1890 King of Southeast Asia

Xu Sunming himself only observed the situation on the front line from a high ground not far from the headquarters, and did not run to the front line.

Rawlinson was right. The German army began a tentative attack that afternoon, and the formal attack was the next day. I don’t know if the German army knew that the Chinese were coming, so they made careful firepower preparations.

The artillery fire was overwhelming, and in Xu Sunming’s vision, countless blooming "fireworks" filled every corner in the distance.

"Is this the great power? The Germans used at least 300 cannons, including the field artillery units used for artillery battles with the British. At least ten artillery regiments were involved in the battle."

Major General Luo Yu of the 6th Army sighed as he looked at the overwhelming artillery fire.

"This is old Europe. For more than 400 years, the wealth of the whole world has been concentrated in Europe, especially in the last 100 years, the Industrial Revolution has accumulated countless wealth for Europe."

"Such a fierce war has been fought for more than a year, and Germany, as a late-developing country, still has spare energy."

What Luo Yu and his team saw was the scale of ten artillery regiments, and what Xu Sunming saw was what was behind the war.

The ordinary 6th Army Artillery Regiment of the German Army has 36 artillery pieces, which are a mixture of 77mm field guns and 105mm howitzers.

Special ones such as heavy howitzer regiments, field cannon regiments, heavy siege artillery regiments, etc., are adjusted according to actual needs.

Ten regiments are equipped with heavy artillery regiments at a ratio of 4 to 1, and there are at least dozens of heavy artillery pieces on the front line.

With so many heavy weapons, not to mention the cost of formation, even the cost of use, not everyone can afford it. Any artillery shell costs more than ten to dozens of yuan.

1 Hua Yuan is equivalent to 5 grams of gold. One artillery shell can easily cost more than 10 to 20 grams of gold, and heavy artillery can cost tens or hundreds of grams. Naval guns are even more expensive, and the cost of super battleship gun shells can even be hundreds or thousands of yuan per round.

In just half an hour, tens of thousands of shells fell on the Allied positions, half of which were 77mm shells, and the rest were 105mm or 150mm howitzers, attacking fortifications exposed on the ground or 120mm field artillery shells against artillery.

The Qing Empire cannot afford such a large-scale artillery group.

This is the situation after one year of fighting. It is said that before the start of this battle, the British and French coalition forces fired millions of shells here.

Even if they are all 75mm caliber high-explosive shells, the manufacturing cost of China is 12 Hua Yuan, and 1 million shells are 12 million Hua Yuan, 18 million grams, or 18 tons of gold.

Most importantly, shells are not wealth and will not circulate in society. This wealth is equivalent to burning out of thin air.

At the end of the Qing Empire, the fiscal revenue was about 300 million taels of silver, almost 210 million Huayuan, which is enough to play 5 times.

It sounds like a lot, but this is only the consumption of the firepower preparation stage of a battle in this war, but it is 1/17 of the income of the Qing Empire at its peak.

"But the Germans were very wasteful, and a lot of firepower was wasted for no reason."

"If the firepower is concentrated, 10,000 shells are enough to open a hole hundreds of meters wide. If the Germans react quickly enough, the British front line will definitely not be able to withstand it."

"But the Germans wasted firepower on a front several kilometers wide. After the firepower is shared, whether it can cause enough damage to the British is unknown."

"From this point of view, the staff's judgment on the Germans is correct, and their tactics have fallen behind."

After observing for a while, Luo Yu found that the Germans' artillery fire was very scattered and did not play the firepower advantage.

Due to the direct influence of Liu Yiming, the Huaxia Empire has placed special emphasis on firepower since the Sishui period.

It not only emphasizes individual firepower and infantry support firepower, but also strategic support firepower. There are rocket launchers and mortars at close range, small and medium-caliber guns and heavy machine guns at long range, and large-caliber guns at longer range.

Because there were few people and large areas during the South China period, the 6th Army emphasized mobility and speed. In order to keep up with the troops, self-propelled artillery was specially made. Although it was the product of the failure of the tank experiment, it was surprisingly popular with the 6th Army.

Everyone has artillery. The European powers have a strong foundation. Whether it is the number or the caliber, it is very exaggerated. The Chinese have no advantage in this regard.

However, the use of firepower in the Huaxia Empire is second to none, which is the guarantee of the combat effectiveness of the 6th Army of the Huaxia Empire.

It is not very advanced. Liu Ming just came up with tactics such as concentrated firepower key breakthrough, simple infantry and artillery coordination, and slow advance of barrage.

As for the theory of superior firepower, China is weak and can't afford it. In the military exercise of the General Staff, the 6th Army of the Huaxia Empire can only form a firepower advantage in a local area, which is classified as the theory of key breakthrough.

Luo Yu didn't expect that the Chinese Empire had been studying tactics for more than 20 years, but the Germans still didn't know how to play.

"It's better to let the Europeans bleed more and die from excessive bleeding." Xu Sunming observed for a while and said happily as Luo Yu said.

The more blood Europe shed, the weaker its strength will be. According to the theory of relativity (not), when Europe is weak, China will be strong.

Moreover, these Europeans have to buy shells in China, which is equivalent to the blood of Europe flowing to China.

"I don't understand what the British think, but it doesn't look like they are taking the strategic initiative."

Luo Yu nodded and searched the position in confusion. The Germans had already attacked, but they didn't find a British who organized a counterattack.

The machine gun was working, but it could not fire continuously, otherwise the shells would come soon.

In this case, to recover the disadvantage, it was necessary to launch a counterattack and interrupt the enemy's rhythm.

"Okay, that's enough, stop watching, there's nothing to see." Xu Sunming watched for a while.

Originally, he wanted to see a duel between the two sides, preferably a trench battle - that was one of the most intense battles.

However, the Germans were frightened by the remaining barbed wire and obstacles before they advanced for long, and the two sides shot at each other across obstacles such as barbed wire and chevaux de frise.

The Germans' marksmanship was generally not bad, because even the new recruits in Germany at this time were transferred from the reserve, had used guns, and had experience.

However, the British huddled in the trenches and fired, exposing a small area, so it was not easy for the Germans to hit them. In the exchange of shots, the British took advantage.

Such a battle did not last long, and the Germans retreated.

Fighting further would only waste the lives of soldiers, so the German commander ordered a retreat and ordered the artillery to bomb the barbed wire on the British front.

Such a battle has become a war of attrition, and Xu Sunming doesn't find it interesting.

With Xu Sunming leading the way, the members of the observation group quickly left the high ground.

Having seen what the war on the Western Front was like, Xu Sunming didn't plan to stay here for long. He took his men to say goodbye to Lieutenant General Rawlinson and continued to head north, preparing to take a boat to the seaside and then cross the English Channel.

It is worth mentioning that Sergeant Eric is also in this team. He was recommended by Rawlinson to attend the short-term training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

The training course lasts for 3 months, and by then you can get a certificate of completion from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. With this certificate, Eric will officially complete the transition from a soldier to an officer.

…………

"Cough cough cough!" Luo Yu covered his chest and coughed with a red face.

"Have a drink. This is how London is. You should be thankful that it has rained recently, otherwise the toxic fumes would be even worse." Xu Sunming poured him a cup of tea.

The teapot used to pour the tea was a very exquisite Chinese porcelain. It looked like it was produced by an official kiln. Xu Sunming looked at the bottom of the pot and saw that it was from the Kang Mazi period.

As for the teacups, they were from the Ming Xuandezong period. There were four in a set. There should have been a matching teapot, but it should have been lost.

"Hey~ We can't use this thing, whether in Sishui or Chang'an, but we can use it in London thousands of miles away." Luo Yu swallowed the tea and said sarcastically.

He didn't know who he was mocking. He only knew that when those smiling but arrogant British people brought them to their accommodation, he felt very uncomfortable.

This is a standard Victorian building, a three-story building with a triangular roof with two towering spires, corner towers, large balconies, rich colors, etc.

It actually looks pretty good.

However, as soon as he entered the house, Luo Yu saw traces of Western-style decoration and oriental decorations all over the house.

At first, Luo Yu thought it was just decorations, and he thought the British put a lot of effort into it. It was quite kind to find something rich in Chinese elements in a foreign country.

Then, someone from the embassy came and mentioned these things inadvertently.

These are all genuine, and many are treasures, which flowed directly from the palace - or robbed.

Those calligraphy and paintings, murals, and cultural relics and ancient books that record culture and history were placed in the British Empire Museum, but those that are not so precious flowed into government warehouses or personal collection rooms.

Many of these things have been damaged due to improper maintenance.

Then, Luo Yu looked at these things and felt that they were dazzling.

In addition, London was filled with poisonous fog composed of industrial waste gas all year round, and Luo Yu was sick. He did not participate in the initial contact in the past two days.

"Today I heard people cheering on the street. What are they cheering for? The war should not end so soon. The Germans are in civil strife?" Luo Yu closed his eyes and asked, out of sight, out of mind.

He now understood why Liu Yiming proposed to use cultural relics as a prerequisite for joining the war.

These things are evidence of the inheritance of Chinese civilization, a symbol, and also record the process of historical evolution.

Similarly, these things are also symbols of China's humiliation.

"Nothing, the Italians joined the war. This afternoon, the Italian government submitted an ultimatum to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, demanding that the Austro-Hungarian Empire cede Trentino, Tyrol, Trieste, the entire Istria and the Dalmatian coast."

"If nothing unexpected happens, this is a symbol of the breakdown of the talks." Xu Sunming sighed...

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