What was the significance of World War I to Yan Shao? The first is to take advantage of the opportunity of the 'collective suicide' of Europeans to reap enough benefits from it.

The simplest one, with the outbreak of World War I, the demand for supplies in Europe will also increase greatly. Yan Shao can take advantage of this opportunity to develop light and heavy industries, so that the domestic industrial level can be fully developed in four years—————— Soviet Russia with a five-year plan to make Russia's industrial level reach the point second only to the United States and Germany, Yan Shao has such an opportunity in the hands of the European war, it is impossible to be worse than Soviet Russia, right?

And after the collapse of Soviet Russia in World War I, Yan Shao can also take this opportunity to recover the land occupied by Soviet Russia in the past. If everything goes as he expected, he might even have the option to go further or something...

The second, and extremely important, is to bleed the Europeans...

Yan Shao still knows a lot about the extent of white discrimination against people of color, after all, he has also lived in France and the United States for a while.

Neither the Europeans nor the Americans would have wanted to see the emergence of a strong China. Because a strong China will threaten their interests in Asia, including even France, which has the best relations with China, after all, France also has a French Indochina in Asia, in addition to Britain's India, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Hong Kong and other places, the United States of America, the Philippines, Russia's interests in the Far East including Siberia, etc...

As long as China becomes strong, it will inevitably threaten the interests of these countries in these regions. And that's exactly what happened.

The only one who can be happy to see this is Germany, after all, Germany has only one Qingdao in Asia, and then there are some islands in the Pacific Ocean that few countries are afraid of being rare except Japan. But even so, there is still a Yellow Peril theory in Germany, and the German Emperor Wilhelm II even conceived a "Yellow Peril" himself.

If the Europeans had not shed enough blood by the end of World War I, I am afraid that the first thing they would do was to find trouble with Yan Shao and the Japanese.

So for Yan Shao, the longer this war is fought, the better, and the worse it is, the better...

The weakening of the European era began precisely with the First World War, the Battle of the Somme, in which the Anglo-French army lost nearly 60,000 men in just one day in front of the machine guns of the Germans. And the machine gun, a weapon that cooperated with trench warfare, became the most deterrent land weapon of this era—————— until the advent of the tank.

It is precisely for this reason that although Yan Shaozhi said that tanks are the best weapon against trench warfare. He would never have exposed this before the outbreak of the First World War (with Anhui's current industrial capacity, combined with the current capacity of the tractor factory, it would be no problem to assemble a hundred rudimentary tanks in a year, and there was no need to even rely on foreign countries for this).

Because of that case. It is likely to accelerate the end of the European competition. At the same time, it will also minimize the losses of the Europeans, which will outweigh the losses for Yan Shao...

After all, his real opponent is not Yuan Shikai, but those European and American powers who covet China and the little people around them—————— then again, if the Germans are the first to discover the weapon of tanks, maybe the winner of the European war will become the Germans, after all, the British and French forces resisted very hard at the beginning of the Western Front, if the Germans have tanks, maybe they can break through the defense line of the British and French forces...

Yan Shaoke will definitely not underestimate the Germans. Historically, Maxim was invented by the British, right? As a result, it was the Germans who played the most, the Somme and Dardanelles. This weapon, invented by the British, cost the British themselves.

There is also the tank, which was first invented by the British in history, but then the Germans used this weapon to destroy France in a month ...

Now if the Germans know about this thing, who knows what will happen to the Tao, Yan Shao is not willing to bet on it...

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"Anyway, since this thing has been finalized, then please work harder, as for the other two models, please work harder..."Looking at the inconspicuous Type 13 60mm mortar over there, Yan Shao patted Ji Yushan on the shoulder and said.

"Yes, please rest assured, we will definitely do our best..."The body has been around, Ji Yushan is colorful, and there is a faint trace of excitement in his expression.

It is said that longing is the farthest distance from understanding, and the same is true for people like Ji Yushan, who rarely have access to Yan Shao. There are indeed many people in Anhui Province who oppose this war, yes, they are indeed very angry about Yan Shao's assassination, but they feel that they should not use this as an excuse to start a war, but should solve the problem through legal means—————— in their opinion, Yan Shao's reaction this time is a bit excessive, as if he deliberately used this as an excuse to do it. If it weren't for Yan Shao really almost hanging up at that time, I'm afraid some people would have suspected that the assassination was a bitter ploy directed and acted by Yan Shao.

However, this is only external public opinion, but it is supported within the National Socialist Party, at least for the most part.

In the revolutionary period there was never a shortage of two kinds of people, idealists, speculators...

The same is true of the National Socialist Party today, which has not only many speculators, but also a large number of idealists. Seeing the rapid changes in Anhui today, perhaps because of the distance, many people do not understand Yan Shao's relationship, and there are many admirers of Yan Shao in the Kuomintang Socialist Party, and Ji Yushan is also one of them.

After all, the changes in Anhui are too great, and when comparing what is happening in other provinces, it is naturally easy for people to have a sense of worship for it. Coupled with the reputation that Yan Shao created in the past, even in other parts of the country and even in some overseas Chinese gathering places.

However, this kind of sentiment is only found in the middle and low levels of the military government, and among some people who have not had much contact with Yan Shao, and those who have had more contact with Yan Shao naturally know the true face of Yan Shao...

Ji Yushan is now the director of the Anqing Arsenal, and now Anhui is just such an arsenal. Many ordnance needs to be produced by this factory, so Ji Yushan can be regarded as a high-level member of the military government.

However, because he often had to work in the factory, he did not have much contact with Yan Shao. I don't know much about Yan Shao, so naturally it's the same as many middle and low-level people.

As a high-level member of the Kuomintang Socialist Party, Ji Yushan is well aware that he has now entered the middle and late stages of the 'military government' stage, that is, the stage of sweeping away the warlords. Also because he is a technician, Ji Yushan will inevitably be a little idealistic, after seeing the appearance of Anhui today, and at the same time there are some other provinces to make comparisons. Ji Yushan naturally hopes that this change will spread throughout the country.

In Ji Yushan's view, Yan Shao is obviously the only one who can do this in China now, and this view is not only Ji Yushan. Many people also have...

Naturally, this also contains a little selfishness of Ji Yushan, who is now the director of the arsenal, and he can be regarded as a stalwart and veteran of the Kuomintang Party. Wait until the future really defeats Beiyang. When the Kuomintang completely reunifies China, he, a person with old qualifications, will naturally rise a lot, which is another reason why Ji Yushan is so eager.

However, it is not surprising that people go to higher places and water flows lower places, and there is nothing to blame.

didn't know what Ji Yushan was thinking, Yan Shao continued to watch for a while, and then went to several other branches to visit. Take a look at the current production of guns and ammunition urgently needed by the National Social Army.

Overall, it's pretty good.

At the time when the confrontation between Suzhou and the Beiyang Army began. The arsenal has entered a state of three shifts, and people rest, but machines cannot rest. And because of the longer working hours, the workers' proficiency has also increased a lot, and the output has been much higher than expected.

Now the arsenal is considering adopting the method of assembly assembly to produce ordnance, and is currently asking Li Yin to design some assembly lines specifically for the production of ordnance, but there is no result for the time being.

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The first battle, which took place at the junction of the three provinces, quickly spread throughout the country, 6,000 to 4,000, and this casualty surprised many.

In the eyes of many people, although the National Socialist Army is a strong army, Beiyang has been famous for a long time after all, and many units of the National Socialist Army have been established for less than a year. Even if the National Social Army can withstand the Beiyang Army, I am afraid that the casualties will not be less.

Who would have thought that after the First World War, the casualties in Beiyang were actually greater than those of the National Social Army.

However, considering that Beiyang is the attacking side, and the National Social Army is the defending side, such a casualty comparison cannot be regarded as outrageous.

On the other hand, after the news of the battle was transmitted back to Beijing, Yuan Shikai, who was talking to several staff members in the Iron Lion Hutong, was also taken aback.

"Six thousand? Are there really so many? After hearing this number, Yuan Shikai looked at Yang Shiqi and the others with wide eyes.

Six thousand, this is already equivalent to the casualty figure of half a division, and how many casualties did Beiyang suffer during the Yangxia Defense Battle that year? Now there are 6,000 casualties in just one day...

"That's right...", Yang Shiqi said with a helpless smile. This is a telegram just sent back from the front, at about 2 o'clock this morning, our army launched a night attack on the enemy's position, only to be discovered by the enemy when it was about to succeed, our army fought fiercely on the enemy's position for several hours, until dawn did not retreat, as a result, after counting the number of casualties, it was found that there were at least 6,000 casualties, many of whom were left on the enemy's position in a hurry because they could not move after being wounded, and when they evacuated, they were afraid that they had been captured..."

After all, it was almost dawn at that time, and it was still retreating, and in the hurry, some soldiers who were seriously injured and had difficulty moving could only be left behind, and all of them became prisoners of the National Socialist Army...

However, Yuan Shikai didn't care about this, he only paid attention to the casualties of more than 6,000 people.

Although Yuan Shikai sent more than 100,000 troops this time, he suffered more than 6,000 casualties in one day.

On the other side, hearing Yang Shiqi's words, Duan Qirui, who had just arrived, pursed his lips and said with some disdain. "Lao Feng is also going back more and more, and he has suffered so many casualties in a battle..."

Hearing Duan Qirui's words, the others just didn't hear it, after all, there was an old contradiction between Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang, and they didn't want to get involved.

"In addition to these, there is also a telegram here...", Yang Shiqi took out a telegram and handed it to Yuan Shikai.

This telegram was also sent by Feng Guozhang to Yuan Shikai, and the content on it was mainly to explain the situation of last night's battle. At the same time, it was emphasized once again that it was absolutely impossible to confront the defense line of the Kuomintang Army head-on, but that other means should be adopted.

Yuan Shikai also thought deeply about this, in fact, Feng Guozhang also discussed it with Yuan Shikai when he did this. And Yuan Shikai is not a person who does not know soldiers. Naturally, I know how big the casualties will be if people really go head-on to charge the machine gun array of the National Social Army...

So although he was surprised by the casualties this time, he had no intention of changing generals, because the one who could fight the most under him was this Beiyang dog.

Even if the others have the strength, they can't suppress these arrogant generals in terms of qualifications and prestige...

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Perhaps even Feng Guozhang knew that the loss this time was too great, so he first hoped that Yuan Shikai could support him on the telegram, and once again explained the correctness of his strategy.

Besides. It is the support of other aspects, such as equipment and troops...

On the telegram, Feng Guozhang explained to Yuan Shikai his assessment of the Nationalist Army. It is believed that the strength of this army is actually inferior to that of the Beiyang Army, and it is only because of its superiority in equipment that it can inflict so many casualties on the Beiyang Army.

Therefore, Feng Guozhang hoped that Yuan Shikai could provide more equipment support to the front line, such as machine guns and grenades.

The importance of the former is aside. The latter's words were after listening to the accounts of the returning Beiyang officers and soldiers. Feng Guozhang just came up with an idea.

According to the officers and soldiers, in the course of the trench warfare, the Nationalist Army used this weapon to inflict great casualties on them. Many soldiers were killed by this weapon, especially in the process of fighting for some positions. The officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Army had just taken the position, and they would find that more than a dozen black grenades had fallen on their heads, and in an instant, the entire position was cleaned up, and even if there were barely a few survivors, they could not stop the follow-up rush of the National Social Army.

Later, Feng Guozhang also personally tested some of the grenades brought back by those officers and soldiers. I found it really easy to use, so I added such a request to the telegram...

Hand grenade. Yuan Shikai also knew about this thing, not to mention the Battle of Cihu River for the time being, this kind of thing came to the fore during the Russo-Japanese War, the question is...

"We don't have this kind of thing..."

Scratching his head, which already had little hair, Yuan Shikai was a little distressed.

The importance of this battle to Beiyang Yuan Shikai naturally understood, and if possible, he was willing to do his best to support Feng Guozhang. The point is that he really doesn't have this kind of weapon in his hand, even if he wants to support it, it's useless...

"This is very simple..."Yang Shiqi knew the content of the telegram very well, so when he saw Yuan Shikai distressed there, he immediately smiled and said. When Yan Shao was assassinated some time ago, didn't the assassin use a grenade? I heard that they all came from Japan, and the relationship between the Japanese and Yan Shao is definitely not good, if we buy from them, the Japanese should agree..."

"Japanese?" Yuan Shikai frowned, he didn't have a good impression of the Japanese, in fact, the Japanese didn't have a good impression of him either, and even once regarded him as the biggest obstacle to entering China.

However, after thinking about it, Yuan Shikai still nodded, because Beiyang had bought many golden hooks from Japan in the past, and now it is not bad.

Moreover, not long ago, the loan from the British had just been delivered, and now Yuan Shikai's pocket is also rich, so that he does not have to worry about funds.

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At the junction of the three provinces, when Fu Xiuming and Feng Guozhang were in the middle of the war, Yuan Shikai also reached an agreement with the Japanese to buy 100,000 grenades from Japan, and would continue to place additional orders if possible.

The Japanese are very pleased with this transaction, because the current Japanese look at this war from the same angle as Yan Shao's view of the European war, and they are eager for the blood of the two sides to fight. Moreover, this was what the Japanese had hoped for after they participated in the assassination.

So soon the Japanese agreed to offer grenades at a better price.

However, the horsetail grenades were not equipped much in Japan, and the Japanese could only provide 30,000 in a short time. With this amount, it is estimated that it will be used in a few days.

So Yuan Shikai also sent a telegram to Feng Guozhang, asking him to send a few physical objects for Beiyang's arsenal to study.

Buying from the Japanese can only be regarded as an expedient measure, such a cheap thing, Yuan Shikai feels that it is the right way to let his arsenal copy it.

But all this, I'm afraid it will take a long time to do it.

On the other hand, fighting continues at the junction of the three provinces. Due to the absence of innovative equipment such as tanks, neither Fu Xiuming nor Feng Guozhang could do anything about the machine guns on the opposite side. They can't open the way with large-caliber heavy artillery at every turn, as is the case in Europe, so they can only maintain the road of artillery battles during the day and night attacks at night.

Because they were already familiar with the Beiyang combat methods, after the night attack, the Nationalist Army was no longer as busy as it was at the beginning. After the grenades purchased from Japan arrived, although these horsetail grenades were not as simple and easy to use as the grenades equipped by the National Social Army, they also caused a lot of casualties to the National Social Army, and the casualties on both sides were increasing day by day.

Every day looking at the casualty reports coming back from the front, Yan Shao and Yuan Shikai will feel blood dripping from their hearts, and public opinion is constantly calling for armistice, peace talks and other topics, and now the only people who will be happy about this situation are the warlords in the provinces, I am afraid that only the Japanese are left... (To be continued......)