Chapter 118: Exercise

"Overall, today was good," he said. "The machine gun squad performed especially well. Zhou Afu, you suppressed seven fire points, changed magazines five times, and not once did a shell jam. What does that show? It shows that the guns we built ourselves are reliable."

He walked over to Zhou Afu and picked up the "Lewis machine gun".

"The design of this gun came from the president's personal specifications: it must be light, accurate, reliable, and easy to maintain. Engineers at our ordnance factory revised it seventeen times before finalizing it. The steel used comes from our special steel plant, with part tolerances kept within 0.05 mm. That's why it doesn't jam and shoots accurately."

He handed the gun back to Zhou Afu.

"Being well‑equipped is a blessing, but also a responsibility. With such a fine gun in your hands, if you can't shoot accurately or suppress the enemy, that's wasteful—and criminal."

"Understood!" Zhou Afu replied loudly.

"Alright, dismiss! Tonight we'll have an extra meal—each of you gets an additional two taels of meat!"

The soldiers cheered. Zhou Afu shouldered the machine gun and walked back, the barrel still hot, but his heart warm.

He recalled three months earlier, when he was lugging crates at the Chaozhou dock, never having dreamed he'd ever hold a gun, let alone one made by his own people.

Now, not only has he touched one, he's used it to "win" a battle.

At dinner, Li Wen came over holding a bowl, speaking mysteriously: "Afu, guess what news I heard this afternoon?"

"What?"

"Next month, we're holding a division‑wide drill and inviting foreign military attachés to observe," Li Wen lowered his voice. "Germans, French, British, and also Chileans, Argentinians, Brazilians—all are coming."

"To see what?"

"To see our equipment, to see our training," Li Wen's eyes lit up. "The instructor said this is a show of strength, to let the nations that buy our ships know that our army is no slouch either."

Zhou Afu chewed his mantou, thought for a moment, and said, "Then we have to train even harder. We can't lose face in front of outsiders."

"Right!" Li Wen nodded vigorously. "When the time comes, we'll let those foreigners see that we Chinese can not only build warships, but also make guns and cannons, and we can fight wars!"

The two clinked their bowls together, like toasting.

Outside the window, the training base's searchlights flared, turning the night sky into daylight. In the distance, sporadic gunfire echoed from the range—someone was doing extra drills.

In this desert, a brand‑new army is taking shape.

Using guns we built ourselves, ammunition we produced, and our own tactical doctrines.

Zhou Afu doesn't know what the future holds, but he knows that the machine gun in his hands can protect everything he wishes to protect.

That's enough.

May 26, 1910, 5 a. m., the training base observation platform.

The sky wasn't fully bright yet, but the observation platform was already full. On the left sat foreign military attachés and military observers; on the right sat Lanfang military and political officials, and on the central dais sat Chen Feng, Wang Wenwu, Liu Yongfu and others.

Zhou Afu stood in the preparation area beneath the observation platform, his palms slick with sweat. His machine gun squad had been selected for today's "firepower demonstration" segment, to fire at targets before several hundred foreigners.

"Nervous?" Sergeant Wang Tiezhu asked.

"A little," Zhou Afu admitted honestly.

"Being nervous is normal," the sergeant said, checking his gear. "But remember, today you're not shooting for yourself; you're shooting for Lanfang. Those foreigners are watching—seeing whether our home‑made guns work and whether our troops can use them."

"Understood."

"Have you memorized the machine gun's structure?"

"Memorized. Thirty‑four main parts—I could disassemble and reassemble them blindfolded."

"Good." The sergeant patted his shoulder. "Then go up and let them see."

At exactly six a. m., Chen Feng walked up to the microphone. He wore a dark gray Zhongshan suit, without rank insignia, but his posture was perfectly upright.

"Distinguished guests, welcome to the Lanfang Army First Division training base," his voice rang through the loudspeakers. "All the equipment displayed today—from rifles to artillery, from radios to bicycles—is entirely Lanfang‑designed and produced. We believe that a modern army must be built on an independent defense‑industry foundation."

German, French, English, and Spanish translations were rendered almost simultaneously. The foreign attachés listened attentively, some taking notes, others holding binoculars to observe the troops on the field.

"Now, the firepower demonstration begins."

First item: company‑ and platoon‑level light‑weapon shooting.

Zhou Afu's machine gun squad entered the firing position together with five other squads. At three hundred meters, twenty humanoid targets rose simultaneously.

"Ready—" the company commander's order rang out.

Zhou Afu inhaled deeply, pressed his shoulder against the stock, and let his right index finger lightly touch the trigger.

"Fire!"

"Tadada—"

Six machine guns fired together, their reports merging into a storm‑like roar. Brass casings cascaded like a golden waterfall, and smoke billowed rapidly.

Twenty seconds later, the gunfire abruptly ceased. Far away, the range officer waved a flag: all twenty targets had been shredded by bullets.

Low murmurs rose on the observation platform. German attachés quickly conversed with their colleagues, French attachés scribbled something in their notebooks, and British attachés raised binoculars to scrutinize the targets.

"High rate of fire, tight dispersion," the British attaché said to a nearby colleague.

"Look at the reload time," the German attaché said.

On the field, Zhou Afu and his comrades had already begun swapping drum magazines. By regulation, they must complete three reloads within a minute and keep firing.

"Reload!"

Zhou Afu pressed the magazine latch; the empty drum dropped, a fresh drum was installed, he pulled the charging handle, aimed, and fired. The whole process took five seconds.

"Second reload!"

Four seconds.

"Third reload!"

Three seconds.

Three machine guns resumed firing simultaneously, the firepower nearly uninterrupted.

"My God…" a Chilean attaché murmured, "the reload speed…"

"Their drum‑magazine latch design is very clever," the Argentine attaché, a firearms expert, said. "It can be operated with one hand, unlike our machine guns that require two‑hand coordination."

Second item: battalion‑level heavy fire support.

Twelve heavy machine guns were rolled onto the field. These heavy machine guns weigh 25 kg, use a 250‑round belt, fire at 450 rounds per minute, and have an Effective Range of 1500 meters. Their most distinctive feature is a water‑cooled sleeve that can be swapped quickly, preventing the water from boiling after prolonged firing.

Target: bunker model 800 meters away, fire!

Twelve streams of flame burst out, bullets swept the target like a metallic storm. The wooden bunker model was riddled with holes within seconds, then Boom— collapsed.

Continuous fire test!

The heavy machine guns began sustained fire, each gun exhausting three belts of ammunition, a total of 750 bullets. During the firing, no gun jammed or overheated.

"The water‑cooling system is very efficient," the Faguo officer said to General Du Buwa beside him, "Our Hachikais machine gun needs water change after five hundred shots; theirs can fire over seven hundred." (Baidu data says the French had this in 1909, not sure if true)

Du Buwa nodded: "And it's ten kilograms lighter. That means better mobility."

Third item: artillery fire demonstration.

Twenty‑four 75‑mm infantry guns were hauled in by horses. The guns weigh a total of 600 kilograms, can be drawn by six horses, or disassembled into six parts for soldiers to carry. Maximum range is eight thousand meters, firing rate fifteen shots per minute. (Faguo Miss)

"Rapid fire, thirty seconds!"

The gunners moved in unison: loading, closing, pulling the trigger. The Shells bursting from the barrel produced a continuous whoosh, and plumes of smoke rose over the target area three thousand meters away.

Thirty seconds later, the twenty‑four guns had fired a total of 120 Shells.

"Accuracy test!"

The artillery observer used the "Guan Shan-2" gun crew telescope to spot the impact points, then reported correction parameters to the command post. The gunners quickly adjusted elevation, and in the second volley the impact dispersion radius shrank by forty percent.

"Their fire‑control calculations are fast," the Deguo officer frowned, "From observation to correction takes less than twenty seconds. We need at least a minute."

"Look at that gun crew telescope," the Yingguo officer said, "Magnification is at least twenty‑fold, and it has built‑in range markings. The optical glass is probably made by them, not inferior to our Zeiss."

Fourth item: communications and coordination drill.

An infantry company was suppressed by "enemy" artillery during the assault. Signal soldier Li Wen quickly deployed the "Ting Feng-1" radio, requesting artillery support from the rear.

"Red Three calling Thunder, coordinates: 25°12' N, 55°18' E, request fire coverage!"

Thirty seconds later, a distant Boom— echoed. Six 105‑mm howitzer shells landed accurately on the "enemy" artillery position, the rising smoke reaching twenty meters high.

"Target destroyed, infantry continue forward!"

Throughout the process, radio communication was clear and interference‑free, and artillery reaction time from call to Shell impact was under two minutes.

"Their radios..." the American officer removed his headset, "They are only half the size of ours, but the communication range is farther. Moreover they use shortwave, with strong anti‑interference capability."

"How long does the battery last?" someone nearby asked.

"The manual says continuous use is eight hours. Spare batteries can fast‑charge, fully charged in two hours."