The city is located in western Germany and is one of the largest cities in the Ruhr area. It is located between the Rhine Herne Canal and the Ruhr River. It was originally the location of a noble monastery. It became a commercial town in the 11th century. There was coal mining in the 14th century.

The arms industry developed in the 16th century. The Essen Steel Company developed in the 19th century and quickly became the largest industrial city in the Ruhr area. With the development of coal and iron resources, it emerged as the industrial center of the Ruhr area. It was also the birthplace of the Krupp family, the pioneers of the German steel industry.

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A century ago, the Krupp Company in Essen was originally just a small blacksmith shop, doing some humble business such as blacksmithing. When it was passed to the old Krupp, it only had three thatched huts.

Krupp created "tank steel" and used this excellent steel to create excellent breech-loaded steel cannons. Only then did Krupp become famous all over the world.

It can be said that Essen's coal and iron resources made Krupp what it is, and it can also be said that Krupp made Essen what it is. But for many people, Essen is Krupp, and Krupp is Essen.

Villa Hugel is the villa of the Krupp family. Ever since Alfred Krupp, the founder of the Krupp company, built this villa, it has been the center of the Krupp family.

Alfred Krupp achieved Krupp's glory here. The second generation president Friedrich Alfred Krupp committed suicide here due to the homosexual scandal. His daughter Beta?

It was also here that Krupp married Onder Halbach, a man named Gustav von Bohlen. With the approval of the emperor, Gustav took the surname Krupp.

It was also here that he was announced as the third generation president of Krupp.

In the decades since the Huger Villa was built, it has not only witnessed the development of the Krupp Company, but also continued to welcome guests from all over the world. One year ago, Li Hongzhang became the first Chinese to stay at the Huger Villa.

One year later, another China ushered in. Compared with Li Hongzhang who was pushed in in a wheelchair, the Chinese who came to Hugel's villa today looked surprisingly young.

In the dining room of Hugel's villa, a dozen huge blueprints were placed on the dining table. A dozen engineers from Krupp Company looked at the drawings in front of them with surprise and admiration.

On the table, a steel model that was one meter long and tens of centimeters high aroused everyone's interest. They looked at the simulation model and commented on this unprecedented cannon with expert eyes from time to time.

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"... In addition to the amazing range, his artillery shells are also amazingly large. The grenade pellet weighs 4 tons. Another projectile used to destroy concrete shelters weighs 7.1 tons, contains 200 kilograms of explosives, and can penetrate one meter.

Thick steel plate, 7-meter-thick concrete, 30-meter-deep super cannonball in the soil!”

When those people expressed admiration in their eyes, Li Siqin used a showy tone to introduce the huge cannon that the young master asked him to hand over to Krupp Company.

He didn't know why the young master provided the Germans with the blueprints of the giant cannon, just for a few blueprints and technical personnel? Maybe! After staying with the young master for such a long time, he had already developed a habit.

Don't guess the young master's intentions, just complete the young master's instructions.

"It can fire super artillery shells that can penetrate one meter of steel, seven meters of concrete, and 30 meters of soil!"

Facing the design drawings in front of him, Gustav Krupp could hardly believe his eyes. He didn't believe that someone had designed such a giant cannon. What made him even more unbelievable was that this...

It was actually designed by the Chinese.

But Krupp's artillery experts have been studying the first batch of hundreds of drawings for a week. The design of this super artillery is very reasonable. Whether it is the artillery itself or the railway transportation system, in the face of this huge gun, any

The fortress is at best a cardboard box made of cardboard, and the Big Beta siege gun he is proud of, designed and manufactured by Krupp, is far inferior to this 00mm caliber siege gun in terms of range and power.

Compared to artillery, compared to it, Big Beta is like, well! Like a toy.

Turning his eyes away from the model, Gustav Krupp looked at the young Chinese in front of him and asked a straightforward question.

"When can you provide all the drawings?"

Ten years ago, the Japanese army's experience in capturing Port Arthur proved that heavy artillery was indispensable for attacking fortresses. This heavy artillery should be a short-barreled mortar that can be fired at a high angle, making the shells

Landing on top of the fortress while hitting specific targets with considerable accuracy.

He immediately organized some experienced designers and engineers to carry out collective research and secretly developed a giant mortar in 1909, called the "Big Bell Tower" gun. The gun was 7 meters long and had a muzzle diameter of 420 mm.

The body and the gun carriage weigh 120 tons, and can launch artillery shells weighing nearly 1 ton to a target meters away. Each shell uses nearly 200 kilograms of propellant and requires more than 200 gunners. It can also fire missiles equipped with extended

Armor-breaking artillery shells with fuses are used to penetrate the target and then explode.

But the "Big Beta" is far inferior to this giant cannon. In front of this giant cannon, no fortress can withstand its bombardment. If the Big Beta is put into use on the battlefield, it will be shocking, but if

Creating the giant cannon according to the blueprint will undoubtedly cause an earthquake on the battlefield.

There are too many fortresses in Europe waiting for it to exert its power. Especially at this time, war may break out at any time. Perhaps the outside world does not know it, but Gustav Krupp has already received the news from the emperor.

If Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia and Russia gets involved, Germany will not hesitate to support Austria-Hungary with war.

Since war is almost inevitable, this kind of giant cannon that can throw a 7-ton shell 37 kilometers away will definitely help Germany win this war and defeat one indestructible fortress after another.

"As long as you are willing, the 5-ton drawings can be handed over to your company at any time!"

Li Siqin didn't even have the slightest intention of negotiating. He just regarded this as a task. He would ask for whatever the young master asked him to ask for.

"So what do you want in return?"

"Maxin's drawings and your company sent no less than 500 technical experts to our company. This is the information we need for the experts!"

Technical experts!

The request made by the other party only made Gustav's brows jump. He took over the information written in German, including metallurgy, shipbuilding, machinery, ordnance, chemical industry, etc., as many as dozens of categories, such as the drawings of the Maxim machine gun.

, that's just a reason, what they really want are these technical personnel.

"no problem!"

After thinking for a moment, he took one last look at the cannon model. Gustav nodded. Krupp and Germany never lacked technical personnel, but the cannon in front of him was what Germany needed.

"Hey, the foundation is weak!"

After receiving the telegram from Germany, Li Zicheng let out a long sigh. After all, the "Dora Cannon" went home. He asked Ah Si to bring almost 12 tons of drawings to Germany in order to "exchange the drawings for experts."

With such a useless weapon blueprint, a group of technical experts were exchanged from Germany.

Five hundred technical experts, Gustav Krupp agreed without hesitation. God knows, he was still thinking at the beginning that if it didn't work, he could just get two hundred.

Changing experts is one of them, but the more important thing is to convey a certain degree of goodwill to Germany through Krupp. Only in this way can he achieve his final wish.

“With this group of experts, I don’t have to worry about it in the next four years!”

While thinking about how to make full use of this group of experts, Li Zicheng began to wonder in his mind that by the end of the First World War, maybe these experts could still play a role as seeds and use them to send out work to their colleagues in Germany.

The invitation may allow China to completely complete its technological attraction to the Third Reich twenty years after the end of the war.

As for the drawings of the Maxim machine gun, they are just drawings requested to meet the needs of war exports. The 2-year-old general-purpose machine gun is better for personal use. During the war, the profit and demand for the gun were far beyond imagination.

One point is one point.

"Jing Luezhi, you won the bet you made with Chief Xu!"

Seeing the smile on Li Zhiyuan's face, Zhang Yilin took it for granted that it was because he won the bet. Although the bet had never been spread, Zhang Yilin, as the Secretary General of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, knew the contents of the bet.

"Yeah! Not bad!"

Nodding his head, Li Zicheng smiled first and then stood up.

"But our Deputy Commander Xu still hasn't received a message."

"That……"

Although he knew that Xu Shuzheng was not the kind of person who betrayed his trust, Zhang Yilin still reminded him.

"Should we remind you?"

"remind?"

With a snort, Li Zicheng's eyes narrowed. There was no need to remind him now. He had already reminded him. Regardless of whether he agreed or not, he was still going to send troops. After this time, I'm afraid the whole of China would understand that Jiangsu

If you know the relationship between the Army and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, you will know that some things must always be done, whether for self-protection or for the country.

"Zhongren, do you know that once upon a time, I never thought that I would wear such an official title, or even...take charge of the army!"

As if defending himself, Li Zicheng said this unexpectedly.

"Jing Lue Envoy, if there is no Jiangsu Army with the Third Division, no one will take you as an economic and strategy envoy seriously. Just like Taiyan, his Northeastern border envoy is just a joke left in the officialdom!"

Zhang Yilin raised his eyes and looked at the manager standing there.

"Furthermore, if the Jiangsu Army is not taken over without knowing it, last year we learned from the Revolutionary Party's pursuit of wealth, and I don't know what kind of disaster it will cause tomorrow. The world is like this, and it can only be like this!"

He has no favorable impression of the revolutionary party Zhang Yilin, not to mention that the revolutionary party wants to use people's property to mortgage the Japanese. Even in his eyes, the two people in exile in Japan are just... Of course, he will not take the initiative to mention these.

With a long sigh, Li Zicheng stood by the window with a look of helplessness on his face. Who would have thought that he would reach this point?
Chapter completed!