The officials in Tianjin City looked at the huge chariot parked on the school grounds in surprise, full of suspicion.
The huge chariot was two meters high, more than two meters wide, and three or four meters long. It looked very huge. What surprised Huan Yihua and others was that the outside of the chariot was actually covered with a thick layer of steel armor.
The steel armor is made of high-quality steel from Fanjiazhuang Steel Factory, and is coated with a layer of gray paint.
The front of the car is protruding in a prismatic shape and looks indestructible.
Huan Yihua, the general manager of the newspaper office, walked around the chariot in a wide circle and asked doubtfully: "I have seen a chariot pulled by two horses, and I have also seen a chariot pulled by four horses, but why is this chariot drawn by two horses?
Are there no oxen or horses in front of the cart?"
When the officials heard Huan Yihua's words, they all circled around the chariot. But after looking for a long time, they could not find any place to put the cattle and horses.
Huan Yihua found an iron door on the side of the chariot. His eyes lit up and he reached out to pull the iron door, but found that it could not be opened anyway and was locked.
Minister of Political Affairs Xie Liangyou turned the chariot back and forth, knocked hard on the strong steel plate on the chariot, and finally said: "Have you noticed that the wheels of this chariot are all hidden under the steel plate and are well protected?
So deep.”
Defense Minister Hong Chengchou blinked, reached out to touch the tires under the tank, and said: "It's so strong. This is not a pneumatic tire, this is a solid rubber tire. Even if it is hit by a bullet, this solid tire will not
Can keep moving forward.”
Only then did everyone notice the position of the wheel. They lay on the ground and looked at the hidden wheel, marveling in admiration.
"The defense of this tank is really strong, even if it is attacked by rifles, it will not be a problem."
"I just don't know how it moves."
Huan Yihua suddenly clapped his hands and said: "I know, it must be the people sitting in the chariot who push the chariot forward from inside."
Everyone was stunned for a moment and started thinking.
Hong Chengchou shook his head and said, "I don't think so. This chariot is so heavy that I'm afraid it won't be able to push it with human power."
Everyone pondered for a long time, but couldn't figure out the secret of this chariot, so they all looked at Su Laosan, the man who made the chariot.
Su Laosan looked at the confused officials and laughed. He threw the car door key in his hand and said, "Can't you guess how this chariot moves?"
Everyone shook their heads and said, "I don't know, Manager Su will give me some advice."
Su Laosan smiled and said: "That won't work. I won't drive this tank to show you until the king comes!"
Everyone had no choice but to suppress their curiosity and wait for Li Zhi to arrive.
After a quarter of an hour, Li Zhi slowly rode over from Tianjin City.
When everyone saw Li Zhi, they all fell down and bowed down. Li Zhi waved his hand and asked everyone to stand up.
Li Zhi jumped off his horse in front of the chariot and looked around at the chariot.
He turned to Su Laosan and asked, "Did this steam tank experiment succeed?"
Su Laosan replied: "As far as the prince is concerned, it's basically a success." After a pause, Su Laosan said again: "It's just that it's easy to break if you drive it for a long time."
Li Zhi asked: "How long will it take for it to break?"
"After driving for maybe one or two hundred miles, something will always go wrong."
Li Zhi smiled and said: "That doesn't matter. I don't need him to drive that far. I usually use oxen and horses to pull in front, and then unload the oxen and horses when they are pulled to the battlefield. As long as they can sprint for one or two miles."
Su Laosan replied: "There is definitely no problem if you drive one or two miles."
After hearing what Li Zhi and Su Laosan said, everyone knew that this chariot was called a tank.
Hong Chengchou's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Your Majesty, is this tank used to deal with the Jiangbei Army?"
Li Zhi nodded and said: "It is used to deal with Jiangbei Army."
Huan Yihua rushed to ask: "Your Majesty, how can this tank move if it doesn't use oxen and horses? Does it have to be pushed from behind?"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "Such a heavy chariot cannot be pushed by humans. Didn't you see the chimney on the chariot?"
Only then did everyone notice that there was an upward-erected chimney at the rear of the chariot. The chimney mouth was not exposed above. The chimney mouth was also protected by a thick steel plate, and only a side row was left diagonally behind the chimney.
If Li Zhi hadn't reminded him, no one would have known it was a chimney.
Hong Chengchou suddenly realized it and said: "Could this be driven by a steam engine?"
Li Zhi nodded and said, "Yes, this is our first generation steam tank."
With a wave of his hand, Li Zhi said: "Su Laosan, go up and show me the operation."
Su Laosan sang loudly, opened the door of the chariot with the key, and went in with his two men.
Everyone looked at the chariot eagerly to see how it would move. After a while, bursts of thick smoke came out of the small chimney behind the chariot. They didn't know that Su Laosan was burning wood in the chariot.
Still burning coal, in short the boiler of the steam engine was fired up.
Su Laosan shouted in the tank, and the tank shook suddenly and began to move forward.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of all the officials, the heavy steam tank moved forward under its own power without the use of horses or pushers.
At first, the tank drove very slowly, as if crawling. But gradually, the tank drove faster and faster on the dirt ground, reaching the speed of human walking.
The steam tank slowly drove towards the trench two miles away, leaving several deep wheel marks behind it.
Li Zhi nodded and secretly thought that Su Laosan was indeed the man who had built hundreds of locomotives, and he was also very good at making steam tanks.
Li Zhi waved his hand and ordered a group of soldiers to enter the trench in the distance and prepare to fire.
When the Tianjin officials saw that the soldiers in the trench were really loading ammunition, they all held their breath and did not dare to breathe loudly. They were deeply afraid that the steam tank would not be able to withstand the firepower of the infantry and kill Su Laosan in the car.
.
"Bah bang bang!"
The infantrymen in the trenches fired fiercely at the steam tanks.
However, the bullet had no effect at all when it hit the hard steel plate, leaving only a mark.
The soldiers in the trench set up mortars and prepared to use explosive bombs to blow up the tanks.
When Huan Yihua saw the artillery set up in the trench, his eyes widened and he said, "Your Majesty, Su Laosan is in the tank!"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "Don't worry, you can't blow up the tank."
"Bang bang bang!"
Five mortars fired at the tank at the same time, and the explosive shells fell next to the tank and exploded.
However, the shock wave had no effect on the tank's armor. The tank was not affected at all and continued to move forward.
The officials were shocked and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Huan Yihua praised: "Your Majesty! Once your steam tank comes out, the trenches will be useless!"
Xie Liangyou sighed and said: "It's a miraculous craftsmanship!"
Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and praised: "Your Majesty, with this tank in hand, the trenches of Jiangbei Army are useless!"
Su Laosan waited for the soldiers in the trench to stop attacking him, jumped out of the tank from the side door, and ran to Li Zhi's side.
Li Zhi nodded and said: "Su Laosan, the tank you made is good! You can think about it more and improve it as you go, and you can build two hundred units within half a year."
