I want to be emperor

Thirty-nine years after Chengshun, the defense industry of the Dachu Empire was influenced by the European battlefields as well as the Indian and African battlefields, and began to develop research and testing of various highly targeted new weapons.

The military has also begun to upgrade its equipment with repeating rifles and lightweight artillery, and has begun to enter a new era.

The most representative one is the official service of the [-] rifle.

As an improved version of the box magazine of the Type [-] rifle, the Type [-] rifle was very successful in the test equipment of the Guards. While continuing the simplicity, reliability and cost-effectiveness of the Type [-] rifle, it added a box magazine The box received powerful bursts of firepower.

The short-barreled cavalry version improved from the standard version also went relatively smoothly, and has also begun to enter the Guards cavalry unit for testing and equipment.

Even the Army, after many tests, felt that although this thing looked unsightly, it was still usable, so it started placing orders after the Guards. The first batch was [-] pieces, one month. Later, an order for [-] units was placed.

By this time, the Guards and the Army had actually completely stopped purchasing the Type [-] series of rifles, and switched orders to the newer [-] rifles.

This means that the Type 31 rifles, which were mass-produced in Chengshun [-], were officially discontinued after eight years of continuous high-speed production, and their production lines were gradually converted into [-]-type rifle production lines.

The individual weapons and equipment of the Army and the Guards have begun to enter the era of continuous firing!
Because the Army and the Guards began to equip the [-] rifles on a small scale, this made the Navy and Huguang Arms Company a little anxious.

Although the Navy is relatively optimistic about the [-] rifles of Huguang Arms Company, in order to prevent the [-] rifles from being unable to enter service, it also approached Hebei Arms Company to examine the actual performance of the [-] rifles.

It's just that the Navy is not very satisfied with the [-]mm rifle... The main reason is that the bullet caliber used in this thing is relatively large, and the standard version is relatively heavy. At the same time, the standard version is too long, and the cavalry version is too short...

The original Type [-] rifle was felt by the Navy to be too long, affecting landing operations; while the cavalry version was too short, not suitable for use by infantry in the Marine Corps.

Therefore, for the new 1.3 rifles, the navy's initial requirement was that the barrel length be between the original standard of nearly 1100 meters and the cavalry version of one meter. Finally, the designed barrel length of the [-] rifles from Huguang Arms Company was [-] mm up and down...

The length of 1100 mm is a compromise solution, trying to take into account portability, design accuracy, power and stabbing ability at the same time.

Therefore, the current 39 rifles do not meet the needs of the navy...but the [-] rifles cannot be produced for a while, especially the eight millimeter black powder bullets mentioned by Huguang Arms Company. To put it nicely, what production process has been solved? , but in fact in the autumn of [-], Huguang Arms Company still failed to solve the mass production problem of eight-millimeter bullets...

Even the bullet problem has not been solved, let alone any [-] rifles equipped with such bullets.

In addition, the size of this eight-millimeter bullet is also different from the caliber of the next-generation bullet formulated by the Military Academy's Next-Generation Standard Rifle Design Committee, resulting in more risks.

The main researchers at the Military Academy who are leading the next generation of standard rifles are based on the current body shape of the Chinese people, such as height, and the ability to withstand recoil, combined with future tactical needs and the basic industrial level of the empire.

Already in late August of Chengshun 39, many requirements for the next generation of standard rifle ammunition were officially issued: the caliber is between [-] mm and [-] mm. This caliber limit is mainly due to the fact that future repeating rifles will need to be loaded with five or even rounds. For ten bullets, the caliber cannot be too large.

Also taking into account loading factors and recoil control factors, the size of the bullet is limited to a total length of less than 7.62 millimeters and a diameter of less than 54 millimeters (this is the size of the entire bullet, not the commonly mentioned warhead like [-]*[-] size)

Unfortunately, the eight-millimeter bullet produced by Huguang Arms Company uses black powder and in order to ensure sufficient kinetic energy. Although their warhead is only eight millimeters, the diameter of the projectile is relatively large and long. The diameter reached [-] millimeters, and the length also reached [-] millimeters... both exceeded the dimensions of the next-generation rifle bullet of the Military Academy.

New bullets in the future can only be designed within this size framework, and the military's requirement is to be as small as possible... The above size requirements are only the maximum standard, and they are a bottom line for scientific researchers... But you really have to follow this According to a certain standard, there is a high probability that you will not be able to win the bid.

Not to mention the size is over!
Then there are many other requirements, such as chamber pressure. The chamber pressure is required to reach a minimum of 250 MPa to facilitate subsequent research on standard rifles. A muzzle velocity of at least 600 meters per second can be obtained on the standard version of the rifle.

Once the new bullet design is completed, a new rifle will be designed based on the new bullet.

The research and development process for the next-generation rifle in the future will be to design the bullet first and then the rifle, rather than developing the gun first and then developing the bullet in turn, or developing it simultaneously.

Because the next generation of rifle ammunition will only have one type, but the next generation of rifles can have many types, including various rifles, machine guns, etc.

When the design committee formulated a series of performance requirements for the next generation of rifle ammunition and standard rifles, it focused on future needs and industrial capabilities, and did not take current needs and industrial capabilities into consideration.

After all, according to this research and development schedule, the bullets will take many years to complete, and the next generation of standard rifles will be in service for at least ten years.

However, before the next generation of standard rifles enter service, in addition to the [-]mm rifle bullets, another caliber of black powder bullets and rifles will be developed, and they will not be compatible with future standard rifles and rifle bullets.

This kind of thing is deeply disgusting to the top brass of the Military Academy. They have had enough of the fact that all the major military services cannot even unify their rifles. If any military service comes up with a separate bullet standard, the top brass of the Military Academy will have murderous intentions...

Therefore, even if Huguang Arms Company does produce the current specifications of eight-millimeter black powder rifle ammunition and [-]-mm rifles, it will probably be refused by the Military Affairs Council to purchase them for service.

Therefore, Huguang Weapons Company encountered great troubles with bullets. It is expected that the eight-millimeter bullet under development does not comply with the size... The size of the bullet needs to be re-developed and reduced to a certain range.

And more importantly, they are also striving to use the new bullets under development to become the caliber standard for the next generation of bullets... Set the standards first, and then when new propellants are released, they will switch to new propellant designs. New bullets.

Huguang Arms Company's ambitions are relatively large and its steps are relatively large. This leaves many uncertainties about whether the [-]th rifle can continue to be developed and put into service smoothly.

For this reason, the Navy naturally needs an alternative, and this alternative is naturally the [-]-meter rifle!
After learning about the Navy's intentions, especially the Navy's desire to obtain a short-barreled 1100 rifle with a length of [-] mm, Hebei Arms Company quickly organized technicians to carry out technical research.

Because the Navy's needs are simply to shorten the barrel and enhance the anti-corrosion process, the technical difficulty is not great. Even if Hebei Weapons Company has not specially developed the navy version of the equipment before, the anti-corrosion process in high-humidity, high-temperature and high-salt environments is not very difficult. It's not very mature, but Hebei Arms Company turned around and found Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company to cooperate and jointly develop the navy version of the [-] rifle.

When it comes to anti-corrosion, the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company is the technological leader. The previous series of naval versions of muskets were all produced by the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company. Even after entering the breech-loading era, ten of the naval versions were used by the navy. The anti-corrosion technology of the Type [-] rifle still comes from the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company... So even though the Type [-] rifle is a product of the Huguang Arms Company, relying on the anti-corrosion technology and patent authorization, the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company has also made a lot of contributions to this rifle. make money.

If Hebei Arms Company wants to produce a naval version of the [-] rifle, it also needs a series of anti-corrosion processes from Guangzhou and Guangxi Arms Company.

At the same time, the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company itself is an authorized manufacturer of Type [-] rifles, well, it is also an OEM... The subsequent OEM production of the Navy version of the [-] rifles will not be a big problem.

Soon, the Hebei Arms Company, after gathering the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Companies, officially submitted the naval version of the [-] rifle to the Navy.

The gun body is 1100 mm long and weighs [-] kilograms. The weight and length of the gun body are smaller than the standard version, but it is still slightly larger than the cavalry version.

The cavalry version of the 980 rifle is only [-] mm in length and weighs no more than [-] kilograms. It is a very light short-barreled carbine. However, this length is only suitable for use by auxiliary forces such as cavalry and artillery. For infantry, it is It's too short and lacks power, even with a bayonet.

The navy was relatively satisfied with the naval version of the [-] rifle submitted by Hebei Arms Company. In order to follow the trend of repeating rifles, it also placed an order. However, there were only [-] units, and it was just a trial equipment.

If the Huguang Weapons Company can produce the [-] rifles in time, then the Navy will still be more inclined to choose the [-] rifles... It’s just that the Huguang Weapons Company has raised its technology too high, and it has been difficult to produce. The Navy wants to equip the [-] rifles. Rifles cannot be equipped either.

After the navy purchased the [-] rifles, the fourth largest armed force in the Chu Empire, the armed tax police, did not hesitate to abandon the Qiming rifle... and then replaced it with [-] rifles.

Although the Qiming rifle is the first continuous-fire rifle, the lever-type bolt structure is honestly not suitable for high-intensity military use. At the same time, the design of the in-tube magazine will cause the center of gravity to be unstable during the design of the rifle, affecting the design accuracy.

In the past, armed tax policemen had no choice but to use a repeating rifle. But now that the [-]mm rifle has come out, the armed tax policemen chose the [-]mm rifle without hesitation.

For a time, the four major military services in the Da Chu Empire all chose to equip the 20 rifles... The cumulative orders have reached [-]. With this order quantity and the future situation, the [-] rifles are very likely to be equipped from one The transitional rifle that was disliked by the Army evolved into a standard rifle to be the main force.At least until the new propellant small-caliber repeating rifle is mass-produced and put into service, it will be difficult for other guns to shake the status of the [-] rifle, not even the [-] rifle.

After all, the [-] rifle has a huge advantage over the [-] rifle, and that is the price advantage!

For example, the 11mm rifle continues to use 11mm standard bullets, which means that the massive [-]mm bullets purchased and reserved by the military for many years can continue to be used, thereby saving ammunition costs.

At the same time, except for the magazine structure, the Type [-] rifle is highly similar to the Type [-] rifle, and its parts are highly versatile. Even the production line uses the same production line. It only requires minor modifications to directly produce the Type [-] rifle. This means that Production and subsequent maintenance are simpler and cheaper.

For comparison, the [-] rifle is said to be an improved type, but in fact, even the caliber is different... This thing is a veritable newly developed small-caliber repeating rifle. To some extent, it is more suitable for the Ministry of Military Affairs. A generation of small-caliber repeating rifles are similar, but the bullets still use black powder.

Even if it is really done, the cost will be relatively high!
Many factors have led to a relatively large purchase volume of the [-] rifles once they came out. Hebei Arms Company has increased its horsepower production. Not only the production line of its own factory has been urgently modified for production, but also the foundries of Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company will also Upgraded and modified to produce a naval version of the [-] rifle.

It has become a foregone conclusion that the [-] rifle will become the new generation standard rifle of the Fourth Army of the Great Chu Empire... Even though there are still many die-hards in the army who don't like this thing, no matter how they look at it, they don't like the protruding magazine. This thing is very annoying.

In addition to the [-] rifles, the Navy's hand-cranked machine guns have also begun to test equipment. If nothing goes wrong, they will become the main auxiliary firepower of the Dachu Empire Navy and be used as the lowest-level firepower on warships.

After Luo Zhixue found out about this hand-operated machine gun, Luo Zhixue sighed... Luo Zhixue naturally knew about the machine gun, but he didn't expect that the Shaanxi-Gan Weapons Company had already developed it on his own, and he didn't know about it before. …

There are so many various weapons research projects in the five major weapons companies in the Dachu Empire, and it is impossible for Luo Zhixue to know about every one of them. Basically, only the winners among them will be sent to Luo Zhixue for Luo Zhixue to review.

Such as the [-] rifle!

However, after the hand-cranked machine gun was successfully developed, it was considered by the Army to be a useless weapon and equipment. It was not reported to Luo Zhixue at all. It was reported to Luo Zhixue only after the Navy decided to put it into large-scale service. Zhixue came forward.

This hand-cranked machine gun also gave Luo Zhixue some ideas, and he asked the Military Academy to focus on the research and development of machine guns, saying that although this hand-cranked machine gun could be used, it still had many shortcomings, such as being too heavy. It was not suitable for use as an army small weapon, so he asked the Military Academy to conduct research on a new machine gun.

The key technical points reminded them that they can try to use the kinetic energy generated when bullets are fired as power to eject the shell and load the gun, so that the machine gun can truly fire continuously and automatically just by pulling the trigger.

As for how to do it specifically, Luo Zhixue didn't know. After all, he had never studied the structure of machine guns before, so he could only leave it to the technicians to figure it out.

But as long as you have this basic idea, you only need to follow this path in the future, and you will be able to get it sooner or later.

Luo Zhixue actually doesn't care if it can be developed in a short time. Even if it is completed in ten or 20 years, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the machine gun is the icing on the cake for the contemporary Chu Empire.

Not to mention machine guns, even if the equipment of [-] rifles was put into service, Luo Zhixue actually paid a little attention to it in the early stage and didn't bother to care about it later.

Again, in terms of military strength, the current Great Chu Empire can already dominate the world... Whether or not it develops new weapons actually has little impact on the empire's current strategy.

Because there is no pressure on the navy, it has even begun to go back and pursue the low-cost navy route. At the same time, strategically, it has also changed from competing for sea control in the past to using the sea to control the land. It has begun to focus on the development of full-time service in overseas areas. : Offshore patrol ship, large-tonnage shallow water gunboat.

It feels similar to how in the early 21st century, when the U.S. Navy set its sights on being invincible in the world, it then turned around to build sea combat ships... The reasons are all the same, that is, there are no enemies at sea. In order to gain a sense of presence, the Navy spends money on military expenditures. , so I went to use the sea to control the land, and then I produced a batch of sea combat ships.

It's just that the Americans were unlucky. It didn't take long for them to discover that another maritime opponent had emerged. The focus of the navy's mission had to become to compete for sea control. Against such a background, the Frequent Sea Combat Ship naturally turned into garbage, and was even described as The biggest strategic mistake of the US Navy in the past 30 years!
But if there is no sudden rise of a powerful opponent, then the US Navy's strategy of using the sea to dominate the land is natural.

As for the navy of the Dachu Empire, it is impossible for the naked eye to have any real maritime opponents in the next few decades or even hundreds of years... As for the European countries that are still in the era of smoothbore guns, Moreover, since these countries have gradually become economic colonies of Chu State, they will not be able to catch up with the navy of the Chu Empire for 100 years.

Because the Chu Empire would never give them a chance to complete industrialization!
In the global strategic arrangement of the Great Chu Empire, places like Europe, India, and Africa should be treated as economic colonies, just farming and raising sheep, and not engaging in any industry... Industry is really not suitable for you natives.

Without an opponent, the Da Chu Empire Navy naturally began to use the sea to control the land... We can't even have no opponents at sea, and then continue to build [-]-ton battleships to compete for sea control.

It’s so boring to have so much free time. Even if you have money, you can’t spend it like this!
This is why Luo Zhixue did not object to the navy reversing history and starting to develop low-cost warships.

Compared with these military details, Luo Zhixue is more concerned about the layout of global military strategy, or to be precise, the layout of global expansion.

Now that the empire has opened up in Europe and has successively won the markets of Spain, Portugal and France, it must continue its efforts to win the markets of other parts of Europe.

The empire wanted the entire European market, not just a few countries.

For this reason, in the 39th year of Chengshun, Luo Zhixue approved several requests for reinforcements and rotation operations put forward by the army and navy, and dispatched two new infantry divisions and a cavalry division to the European battlefield. At the same time, the third division was already Troops that have been on duty overseas for many years were transferred back to their homeland for rest and recuperation.

There are so many first-class and second-class divisions in active service in the Dachu Empire. We can't just leave the battles to a few fixed troops. These are not issues such as combat effectiveness, casualties, and logistics.

But many officers also need the opportunity to go to the battlefield to gain seniority and military merit!

Therefore, the Great Chu Empire has adopted a rotational combat system for a long time. Troops fighting overseas are usually deployed overseas for about two or three years and then transferred back to the country. Domestically, troops are transferred from the mainland for rotation.

This kind of rotation is only the rotation of personnel, and weapons and equipment are generally not taken with them... When the Third Division left Europe, the weapons and equipment were left behind and then handed over to the No. 30 Sixth Division of the Dachu Empire Army that took over the defense.

The No. 30 Sixth Division of the Army is also a second-class unit. It has been stationed in the mainland for a long time. In recent years, it has performed well in training and exercises, so it has been given the opportunity to deploy and defend overseas operations.

This is a great thing for the officers in the No. 30 Sixth Division. If they go around Europe, as long as they are not too unlucky, they can always gain some qualifications and military exploits, which will make their future promotion easier.

Otherwise, why would they work so hard during training and exercises at home? Isn't it just to gain the opportunity to be deployed overseas?
Now they finally came to Europe as they wished.

In addition to the No. 30 Sixth Division, which is equipped with a B-class configuration in peacetime and implements a Class-A configuration in rotation operations, the Chu army also dispatched two real Class-A troops to Europe, namely, a Class-A infantry division and a Class-A cavalry division.

That is, the 13th Infantry Division of the Dachu Imperial Army and the No. [-] Cavalry Division of the Dachu Imperial Army.

As a result, the Chu Empire already has three real first-class divisions in Europe. Together with the independent artillery of the 27th Army, its front-line strength reaches 4.

In addition to these first-class main troops, there are also servant armies used as auxiliary forces, including two divisions of the Indian Army, a brigade of the North African Army, and a brigade of the Fuso Army. The total number of these servant armies is more than 4. People, these more than 4 servants are all standard line-era armies. They are equipped with 23-year-old percussion guns and smoothbore artillery that can fire wooden sabot disk fuses.

Adding the two together, the Chu army dispatched more than 9 troops in Europe and North Africa in terms of army alone.

In addition, the Marine Corps and Guards in Europe and North Africa have a combined number of several thousand people, so the total number can reach 10.

There are more troops than North and South America combined...

From this number of troops and the comparison with the troops in the Americas, we can see that the Chu Empire attaches great importance to Europe...