The handle of the bucket points to the east, and spring returns to the land outside the customs again.
The white ice in Vladivostok Harbor was swallowed up by the green waves, and the rivers were filled with warm spring water. As soon as the azaleas on the green meadows bloomed, geese and red-crowned cranes came in droves over the top of Mokuowei, diagonally Passing over the Xihot Mountains, they flew towards Heilongjiang where they gave birth to their children.
The spring breeze that turns into rain brings migratory birds returning from the north, and also brings the flow of rivers under the jurisdiction of Beihai Town. Huge and crystal-clear ice rows floated and swam along with the surging river water, colliding with each other and making bursts of roars. Although this scene was extremely beautiful to the literati, for those villages along the river, it heralded the coming of disaster.
It is said that the upper reaches of Heilongjiang River flow from west to east. After passing Heilongjiang City, it turns to flow southeast. After passing Kubutlin, it turns sharply south again, making this section of the river form a large arch. The middle reaches of the Songhua River and the Heilongjiang River have low latitudes and the temperature rises quickly, while the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River with a high latitude open late, resulting in the formation of an "inverted open river".
Once the blue and hard ice gets stuck, it will form an ice dam, and then squeeze each other and rush up the river bank. Two or three meters of solid ice will rush against the ground, destroying everything along the way, including trees, rocks, roads, villages, and cultivated land. The most serious consequence of this is that the cultivated land was destroyed, making it impossible to grow food crops that year. Even the humus soil on the surface will be destroyed, and it will take several years to restore the soil fertility.
Since the construction of the "Bohei Railway" started five years ago, at this time, the Northern Navy stationed in Khabarovsk and Heilongjiang City will be ordered to dispatch to blast the ice on key river sections. When the glaciation period begins, artillery will be dispatched to bombard important river sections that are prone to ice dams.
Located in an open space two kilometers northwest of the Humar Military Station, six 75mm field guns are lined up. Because shelling Bingling was not a battle, no bunkers were built.
However, what is different from previous years is that in another open space 800 meters away on the west side, there is a 105mm howitzer that is different from all the artillery of the North Korean Navy. The perimeter of the gun position here is surrounded by sandbags. The one-and-a-half meter high parapet, in addition to six artillerymen, there are also several technicians from the military-industrial complex.
At a hill observation point 600 meters away from the north of the position, Zhao Liang, wearing a thick military coat, bent down in front of the artillery rangefinder and squinted for a while, then casually asked: "Are you all ready?"
"Reporting to the commander, all bombardment parameters have been calculated."
"Where's the ammunition?"
"Twenty rounds have been sent up."
"It's getting late, get ready for the test firing." After Zhao Liang finished speaking, he turned to a technician next to him and sighed: "I have been busy for more than two years. Whether it is a mule or a horse depends on today."
The technician pursed his lips and said, "It's not a big problem. More than 300 rounds have been fired on the test field."
"One minute to prepare!" the artillery battalion commander gave the order on the intercom at the artillery observation station, and then entered the countdown. "...5, 4, 3, 2, 1, let go!"
With an earth-shattering loud noise, the muzzle of the 105mm howitzer spurted out fire. The shock wave stirred up a large cloud of smoke and dust behind the artillery, instantly shaking the snow on the ground, revealing the dark land. Immediately, accompanied by a dull explosion, fire and gunpowder smoke rose from the thick ice on the river surface, splashing water columns tens of meters high.
"The artillery fire is normal!"
"The ballistics are normal!"
"Hit the target!" The commands came one after another in the temporary artillery viewing station. Several technicians recorded various data in notebooks.
Soon, the loader on the 105 howitzer position had finished loading the second shell, and the gunner quickly adjusted the gun's firing angle and direction according to the squad leader's firing order. Then there was another loud bang, and where the shell hit, a huge piece of ice three meters thick and covering an area of more than 5 square meters was shattered into pieces.
"Oh my God! This is too powerful. Comparing our guns with it would be a joke!" On the 75mm gun position, several artillerymen stuck out their tongues with envy on their faces.
"Look at their caliber, they are almost as thick as our thighs!"
"I just don't know when this big guy will be equipped for us. Ouch!" As soon as the gunner finished speaking, he received a heavy kick on the butt. Looking back, I saw it was the monitor.
"You brat! Are you tired of the old? No cannon is as good as our 75 cannon. It shoots fast and accurately. I used this cannon back then, and it made Rakshasa ghosts cry for father and mother."
The artillery squad leader was about to say more when he heard an order coming from the walkie-talkie: "Test fire each gun of the 75mm gun! One minute to prepare!"
After that, six 75mm guns were tested one after another. Although the shots are quite accurate, the shelling effect seen with the naked eye is not even a bit worse than that of the 105mm. Basically, if you fire one shot at 105, you have to fire two shots at 75 to have the same effect.
The artillery squad leader who had kicked someone before spat on the ground, thinking that it was time for me to change this artillery piece.
After the "Battle of Usoliya", the North Navy's artillery configuration issue became more and more prominent. The main reason is that the range of 82mm mortars and 75mm guns is not much different, and the killing power of the former is obviously higher than that of the latter. Those who are high.
The maximum range of the 82mm mortar using No. 6 charges is 4,660 meters, the maximum range of using long-range charges is 5,700 meters, and the maximum range of the 75mm gun is only 6,000 meters. In addition, the maneuverability of field artillery is not as good as that of mortars, which makes the 75mm gun seem a bit useless.
After all, the original purpose of replicating this gun was to get rid of the dependence on the 122 howitzer, and at the same time to give the military-industrial complex a try, so it chose a model with a barrel that was not too difficult to process and a shell that was relatively easy to make.
Of course, the Navy is quite satisfied with the 75mm gun. It has a fast rate of fire and low recoil. Only I can bully others, and no one else can bully me.
In addition, because the 122 grenade is currently not produced in Beihai Town, Zhao Xin has to spend huge sums of money to purchase it every time. Therefore, the Beihai Navy urgently needs to develop a heavy artillery for this time and space.
After comparing the data of howitzers of various calibers during World War I and World War II in another time and space, Zhao Liang finally proposed to imitate the LeFH18/40 105mm howitzer and make it the main equipment of the North Korean Navy's artillery in the next twenty years. In addition, the 75mm guns will gradually withdraw from frontline support firepower, and the artillery batteries attached to each regiment will also be replaced with 82 guns.
Speaking of the 105mm howitzer produced by the Germans in another time and space, the early model was very heavy and required at least six pack horses including the ammunition cart. The later derivative leFH18/40 was different. In addition to a more efficient muzzle brake that reduced recoil, the barrel was also installed on the mount of the 75mm Pak40 anti-tank gun. The new gun mount reduces the overall weight of the gun body, and the rate of fire is also increased.
In addition, the production volume of 105mm howitzers was large. In another time and space, both private individuals and museums had collections. It was easy to buy two or three and take them back as samples. Zhao Xin even spent a lot of money to get a complete set of design drawings in German.
Zhao Xin certainly welcomes something that can save himself money, and save a lot of money. You must know that every round of the 122 shells today was obtained by him in exchange for gold. It not only hurts his heart, but also hurts his body.
However, he also knows very well that leaping from 75 mm to 105 mm is not as simple as making the barrel thicker. In addition, the problem of artillery shells has always been a big mountain in front of the military-industrial complex.
The manufacture of artillery shells is different from bullets. The warheads and armoring processes of bullets are automatically completed by machines. The artillery shells start from the manufacturing of steel billets and go through more than thirty stages of machining before the gunpowder and cartridge can be assembled.
In addition to lathes, cutting tools, fixtures, and measuring tools, all the equipment must be manufactured by ourselves. Even the oil-based cutting fluid supply system for processing must be manufactured by ourselves. Cutting fluid and Vaseline are both large-scale consumables and must be produced by yourself. Zhao Xin can make a fortune just by buying them.
So starting three years ago, the military-industrial complex led by Zhao Liang began to research how to climb this mountain. In addition, Zhang Bo's petroleum system and Fang Hua's chemical laboratory also began to produce oil-based cutting fluid and Vaseline.
In the process of buying artillery shell samples, Zhao Xin accidentally got an image of artillery shells produced in the early 20th century. This made Zhao Liang overjoyed, so he asked a large group of technical workers in the arsenal to read it every day and analyze each of them bit by bit. A step and the lathe tools and fixtures used to determine the process steps. After everyone had seen it, Zhao Liang divided the workers into different processing groups to study their respective processes.
Starting in the autumn of 1790, the military-industrial complex began to select sites throughout the outer northeast, and finally selected the foot of Wanda Mountain in the northwest of Khabarovsk. We chose this place because of its flat terrain and convenient transportation. The Kulu River, a tributary of Heilongjiang River, is not far away and can be transported by water in spring and autumn.
By the end of the slurrying period in the spring of 1791, the construction of the artillery shell factory, artillery factory, fuse factory and assembly factory began. At the same time, a short-distance railway and road from Khabarovsk to here were built.
It took more than a year to build all four factories and install many equipments. People from the power system also cooperated to pull out a dedicated power supply line from the supporting power plant of the steel plant and built a distribution station. . When the factory was ready for use, Zhao Liang's workers also made the first batch of jigs and measuring tools for processing. After that, it was trial after trial and failure again and again. The key was the machining accuracy of the workpiece, which was not even one millimeter off.
The artillery shell factory is busy conquering the mountains, and the steel factory and artillery factory also have their own important tasks. What about electroslag remelting, medium carbon nickel-chromium-platinum alloy steel, self-tightening of the barrel, rifling, chrome plating, etc. Although electroslag remelting furnaces, large drill presses and boring machines for boring holes all have corresponding equipment, the problem is not big, but the self-tightening and rifling of the barrel is not so easy.
Zhao Liang's approach was to sell dog meat on sheep's head. In the name of a middleman in an underdeveloped country, he customized two sets of 5,000-ton steel pipe hydraulic presses from a domestic factory, which cost Zhao Xinda millions. As for the rifling machine, you can only make it yourself. If you refer to the barrel rifling machine and enlarge it in proportion, the equipment material and cutter head will definitely be different.
Compared with the other three factories, the assembly plant has the highest safety standards. In addition to high-standard guards, it is also far away from the three factories. Workers all wear white protective clothing, anti-static gloves and gas masks. Ion fans and ion air wands are also installed inside the factory to eliminate static electricity; it is no joke that static electricity can detonate explosive particles in the air.
In this way, the thousands of skilled workers trained by Beihai Town over the years worked hard for two years, and the iron and steel metallurgy, chemical industry, petroleum and other departments worked together to finally produce two qualified 105mm howitzers in the winter of 1793. and the first batch of 105*155 high-explosive bombs.
According to Zhao Xin's opinion, as long as two thousand rounds are tested without incident, the artillery will basically be considered a successful imitation, and then it can be mass-produced and replaced.
Entering May, the Beihai Navy began a new round of personnel changes, which Zhao Xin thought about for a long time. Generally speaking, except for the Western Front troops, all officers who have served as regimental officers for more than two years have undergone changes.
Although the transfer of chief officers will take at least half a year for the officers and soldiers of the army to get used to each other, in order to avoid the emergence of mountainous doctrine within the army, Zhao Xin must do this, and he must persist in doing so. According to his considerations, after this personnel adjustment, there will be basically no movement until the troops enter the customs.
According to the orders of the Northern Navy Command, Sheng Haizhou and Zhao Jiuzang finally left Pingshi City-the former "Yenisesk". The former, the nominal chief of staff of the Northern Navy, will be transferred to Jiaodong and will take over from Lu Shoushan to take full responsibility for commanding Shandong's combat tasks.
The person responsible for replacing Jiuzang and going to Pingshi City was Yang Zhongming, the former commander of the 19th Infantry Regiment. Monk Zhou, the leader of the 12th Regiment, was transferred to Chiyan City. Together with Yang Zhongming, they assisted the Cossack Emirate in the battle against Tsarist Russia.
Huji and Mishilang who were stationed in Uliasutai were also transferred back, and their replacements were deputy commander Cao Chao and deputy political commissar. Yin Bingwei, who had previously served as his guard company commander, was transferred to Cullen and promoted to regimental commander.
In terms of the chief officer configuration of the eastern front force, that is, the offensive force in the Shengjing direction, Zhao Xin planned to promote Mi Shilang to brigade commander, leading four regiments to be responsible for the attack direction from Changchun to Changtu; Pan Xiucheng was transferred from the Hunchun direction. Li was promoted to brigade commander and led three regiments, responsible for the attack direction from Changtu to Weiyuan Fort Gate.
Lu Shoushan went to Hunchun and was promoted to the brigade commander of the garrison brigade. In addition to stabilizing the newly acquired Tumen River line, he was also responsible for the flank attack on Shengjing from the direction of Changbai Mountain.
Chen Jishan, the first master to serve as the commander of Zhao Xin's guard company, was transferred from Mergen City to Jilin Wula to serve as the commander of the garrison regiment.
Li Rui's position was promoted one level and he became the chief of staff of the Eastern Front Army. When Deng Fei was absent, he was acting on behalf of all daily and emergency combat affairs.
In addition to the chief officers, the political commissars and deputies of each regiment have also been changed. All promoted officers will first report back to Fuldan City, and then attend an officer training class hosted by Zhao Xin before they can perform their duties.
Zhao Xin is so brain-consuming! He didn't want to delegate power in the military, so there was no one to help him. He had to consider not only everyone's personality traits, military experience, but also everyone's faction. The pile of personnel files made him dizzy.
After he finally finished the adjustment plan and was rubbing his sore temples, there was a knock on the door outside the study.
"Come in."
The door opened silently, and A Miao walked in carrying a tray with ginseng soup.
Zhao Xin took the bowl habitually, took a sip, nodded with satisfaction, and was about to ask what to eat for dinner. I saw A Miao's little face flushed, looking like she wanted to say something but was hesitant. So he asked casually: "What's wrong?"
"It won't last until this month."
"Huh? What do you want to say? What happened after this month?"
"After this month, I will be eighteen." A Miao said in a softer voice, her face flushed, her head drooped, and her fingers dug at the bottom of the tray.
"Oh. What gift do you want?" Zhao Xin nodded nonchalantly. After a while, he suddenly came to his senses, slapped his forehead and said loudly: "Oh!! I understand, I understand!"
A Miao said shyly and foolishly: "What do you know?"
Zhao Xin chuckled, put down the bowl, stood up, walked to the opposite side of the table, leaned over and gently hugged the other person's slender waist.
(End of chapter)
