Daming 1805

Chapter 18 His Royal Highness is indeed a genius
Zhu Jingyuan wanted to see what the so-called "self-propelled iron armored shield car" was. Zou Bingtai thought about the imperial edict in Zhu Jingyuan's arms, and finally nodded and said:

"The latest ordnance is all confidential information, although the level of security of the armored shield car is not high, but of course ordinary unrelated officials can't read it.

"However, His Highness has the right to act cheaply, and all ministries must cooperate with each other, so he has the right to check and understand, but he cannot take it away..."

After Zou Bingtai finished speaking, he arranged for his subordinates to go to the database to get the schematic drawings and physical photos of the "self-propelled armored shield vehicle" and hand them to Zhu Jingyuan beside him.

Zhu Jingyuan was basically certain after seeing it roughly, this thing is almost an early tank, and the idea of ​​​​inventing a tank by himself is a failure.

"It's...that's the kind of thing, it's already been made, it's just because it's kept secret and can't be made public, so I don't know about it..."

Zhu Jingyuan was a little unwilling in his heart. He didn't expect to use the golden finger for the first time, so he fell directly on the confidential information, and then asked with more curiosity:

"Dare to ask Da Sikong, which master craftsman invented this shield car?"

Zou Bingtai explained with a very emotional smile:
"Initially, it was Li Rui, the head of the Armament Division, who was inspired by the cars sold by the consortium and started the design project for a mechanically powered self-propelled shield car.

"The original intention of the project was actually to design a vehicle that is more suitable for use in the battlefield, or a self-propelled shield vehicle equipped with mechanical power.

"During the design process, a craftsman suggested that after the shield car itself has enough power, it can be equipped with more iron armor, or even try to use iron armor to cover it all.

"Another craftsman imagined that the conventional rifles originally carried by shield troopers could be replaced with rotatable machine guns directly mounted on the roof, or even small artillery pieces.

"Later, other craftsmen suggested it, and after testing, it was confirmed that the track belt is more suitable for battle than the wheel.

"The follow-up upgrade design is still going on, and the next plan is to replace the more powerful mainframe with a more powerful gun.

"So for the design of this self-propelled armored shield car, Mr. Wang can take the lead, but it is only the first. All the participating craftsmen have been rewarded and promoted.

"It's not someone's original invention, but His Highness imagined a similar complete design on his own, which is truly a genius.

"If it weren't for the fact that His Highness already had a more important position, the old minister really wanted to invite His Highness to come down to the Ministry of Industry for training."

Zou Bingtai's praise was sincere. This armored shield car was upgraded from a traditional shield car, and a group of people slowly optimized the plan.

However, Zhu Jingyuan directly mentioned the most critical designs of "full coverage of iron armor", "installation of artillery" and "track drive".

If Zhu Jingyuan was a great craftsman, he would be able to complete the final design himself, which is indeed a genius.

The surrounding officials of the Ministry of Industry also had similar thoughts. Listening to Zou Bingtai's words, they all ordered to nod their heads in admiration and emotion.

The officials of the Armament Department and the craftsmen have worked together for so long, and after putting the things they make on the battlefield, they really feel a sense of accomplishment after they really work.

As a result, Zhu Jingyuan, a half-year-old child, gave the final correct answer completely by himself.

This is not surprising.

Zhu Jianyan, who was sitting next to him, after figuring out what happened, he asked in disbelief:
"What Da Sikong means is that Jing Yuan's own nonsense ideas coincide with the designs of the big workers in the Ministry of Works?"

Zou Bingtai stroked his beard and smiled and said:
"It is indeed a coincidence, and it brings together the ideas of many craftsmen, but Your Highness is not fooling around..."

Zhu Jianyan stared blankly at his son, unable to speak for a long time.

He showed extraordinary talent since he was a child, and was often called a genius by teachers of various subjects from a very early age.

What happened today has once again refreshed Zhu Jianyan's father's understanding of the genius level of his precious son.

As for Zhu Jingyuan himself, he didn't care about the admiration of the crowd at all.

Hearing Zou Bingtai's introduction to the design process of the bicycle armored shield car, Zhu Jingyuan came out of the unwillingness and loss that his creativity was preempted by others, and slowly thought and understood some things.

The "tanks" of this world do not depend on someone's extraordinary talent, nor do they rely on the traversers' ears and face, and they are copied out of the box.

It is the world's native artisans, on the basis of the existing industrial foundation and technical accumulation, they have worked together to find out.

It can be regarded as a product naturally conceived after the basic technology is in place.

Such a result, for the entire empire and even the world, is obviously far more important and meaningful than the forcible creation led by oneself.

This shows that this empire has truly embarked on an independent and self-improving industrial development path. Without the blessing of passers-by, it will not decline rapidly.

With the emergence of these thoughts, Zhu Jingyuan's mood and way of thinking gradually changed.

Then Zhu Jingyuan asked with anticipation:
"So Da Sikong, is this armored shield vehicle installed on the front line? Did the Governor's Office and the Ministry of War use feedback? How does it work on the battlefield?"

Zou Bingtai stroked his beard, smiled and nodded and said:
"It is said that it is very good. It can assist the infantry to advance quickly, break through the barbed wire and trench defenses, and get a lot of results after the installation..."

The moment Zhu Jingyuan heard the words, a bit of joy naturally appeared in his heart, and then he became suspicious again:
"Then why is the battle situation on the front line still so anxious? There is no obvious decisive victory..."

Zou Bingtai seemed very surprised by the question of Zhu Jingyuan, and shook his head helplessly and said:
"According to the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office, it does play a very good role, but it is only a weapon after all.

"It can help front-line generals and soldiers to gain an advantage on a local battlefield, but it is not enough to determine the outcome of the entire war.

"His Royal Highness seems to have too high expectations for the armored shield car, but... we don't know much specific information from the Ministry of Industry.

"As for the more detailed and specific usage of the armored shield car, His Royal Highness can consult the Governor's Office and the Military Aircraft Office."

At the same time, Zhu Jianyan and several accompanying officials from the Ministry of Industry also looked at Zhu Jingyuan with similar expressions of incomprehension.

Zhu Jingyuan looked at everyone's reaction, and was very surprised after a few seconds of stunnedness, and then slowly figured out that he had entered a misunderstanding of thinking.

Zhu Jingyuan actually knew that the early tanks of the First World War could not play a decisive role in trench warfare.

The reasons may be various, such as: small number, weak power, slow speed, low reliability, limited endurance, low degree of mechanization of troops, inability to support large-scale operations, etc.

But when it comes to tanks, I still instinctively think of the Blitz of World War II.

The sense of anticipation for tank operations stayed on the steel torrent of Sud.

But the people in the world around him obviously have no relevant cognition.

Of course, they can't imagine how big the role of tank groups and mechanized pointed troops will be.

Of course, they now feel that it is already a "very good" effect to cooperate with the infantry in basic tactics to break through the enemy's barbed wire and trench positions.

They couldn't understand their expectations for the armored shield car at all.

(End of this chapter)