Chapter 1294 The purpose of weapon display
The content of the military exercise in the afternoon was more appropriately described as a display of weapon performance than an exercise. Considering the effect of promoting arms, the Ministry of National Defense believes that live ammunition shooting can better attract the attention of local tycoons from various countries. However, when using live ammunition in army exercises, firstly, there is a risk of accidentally injuring one's own people, and secondly, the display effect of the weapon performance is not good. It was not ideal, so the content of the exercise was simply modified, canceling the offensive and defensive drills conducted by the Army on the island, and adjusting the weapons and equipment display session, which was originally only one hour, to half a day.
As the weapons supplier with the largest shipment volume in the South China Sea, the reputation of Haihan Military Industry has long been spread. The mission of the foreign personnel invited to observe the military exercise this time is not only to observe the latest tactics of Haihan Army, In addition to equipment and combat methods, another major task is to conduct inspections for arms orders for the next year.
Although Haihan Ordnance's annual shipments are large, its production capacity is still relatively limited. In fact, the completion period of arms orders is also very long. For orders received during the "Leap Over" military exercises, production is often organized after a certain percentage of deposits are received, and the first batch of deliveries may have to wait until winter. If the order quantity is relatively large, it is normal for the goods to be delivered in batches and the time to complete the order to last until the next year. For special orders like shipbuilding, if a large quantity is ordered at one time, the delivery time may be as long as two or three years.
Things are rare and expensive. Haihan Ordnance Industry's production capacity is limited, so the price will naturally not be low. However, those who are qualified to come here to watch military exercises are basically those who are not short of money. Even if they don't have enough money, they can still Use the power in your hand to make up the difference. Anyway, souvenirs and other things can be brought here to trade in discounts. If you really can't get something, young people or land will do. If you really can't bear to part with your family's population and land, you can also apply for an arms loan from Haihan and slowly repay the debt in installments.
But using these abnormal payment methods, the delivery date will have to be pushed back. Buyers who can directly take out cash to order, or even pay the full price in order to expedite the purchase, are what Haihan likes and values the most. of patrons. Of course, there are not many customers with such financial resources. After all, the price of Haihan arms is high, and even the local emperors who hold the power of a country dare not say such willful words as buying as much as they want. Buyers with outstanding financial strength will naturally receive the highest courtesy from Haihan. For example, on this occasion, they can stand next to Haihan Defense Minister Yan Chujie and discuss the contents of the arms order face to face.
Dong Yanyun, who came to represent the Xu family in Fujian, is such a big customer. As Xu Xinsu's spokesperson, he has spent more time in Hainan Island than in Fujian in recent years, and even stayed in Sanya for more than half a year on official business. This visit to the military exercise, including subsequent military purchase orders, will also be operated and decided by him.
This was not the first time for Xu Xinsu to watch Haihan's military drills and weapon demonstrations, so compared to newcomers like Liu Shang, his attitude seemed calmer. After all, I have been dealing with Haihan for many years, and I generally understand some of Haihan’s tactics in arms sales. Most of the various weapons and equipment seen at military exercises cannot be bought with money. Haihan people call it a "concept product" and will not sell it to foreign buyers.
Of course, these so-called concept products are often installed in Haihan's own army shortly after the military exercise ends, and the weapons and equipment sold to other countries and forces, including the Ming Dynasty, will not meet the performance of the buyers. expectations, but it will be a little better than the Haihan weapons currently owned by various companies. Buy it, the performance upgrade of the weapon is actually not that big, and the price/performance ratio invested is not that high; don’t buy it, and you will worry about it affecting the alliance relationship between the two parties.
The balance of interests in this process is also a very delicate matter. If it weren't for someone like Dong Yanyun who had a close relationship with Haihan, it would indeed be difficult to grasp the balance. However, after the two companies have been dealing with each other for so many years, the Fujian Xu family has accumulated enough experience and has a relatively mature plan on how to handle arms transactions.
Xu Xinsu's method of handling military purchases is to purchase conventional weapons in batches, install them in batches, and eliminate them in batches, so as to maintain the equipment level of the troops at a high level to the greatest extent. The number of new weapons that need to be purchased every year can also be controlled at a relatively small level, and only one-third of the combat personnel of the main force is enough.
Although the Ming Army in Fujian has nearly 100,000 troops, it actually only takes orders from the head of the family, Xu Xinsu, rather than the Ming Dynasty. It is truly the core force of the direct lineage of the Xu family. The total number of land and water armies is less than 20,000. . It's not that Xu Xinsu doesn't have greater ambitions, it's just that it's too expensive to raise an army armed with the Haihan Army. Even though the Xu family is known as the richest man in Fujian, it is impossible to invest all the money in military construction. After all, to maintain the Xu family's status in Fujian, there are many places where money needs to be spent, and it is not just about raising troops.
Of course, although the Fujian Xu family consciously controls the number of arms purchased from Haihan every year, in terms of transaction amount, it is still a very high-ranking major financier on the Haihan arms sales list, and only a few Years will fall behind Haihan allies like Annan. Therefore, for Haihan, the Fujian Xu family is still a major customer that cannot be ignored. Confidants like Dong Yanyun, who are deeply trusted by Xu Xinsu, have always been regarded as honored guests and treated with great courtesy in Haihan.
Among the people present, the only distinguished guest who could be on an equal footing with Dong Yanyun was Annan Kingdom's general Zheng Bai. Zheng Bai had fought with the Haihan travelers during the Annan Civil War seven years ago, and later won the title of General Pingnan for his military exploits. This time, Zheng Bai personally led several warships of the Annan Navy to the Beibu Gulf to participate in the military exercises organized by Haihan. On the one hand, he further strengthened the combat effectiveness of his own navy. On the other hand, he also had the same purpose as Dong Yanyun to see Let’s see what good things Haihan can come up with this year that are worth spending money on.
Since the current regime of Annan Kingdom almost relied on Haihan's help to conquer the world, the current ruling Qing capital king Zheng Zhi has always had great trust in Haihan. Therefore, Annan's new army is more Haihan-oriented than Xu Xinsu's army. More thorough. The organization, weapons and equipment, combat methods, and command system of the troops are almost completely copied from the Haihan Army model. However, although Annan State has a territory, its economic situation is actually no better than that of Fujian. Therefore, the size of its new army has always been maintained at around 20,000 people, which is similar to Xu Xinsu's direct troops.
Annan's investment in building this new army was much greater than Xu Xinsu's. Although Fujian's investment in army construction was large, it was not to the extent of breaking the bones. However, Annan's early efforts had already reached the point of trying to sell iron, and even some For a long time, immigrant populations were used as collateral for weapons loans. In order to obtain Haihan's military support, Annan even handed over many natural harbors on the southern coast to Haihan for management in the form of permanent concessions. It was only in recent years that Annan slowly recovered and began to use cash to purchase arms and other supporting services from Haihan.
From the perspective of direct income, there is no doubt that the benefits given to Haihan by Fujian are greater. Since the establishment of the relationship, almost all transactions have been in cash and there has never been any credit. During the most intense period of the war with Shibazhi, Fujian even shipped a whole shipload of silver to Sanya and begged Haihan to sell more weapons and ammunition. However, from the perspective of long-term benefits, many of the conditions provided by Annan are more cost-effective, especially the several natural harbors in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula, which allow Haihan to basically monopolize the coastline of the Indochina Peninsula and provide Haihan with access to key areas in the South China Sea. The fight for control provides an excellent relay station, which is a treatment that no amount of money can buy. It is precisely because these two customers have brought huge benefits to Haihan that they are always invited to attend any military exercises, and they are often accompanied by senior figures from Haihan in person. This time was no exception. Defense Minister Yan Chujie personally explained to them the content of the exercise and the subsequent weapons display session.
Haihan's army weapons are mainly divided into two major categories: guns and artillery, each of which has a more detailed classification. As Dong Yanyun expected, the Haihan Army first displayed the so-called concept weapons under development, which were divided into three categories: pistols, rifles and artillery.
The officer in charge of using weapons walked to the shooting position, pulled out the pistol from his waist and showed it to everyone. This is a Haihan-style revolver that uses a flash cap to fire, and can fire six rounds at a time. This kind of revolver has actually been installed in the Haihan Military and Police Department for some time. However, the pistol on display this time has made great improvements in the power of the bullet and uses a softer and hollow warhead. This kind of bullet After hitting the body, the bullet fragments and churns around inside the body, causing more serious damage.
After the officer gave a brief explanation, he conducted a shooting comparison. Two revolvers using different ammunition were used to shoot the hanging pig legs, and then the pig legs were removed so that the guests could watch the killing effect of the new bullets.
Yan Chujie introduced to the two distinguished guests beside him: "The bullets used in the past will directly penetrate the body after hitting the body at close range. The wound is small and the damage caused is relatively limited. But this new type of bullet will penetrate the body after entering the body." Then it breaks into pieces, and the fragments roll in different directions, making it difficult to remove from the body, and the wound is not easy to heal. Moreover, the bullet is made of lead, and if the fragments cannot be removed, it will cause poisoning over time. "< br>
Both of them were amazed. The emergence of this kind of ammunition will undoubtedly increase the lethality of firearms to another level. However, although this thing is powerful, Haihan may not put it on the sale list. If Yan Chujie doesn't take the initiative to talk about the price, there is probably no chance. It must be another good thing that Haihan prepared for his own officers.
Although Liu Shang didn't understand the principle of this revolver, he also wanted to see what the difference in power mentioned by Officer Haihan was. However, because of his humble status, he did not dare to push too far forward to avoid attracting the attention of interested people. He could only wait obediently at the back and let the distinguished guests in front of him read it and then slowly pass it around in turn.
After waiting for a long time, he and others saw two pig legs in the tray that had been cut along the ballistic path. An officer was responsible for explaining to them the difference in damage caused by different bullets. Liu Shang didn't quite understand, but the old man in charge of medical care next to him muttered: "Originally, there were still injuries that could be saved, but now I'm afraid he will definitely die. This new type of projectile is really powerful!"
Liu Shang thought to himself that the Haihan people were really ruthless. If they came up with such a thing to increase the lethality of their weapons, the next force that would oppose them would be in trouble. However, Liu Shang had already vaguely guessed why the Haihan people took precious time to demonstrate this new type of ammunition.
Liu Shang believed that this arrangement was actually a demonstration to all the spectators, because most of these spectators had purchased Haihan's weapons and ammunition at one time or another, and Haihan's display was undoubtedly telling them that even if I put The same weapons sold to you will have different powers. This conclusion will undoubtedly dispel the potential ambitions of many people.
Haihan did not give further explanation as to whether this new bullet has been mass-produced and whether it will be installed on a large scale in the future. One or two guests who were not very knowledgeable even asked whether this kind of bullet would be included in the sale list. The answer they received was that there was no plan yet, which was a soft nail in the coffin. Liu Shang secretly sneered in his heart, thinking that if Haihan sells this new type of bullet, he might have to wait until they develop a more advanced gadget.
The next thing to show off is the rifle. There are also many types of rifles currently in service in the Haihan Army. Most of the army still uses the Trinity flintlock rifle, while the navy rifle is a model with a shorter barrel than the Trinity. The special operations battalion that serves as the vanguard of the expedition used to be equipped with a special model of the Sany-type with a thicker caliber and a shorter gun body. However, it is now gradually being equipped with a new seven-shot rifle. This repeating rifle was also equipped to the Haihan cavalry unit and used as a long-range weapon on horseback.
In addition to these more common rifle models, there are also long and heavy sniper rifles. This imitation of the whiteworth rifle has evolved for several generations at the Haihan Arsenal. The rifle used for display is the latest generation. Not only does it have more scientific and perfect rifling, but the sight scope is also recently improved. model. In terms of performance, the range has not changed significantly, but the accuracy has been much improved compared to the previous generation. Especially for precise shooting within 500 meters, the distribution of bullet impact points has been reduced by nearly half compared to the previous generation.
At that moment, the sniper used this rifle to demonstrate long-distance shooting, with the target being a half-length target located a hundred feet away.
(End of chapter)