Chapter 1863 The Prince’s Interest

For North Korean soldiers, being able to get the opportunity to study abroad in Haihan Country means that they can make a bright mark on their resume, and the opportunity to return to the country and be assigned to serve as a soldier in the new army will also increase.

Great increase. However, among the 2,000 new army trainees, including officers, only about 20 people were finally selected. The intensity of competition can be said to be only one in a hundred. Considering that these 2,000 people themselves have already passed through North Korea once

The military's internal selection, the selected candidates are indeed considered the elite of the North Korean army.

Of course, the so-called elites are not just soldiers with outstanding individual military qualities like Andao Shi. Those "escort personnel" with outstanding status and background are also considered elites. After all, their families are also the targets that the Haihan Society tries to win over. But

The overseas students with the most background proposed by Haihan have not yet made a final decision as to whether they will accept this arrangement.

During the high-level consultations between the two countries in August, the Haihan Army made a proposal to the North Korean king to send one or more princes to study in Haihan. In order to prevent the North Koreans from taking this suggestion as asking for hostages, they also specially

It was emphasized to him that this was an independent choice and not a coercive measure. Although North Korea did not refuse at the moment, it has not made any further statement on this.

The third among the three North Korean princes is still young and theoretically not suitable to be selected to study abroad. Therefore, the main targets of Haihan's move are the eldest Li Shu and the second eldest Li Hao. In view of these two people

They are the first and second heirs to the North Korean throne. It is unlikely that the king will send them abroad at the same time, so this is a multiple-choice question.

Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun are both optimistic about promoting this matter. They believe that the North Korean prince studying in Haihan will have an excellent role in promoting the development of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This will be an excellent example for those who are currently interested in strengthening political exchanges between the two countries.

It can be regarded as an effective method for North Korea. However, I don’t know what Li Jian considered, but this candidate has not been announced for a long time. Although Haihan also asked Kim Sang-hun and Cui Ming-gil for relevant information, these two people are old officials.

Both Youtiao and Youtiao chose to keep silent about this matter and did not let any news to Haihan.

However, this time, taking advantage of the opportunity to hold a military skills competition at the Datong River base, Haihan specially sent an invitation letter to North Korean officials and invited the crown prince Li Bo and Fenglin Maharaja Li Hao to attend by name.

The invitation letter from Haihan Military stated very straightforwardly. He hoped that the future successors of the Kingdom of Korea would be exposed to the military field as soon as possible so that one day they could calmly deal with war. By the way, they could also take this opportunity to get to know the young talents in the Korean military circles.

, lay a solid foundation for future rule in advance.

Perhaps he was moved by Haihan's words. This time, Li Zhu did not find any excuses to shirk the situation. As expected, he sent the two princes from Seoul to the Datong River base to attend the military skills competition held by Haihan.

Perhaps Li Zhu didn't want to just let the two princes have casual contact with the Haihan people, so he asked Jin Sangxian and Cui Mingji to accompany him. So including Shen Jingzhen, the military officer who had arrived here first, the six officers had officials.

, Master Jushu of the Bing San Family was present in person, and with the addition of two princes, this guest lineup really gave Haihan a lot of face.

Nobles of Li Pu and Li Hao's status would basically not lead armies to fight in person, so the military skills they mastered were limited to a little knowledge of bow and arrow and swordsmanship, basic riding skills, and armchair command skills.

But this does not hinder their interest in advanced weapons and equipment and powerful force. They also want to see with their own eyes what the North Korean soldiers who have defeated the evil neighbor in the north will do if they are so powerful.

changes.

Out of respect for these two heirs to the throne, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun accompanied them throughout the two-day event, personally acting as commentators, explaining to them the details of each competition event, and practicing what the event can do in actual combat.

It played a role. This was indeed a very novel experience for the two princes who usually lived in the palace and rarely had direct contact with the army.

And through this competition, the two North Korean princes will be more interested in Haihan, which is one of the main purposes of Wang Qian and others in making this arrangement. As long as these two young people have enough curiosity,

When you introduce the study abroad program to them, it will be easier to persuade them to accept Haihan's arrangement.

Although North Korea's military strength is limited and it has been oppressed by neighboring countries all year round, it is precisely because of this that North Koreans more or less hope to one day strengthen their country's armed forces, and the higher the level, the more obsessed they are with this.

Although the prince is still young and has never had the experience of commanding an army on the battlefield, under the deliberate arrangement of the Haihan military, he felt the momentum of a golden horse in the training camp on the Datong River.

After watching the shooting competition of trainees from his country, Wang Tom took the initiative and asked: "Do you two princes want to try this new type of musket that will be installed in your country's army?"

"Is this... okay?"

The second oldest brother, Li Hao, subconsciously looked at his elder brother, while his elder brother, Li Bo, looked at Jin Sangxian. Wang Tom saw this detail in his eyes and had a better understanding of the relationship between these people.

However, it was Cui Mingji who spoke first, who seemed to be ignored by no one: "Then why don't we invite the Crown Prince and Lord Fenglin to test fire and set an example for our soldiers."

"Master Cui, the Crown Prince and Lord Fenglin have never used this kind of musket. If they fail to hit the target in front of everyone, wouldn't it be counterproductive?" Kim Sangxian raised objections to the invitation and did not want the brothers to test-fire.

Musket.

Cui Mingji said: "That's easy to do. It's just a test firing of the musket, no need to shoot at the target. The two princes are not competing with these sergeants for accuracy. They can use this to show their support for the formation of a new army."

"Master Cui is right." Wang Tom quickly took over and said: "These students have been training here for more than a month. Those who can participate in the shooting competition are relatively talented. There is really no big comparison.

But if the two princes are interested in this, we can also arrange for instructors to provide special training for them, and it will be effective within ten days."

When Kim Sang-hyun saw this, he stopped objecting and reluctantly agreed to the method proposed by Cui Mingji. In fact, his objection was not really to stop the two princes from testing the muskets, but he just didn't want Cui Mingji to achieve his goal so smoothly and grab the musket.

The competition with his political opponents is going on every moment. He will not relax just because this is the territory of the Haihan people, and he is sure that the same is true for his opponents, so he must fight tit for tat at every turn.

Li Pu and Li Hao are both young people. After watching the sergeant's drill just now, they naturally did not want to miss this opportunity. Under the leadership of Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun, they left the stand and went to the shooting position to try this new weapon.

arms.

In fact, the muskets provided by Haihan to the Korean army are not advanced models. What these students use here are still the Type 29 matchlocks that began to be finalized and produced many years ago. Nowadays, Annan and other Allied forces have replaced them with flintlock muskets.

, this kind of old matchlock gun is usually delegated to local garrison troops for use. However, for North Korea, this kind of matchlock gun is much more useful than the bird blunderbuss that they originally equipped in small quantities in the army, whether it is firing rate, accuracy or

range, all have obvious performance advantages.

Of course, this is also related to the backwardness of the weapons and equipment in the North Korean army. More than half of the less than 2,000 muskets in the army were purchased from the Ming Dynasty, but the earliest manufacturing time of these muskets can even be traced back to the last century.

During the Wanli period, it has been almost half a century, and the situation can be imagined. In recent years, the Ming Dynasty has been experiencing constant internal and external wars, and there is no surplus of weapons and equipment manufactured for export, which makes it difficult for North Korea's guns and artillery to carry out large-scale operations.

Replacement. Although North Korea also tried to manufacture some guns on its own, the performance was still lagging behind those made in the Ming Dynasty, so in the end it did not carry out mass production and equipment.

Due to the lack of powerful weapons and equipment, North Korea was unable to cope with the military threat from its powerful neighbor in the north. It deployed almost all the weapons purchased from Haihan last year to the north. However, due to the short time of military cooperation between the two countries,

The Korean army lacked an organized firearms unit and corresponding tactics, and was still unable to fully demonstrate its strength when facing the Qing army independently. In the process of the Qing army advancing from the Yalu River to the Datong River, it had already defeated a small number of soldiers.

The North Korean troops equipped with firearms were completely wiped out.

In this way, if North Korea wants to build a new army that imitates Haehan's military system after the war, it will naturally have to purchase weapons and equipment from Haehan again. However, due to its current financial situation, North Korea cannot afford to purchase large quantities of new weapons and equipment with relatively high unit prices.

As for weapons, we can only focus on cheaper old-style weapons - of course Haihan's old-style weapons are still much more advanced than those antiques equipped by the North Korean army in the past.

Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were each responsible for teaching the two princes how to hold a gun and shoot on the spot. On a whim, Li Bo said to Jin Sangxian and others: "Why don't all the judges come and try it too!"

Several senior North Korean officials looked at me and I looked at you. In the end, the military judge Shen Jingzhen took the lead: "Then I will give it a try!"

Although Shin Kyung-jin is the top leader of the North Korean military, he is an out-and-out civilian official like Kim Sang-heon and Cui Ming-gil. This skill of wielding swords and guns is not his strong point. But fortunately, the two colleagues did not intend to watch him from the side.

When people make a fool of themselves, they all roll up their sleeves and end up together.

The series of operations of cleaning, filling, loading, igniting, and shooting this matchlock gun are actually quite complicated. Wang Qian and Wang Qian did not expect to be able to teach these North Korean dignitaries in a short time, and finally let the soldiers load the ammunition for them.

, it is only up to them to complete the last step of shooting.

After cautiously firing a shot at the open space in the distance, the two princes were very excited and immediately asked for another shot. The three judges gave up their plans to continue playing with the guns. This thing was so powerful.

The smoke from the fireworks was choking, the sound was quite scary, and the butt of the gun hit my shoulder, so it was really no fun.

When Wang Tom saw that these two princes were interested in weapons, his confidence greatly increased. What he was most worried about was that these two people had no interest in military affairs. Inviting these two people to the Datong River base would be a waste of time.

.

Since you like shooting guns, it's easy. The Datongjiang base has a full range of rifle models, from the oldest matchlock guns to seven-shot rifles equipped only by elites such as independent regiments and marines. You can arrange for these two to play a game.

Play. If playing with guns is not enough, you can also pull out the cannon and fire a few rounds to let them experience the feeling of being on the battlefield.

Although Wang Tom does not expect the two brothers to have the idea of ​​joining the army, since they are interested in weapons and equipment, many topics can be extended from this, not only in the military field, but also in Haihan's industrial manufacturing capabilities.

And international politics, etc. If it can arouse the interest of these two brothers in exploring the unknown world, it may be able to promote the progress of inviting them to study in Haihan.

Sure enough, after the two brothers played with the matchlocks for a while, they showed unfinished expressions. Wang Tom asked at the right time: "If the two princes like to shoot guns, then I will make arrangements later and have someone prepare more kinds of muskets. You two can do it."

Try it slowly."

Li Ming said: "Then General Lao Wang will arrange it! I have something unclear, and I hope General Wang can clarify my doubts. Since your country can make sharp weapons, why don't you use them to conquer the world, but sell them to other countries? Aren't you afraid?

After other countries equip themselves with these weapons, will they one day threaten Haihan?"

Questions like this were actually raised by the Annan people many years ago. Wang Tom was no stranger to this. He responded with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is a good question. The main purpose of selling weapons is naturally to make money.

.As for the issues that the Crown Prince is worried about, of course we are also prepared for this. In fact, the solution is very simple, that is, the most advanced weapons are only equipped with the national army and are not sold to outsiders."

After that, Wang Tom stretched out his hand, took a rifle from the guard, and showed it to Li Bo: "Your Majesty, please see, this rifle does not need to be lit with a match rope to fire, and the gun has been loaded with seven bullets.

, one shot can be fired by pulling the bolt. The shooting speed is more than ten times faster than the gun that the prince tested before. The accuracy, range and lethality are also even better. The prince can imagine from this, I

What is the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army?"

Li Bo suddenly said: "So this kind of musket will not be sold to foreign countries?"

"That's right." Wang Tom nodded and said: "Before our country manufactures more advanced weapons and equipment and sends them to the army, we will definitely not sell the weapons currently in use. Guns, cannons, warships, and other weapons and equipment.

, all follow this system, which is enough to ensure that our country can maintain its absolute advantage in force while selling weapons."
Chapter completed!