After Ang Lee returned to his courtyard, he rested for less than an hour before Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi heard the news and rushed over. Obviously, they attached great importance to the deployment of the artillery brigade and urgently wanted to know the results.
"I'm fine. Has His Majesty agreed to deploy the artillery in the north?"
This was Wang Zhongsi's first question, and his question was very direct.
"Yes! His Majesty has already agreed. This afternoon, the artillery brigade has begun to be formed and will report to you tomorrow. "
Ang Lee didn't keep them in suspense and directly replied.
"Good, that's great. With the artillery brigade, the strength of the Shuofang army will be greatly enhanced. If Huihe dares to provoke us, we will fight them head-on."
Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi were very excited and seemed to want to test the combat effectiveness of the artillery brigade.
"Don't be happy yet. His Majesty said that Shuofang and Hedong will share one artillery brigade, Pinglu and Fanyang will share one, and the rest of the Jiedushi will each have one artillery brigade."
Ang Lee told them the truth. Just this year, Wang Zhongsi was officially appointed as the Hedong Jiedushi and also the former Shuofang Jiedushi.
"What? How can this be? This is too unfair. "
Guo Ziyi immediately lost his calm.
"Don't worry. Right now, the Huihe, the Xi, and the Khitans are all very friendly to the Great Tang. Deploying too many artillery units in the north will provoke them. Besides, His Majesty has already compensated you."
Of course, Ang Lee wouldn't say that this was his bad idea.
"Compensation? What compensation?"
"Normal artillery brigades are pulled by horses and moving the cannons. This is slower and definitely can't keep up with the speed of cavalry. However, the artillery brigade allocated to your Shuofang has a tractor for each cannon. This not only increases the speed by a lot, but ammunition and all kinds of supplies can also be placed in the tractor, greatly increasing the combat effectiveness. One artillery brigade can fight against two artillery brigades."
Ang Lee explained. At this time, the tractor was the latest type of freight steam car. Its reliability and driving range had greatly increased. The more charcoal it carried, the longer it could travel, and it could drag the cannons at a very high speed.
"Okay! This artillery brigade is already enough to intimidate Huihe. "
In the end, Wang Zhongsi accepted this fact. Although he was a little unhappy, being able to be the first to be equipped and equipped with a tractor was already considered fair.
After talking about this topic, Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi began to drag Ang Lee to talk about the many machines in the R&D Center. They kept asking questions, and Ang Lee was so tired that his voice was hoarse.
Over the next few days, Wang Zhongsi would visit the R&D Center every day. He spent even more time there than Ang Lee, exhausting the few R&D talents who were good at talking.
"Assistant Minister Li, the 50 armored artillery vehicles have been assembled and tested. They can be handed over to the army immediately."
A craftsman came to report.
During these days, Ang Lee had used the first armored artillery vehicle to train a brigade of artillery vehicles. Of course, he only taught them the most basic operation and usage. They were not proficient enough.
As for this regiment, they were all carefully selected elites from the eight artillery units. Every single one of them was a talent under Baili Taoyi.
"Okay, immediately send the order. Have the soldiers of the armored artillery brigade come and receive the armored artillery vehicles."
Ang Lee did not hesitate to give the order.
The training ground of the armored artillery brigade was in the open space near the R&D Center. Thus, they quickly received the order and rushed to the assembly workshop of the R&D Center.
"Father, why are you here?"
The colonel of the armored artillery brigade was Guo Ziyi's second son, Guo Qiang. This was a candidate that Ang Lee had chosen after much consideration. Of course, he had not considered his friendship with Guo Ziyi. He had only chosen him based on his talent and military accomplishments.
"Qiang 'er, aren't you the colonel of the first artillery brigade? What are you doing here? "
Guo Ziyi was strolling around the R&D Center when he suddenly saw Guo Qiang.
"Father, this child is now the colonel of the first artillery brigade. I have been ordered to lead my subordinates to receive the 50 armored artillery vehicles."
Guo Qiang answered loudly.
This time, Guo Ziyi returned to Chang 'an City and was busy learning about various kinds of machinery with Wang Zhongsi. He did not visit his son at all. Ang Lee did not mention this, so Guo Ziyi did not know that his son had changed his position.
"The 50 armored artillery vehicles have all been built? Commander, commander … "
Guo Ziyi shook off Guo Qiang and ran to find Wang Zhongsi.
Guo Qiang was confused. He brought the soldiers under him to continue receiving the iron armor cannon carriages.
"Assistant Minister Li, all the soldiers of the first artillery brigade are here."
Guo Qiang led his subordinates to the receiving place in time.
"Very good. The armored artillery vehicles have all been tested. Colonel Guo, tell the soldiers to drive them to the training ground immediately."
Ang Lee ordered loudly. At this time, the armored command vehicles had not yet arrived. There was only one command vehicle for brigades. As for team leaders, they were squeezed in one of the armored artillery vehicles.
Under Guo Qiang's order, the soldiers of the first artillery brigade immediately boarded their respective armored artillery vehicles and drove them to the designated training ground.
"Boom, boom, boom …"
The 50 armored artillery vehicles and one armored command vehicle drove out of the R&D Center in a straight line one after another. When these heavy machines were driven, the ground of the R&D Center was shaking.
Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi arrived late and saw these huge machines drive out of the R&D Center with their own eyes. They truly felt the awe-inspiring power of these machines.
"Assistant Minister Li, when did my son transfer to the brigade of armored artillery vehicles? Why didn't you tell me?"
Guo Ziyi's tone was a little bit of complaint.
"He was transferred a long time ago. General Guo has been back in the capital for so many days. Did you not visit Colonel Guo?"
Li An's rhetorical question made Guo Ziyi chuckle unconsciously.
"It's fine. The soldiers have just taken over the armored artillery vehicles and will definitely test them for a while. Let's go take a look."
Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi both had the same idea.
Ang Lee nodded. "Then you can go! I won't be going. "
Wang Zhongsi and Guo Qiang boarded Guo Qiang's armored command vehicle and went to admire the daily training of the armored artillery brigade.
Because none of the soldiers were very familiar with the armored artillery vehicles, the training was relatively simple. It was mainly marching in formation, stopping the vehicles, and shooting. They had to train the basic skills first before they could practice more useful skills.
Marching in formation was the most basic tactical training of the army. It was the easiest for soldiers to march in formation, but it was slightly more difficult for cavalry to march in formation, and it was even more difficult for the armored artillery vehicles to march in formation. This was mainly because the armored artillery vehicles were large machines and it was not easy to control their speed. If they wanted to march in formation, they had to strictly control their speed and make all the artillery vehicles move at the same speed. This not only tested the performance of the artillery vehicles, but also the driving skills of the drivers.
At the beginning of the training, the carts were arranged in five straight lines. However, when the carts started moving, the five straight lines became five wavy lines. Even ten carts in each row could not guarantee that they would be able to maintain a straight line. If fifty carts were arranged in a straight line, it would be even more impossible to guarantee that they would be able to maintain a straight line.
However, no matter how bad the driving skills of the drivers were and how they could not guarantee that the artillery vehicles would be arranged in a straight line, the powerful deterrent force of the artillery vehicles was enough to frighten the enemy. The enemy would not pay attention to whether the artillery vehicles were arranged in a straight line or not.
"General Guo, your son is the Colonel of the First Armored Artillery Brigade at such a young age. His future is limitless!"
After getting out of the vehicle, Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi stood on a high platform and looked down at the training of the First Armored Artillery Brigade of the Tang dynasty.
"You flatter us, Commander. The artillery vehicles are so powerful. Any general in the Shuo Army would be able to win the battle."
Guo Ziyi spoke the truth. Apart from the wisdom of the general and the bravery of the soldiers, there was another very important factor that determined victory or defeat in a war. That was the level of advanced weapons and equipment and the strength of the country.
The artillery vehicles were so powerful that only a very ordinary general was needed to lead this army to victory. Even if the general was as stupid as a pig, he would not be defeated by the enemy.
Wang Zhongsi smiled and sighed, "We just asked the Imperial Court for an artillery brigade. Now, the Imperial Court has formed an Armored Artillery Brigade. Will there be more powerful weapons in the future? Will our Shuo Army also have the opportunity to be equipped with such powerful weapons?"
Guo Ziyi looked at the artillery vehicles in front of him with envy and said, "Commander, I once talked to Assistant Minister Li about equipping the border army with the artillery vehicles. However, Assistant Minister Li thinks it is not necessary for the time being. He said that the Tang dynasty will lay railway tracks everywhere in the future. As long as there is a fierce battle at the border, the artillery vehicles can quickly arrive at the battlefield in a few days. There is no need to deploy them at the border all the time. Moreover, the artillery vehicles cost a lot and are not suitable to be equipped with too many of them. If we deploy them in the capital, they can guard the center and quickly support the rest of the country through the railway."
"That's right. As long as the railway is open, the artillery vehicles can support any direction at any time. It is not that we don't want to equip the border army with them. However, in the future, the Tang dynasty will have more and more artillery vehicles. By then, the border army will have a chance to get some of them."
Wang Zhongsi was still unwilling to give up. After all, it was too easy to win a battle by commanding the artillery vehicles. A row of artillery vehicles could crush any enemy army.
The Iron Armored Artillery Corps trained for at least six hours a day. Wang Zhongsi and Guo Ziyi stood at the training ground and watched the Iron Armored Artillery Corps train. At night, they stayed in the Iron Armored Artillery Corps' camp.
There were many military affairs in the Shuo Army, so Wang Zhongsi could not stay for too long. He stayed in the capital for less than half a month before he hurried back to the Spiritual State. Along with him, there was an artillery brigade's personnel and equipment, as well as the tractors that he had promised. In addition, there was a large amount of tempered medicinal jade glass given by Ang Lee, as well as technical information on the installation and use of vegetable greenhouses.
In order to transport these materials, the Railway Bureau of the Tang dynasty specially dispatched three freight trains. It took more than a day to send all these materials to the Spiritual State.
In the following days, Ang Lee's life was fulfilling but monotonous. Every day, he would go to the R&D Center to do research, experiment with the newly developed machines, listen to the opinions of the craftsmen, and learn from the skilled craftsmen.
What Li An didn't expect was that these craftsmen were really too smart. Many of the machines that would have taken many years to figure out were actually made by these craftsmen in just a few months. This level of skill and perseverance greatly moved Li An, and he greatly admired them.
At this time, the railway to Laizhou had not been built yet, but the large-scale steam turbine had been successfully tested and the large propeller had been built. This greatly surprised Ang Lee.
The steam turbine was very large, so using the railway was undoubtedly the best way to transport it. However, the railway had not been built yet. If they wanted the steam ships to be launched, they had to use other transportation methods. Fortunately, the railway to Luoyang was open. They only needed to transport the steam turbine to Luoyang, then put it on a small steam ship in Luoyang and take a detour to Laizhou. In this way, they could transport the steam turbine to the bay of Laizhou in the shortest time possible and put it on a large steam ship that was under construction.
In order to increase the power and ensure safety, every steam ship was equipped with two sets of steam turbines. This way, even if one set failed, the entire ship would not break down.
After repeatedly verifying the reliability, the two experimental gas turbines were put on the train and officially transported to Luoyang. They were then transported to the bay of Laizhou through the waterway to be built into the first steam ship.
At the same time, the mass production of ten steam turbines was already on the production line. It would only take a few months to complete, thus meeting the need to build more steam ships.
Of course, this was only the first batch of production tasks. According to the experimental results, they would continue to add orders in the future to build more and better steam ships.
The technical difficulty of the propeller was much lower than that of the steam turbine. They had already manufactured enough to meet the current needs.
Of course, a large steam ship needed a lot of equipment. Apart from the large steam turbine and large propeller, there was also the need for observation and defense.
The observation was to determine the direction and discover danger in time. The equipment needed was a telescope and a compass.
The compass could determine the direction, and the telescope could see further away. Once a storm was discovered in the distance, it could be avoided in time.
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