Beiyang 1917

"Gun, there is a problem with your weapon list. The rifle you requested is the m1903 Springfield rifle. Although this is the standard rifle of the US military, the number is not enough for the US military itself. Transform the production line of p14 rifles for the British to produce m7.62 rifles with a caliber of 1917mm, using the same 1903 ammunition as the m30.06 Springfield rifle!"

Rui Enshi looked at the list of weapons on the table in a daze. When Wang Geng gave him the list yesterday, this guy didn't know the mystery in it. When he went back and asked the military officer of his legation, he found that there were many problems!

Wang Geng secretly smiled, knocked on the armrest of the chair and said, "Paul, I'm afraid you don't know whether your Ministry of War decided to convert the British Lee-Enfield p14 rifle into an m1917 rifle or my suggestion to President Wilson when I left the United States. Because of this, I estimate that the US military will use the m1917 rifle as the main equipment for this war, and the original m1903 Springfield rifle is just used as waste to arm my participating army. This is a good thing that has the best of both worlds!"

Old Rui Enshi blushed. He obviously didn't expect that Wang Geng had long been aiming at the m1903 Springfield rifle of the U.S. military that would become tasteless due to insufficient production. He was stunned and couldn't help asking,

"Gun, what kind of medicine are you selling in the gourd? Since you know that the US military will mainly equip the m14 produced by the British p1917 modification, why does your Chinese army choose the m1903 Springfield rifle with insufficient production capacity and fewer quantities? I don't believe it You have no reason to make such a decision!" The American envoy asked suspiciously, based on his understanding of the war participation supervisor and the five-nation negotiation supervisor in front of him, this fellow would never make a loss-making business!

Why did my own model army choose the m1903 Springfield manual rifle instead of the m1917 as standard equipment?For Wang Geng, there are too many reasons:

For example, the m1903 spring field design, advanced technology, excellent finalization and early actual combat effect have been tested!

比如m1903春田式全枪长1098毫米比m1917的1175mm长度要短了77毫米，其中枪管就短了50毫米，显得更加轻便，实际空枪重量也比m1917轻了0.22公斤，这意味着同样的携带重量的话，使用m1903春田式步枪的士兵将多携带两排共十发子弹（斯普林菲尔德0.30-06步枪弹的全弹重量是22.66克）

For another example, after the end of the First World War in the previous life, the improvised m1917 rifle was withdrawn and sealed by the United Kingdom and the United States at the same time, but the U.S. military still chose the m1903 Springfield, a lighter and more reliable gun, as the standard rifle.

Of course, if you want to find some more reasons, this m1903 Springfield type was nicknamed "Citigroup Zhongzheng" in the domestic battlefield of the Republic of China in the previous life, and it is almost a powerful twin brother carved out of the same mold as the Chinese domestic famous gun Zhongzheng rifle.

Another more critical reason is that, in view of the fact that the U.S. military will fully produce and equip the m14 rifle with the p1917 modified caliber during the war, this means that the production line and equipment of the m1917 rifle will always be in full operation and in short supply Down.

Under such circumstances, Wang Geng had a much better chance of succeeding in putting his idea to the production lines and equipment of the M1903 Springfield rifles in various arsenals in the United States, which were neglected. The rifle is the m1903 Springfield type. The m1903 Springfield type production line of the Second American Armory is more likely to be idled and sold due to insufficient production capacity!

The United States is a capitalist world. It is now 1917, and the war will end at least a year and a half later. At this moment, no boss of an arsenal can predict that the m1917, which is in full swing, will be withdrawn after the war, and the neglected m1903 will remain forever. Youth, in this case, selling the m1903 production line and equipment to withdraw funds, and then purchasing and configuring the production line and equipment for m1917 with a large number of production orders, will become one of the natural choices.

It's a simple truth!

Facing the question from U.S. Minister Rui Enshi, Wang Geng gave a very simple reason. The output of m1903 was small and no one bought it. The Chinese participating troops used to equip the initial stage just picked up what was left and what was needed, and ensured that there would be no waste!

Rui Enshi was skeptical, but he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to force it out. Wang Geng's temper was somewhat familiar. If you didn't ask him what he wanted to tell you, he would tell you directly, and he would tell you what he didn't want to tell you. , you can't figure out his real intentions even by beating around the bush!

"Gun, you said the equipment of ten divisions. Why do you need 20 rifles with bare heads? One division of yours in Beiyang only has 5000 people. What kind of establishment are you!" Rui Enshi is obviously a veteran negotiator.

"You are talking about the Beiyang organization. Since my participating army will be unified under the command of the U.S. military in the future, of course it will follow the U.S. military's organization. My participating army has a division, three brigades, a heavy artillery regiment and a mechanized army." The tank and armored combat detachment requires 28000 people for a full division, and in my opinion, 20 M1903 Springfield rifles for ten divisions may not be enough!"

Wang Geng answered casually while letting the cigar smoke dance between his fingers.

Rui Enshi hesitated when he heard the words, but couldn't find anything to refute for a while. The recruits and veterans in Nanyuan have already gone to [-], and the number of the participating army is only the first division. It seems that what he said is not true. No, the American envoy looked down sullenly, and then called out again:

"It doesn't matter if you choose the m1903 Springfield rifle as the standard rifle of the participating army. Why is there such a thing that does not exist at all? What is the m1917 Browning squad machine gun called? The military attache of the embassy told me that there is no such thing in the standard weapons of the US military! I Where can I get it for you? The military officer told me that there is only the m1917a1 water-cooled heavy machine gun on the sequence list!"

The tip of the US envoy's nose was sweating. When he returned with the list yesterday, he was often laughed at by several military officers and secretaries.

Nima, Wang Geng laughed secretly in his heart. The official name of this gun in his previous life should be the m1918 Browning automatic rifle, or bar for short. It was an automatic rifle designed by John Moses Browning in early 1917. It can be semi-automatic and fully automatic. Automatically designed, it also uses 30.06 rifle bullets and 7.5 rounds of magazines, but it is too heavy for a rifle, weighing [-] kg, and the recoil force is too large when fully automatic shooting. In fact, it was used as a squad light machine gun by the US military in previous lives. to use.

Before Wang Geng left the United States at the beginning of March, Browning had just completed the prototype of this gun. The U.S. War Department’s Small Arms Bidding Team actually didn’t like this gun at first, saying that it was too heavy for an automatic rifle and inconvenient to carry. The capacity of the magazine is only 3 rounds, which is not enough for the continuous firepower, and unlike other light machine guns, the barrel can be easily replaced during continuous shooting. If you continue to shoot for a long time, the ammunition will burn the barrel.

At that time, Wang Geng had an idea and exchanged the patent of the m1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, which was still in the stage of developing the prototype gun, with the gun of John Moses Browning. The light weapons laboratory has a complete set of drawings and shared patents of M1 Garland and Browning M1917.

John Moses Browning, as a master of weapon design, is also full of praise for the design of the m1 Garand semi-automatic rifle created by Wang Geng and Garand. In fact, it is Browning who took advantage of this patent exchange and sharing. , because it is obvious that the m1 Garand semi-automatic rifle will be a popular individual weapon in the future, and the market demand and output of the m1917bar light machine gun that can only be used in the field of squad light machine guns is more than ten times greater!

"My dear Paul, your news is too ill-informed. This m1917 Browning squad light machine gun and the m1 Garand semi-automatic rifle behind it were designed and finalized a week ago, and they are likely to become the standard weapons of the US military in the future. Of course, there is a process, because China does not yet have the conditions to produce these two guns, so I am listed on the list of U.S. reinforcements. My soldiers who participated in the war ate the first crab for you. How brave? You should How can you thank me?" Wang Geng revealed the mystery with a chuckle.

"What? There is such a thing?" Rui Enshi was taken aback, thinking how this is possible, this is too unimaginable.

"Nothing is impossible. The patents of these two guns are jointly held by Browning and the Light Weapons Laboratory of the Technology Research and Development Center of the Manhattan Industrial Bank. My humble servant is the controlling shareholder of the Manhattan Industrial Bank and is the owner of the Garand m1 The co-owner of the patent is no problem now?!" Wang Geng said with a smile.

"No wonder... but this... gun... has just been designed... you dare to equip it in batches? Are you afraid that the gun will not work when you step on a landmine?" the American envoy stammered.

"So didn't you see? I only listed 1917 m1 Browning squad machine guns and [-] m[-] Garand semi-automatic rifles on the list. This amount is far from enough to equip the US military to fight in Europe. Let my Chinese soldiers eat the first crab!" Wang Geng said with certainty.