Chapter 135: The Power of the Ultra-light Alloy Mortar

Zhou's expression shifted from skepticism to curiosity, yet he maintained the composure characteristic of a soldier: "Fast setup is a good thing, but the key is the firing performance."

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly and began adjusting the Mortar's aiming device—this was one of the innovations he was most proud of, a fully mechanical automatic calculation and adjustment system.

"First target, distance 3,000 meters," Li Mingyuan said in a clear voice, while inputting parameters such as wind speed and temperature into the calculation device.

The mechanical device emitted a faint clicking sound, automatically adjusting the angle and direction of the barrel.

Li Mingyuan placed the shell into the barrel, stepped back a few paces, and said, "Fire!"

"Thump!" With a dull explosion, the shell left the barrel, traced a graceful arc, and vanished into the distant horizon.

Everyone's gaze was fixed tightly on the distant target area; a few seconds later, a loud boom arrived, a fireball surged up near the target, followed by a plume of dust.

"Direct hit!" the soldier at the observation post reported via walkie-talkie, "Repeat, direct hit on target!"

Silence fell over the scene, followed by an outburst of exclamations.

"This... this is impossible!" the expert who looked like a Colonel stammered, "A first-round hit on a target 3,000 meters away? Without any adjustments?"

In traditional artillery operations, the first round is usually used to observe the impact point before making adjustments; it is rare to hit the target on the first shot, especially at such a long distance.

"That is not all." A hint of pride was in Li Mingyuan's voice, "Please look at the target area."

The dust in the distance dissipated, revealing the crater blasted by the shell—nearly two meters in diameter and about half a meter deep, with the surrounding targets and simulated fortifications completely destroyed.

"The power is 30% greater than a standard 82mm mortar shell, mainly thanks to the improved warhead design and propellant formula," Li Mingyuan explained, while already beginning to prepare the second round.

"Second target, distance 2,000 meters." He quickly adjusted the calculation device, reloaded, and fired again.

"Thump!" Another dull thud, and the shell hit the target precisely once more.

"Third target, distance 3,500 meters!"

The third round also hit; the officers had shifted from initial skepticism to amazement, and a few even began to applaud.

"Incredible!" a General muttered to himself, "This accuracy is higher than any mortar currently in our active service!"

Li Mingyuan turned to the group, "This is the merit of the mechanical calculation system. It can automatically calculate the optimal firing angle and direction based on the input parameters, greatly increasing the first-round hit rate."

"Is this calculation system... complex? Can an ordinary soldier operate it?" Zhou asked, the skepticism in his eyes now completely replaced by curiosity.

Li Mingyuan nodded with a smile, turned, and beckoned, "Xiao Wang, come here!"

A young soldier who looked to be only in his early twenties ran over, clearly somewhat nervous.

"This is Xiao Wang, an ordinary worker from my factory who has never had any artillery training," Li Mingyuan introduced, then turned to Xiao Wang.

"Tell me, how long did it take for me to teach you how to use this system yesterday?"

"Reporting, less than half an hour!" Xiao Wang replied, standing straight.

"Good, now please demonstrate it." Li Mingyuan stepped back, yielding his position to Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang walked to the Mortar, nervous yet excited, and followed the steps Li Mingyuan had taught him: inputting parameters, adjusting the angle, loading the shell, and then firing.

"Thump!" The shell left the barrel again, precisely hitting the target 4,000 meters away.

Exclamations erupted again, and even the experts who had been skeptical at first began to praise it in low voices.

"There is one more important point." Li Mingyuan took over the operation of the Mortar again, "The rate of fire for this design is nearly double that of a traditional mortar. Now, I will conduct a continuous firing test."

He summoned two assistants and began rapidly loading and firing. Shells were sent into the barrel one after another, the rhythm of fire becoming faster and faster.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The Mortar was like a precision machine, steadily and rapidly sending shells toward the distant target area.

Every round hit precisely, and the explosions in the distance merged into one, resembling a small fireworks display.

One minute later, Li Mingyuan stopped, "A total of 14 rounds; a rate of 14 rounds per minute, almost double the 8 rounds of a traditional mortar."

"Good heavens..." Zhou muttered, a strange light flickering in his eyes, "If this weapon were equipped in our troops, facing an enemy offensive, it would simply be an infantryman's nightmare!"

A white-haired old General walked forward, his hand subconsciously stroking the barrel.

"Man-portable, setup completed within 30 seconds, 4,000-meter range, ultra-high accuracy, 14 rounds per minute... this is not a mortar, this is a revolution!"

Li Mingyuan wanted to continue his introduction, but he was already surrounded completely.

The officers were like children who had discovered a new toy, scrambling to operate this magical weapon themselves.

"Let me try!"

"No, I'm next!"

"How does this calculation device work? Tell me about it!"

Li Mingyuan was caught between laughter and tears, watching this group of high-ranking officers with an average age of over fifty fighting like little children to fire the Mortar themselves.

"Please line up, everyone will have a chance," Li Mingyuan tried to maintain order, but with little success.

Over the next hour, every officer personally operated the Ultra-light Mortar, experiencing its portability and precision.

The ammunition crates were soon emptied, but the officers were still not satisfied.

"Why is there so little ammunition?" a General asked with dissatisfaction, his hand still resting on the barrel, unwilling to let go, "Bring some more!"

"Reporting to the Chief, this is all the test ammunition we prepared, 50 rounds in total," Li Mingyuan explained helplessly.

"Too little!" the General shook his head, "Such a good weapon, and you only prepared 50 shells? It's a complete waste of a treasure!"

The surrounding officers echoed his sentiment, and the scene was chaotic for a time.

Minister Zhao and Zhou had to step in to mediate.

"Comrades, calm down," Zhou raised his hand to signal for silence, "I understand everyone's excitement, but more importantly, we must put this weapon into production as soon as possible and send it to the front lines."

The venue immediately quieted down, and everyone realized the importance of this issue.

Zhou turned to Li Mingyuan, "Chief Engineer Li, what is the production difficulty of this Ultra-light Mortar? Can existing factories start production soon?"

Li Mingyuan nodded, "The key is the smelting of the Special Alloy, which requires special equipment, but we are already prepared. If we go all out, we can produce a small batch within a week and reach mass production capacity within a month."

Zhou and several high-ranking officers quickly gathered together, discussed in low voices for a few minutes, and then solemnly announced:

"Based on today's test results, the Military has decided to immediately launch the production plan for the Ultra-light Mortar. The first batch will consist of 50 units, with priority given to equipping the southwest and northwest border troops. Chief Engineer Li, your technical team needs to cooperate fully with the military factory to ensure production begins as soon as possible."