The sun never sets in America

Chapter 95 Preparing for the Battle

Xijing Arsenal...

It was established less than a month ago, but it is already the largest arsenal and ordnance manufacturing group in Han Dynasty.

This arsenal is located in the Cowbell District on the outskirts of Xijing City, but it looks out of place with the surrounding industrial area. Not only does it have several miles of walls, but there are also a large number of soldiers patrolling with live ammunition. Once discovered, Strangers will come forward and warn them to leave. If the warning is ineffective, they will shoot a warning shot. However, if after shooting, they still insist on going their own way and break in, then the consequences can be imagined. How serious.

If the circumstances are minor, they will be arrested and interrogated directly; if the circumstances are serious, those who even show signs of violent resistance to the law on the spot will be shot directly.

Even if his family appealed afterwards, it would not work because this place was a restricted area from the beginning.

No one knows what is going on inside every day, but 24 hours a day, you can see the roar of machines and the continuous smoke coming out of several thick chimneys...

From the constant smoke, we can see how intensive the production plan of the largest arsenal in Han Dynasty is.

In fact, in addition to the Xijing Arsenal based on the Los Angeles Arsenal, the Han Dynasty is also building a medium-sized arsenal in several other cities. However, due to production line factors, there are currently only the Jinshan Arsenal in Jinshan City and the strategically located Beimen. The city's Beimen Arsenal has complete production lines for muskets, cannons, and ammunition. Several other cities either lack raw materials and production lines, or they can only produce a single product.

For example, the Red Mountain Arsenal in Red Mountain City, Baja California, can only produce 1840-type flintlock rifles and accompanying ammunition, and the output is not very large. Most of the local production teams' muskets and ammunition are controlled by the local government. and procurement from nearby areas to maintain the survival and development of this local only good heavy industry enterprise...

Otherwise, relying on the meager production capacity of one factory in Hongshan Arsenal, without the support of the local government, it would have been defeated by Xijing, Jinshan, Beimen, and several arsenals, and how could it still be alive today?

As for Nanmen City, except for some coastal ship repair yards, it is basically the fishing industry. It can be said that the fishing industry feeds most people in Nanmen City. The local fishermen will even take the risk of sailing their fishing boats to Mexico. Side fishing…

There were several conflicts with Mexican fishermen, which even directly triggered a war! !

Since then, the fishing industry in Nanmen City has also stopped for a long time, and it has not recovered until now.

Boom...boom...

In the only unenclosed open space on the side behind the Xijing Arsenal, a test firing of artillery is taking place. These artillery pieces belong to the latest batch of Thunder series, twelve-pound front-loading smoothbore artillery.

In the earliest days, during the Liujiapu period, there were a large number of code names, serial numbers, divine power, and divine weapons regarding artillery, which seemed chaotic.

Later, after Liu Peng integrated the entire ordnance industry system, he set standards for the naming of each weapon. Weapons can be named with the so-called year number, such as the 1840-style flintlock rifle.

As for the Thunder Cannon, it is undoubtedly named after a non-year name.

At present, in the Han army, the most frequently used and widely used artillery, in addition to the fast-moving six-pound artillery, is the twelve-pound front-loading smoothbore cannon.

This kind of artillery has the advantages of high power and suitable for large-scale positional warfare and siege warfare.

In the entire Han army, the number of soldiers serving is very large, and it is not an exaggeration to describe them as the mainstay.

"The target hit..."

On the opposite side of the target, a mixed-race soldier ran over. He spoke not fluent Mandarin and reported back to the testers.

"Continue to test the next batch..." Wang Haijun, the supervisor of the complex test, put a check mark on the form in his hand with the seventeen batches written on it. This check mark means that the No. 17 batch of artillery has completed the test. After writing, Wang Haijun shouted without raising his head.

"Yes!!" Several testers around him immediately responded, and then a new batch of artillery made the sound of loading ammunition.

Boom...boom...

Another burst of dense shell explosions came, but Wang Haijun only slightly ignored the sound and didn't even cover his ears, which showed that he was used to such things.

"Didn't this batch of guns cost money for firing last time? Why are they here again??" Wang Haijun flipped through the form in his hand. When he saw a list of muskets codenamed Lightning, he said to himself in confusion.

As far as he knew, it was said that a new gun was developed some time ago and was still in the experimental stage. After the first few attempts, it was basically scrapped on the spot. There were even two cases where it exploded at the moment of shooting. If he hadn't been prepared in advance and put on protective armor for the gun testers, two people would have died.

"This gun must be the same as last time, useless..." Wang Haijun muttered, "Who is that, Little Lante, come here." Wang Haijun then shouted to a gun tester who was obviously of mixed race appearance.

"Supervisor Wang, are you looking for me?" Lante, who spoke a strong foreign Mandarin, ran up to Wang Haijun and asked, with a trace of confusion in his eyes. He didn't know what he was looking for. ?
"Go and test the gun..." Wang Haijun looked at Lant and ordered.

"What kind of gun, Type [-]?" Lan Te replied to Wang Haijun at a loss, "But wasn't that thing just tested this morning?" Lan Te asked Wang Haijun doubtfully. In his opinion, The general order is to test the gun in the morning and the gun in the afternoon. Why do we need to test the gun today? ?
"It's not Type [-], it's the one you tried last time." Wang Haijun said to Lan Te with a smile, his tone full of schadenfreude.

"What??" When he heard that it was the artillery that was tested last time, Lan Te's face immediately turned ugly. He still can't forget the feeling of that strange gun being shot and exploded in his hand. If he hadn't been wearing protective gloves, the feeling would have been too It's made of bison leather, and its response is so fast that it might even make your hands crippled.

"Supervisor Wang, please do me a favor, can you try with someone else?" Lan Te put on a flattering face and pleaded with Wang Haijun. In his opinion, if this happens again, he will not die! !

"No, you have the most experience with that gun in the entire shooting range. We can rest assured if you come to shoot." Wang Haijun refused without hesitation, "Don't worry, I will give you the bonus at the end of this year when I report it to the superior. Double it." Wang Haijun tempted him with money.

"But……"

"There's nothing more to say, go quickly, they're still waiting!!" Wang Haijun immediately interrupted Lan Te's attempt to continue and kicked him out.

"Damn, what a bad luck!!" Lante cursed as he walked away, feeling extremely aggrieved.

In his opinion, testing that gun was not done by humans at all, and maybe even his life would be at risk this time.

.............................................

"According to our current strategic plan, we will launch operations against the Mexican army according to two strategic clusters this time..." In a secret war room of the army, Li Zhaowu stood on the map and pointed at the border between China and Mexico. Two arrows introduced everyone including Liu Peng.

"By the way, I have a question. Once we launch the attack first, how can we ensure that the Mexicans will not find out?" Tang Wuwei asked Li Zhaowu on the stage curiously. In his opinion, there were so many of them. No matter how stupid the Mexicans are to launch an attack, the Mexicans will know it. What’s more, the other side has deployed thousands of border troops at the border. This is the elite of the Mexican army. In many border conflicts, they, the Han State, None of them took advantage.

In Tang Wuwei's view, the commander of the Mexican army, Morant, was definitely not an easy person. From the beginning, he ostensibly made the decision to attack Han and serve as the vanguard of Mexico's first shot.

Even the Han Kingdom thought so and sent many additional troops to the border to prevent the other party from attacking, but now it seems that this is not the case at all.This guy named Morant fooled all of them. He was not organizing offense at all, but organizing defense.

A large number of forts were built on the border to prevent them from sudden attacks by the Han Dynasty, which shows that this is a very smart person.

He knew that with the chaos within the Republic of Mexico, it would be impossible to organize a large army in a short time, so his so-called offensive vanguard army would have to be changed into a defensive vanguard army.

Since it is defense, then the defense must be based on the weaknesses of the Han army, and what are the weaknesses of the Han army? ?

On the surface, whether it is morale, skills, tactics, or even fighting will, they are all top-notch in America.

This can be seen in the two Los Angeles Wars and the later California War.

As a student in Europe, Morant, who has a very impressive resume, is also very clear, but he is also aware of the weakness of the Han army, and that is time. Time drags on for a long time, especially in border areas. The longer it is, the easier it will be to hinder the performance of the Han Dynasty's mobile troops...

Therefore, Morant built a large number of fortresses in response to this characteristic, with the purpose of delaying the attack of the Han army.

Everyone present could see this very clearly.

That's why Tang Wuwei said such words to Li Zhaowu just now.

"This Morant, I have to say, is a good soldier." Li Zhaowu expressed his appreciation for Morant's defensive approach, "But he also forgot that the initiative in the war now lies with us, not them... "Li Zhaowu said to everyone with a sarcastic face.

The officers present, as well as Liu Peng, all gave a knowing smile.

Because according to British intelligence, the Mexicans have at least a week to complete all war mobilization.

You must know that according to the news given to Liu Peng by the British, the war was to be launched within two months, no later than May, but now? ?

It’s the end of June, and the Mexicans are not ready yet. Even the British complained to Liu Peng:
"Those damn Mexican bastards, they see war as a game, or even a tool for some people to make money. They recruit soldiers on the farms, even among the Indians, while their noble capital residents hide behind and watch. Lively, just like a noble lord!!”

Thinking of this, Liu Peng felt a little funny. In his opinion, just like the British said, maybe the Mexicans really regarded this war as a game and a carnival of wealth. Other than that, it was just a carnival of wealth. Nothing left.

And that's fine, the more Mexico pulls its hips, the more incompetent and corrupt it becomes, the more it proves that they are not qualified to occupy such a huge land.

You must know that in this [-]th century where people cannibalize people, the weak are not qualified to stand at the same table as the strong.

You know, in this cruel world, people are fighting for their own good, and I am fighting for their own good. This is not just for fun, it is something that can happen at any time.

"Our border with the Mexican Republic is long and narrow, and the inland depth is extremely vast." Li Zhaowu said about the geographical environment between Mexico and Han, "This means that no matter which direction we attack, we can hit the Mexican Republic. , my suggestion is to arrange an army to contain Morant’s army so that they cannot move...Other large forces will attack the Republic of Mexico from other directions..." Li Zhaowu said to those present with a serious expression. Everyone said, and at the end of their words, they focused on Liu Peng. After all, no matter how good his words were or how extravagant they were, Liu Peng, the Minister of the Army, would have to make the final decision.

"Very good!!" Liu Peng was silent for a while, and suddenly expressed his agreement with what Li Zhaowu just said, which relieved Li Zhaowu, who had been worried that the plan would not pass.

"How are the current ammunition preparations going?" Liu Peng then asked Zhao Wei, the Deputy Minister of the Army in charge of ammunition.

"Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, our current ammunition reserve is basically more than three times that of our current army's own ammunition reserve..." Zhao Wei stood up, clasped his fists and replied to Liu Peng, his expression was very solemn, and he seemed to respect Liu Peng very much. .

In fact, it is not just Zhao Wei, but others as well.

Liu Peng's influence in the Army can be described as a household name. Whether it is the Army exercises, training courses, or insights on some tactics compiled by Liu Peng, it often gives people a feeling of clearing away the clouds and seeing the dawn.

Moreover, Liu Peng's prestige in the army was built on the two Los Angeles Wars. Every soldier and even officer who participated in the second Los Angeles War can never forget the man who beat drums and cheered for them at the top of the city for two hours. The young man, the young castle master who had a meal with them after the war, is now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Liu Peng! !

It can be said that Liu Peng's status in the army was achieved with real swords and guns. No one can shake it, not even the King of Han Liu Yan. This is the basis for Liu Yan to let Liu Peng be the Minister of the Army. Not only because Liu Peng Peng is his eldest son, and more importantly, Liu Peng is in the army and is popular! !
The human heart cannot be seen or touched, but it is real! !

"In addition, we have also built a large number of warehouses that can store ammunition along the way." Zhao Wei continued to talk about the ammunition warehouses, "The ammunition in these warehouses can be sent to the front line as quickly as possible, absolutely It will not delay the war ahead, I can guarantee this..." Zhao Wei assured Liu Peng in a firm tone.

"Vice Minister Zhao and the logistics brothers have worked hard. After the war is over, I will hold a celebration banquet for you!!" Liu Peng looked at Zhao Wei and replied with a satisfied tone, "I remember that we were still building war preparation roads some time ago. How is the repair now?" Liu Peng remembered the war preparation highway and asked Zhao Wei again.

"Reporting to His Highness the Prince, since the order was issued at the beginning of this month, eight large-scale combat-ready roads, [-] medium-sized combat-ready roads, and no less than dozens of auxiliary roads have been built..." Zhao Wei did not go through any recollection or make any advance preparations. The manuscript reported so much highway news to Liu Peng, which shows his intentions.

These combat readiness roads are generally not very well built. The farthest one is only [-] kilometers, and the nearest one is only a few kilometers. They are mainly used for transportation on the front line. They are basically equivalent to an express highway. After the ammunition and supplies from the rear arrive, they can Arrive near the battlefield as quickly as possible.

As for building the same road in the rear, I'm sorry, it's not that it can't be built, but that it can't be built, and there isn't that much cement production capacity to allocate.

You must know that these war-ready roads, apart from being new and smooth, are expensive. They are basically made of sand and gravel and poured with cement. In this era when industrial production capacity is not that large, cement is not a cheap thing.

After all, the essence of industrial products is that the greater the production capacity, the lower the price, and vice versa.

Even in the Han Dynasty, cement could only be used in cities and main roads. Other roads, said to be highways, were gravel roads and dirt roads. The best ones were cinder roads (that is, paved with coal residue). road).

"In addition, we have also stored a large number of edible cans." Zhao Wei, Liu Peng and everyone present talked about the cans. "We have calculated that the daily consumption of a soldier is basically You can use canned meat and flatbread or bread instead, which saves a lot of logistics personnel." Zhao Wei said with some pride, but if his words spread, he would naturally be scolded by the soldiers in the future. After all, if it weren't for this guy , they wouldn’t have eaten canned food for so long, almost the whole war! !
This is such a horrific torture. It was interesting to eat at first, after all, this is something that has never been seen before (especially for those Indian and mixed-race soldiers, it is a rare delicacy).

But after that, no matter who it was, they couldn’t eat anymore! !
The so-called cans were actually widely used as early as the Napoleonic Wars. The current cans in Han China are basically cans that are sealed with iron boxes and loaded with ready-made food.

Because of the antiseptic materials, the time is not as good as that of later generations, but through sealing and the selection of ingredients before making, it is still possible to basically maintain a shelf life of one to two months.

Of course, the Military Grain Institute under the Xijing Arsenal is also developing cans that can store cans for a longer period of time and cans with more flavors.

Such as canned meat, canned fruit, etc.

In today's Han army, due to technical reasons, there is only canned meat, or bread that can be stored for a longer time, and various shelf-stable flatbreads.

These all belong to the category of military rations! !

(End of this chapter)