has a thick face, and despite his not-so-good relationship with Guan Linzheng, he still followed along closely.

  "Tan, you can't be so biased! My 11th division may have arrived a few days late, but we were really fighting in Zhejiang...!" Huang Wei's face was truly thick-skinned, and seeing those machine guns made his eyes shine even brighter!

  "This gun was custom-made, not like those discounted British military goods, it's expensive...!" Tan Xiao Lian gave a glance to Gu Yong Qing: "Don't believe me? Ask Captain Gui, this one gun can buy three ZB26s!"

  "Yes, yes, this gun is good, but expensive! My teaching regiment has the Military Affairs Department watching over it, and military funds are relatively abundant..."

  "Can't I afford to take out the 11th division? Money, I have!" Huang Wei couldn't bear the ZB26 with only twenty bullets after seeing the "candy bar"!

  Tan Xiao didn't expect Huang Wei to insist on equipping "candy bars", only then did he remember that this guy was notoriously stubborn, in the Luo store, he had beaten a division to the point where not even a brigade was left! Fighting to the death is one thing, but fighting wits is another matter altogether.

  "It's not necessarily possible to buy it even with money!" Tan Xiao said: "The output is there! ...... However, if you really insist on buying it, it's not impossible! But there's a condition!"

  "This gun is really awesome! Can't even buy it with money, Huang Wei's temper flared up: "Alright! Whatever conditions are fine! You say!" He didn't even look at the conditions and already agreed, looks like he's decided to buy this gun!"

  "Alright! Six months of intensive training, every month your troops will take turns with the First Army for exercises and drills. I'll set the agenda, if in six evaluations the Eleventh Division passes just once, I'll sell you this rifle!" Tan Xiao seemed to look down on the Eleventh Division.

  "Brother, why not let the 25th Division come over! It's a rare opportunity to receive guidance..." Guan Linzheng heard this and actually wanted to give the 25th Division a chance to have Tan Xiao direct them personally. This also resolved Huang Wei's awkwardness.

  As for Tan Xiao's military level, Huang Wei hadn't seen much of it, but a genius who could subdue all the German military advisers, he still acknowledged: "I know I'm not an enemy to be commanded, but I'll do my best!…… However, even if this is considered losing, I still want to buy this gun!" Huang Wei was indeed that kind of person who wouldn't back down.

  Tan Xiao wasn't really not giving him guns - he was selling them, at a high price, and had as many as he wanted. However, Tan Xiao wanted to take the opportunity to reform Huang Wei's combat thinking, making it less rigid; but for this general who only fought to the death, Tan Xiao still admired him. Moreover, although Huang Wei didn't get along with Guan Linzheng, this didn't mean he couldn't get along with Tan Xiao - both Guan and Huang were straightforward and stubborn, so it would be strange if they could get along!

  Tan Xiaoxin thought for a moment: it wouldn't be strange if Huang Wei became his own loyal supporter, because this person is stubborn and once he recognizes you, he will never betray you. Moreover, this person values old friendships! It's said that at the beginning of the year, Yu Jiti surrounded and captured the Red Army, capturing Fang Zhimin and Liu Chouxin; in the freezing cold, they didn't even give their classmates a full meal or send warm clothes to keep them company. Later, when Huang Wei met Yu Jiti, he openly scolded him. This shows that this person is straightforward and will stand up for his old classmates who have been captured.

  "Huang Shizhang!" Tan Xiao suddenly said seriously: "Do you know why I hesitated to give you a good gun? Because this gun is very precious, it should be given to the best troops! To the best general! You fight bravely and fiercely, but you are impulsive and lack strategy!" He spoke directly to Huang's face: "Your 11th division was surrounded and broke through with only 800 men left, without surrendering, that's great! The 11th division is a good unit! But why were they surrounded, have you thought about it? Alright, apart from training your troops, come to my headquarters, we'll spar and exchange ideas. When I think you're worthy of the title 'good general', I'll sell you the gun!"

  Not to mention Huang Wei, even Gui Yongqing and Guan Linzheng didn't expect Tan Xiao to say this - after all, Huang Wei is a senior brother from the same period! Usually, Tan Xiao doesn't put on airs with these senior brothers, treating them like brothers, so why does he have an overbearing tone when talking about Huang Wei? Guan Linzheng, who had disagreements with Huang Wei, was secretly delighted...

  "Alright, it's settled then! If I really can't enter the commander's eyes, then I won't be a general! I'll be your deputy officer!" Huang Wei was both stimulated and confident, he really believed in Tan Xiao's words.

  Huang Wei's stubbornness is truly eye-opening: he insisted on staying to observe the training of the Wild One Army, and even declared that as long as he himself didn't feel like he had mastered it, he would continue to serve as a deputy officer in the Wild One Army!

  Gu Yongqing and others were stunned, they knew Huang's temper, but they didn't expect Tan Xiao to use such a hard-handed approach to subdue him. This kind of person, once they really admire someone, if others say half a bad word about their idol in front of them, they will be beaten! They knew Tan Xiao's military level; from now on, Huang Wei's troops belonged to Tan!

  After everyone had discussed and agreed on the delivery time and price of each department's machine guns and submachine guns, they all left, except for Huang Wei, who went to watch Peng Hanbai's training session!

  Tan Xiao continued to stay in the trial field of the ordnance factory, he was a serious person, especially when it came to equipment. In the garrison training base of later generations, he often had to participate in some new weapon simulation combat use, so he wanted to see the full inspection situation of these guns.

  "Hey, General Tan!" A excited shout came from afar. It was Ruru, the Elma factory engineer who had stayed behind voluntarily. He was walking over with several workers carrying a machine gun - MG34.

  "General, do you remember that time when you said that a good rifle can win a battle, but only a good and cheap rifle can win the war... I agree with you. And you always thought that the MG34 was too expensive, and that we should eliminate those machining processes that only use 25% of materials and adopt stamping, casting, welding and other processes." Rul said: "I later referenced the general's design for the 'Wild Kid' rifle parts processing method, oh, and also borrowed from your technique called roll-welding to make mortar tubes, and came up with this..."

  Isn't that the MG34?! Could it be the MG42 he's been trying to make all along?! Tan Xiao was shocked, staring at the rounded barrel. Isn't the MG42 supposed to have a square barrel? Ah... welded... Tan Xiao understood.

  Due to changes in design conditions and the addition of some innovative thinking by Tang Xiao, this engineer named Lu Er didn't produce the historically accurate square-barreled MG42, but instead produced a round-barreled one!

  In fact, since Rul was not a man of the Mauser company, he had always had a subconscious desire to change the original craftsmanship when designing this modified gun. When he saw many parts of Tan Xiao's "Wild Boy" semi-automatic rifle processing technology design, he gained great inspiration; after contacting the recoilless gun production line, his thinking became even more broadened. So, based on the principles of saving materials and simplifying production, he designed a new process for the MG34, the tubular MG42!

  Compared to the historical MG42, they are roughly the same in terms of materials; the new MG34 is even more economical; the key difference is that it uses spot welding to directly weld the non-moving parts onto a steel plate, and utilizes roll welding technology through newly designed fixtures to directly roll the steel plate into the barrel outer casing!

  The new manufacturing process is more material-efficient than the historical MG 42, and the introduction of spot welding technology makes the processing more difficult. Of course, this requires specialized production equipment such as fixtures and welding equipment, which adds some links to the production process, but these links will not slow down the production speed, because this part is only a pre-fabricated component that is produced separately from the firing mechanism.

  The new MG34 and the original design are basically no different in mechanical and structural terms, avoiding the historical drawbacks of the MG42 being unsuitable for use on tanks and armored vehicles, while retaining all other advantages! - A more affordable and excellent MG42!

  Those newly designed special processing machinery and molds, fixtures have not been made yet, the parts were produced in India through other equipment, just arrived yesterday, Ruhr personally assembled them, and came to try the gun today!

  After verifying the material and processing cost data, Tan Xiao personally tried out this machine gun - this is the mobile heavy machine gun he wanted! Now this reorganized MG34 machine gun is also named after the Republic of China 24, but uses the first letter of English: MG-24! What a coincidence!

  It was fortunate to see the trial shooting of this gun, and there were also Huang Jie, Li Yutang, Wang Wanling, Zhou Lei, Zhong Song and others. At noon, the remaining eight division commanders and independent brigade commanders learned that the Wild One Army had a much better machine gun than the ZB26 for training. They came together to request the equipment of this machine gun, coincidentally encountering the trial shooting of the MG-24!

  They had long heard Tan Xiao say that the heavy machine gun of the Wild One Army would be equipped with two types of guns using the same bullets. One was a domestic product that could be used as an anti-aircraft machine gun, with continuous shooting reaching four hours and twenty-four minutes. The other was a heavy machine gun specially provided for the rapid tactical heavy machine gun squad, with a shocking firing speed. Today, this heavy machine gun is displayed in front of everyone, and when it opens fire, oh my god, it's a metal storm! After the shock, each of these generals asked to equip their troops with a batch, no matter how expensive they were!

  In the evening, the leaders of various departments gathered again at Xiangxiang Building. They came to drink Huang Wei's master's wine - "Huang Dazi" formally proposed to re-study military courses after spending an afternoon with Peng Hanbo and went to Ye Yijun to follow Tan Xiao!

  At the banquet, "Huang Dazi" even personally poured a full cup of wine to perform the ceremony of paying respects to his master, making Tan Xiao embarrassed and everyone else not letting go... However, from everyone's expressions, it can be seen that they have already acknowledged Tan Xiao - Huang Wei is someone everyone understands very well, if he wasn't thoroughly convinced by Tan Xiao, he wouldn't put on this show!

  Due to the contact of these days, the leaders all understood Tan Xiao's position in Chiang Kai-shek's heart. The first student of the emperor; a younger brother who is unbeatable in military affairs; a powerful person who dares to severely criticize even the country's largest royal relatives; and also a big brother who can bring more benefits to everyone and will not leave anyone behind. Everyone was thoroughly convinced. Before dispersing, the leaders came together for a group photo, with Tan Xiao, who had drunk a bit too much, being surrounded by everyone in the first row center. This photo witnessed a historic moment: Tan Xiao became the true leader of the Whampoa clique! The unanimously recognized leader! Regardless of whether it was the military and political faction, the civil engineering faction, or other factions, they all now only obeyed one person besides the school principal - Tan Xiao.

  After dispersing, Tan Xiao, who was half drunk, did not go to Ju Hui Mountain Villa, but returned to the military department as usual.

  Upon arrival at the military department, he saw his aide handing him a telegram from Rong Hui: "...... 'Baton Baton' and 'Wild Boy' have been selected by the French Army to be equipped as standard rifles! ...... Tomorrow, I will return to Lingling with a team of British veteran pilots to discuss important matters......"

  Rong Hui is back! That's great! Tan Xiao was so excited that everyone woke up!

  These days, day and night miss each other, although often telegramming, even directly sending secret telegrams between the two, but how can they meet in person? Tan Xiao has already ignored that sentence "there is something important to discuss", he just knows that tomorrow he can see the person who has been on his mind!

  "This chapter was written in a sleepless night after the five little guys were stolen, under the influence of fatigue and emotions... It's just a plot transition and some foreshadowing... This week's book didn't get any recommendations, but it still ranked high on the click-through chart. Thank you very much for your support, fellow book friends! Next, I'll be thinking about the ups and downs of the plot..."