afterglow

Chapter 391 High costs; a sudden turn of events
"It's okay if the bullet fragments fly to both sides and downwards. What I'm afraid of is going upwards..." The officer from the Army Division of the Ministry of War who was present asked with undiminished interest: "Can you bend the upper edge of this steel plate?"

"It's possible, but you don't know something. This kind of carburized and hardened manganese steel is more troublesome to process. It's most cost-effective to hot-roll it into a flat piece like this."

"How much does a set of armor like this cost?"

An official pondered and replied: "The thin plate is [-] yuan and the thick plate is [-] yuan, which is fine. But the vest jacket is expensive. It is made of eight layers of nylon, and the defective rate is still high. After one set, It’s estimated to cost several hundred yuan.”

Ordinary carbon steel is not expensive, and a low-carbon steel plate of the same size only costs a few yuan, but this silicon-manganese-nickel alloy steel is naturally unusual, not to mention that it has to go through a carburizing and hardening process.

After all, nylon 6-6 is a new chemical fiber that has only begun to be mass-produced in the past two years. The cost cannot be reduced, and the purchase price is very expensive.

Nowadays, the market price of a pair of stockings is about two yuan, and the cost price is also a few cents.

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But stockings are so thin and light, how much nylon fiber is consumed in total?The fabric material used in the vest jacket is made of eight layers of nylon fibers densely laminated together. As you can imagine, the price is high.

At present, this kind of protective gear has not yet been mass-produced on a large scale, so the purchase price cannot be reduced. A set of individual protective gear is about 102 yuan.

This is already more than the purchase price of a Type [-] bolt-action rifle. To be fair, it is still very expensive.

"But there aren't many front-line units in a division, so we can allocate them together." Zhou Changfeng came over and calculated: "Each regiment has nine infantry teams, and each division has 27, as well as scouts and engineers. Based on thirty teams, that’s five thousand sets.”

After he finished speaking, he added helplessly: "Well, actually there are quite a lot."

一名大明陆军步兵的全套武器装备也才193圆而已——步枪88圆、军服21圆、军靴20圆、钢盔12圆、刺刀10圆、工兵锹6圆、防毒面具11圆、水壶军毯雨披急救包等各种杂物合计25圆。

Even taking into account the price reduction due to mass production, based on 5000 sets per division and 90 yuan per set, it still costs 45 yuan.

You must know that the purchase price of a Type 20.8-7400 112mm anti-aircraft gun is only 2.1 yuan, and a Type [-]-[-] [-]mm howitzer is only [-] yuan.

If the members of the Consultative Council knew that these individual protective gears could withstand dozens of artillery pieces, they would probably veto them without even thinking.

The army officer surnamed He glanced at Zhou Changfeng and said: "To be honest, Zhou Taizhao, ancient and modern times are different. In ancient times, soldiers and horses without armor were vulnerable, but now wearing these protective gear is just the icing on the cake. Those Politicians are different from what we see, they all have dark hearts."

The armies of all the major powers are not generally equipped with this type of protective gear, why don't they still fight?

Knowing this major premise, looking at it from the cold perspective of politicians, individual bulletproof protective gear is actually a big loss-making business.

According to later statistical conclusions, the popularization of body armor can significantly reduce the death rate, but it cannot reduce the disability rate.

Imagine that a cannonball falls not far away. Although wearing a body armor can ensure that the vital parts are not damaged, the limbs will still be injured.

If a person who was supposed to die in battle did not die but became disabled due to injuries, this means that the government has to continue to bear his living expenses and give preferential treatment for a long period of time, otherwise the morale of the military and the people will be unstable.

In contrast, those who died in the battle only need to pay a pension, and everything is settled once and for all.Even if some preferential treatment is given to family members, the amount is small.

"This mode of thinking cannot be said to be wrong," Zhou Changfeng paused for two seconds and said, "But... certain situations are not suitable for thinking like this."

Zhou Changfeng definitely prefers to use a wide range of equipment, but the high cost of this set of protective gear is really unacceptable.

Moreover, this thing is a consumable item. After several consecutive big and small battles, more than half of it may be damaged and need to be replenished.

In the next half hour or so, everyone took the time to complete the preliminary test before going down the mountain.

A total of 34 sets of protective gear participated in the test, half using light inserts and half using heavy inserts.

The test method for the lightweight plug-in board is to first fire 50 rounds from a captured Thompson submachine gun at a distance of 10m, and then fire 10 rounds at a distance of 5m.

重型插板则是先在400m处使用春田步枪射击2发，再在200m处射击2发，最后在50m处射击2发。

One set of the former failed the test. It disintegrated after being hit continuously by .1ACP pistol bullets, and the humanoid target was obviously damaged.The pass rate is 45%.

Three sets of the latter failed to pass the test, basically because they were broken after being hit by 3×7.62mm Springfield rifle bullets continuously and failed to block the last few rounds.The pass rate is 63%.

This test is actually not rigorous, but rather harsh. After all, it is unlikely that multiple bullets will land in the same place in actual combat.

何况美国人使用的30-06春田步枪弹又是数一数二的强劲——枪口动能达3900J，比毛瑟的sS和莫辛纳甘的54R还要多200J。

Overall, the effect is very good.

In the past, several types of armor developed by the Ming Dynasty that were similar to ancient half-body armor were not only incomparable to it in terms of bulletproof capabilities, but the troops also reported that they were "cumbersome and affected tactical movements", which was quite useless.

These simple vest-style individual protective gears do not have these problems and fit well.

After all, it is a design form that later generations of countries have been exploring for decades before unanimously adopting. If they are copied now, it can be said that they have avoided decades of detours.

Crossing the river by feeling the stones?No, no, no, skip right over now.

Looking at these individual protective gears with excellent test results, Zhou Changfeng was really reluctant to part with them. It would be a pity if they could not be widely used.

He thought for a while and said in deep thought: "If it doesn't work, we won't use nylon laminated fabric. We might as well use canvas. The protective effect will be less, so we should first protect the quantity."

This night was just an ordinary night for him, but there were countless people on the Western European plains on the other side of the continent who couldn't sleep all night.

The Ming Dynasty's Embassy in Paris reported that the local atmosphere has become increasingly tense. Parades and demonstrations have been almost continuous in recent days, and fierce conflicts have broken out between many teams.

The next morning, Zhou Changfeng efficiently summarized the latest military intelligence reports in the past two hours, and then went to Zhaoren Hall as a routine.

The rapid progress of the war in Europe surprised him. Even though he knew that the French only lasted 38 days in the original plane, he was still surprised by the current series of situations.

In history, the French army has organized several brave and resolute counterattacks, but now they have not seen any at all.

With the strong support of large-caliber railway guns, the German Army Group Mannheim penetrated the Maginot Line from the front.

The 5th Armored Division went all the way alone and directly defeated a French infantry division in Boncourt that had just gotten off the train and had not had time to deploy.

And in the center, Luxembourg no longer exists.The 3rd Mountain Infantry Division of Army Group Koblenz passed through the Ardennes Forest and began to form a formation under the Sedan Fortress, and subsequent armies were also following suit.It is reported that a small number of German paratroopers with unknown numbers appeared in southern Belgium and were fighting fiercely with the Belgian 1st Chasseur Division.

"...This is the situation over there. The United States and Australia are negotiating in Melbourne on defense issues."

When Zhou Changfeng came to the door of the east room of Zhaoren Hall, he could faintly hear the voices of the foreign ministers.

At this time, Su Yiyi, carrying a tray, happened to walk over from the side.

"How long has Mr. Yu Ge been in here?"

"Half a quarter of an hour, but he is quite busy. Zhou Daizhao, please wait a little longer."

Seeing the sliced ​​oranges and apples placed on the white glazed porcelain plate on the tray, Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but curiously asked: "What kind of day is today? There are actually fruits?"

Damn it, this is different treatment. That woman Zhu Lingjing didn’t even treat me to fruit!

"..." Su Yiyi, who was speechless, was silent for a few seconds before replying: "Your Majesty wants this for himself."

While the two were talking, Yu Shenhua pushed the door open and walked out.

Zhou Changfeng immediately raised his hands in salute, and Su Yiyi also bent her knees slightly.

"We are waiting for the order. The United States plans to send the newly formed army to Australia. The commissioner will arrive in Melbourne soon. You should know the news, right?"

"Yes." Zhou Changfeng nodded, "The No. 40 First Division reorganized by the National Guard has now been reorganized. After a short training, it will go to Seattle to board the ship."

The official translation of the National Guard in Ming Dynasty is not the National Guard, but the National Guard Army.

He added, "And it seems that another division will be added to strengthen the defense force in Hawaii."

Hearing this, Yu Shenhua let out a soft "tsk" and said, "There are many things to do, so I'll get busy first."

After he left, Su Yiyi and Zhou Changfeng knocked on the door to ask for instructions, and then walked into the Dongci Room.

Inside, Zhu Lingjing was staring at a large-scale map of Western Europe, with several reports spread out on the desk.

"After one night, how is the situation in the West going?" she asked intently.

"The situation facing Britain and France was extremely bad. With the help of giant artillery, the German army broke through the northern section of the Maginot Line from the front. All three fortresses, SFL, SFE, and SFMA, were captured. The SDA fortress was separated and isolated, but it was still resisting."

"As of this morning, the width of this gap is about 25 kilometers, with an average depth of [-] kilometers. Four infantry divisions have already moved in to stabilize this breakthrough area. One armored division took the risk and drove straight in, going [-] kilometers alone, defeating the state. One division of French reinforcements from Chur.”

"There are also large troops in the Ardennes Forest. The leading German troops have moved around the Sedan Fortress and established offensive positions. There are rumors that a large number of German tanks are also passing through the Ardennes Forest. This... Your Majesty, I personally think it is very credible. high."

Zhu Lingjing, expressionless, asked: "Is there any hope of closing that hole?"

This situation is too outrageous. The French have worked hard for more than ten years, spent countless amounts, and used many high-tech technologies. Even if such a line of defense is not impregnable, it can stop it for ten and a half months at the very least, right?

As a result, they were broken through one after another within a day or two, and a gap of fifty miles was torn open.

Zhou Changfeng shook his head firmly and replied: "There is basically no hope. A small number of strategic reserves cannot stop the German army. Most of the main force of the French army is concentrated on the northern line. It will take time to return reinforcements, and it exceeds the upper limit of railway transportation capacity."

This sudden turn of events was almost beyond his expectation, let alone the Ming monarchs and ministers.

There are unconfirmed rumors that organized armed citizens have appeared in individual streets and alleys in Paris, and some are even piling up and building barricades?
"The city of Paris is already unstable. The overall situation in this battle seems to be decided. The current French government is about to collapse." Zhu Lingjing closed her eyes and covered her forehead, and after a full ten seconds she continued: "This is beyond the expectations of the Americans. .”

The chain reaction caused by France's rapid defeat is simply unimaginable. Can Spain and Portugal stay out of it in the future?

In that case, from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, from Gibraltar to the Urals, all will be dominated by ▇▇▇ forces. It can be said that the continent is red, and only the British Isles will struggle to hold on for a while and eventually succumb.

Americans' dream of picking peaches will definitely not come true unless they are willing to get involved in the European war in advance.

For Daming, it seems that it can wait and see for a while?
If the United States is determined to get involved, it may make concessions on Australia's ownership.

After talking about the war in Europe, Zhou Changfeng mentioned the bulletproof protective gear to Zhu Lingjing and made some remarks about politicians.

"Money is a small matter. Whether the impact in the future is good or bad is another matter. No matter what, we have to win."

"Huh." Zhu Lingjing said with disdain in her eyes: "Those people have always been like this. It has not changed since ancient times. They are so shrewd in their calculations. Have they not thought about the consequences if they fail to win in the end?"

Zhou Changfeng said helplessly: "I feel that some things cannot be thought of in this way..."

"Yes, but some people just think that they are far-sighted, so they are complacent, but they don't know that it is very selfish and short-sighted to always look at things that way. There are especially many such idiots in the Consultative Yuan. Seventy-eight out of ten members of the Ming Dynasty are like this, and they are not at all No ethics." Zhu Lingjing judged.

Even putting aside the natural checks and balances between the monarch and the parliament, she still disliked the members of the Ming Council.

The imperial council members have nothing to say. They are basically good babies doing nothing, and they are not expected to be of much use.

The upper and lower limits of democratically elected members vary greatly, and there are some who are serious about serving the people, but most of them are paid to talk, and they often make some weird remarks.

As for the special members, the average quality of these literary giants, famous doctors, great scientists, and great educators is much higher. Unfortunately, there is a serious situation of academic clique.

The problem of learning is really a headache, and she pessimistically thinks that there is no solution now.I don’t know if there is any hope in the future that it will collapse like the powerful family a thousand years ago.

The corners of Zhou Changfeng's mouth twitched and he said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Your Majesty, aren't you going too far?"

Zhu Lingjing, who had just made a complaint, now felt relaxed and happy. She was about to finish the plate of cut oranges when she glanced at him sideways after hearing this.

"What, you still want to tip them off?"

"No, no, no, I don't dare to eat the inside out." The latter said seriously: "How can a loyal person like me be swayed from side to side?"

(End of this chapter)