afterglow

Chapter 558: Self-certification as a barbarian; Henschel Kassel Factory

In a sense, the British were successful. At least the image of polite gentlemen they created successfully confused the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty. These guys were indeed profit-seeking and greedy, but they still had basic ethics.

Europeans who served the court and the army found this filter funny and could only attribute it to "distance creates beauty."

As everyone knows, in history, after the collapse of the colonial system, the British deliberately planted mines even when they left in anger, causing endless disasters. Many disputes such as the partition of India and Pakistan, the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the halving of Cyprus, etc. were all caused by the British.

Looking at the present, the British launched an attack to prevent the French Navy of the Third Republic from defecting; in order to hinder the deployment of troops and material transportation of the French Society, they also bombed the railway stations and railway yards within the French Society...

The Ming court was shocked when they learned that their country's inspection team had been attacked, killing three people and injuring many others.

The attendants in the palace were all hesitant about whether to interrupt the emperor's nap because of this "neither big nor small" matter.

Finally, Su Yiyi made up her mind and personally woke up Zhu Lingjing, who had just rested.

After telling her what happened in a foreign country, she noticed that Zhu Lingjing's face quickly darkened.

"Despicable! This was premeditated."

The envoy Sir Robert Nolin, who was not sure what was going on, hurriedly set off in a car. After leaving the embassy, ​​he went straight to the official office of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Lingjing was very angry and naturally gave up on her nap today.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Minister, as a diplomat I didn't know about this."

"I called you here to ask you something clearly," Yu Shenhua stared at him and asked in a deep voice: "Do you know the consequences of assassinating the imperial general and the official envoy?"

As the black Rolls-Royce car drove him speeding down Chongli Avenue, Sir Robert was thinking a lot and didn't know what was going on.

The morning in Kiev came with intermittent and faint gunfire. Bandits and resistance elements emerged one after another, causing the city's security level to fluctuate between acceptable and unqualified.

"Mr. Minister, this is not a quibble. International law has never prohibited one country from attacking another country's generals."

"Your Majesty, Zhou Daizhao reminds me to just verbally condemn him temporarily. There is no practical way to retaliate now."

"Shameless! Liars like you are rare in ancient times and today."

Sir Robert did not know this, but as an experienced diplomat, he reacted extremely quickly.

For example, the death of the senior engineer at the Taiyuan Air Force Arsenal directly caused the development of the 20.8mm aircraft cannon and the 32mm aircraft gun to face difficulties, and someone had to be found to take over the work.

"Let's write down this debt!"

Chris tried to fundamentally eliminate the risk of aircraft being tampered with, so the passenger mission originally planned to be undertaken by Lufthansa was cancelled.

Before he could speak, Yu Shenhua said coldly: "You deliberately attacked our foreign service personnel in Kiev, causing many casualties."

After more than ten seconds, Sir Robert said seriously: "No, this is not a malicious murder in peacetime, this is a legal attack in wartime."

The Foreign Affairs Department was in a panic, and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Minister Yu Shenhua immediately summoned the British Minister.

Sir Robert wanted to say something more, but was interrupted. Yu Shenhua waved his hand away without giving him a chance to explain.

Silence, long silence.

When he walked into the official office, he felt many hostile eyes. Yu Shenhua, who had a frosty face, did not say a word of greeting as usual, and even the waiter who brought tea and water did not appear.

What makes everyone angry is that the status and status of the victims are not low, and they are all important figures - obviously, playboys are not willing to fly to Europe at this time.

"Of course the law does not stipulate this, just like it does not expressly prohibit eating with hands." Yu Shenhua took a deep breath and said calmly: "You have proven by your actions that you are barbarians with no morals at all. You will bear the consequences at your own risk."

After applying to Berlin, the Germans transferred a Ju-90 large transport aircraft overnight.

With four engines and twin vertical tails, the fuselage is green and the tail is yellow. The huge Ju-90 transport aircraft has an exceptionally long wingspan, with both left and right wingtips extending beyond the runway.

The plane taxied and accelerated to take off, soared into the clouds and disappeared at the end of the western sky.

Finally, the group arrived in Berlin safely.

In addition to German government officials, many senior generals came to greet him. A neatly arranged military band played the national anthem "Swinging". In the distance was a long line of Horch limousines. The scene was not small.

One diplomat extended his hand to shake hands and said: "On behalf of the government, I would like to sincerely apologize for the security error that resulted in the casualties on your side."

Zhou Changfeng sighed, shook his head and said, "It's not entirely your fault. After all, it's not under your control. It can only be said that the noble British gentlemen took advantage of this loophole."

The tall German general at the head laughed, and then said disdainfully: "You Chinese still don't understand the British. They are extremely shameless, but they try hard to maintain their image of gentlemen. They are very hypocritical. Noble and elegant gentlemen are in the restaurant." After the meal, you pick your teeth, wipe your mouth, and chat without paying the bill, this is what a gentleman is.”

The German general who was interfacing with Zhou was Lieutenant General Harald. He was a senior general who was different from his original plane. He had been promoted step by step from an ordinary artillery second lieutenant during the European War. He had extremely senior qualifications. Warm and generous.

Chris also said coldly: "The Ansa people have inflicted disaster and exploitation on countless colonial people. No one can tolerate their crimes. They must accept the baptism of complete revolution."

The diplomat from before coughed dryly, nodded and said, "Have a good rest before doing anything else. The hotel has strict security arrangements, so please rest assured."

The delegation then took a car and were carefully escorted to their hotel, the Adlon Hotel.

This famous luxury hotel is located directly opposite the Brandenburg Gate. It was completed and opened on the eve of the outbreak of the European War. Historically, it was severely damaged by war at the end of the war and was later rebuilt. This hotel once hosted William II and Elizabeth. The Queen and others have greatly increased its popularity.

Now the German government has intervened in the operation of this hotel and turned it into a second-class, semi-official state guesthouse, similar to the Tonghui Hotel in the Ming Dynasty.

There are armed soldiers standing guard here, and among the waiters coming and going are plainclothes Stasi agents.

Follow-up contact and communication will not begin until October 10, so everyone has enough time to rest. The energetic Zhou Changfeng didn't want to stay in the hotel doing nothing the next day. He wondered if he could go shopping in Berlin.

Chris agreed and would drive and act as a driver and tour guide.

An expensive Mercedes-Benz 770 bulletproof car was brought in for pick-up and drop-off - on the one hand, it wanted to apologize and show respect, and on the other hand, it wanted to eliminate risks.

"Wow, this car is so big." Xia Xiaoshi said in surprise.

Looking at the car with an astonishingly long wheelbase in front of him, Zhou Changfeng vaguely remembered that in history, very few Mercedes-Benz cars were produced and they were only given to dignitaries?

The sound of the engine and supercharger was breathtaking. Chris, who put her hands on the steering wheel, proudly introduced: "It weighs five tons, the body and windows can withstand bullets, and the engine power is 200 horsepower. , more powerful than some tank engines."

The W07 chassis bulletproof car uses a 4mm thick steel plate to make the body. The front windshield is a 50mm thick bulletproof glass. Steel plates are installed inside the rear seat backs. The doors and floor are also reinforced to withstand bullets and bombs. The car has a total weight of 5.1 tons and uses a 200-horsepower, 7.7-liter in-line eight-cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine with a supercharger and strong power.

In this era, it is undoubtedly a rare black technology.

Zhou Changfeng remembered that Zhu Lingjing also had such a bulletproof car, which was specially developed by Xunjie Company for the emperor and court officials. In terms of bulletproof performance, it was no less than the one he was riding in now, but the engine was much inferior, so it was relatively slow.

Chris now still remembers the "Dongfeng Iron Armor" mentioned casually by someone Zhou before, and she still firmly believes in it.

A series of chain reactions led to the German People's Army applying for a fund to develop a heavy-duty high-mobility off-road vehicle, which requires a vehicle weight of 1600kg, a grade of 60%, and a top speed of 120km/h. Compared with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Horch, The company chose to give up directly. Only the Porsche Company, which refused to admit defeat, was working hard on research and development and striving to become the successor model of the Type 82 off-road vehicle.

In the next two days, Zhou and his wife visited many landmarks including Charlottenburg Palace, Museum Island, the People's Parliament Building, and the People's Stadium.

The first major event started on time on October 10. The military inspection team was divided into multiple groups, and each group was responsible for their respective aspects.

Zhou Changfeng and a group of technicians from the military industry department took a train to Kassel, Hesse. The special train was delayed for half an hour to allow the military train to pass first, and they did not arrive until that afternoon.

Kassel is where the Henschel factory is located. This world-famous heavy machinery company has a long history. It originally produced steam locomotives. In addition to locomotives, it now also includes tanks, bulldozers, trucks, diesel engines, trucks, aircraft, etc. thing.

The fully assembled Panzer III tanks are neatly parked behind the factory building. They all use 75mm short-barreled guns.

The director of Henschel Company who was traveling with him said: "The Kassel factory employs more than 6000 workers and engineers, and 1600-ton steam locomotives, 3-ton trucks, and 20-ton tanks are all produced here..."

Deshe is accustomed to carrying out holding reform of private enterprises. Depending on the importance, the proportion of government holdings varies, usually no more than 35%, but the holding proportion of individual public service enterprises may be as high as 70%.

Zhou Changfeng and his team walked among the factory buildings and could feel that the atmosphere in the factory was not urgent, and all workshops were working in an orderly manner.

The already welded tank body blanks handled by other companies were transported by rail, and were first hoisted onto the cement platform for fixation.

The next step is to use calipers and chalk to determine the drilling location, and use a horizontal boring machine to drill holes on both sides of the car body to install the suspension and road wheels.

Next, workers used a vertical milling machine to mill the upper part of the car body and cut out a circle, which is the turret seat ring, to install the turret.

The final assembly workshop was also the busiest. About ten tanks were transported on the conveyor track. Workers swarmed forward and began to install driving wheels, road wheels, supporting pulleys, internal cables, engines, fuel tanks...

【Picture】

Different from history, the Henschel Company also took over the production task of the Panzer III tank, and because the combat area was not on the plains, the needs of the German army also changed, so the G type was replaced with a 75mm short-barreled gun. .

There is nothing novel about the assembly station operation mode of Henschel's Kassel plant, and the inspection team lacked interest.

As a tank with inter-war technology, the Panzer III also lacked a design worthy of reference. Its overall layout was quite conservative and had little potential. The long barrel of the 50mm tank gun was the limit.

Everyone commented that the manufacturing process was excellent and the welds were tight and neat, but there were no redeeming qualities.

Henschel does have something good hidden in it - the VK4501 prototype is produced here, but such a weapon is obviously kept secret.

While strolling around, the bored Zhou Changfeng chatted with Lieutenant General Harald who was traveling with him.

“…American field fortifications tend to be very rudimentary, temporary in nature, and dominated by foxholes. We noticed that even if they had days or even hundreds of hours to spare to fortify their defenses, they still would not do it. The prisoners said this was because they believed that such field fortifications were only temporary facilities," Lieutenant General Hallard said.

"As expected of Americans, they are really lazy." Zhou Changfeng recalled: "However, I rarely see this in island battles, but some troops in Australia have indeed reported similar situations."

"1st Infantry Division, st Big Red Division?"

"seems like it."

"In infantry tactics, the Americans are accustomed to deploying outposts outside the infantry fire range and choosing the place with the best view, usually between 4000 meters and 6000 meters in front of the defense line. In most cases, they will deploy a platoon of about 30 people , these outposts are not heavily armed, but will work hard to stop our patrols.

Zhou Changfeng, with his arms folded, looked at the crane holding the tank and mused: "We are different. My subordinates often find that Americans will place heavy machine guns forward during island battles. There are many cases of this kind of forward heavy firepower. "

"Perhaps your infantry detachments prefer tactical penetration and are tougher, and the Americans may rely on heavy machine guns to stop your combat patrols."

You and I chatted for a while, and Zhou Changfeng couldn't help complaining to Lieutenant General Hallard: "It feels like there is nothing to see here. Let's discuss the purchase directly. How is your evaluation?"

"They are all worthy of consideration." Lieutenant General Hallard smiled slightly, "But some things depend on the work of your diplomats."

The diplomatic agreement for this visit to Germany is the top priority, while military exchanges are secondary.

It is obvious that the sincerity of the Germans depends on whether the two sides have similar views on many foreign affairs. If there are serious differences, they will naturally have reservations.

What Zhou Changfeng calls "procurement" is actually the main goal of the military inspection team, which aims to introduce some of the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty's military industry department.

The more important ones are tank high-performance engines (Hoch leistungs motor) and aircraft engines. Both are key heart components, and the stronger the better.

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)