Chapter 440 Agricultural Tanks
After a friendly hug, the two walked together as if they were old friends. Behind Sheffield, the bodyguards got off the ship one after another, arm in arm, talking and laughing. Sheffield followed Rodriguez to the Tagore family's estate. As the local boss of Coahuila, Rodriguez's home naturally had a unique atmosphere.
The two also watched a Latin dance, which surprised Sheffield. It seemed that Latin dance had only been around for a short time, but it was already so popular?
"I am very happy that William came to visit Coahuila, but I heard something recently." Rodriguez said with a smile, "I don't know if it is true."
"With our friendship that transcends borders, I certainly wouldn't hide it if I knew." Sheffield was not nervous at all and responded with a smile.
"I heard that the Texas government has enacted a bill to build a wall along the border, and we, Mexico, have to pay for it?" Rodriguez spread his hands and said, "Let me be clear, isn't this bill too stupid?"
Not only Texas, but also Arizona and New Mexico will pass bills in the future. But what Rodriguez said is true, it does seem a bit stupid for Mexico to pay for it.
"Oh, it's like this. Some Mexicans crossed the border and caused protests from Texans. You know that the gun ownership rate is a bit high over there, and there are always bloody incidents on the border that are easy to attract the attention of the federal government." Sheffield said lightly, "As for asking the Mexicans to pay, don't you know those politicians? Some of the words they say can become reality, but they are only said to those idiots who like to hear them. Besides, it's good for you!"
The slave owners ridiculed Texas unscrupulously, as if their nationality had changed once they crossed the border, and they spoke completely from Mexico's perspective.
"It's good for me too?" Rodriguez asked, "What's the logic behind this?"
"Economic development cannot be separated from labor. Many people have fled to our country, which is not good for a big family like yours. Because you control fewer people, no one will work for you, and you will fall behind. If your competitors have many people and you have few people, you will increase working hours and your workers may rebel. Stability comes first!" Sheffield raised his eyebrows and said, "The more people you control, the more President Porfirio Diaz will value you, right?"
Holding the wine glass, Rodriguez thought for a moment and nodded involuntarily. What Sheffield said made sense. He drank the red wine in the glass and said, "The Tagore family also cannot do without the friendship of the United Company. We have always helped each other. To be honest, it is completely unnecessary to ask those so-called politicians for help when we have everything."
"No, my friend, you are wrong. We need those well-dressed politicians. Watching them study trivial matters back and forth, we have a symbiotic relationship with them. They can help us do a lot of things." Sheffield laughed and felt that Rodriguez still had some ideas. "Small intellectuals are wary of the government, and big intellectuals are wary of the people. When they reach a certain position, they will only serve us. Therefore, democracy is the best system, which is indisputable."
In fact, Sheffield is very disgusted with the current dictator in Mexico, but fortunately he is a president of ordinary standards. If he is really capable, the election system of the United States should really pay attention to this neighbor.
Although destined to live in the United States, Sheffield saw the weakness of this election clearly. Democratic election is a system that no one dares to offend! Take religion for example. Democracy will never touch religion, even if it is a recognized cult! The trial of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo has dragged on and has not yet been completely concluded. In the future, the United States accounts for 60% of the world's drug consumption and there are hundreds of millions of private guns. Didn't the handling of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan also let people see what it means for everyone to take some responsibility, but in the end no one is responsible.
They dare not touch religion, arms dealers, drugs, or anything related to voting. Theoretically, the Qing Dynasty in this era cannot be reformed, but if compared with the development of democratic elections, the Qing Dynasty will appear to be full of possibilities for reform. At least before the collapse, they knew how to strengthen the army to rescue disasters, and would not do such a ridiculous thing as turning a blind eye to the plague.
If the cost of testing was $3,000 during the Qing Dynasty, at least if the Qing court knew the situation was really serious, it would chop off the head of the medical insurance giant. If you dare to shout Hallelujah, you will really be asked to see Hallelujah.
After spending a day in Tagore, Sheffield went to the mining area in Coahuila. Coahuila is a place with relatively rich resources in Mexico, famous for its coal and iron mines, and has the potential to be a manufacturing base. This is also the reason why the United Company operates here. In the early 20th century, the population of Coahuila was not large, far less than that of Texas, and it was not like the Mexican population that began to infiltrate the border a hundred years later.
The Union Company's factory was located between the mountains, but the slave owner did not really come to visit the factory. Instead, he entered a more inaccessible area, where John Connor had come to greet him.
"I hope to see what I hope to see!" Sheffield greeted the savior who came to greet him.
"After assembly and multiple rounds of testing, everything is going well." John Connor led the way and brought his boss into the factory. There were not many people inside, but they were all the absolute confidants of the United Company.
John Connor took the lead in opening the canvas, and a not-so-exaggerated water tank appeared in front of Sheffield. Seeing this thing, the slave owner smiled knowingly. This thing at the Sheffield Tractor Testing Base, which was claimed to be a new type of agricultural tractor, was actually a tank.
It has the basic appearance of a tank, and it is definitely not the first tank deployed by the British in actual combat. It is more like a fully-compounded off-road vehicle. The tank in front of us is equipped with Maxim heavy machine guns on both sides, and a 25mm tank gun on the turret. It has five pairs of road wheels and a total weight of 7.5 tons. Compared with the nearly 30 tons of the first tank deployed by the British, it is very small.
It doesn't matter if it's small, as long as there are no mistakes in the general direction. As long as weapons have basic characteristics, the simpler the better. Complex weapons have a very high failure rate.
"Drive it out and give it a try! I want it to be easy to maintain, and most importantly, it has speed. Don't consider things like firepower for now! Then take a look at the suspension system." Sheffield nodded at John Connor, indicating that he wanted to see the failure rate of this experimental tank.
Torsion bar suspension is a type of suspension that relies on the elasticity of torsion springs to support the vehicle body and absorb shock and vibration. Simply put, it is a torsion bar that is horizontally placed at the bottom of the tank, with one end fixed to the vehicle body and the other end connected to the fixed end of the swing arm. The fixed end of the swing arm is connected to the vehicle body, and the movable end is connected to the road wheel.
When the road wheel is forced upward, it will drive the swing arm to rotate around the fixed end and tighten the torsion bar. The elastic force generated when the torsion bar is tightened will react on the swing arm and be transmitted to the road wheel to generate supporting force. This is the most space-saving and effective suspension form. In later generations, almost all tanks use this method. It has achieved a good balance in weight, volume, range, reliability, cost, etc.
That's the theory, but in practice, at least there's plenty of time to test it out. Looking through a cloud of dust with a telescope, Sheffield observed the reliability of the new agricultural water tank tractor.
Every new thing is always accompanied by failure. Sheffield is prepared for failure and hopes that all failures will occur during testing. It still needs to be reliable when it is really used.
"Boss, if we had this thing thirty years ago, we wouldn't have lost. At least the legion commander wouldn't die, and bullets can't penetrate this water tank!" John Connor watched from the side. There were only two of them halfway up the mountain. As for the other bodyguards, they all stayed in the factory. Even in the factory, they didn't see the tank.
"This is a very novel perspective, but we didn't have this technology thirty years ago. If the automobile and trust industries hadn't developed so well, and if we hadn't accumulated enough technology in the engine field, how could tanks have appeared?" Sheffield put down the telescope and said, "I want a detailed breakdown rate per 100 miles. At present, it seems that the basic obstacle crossing and mobility are good. It is very suitable for the great plains in China."
"Boss?" John Connor was surprised. What did he just hear? The Great Plains?
"We must be on guard against others. The Civil War was caused by the conflict between our plantation economy and the Yankee factories. In essence, we were robbed by them. I don't want it to happen again. If there is an economic conflict one day, the Yankees will suddenly remember the glorious deeds of their fathers and may not be able to bear it anymore, right?"
Sheffield smiled coldly. Is it okay if they are all white? Civil war is the most brutal and the most merciless. This is basic common sense. Although in normal times, the propaganda of various countries always says that our country has a united and collective national character.
The person who says it is just saying it casually, and the person who listens to it is just listening to it casually. These words should not be taken seriously.
"If there are no major problems with the test, we can directly dismantle it into parts and ship it back to China." Sheffield said as he walked down the hillside. "The test personnel are all my confidants. Their whole families are in Arlington, and they will also return to Arlington to work. We don't have to worry about the parts. The United Company has already standardized them. When something happens, each department can directly manufacture them and assemble and weld them."
The chassis can be used directly on tractors, and the artillery can be used in army orders, and everything seems to be fine.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
