Chapter 392 The Russians Are Coming

"Squeak."

A car that looks like a wild cat but does not have a top machine gun bracket, under the protection of two wild cats, with two black tire marks, quickly parked in the dock area of Lushun Military Port.

As the convoy arrived, there was a sudden noise of gongs and drums in the dock area, allowing Chen Ping, who came down from the jeep improved by the wild cat, frowned.

Standing at the wharf of the port area, you can see the majestic posture of the unfrozen port in the north. The former Beiyang Military Port is constantly expanding, and with the merger of Lushun Jinzhou and other places into the municipality directly under the Central Government of Dalian, the role of the commercial port has declined a lot. Only when the sea is frozen in winter and unable to enter Dalian and Donggang will the cargo ship arrive. Stop here to evacuate the goods.

However, with the successive use of seaports such as Yantai, Weihai and Qingdao, the railway line began to extend there. There were few merchant ships here, and it gradually became a special military port.

In addition, after the return of the southeast, the Prime Minister's Office stipulates that foreign ships are no longer allowed to dock at their ports at will. They must dock in 20 designated ports, including Kundae, Honolulu, Manila and Tianjin, to reduce tax evasion. They also arranged the National Guard to patrol with the navy. According to the regulations, they all It has the right to seize or even directly sink the fleeing ship.

After the initial continuous seizure and sinking of many ships trying to escape, now fleets from various countries dare not dock at will, so Lushun Port is a little less lively.

But today's long-lost bustle has appeared, even a little too much, because the military port is full of colorful flags, the sound of gongs and drums is even more noisy, and the hired lion dance team is even more hard to shake, welcoming guests from afar. In this lively background, a team of sailors are still carrying guns. The pen is straight, staring at the waterway, as silent as a stone sculpture.

With a movement, the world seems to be divided into two. The dancers can't figure out what the world of navy and the world of soldiers are like.

Looking at the thunderous dock, Chen Ping couldn't help frowning and asking, "Lao Long, is this too much? This is the first military port in Asia, not a theater.

Long Guozhang, who had just walked out of Jeep, was also full of grievances. He spread out his hands and said helplessly, "It's not that our ambassador to Osman sent a telegram saying that Hakan, the Ottoman admiral who led the team this time, liked to be particularly lively and let us focus. This was suppressed by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You didn't see the Ottoman ambassador very Do you enjoy it?"

Following Long Guozhang's fingers, Chen Ping saw the Ottoman ambassador to China who was watching the performance of the lion dance team, and couldn't help swearing: "Fuck!"

The navy likes to be lively, and every navy in the world likes it, because it is caused by a long-term going to sea. Thinking about drifting on the sea for a few months, there is no exquisite food, no clean fresh water, and no women. How boring and boring it is. If you force it to be serious after landing, it is simply persecution. .

Xinhua's military discipline is very strict, but it is not strict enough to allow the sailors to play on the shore. In order to reduce the problem of the sailors disturbing the people after they come ashore, Li Mo and the general counselor have recruited many women from Japan to participate in logistics services for the first time in the past two years. As for the logistics, everyone is tacit.

Of course, this is not an involuntary compulsion. In fact, for those Japanese women who are currently short of food and clothing in China, or even become goods, the treatment of the Xinhua Army is already very good. Not only do the armies force the soldiers not to be too rude, but they can also get it after three years of work. A large amount of severance pay that can't be obtained in the past ten years.

This is the end of falling behind and being beaten. Under Master Li's strategy of "all interests", he suffered a lot from it. Because half of the annual fiscal revenue needs to be divided to repay Xinhua's war compensation, all countries are desperately blackmailing the other half. In the end, the political axe can't even save a copper coin every year. Finally, the guide As a result of social chaos, the national construction is almost zero.

In this case, not to mention protecting women, many young people who walk on the street will be kidnapped and then sold to Americans to build railways, replacing the huge gap after the Chinese left.

Xinhua is already very good. It has not only handled a large number of textile factories on Shikoku Island, but also opened garment factories, printing and dyeing factories and other factories. Recently, it has even opened a factory specializing in the manufacture of bullets. Although there is no salary, it can get enough rations to maintain the family's food and clothing, compared with the Japanese island. It is already a great happiness, so in the past two years, a large number of people have crossed the Strait into the Shikoku Islands, seeking opportunities, and also given Xinhua the conditions to recruit labor and "logistics personnel".

Of course, this is more than money from military spending. It is impossible for the Prime Minister's office to give an extra dime for this expense, so how to save this money every year? The navy, army and even the air force bastards are active. It is said that they also put forward the slogan "I'd rather eat less meat than do a good job in logistics."

These bastards!

Chen Ping also thought about this matter, which would affect the military spirit and reputation, but in front of a group of guys who said that there was a serious surplus of hormones, instead of letting them fight and make trouble or even ruin their own people, it was better to spoil outsiders.

Since the logistics service, the appearance of the army has been much better, especially the navy, which used to be the favorite. The cases of nuisance near the bases have plummeted. Even Tan Sitong said that the army has finally done a good thing.

But those who are full of sailors and low-level officers, who has ever seen a lively admiral? There are too many factors affecting the naval battle. As a general, you must always keep calm, but this Ottoman admiral actually likes to be lively, which is a big problem in itself.

If a general likes to be lively, then the officers and sailors below will probably be more lively.

After shaking hands with Chen Ping and Long Guozhang, the Ottoman ambassador turned around the jeep and the wild cats a few times, hoping to take them back to China immediately.

Since Britain also invested in an armed car in South Africa shortly before the end of the Anglo-Poland War, this trend seems to have begun to spread. Germany and France have made armed cars for the army one after another. Although the number is small, it has aroused the interest of Hamid II, but Osman's industrial capacity is too poor. I can't get this kind of armed car at all, so I've been thinking about purchasing some equipment from abroad to maintain the secret police force under his reign.

Seeing the ambassador circling around the jeep and wild cats, Chen Ping didn't know what the other party meant, but this self-use model equipped with an aluminum engine could not be sold, so he immediately laughed and said, "Dear Ambassador, if you like it, I can send you one."

"Really!" Ambassador Osman didn't expect to get one by looking around. He secretly regretted that he had known to turn around a few more times.

"Ha ha." Long Guozhang smiled and shook his head and said, "These cars can't be done. They have been incorporated into the army, but for the friendship between the Ottoman Empire and our country, His Majesty has asked us to bring three new cars, but it's too late to install machine guns. Why don't you wait for a few months?"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter!" The Ottoman ambassador waved his hand immediately, but there was no machine gun installed. This small problem can still be solved in China. If you wait for the machine gun for a few more months, won't it be impossible to return home with the fleet to ask for credit? So it doesn't matter if you hurry up.

Sending three ordinary steel engine jeeps is not difficult for the big business of the Xinhua Army, and sending them out also has a special meaning, because the military is very strict, and the details of the equipment of the Xinhua Army have been known to the outside world. Except for mortars and grenades that some countries have begun to imitate, the rest are basically controlled. The system is very strict.

But the tighter the cover, the more interested the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries will be. Therefore, in recent years, the military often deliberately give simple equipment similar to three jeeps as military exchange gifts or sell them to small countries, in order to give the outside world a channel to understand the level of Xinhua's equipment and mislead the great powers, so I believe that the Ottoman As a sick man in Europe, when these three armored vehicles return to Istanbul, they will definitely attract British, French and other countries to ask for research.

In fact, this speculation is indeed good. According to the information of the Ministry of Intelligence, many things as gifts in the past two years have flowed into the hands of Britain, France and other countries, which has indeed caused some misinformation. According to several European and American analysis reports, it can be seen that most of them are surprised by Xinhua's whimsy, but they are Xinhua's scientific and technological strength and The manufacturing ability is sneered, because a lot of equipment is often vulgar.

For example, a year ago, after the Battleship Estrada of the Chilean Navy, which was similar to the North Star, came to Xinhua for gun upgrade and returned to China, Britain immediately sent technicians to the ship for investigation. It was found that the great power of the Xinhua naval gun was achieved by increasing the load of the shell and reducing the life of the medicine room, in the key manufacturing process and materials. There is no breakthrough.

This is exactly what Li Mo wants to give to the outside world. The experience of later generations tells him that if he wants to cover his secret, he must put the secret behind a glass that looks almost transparent but cleverly hides the key parts.

The Ottoman ambassador, who got three armored vehicles, obviously did not know that he had become another experiment. He still talked and laughed with Chen Ping until a whistle sounded from the mouth of the waterway, and everyone found that two Ottoman warships were slowly entering Lushun Port under the leadership of a defense-class destroyer.

Looking at the Ottoman sailors on the decks of the two warships that slowly docked, in two or threes, who were attracted by the lion dance at the dock, Chen Ping couldn't help sighing in his heart that Osman was indeed old. The sailors lost their discipline and dreams, and they actually put the two ships into the water for ten years. Only more than 2,000 tons of Asarishivkot-class warships are called second-class battleships. In fact, this displacement is now very reluctant to count as second-class cruisers in various countries.

Beside the new defense-class destroyer, they are like two old women on crutches. Although they are equipped with a nine-inch cannon and four seven-inch cannons, if they really fight, two-on-one may not be able to defeat a defense class, not to mention their speed is only pitiful. Section 15.

When the Asharifkot put down the gangway, Chen Ping and Long Guozhang finally met the legendary lively General Hakan, and he was really lively. After getting off the ship and saying hello, he was attracted by the lion dance team all the time, and even walked to the side for a long time before walking to the corner of the port at the urging of Dashi.

When he saw the brand-new Chinese battleship full of flags and the bow with "Ismail" written on it, the general Hakan put the bustle behind and hurried over.

"Is this our battleship?" When he got on the deck and stroked the thick and cold barrel, General Hakan's eyes were almost straight. Although he had seen this kind of warship before during Li Mo's visit, he really realized the power of this battleship when he touched it himself and Osman had one.

"Yes, Admiral Hakan, it's yours!"

"It has ten 12-inch 45 times powerful naval guns. When firing on one side, it can provide you with eight heavy guns, which can tear up any enemy within 10,000 meters. It also has a speed of 16 knots, and its endurance can reach 7,000 nautical miles. It can sail freely in the Mediterranean Sea without worrying about supplies. This is an epoch-making battleship. I believe that under your command, it will truly become the patron saint of the Ottoman Empire!"

Chen Ping smiled and watched Long Guozhang constantly brag about the data of the warship to Hakan. When the Ottoman general's eyes were shining and he could immediately take the ship to sea for a few shots, he immediately suggested to go to sea for a test, and also said that he would bear the required shells and coal.

He was able to test his battleship with other people's materials, which made Hakan, who was shy in his pocket, quite excited and immediately ordered to set sail. With the black smoke coming out of the three big chimneys, Ismail slowly sailed out of Lushun Port with the cooperation of 300 Ottoman sailors and more than 200 Xinhua sailors who arrived in the early six months ago. The sea fired live ammunition.

When eight cannons roared and disappeared a small wooden target ship in a few minutes, not to mention Hakan, even the Ottoman ambassador who did not know the warship excitedly pulled the admiral to say something, as if he had seen the hope of the rise of the Ottoman Empire.

And Admiral Hakan was also shocked. While lamenting the power of the Ismail, a dimness rose on his old face for the first time, because the industrial capacity of the Ottoman Empire was too poor. In addition, after Hamid II ascended the throne, the Ottomansman lost several wars in a row, which caused heavy losses to domestic contradictions and the economy and was unable to carry out any more. The naval industrial construction, even the acquisition of this battleship, was exchanged for Kuwait's mining rights.

He even thought that if Hamid II did not hide in the Ilditz Palace all day long and rely on the secret police to maintain his rule, but stood up decisively like Li Mo and led Osman to continue to fight, even if he failed in the end, it would be better than now!

Looking at Hakan's uncertain face, Long Guozhang quietly bumped Chen Ping with his shoulder and asked, "Yuan Shou, what do you think this old guy is thinking?"

"I'm probably thinking about the glory of the Ottoman Empire." Chen Ping took a breath. This empire across Eurasia did have a dazzling glory, but it is really old now. A powerful battleship in their hands can't change anything.

Long Guozhang narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Unfortunately, they can only be proud for a while. Germany's scratching class has been delivered for testing one after another. Britain has also announced that it will build six Nelson-class ships to suppress Germany in one go. I believe that France, Italy, Austria-Hungary and the United States are all coming out. I don't know that Nicholas II is accurate. What should I do?"

"Build, the more you build, the better. After our four ships are launched, they will know how to write the word garbage!" Chen Ping narrowed his eyes, and his sharp eyes stabbed the smiling and sad Ottoman general in front of him like a sharp needle.

A few hours later, when the Ismail returned to Lushun Port, Zhang Zuolin had been waiting at the dock impatiently for a long time. After seeing Chen Ping, he immediately handed over a copy of the information he had just received.

Seeing the information, Chen Ping's eyebrows suddenly raised, which immediately made Long Guozhang feel a little surprised. In the past two years of peace, it is rare to see this old partner have such an expression.

"What happened?"

"The Russians are coming!" Chen Ping closed the documents in his hand, and his face was solemn...

(to be continued)