Respectfully

Adjutant Ji found Li Jinyan at the military factory in the six northern provinces.

At that time, Li Jinyan and Du Weiyan, the director of the factory, were directing the workers to dig trenches on the test site, erect barbed wire fences, and build a decent defensive position about two kilometers long.The trench Li Jinyan asked the workers to dig was not an ordinary one-line trench. There were two front and back trenches in a Z-shape. , looks like an insurmountable moat.

Three machine guns are erected behind the barbed wire, which are self-made by the gun factory imitating the Maxim machine gun. Although the rate of fire and service life are not as good as the Maxim, they are also among the best in China.

"Master Yan, what are you doing?" Adjutant Ji stepped forward, looked at the gradually formed defensive position, and couldn't help asking after admiring, "Whose idea is this position?"

"Mine." Li Jinyan said quite proudly. Although some places are still far from perfect, this style of trench is still the first in China.

"By the way, why are you here?" Li Jinyan looked at Adjutant Ji, "Looking for Director Du? He's over there."

Li Jinyan pointed to Du Weiyan who was standing beside the barbed wire fence, and he was digging the soil by himself with a shovel.The handle of this shovel is a bit shorter than ordinary shovels, and the surface of the shovel has also been changed, making it more like a large shovel.In fact, this is the earliest engineer shovel, but because the steelmaking plants of military factories are still unable to refine high-carbon steel, the products produced are far inferior to the engineer shovel used by the Germans during World War I.

"Master Yan, the young commander told me to take you back." Adjutant Ji walked around the ground before remembering this mission.

"Go back? Is there something urgent?"

"The young commander didn't say anything."

Li Jinyan frowned. Young Marshal Lou would not let Adjutant Ji come to him for no reason, but he really couldn't leave here. For this experiment, he has been busy with Director Du for several days, "Adjutant Ji, I It’s really impossible to leave here, you go back and tell the young commander that I must be home before dinner.”

"But……"

"It's nothing serious." Li Jinyan rolled his eyes, "Either you bring the young commander directly to the military factory and tell him that I have something good to show him."

"Good stuff? This position?"

"No, what is this?" Li Jinyan shook his head, "He will know what it is when he comes over and has a look."

Adjutant Ji couldn't hold back Li Jinyan, so he had to follow what he said and go back to see Marshal Lou.

In the study, besides Marshal Lou, there were also Qian Boxi, the commander of the first division, Du Yuzhang, the commander of the second division, and Dai Guorao, the governor of Rehe.Adjutant Ji shouted a report at the door, and several people who were talking stopped at the same time and looked at him.

"what's up?"

"Young commander, do you want to talk now?"

"Now."

"Master Yan asked me to send a message to the young commander. Please ask the young commander to go to the military factory. I have something good to show the young commander."

After Adjutant Ji finished speaking, the room was suddenly quiet.

Qian Boxi and Du Yuzhang glanced at each other subconsciously. Young Master Yan always spit and nailed each other when he spoke, and he said good things would definitely be "good things."

Dai Guorao had met Li Jinyan at a wedding before, and then he only heard some rumors that the young wife of the Lou family was young and intelligent, had first-rate business skills, and liked to send things to the front line.In my mind, it was still half a child.

In the end, curiosity overwhelmed everything. Qian Boxi and Du Yuzhang followed Marshal Lou to the military factory. Dai Guorao and Governor Dai also came to join in the fun.

A group of people walked to the test site on the west side of the military factory and found that the surrounding area of ​​the test site was strictly guarded. Except for the people in the test site, no one else was allowed to approach within 300 meters.

Young Marshal Lou stood at the entrance of the test site, and a soldier in charge of guarding immediately stood at attention and saluted, "Young Marshal!"

"En." Young Marshal Lou returned the salute and asked, "What's going on inside?"

"I don't know either." Brother Bing shook his head, "Young Master Yan and Factory Director Du have spoken. From now on, except for the relevant personnel, no one else can take a look inside. Gouging your eyes!"

Brother Bing said it seriously. In fact, everyone knew that it was just a joke, but it could be heard that Li Jinyan paid attention to this matter.

"Young Marshal, what the hell is Master Yan up to? Didn't he bring us heavy artillery again?" Qian Boxi didn't hold back, and spoke first, "If that's the case, then everyone will have a share."

Du Yuzhang interjected: "Old Qian, is the young commander so stingy?"

"Yes, when was the young commander ever stingy? He's so generous!"

The two teachers talked to each other, until Dai Guorao, Governor Dai, who came to make soy sauce, coughed, and found that Marshal Lou was looking at them, his eyes were as cold as they said, it was obviously summer, the two The teacher felt a chill on the back of his neck.

"Finished?" Young Marshal Lou looked at Qian Boxi and Du Yuzhang expressionlessly, and said seriously, "I'm not generous."

Qian Boxi & Du Yuzhang: "..."

Dai Guorao: "..."

The soldier guarding the test site: "..."

This, do we need to speak so righteously?

When Li Jinyan walked over, he realized that something was wrong. He looked at the two veteran ruffians and an official veteran with strange expressions, and at the soldier who was as stiff as a statue, and finally turned his gaze to the most normal-looking Young Marshal Lou: "Young Marshal, are you here?"

"En." Young Marshal Lou nodded, "Is there something for me to see?"

"Yes, good stuff." Li Jinyan's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Marshal Lou's arm, "Come with me, the experiment will start soon."

Young Marshal Lou looked down at Li Jinyan and took his hand. The black brim of his hat covered the expression on his face, but the people around him could feel that the Young Marshal's mood had obviously improved.

Walking into the test site, the first thing you see is the trenches and barbed wire fences that have been built.

Qian Boxi and Du Yuzhang stepped forward in a few strides. Like the previous Adjutant Ji, they walked back and forth between the front and rear trenches, and went to the machine gun position to observe in person. When they found the firepower of three machine guns After it was enough to cover the entire battlefield in front of us, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, "There is no regiment that can't attack this kind of defensive position. These few machine guns alone are enough for the attacker to drink a pot."

When Young Marshal Lou was studying at a military academy in Germany, he once participated in German military exercises. This method of building positions is very similar to the trench defense adopted by the German army. If it is perfected, only one battalion can block the strength of a regiment of attackers. even more.

Compared with other countries in continental Europe, the German army pays more attention to the use of machine guns. The structure of the position in front of us is similar to the German army's defensive philosophy.

"Who came up with this?"

"This is Young Master Yan's idea."

Du Weiyan stepped forward, looking a bit embarrassed, his shirt and trousers could no longer see their original color, as if they had been rolled in the soil, before a few people could speak, he handed over the engineer shovel in his hand Standing in front of Young Marshal Lou, "Young Marshal, this is an improved shovel. It is also the idea of ​​Young Master Yan. It is very easy to use. Put a rope through these two holes, and the soldiers can carry it on the march. Digging trenches or fighting You can use it. It’s just that our steelmaking technology is not good enough, so we can only make it like this.”

Young Marshal Lou took the engineer shovel, weighed it in his hand, and nodded: "Indeed." He handed it back to the two veteran ruffians who had been waiting by the side.

When Qian Boxi and Du Yuzhang were studying the engineering shovel, Marshal Lou lowered his head and asked Li Jinyan, "Is this what you want me to see?"

"No." Li Jinyan shook his head, "The good things should be saved for the last."

After finishing the words, he exchanged glances with Du Weiyan, "Director Du, bring out the good stuff."

Du Weiyan grinned: "That's great!"

"Young Marshal, let's back off." Li Jinyan said: "I'm afraid it will be a bit heavy after the smoke."

Marshal Lou did not speak, and retreated to a place about 500 meters away from the trench according to what Li Jinyan said.Li Jinyan originally wanted to tell Du Weiyan a few words, but his hand was held back by Marshal Lou.

"Young commander, what's the matter?"

Li Jinyan raised his head and asked, Young Marshal Lou looked down at him, his eyes were dark, and he never let go of his hand.Li Sanshao touched his nose, forget it, and simply gestured towards Du Weiyan a few times with one hand. Du Weiyan nodded, signaling to the soldiers participating in the experiment to fire the flare guns.

After the gunshots, a gate on the south side of the test site slowly opened, a burst of engine roar sounded, and a black behemoth appeared in front of everyone.

It slowly drove out from behind the door, revealing the whole picture, Qian Boxi and others couldn't help but gasped again, what exactly is this?

"This is a refitted tractor." Li Jinyan said to Young Marshal Lou: "Young Marshal, have you seen those two tracks? I bought two tractors from an American foreign company before, and one was sent to the military factory for refitting. This is The modified look."

While speaking, the modified tractor was slowly driving towards the previously constructed position, and gunshots rang out in the position. Although all the ammunition was used, the three machine guns fired together, and the power should not be underestimated.

However, the protective armor covered on the body is all made of 6mm imported steel, not to mention empty shells, even live ammunition may not be able to penetrate easily.

In the rain of bullets sprayed by imitation Maxim machine guns, this behemoth moved forward slowly. There was no turret on the car, and it was only equipped with four machine guns. up.

After all, there are still three years before the birth of the earliest British tanks.At present, there is no data that can be used as a reference for the technicians in the factory. It is not easy for them to refit a tractor into what it is now with just Li Jinyan's words.

Amidst the roar and the rain of bullets, the modified vehicle finally came to the front of the position, without pausing at all, over the barbed wire fence known as the nightmare of infantry, until it came to the first trench, and the machine gunner in the car aimed at the trench The "enemy army" inside started to shoot indiscriminately, and the muzzle was raised at a certain angle to ensure that it would not shoot directly at people. Even if it was an empty shell, it would kill people if it was too close.

Even those in charge of the defense had seen the modified vehicles before, but they were still so scared at such a close distance, some of them even forgot that this was an experiment, and ran directly from the trenches, or crowded in the traffic trenches. Before, I just wanted to avoid this huge monster far away.

From the beginning of the battle to the end of the battle, it took less than 45 minutes.More than half of the time was spent on the road by this modified tractor.

When Du Weiyan announced the end of the experiment, the entire experimental site was dead silent.

Qian Boxi swallowed his saliva, not knowing what to say, he could only repeat over and over again: "Good guy, my dear!"

Du Yuzhang was not much better than him, and he froze in place.Dai Guorao's hands were trembling faintly.

The hand that Young Marshal Lou held on Li Jinyan's arm was so hard that it made him ache.Li Jinyan moved his arm before he let go.

"This matter must be kept secret!" Young Marshal Lou turned his head and said to Adjutant Ji who was standing aside, almost out of his wits: "Register all the personnel involved in this experiment, including the guards outside."

"Yes!"

"The personnel involved in the modification must also be checked and verified one by one."

"Yes!"

"Do it right away."

"Yes!"

When Du Weiyan heard the order from Young Marshal Lou, he trotted forward immediately, and said to Young Marshal Lou: "Young Marshal, the young master has ordered these things before. The names of these people, including their family members, have been registered. In particular, several master craftsmen and technicians have signed a confidentiality contract in advance, and they are not allowed to leak the secrets in any way."

Marshal Lou turned his head to look at Li Jinyan, Li Jinyan grinned: "Secrecy is very important."

The big hands wearing white gloves pressed heavily on Li Jinyan's shoulders. Young Marshal Lou leaned over and put his lips close to Li Jinyan's ears, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, just bit his earlobe lightly .He raised his head, straightened his hat, and walked towards the modified tank in the test field.

Li Jinyan's eyes widened suddenly, and he covered his ears, what did Young Master Lou want to express?Even saying "you're fine" is better than biting him, right?

Just when Li Sanshao was struggling, a cough suddenly sounded behind him. Li Jinyan turned his head and saw Dai Guorao in a long gown with one hand clenched to his lips, and smiled at him.

"Master Yan, I'm Dai Guorao, the current Governor of Rehe Province."

"Governor Dai, hello." Li Jinyan's heart thumped a little. Did Marshal Lou bite him just now, did this person see him?

"I've heard of Young Master Yan's name for a long time, and now I see it and it's well-deserved. Young Master Yan is young and promising, it's really my luck in the six northern provinces."

Li Jinyan: "..." As expected of an old man in the officialdom, he is so good at boasting others.

Li Sanshao was talking to Governor Dai, while Marshal Lou and the two division commanders had already gathered around the tank to study it.Du Weiyan and an old master stood aside, answering some questions for them from time to time.The people in the tank also came out, including the commander, machine gunner, and driver, a total of seven people. Since there is no turret, the gunner is temporarily absent.

"What's this thing called? Can't it just be called a modified tractor?"

"Master Yan said, this is called a tank."

"Tank?" Du Yuzhang raised one eyebrow in surprise, "tank? Water tank?" Could it be that there is a water tank in it?

"Old Du, what foreign language are you talking about? Why don't you just ask Master Yan?"

"Too."

Li Jinyan also scratched his head when he heard this question. He just habitually said that this thing was called a tank. Who knew that these people would take it seriously because of a name.

"I didn't think too much about it, so I just said it casually." Li Jinyan patted the tank's tracks, "Actually, I would rather call it ugly, but Director Du and the others firmly opposed it." After saying that, he shrugged his shoulders.

"Ugly?"

"Yeah," Li Jinyan nodded as a matter of course, "I didn't see how ugly this thing is."

When Li Jinyan saw this tank for the first time, he had only one thought in his mind, could it be more ugly?

Not to mention the Tiger, Leopard, Silman, Sheridan, and the T-34 with the turret directly cast in sand molds, even the Mark I with two steering wheels is more beautiful than it!

Even if it is equivalent to the originator of the tank in this world, the "look" can't be so sorry to the audience, right?

Contrary to Li Jinyan's point of view, everyone in the military factory, including the factory director Du Weiyan, the master who specially modified the tank, and the relevant personnel involved in the entire experiment, did not think it was ugly.Looking at it is like looking at a peerless beauty.

Li Jinyan can only comfort himself, the aesthetics that have spanned a century cannot be too demanding.It doesn't matter if it's ugly, as long as it works!With it, what are the Russians?What is a Cossack?What is a Japanese scorpion?The tank drove over and crushed them all!

But no matter how much he hypnotized himself, Li Sanshao, who was used to the tanks of later generations, still felt that the tank in front of him was really ugly...

In the end, this tank was still named "Ugly One". Even if Du Weiyan and others raised objections, as long as Marshal Lou made a decision, no one could change it.Who made Li Jinyan hold thicker thighs?There is no way.

According to Li Jinyan's words, this is only the initial model, and there will definitely be Type [-] and Type [-] in the future. When Huaxia Military Industry can manufacture its own chassis and internal combustion engines, and the level of steelmaking has improved, the appearance of the tank will definitely improve. From ugly to beautiful level.Everyone in the military factory seems to have been stimulated, and started research and development of weapons, especially a few old masters. In less than five years, Huaxia's tanks have been updated three times!

However, at that time, the title "ugly monster" had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the soldiers and could not be changed.

According to the words of the tank soldiers, "Don't look at me as ugly, but I am very good!"

This statement was also confirmed on the battlefield of World War I.Whenever attacking a heavily defended enemy position, the officers of the coalition forces often call for artillery support, but the officers of the Huaxia Army call "ugly monsters" in unison.Even if the British developed the Mark I tank in 1915, it is obviously much better than the Mark, which often breaks down on the battlefield.

Even Black Brother, the frontline commander of the British army, said, "Give me a hundred Mark Is, and I can cross the Somme, give me a hundred Ugly Monsters, and I can go straight to Berlin!"

Although the words are exaggerated, they are enough to prove how important the Huaxia tanks at that time occupied on the battlefield of World War I.

When the Germans knew that the Chinese were able to develop such an excellent tank, they relied entirely on their loans and the arsenal they helped build, how would they feel?

I'm afraid only God knows.