Krupp asked Xiao Letian to lie out the truth, and he suddenly felt at a loss. Obviously we can't continue to tell lies! But he didn't dare to take Xiao Letian to see those new cannons.
After all, the new cannon was Prussia's secret weapon, and the military issued strict orders that these weapons were not to be made public until the war broke out.
But Xiao Letian is a friend of Prussia after all. Of course, people at Krupp's level know a lot of inside information. He knows that the Franco-Prussian War will definitely be fought. He also knows that Xiao Letian must be an ally of Prussia, so shouldn't he also treat his allies? What about keeping secrets?
If the other party didn't lie about the secret, then he can still pretend not to know, which is understandable! But now that the head of state has lied about the truth and is blocking the door to see the secret weapon, it is a bit difficult to refuse.
In the end, it was the civilian secretary sent by the Prime Minister of Bismarck who came to Mr. Krupp's rescue. This was the special commissioner sent by the Prime Minister to Xiao Letian to help the Chinese coordinate various relations between the Prussian official and the private sector.
He walked up to Mr. Krupp and whispered in Mr. Krupp's ear, "Let's let our guests visit! After all, they already know this secret, and I think the Prime Minister won't mind..."
"Okay! Since you are willing to take this responsibility, I have nothing to say... Gentlemen, come with me here. Let's go to the artillery testing ground outside the city. The new cannons are hidden there!"
The visiting group left the steel plant and drove quickly out of the city in a carriage.
Essen, the core city of the Ruhr Industrial Zone, is one of the core cities of Prussia's industrialization and one of the cities heavily protected by soldiers. Just outside the city, the sound of killings is loud in the endless barracks. Countless recruits are being trained here. Deep in the military camp, on a vast enclosed wasteland, is the Krupp Company's testing ground.
On the endless wilderness, several tents set up with rainproof canvas attracted everyone's attention.
After getting closer, people saw six shiny black steel cannons under the canvas tent, quietly waiting for people to review.
"Gentlemen! There are three eight-pound guns and three twelve-pound guns here. They are all produced using the most advanced tank steel technology of our Krupp company, and have added top-secret exhaust gas leakage prevention technology..."
People took a closer look, and sure enough, these six cannons all had complex and unique steel breech blocks at the rear.
Wang Huaiyuan, who was next to Xiao Letian, suddenly asked, "Didn't you say that there is also a coastal defense cannon? The one specially used to defend ports and bombard warships at sea?"
Krupp frowned and said, "Sir! The military department's request is indeed for three new cannons, but now is the eve of the war. Our main focus is still on army operations, so we only produced two models of field guns. As for the coastal defense artillery that blocks the sea, it’s just on the drawing board at the moment!”
"Don't think about the blueprints! If you want to see those blueprints, I'm afraid you have to ask the Prime Minister to give a written order, otherwise I will never show you this top-secret information!"
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Krupp secretly wanted to see the drawings? What a joke! Letting you see the real thing is already a huge favor. If I really let you see the drawings and record those top-secret data, wouldn’t I be in a big loss?
When you see the real thing, you are just watching for fun, but you cannot copy it. If you steal the drawings and data, then my secret of making money will be completely exposed!
Xiao Letian raised his hand to stop Wang Ju's questioning. He nodded at Mr. Krupp, "I understand your difficulties very well. The drawings are top secret information. We understand this rule and will not forcefully ask for it from you!"
"Now can you show us the advanced power of the cannon?"
"The gunners are in position, ready to fire three bursts of live ammunition to show our distinguished guests from afar the huge power of the new weapon!"
The Chinese visiting group immediately left the canvas tent and walked to the bulletproof bunker 300 meters behind.
Following Mr. Krupp's order, dozens of artillerymen came running in unison. The concealed rain-proof canvas was lifted open, and the six murderous cannons were lined up in the wilderness.
Immediately afterwards, another ammunition man drove a carriage to transport 18 rounds of custom-made artillery shells, and the live-fire shooting exercise officially began!
Boom boom boom... boom boom boom...
Red flames spurted out from the muzzle and were more than a foot long! The loud noise made everyone's ears roar! The shells pierced the sky with a rumble like the roar of a train.
Black smoke and fire appeared on the distant horizon, and the explosion shook the surrounding birds and beasts.
A layman looks at the excitement, an expert looks at the door. None of the Chinese officers looked at the explosions with huge impact points, and no one looked at the trajectory of the artillery shells in the sky. All eyes were fixed on the tail of the cannon, which meant that On the gunner's movements.
Luo Huo was shocked and couldn't help shouting, "It's too fast, it's too fast!"
The Prussian gunner simply wanted to fly! Unscrew the breech block, and then the loader will load the shell, then quickly close the breech block, and then the gunner will quickly pull the fuse.
With a bang, flames more than a foot long shot out from the muzzle, the shells flew into the distance, and the huge recoil of the artillery shook the dust on the ground.
"Oh my god! It's so fast. It only takes 25 seconds to load and fire a shell. Oh my god! Can you load and fire a shell in 25 seconds?" Hyōtaro shouted in disbelief while holding his pocket watch.
"Incredible, really incredible! Three consecutive shots only took 1 minute and 20 seconds!"
The entire Chinese observation group was excited. People scrambled for the telescopes in their hands and looked at the gunner in the distance in disbelief. His hands moved as fast as lightning.
"There is no tail flame! Look, everyone, there is really no tail flame leaking. All gunners are safe! They are all safe! Look..."
The excited officers slapped each other on the shoulders. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. This was truly an epoch-making and revolutionary moment! They can imagine how desperate the enemy on the opposite side will be if such artillery is placed on the battlefield!
Krupp proudly raised his head with his hands behind his back, "What is this! These are just ordinary runners! If the army's most elite artillery veterans are allowed to operate, the three consecutive rounds can definitely be within 60 seconds!" "
"In this time, the enemy's front-loaded artillery can only fire once, but we can fire three times, and the rate of fire is more than three times!"
"Hahaha, this is an epoch-making revolution!"
At this time, a war horse suddenly ran up to the distant observation post. The Prussian rider on the horse shouted excitedly, "The data is out, the data is out... The range data is out..."
"The average range of the eight-pounder is 2,300 meters! The range of the 12-pounder is more than 4,500 meters!"
"Oh my God, it's twice as long as a front-loaded cannon. Is the range so far?"
Seeing this, Xiao Letian no longer hesitated. He grabbed Mr. Krupp's hand and said, "Dear Sir, let's talk about our cooperation. I hope to open a branch factory with you in Ryukyu." !”
"Let's jointly produce such advanced weapons there. This will be a very profitable business!"