Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 59: Inspection of Military Factories

Accompanied by Liu Pu and Sun Bin, Li Mingyuan came to the Arequipa Military Factory for inspection.

The military factory was built in a densely populated area of ​​the city, and a platoon of soldiers was stationed next to the gate to provide security.

The Chinese Independence Army was about to move in, but the military factory showed no signs of relocating. In the spacious courtyard, three or four hundred soldiers were busy moving the ammunition and firearms produced.

"Prince, the military factory has made use of the ten days before the transfer to work overtime to produce more weapons and ammunition to supply the troops." Liu Pu introduced, pointing to the soldiers who were busy loading and unloading weapons.

"The military factory is an important strategic material and must be well protected. No accidents can occur before the relocation."

"Yes, Prince, I will add another platoon of guards immediately."

Li Mingyuan nodded, stayed in the compound for a while, and then walked into the production workshop of the military factory.

The Arequipa Arsenal has six ammunition production lines, two rifle production lines, and one small artillery production line.

Among the ammunition production lines, five are rifle bullet production lines and one is a small artillery production line.

As for large and medium-sized artillery and machine gun ammunition, military factories do not yet have the capacity to produce it.

Li Mingyuan first inspected the rifle production line. There were more than 200 workers in the workshop responsible for rifle production. In addition to more than 30 original workers from the military factory, the other workers were apprentices selected from Chinese workers.

Li Mingyuan's inspection of the military factory naturally alarmed the factory's management.

White was the director of the military factory. When the Chinese Independence Army captured Arequipa, White, like other workers in the factory, was controlled and forced to continue producing weapons.

White can speak English and can communicate with Li Mingyuan in English.

"Sir, the two Enfield rifle production lines in the workshop are muzzle-loading rifle production lines introduced from the Enfield Company in the UK three years ago." White introduced beside Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan did not comment, picked up a newly assembled rifle, pulled the bolt with a "click", and aimed at the wall clock hanging on the wall of the workshop.

"The feel is okay, but the aiming is not very good." Li Mingyuan tried it for a while, put down the rifle and said.

"The Enfield muzzle-loading rifle is not as good as its improved version, the Snyder Enfield breech-loading rifle.

But the British did not allow the Snyder rifle technology to be leaked, and only agreed to sell the muzzle-loading rifle production line to foreign countries." White explained.

Muzzle-loading rifles were already outdated, and Western countries generally adopted breech-loading rifles as standard equipment. The Dreyse rifle purchased by the Chinese Independence Army from the Prussians was a typical breech-loading rifle.

Li Mingyuan was somewhat dissatisfied with the performance of the Enfield muzzle-loading rifle, but in the absence of better production equipment at this stage, he had to use the Enfield rifle production line to fill the weapons gap and train skilled military factory workers.

"How is the performance of the new apprentice?" Li Mingyuan asked.

"They are very enthusiastic about learning. After nearly a month of familiarization and learning, most of them can complete the basic assembly steps. Except for the dozen or so core steps of polishing the guns, the rest of the gun assembly is completed by the workers sent by Your Excellency."

The treatment of Chinese workers who worked as apprentices in military factories was the same as that of the soldiers of the Chinese Independence Army. After they had a stable base, they would also be given 300 acres of land. Skilled workers would also receive monetary rewards, etc., so the Chinese workers in military factories worked very hard.

Rifles were assembled one by one on the assembly line and then piled in wooden boxes in the corner of the workshop waiting to be shipped away. "Prince, if there is sufficient material, two production lines can produce 200 rifles a day. In order to arm the troops these days, the military factory adopts a shift system, producing firearms in three shifts a day, and the daily output can reach 300." The military factory is a place that Liu Pu pays special attention to, and he is very familiar with the weapons output of the military factory.

"We must also pay attention to safety when working overtime, and we must not let workers become fatigued and cause accidents."

"There are many workers in the military factory. After adopting the shift system, the workers have plenty of rest time." Liu Pu said.

"Sir, are you going to withdraw from Arequipa?" These days, the Chinese troops have been constantly transferring supplies, and the Peruvians in the city have also allowed them to leave freely. White noticed signs that they were about to leave, so he asked cautiously.

"Yes, we launched the uprising only to gain freedom, and we will not occupy your land for a long time."

The movement of hundreds of thousands of troops could not be hidden from anyone's observation, so Li Mingyuan admitted it directly.

"Since you are leaving, you will let us go, right?" White asked hopefully.

"Mr. White, our cooperation is very pleasant! I would like to continue to employ you and your workers, and I will pay you twice the usual salary." Li Mingyuan said with a smile.

"No, sir, thank you for your kindness, but I still want to stay in Arequipa." White did not hear the news he wanted, and quickly waved his hand to refuse.

"Mr. White, my sincerity is real, and I hope you won't be stubborn." Li Mingyuan said in a cold tone.

Li Mingyuan's cold look and the soldiers standing beside him made White understand his situation. They were rebellious Chinese workers who would kill without blinking an eye. If he did not agree to their conditions, he was sure that the rebel leader who had just been talking to him with a smile would use a rifle to force him to surrender.

When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. White forced a smile and said, "I didn't think it through and rejected your kindness. Now I have made up my mind and am willing to go with you."

"Haha, don't worry, you won't suffer any loss by cooperating with us." Li Mingyuan's expression turned from gloomy to bright, and he patted White's shoulder with a smile.

After visiting the rifle production line, Li Mingyuan inspected the artillery production workshop and encouraged the Chinese workers in the military factory for a while.

Li Mingyuan set off.

"Liu Pu, the Peruvian technicians at the military factory must keep a close watch and not let anyone escape." On the way back, Li Mingyuan instructed Liu Pu while riding on a horse.

"Your subordinates understand. I will arrange for personnel to control the Peruvian technicians and their families at the military factory."

"When the troops leave, their families will be taken away with them," said Li Mingyuan.

"Prince, after arriving in Rio Grande do Sul, we will have to start building our base from scratch. Should we plunder Peruvian craftsmen and technicians from the occupied areas to build our new country?"

"No need. Migrating with a large group of Peruvians will increase our logistical burden and the risk of exposure of our troops." Li Mingyuan replied after carefully considering Liu Pu's suggestion.

Liu Pu thought of the benefits of relocating Peruvian craftsmen from transporting the families of Peruvian technicians in military factories, but he did not consider the difficulties of relocating people.

"Rio Grande do Sul is sparsely populated, but we can use captured Brazilian troops to help us build our homeland."

If we move into southern Brazil and defeat the Brazilian army, we will capture a lot of Brazilian troops. It is impossible to release a large number of captured troops immediately. Using them to build Rio Grande do Sul can temporarily solve the shortage of Chinese population.

(End of this chapter)