Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 122 Mortars and Negotiations for the Purchase of Industrial Machinery
On August 1868, 8, the border guards of Peru and Bolivia arrived at the Acre border area and immediately launched an attack on the local Brazilian garrison, recaptured more than a dozen towns occupied by the Brazilian army.

Two days later, reinforcements sent by the Brazilian Empire arrived in the Acre area. The offensive momentum of the coalition forces composed of Peru and Bolivia was hindered and the war temporarily entered a stalemate. Benefiting from the war conflict provoked by Peru and Bolivia, the Brazilian Empire was temporarily distracted and it was difficult to concentrate its superior forces to launch a counterattack against the Chinese Independence Army for a period of time.

At the training ground outside Porto Alegre, rows of Chinese soldiers were scattered around on guard to prevent strangers from approaching.

In the center of the training ground, a group of senior officers gathered together, staring at the soldiers fiddling with the artillery in front of them.

Two Chinese soldiers took off their marching bags and took out a black cannon barrel from the bags. They then installed two brackets, raised their right hands to aim at the target in front to test the direction, and then fixed the assembled small cannon on the ground, completing the preparations for firing.

A soldier turned around and asked for combat orders. The commander of the training ground quickly raised a small flag with his right hand. The soldier understood and squatted down to take out the ammunition and load it into the barrel. At the same time, two soldiers covered their ears and quickly lay down. Almost at the same time the two soldiers lay down, the shell flew out of the barrel and shot towards the wooden house built in front.

"Bang" the shell hit the target and the cabin collapsed instantly.

Li Mingyuan stood in the center of the crowd watching the test firing. After the shell hit the target, he was the first to show a satisfied smile.

The Chinese Independence Army stabilized, and the rifle and ammunition production facilities seized from Peru were placed nearby in Porto Alegre. A production factory for hand grenades with simple production processes was also formally established and uniformly managed by the Weapons Production Bureau under the Ministry of Industry.

The Chinese Independence Army still had a large number of muskets, and they could also produce rifle ammunition using the newly established ammunition production plants. However, they had yet to find a solution to the production of artillery and artillery shells.

Compared with muskets, artillery and artillery shells are weapons with higher technological content. The Chinese Independence Army also seized some small artillery factories in the continuous fighting. However, the seized artillery production equipment was seriously lagging behind the current level of war. Some time ago, small artillery seized from the artillery factories were used for test firing. A total of less than five shells were fired before the artillery exploded. The three Chinese soldiers operating the artillery died on the spot, and two soldiers near the test site were also injured by shrapnel.

The equipment for producing homemade artillery was outdated and the artillery produced had poor performance. Using such weapons to fight the enemy seriously weakened the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Independence Army.

Achieving self-sufficiency in artillery and artillery shells is a prerequisite for ensuring the continued combat effectiveness of the Chinese Independence Army. After learning of this problem, Li Mingyuan contacted Captain Hans, the representative left by Colonel West, and expressed his intention to purchase artillery production equipment. At the same time, Li Mingyuan was also considering how to use the existing production equipment to design simple and effective weapons.

After two days of deep thought, Li Mingyuan finally came up with a solution.

The actual situation of the Chinese Independence Army at this stage is that its weapons production facilities are weak and its industrial foundation is almost non-existent. Under such circumstances, only small artillery with simple manufacturing and low technological content are suitable for the Chinese Independence Army to produce themselves. The mortar invented by a Russian artillery captain during the Russo-Japanese War is undoubtedly the most suitable choice.

Mortars can be modified from traditional artillery. In a small artillery, the fixed wheels are removed and two brackets are fixed. Then a simple mortar is declared successfully modified. According to the steps for modifying mortars, Li Mingyuan instructed the person in charge of the Weapons Production Bureau to modify two small artillery pieces. After the test firing was successful, Li Mingyuan formally issued the task of producing the first batch of ten mortars. The artillery that was test-fired on the training ground today was the first batch of mortars produced.

The test firing of the first mortar was successful. Although the power of the shell was significantly weakened compared to mature mortars, Li Mingyuan was generally satisfied.

The workers used to manufacture mortars were employees of a captured small artillery factory. Their artillery manufacturing technology was far behind that of their European counterparts. In addition, the artillery production facilities were backward and outdated, and the quality of the steel produced was average, which limited the performance of the mortars.

Improving the level of artillery manufacturing involves smelting steel, lathe mold manufacturing, etc. To completely improve the quality level of artillery requires a complete industrial system.

Li Mingyuan still had more than half of the gold in his hands that he had not used. The materials and wealth seized from previous battles were also concentrated and stored in the headquarters of the Chinese Independence Army. He had sufficient funds. This mortar test-firing exercise was held on the one hand to allow his senior generals to become familiar with the use of new weapons, and on the other hand to take the opportunity to show Captain Hans the new weapons of the Chinese Independence Army and increase the depth of cooperation between the two sides.

After the test firing, the commander of the training ground came to Li Mingyuan to report the test firing results.

"The test firing results were good. Credit should be given to the two soldiers operating the mortars for their work. We will verify and report back after the exercise is over."

"Yes." The officer commanding the training ground saluted and turned back to his position.

"Everyone, I named the artillery we tested today a mortar. You all saw the results of the test just now. The range and power of the mortar are slightly inferior to those of ordinary small artillery, but its advantages are obvious. The mortar has a simple manufacturing process, which is convenient for large-scale industrial production and arming grassroots troops. At the same time, it is light and easy to load and unload. Two soldiers can carry the mortar parts and move quickly. When artillery and machine guns gradually enter the battlefield and trench warfare becomes more and more common, the mortar can provide the most powerful support for the front-line troops.

In front of the enemy's defense points composed of machine guns and heavy firepower, the relatively long attack distance of the mortar can pose a direct threat to the enemy, making it easier for our army to break through the enemy's position. "Li Mingyuan briefly explained the use and role of the mortar on the battlefield, and the eyes of the officers around him quickly lit up.

The Chinese Independence Army has fought many battles since its establishment. Chinese officers who were not adapted to hot weapons warfare either died in battle or lost their qualifications for promotion and remained in grassroots units.

Those who are able to hold high positions are all officers who can quickly adapt to changes in the battlefield situation and are relatively familiar and sensitive to the use of artillery and rifles.

Li Mingyuan explained the advantages and combat methods of the mortar in a popular way. Although it was not used in actual combat, the officers present could imagine the scene of using mortars to attack the enemy.
The attacking side used mortars to continuously knock down the key fortifications of the defending side, and the subsequent attacking soldiers advanced along the gaps that appeared on the defending side. At the same time, the grenades equipped by the Chinese Independence Army killed the enemy at close range. With the addition of new weapons, the battle would end quickly in a one-sided manner.

"A perfectly good and cheap weapon, General. Your army's creativity is amazing."

Hans, who was standing next to Li Mingyuan, sighed.

"Thank you for your compliment, Excellency. Although the mortar is a weapon that is simple to manufacture and easy to use, it is difficult to use it to its full potential with our army's current production capacity. I think if this weapon is used in the Prussian army, it will definitely play a greater role."

"General, what do you mean?"

"This weapon is a gift from the Chinese Independence Army to His Majesty King William of your country. It is a token of gratitude for your long-term cooperation with our army and for the captain's help in training our naval soldiers."

The manufacturing principle of the mortar is simple. Once it appears on the battlefield, it is easy to be imitated by other countries. So instead of hiding it, it is better to give it to Prussia as a gift, which will also facilitate the subsequent cooperation between the two parties. As for whether Prussia’s acquisition of the mortar will pose a threat to the Chinese Independence Army, there is no need to worry at all. The Chinese Independence Army and Prussia are thousands of miles apart. There is no possibility of conflict between the two sides, either now or for a long time in the future. On the contrary, as the Chinese Independence Army grows stronger, the two sides will have more common interests.

"I will convey the general's kindness to the colonel. I'm sure your Majesty will be satisfied with the general's gift."

An excellent weapon can even change the outcome of a war. Faced with the gift from Li Mingyuan, Hans couldn't refuse it.

"The survival and development of the Chinese Independence Army cannot be separated from the support of rifles and artillery. The current conditions in Rio Grande do not meet the requirements of the Chinese Independence Army. I hope to send representatives to Europe to visit your Majesty and your weapons manufacturers, purchase artillery, shells, steel smelting, textile and other industrial facilities from your country, and hire a group of skilled technical workers.

Of course, your country does not need to worry about the price. It is impossible for the Chinese Independence Army to fight in nearly half of America without sufficient funds.
So I hope the captain can report the situation to your country and reach a specific cooperation project between the two sides as soon as possible."

"The purchase of industrial production equipment requires domestic consent. I will contact the country quickly and give the general a reply as soon as possible. However, I believe that domestic industrial owners will not refuse the general's big business."

Germany was not unified, and Prussia was no longer the First German Empire that challenged Britain and France when it launched World War I. During this period, Prussia was relatively low-key in foreign affairs.

Two years ago, in 1866, because Prussia promised not to expand on Qing territory and won Li Hongzhang's favor, the first group of Qing diplomatic officials arrived in Europe to visit Prussia and purchased a large number of weapons and equipment from Prussia. Later, when Li Hongzhang carried out the Westernization Movement, most of the weapons and equipment as well as naval warships were purchased from Germany. In this regard, it can be said that the Prussians in Germany are much more honest in doing business than the British and French.

Purchasing machinery and equipment is not something that can be explained in just a few words. Li Mingyuan handed the matter over to his subordinates and then continued to watch the grenadiers' drills.

After the invention of hand grenades, soldiers specializing in throwing grenades began to appear in the Chinese Independence Army, but the formal establishment of the grenadiers was not completed until they arrived in Rio Grande do Sul.

The grenadiers are not large in size. Each brigade or division-level unit has a grenadier company with a strength of about 150 people, which is directly under the command of the division or brigade headquarters.

Grenadiers have a long history of development in Europe, and Captain Hans has some knowledge of them. However, after the exercise, he only praised the Chinese grenadiers for their high accuracy in throwing bombs, and did not show any interest.

Li Mingyuan didn't care about Hans' performance. The grenades produced by the Chinese Independence Army were still relatively crude and could only cause small-scale casualties to the enemy. However, as technology improved, the role of grenades would become more and more important. Only then would others pay more attention to grenades.

(End of this chapter)