The Russian Civil War, as it was now being called across the world, was being closely observed by the other major powers. France had initially decided to supply the Red Army in a bid to screw with the German volunteers sent there, as well as to replace the Russian Tsar and its monarchy with a government more suited towards cooperation with the Third French Republic.
Of course, this immediately backfired after they tried to assassinate Bruno, only for the Red Army to take the blame for it. Marxism had quickly become the enemy of the world, and it was no exception in France where the death of the French Chief of Staff was also blamed on local Marxist organizations, as German Foreign Intelligence had framed local Marxist groups perfectly in this regard.
Because France had identified local Marxists as the culprits, they had immediately withdrawn any support they were going to give the Red Army before it even began. Meanwhile, their British allies simply stayed out of the matter entirely.
And while Japan consolidated its gains in Manchuria, Korea, and Sakhalin as a result of its overwhelming victory during the Russo-Japanese War, which as a result of Bruno’s interference in this timeline ended the year prior. Another eastern power was currently doing everything it could to modernize its armed forces.
Quite frankly, the Boxer Rebellion escalated into a conflict between the Qing Dynasty and the Western Powers, while it had just begun its attempts to modernize its army. Such efforts were currently underway after suffering such a humiliating defeat and occupation by the European Powers and the Empire of Japan.
Not only that, but Russia had occupied Manchuria, a region from which the current ruling dynasty originated from. Only to lose it to the Empire of Japan in the years that followed. To say that the Chinese people were disgruntled with their current leadership was the understatement of a lifetime.
In fact, the Great Ming Uprising of 1903, which had only lasted for three whole days, did little to cement the Qing authority over an increasingly hostile population towards their reign. If Bruno had not been attending the Prussian War College at the time, and was instead a full-fledged general, he would have advocated for the German Reich to support the short-lived Heavenly Kingdom of the Great Mingshun.
Which was an attempt by the Revive China Society to establish a Westernized Constitutional Monarchy. It was preferable for China to remain ideologically in line with the German Reich than to stray towards the ultimate goal of becoming a liberalized republic, or worse, a communist dictatorship.
China was, after all, a sleeping giant, much in the same way the United States was. One which would be an enormous player on the global stage in the coming decades. Especially in the 21st century. Perhaps if China remained a monarchy at this time, albeit under the rule of the ethnic Han majority, rather than the Manchu minority, then it would have become a major player in World Affairs much quicker than it had in his past life.
As the chaos which followed the fall of the Qing Dynasty lasted for several decades and prevented the industrialization and rise of the Chinese nation for longer than it otherwise could have been had the failed Republic of China, and the following Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War, and Chinese Civil War not occurred.
But currently the Qing Dynasty was in its last years of power. And as a result of the Boxer Rebellion, they were currently revitalizing their army. The newly reformed Beiyang Army was China’s first attempt to modernize its army, so it was somewhat comparable with the world’s Great Powers.
Currently, the Beiyang Army was being advised by Japanese and German officers. It was still roughly six years away from the 1911 Xinhai revolution which would ultimately overthrow the Qing Dynasty, and things were looking up for the Qing Emperor.
His army had grown over the last four years since the end of the Boxer Rebellion, from a single brigade of soldiers to six whole divisions of 10,000 men each. They were all equipped with modern uniforms and weaponry. From multi-shot bolt action rifles firing modern smokeless powder cartridges, to field guns, and just recently even a few machine guns.
Who were these machine guns purchased from? The German Reich, or more specifically Waffenwerke von Zehntner, which was Bruno’s family’s arm’s corporation. Who were currently selling their MG-01/03 maxim style machine guns to a multitude of nations now that the demand for such weapons was at their highest after proving their effectiveness during the Russian Civil War.
Currently, such weapons were being demonstrated to the Beiyang Army’s officials by Bruno’s second eldest brother, Christoph, who currently worked for the family company after retiring from the military in his younger years.
Christoph was dressed in a rather dapper suit, as he was known to do. The man had a love for high fashion, unlike Bruno, who, in his spare times wore what was comfortable. And comfortability was the domain of the working man.
Because of this, Christoph had often mocked Bruno for his choice of attire, which was unbecoming of a nobleman. Meanwhile, the Beiyang Army generals whose soldiers were firing off the machine gun down range towards stationary targets were dressed in their military uniforms with multiple medals pinned to their chests.
Whether these men had actually earned these medals during the series of conflicts that China went through at the turn of the century. Or had simply been granted to them by the Qing Emperor, Christoph quite frankly did not know.
But he wouldn’t make such a comment as it was bound to offend someone, especially if they really hadn’t earned their medals through blood and sweat. Instead, he commented on the effectiveness of the machine guns, as they chugged away, spitting lead without the slightest hiccup.
The man relied on a translator to convey his thoughts, unlike Bruno, who had actually learned Mandarin in his youth because he had long since planned to enter the Boxer Rebellion. The translator was a young Chinese woman, and quite the beauty at that.
It was apparent by the friendliness which Christoph behaved towards her that she was quite likely the man’s mistress. As he had long since been supplying the Beiyang Army with weapons, and thus established a base of operations in Tsingtao to do so.
“As you can see, German steel is of the finest quality. The weapons displayed here will be of the utmost reliability in any environment you may deploy them. So long as you keep the jacket full of water, that is. Although if you’re really desperate, other liquids may suffice, but I wouldn’t recommend them as they could prove to be detrimental to the platform long term.”
It was obvious that Christoph was hinting towards urine when he says the words “other liquids.” Which interestingly enough had actually been used by crews operating water-cooled machine guns during Bruno’s past life, during desperate times when supply lines were tight.
Still, Christoph said this as a crude joke, one that caused his translator to blush even as she accurately conveyed the man’s intent. In the end, the Beiyang General, who was in charge of procurement, nodded his head. He had seen enough of the demonstration to decide whether or not he wanted to purchase the machine guns, and the answer was obviously yes.
“How many can you provide us with?”
Quite frankly, Waffenwerke von Zehntner was providing the MG-01/03 machine gun primarily as an export product now that the Mg-34 or in this life the MG-05 had officially entered a functional state and was being tested in field trials by the German Army in secret.
This was along with all the other major arms developments Bruno had sold to his family’s company. Which by now had their kinks worked out and were perfected to degrees that were even superior to the ones made during his past life.
And the only nations which Waffenwerke von Zehntner sold these weapons to were either allies like Japan, and Austria-Hungary, or nations that would not be hostile to the German Reich during the upcoming Great War.
So, nations like Sweden, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, et cetera were all on the list of nations which Waffenwerke von Zehntner was supplying with weapons. Though China had joined the Great War in Bruno’s past life, it was almost exclusively by sending a few thousand laborers to France to help dig trenches and nothing else.
After all, they had their own worries to deal with considering the Xinhai Revolution began a mere three years prior. Even still, the German Reich was not big on selling hundreds or even thousands of machine guns to potential rivals. Because of this, the number of guns that could be sold was very limited.
And so, Christoph forced a smile as he explained his situation to the Beiyang Generals.
“Currently, our quota is to supply two machine guns per battalion. So, assuming you wish to supply your entire army with these weapons, we can supply you with at most 60 machine guns. In addition to this, you may want to check out our Gewehr 98/03 pattern of rifles which fire the superior S Patrone cartridge when compared to your obsolete Type 88 rifles, which fire the outdated M/88 cartridge.
It may not seem like much, but I assure you the spitzer shaped bullet, and the improved powder charge, makes a vast difference on the modern battlefield. Considering we can’t meet your demands for the supply of Machine guns, I am willing to offer you a 10% discount on bulk shipments of these rifles and their munitions.”
The Qing General thought about it for some time before nodding his head in agreement. 60 machine guns and new rifles would indeed be a major boon to the Beiyang Army. In addition to the improved field guns which they were acquiring from Krupp which were the same ones used in the Russian Civil War by the Iron Division, the Beiyang Army would actually be a force more capable than some European armies at the moment. Albeit not those from the Great Powers.
