Chapter 284 Airship
Russian artillery not only lacks range, but also has low accuracy.
To change the status quo, in addition to striving to improve the technical level, quantity to compensate for quality has become the best choice.
The accuracy of a single cannonball is not enough, so just fire a few more rounds.
Bazookas are slightly lacking in precision shooting, but when it comes to dealing with clusters of exposed targets, there is no better choice than rocket launchers.
The key rocket launcher perfectly fits the national conditions of the Russian Empire, which lacks technology but is rich in resources.
This means that if you switch to a resource-poor country like Japan and give them rocket launcher technology, they won’t even be able to use it.
The Russian Empire can afford it. A launch vehicle starts with 16 rockets, and they are all empty within 20 seconds. If there are a thousand of them, it will not be afraid of any number of enemies.
George doesn’t remember what the original data of the Katyusha rocket launcher is. Considering the character of the Russians, the caliber must be about 120 mm, and the power is about the same as a 150mm artillery.
Compared with traditional weapons, rocket launchers are a completely new field. The task went round and round and fell on Zagoev, who graduated from the Materials Department of St. Petersburg University, and Kuchaev, who graduated from the Naval Technical School. .
After graduating from St. Petersburg University, Zagoyev continued his studies with Butrelov and participated in the research and development of smokeless gunpowder.
Kuchaev’s father is a naval artillery designer. He has a family background and studied torpedoes in college.
George is only responsible for project establishment and does not participate in research, giving Zagoyev and Kuchayev absolute autonomy.
As winter approaches and Vladivostok becomes covered with snow again, George's sense of urgency becomes greater and greater.
The year 1892 is coming.
George didn't know when the war between Japan and the Qing Empire broke out.
But considering the actual situation in Japan, it will probably only take these two years, because Japan cannot afford to delay. If it cannot profit from the war, the Japanese government will go bankrupt.
The reform failed in the past few years, and the Japanese government actually went bankrupt once, relying on British loans to survive.
British loans require interest, so Japan can now be described as a desperate bet.
Compared with Japan, which was waiting for disaster, the Qing Empire became increasingly degenerate.
George had previously sent Mulinder to contact the Qing Empire, hoping to provide artillery and shells to the Beiyang Fleet to enhance the strength of the Beiyang Fleet.
After Mulinder returned, George learned that the Beiyang Fleet not only stopped purchasing new warships, but also stopped purchasing external artillery shells, relying entirely on the supply from the arsenal of the Qing Empire.
The armament industry of the Qing Empire is a complete tragedy. It still uses backward black powder. The solid bullets are mixed with sand and adjusted to the weight, but the outer diameter of the shells is not up to standard and cannot be used by artillery. This is not Technology can explain it.
Corresponding to the depletion of Beiyang's armaments, the Qing Empire was building royal gardens aggressively.
Mu Linde tried to sell Vladivostok's most advanced artillery to the Qing Empire, but was rejected by the Qing Empire.
Even the Qing Empire had no interest in smokeless gunpowder and refused any changes.
However, the sales of cosmetics in the Qing Empire were very good.
The high-end fabrics purchased by Vladivostok from the Qing Empire were even sold back to the Qing Empire after processing.
And demand exceeds supply.
George can only say that one drink and one peck are all destined.
Of course there is still good news.
France and Russia are forming an alliance and their relations are heating up sharply. St. Petersburg welcomes French capital to invest in the Russian Empire, and France naturally opens its arms to Russian capital.
George didn’t know whether the First Lady had any plans to invest in France.
George fell in love with French East Indies.
The French East Indies are alone in the tropics, and they also have three crops a year.
George originally wanted to grow rice in Siam, but unfortunately Britain and France entered Siam relatively early. The Russians were jointly squeezed out by Britain and France. They were almost unable to get in, and George had nothing to do.
After the Qing-French War, France annexed Annan and Annan became a French colony, which gave George an opportunity.
Compared with Annan, French capital prefers to invest in Africa and the Mediterranean Sea rather than in distant East Asia.
After the Qing Empire lost the war, its sphere of influence in Annan was cleared. France only controlled the cities of Annan and had not yet had time to set foot in the countryside. This gave George the opportunity to grow rice.
Through the unremitting efforts of the past two years, the Nanyang Company established by George has purchased more than 150,000 hectares of land in Annan. Starting next year, Annan will provide a steady supply of food to Vladivostok.
Compared with Vladivostok, the conditions for developing agriculture in Annan are very good. Not to mention three crops a year, the usable land area is still very high, which is unique.
Compared with Annan, Aceh is developing more rapidly.
After the armistice with the Netherlands, Aceh entered a period of rapid development. Plantations damaged by the war quickly recovered, and the introduction of tobacco from South America went smoothly. Aceh has begun building factories and will start producing cigarettes next year.
Compared with the military industry, the profits of cigarettes are higher and more stable.
The key is to make money with peace of mind and no guilt at all, which is very rare.
A business that can make George feel at ease must be done quickly.
There are worries, but they are not George’s, but Nicholas’s.
The Miss Martha whom Nicholas hid in Oak Park, everyone knew that she was just a passer-by and could not become the empress of the Russian Empire.
In 1884, at Sergei’s wedding, Nicholas met Princess Alex Hess from Germany.
Alex Hess is the sister of Grand Duchess Sergei Elisabeth Feodorovna. Hess is the oldest family in Germany. Hess’s mother is the second daughter of Queen Victoria, Edward VII. and Alexander III were both Hess's godfathers.
Nicholas, who was born in 1868, is already 23 years old. Alexander III has started drinking alcohol since the train derailment, and his health has been deteriorating in recent years. The Russian Empire urgently needs Nicholas to stabilize as soon as possible and continue the glory of the empire. However, Nicholas had huge differences with Yasan and Queen Maria on the selection of the queen.
As the relationship between the Russian Empire and Germany gradually deteriorated, Yasan and Maria did not want Nicholas to marry a German princess.
At the same time, because the relationship between France and the Russian Empire heated up rapidly, Yasan and Maria chose Princess Hélène de Orleans from France for Nicholas.
Elena is the daughter of the Earl of Paris. Although France is already a republic, the strength of the traditional aristocracy cannot be underestimated and has a huge influence in France.
Both the Russian Empire and France welcomed the marriage.
Nicholas was depressed and took the initiative to write a letter to George to confide in him.
"I've met Princess Orleans, she's a pretty nice girl. Fortunately you have Anne, otherwise I would——"
Ekaterina's gossip soul was burning.
“What if Nikki marries Elena?”
"Who is Kshesinska?"
George never paid attention to such gossip.
“Kshesinska lives in your oak garden, don’t you know?”
Ekaterina looked at George with a look of disgust and relief.
What is disgusting is that George and Nikolai have such a close relationship, yet they are so indifferent to Nikolai's affairs. They are indeed paper brothers——
Paper uncle and nephew.
The good news is that George never behaves like the men in the Romanov family.
Not long ago, a scandal broke out in Paris. A famous Parisian courtesan was exposed to have more than ten lovers at the same time, including the Grand Duke of Russia.
For a time, all Russian princes were in danger and became the subject of speculation in tabloids.
What is outrageous is that George has also become one of the suspects.
After Asan ascended the throne, Catherine went to France to settle.
Theoretically, George is indeed possible. After all, the Russian Grand Duke has a bad record.
Although Ekaterina knew it was impossible, it did not prevent Ekaterina from teasing George about this matter.
“Isn’t it Martha in Oak Park?”
The news about George still stopped three years ago.
"Uh ho ho ho ho, it's not so long ago——"
George felt that Ekaterina was too idle.
Has Vladivostok University been built?
Is there still a queue at the hospital?
Are orphans and the elderly well cared for?
Has the enrollment rate of school-age children reached 100%?
Every day I bring a group of people to play mahjong at the Yuriev Palace and stare at the little trivial things of the Grand Duke of St. Petersburg all day long. What a waste of time!
George wrote back to Nicholas, wanting to remind Nicholas of Princess Alex's bloodline.
Princess Alex’s maternal grandmother is Queen Victoria, which means that if Nicholas marries Alex, there is a high probability that Nicholas and Alex’s children will become Hemophiliacs.
Hemophilia is also known as a royal disease and has been popular among the royal families of European countries for a long time.
The key is that this thing is passed on from male to female. Even if the princesses carry the hemophilia gene, they will not have symptoms.
Even the princess’s daughter will not be infected.
Only sons are at risk of suffering from hemophilia.
“Do you think Nicky doesn’t know it? Do you need to remind him?”
Ekaterina reminded George that it was best not to get involved in this kind of thing.
George thought about it, it was indeed the truth.
Persuade Nicola to give up Alex, Nicola will be disappointed.
Advise Nicholas to insist on himself, the Tsar and the Empress will be angry.
Both sides are unhappy.
So George sent some big toys to St. Petersburg.
It’s really a big toy. In addition to the latest cars, there are also airplanes, hot air balloons, and airships.
Compared with airplanes, airships appeared earlier. In 1784, the French Robert brothers built the first human-powered airship.
The Vladivostok airship uses a battery-powered electric motor as power. There are 14 airbags in the airship. These airbags function like water-tight compartments on ships, and their safety is greatly improved.
This summer, the Vladivostok airship was tested and successfully arrived safely from Vladivostok and returned to Khabarovsk.
Technical personnel in Vladivostok are currently working on improving the hull of the airship from a soft type to a rigid type to further improve safety.
If this problem is solved, then George will not need to wait for the Trans-Siberian Railway to open and can freely travel between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg.
(End of this chapter)