Chapter 1115

“Your Majesty, this is the Empire’s first tank.”

In the training ground in the valley of Tuoshan Mountain outside Qingzhou City, Xiao Ming saw the tank that Lin Wentao was talking about.

This tank was painted a silver-gray color and its appearance was somewhat similar to the tanks that appeared between World War I and World War II in modern times, but its design was basically not much different from a World War II tank.

After all, they had complete information, so there was no need for Lin Wentao to take a long detour in the development of the tank.

“What are the tank’s specifications?” Xiao Ming asked.

Lin Wentao dared not hide anything on this matter, as he knew that Xiao Ming was an expert. So he said, “This tank is 5.68 meters long, 2.43 meters wide, and 2.29 meters high. It weighs thirteen tons and can carry five people. It has a top speed of fifty-three kilometers per hour and can directly cross a trench that is 1.8 meters wide. The weapons on the tank include one 45mm tank cannon with one hundred rounds of ammunition, and two machine guns with a reserve of two thousand five hundred rounds. As for the tank’s armor, the frontal armor is twenty-two millimeters thick, and the sides and back are thirteen millimeters thick.”

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. These specifications were already otherworldly in this era. European firearms would not be able to penetrate the armor of a tank like this.

If these tanks were deployed on the battlefield, the Europeans would no longer be able to use trenches to stop the Empire’s advance.

Patting this iron thing, Xiao Ming asked, “Does it have a name yet?”

“In my humble opinion, the tank will be even more powerful than the black bears in the forest in future wars, so I have named it the ‘Bear King Tank’.”

“‘Bear King Tank’?” Xiao Ming laughed. “In the forest, even tigers fear black bears. This is a good name. It shall be called the ‘Bear King Tank’.”

Lin Wentao was overjoyed when he heard this. The naming of equipment had now been handed down to the researchers. They could name their own equipment.

Cui Shang’an also came along. After all, he was the Chief of General Staff, so he also had to be involved in matters concerning equipment.

While Xiao Ming and Lin Wentao were talking and laughing, Cui Shang’an was already dumbfounded. In his opinion, this kind of weapon would be a nightmare for the enemy on the battlefield.

As long as tanks were deployed in a war, the Empire’s soldiers would be unstoppable.

“Lin Wentao, what is the production capacity of this tank?” Cui Shang’an asked.

“Currently, we only have two production lines. Twenty tanks a month is not a problem.”

“Twenty tanks.” Cui Shang’an’s eyes lit up. He said to Xiao Ming, “Who does Your Majesty plan to equip with this first?”

“Qi Guangyi,” Xiao Ming said without a second thought.

Cui Shang’an was stunned for a moment. He said, “Your Majesty must be joking. Doesn’t Qi Guangyi have cavalry? Why would they need tanks?”

“Can you not see that a tank is an upgraded version of cavalry, only that the warhorse has been replaced by this iron thing?” Xiao Ming said.

To him, the person who needed a tank the most was indeed Qi Guangyi. Firstly, Qi Guangyi’s Northwest Military Region was directly fighting against Tsarist Russia’s Cossack cavalry.

Secondly, the territory under the Northwest Military Region’s jurisdiction was a flat plain, which was very suitable for large-scale tank operations.

He could now imagine the Cossack cavalry waving their sabers and trying to cut down a tank.

Therefore, once the Northwest Army was equipped with this powerful weapon, it would completely end Tsarist Russia’s coveting of Central Asia. At the same time, the Empire would be able to exert a greater influence in Central Asia.

“Thinking about it that way, Your Majesty is absolutely right. Isn’t this tank just cavalry?” Cui Shang’an laughed. His eyes were filled with envy.

He now felt like he wanted to go back to the army and lead troops in battle.

“Don’t be so surprised. The Empire will have even more incredible equipment in the future,” Xiao Ming said calmly.

Next, the two of them watched the tank’s drills. Under the control of the driver, the tracked tank moved freely through various terrains.

The powerful firepower of the 45mm cannon and machine guns made the tank a mobile fortress of firepower.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. With this powerful weapon, your grand plan to dominate the world is one step closer,” Qian Dafu said with a smile that crinkled his eyes.

He knew that Xiao Ming had too many goals he wanted to achieve, and some of these goals could not be achieved through peaceful means alone.

Xiao Ming laughed heartily. Qian Dafu’s words had struck a chord with him. Just now, he was still listing the strategies he had to implement.

With a weapon like the tank, the process of achieving his goals would be much easier.

Seeing Xiao Ming so happy, everyone also laughed.

Cui Shang’an said happily, “Your Majesty, now that the Empire’s military industry has advanced a step, the equipment that the Empire has eliminated can also be sold. We can use the money we earn to continue investing in the military industry to create even more powerful weapons.”

The tank, this kind of monster, had completely won over Cui Shang’an.

“There is already a buyer waiting for our weapons. When you go back, gather the retired weapons from the army’s warehouses and transport them to Dengzhou. The moment the Persian envoys arrive, we can sell this batch of weapons.” Xiao Ming said with confidence.

Cui Shang’an understood and showed a look of realization.

…

Ctesiphon, Persia.

Kambis threw a battle report that had just arrived onto the ground.

“Lost. We lost again. A bunch of useless people. If we lose again, the Ottoman Empire will be at the gates of Ctesiphon.” Kambis said angrily to Al-Sassi.

Half a year ago, the war between Persia and the Ottoman Empire was still a stalemate, but three months ago, the stalemate was broken.

The continuous defeats made it impossible for Kambis to remain calm.

Al-Sassi picked up the battle report from the ground. He said, “Your Majesty, according to the intelligence, the Ottoman Empire now has British cast-iron cannons and fine smoothbore guns, and their army seems to have also received professional training. This is the reason why we are losing the war. But it’s not too bad now. We have only lost a few border regions in the northeast. It’s time to ask for help from the Eastern Empire. The West has chosen to support the Ottoman Empire, and I believe the Eastern Empire will surely support us.”

Kambis frowned. In fact, he was unwilling to ask for help from the Eastern Empire so easily, because he now regretted letting the Eastern Empire extract their petroleum for free.

This was because in his opinion, if he sold this petroleum to the Eastern Empire, he would have made a lot of money. With the money and the production line for firearms, he would be able to defeat the Ottoman Empire and further control the petroleum.

But now, his plans had fallen through. If he continued to refuse to seek aid from the Empire, Persia would soon be defeated by the Ottoman Empire.

“When can our production line produce a large number of firearms?” Kambis asked, still a little unwilling.

Al-Sassi said helplessly, “Your Majesty, even if the production line can produce them, the steel, gunpowder, and bullets, as well as other parts, all have to be purchased from the Empire. We cannot produce the same high-quality gunpowder as the Empire.”

Kambis covered his face in despair. He had thought that having the Empire help him establish a weapons production line would be enough, but he never expected that he was thinking too simply. Without a complete industrial system like the Empire’s, Persia would not be able to play this game at all.

“It seems we have no choice but to urgently purchase a batch of weapons from the Empire,” Kambis said sadly.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair