Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 252: Creative Ideas for Improvement

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was chatting with several people led by the factory when he heard the sound of horse hooves outside the gate. He turned around calmly and looked over.

More than ten carriages that followed stopped at the gate of the arsenal. Because of the obstruction of the guards, they did not drive in rashly. More than a dozen senior officers got off the carriages and walked quickly into the factory gate.

The leader was Lieutenant General Qian Jiang, Director of the Army Department, who also served as the commander of the First Expeditionary Division. Behind him were Major General He Ruolin, commander of the Second Division, Major General Huang Shan, commander of the Third Division, Major General Zhou Laonian, commander of the Fourth Division, Major General Zheng Fu, commander of the Fifth Division, and other senior generals. It was truly a large gathering of people.

The reason why they came in such a large group was that it was the time of military expansion and reorganization, and all the generals from various departments went to the Manila Army Academy to receive three months of advanced officer training.

"Hahaha... My dear Qian, you are not slow at all. I arrived just as you followed." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said with a smile.

Lieutenant General Qian Jiang led a group of generals forward, stood up straight, raised his hand in a military salute, and then replied with a respectful smile on his face;

"What a coincidence! I and your humble servants were originally going to see the Army Ministry building, which is said to be open after the New Year. But we saw Your Majesty's carriage passing by, so we naturally hurried over to serve him. It was truly a pleasant surprise, and how fortunate we are! Your Majesty, please forgive my impulsiveness."

"What crime have you committed? Since you are here, let's take a look together." Zheng Guohui waved his hand casually, and with the respectful invitation of the factory director Wu Tingyu, he strode towards the office building area, with the others following closely.

In the large conference room
The long table was covered with a thick green woolen blanket, on which were placed more than 20 advanced striker rifles, several of which were Dresser striker rifles, and more were French 1866 Chassepeau striker rifles.

Each rifle was polished to a shine, and there were disassembled rifle parts neatly arranged in the middle.

Next to the rifle parts is a whole box of paper-wrapped standard bullets, which are the standard bullets for the French 1866 Chassepeau striker rifle. Next to them are more than 100 yellow brass bullets.

At this time, practical centerfire brass bullets have appeared in Europe. The French authorities were the first to use this technology on the snuff box rifle, which can be said to be a pioneer in the world's infantry weapons.

Because the performance of brass bullets was not yet perfect, the French authorities did not use brass bullets in the experiment. The Chassepeau rifle was equipped with paper-wrapped fixed bullets.

"Is this the new breech-loading bolt-action rifle?" King Zheng Guohui of Chu picked up an 1866 Chassepot striker rifle with great interest. He raised it to aim, then put it down and fiddled with it a few times with quite skillful movements.

He was born into a military family and was familiar with swords, guns and firearms, and he handled them with ease.

Although it was not the first time that Qian Jiang and his generals had seen these weapons, how could they resist seeing these shiny weapons lying there on the long table?
They all started to play with it, marveling at it.

The advantages of this striker rifle were obvious to the battle-hardened generals at a glance, and they liked it more and more the more they looked at it.

Compared with the muzzle-loading American Springfield M1861 rifle commonly equipped by the Chu army, the breech-loading French 1866 Chassepeau striker rifle has a simpler, faster and more convenient loading procedure, and its firepower is naturally more fierce.

As for range and power, they are comparable.

The generals discussed this new rifle and each had his own opinions.

"This striker rifle is good, but it's too expensive to use. Take the rubber boot, for example; it needs to be replaced after every shot."

"General Huang, the rubber sleeve you're talking about is a rubber gas-tight sleeve designed to prevent gas leakage on the surface of the bolt. Because after each shot, the rubber will shrink and harden due to the high temperature of the gun, and eventually lose its function. Of course, it needs to be replaced at any time."

"But we have to replace this thing every time we fight it, and that's thousands of them at a time. The army doesn't even dare to train anymore. It's too expensive."

"Yeah, could the design be modified? Make the bolt seal better so it doesn't need this."

"General Qian, this is not easy."

"It's precisely because it's difficult that we have to design. If we just follow others, what's the point?" King Zheng Guohui of Chu suddenly interrupted, pointing his finger at the bolt.

"This bolt was also designed by the French, and I don't believe there isn't a better design.

If the Manila Arsenal doesn't have such talent, can we offer a reward?

Whether it is an American or a British, as long as he can improve the design of the bolt and eliminate gun leakage, we will reward him with 3000 oceans. Money can make the world go round.

This pull-back bolt is a genius design. It can actually use brass bullets. Why does it still use standard paper-wrapped bullets?
If we use standard paper-wrapped bullets, the rate of fire will not increase much compared to the muzzle-loading rifles we are currently equipped with.

If we could use brass bullets, shoot one and reload one, it would be much faster.

By the way, is it possible to use a clip to load five bullets at a time, as long as a retaining spring is designed underneath?

that's all……"

King Zheng Guohui of Chu made a gesture of pushing his fingers upwards, and then continued;

"There is a magazine under the bolt that can hold five rounds of ammunition. Together with the one round in the chamber, six rounds can be loaded at a time.

Fire a round, pull the bolt, and eject the shell.

When pushed forward, the retaining spring pushes the next bullet into the chamber, locking the bolt, and you can pull the trigger again to fire.

In this way, if the enemy fires one or two volleys, we can fire six or more rounds, absolutely suppressing the enemy. This is the real innovation."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was able to explain the principle of the mature bolt-action rifle in later generations, treating it as a flash of inspiration, but it caused everyone present to think deeply.

Can it be done?
Of course it can be done. This only requires ingenious design. When the design idea breaks through the window paper, and we work in this direction, we will definitely be able to achieve it.

The most difficult part is the design idea, which is like groping in the dark. How can we maximize the power of infantry weapons?
If there is a light ahead, this light will point out the way.

If we can’t figure it out, it will just be a pile of waste wood.

What's the situation now?
The French 1866 Chassepot bolt-action striker rifle is right before our eyes, with its brass bullets right before our eyes. It's just a wedge-shaped magazine, and then a magazine underneath. King Zheng Guohui of Chu explained the principle: the magazine has a powerful retaining spring built into it, and after firing a round from the chamber, the bolt is pulled.

When the bolt retracts, the cartridge case is pushed out, and when the bolt is pushed forward, the next bullet is pushed into the chamber by the force of the retaining spring, completing the standby firing.

Everything is ready, and we just need to improve the details, especially the detailed design changes for the bolt's ejection and insertion into the chamber.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was not an engineer in his previous life, so he didn't have much knowledge. This was the best he could do, just to make the military weapons more perfect.

Many times, he can only come up with an idea, and the specific technical details need to be improved and implemented by technical personnel.

But often ideas are the most valuable, while technical implementation is relatively simple.

Wu Tingyu, director of the Manila Arsenal, was a very experienced engineering official. He was familiar with various steam machines and machine tools, and had extensive exposure to modern mechanical design drawings. Otherwise, he would not have been able to produce guns and cannons.

Hearing the King of Chu say this, he fell into deep thought while holding the Xiasaibo striker rifle in both hands...

The eyes of the other generals all lit up. From the scenes described by the King of Chu, they could envision the glorious and invincible Chu army. What an exciting scene it was!
Your Majesty is truly a genius!
Compared with the current 1866 Chassepeau rifle, everyone knows that the advanced rifle described by His Majesty is more powerful, and not just one level more powerful, but at least one level higher.

My goodness! One pull of the bolt fires one bullet, and it can fire six bullets in a row, which probably takes less than 20 seconds.

With such a sharp infantry weapon, even the British and the French would not be afraid.

Long time in Nanyang
These generals also had the opportunity to visit and exchange ideas with the British Straits Settlements and the French Saigon Colony, and gain a basic understanding of the infantry equipment level of the British and French powers.

These world-class missiles are roughly similar to those of the Chu army, and there is no big difference in the level of weapons and equipment.

In a few areas, such as field artillery, the 10-pound Parrot rifled cannon equipped by the Chu army had more advanced performance, longer range, and more accurate shooting.

The unique geopolitical environment of the Nanyang region has resulted in numerous small countries, an unprecedentedly complex political situation, and constant wars and unrest in various places. Senior generals of the Chu army had the opportunity to travel to Sumatra and Malaya for military observation and guidance, which broadened their horizons.

In the minds of these generals, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies was regarded relatively low.

Whether in infantry weapons or naval weapons, the Governor-General's Office of the Dutch East Indies was far behind the British and French powers, and also far behind the Chu army.

Amidst the excited discussions, Army Director Lieutenant General Qian Jiang remained calm. He waved his hand and said;
"Your Majesty's brilliant ideas are truly gifted by heaven. Such secrets are the greatest opportunity for our army and must not be leaked.

I suggest

A new department was formed by the military and stationed at the Manila Arsenal to monitor the development of the new rifle weapons throughout the entire process and strictly control the leakage of information until the weapons were fully formed.

A great nation's most important weapon should not be shown lightly."

"This is the words of an experienced and wise man, I second it."

"Your Excellency, what you said is very true. This is what should be done. I second your proposal."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

……

All the generals nodded their heads in agreement with great joy. This was an opportunity to strengthen the Chu army, which was closely related to their own honor and disgrace.

A soldier.

Naturally, one must fight on the battlefield and establish unprecedented achievements in expanding territory, so as to live up to this life.

After everyone agreed, all eager eyes were focused on King Zheng Guohui of Chu, and the meaning was self-evident.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu smiled and said:

"General Qian's proposal is indeed reasonable. Given the seriousness of the matter, the Manila Arsenal should have its confidentiality level elevated. This king agrees."

"Your Majesty is wise, and we are all impressed."

The generals and officers flattered the emperor at the right time, and there was a sound of joy at the scene, and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

Then everyone started discussing the 1866 Chassaibo rifle, commenting on it without any scruples and putting forward many innovative ideas.

For example, the gun blade of this rifle uses the Turkish Yatkan scimitar, which has a special curved shape and looks quite strange.

The generals put forward their suggestions one after another, suggesting that it would be better to adopt a straight-handled Tang sword with a pointed tip, which would be sharp and simple, and could be used for stabbing, chopping, and cutting, and would not break even if it stabbed straight.

The bolt seal must be improved, otherwise the rubber sleeve will have to be replaced every time you shoot. Rubber sleeves are not cheap, and who can afford to replace thousands of them at a time?
As for this brass bullet, since it has been proven to be unreliable, the design must be improved.

For example, if the gun misfires repeatedly, you need to increase the amount of fulminate of mercury primer, improve the formula, and do more experiments.

The military gathered quite a few opinions, and every general hoped that the rifle would be refined, sharp and easy to use, which became the direction of future improvements.

(End of this chapter)