"If President Yuan Da had been more ruthless and confiscated the property of these Manchu nobles when he came to power, I am afraid that the government of the Republic of China would not have been so poor. Can't even afford a custom-built warship. Feng Yong said. After Yuan Shikai took over as the president of the Republic of China, the whole country was in a poor and weak mess, and the basic tariff control was in the hands of foreigners. Moreover, Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government only nominally unified China. In fact, in addition to the Central Plains provinces were completely controlled by the Beiyang Army, the southwestern provinces were controlled by the hands of local powerful factions, and there was a saying in later generations that President Yuan Da was the ancestor of the warlords of the Republic of China, which has a certain amount of truth, because since the death of Yuan Shikai, China's warlords of various departments have appeared on the stage, and have performed absurd ugly dramas in China's political arena.

"No, young marshal, this amount is only the total value estimated by the provincial government. But in fact, we obtained a total of more than 50 million taels of silver and more than 20 million taels of gold from this operation. The others are all gold, stone and jade, antique calligraphy and painting, all of which are the treasures of our nation, and you need to make a decision on how to deal with them! ”

"Antique calligraphy and painting?" Feng Yong was stunned, and his brows couldn't help frowning: "If it's just some gold and silver things, Feng Yong will not scruple to invest in the construction of the three eastern provinces." But antique calligraphy and painting are not easy to deal with. After all, this thing is a national treasure. It was looted by the Manchu nobles for hundreds of years, and its specific value is immeasurable. Feng Yong, who came from later generations, knew that these things would only become more and more valuable with the development of history. But now the development of the three eastern provinces requires a lot of money. To sell or not to sell? Feng Yong was a little entangled in his heart.

"Young marshal, the combined value of gold and silver is almost 100 million taels of silver. These are enough for us to develop in the Northeast for a period of time. Those antiques, calligraphy and paintings, should we also build a museum and protect them? Li Jun cautiously suggested. You must know that Feng Yong's development theory is violent and predatory, and he is really worried that Feng Yong will sell these national treasures in order to obtain property.

"Of course, these are treasures, and of course they can't be sold. However, the wealth value of these antiques, calligraphy and paintings is too great. To the point where everyone can be attracted to it. Brother Chuanxin, how many people know these specific wealth figures? Feng Yong said with a solemn expression.

"There are not many people, except for the two of us, that is, a few staff officers under my command who know part of the data." Li Jun said.

Feng Yong nodded and said, "You go back and give a gag order, since we can't sell these things, but we must not let the outside world get the specific value of this batch of property, hundreds of millions of taels of silver antiques, calligraphy and paintings, will definitely cause little Japan to covet." There must be no room for error at this time. Also, it would be better for the government to publish a figure of several million and then take out some antiques of little value and put them up for auction. Not only to make a sum of money, but also to attract the attention of people with a heart. ”

Li Jun nodded, after all, the gain from this action was a bit big, and it was unrealistic to want to completely hide it. In that case, it would be better to publish a number and then auction off some of the less important antiques.

"Don't be in a hurry about this matter for now, let's study and study the issue of war with Japan now. After all, if we can't survive this catastrophe, no matter how much money we have, it won't be of use. ”

Li Jun nodded, and the two of them stood in front of a huge military map to study the possible Japanese offensive against Mukden.

"Young marshal, a telegram has come from the Woniu Mountain Arsenal. The first production lines of Type 38 rifles and mortars, designed by the arsenal itself and manufactured at the Northeast Machinery Plant, have already been put into operation. Yesterday, the first batch of equipment was produced at the Woniushan Arsenal, and the equipment is working well, and the quality of the rifles produced is already comparable to that of Japanese standard rifles. The effectiveness and accuracy of the mortar also met the requirements. ”

Another piece of good news.

"Very good, order the Woniushan Arsenal to give me full production of mortars and shells." At a time when aircraft are not in the war, artillery is the most powerful branch of the army.

"How's the construction of the Second and Third Arsenals going?"

"The second arsenal has been basically completed, but the new rifle production line designed by us is still in production, and the specific production date is unknown. The construction of the third arsenal has already begun, and the construction of the plant can be completed in about a month. ”

Feng Yong nodded. Since the day the Woniushan Arsenal was built, Feng Yong has not stopped the development of the military industry. Originally, the Woniushan Arsenal was a factory that mainly produced Japanese-made firearms, but Feng Yong looked down on Japan's 38 big covers. After all, the 38 cover is a Japanese standard rifle, which can be used by the Northeast Security Army, but it is absolutely not allowed as a standard equipment. Therefore, since the Woniushan Arsenal was put into operation, Feng Yong invested a large amount of money to develop his own standard rifle.

Although Feng Yong came from later generations and heard of many famous guns during World War II, after all, he only knew the name and appearance, and he didn't know anything about the internal situation. That little knowledge could not help in the development of guns, so Feng Yong got a copy of all the models of guns in the army and sent them to the Woniushan Ordnance Institute for research. At the time of the Chinese New Year, the arsenal finally designed a rifle with good performance. In terms of appearance, it is very similar to the German Mauser rifle, and even the ammunition model is the same as the Mauser rifle is a 7.62mm bullet. It's just that in addition to the seamless steel pipe used in the chamber and barrel of this rifle, the materials used in other aspects are all things that are easy to see in the Northeast and can be produced by themselves. This makes the cost of this new firearm much lower.

After the Ordnance Institute manufactured the sample gun, after two months of exploration and experimentation, some hidden dangers of the new rifle were finally solved. The attack power of the rifle is basically comparable to that of the German-made Mauser rifle. Only then did he submit the sample gun to Feng Yong along with the design drawings.

Feng Yong was very excited, this is China's first self-designed modern firearm, although the gun uses some Mauser rifle technology, but in many ways also added China's own originality, compared with the Japanese 38 big cover, this new rifle body is slightly shorter, but the matching bayonet is longer than the Japanese bayonet. In this way, the length of the whole rifle plus the bayonet is about the same as the length of the Japanese 38 cover plus the bayonet. After all, this rifle is against the big enemy is Japan's 38 big cover, if the gun body is too short, it will be very disadvantageous when fighting with the 38 big cover.

Feng Yong named the Chinese-designed gun the Zhonghua Type 1916. Abbreviated as Z1916 or 16. Feng Yong did not have the penchant of later Chairman Chiang naming guns after himself. After all, it's not necessarily a good thing to give guns too much political connotation.

More than three months have passed now. The production line of the Z1916 rifle has not yet left the production line, from which you can see how difficult it is to develop ordnance. It also proves from the side that the industrial base of the Northeast is still very weak.

"Jilin Machinery Factory does not have the latest telegram? It's been more than three months, why hasn't the Type 16 rifle production line been produced yet? Feng Yong was a little dissatisfied. The production line that can produce the Type 38 rifle shows that the Jilin Machinery Manufacturing Bureau has the ability to produce the rifle production line, and the structure of the Type 16 rifle is simpler than the Type 38 rifle, and the production line will not be unable to produce for so long.

"I know that. The Mechanical Bureau sent me a telegram a few days ago. The mechanical bureau has completed the construction of the first production line, but there was a problem during the commissioning of the equipment, and now the engineers of the mechanical bureau are urgently solving the problem. The director of the Machinery Bureau has promised me. It is guaranteed that the task of five production lines will be completed within this month. Li Jun said to Feng Yong.

"Five production lines? What is the production capacity? ”

"The estimated production capacity of each line will reach 1,000 Type 16 rifles per month. The five production lines are capable of reaching 5,000 units per month. Li Jun remembers the data in this area more clearly.

"Five thousand? Too little! Now that we have money, the military industry will also usher in a golden period of development. Spread the new brother and send a report to the Machinery Bureau, asking them to add a hundred production lines of Type 16 rifles. Make sure you get the job done in the shortest amount of time. "The state's enterprises have such benefits, although it will cause a certain waste of resources, but the directive policy can also provide the most suitable thing for the development of the government.

"A hundred!" Li Jun gasped. "Young marshal, will there be too much?" You must know that a hundred, if it is completed and put into production, it will be possible to produce 100,000 rifles in a month. The refitting of the entire unit can be achieved in two months.

"What? Having a financial crisis? Feng Yong said with a frown.

"Of course not! However, a hundred is too much! When our military factories are established, I'm afraid the world war will also end? "A hundred production lines may not be able to be completed even this year.

Feng Yong said with a smile: "Brother Chuanxin, do you think that after the end of World War I, there will be no war in the world?" There is a huge market in China. With the current situation in China, the arms market will continue to be hot. And I predict that the battlefield in the West will not end this year, and it may not even be able to stop next year. Therefore, the establishment of a military industrial enterprise is a profitable and loss-free business. Feng Yong knew that the First World War was not completely over until the end of 1918, and now it was only 1916, and there were still nearly two years left, which was enough for Feng Yong to make a big profit in the world's arms market.

"By the way, don't forget the production line for bullets, mortars, shells. The number and the rifle equipment of the sixteenth type can be matched. It also asked the Woniushan Ordnance Institute to step up research on the development of large mortars and howitzers. Brother Chuanxin, we have money now, and we must use it urgently for these military enterprises! ”

Li Jun was a little speechless, the young marshal moved his mouth, and tens of millions of white eyes spilled out like this. Li Junke did not have Feng Yong's accurate information from later generations, and established a large-scale military merit enterprise, if the world arms market remained the same after completion, he would be able to make a fortune, and if the world war stopped, this Type 16 rifle produced in the Northeast would definitely not be able to compete with the advanced firearms of the great powers after actual combat.

"In addition, some of the experts in ordnance design and chemical experts recruited by the provincial government will be sent to the Woniushan Ordnance Institute. Strengthen scientific research there. Behind closed doors, you can never build something technological. "A great man of later generations said that science and technology are the primary productive forces. Feng Yong regards it as the first creed, so it can be said that the investment in science and technology has not been relaxed since the establishment of the provincial government.

The provincial government has a special scientific research department, and the Woniushan Ordnance Institute, which specializes in firearms and explosives, is only a relatively secret scientific research unit. The current Jilin provincial government has formed its own set of scientific research systems, but now many of them are foreigners, and the entire scientific research institutions are still learning the advanced technology of foreigners, and then copying it in the northeast. Now during the world war, as long as you master the technology, you can produce it, who cares about invention patents. And when the world is over, these technologies have also been explored and matured, and their own technologies can be developed.

"Young marshal, can our rifles really catch up with the German Mauser rifles?" Li Jun asked curiously. He didn't know much about firearms, but he saw that compared with the precision Mauser rifles designed and produced by his own 16 style, they were really much simpler, and even less sophisticated than the Japanese Type 38 rifles in appearance.

"If you really want to compare, it must be inferior, after all, we are limited to the industrial level, and we can't make things that are too advanced. We can't produce a lot of precision accessories for Mauser rifles, so we can only simplify them. But Brother Chuan, this weapon is not as sophisticated as possible. There's a good saying! What's best for you is the best. The accuracy of our Type 16 rifle is not as good as that of the Mauser rifle, but because of the relatively simple structure, the strength of our firearms is much higher than that of the Mauser rifle. If you have studied in Germany, you should know that the Germanic people are a very strict and serious people. This is their strength, but it can also become a disadvantage at times. This rigor allows them to be meticulous about everything, and this is vividly reflected in the design of firearms. This sophisticated design style makes German-made weapons the most advanced in the world, but high precision inevitably means high production costs and low production capacity. This makes German-made weapons the most expensive of their class. And our Type 16 because of its relatively simple structure, the failure rate is lower, and the cost is much lower than that of the Mauser. This makes our rifles also have a certain competitiveness, if the Type 16 can make a name for itself in several wars, then there is no need to worry about international sales. ”

Li Jun thought about it, this is the reason, when the 16-type gun was tested, the effect achieved was indeed not much different from that of the Mauser gun. As long as you make a certain name, there will be no problem in sales. After all, at present, advanced rifles are controlled and produced by foreign powers, and if a rifle with good performance and low cost is produced, it is easy to form a temptation to poor areas.

"Brother Chuanxin, and the most important point, the Type 16 rifle is only our first rifle, although it is said to be original, but you and I both understand that this rifle can be said to be a rifle mixed with the design concepts of several mainstream firearms in the world. Although there are our own creations, but that is not the core thing. And now in the war period, the rifle is also developing in a more advanced direction, and I think it will not take much time for the Type 16 to be replaced by a new weapon of our own design. So, you don't have to worry about selling firearms. ”

(To be continued)