Chapter 212: Teaching Company
The guns were in place, and the officers were in place. Google search reading
Next, Liang Yao planned to let these Prussian officers serve as instructors to train his California Infantry Regiment.
The main force of the California Infantry Regiment is in California. This time when he went to New York, Liang Yao only brought two infantry companies and one cavalry company.
Liang Yao decided to select one of the two infantry companies as the teaching company, and give priority to equipping the Dreisse needle gun, and let these Prussian instructors train first to see how effective it is.
The Prussian side was quite considerate, and the officers selected for him all knew English.
The soldiers of the California Infantry Regiment were all veterans who had lived in the United States for more than a year. Their English was not good, but normal communication was still no problem.
There was no language barrier between these soldiers and the Prussian instructors, which saved Liang Yao a lot of trouble, and he didn't have to find a translator.
The Dreisse needle gun was more advanced and more precise, especially the mechanical structure of the bolt was more complicated.
In addition, the Drayside striker gun has problems such as fragile bullets, gunpowder residue, and easy wear at the junction of the barrel and the gun barrel.
The maintenance requirements for guns are relatively high.
Liang Yao also knows that his soldiers and low-level officers are all from poor peasants, and their quality cannot be compared with the Prussian army that adheres to the rule of law and has been trained in military style since childhood.
If he wants to narrow the gap with the Prussian army, he can only make up for it through acquired training.
The cost of obtaining this batch of Drayside striker guns is very high.
The purchase price of each rifled version of Springfield m1842 with bayonet is only $14. If you buy more, you can bargain. After all, he is also an old customer of Springfield Armory, so this discount will still be given.
The smoothbore version of m1842 is cheaper, and a brand new one is only $11.
Even at this bargain price, many colonels in the army still think it is too expensive.
Liang Yao purchased these Dreisse striker guns from Prussia in the form of gold payment, excluding freight, and the purchase price is 50 US dollars if converted into US dollars!
Dreisse striker guns are indeed more sophisticated than m1842, and the manufacturing difficulty and cost are also higher, but they will never be as high as 50 US dollars each.
3,000 Dreisse striker guns cost 150,000 US dollars. Liang Yao must have been ripped off by the Prussians at this price.
But it's easy to get the guns. American mechanics and inventors have always had good reverse engineering technology, and the industrial level is not worse than Prussia. It's not difficult to make imitations.
As long as the imitations are made, there is no need to purchase them from Prussia at a high price. If a new gun with better performance is developed, it can be sold back to Prussia to make money.
Liang Yao felt much more comfortable when he thought of this.
"Why is this gun so strange? How can you load it from the back?"
"There's a big needle in the barrel! How bizarre!"
"You know what, this new gun is better looking than the old one!"
"There's a dragon head and dragon pattern on it!"
"How should I shoot this new gun?"
On the open space of the Hudson River, the infantrymen of the first company who had just received the new guns were playing with the De Lacey needle guns in their hands excitedly, and the surrounding city was talking about it.
Even the officers were immersed in admiring the new guns and forgot to line up and listen to the training.
Just as the soldiers of the first company were talking about it, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded.
"Line up! Where are the officers?! Are you always so lax and undisciplined?"
Kruger reached out and took the whistle from his mouth and scolded him harshly.
After being scolded, the officers quickly lined up and listened to the training.
The speed of these soldiers lining up was quite fast, and Kruger was a little satisfied with it, but he did not show his feelings.
"Report to the commander, we were so happy to receive new guns today that we forgot to organize the formation in time."
Wang Shu, the captain of the first company, defended himself after arranging the team.
"How dare you talk back! You were too nervous to line up on your first day on the battlefield. Will the enemy wait for you to line up before fighting you?!"
Kruger glanced at the captain's shoulder strap of the captain of the first company and said to Uncle Wang without any courtesy.
"As a professional military company commander, you are very incompetent. I officially announce that you are now dismissed from your position as company commander!"
Kruger's words were undoubtedly a thunderbolt for Wang Shu. As the saying goes, a new official starts with three fires. Wang Shu didn't expect that this fire would burn on his head so quickly.
Wang Shu earned his military merits by killing bandits and the Mason Infantry Regiment that invaded California.
He was very dissatisfied to be dismissed by Kruger, the new instructor, with just one sentence.
"You have no right to dismiss me! In California, only the Colonel can dismiss me!" Wang Shu bit his lip unwillingly and said, "We only listen to the Colonel!"
As he said that, Wang Shu cast his eyes on Liang Yao who was not far away.
"What? Are you rebelling? Do you forget your place after a few small battles? I told you that the first company will be renamed the teaching company, and everything will be done by the instructor. You turned a deaf ear to my words so quickly?!"
Liang Yao walked over with his hands behind his back.
These soldiers are no longer the farmers they used to be. After more than a year of training, they have been reborn. According to the standards of the American Army, they are completely qualified professional soldiers.
But this is not Liang Yao's ultimate goal. Liang Yao is not sure how many people California will have in 10 years.
But he is very clear that the population of California will definitely be smaller than that of the north and the south in 10 years.
If you want to gain a foothold in the Civil War 10 years later with a huge disparity in population, compete with the North and the South, and prevent California from becoming a vassal of the North and the South, the only way to go is to have elite soldiers.
Wang Shu and the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the first company bowed their heads and remained silent.
Liang Yao continued to lecture: "You are the teaching company! You are the role model of the California Infantry Regiment! In the future, you will all be transferred to other companies to serve as officers! With your current behavior, how can I safely transfer you to other companies in the future?" Each company holds office!”
When Wang Shu heard this, he silently took off his epaulettes. Liang Yao had already made it very clear. As long as he stayed in the teaching company, he could still become an officer after the training was completed.
Being dismissed is a foregone conclusion. Wang Shu now just wants to stay in the teaching company. As long as he stays in the teaching company, there is still hope. He saluted Kruger: "I obey the instructor's arrangement. Soldier Wang Shu of the teaching company, Report to you!”
"Enter the queue!"
Kruger said to Wang Shu expressionlessly.
"From today on, Major Kruger is the highest commander of the teaching company. Everything in the teaching company will obey Major Kruger's arrangements! Do you understand?!" Liang Yao shouted sharply.
"Yes! Colonel!"
The officers and soldiers of the teaching company said in unison.
Liang Yao stretched out his hand to receive the gun handed over by Kony. He grabbed the gun in his hand and said to the officers and soldiers of the teaching company.
"This gun is as good as five of the broken guns you used to use. It is very precious and delicate. From now on, you must cherish your guns like you cherish your own wife!"
The instructor will teach you how to maintain the gun. We are all soldiers, and the gun is what we eat. If anyone's gun is damaged due to improper maintenance, get out of the training company! "
"Yes! Colonel!"
The officers and soldiers of the teaching company replied.
After the training, Liang Yao handed the gun to Kony.
Kruger was not polite at all, and directly ordered the soldiers of the teaching company to stand under the unobstructed scorching sun as punishment for their failure to form the team in time.
In Kruger's view, he had been extremely lenient, which was a very mild form of punishment in the Prussian army.
"Your Excellency, Colonel, thank you for your support. I will definitely train these soldiers to become the best soldiers in the United States!"
Kruger was very grateful to Liang Yao for giving him such great power.
Previously, Kruger was worried that because he was a foreign instructor, Liang Yao could not fully trust him and give him enough power. Without enough power, it would be difficult to intimidate the officers and soldiers below, especially the officers.
Now I think he was worrying too much. This employer is very determined and courageous.
"No, I want you to train them into soldiers who can rival the Prussian elite!" Liang Yao said.
"Yes, sir!"
Kruger gave Liang Yao an upright reply.
After leaving the temporary barracks, Liang Yao came to Walter with the patent drawings of a Dresser striker gun and a lever gun.
"No, your drawing is not precise enough. Redraw! This level of drawing is not worthy of the title of a top painter in New York!"
Walter was dissatisfied with the drawings submitted by the painter and asked the painter to redraw them.
This kind of scene would only appear in Walter's dreams in the past.
Walter often couldn't pay painters in the past, so he had to borrow money from painters. Painters in New York had heard of Walter's bad reputation and were unwilling to draw drawings for Walter. Everyone shunned Walter's name.
It would be great if Walter could find a painter to draw the drawings for him, and there is no way he dares to be picky.
But the situation is different now. His financial backer Liang Yao offered generous salaries to these painters, and he himself also received a huge amount of patent fees.
Totally affordable to pay for top painters.
Walter now speaks much more forcefully than before. Now it's not him who acts based on the painter's face, but the painter who acts based on his face.
"Walter, how's the sewing machine doing?"
Liang Yao, wearing a colonel's uniform and dusty with a gun, came to look for Walter, which made Walter's heart tighten.
"It can be done tomorrow. Even if I can't finish it tomorrow, you won't come with a gun to urge me to hurry up." Walter muttered.
"You misunderstood. I have some technical questions about firearms to ask you." Liang Yao said and handed the gun to Walter.
"I have never seen this gun before. You seemed to be shooting ducks with a gun by the river a few days ago. Is this the gun you used?"
Walter took the Dresser striker gun from Liang Yao and played with it curiously.
He pulled the bolt and glanced at the firing pin in the chamber.
"If my guess is correct, this is a Prussian Dresser striker gun. I have heard of such guns."
"I heard that you also know a lot about firearms, and you have also provided help to Colt Company and solved their technical problems. I would like to ask you, can American arsenals imitate this gun?" Liang Yao asked.
"But Colt was not interested in the patented technology I provided. They didn't even bother to spend money to buy my patents."
Walter glanced at the drawing of the lever-action rifle in Liang Yao's hand and said sadly.
"I've been to Colt's factory, and I'm pretty familiar with the level of firearms manufacturing in the United States. This gun looks very sophisticated. I won't know if it can be copied until I dismantle it. Can it be dismantled?"
"Of course, take it apart!"
Liang Yao said very grandly.
Although Dresser striker guns are expensive, he bought three thousand of them and was willing to dismantle a few of them.
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