Late at night on May 2nd, the gunfire that lasted for more than 20 hours around the capital finally gradually subsided. The civil war in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties did not end but entered a short truce period.
With the Qinghe River as the dividing line, to the south were thousands of Japanese rebels holding torches and eyeing the factories on the north bank. On the opposite side of the iron bridge, countless workers were building fortifications, with red flags marking them.
The lights were flickering in the dark industrial area, and even several blast furnaces had not put out the fire. Xin Jian and the others did not dare to stop the flames and continued to produce crude steel.
The blast furnace in the steel plant cannot cease fire. If it stops, it will have to be overhauled and rebuilt. The construction of Qinghe Industrial Zone is not easy. After it is destroyed, God knows whether Guiziliu will be allowed to re-ignite it.
However, today's batches of steel are not turned into commodities such as rails and steel bars. Instead, they are directly processed into steel plates and various profiles, and turned into countless rough weapons in processing plants.
The sound of clanking was endless, and all the workers were involved in it. People were making simple helmets and armors. It was too easy for a small stamping machine to make this kind of armor.
There is even a classic half-breastplate like the European dragoon. A model is made, and when pressed, a piece of plastic steel plate is formed. The front and back pieces are tied to the worker's body, and the internal organs are protected.
In addition, all kinds of shin guards, arm guards, and helmets are stamped and formed in one go, so the production speed is very fast!
Such a set of equipment is useless against heavy machine guns, nor against Mauser at close range, but it still has certain defensive capabilities against small-caliber pistols or long-range rifle fire.
As for bows and arrows, ordinary cold weapons are much more effective!
The workers are arming themselves with all the methods they can think of. No one knows when a fierce battle will break out. Anyway, there is plenty of steel in the industrial zone. Ready-made steel-making furnaces are burning one after another!
There are not only armors but also various weapons. In the sand foundry workshop, the simplest lost wax method is used to make the pouring grinding tools for spears. The red molten steel is poured into them. After cooling, there are clusters of spears!
This is an ancient luxury version of a cold weapon. Due to the lack of a wooden barrel, this iron gun is made of cast iron from the tip to the barrel. It is heavy and more than three meters long, and it looks murderous!
One after another, armed workers, wearing full-body stamped armor and holding three-meter iron guns, were gathering in groups like iron cans.
When Weng Tonghe followed several men to the industrial area, he was already shocked by the scene before him. Xin Jian led the way with a livid face as if on purpose, leading him back and forth through these armed workshops.
The old man said to Xin Jian with caution, "This... this... were you prepared in advance?"
"There is no preparation in advance. This was temporarily processed just after the truce... They are all new..."
The old man couldn't believe his eyes, but until he saw the mold box opened, he took out bundles of iron guns from the dark sand!
The hammer smashed open the connection, and there were twelve steel guns scattered on the ground in a molded box, making a clanging sound!
The other stamping workshop kept pushing out various protective armors. Look carefully at the edges of the Zhexi parts and the white gaps left after the stamping machine smashed them. They looked silvery and brand new!
One after another, workers came out according to the roster to receive these cold weapons. In front of the old man and the others, they tied breastplates and polished the burrs on the iron guns... In a short time, a team of more than a dozen people was formed and left. The sound of metal hitting the road was like tin cans.
What kind of efficiency is this? This is an efficiency that the old man and others can't even imagine. This is steel! Why is steel as easy as kneading dough in the hands of these people?
Xin Jian glanced at him with disdain, "Don't be surprised, this is the power of industrialization... At the current speed, 220 sets of individual soldier equipment can be produced in an hour... There is no problem in arming four thousand people in one day!"
"Haha... This is the industrial zone you have been opposing! This is the power you have always been afraid of..."
The old man was speechless at this moment, and when he saw countless three-centimeter-thick iron carts being rolled out, he didn't even dare to say anything.
Each simple wooden frame is covered with a three-centimeter-thick steel plate at a 45-degree angle. These steel plates are connected to the wooden frame and pushed to the iron bridge defense line.
Pieces are spliced together one after another. The triangular area at the back is filled with stones and sand to make it very strong, and the steel plates are connected to each other with wires. This kind of steel defense line cannot even be torn apart by heavy machine guns, and it is not easy for field artillery to destroy it!
People like Xin Jian are using their own methods to turn the entire Qinghe Industrial Zone into a huge iron hedgehog, so that no one dares to prick him!
The old man and others carefully walked through the workshops and looked at the bustling production scene inside, especially the furnaces of red molten steel sloping down one after another. Everyone did not dare to speak.
I don’t know how long I walked and passed through many factories and stockpiles. Finally, I found a few simple red brick houses in a maze-like stockyard where iron slag was stored. It was only here that the old man saw a familiar face. .
The red brick house was surrounded by a dense crowd of officials, eunuchs, maids, guards, etc. who had escaped from the palace... while the stacking yard outside was using different heights for defense.
The New Army, Guaizima, Xishan Camp, Capital Police Headquarters, including the newly transferred part of the Guanwai Army that were still loyal to Emperor Tongzhi, were all here to closely defend themselves against possible enemies.
And more troops are being reorganized in other parts of the industrial zone to guard against the enemy with workers!
The old man ignored the greetings with the acquaintances around him and trotted into the red brick house. After entering, there was a smell of soup and medicine, and he saw Emperor Tongzhi leaning on his sick body.
The old man's tears were like running water and he knelt down on the ground with a cry, "Long live my lord... Wuwu wu... Long live my lord, you have suffered..."
As soon as he saw the old man coming, Fu Qing gritted his teeth and rushed over, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up from the ground, "Old bastard... you dare to betray His Majesty? Didn't you kowtow to Jaap Six and be loyal? And you came here to die. ?"
"Fu Qing... let go... let Master Weng finish speaking!" If Ci'an hadn't spoken in time, Fu Qing's bear-like slap would have shattered the old man's nose.
Weng Tonghe no longer cared about these insults and beatings. He took a few steps to kneel in front of Emperor Tongzhi's bed and whispered, "Long live Lord...Long live Lord, are you okay...Long live Lord..."
In fact, Zai Chun had always been drowsy. He opened his eyes when he heard the call, "Ah... it's Master Weng... Lie down and get a chair..."
When the old man saw Zai Chun like this, he felt so sad that tears came to his eyes!
