episode_0020
by admin“The Empire has discovered the Kingdom’s espionage activities.”
“…”
The intelligence report was not very good from the start.
The King of the Kingdom of Heirn lifted his head.
“Are there any results?”
“I have figured out the manufacturing methods for cannons and matchlocks. But…there is still no recipe for the gunpowder needed to use this weapon…”
“Ha. The point is missing.”
According to the information discovered so far, these weapons ultimately required gunpowder to be used properly.
However, since we did not know how to make gunpowder, even if we were to make new weapons, how could we use them?
The king, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Couldn’t we make it ourselves?”
“We are trying, but we are not seeing any significant results yet…”
“Umm…”
Compared to what stimulated the empire, the results were poor.
The king asked, holding his throbbing head.
“How do you think the empire will respond in the future?”
“We believe it will end as a warning. The Empire will not want to break its long peace.”
“That’s a good thing…I’m good to go.”
“Yes.”
The king, left alone, sighed.
“Ha.”
Nothing ever works out the way you think.
The economic and military power with the empire was widening again.
The empire greatly increased the combat power of battleships at sea with cannons.
Through this, they stabilized maritime trade by escorting merchant ships without a wizard.
Of course, this is a problem that can be solved if you can get wizards to escort you aboard a merchant ship.
However, it is not easy to find wizards who can generate enough firepower to fight, rather than simply those who can use magic.
In other words, there are only a small number of high-level wizards who can implement combat magic.
The ransom is too high to hire them as escorts for merchant ships.
Wizards also do not prefer to escort merchant ships.
Living on a ship for a long period of time is arduous and difficult.
If you force them to escort merchant ships, they will mercilessly turn their backs on the kingdom.
‘They’ll always be like that.’
As expected, the loss of troops could not be ignored as the battleships were used as escorts for merchant ships.
Merchants chose safety over threat.
Rather than enduring the threat of pirates and trading with the East, it was much safer to trade with the empire and bring in goods.
Goods from the East were being traded through the empire, and trade losses were gradually increasing.
It was an unavoidable situation as many of the items produced in the East were not just luxury items and spices, but were also essential ingredients for wizards’ research and potion making.
In addition, there is information that the power of a matchlock gun can easily increase the combat power of a single soldier.
The empire was continuously increasing the supply of new weapons.
Of course, the cases in which the Empire engaged in combat with matchlocks and cannons were at most pirates, barbarians, or bandits.
There are no cases of proper engagement with regular troops.
Will the new weapons be able to demonstrate their power even in a battlefield where wizards, knights, and horsemen are chaotically intertwined?
The king could only hope that the empire’s new weapons were overvalued.
“Umm…”
The King looked out the window to calm his burning stomach.
The dry trees facing winter seemed like a glimpse of the kingdom’s situation.
‘If we had matchlocks and cannons…’
The king just stared blankly out the window.
***
“More improved than before.”
The lab director muttered as he looked at the first test report.
Percussion cap rifles were far superior to matchlock guns.
Range, accuracy, and reload speed.
It was even more improved than what was written in the plan.
Of course, there were still things to improve, but it seemed obvious that it would soon replace the matchlock rifle.
‘John Brown. Uhm…’
The matchlock gun alone was enough to increase the firepower of soldiers, but in less than a year, he created a type of weapon that improved the shortcomings of the matchlock gun.
‘Creative and sincere.’
In addition, he went beyond his main field of weapons and even came up with the idea of a steam engine.
Everything he envisioned was innovative.
Of course, the performance of other personnel at the institute was not lacking.
Luna Karen, who created gunpowder that is essential for guns and cannons, and Kyle McColson, who shows outstanding talent in design.
These were also outstanding talents, but John Brown was unique.
‘How far can we go…’
She was excited to see how his ideas would change the empire.
Meanwhile, Brown was completing the second test of the new weapon.
“Oh…I think the performance has definitely improved compared to the matchlock.”
“Right?”
Karen said while looking at the target.
Brown thought so too.
Percussion cap type rifle, minietan and steel wire.
The range, accuracy, and loading speed are much improved compared to existing matchlock guns.
Additionally, gunpowder residue accumulates on the steel wire.
In existing matchlock guns, soot and gunpowder residue stuck to the barrel, and the barrel gradually became narrower as the gun was fired.
As a result, the more times the shooting was repeated, the more difficult it became to reload.
However, thanks to the rifling, the barrel remains in good condition for longer than before.
Plus, you can get a hit rate, so it kills two birds with one stone.
‘In my previous life, I started with a straight steel wire.’
Since I had the information clearly, I was able to skip many unnecessary steps.
It feels like looking at the answer sheet when solving a worksheet.
It would be nice if technology would come along and allow us to move on to AR-15 or AK series firearms.
‘It’s still too early…’
For now, the best thing to do is secure the technology and move forward step by step.
Brown was satisfied that firearms had been developed so far in such a short period of time.
Just as he was gathering his thoughts, he heard Karen’s words.
“Mmm. The detonator still needs to be improved a little more. Did they make it too insensitive…”
Karen said as she wrote down the test results.
As she said, the detonator misfired once out of five times when the trigger was pulled.
Of course, you can replace it with a different detonator and shoot, but it will be a big problem in actual combat.
But it wasn’t anything to worry about.
The sensitive gunpowder used in the detonator was made to be relatively insensitive in case of an unexpected accident.
This was a problem that could be improved.
“It’s still enough. If you gradually change the ratio, you can get it to an appropriate level.”
“Hehe.”
Brown spoke to her and struck the barrel of the gun with a brush.
Gunpowder stuck in the rifling comes pouring out of the muzzle.
‘Gunpowder also needs improvement.’
The gunpowder of today was similar to the black gunpowder of my past life.
Waste, soot, and even smoke due to low combustion rate.
According to information provided by the military, it is said that the longer squad units continue to fire, the more difficult it is to secure visibility.
To solve this problem, smokeless gunpowder was needed.
‘It will keep the firearm in good condition for a long time.’
Brown looked at Karen, who was quietly writing something next to him.
“Could it be possible to improve the performance of gunpowder?”
“How should we improve?”
“It would be nice to have less residue left in the chamber and less smoke than now.”
“…Mmm. That’s definitely a drawback. I will research it.”
“Thank you.”
“What. Hehe.”
As they were talking, McColson approached.
“It’s acrid.”
“I guess so.”
It has not been long since the second test shooting was completed.
The shooting range had not completely cleared the smoke yet, so the air was acrid.
McColson, who was wiping his nose, said to Brown:
“Hmm. Look at this more than that.”
“What is it?”
Brown looked at the model McColson had brought.
“I made a simple model based on the design principles of a steam locomotive.”
“Oh, let me see.”
The model McColson brought had a strong feeling that it had been simply taken from a steam locomotive.
“Now, let’s light it.”
McColson lights the candle.
“Can’t you boil it in advance and come show it to me?”
“Go! This process is also an important part!”
“Uh, uh…”
After waiting for a while, you can hear the boiler heating up and boiling sounds.
Soon the piston started turning and the wheel began to turn.
“Oh.”
“Wow…”
The model was moving slowly forward.
Brown and Karen were amazed at the sight.
At this level, it is safe to say that the principle of a vehicle moving through a steam engine was implemented.
“Ah…I implemented it…”
McColson speaks with his shoulders shrugged.
“That’s right. Hey. You worked hard.”
“Must be presented to academia. This achievement should be widely known…”
He seemed a little excited.
“Ah, I have to go to the presentation right now…”
Enough to leave the model behind.
“Hey. Take the model with you.”
“Oops. I forgot. Oh, it’s hot!”
“Oh, be careful.”
Enough to hold onto the warmed operating parts.
Brown and Karen watched him walking away with the model.
“I’m very excited.”
“Sure.”
‘If only steam locomotives were built, logistics movement would be even faster.’
If that were to happen, the industrial revolution would likely accelerate even further.
‘Well, McColson will take care of it. first…’
Improvements to percussion cap type guns and detonator improvements.
Once this work is completed, rifles will be supplied to the soldiers of the empire in earnest.
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