Accompanied by Liu Pu and Sun Bin, Li Mingyuan came to Arequipa to inspect the military factory.
The military factory was built in a densely populated area of the city, and a platoon of soldiers was stationed next to the entrance to provide security.
The Chinese Independence Army is about to move in, but the military factory shows no sign of moving. In the spacious compound, three to four hundred soldiers are busy transporting the ammunition and firearms produced.
"Your Majesty, the military factory used the ten days before the transfer to work overtime to try to produce more weapons and ammunition to supply the troops." Liu Pu introduced, pointing to the soldiers who were busy unloading weapons.
"Arms factories are important strategic materials and must be protected. No accidents occur before relocation."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will add another platoon of security guards soon."
Li Mingyuan nodded, stayed in the courtyard for a while, and then walked into the military factory production workshop.
Arequipa Military Factory has six ammunition production lines, two rifle production lines, and one small artillery production line.
Among the ammunition production lines, five are rifle bullet production lines and one is a small artillery production line.
As for large and medium-sized artillery and machine gun ammunition, military factories do not yet have the capacity to produce them.
The first thing Li Mingyuan inspected was the rifle production line. There were more than 200 workers responsible for rifle production in the workshop. In addition to the original workers of more than 30 military factories, the other workers were apprentices selected from Chinese workers.
Li Mingyuan went to inspect the military factory, which naturally alerted the management staff of the military factory.
White was the director of the arms factory. When the Chinese Independence Army captured Arequipa, White, like other workers in the factory, was controlled to continue producing weapons.
White can speak English and can communicate with Li Mingyuan in English.
"Your Excellency, the two Enfield rifle production lines in the workshop are front-loading rifled rifle production lines imported from the British Enfield Company three years ago." White introduced as he followed Li Mingyuan.
Li Mingyuan did not comment, picked up a newly assembled rifle, pulled the bolt with a click, and aimed at the wall clock hanging on the wall of the workshop.
"The feel is okay, but the aiming is not good." Li Mingyuan tried it for a while, then put down the rifle and said.
“The Enfield muzzle-loading rifle is not as capable as its improved version, the Snyder Enfield breech-loading rifle.
But the British did not allow the Snyder rifle technology to be leaked, and only agreed to sell the muzzle-loading rifle production line to foreign countries," White explained.
Front-loading rifled guns have fallen behind. Western countries generally adopt breech-loading rifled guns as standard equipment. The Dresser rifle purchased by the Chinese Independence Army from the Prussians is a typical breech-loading rifled gun.
Li Mingyuan is somewhat dissatisfied with the performance of the Enfield muzzle-loading rifle, but without better production equipment at this stage, he has no choice but to use the Enfield rifle production line to fill weapon vacancies and train skilled military factory workers.
"How are the new apprentices doing?" Li Mingyuan asked.
"They are very motivated to learn. After nearly a month of familiarization and study, most of them can complete the basic assembly steps. Except for the dozen or so core steps of polishing firearms, all other firearm assembly is completed by workers sent by you.
"
Chinese workers who work as apprentices in military factories are treated the same as soldiers of the Chinese Independence Army. After they have a stable base, they will also receive three hundred acres of land. Workers with good skills will also receive monetary and other rewards, so in the military
The Chinese workers in the factory work very seriously.
The rifles are assembled one by one on the assembly line and then piled in wooden boxes in the corner of the workshop waiting to be shipped away.
"Your Majesty, when the materials are abundant, the two production lines can be operated together and can produce two hundred rifles a day. For the armed forces these days, the military factory adopts a shift system and produces firearms in three shifts a day. The output can reach three hundred rifles a day.
Support." The military factory is the place where Liu Pu focuses his attention, and he is very familiar with the weapons output of the military factory.
"We must also pay attention to safety when working overtime, and we must not let workers work tiredly and cause accidents."
"There are many workers in the military factory. After adopting the shift system, the workers have sufficient rest time." Liu Pu said.
"Your Excellency, do you want to withdraw from Arequipa?" These days, the Chinese troops have been transferring supplies, and the Peruvians in the city have allowed them to leave freely. White sensed signs that they were leaving, so he cautiously inquired.
"Yes, we launched the uprising just to gain freedom, and we will not occupy your land for a long time."
The movement of hundreds of thousands of troops in and out could not be concealed from the scrutiny of interested parties, so Li Mingyuan admitted directly.
"Since your Excellency is leaving, will you let us go?" White expected.
"Mr. White, isn't our cooperation very pleasant? I want to continue to employ you and your workers, and I will pay you twice the usual salary." Li Mingyuan said with a smile.
"No, sir, thank you for your kindness. I still want to stay in Arequipa." White did not hear the news he wanted and quickly waved his hand and refused.
"Mr. White, my sincerity is very true. I hope you won't be stubborn." Li Mingyuan said in a cold tone.
Li Mingyuan's cold look and the soldiers standing next to him made White understand his situation. They were rebel Chinese workers who did not blink an eye at murder. If he did not agree to their conditions, he was sure that the rebel leader who was smiling and talking to him just now would
, will definitely use a rifle to force him to submit.
Being under the eaves, he had to lower his head. White forced a smile and said, "I didn't think it through clearly and rejected your kindness. Now I have thought about it and am willing to go with you."
"Haha, don't worry, you won't suffer any loss if you cooperate with us." Li Mingyuan's expression changed from gloomy to clear, and he patted White on the shoulder with a smile.
After visiting the rifle production line, Li Mingyuan inspected the artillery production workshop and encouraged the Chinese workers in the munitions factory.
Li Mingyuan set off to leave.
"Liu Pu, the Peruvian technicians in the military factory are closely monitoring and cannot let anyone go." On the way back, Li Mingyuan ordered Liu Pu on his horse.
"My subordinates understand that I will arrange for manpower to control the Peruvian technicians and their families in the military factory."
"When the troops left, they took their families away together," Li Mingyuan said.
"Your Majesty, after arriving in Rio Grande do Sul, the construction of the base area will have to start from scratch. Should we search for Peruvian craftsmen and technicians from the occupied areas to build a new country?"
"No need, moving with a large group of Peruvians will increase our logistical burden and increase the risk of the troops being exposed." Li Mingyuan replied after carefully considering Liu Pu's suggestion.
Liu Pu thought of the benefits of relocating Peruvian craftsmen from the families of Peruvian craftsmen who were transported from the military factory, but did not consider the difficulties of relocating people.
"Rio Grande do Sul is sparsely populated, but we can use captured Brazilian troops to help us build our home."
Moving into southern Brazil, once the Brazilian army is defeated, a lot of Brazilian troops will be captured. It is impossible to release a large number of captured troops immediately. Using them to build Rio Grande do Sul can temporarily solve the shortage of Chinese population.