readx; According to the plan for the formation of the future artillery regiment assumed by those in the armament department, it is completely possible to equip a large number of 105-mm howitzers in the divisional artillery regiments, and if combined with 75-mm field artillery, the artillery suppression capability of the main division can be greatly improved. In order to be able to equip a large number www.biquge.info of 105-mm howitzers at the division level, then it is necessary to take into account the mobility of accompanying the infantry, so weight is extremely important.

Chen Jingyun nodded after reading it: "Yes, the army's divisional artillery will need 105 howitzers in the future!" ”

And there is another artillery piece put together with this 105 howitzer, no need to introduce others, Chen Jingyun can see at a glance that this is a 105 mm cannon, this can be seen from the muzzle and the barrel, but the detailed technical parameters have to be asked about the Wuhu Arsenal!

"How is the development of this 105-mm cannon going?" Chen Jingyun knows that in addition to the equipment that has appeared on this occasion today, the 1914-style field artillery has been finalized but has not been mass-produced, and the others are in a state of research and development and testing, but the degree of completion is more and less, for example, the 17 times caliber mountain artillery has already completed the preliminary research and development, and the rest is only left with various tests, and if there are no problems, the production line will be established soon, and the troops will be equipped next year.

The colonel of the armament department immediately replied: "This is also a product being developed by the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal, with a caliber of 1005 millimeters, a body length of 27 times the caliber, a weight of 2,200 kilograms, a high and low firing range of minus 5 to 37 degrees, and ammunition can be used in a variety of different weights such as 14.9 kilograms and 16.3 kilograms to increase the firing range, with a maximum firing range of 12,000 kilometers. ”

This gun is also based on the 105mm cannon provided by the United States, and it is also French. Even the reason for copying this French gun instead of the 105 cannon is the same as the previous 105 howitzer, that is, weight.

The 105 cannon now equipped in the Nationalist Army is mainly the 105-mm cannon called 'Ben', and the weight of this gun is as high as 2,600 kilograms, while the French cannon provided by the Americans is less than 2,200 kilograms.

In addition to these artillery, which are at the end of research and development and are expected to be equipped with troops next year, the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal also said that they have also carried out preliminary research and development on large-caliber 120 mm and 150 mm artillery, but these large-caliber artillery are not equipped in the national army, and those 150 mm German-made heavy guns captured from Beiyang are old goods many years ago, and imitation is a joke, so they can only refer to it and then design it themselves. It's just that this is not a simple imitation if it is designed from scratch, and there are not many technicians in the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal, and the main engineers are involved in the research and development and production of the previous several medium-caliber guns, and there are very few technicians who can be transferred to design and develop large-caliber artillery and heavy artillery, so there is not much progress in this regard.

Thinking of this, Chen Jingyun said: "You Wuhu Arsenal don't blindly work hard by yourself, you can also appropriately seek support from other domestic military enterprises, for the research and development of large-caliber artillery, the Shanghai Arsenal has sufficient experience, and you can also carry out some technical cooperation with them appropriately!" ”

Regarding Chen Jingyun's words, the people of the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal naturally said yes, but they were not very comfortable in their hearts. Not to mention that the Shanghai Arsenal and the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal are both wholly-owned by Huaxia Bank, but the two arsenals are not quite right, because the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal is engaged in artillery, although it is engaged in army artillery, but the Shanghai Arsenal in addition to torpedoes, naval guns and ammunition, is also specialized in the development of naval guns, so that the two sides have some conflicts, especially for some talent also competed, the two sides are poaching each other.

However, the people at the Wuhu Arsenal also have to admit that the people of the Shanghai Arsenal are indeed very good at artillery, and when the Fuzhou Arsenal did not even solve the plan for the 75mm field gun, the four-inch naval gun plan of the people had already put forward several plans, and after the Southeast Iron and Steel side solved the cannon steel, the Shanghai Arsenal immediately manufactured a number of four-inch naval guns and installed them on a number of gunboats, and then imitated and successfully produced a four-inch naval gun of 50 times the caliber according to the drawings provided by the United States. It also successfully copied a five-inch naval gun with a caliber of 51 times, and I heard that they were already preparing to develop a six-inch naval gun with a larger caliber.

The reason why the research and development of naval guns in the Shanghai Arsenal has progressed so quickly is mainly because they have all the drawings of the naval guns provided by the United States and the large-scale equipment needed to manufacture these naval guns. In addition to direct investment in funds and equipment, the United States also sent a large number of technicians, so it is not impossible for the Shanghai Arsenal to be able to imitate several naval guns so quickly.

However, Rao is like this, and the progress of the Shanghai Arsenal also makes the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal embarrassed!

It's just that if you want to come to the door now to take the initiative to cooperate, I'm afraid that you will look down on those peers!

Of course, the weapons on this trip are not only these artillery, but also Chen Jingyun also looked at several mortars, which are also products of the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal, and some minor adjustments have been made to the old models, and the overall change is not much. In addition to visiting the products of the Wuhu Heavy Weapons Arsenal, Chen Jingyun also looked at some products of the Nanjing Light Weapons Arsenal, such as an air-cooled heavy machine gun modified and designed from the MG08 heavy machine gun, but Chen Jingyun felt that it was really not very good after reading it. There is also a light machine gun that has been improved from the Madsen light machine gun, although some parts are simplified, but overall it is not much better than the Madsen light machine gun.

Compared with the research and development work of heavy weapons, the research and development of light weapons is much less, and there are not many new weapons, if you have to say that the highlight is that in view of some problems existing in the Type 12 rifle, some modified Type 12 rifle improvements have been made, but the changes are really limited, and the surname can not be substantially improved, and there is no obvious difference in appearance, so no new models have been issued.

In general, the work of the Nanjing Light Weapons Arsenal is mainly production, and how to expand production is their top priority, and there is no need for research and development of new types of weapons.

However, Chen Jingyun felt that he still had to put some pressure on them: "The troops also reacted that although the Madsen light machine gun is excellent, there are also many problems, and there are many parts for the Madsen light machine gun, and the manufacturing difficulties lead to low production and high prices." You should pay attention to these problems one by one, and improve them if you can. If it can't be improved, then a new light machine gun must be developed as soon as possible! ”

There were indeed many problems with the Madsen light machine gun, and at least Chen Jingyun had to continue to produce and equip it in large quantities until there was no better replacement.

The person in charge of the Nanjing Light Weapons Arsenal also respectfully said yes!

Later, Chen Jingyun and a large group of people watched the test firing of many types of artillery, machine guns and rifles, and this test firing was basically a passing scene, except for looking at the smoke and dust of the explosion, there was nothing else to see, so after hurriedly watching the test firing, Chen Jingyun went home. After Chen Jingyun returned, the Armament Department also set up in response to Chen Jingyun's request and contacted military enterprises to carry out the research and development and production of new weapons.

On July 28, two days after Chen Jingyun had finished testing these new weapons, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia. The official declaration of war by Austria-Hungary also represented the official outbreak of World War I, followed by the mobilization of Russia and the subsequent dispatch of troops to Serbia to resist Austria-Hungary. Germany then declared war on Russia, then France and Germany chose each other, Germany invaded Belgium in order to attack France, and Britain declared war on Germany.

By this time, the Western, Eastern and Southern Fronts of the Euro-Exhibition War had taken shape!

And in the days when the nations declared war on each other, the telegraph rooms in the Far East were ticking incessantly, and people hurried in and out, saying, 'This is true in our own country, in the embassies in China, and even in the presidential palace and the general staff in Nanjing.'

A few hours after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the news had already reached the presidential palace in Nanjing by telegram, and then Chen Jingyun urgently convened a military meeting, and directly ordered the naval fleet in the waters near Qingdao to march to Qingdao, and at the same time ordered the whole army to enter a state of emergency combat readiness, and the Third Army in the direction of Shandong advanced in the direction of Qingdao!

The next day, Chen Jingyun summoned the German ambassador to China, Xin Ci, and formally proposed to Germany to redeem the concessions of Qingdao, Tianjin, and Wuhan. Now that the war in Europe had just broken out, and Germany had not yet officially declared war on Russia, the German ambassador to China, Hintz, said that he would send the news back to China and let the country make a decision.

Although the Germans were seriously dissatisfied with China's demand for the redemption of Qingdao and the concession by taking advantage of this opportunity, Germany was busy preparing for the declaration of war on Russia, France, and Great Britain at that time, and had no intention of taking care of such a small matter as the Far East, so it delayed.

Chen Jingyun was very dissatisfied with the delay on the German side, he did not have time to stalemate with the Germans, and now whether it was the army, navy, or air force, they were all ready to fight a battle in Qingdao, and he had to take Qingdao back before he could react, so as not to cause any trouble.

On the one hand, Chen Jingyun waited for the Germans' answer, and on the other hand, the main force of the Navy's First Fleet had already arrived outside Jiaozhou Bay, and although the Chinese Navy, which was mainly composed of two former dreadnoughts, was not very strong, it still had no problem dealing with the German Far East Fleet, which consisted of only two armored cruisers, two light cruisers, and several old gunboats. After the navy completed the blockade of Jiaozhou Bay, the army also marched along the Jiaozhou Railway to Qingdao, and the Chinese army, which had been prepared for a long time, approached Qingdao in just a few days.

However, since the two countries have not yet formally declared war, and the Germans have not officially replied to China's proposal to redeem Qingdao, the two sides have not yet started a fight.

Chen Jingyun's move made Kaiser Wilhelm in Germany very dissatisfied: "This Chen Jingyun is a villain who takes advantage of the fire to rob!" ”

At the beginning of the war in Europe, Chen Jingyun's unexpected preparation to take back Qingdao also surprised him, the British and the Americans. Chen Jingyun has never revealed any dissatisfaction with Germany before, and there is no specific dispute between China and Germany in the near future, Germany even contracted the construction of the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, and China also provided Germany with thousands of tons of tungsten concentrate before the war. While it was a surprise to the British and the Americans, it also disrupted my own plans, you must know that a month ago, this army had begun to carry out a quiet mobilization, which was already ready to seize all the German colonies in Asia, and Qingdao was naturally included.

However, now it is said that 'the army and navy have not yet completed the mobilization, but his Chen Jingyun's army has already arrived in Qingdao City!' So in this state of affairs, it is said, 'Where should we go?'