"Dashuai, the total weight of this tank is 13.5 tons, and the main gun uses the newly developed 45mm tank gun, 46 times the caliber, which far exceeds the original 37mm main gun in terms of power, and is also equipped with a coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun. In terms of firepower configuration, not only does it surpass the previous tanks, but it is also very leading on the shijie, and due to the increase in weight, it can be equipped with more haode protective armor, and the defense is also quite outstanding. ”

Xiong Mengyuan looked at the tank in front of him, as if looking at a newborn baby, his eyes were full of pride, indeed according to the current understanding, the tanks of Shijie countries generally stayed in the stage of World War I, and did not develop rapidly after the war due to the problem of recovering from trauma.

On the contrary, China, which has a backward industrial level, was the first to realize the role of tanks and spared no effort to build a new tank, so in terms of tank performance, it has been short and strong with the West.

Xiong Mengyuan then introduced to Zhang Tinglan: "In terms of firepower and protection, the new tank has made great progress, but there are some problems that cannot be ignored. The first is the engine, we are currently using an improved German engine, only 80 horsepower, due to the lack of horsepower, the tank's maneuverability has decreased a lot, and the fastest speed can only reach 25 kilometers. In addition, there are serious problems in terms of comfort, and after an hour of driving, you have to rest. In addition, the production cost has reached 30,000 yuan, which is twice as expensive as the previous tanks, and I am worried that the army will not be able to purchase them in large quantities. ”

Zhang Tinglan listened to Xiong Mengyuan's introduction, took the specific parameter table, and learned more about it, such as the off-road performance of this tank is still quite good, the climbing angle is 30 degrees, and the wading depth is 0.76 meters. The obstacle height is 0.71 meters, and the maximum off-road distance is 130 kilometers.

Based on these data, the overall performance of this new tank is similar to that of the later Soviet T26 tank, and the protection is even better, the only problem is that the engine is still relatively backward. But at the moment, the military industry has done its best to come up with such a product, you must know that the Soviet T26 was finalized only after ten years.

According to Zhang Tinglan's estimates, this tank is already ahead of the vast majority of the great powers in the current shijie, and even in the next ten years. It is enough to use, the only problem is to keep improving, keep improving, and make up for the defects.

"I'm very satisfied with being able to come up with such a product. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement, and the engine is a problem. There is also the issue of comfort. They are all fatal wounds that seriously affect combat effectiveness, and you must come up with a plan to improve them. ”

Xiong Mengyuan hurriedly said: "Dashuai, we are jointly developing an engine with the Germans, which is tentatively named Changbai Type 1, which can reach 100 horsepower." It was specifically designed for this tank. We're also working on a new suspension system to enhance comfort and off-road capabilities, but there are some jishu challenges that we haven't solved yet, and we need to make this tank perfect. It will take at least another two years or so. ”

After listening to the introduction, Zhang Tinglan looked at Tao Jiping on the side, and asked with a smile: "Minister Tao, do you have any suggestions?" ”

"Marshal, I think it's a waste to let people wait for equipment, or let equipment wait for people, so it's better to produce some in small batches first, while training tank crews, and looking for problems at the same time, after all, it is the soldiers who use weapons, not us designers."

"That's right!" Zhang Tinglan thought for a while and said: "Then first produce a regiment of tanks for large-scale use, and then find out the problem." ”

Tao Jiping was also a little surprised when he heard that he was going to produce a regiment all of a sudden, this scale is not small, it seems that the marshal is indeed a little obsessed with tanks.

"Marshal, to produce a regiment, you need about fifty to seventy tanks, I'm afraid it's a lot, right?"

"As a product that is not mature, it is indeed a lot, but our enemies will not leave us for such a long time, no matter if the quality is not perfect, it is better than nothing."

It is clear to the whole Feng army that there are two major enemies in the Feng army at present, one is Russia, which has just been defeated, and the other is Japan, which is eyeing it fiercely. However, it is widely believed that Russia will need at least five to ten years to recover from the wounds of the war. As for Japan, it is also entangled with the foreign powers, and it will take a lot of time to turn its energies to China.

However, Zhang Tinglan knew in his heart that soon Japan, the United States, and Britain would convene a Washington Conference, the naval arms race would stop, and more than two years later, the Great Kanto Earthquake would break out in Japan, which would bring fatal damage to this island nation.

The Great Kanto Earthquake will definitely become an important turning point in Japan's domestic and foreign affairs, and it can even be said that this earthquake shattered the dream of Japanese democracy and opened the curtain of a full-scale invasion of China. Just like later generations, a major earthquake caused a nuclear catastrophe and forced Japanese politics to turn sharply to the right.

This earthquake told all the Japanese that they live on the most dangerous and barren islands in Shijie, their lives and property are threatened at any time, and if they want to change their destiny, they can only expand outward, invade constantly, occupy the rich continent, and completely change their destiny.

Once this militaristic view became the consensus of the Japanese, they would find that the Feng army had become their biggest stumbling block, and a battle between the two sides would be imminent. Zhang Tinglan knew very well in her heart that the war between China and Japan would come sooner than imagined, and there was not much time left for the Feng army!

Zhang Tinglan said meaningfully to Xiong Mengyuan: "All scientific researchers, they must tighten a string, the war is not far away, what kind of works can they come up with, what kind of things can soldiers use on the battlefield, the better they do, the more they can reduce the consumption of life, the responsibility is great!" ”

"Don't worry, Dashuai, we will do our best to live up to our mission!"

After Zhang Tinglan explained clearly, he went to see the development of the new rifle, Han Linchun was in charge of this work, and his subordinates included Chinese, Russians, Germans, professional jishu personnel, and excellent soldiers on the front line. It seems to be chaotic to the extreme, but Han Linchun's command and coordination skills are good, and he can let everyone work together.

The Germans are good at being elaborate with guns, while the Russians are more inclined to be cheap and reliable, and soldiers need to be powerful and adaptable. And Han Linchun's main task is to balance the opinions of all parties and choose the most suitable plan among them.

China doesn't need anything too delicate, but it can't be shoddy and joke with soldiers' lives, so this trade-off is also very troublesome.

After Zhang Tinglan and Tao Jiping arrived, Han Linchun hurriedly saluted Zhang Tinglan, and then introduced: "Dashuai, the development of the rifle has made considerable progress, according to Dashuai's instructions, we have adopted a 7mm caliber, and also developed a matching 7mm×51mm bullet, after testing, the ballistic performance of this bullet is quite stable, and the recoil is also within the Chinese tolerance range." ”

While Han Linchun was speaking, he picked up a sample gun on the side and sent it to Zhang Tinglan, and he introduced with a smile: "Marshal, the new rifle is 1106 mm long, which is much shorter than the bulky Shui Lianzhu, and can better adapt to the Chinese physique, and the shooting accuracy is not much worse than the Shui Lianzhu." ”

Zhang Tinglan also grabbed the sample gun in his hand, feeling very comfortable and very handy. For a weapon, this feeling is very important, and Zhang Tinglan couldn't help but shout hello!

Han Linchun said with a smile: "It's all the work of the marshal, we consulted the soldiers on the shape of the gun, and they proposed more than a hundred improvement projects before Zuihou came up with the sample gun in front of him." The development of weapons with the soldiers also opened our minds, the quality of a weapon is not the level of performance design, but the feeling of the soldiers, after all, they are the owners of these weapons. ”

Zhang Tinglan nodded with satisfaction: "How long will it take to fully develop the new gun?" ”

"Two months, or at most two months, we can enter the stage of small-batch trial production, and once the process problem is solved, we can produce and reload in large quantities."

"Very well, you have all worked hard, this gun represents a symbolic beginning of Chinese weapons, we have our own weapon system, and in this regard, we have caught up with the footsteps of the great powers. However, the road ahead is still longer, not only to catch up with the great powers, but also to surpass them. ”

Zhang Tinglan went around the arsenal again, not only tanks and rifles, but also new artillery, machine guns, and mortars are also being developed and produced, and the time for a large-scale refitting of the Feng army has gradually matured, and Zhang Tinglan has ordered all units to prepare for the best new weapons.

At the critical moment when the army is transforming, Wang Yongjiang found Zhang Tinglan again, in recent years, the government affairs of the three eastern provinces of the army have all been pressed on Wang Yongjiang's body, he is busier than anyone else, and there is gray hair on his sideburns early, but Wang Yongjiang's spirit is still very sufficient.

"Humble words, you mentioned to me last time that you want to go deep into the northwest, and the most important thing is to get the oil from Yanchang Mine and Yumen Mine, I think this idea is of course good, but if you want to extract oil on a large scale, you must first transport the equipment in, and in addition, you must transport the oil out, which requires the construction of a railway line!"

"That's right, if there is no railway, the development of the northwest will become empty talk, I don't know if Mr. Min Yuan has any ideas?"

Wang Yongjiang said with a smile: "At present, there are very few railways in the northwest, only the Longhai line has been repaired to Xi'an, and there is no more to the west, and we have also begun to build railways from Chaoyang and other places to Chengde, Zhangjiakou, and Guisui Jihua, which has now been completed about half, and I think it will extend from this railway to the south and directly to Shaanxi." Then extend to the west, build to Lanzhou, it is best to build the railway all the way to Xinjiang, where the railway goes, where the interests go, where the force goes, along the way is the world of the Feng army! (To be continued......)