I want to be emperor

Chapter 1109: Arms Race among Aboriginal People

As a result, the Dachu Empire loosened a certain gap in the single-shot rifled rifle and officially considered whether to export it to indigenous vassal countries.

In addition to selectively strengthening the military strength of agents to avoid regional instability and damage to the interests of the Chu State, the biggest factor is that even if the Chu people do not export this thing, some active rebels in many indigenous vassal states can still Some rifled rifles were obtained through smuggling, sneaky counterfeiting, and even battlefield seizures.

Many rebels like to use rifled rifles and adopt small-scale long-distance ambush mode to attack the regular army of agents... Although these rebels do not have many rifled rifles in their hands, and their quality varies, they can collect dozens of them. A hundred or so rifles are not a big problem, and then these rifled rifles are used to equip small-scale elite troops for various ambush battles.

As a result, the agent's regular army was at a disadvantage in terms of weapons and equipment, and often suffered relatively heavy losses.

Of course, many of the above factors are ultimately inseparable from the Chu army's own strength... As long as its own strength is strong enough and its weapons and equipment maintain sufficient generational differences, then even if the armies of these indigenous countries are equipped with single-shot rifled rifles , then it would not pose any practical threat to the Chu army.

Here, it must be emphasized that the new generation of standard rifles of the Dachu Empire, namely the Type 27 rifle using eight-millimeter smokeless cartridges, is already in full service in the A-class troops of the regular army and the B-class troops stationed overseas.

The Dachu Empire's production of new rifles is very large, basically maintaining an annual output of about 300,000 units. The total number of Class A and Class B troops in the army is actually about 800,000. Including spare reserve guns, the total number is probably around one million (the second-class division usually only retains most of its personnel, but reserves 100% of weapons and equipment).

Then there are the local garrison troops with hundreds of thousands of people, that is, the C-level garrison troops of each province.

Coupled with the Guards, Navy, and armed tax police, the first round of large-scale equipment replacement will probably require about three million.

The military's plan is to complete a comprehensive replacement work in ten years, using rifles and machine guns that fire standard eight-millimeter smokeless powder bullets to completely replace all types of firearms that used eight-millimeter black powder bullets, including Type 24 rifles. Type 26 rifles and various heavy machine guns.

The core of it, the Type 27 rifle, which is an improved design based on the Type 24 rifle, has begun mass production in the 48th year of Chengshun, and has quickly increased its output to about 300,000 units per year. , up to now, Chengshun 51, millions of pieces have been produced.

These more than one million Type 27 rifles are mainly equipped with active-duty units of the Guards, Army Class A and Overseas Garrison Class B troops, Marine Corps, and armed tax police.

There are still some B-class troops left in the army, and the C-class troops have not changed their uniforms...

However, even if the comprehensive replacement has not been completed, the Type 27 rifle is actually in production. During the use process, some problems exposed and some improvement requirements of the military have been improved, and several improved models have been launched.

Therefore, the Type 27 rifle currently produced is actually no longer the original prototype version, but an improved version... However, these improved versions are generally not much different from the original version, mainly due to some detailed changes.

In addition, in addition to the Type 27 rifle of Huguang Arms Company, the Type 28 rifle of Hebei Arms Company is also in the process of continuous small-scale production, test equipment and improvement, and has successively produced about 100,000 units... among which the latest The improved model has solved most of the problems exposed by the prototype gun, and it has reached the point where it can be mass-produced and used!

However, after the gun failed in the bidding for forty-eight years, although it has received some orders, it has now been improved to a qualified and usable model... but it still cannot change the fate of the backup... The military's positioning of the Type 28 rifle Just a backup.

Just like the Type 26 rifle in the eight-millimeter black powder era, it's just a backup... I'll also give you an order, but not much.

The Type 27 rifle has been mass-produced with millions of units, and the total order has exceeded three million units. At the same time, the military is determined to unify the standard rifles of all armies in order to reduce procurement costs and simplify logistics. Under this situation, it is impossible for the military to abandon the Type 27 rifle and switch to large-scale procurement and equipment of the Type 28 rifle.

With the large-scale production and service of a new generation of smokeless firearms with the core of the Type 27 rifle, plus a few Type 28 rifles... all rifles using eight millimeter smokeless bullets in the Dachu Empire have been There are more than one million of them, and they are equipped with all the main forces.

The improved version of the heavy machine gun with smokeless powder bullets is also being produced and equipped on a large scale.

At the same time, artillery using smokeless propellants was also put into large-scale service, further increasing the range of the artillery.

Nowadays, the military power of the Da Chu Empire can be said to have fully entered the smokeless era. The improvement in combat effectiveness brought by this is very huge... What smokeless bullets or artillery shells can bring is a greater effective range. At the same time, because there is no smoke when launching, the concealment is better and the field of view is better.

With the entry into service of a large number of smokeless firearms, a large number of Type 24 rifles have been gradually decentralized to the third line and even militia units...

Because the number of Type 24 rifles is so large, millions of them, and the inventory of eight-millimeter black powder bullets is also very amazing, and the actual performance of this rifle is actually quite good, so the military It is planned that even if it is no longer used in the regular army, it will continue to be used in the militia forces... Therefore, this thing will still be seen for many years to come.

As for the Type 26 rifle, which also uses eight-millimeter black powder bullets, due to many problems and relatively low production, it has long been completely dismantled and sealed... Even the militiamen despise this thing!

As for the Type 25 repeating rifle that uses 11mm rifle ammunition, this thing is actually not that many. It has been completely withdrawn from the regular army militia units a few years ago and has been gradually handed over to the foreign legions for use. It has become a modern weapon. The main rifle in the Foreign Legion.

This means...even the Foreign Legion has entered the era of repeating rifles.

The performance advantages of repeating rifles over single-shot rifles are huge.

In this way, if the export of some single-shot rifles is restricted, there will be no actual threat to the Chu Empire itself.

This is several generations ahead... If this can be threatened by the indigenous army, then the top generals in the Chu army will have to commit suicide collectively to apologize.

The discussion triggered by the Kingdom of Sweden's request for the purchase of single-shot rifled weapons finally resulted in a clear decision at the executive meeting: restrictive and selective export of single-shot rifled weapons to some vassal countries. Rifled rifle!

But...the rifled artillery is not exported!

The threat of rifled artillery is too great. Even rifled artillery using black powder is extremely powerful... and the most important thing about this thing is that it is difficult for the indigenous people to imitate it secretly, let alone smuggling. said……

The control of such heavy weapons is very strict and very conspicuous.

If some rebels get some imitation or smuggled rifled rifles, the Chu army may be accustomed to it. As long as they do not foolishly undermine the interests of the empire, then the local Chu army may turn a blind eye...

But if you pull out a rifled artillery and shoot the shells several kilometers away...then the foreign troops of the Chu army stationed locally will go crazy and launch a comprehensive encirclement and suppression.

This thing is so sensitive that many indigenous rebels in Europe have channels to get a small amount of so-called civilian rifled artillery through smuggling, but they don't have the guts to get it, or they hide it secretly. Don't dare to use it.

It's because once discovered by the Chu Army, the Chu Army will immediately go berserk!

The reason for the rage is simple. This thing can already pose a fatal threat to the Chu army, especially the foreign legions.

Similarly, the relaxation of export restrictions on rifled weapons this time is only limited to single-shot rifles. Artillery and heavy machine guns have not been relaxed.

After the relevant resolutions were reached at the staff meeting, the General Administration of the Domain also officially responded to the Kingdom of Sweden's rifled weapons procurement application: approving the export of 5,000 Type 18 rifles.

After the news came out, ambassadors from other vassal countries came to visit every day and submitted purchase applications...

The Dachu Empire has relaxed its export restrictions on rifled rifles. Even if it only relaxes the export restrictions on single-shot rifled rifles, it is earth-shattering news for the vassal states.

what does this mean?

It means that Europe, West Asia, India and other regions are about to enter a new round of arms race... Just like in the 1940s, after the Chu people relaxed the export restrictions on flash cap guns, the entire Europe and West Asia region swarmed in , looking for Chu people to purchase flash cap firing guns...

What, you said you don’t purchase...you are so brave!

Your neighbors have already made purchases, but you still dare not to make purchases. What else can I say other than saying that you are brave...

Therefore, in the early 1940s, after the Chu people opened up the export of percussion guns to European and West Asian regions, a wave of concentrated arms competition began throughout Europe and West Asia, scrambling to import Chu perch guns. In just a few years, the flash cap percussion gun has become the main rifle in Europe and West Asia.

In this process, the military and defense industry of the Da Chu Empire also made huge profits... The military sold a large number of retired and old tattered flash cap guns at a high price, and defense companies were also refurbishing these stock flash cap guns. , and the subsequent mass production of new flash cap firing guns made a lot of money.

As for the overall economy of the empire, this large-scale export of percussion guns has severely harvested a wave of wealth in Europe and West Asia.

The export of weapons and equipment was also the main trade mode between the Chu Empire and Europe, West Asia, India and other regions.

How to put it this way, these vassal countries don’t have to wear clothes or use industrial consumer goods... but you can’t sell guns... otherwise your next door neighbor will come over and steal your coins and your women!

This thing has a stronger demand than cloth, tea, coffee, and industrial consumer goods!

Now that the Chu Empire has liberalized the export of single-shot rifles, it will also have a similar effect and trigger a new wave of rotation in the indigenous vassal states.

The demand for single-shot rifles in these vassal countries can reach millions, and there will be continuous and stable consumption orders in the future.

Regarding this situation, first of all, the military laughed... There are so many Type 18 and Type 19 rifles in the military... Although over the years, many Type 18 rifles have been lost due to combat and training. The rifles have been scrapped, but there are still more than one million left, mainly used as second-line rifles and backup rifles for the Foreign Legion...

That's right, the main elite troops in the Foreign Legion no longer use Type 18 rifles, but are equipped with Type 25 repeating rifles.

For example, the Indian Third Division, which is quite famous and has quite powerful combat effectiveness, completed a comprehensive replacement of repeating rifles last year.

This Indian third division is also the earliest division-level foreign legion in the Chu army. The foreign legion is composed entirely of Indian pariah soldiers. Following the expansion of the Chu army, it has swept across Africa and Europe, and is now stationed in the Austrian region of Central Europe.

This division has always been known for its powerful combat effectiveness and brutal style...

How should I put it? The untouchable soldiers of this division were so cruel that they even dared to attack a crocodile...

When fighting a war, you don’t treat yourself as a human being, nor do you treat the enemy on the other side as a human being, nor do you treat the indigenous civilians in the war zone as a human being...

In addition to the Indian Third Division, several other elite foreign legions have also been equipped with Type 25 rifles.

Because the performance of the eight-millimeter series of firearms is too good, the empire's senior officials are not prepared to equip the Foreign Legion with these small-caliber repeating rifles in one or two decades... But there were not many 11-mm caliber repeating rifles in the past... After all In the Chu army, the Type 25 rifle was just a transitional rifle from the beginning, and its total output was not large.

Nowadays, as the Foreign Legion is generally equipped with this thing, this rifle, which has been discontinued for a long time, has recently restarted production and begun small batch production to be used by the Foreign Legion.

The Foreign Legion began to replace the Type 25 rifles. The millions of Type 18 and Type 19 rifles could be freed up, and then slightly renovated, painted and sold to these indigenous countries.

That’s it, the price is not cheap!

After the Kingdom of Sweden officially reached a purchase contract with the Empire for single-shot rifled rifles, these 5,000 Type 18 rifles were second-hand refurbished rifles. The rifles were equipped with bayonets and other accessories, and were paired with 100 rounds of 11mm bullets. The price reached thirteen Chu Yuan...

In addition, Chu State actually also provides brand-new Type 18 rifles, but the price is too low. They directly charge 23 Chu Yuan for a set.

This price is several times more expensive than the latest Type 27 rifle purchased by the Chu Army...

The Chu people have always been so shady in exporting so-called 'advanced weapons'. Whether they are brand new or second-hand, they are all very expensive.

But for these indigenous countries, you have to sell it even if you don’t want to... As I said, you don’t buy it... but your neighbors do. How can you sleep well then?

Obviously, nowadays, the kings and nobles of a large number of vassal states in Europe, West Asia, and India can't sleep. After learning the news through the Chu people's telegraph network, they borrowed the Chu people's telegraph network to The telegraph network urgently contacted their diplomats stationed in Jinling City to authorize the purchase of single-shot rifled rifles, and they urged them urgently.

Especially the Kingdom of Finland, which is a neighbor to the Kingdom of Sweden, and which just split off a few years ago... Its ambassador to Chu received a death order from their country, and must finalize the arms sales contract as soon as possible, and then strive to win over those damn Sweden When people get the Type 18 rifle, they also get the Type 18 rifle at the same time or even earlier.

Therefore, the Minister of the Kingdom of Finland blocked the door of the office building of the General Administration of Domain Affairs every day to apply for the purchase of Type 18 rifles.

Because the Chu State wanted to maintain regional balance and also make money, it readily agreed to the Kingdom of Finland's purchase application and approved the purchase application for 3,000 Type 18 second-hand rifles.

Then came the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Austria... and also the Five Kingdoms of England, the Four Kingdoms of France, the Three Kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, the Kingdom of Sicily and other European countries.

Finally, the Kingdom of Turkey, the Kingdom of Egypt, the Balkan Kingdom, the Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Babylon, the Kingdom of Baku and other countries in West Asia also received procurement approval... By the way, under the direct planning of the Chu people, the Ottoman Kingdom many years ago It has been officially split... The originally huge Ottoman Kingdom was split into eight kingdoms, large and small.

There is no special reason. A huge Ottoman Empire is not in line with the empire's global interests. Therefore, the empire took action several times in the 1940s, by instigating rebellions and splits, supporting agents, etc., which ultimately led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Split.

Under the vassal system of the Great Chu Empire, these so-called large indigenous countries were not allowed to appear!

Naturally, there are many contradictions and conflicts in these divided West Asian countries, and wars occur from time to time. Under such circumstances, their demand for new weapons is also extremely strong, so they also follow the European countries in placing orders.

Then came Persia, some vassal states in India.

In the end, half a month passed, and after the purchase orders from various countries were basically finalized, the Chu State had received orders for a total of more than two million second-hand or brand-new Type 18 rifles and Type 19 rifles...

And this is all because the Chu State has strictly controlled the purchase quantity of each country in order to control the regional balance... If it is not controlled and sold directly, it can sell at least five million or more.

Such a huge order made the military smile and also made the defense industry smile!

And those indigenous vassal states are also very happy... Although they spent a lot of money, they can always use better rifled weapons. In the future, they will be more confident whether it is used in foreign battles or to suppress the rebels.

The only ones who are unhappy are probably those chaotic non-governmental armed forces.