Wang Xuexin found Zhang Wanhe at the shooting range.
Heavy snow fell like goose feathers in the sky again, and the whole world seemed to have changed and was covered in a layer of white.
If it weren't for the thin cotton-padded clothes, Wang Xuexin would prefer such weather, because it can cover up the bloodstains left by the Japanese, making it look more peaceful, quiet and safe.
The shooting range is in the north of the village and is a shooting range set up by the guard camp for training.
When Wang Xuexin arrived, stepping on the snow one by one, Zhang Wanhe was taking several soldiers to test the bullets produced by the production line in the snow.
With the sound of gunshots, the snow fell from the trees, and a small red flag appeared under the target two hundred meters away, waving to announce the target.
When Zhang Wanhe saw Wang Xuexin coming, he stood up, curled up and stamped his feet while waving his hands excitedly: "Xiao Dongbei, come on, come on, try a few shots to open our eyes!"
When the soldiers who were testing the guns saw Wang Xuexin coming up, they stood up one after another and said:
"Comrade Wang Xuexin, how many shots should I take?"
"I heard that you are a famous sharpshooter. Shoot a few shots and let us learn from you!"
…
Because Wang Xuexin was pretentious and because he was shooting original bullets while the soldiers were shooting iron-headed bullets just produced on the production line, he politely refused.
Shooting a gun requires a feeling.
For example, Wang Xuexin knows his rifle very well, and he also knows the original bullets very well. The moment he raises the rifle, points it at the target, and pulls the trigger, Wang Xuexin roughly knows whether it can hit or miss by a few points.
But now, let him shoot the guns in the hands of soldiers with almost smooth rifling, and the bullets are still made of iron warheads and black powder charges... Even if Wang Xuexin is an immortal, he can't hit it accurately!
It's fine if you can't get it right, and you'll lose some face.
Wang Xuexin was worried that after he fired a few rounds of this bullet, it would affect his mentality and feelings, and his own gun would no longer be accurate.
This is no joke, it may cost you your life on the battlefield.
Zhang Wanhe knew that something was wrong when he saw Wang Xuexin's worried look.
So he ordered the soldiers to continue shooting, and invited Wang Xuexin to go to the office.
On the way, Zhang Wanhe said excitedly: "The bullets produced by the bullet machine are working. The range has been increased by about 80 meters. Now we can hit targets more than 200 meters accurately! I think we will move the bullet machine in two days."
Come back now, so you don’t have to worry about long nights and dreams!”
"Sure!" Wang Xuexin replied: "Director Su and the others have almost learned enough, so we might as well move here!"
As soon as he entered the office, Wang Xuexin poured a thermos bottle and handed it to Zhang Wanhe, who was about to freeze, and said: "Director, our arsenal has moved to the mountain, and it's time for you to get on the bed!"
"No rush!" Zhang Wanhe replied: "I'm busy with so many things during this period, not to mention I don't have this thing?"
As he spoke, Zhang Wanhe raised the hot water bottle in his hand and said, "My old bones are still strong, I can just use this!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but shudder, and hugged the thermos bottle tightly while gasping for air.
Wang Xuexin shook his head secretly as he looked at it. It was incredible that a head of the logistics department didn't even have time to get into bed.
After a while, Zhang Wanhe regained his composure and asked: "Comrade Wang Xuexin! What do you want from me?"
Wang Xuexin replied: "Director, I'm wondering if we can make the rocket bigger so that it can hit farther!"
"You are thinking about it together with me!" Zhang Wanhe smiled and nodded: "We had a meeting to discuss this issue before. We thought, since rocket propellant is simple and cheap, why can't we fix it?
How about using it as a larger cannonball? The output of our ghost cannon is too small, and the range is not ideal, so we need to find something to make up for it!"
Wang Xuexin nodded repeatedly, but he didn't expect Zhang Wan and others to think ahead.
However, Zhang Wanhe changed the subject and said: "But that's the thing, the problem is that the rocket is not accurate after more than 100 meters! Even if it has a long range, what use will it have?"
Then Wang Xuexin understood that it was not that no one could think of the rocket launcher, but that many people thought of it but were rejected as soon as they matched its accuracy.
The same is true for Zhang Wanhe and others.
Wang Xuexin replied: "Director, although this rocket launcher is not accurate, we can make up for this defect with quantity!"
Zhang Wanhe was stunned: "Quantity? What do you mean?"
Wang Xuexin didn't explain much. He took the paper and pen on his desk and explained while drawing dense circles of tubes on the upper and lower layers: "Director, think about it, it would take us sixteen rockets to hit the target."
One target, how about we hit sixteen in one go?"
This thing was originally better explained using probability, but Wang Xuexin guessed that Zhang Wanhe couldn't understand it, so he used this method to explain it.
After a while, Wang Xuexin finished painting the row of pipes and handed them to Zhang Wanhe.
Zhang Wanhe looked at the picture and didn't react much. He just said "hmm" and then replied seriously: "Comrade Wang Xuexin, I understand what you mean. Can't it be done if sixteen rockets are fired together?"
Is the shot accurate? But we are the Eighth Route Army and don’t have so many resources. It’s not cost-effective to use so many artillery shells to hit one target..."
"So our artillery is not used to hit one target!" Wang Xuexin said: "For example, if the enemy gathers in a group, or discovers an enemy artillery position... then our sixteen artillery shells will fly out together to cover the ground.
If you hit a group of enemies in one area, the hit rate will be different!"
At this moment, Zhang Wanhe showed a cautious look on his face.
Zhang Wanhe is an old military engineer who worked in the Taiyuan Arsenal. He knows exactly what Wang Xuexin means.
Artillery may be able to fire accurately at a target, but precision shooting doesn't mean much when faced with targets clustered in an area.
Because at that time, as long as you fired a shot at a general area, you would have a high probability of hitting the target.
At this time, quantity is required rather than accuracy, which is the so-called artillery coverage.
The cannon made of rockets that Xiaodongbei mentioned is not for precise shooting, but for artillery coverage.
In this way, the problem of poor accuracy of rockets almost disappears, because now everyone does not require accuracy but quantity.
And in terms of quantity...
One such multiple rocket launcher is equivalent to a salvo of sixteen artillery pieces!
Zhang Wanhe became more and more surprised the more he thought about it.
I thought to myself, this is fucking interesting.
How many people do you need to control sixteen cannons?
How much logistics and transportation will it cost?
How much time and resources are needed to produce artillery and shells?
In addition, artillery must be trained and so on.
But for this thing that Xiao Dongbei designed, he doesn’t need all of these. He just needs to install the rockets and press a button to turn on the power...
This may seem like a waste of money, but it's actually the cheapest way to play.
"But..." Zhang Wanhe then frowned and said, "Isn't this thing very light? Can it maneuver quickly to avoid enemy fire and return fire?"
Wang Xuexin replied instantly: "Can't we just put it on the car?"