Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1679 Like a Club
Dwarf soldiers are generally physically stronger than human soldiers.

In ordinary troops, human soldiers who receive the same level of training remain ordinary soldiers, but dwarf soldiers can reach an elite level, and an elite force can be easily assembled.

An elite force can play a crucial role in many battles, and there is no reason not to have one!

Since he had already decided to do it, Zhou Xu was definitely not satisfied with the boring operation of simply scaling down the rifle proportionally.

What are the advantages of dwarf gunmen compared to human gunmen?
A more stable center of gravity and stronger, more powerful arms allow them to withstand greater recoil and use more powerful weapons!

As can be seen from the matchlock guns designed by the dwarves, their gun barrels were much thicker, like a small hand cannon.

At that time, Zhou Xu directly instructed Zhuang Mengdie and the others to make adjustments and improvements in that direction based on the reduced scale.

It's actually not a complicated matter, because for this adjustment, they only need to follow the design of the Dwarven Thunder Rifle and make some minor modifications.

Judging from the current situation, Zhuang Mengdie and her team have done a very good job.

With the completion of the development of the Thunderclap Heavy Cannon and the new rifle, the older generation of artillery and flintlock muskets in their Great Zhou Dynasty naturally had to be gradually upgraded.

While chatting with Zhuang Mengdie about the production line, Zhou Xu went to the testing ground of another project team next door.

Due to his recent busy schedule, he has been trying to combine the testing of these research and development projects together as much as possible.

As soon as Zhou Xu arrived, the project leader quickly handed over their research results.

That thing looks like a club; of course, a more professional term would be a wooden-handled grenade.

As a Chinese person, I often see this wooden-handled grenade in some war dramas.

But in reality, it wasn't easy for them to build this thing; the components inside required a high level of technical expertise and the strength of the gunpowder.

After all, the amount of gunpowder that can be loaded inside a grenade is limited.

You should know that before this, their Great Zhou's gunpowder was stored in barrels.

Essentially, this is a problem caused by the insufficient power of the gunpowder currently being developed.

However, the relevant research and development departments have not been idle in recent years. They have improved and upgraded the original gunpowder, significantly enhancing its explosive power, which led to the development of the hand grenade project.

It's worth mentioning the hand grenade weapon here; it was in the big box of dwarven blueprints that Karl sent.

The wooden-handled grenade in front of us was made according to the dwarves' blueprints.

Based on the information interspersed in the drawings, it can be inferred that in the old civilization, dwarves were also adept at using hand grenades, and there were even dwarven grenadiers specially established for this purpose.

However, looking at the dwarf's arms, which are thicker than other people's thighs, it doesn't seem so surprising.

"let's start."

Zhou Xu immediately signaled for the test to begin.

The person in charge of testing the wooden-handled grenades was indeed a dwarf. He was also an ordnance researcher who was later transferred from Bronzeforest. Although his abilities were not as good as Thorin's, he was still a very talented person.

He played an indispensable role in the successful development of the wooden-handled grenade.

Now, he personally takes charge of the testing work.

"This wooden-handled grenade has a bottom cover. Open the bottom cover and you'll find a pull cord with a bead hanging from it, mainly for easy pulling."

On the testing ground, the dwarf researcher gave Zhou Xu a detailed explanation. "There is a friction ignition device and a delayed fuse inside, so you only need to pull the pull wire to generate heat through friction, ignite the internal fuse, and finally complete the detonation."

As he spoke, the dwarf researcher pulled the cord.

Immediately afterwards, he made an exceptionally smooth throwing motion, and the wooden-handled grenade flew out of his hand, tracing a long parabola as it flew into the distance.

This wooden-handled grenade wasn't thrown randomly. Fifty or sixty meters away, the project team, mimicking a small squad of soldiers operating in a group, erected five wooden stakes in the area. The surface of each stake was covered with a layer of scales.

The dwarf researcher's throw was exceptionally precise. Zhou Xu clearly saw that the wooden-handled grenade landed directly in the middle of the five wooden stakes.

The next second, there was a loud 'boom'.

The explosion caused shrapnel to fly everywhere.

After ensuring safety, Zhou Xu went directly with the project team to confirm the results.

It's hard to assess the power of the explosion yet, but the flying shrapnel pierced through the scales and embedded itself directly into the wooden stake at the bottom.

Imagine this is a person; their flesh and skin are not as sturdy as the wooden stake in front of you.

This shrapnel was probably enough to damage internal organs, which made Zhou Xu nod in satisfaction.

What is the effective kill radius of this grenade explosion?

"Your Majesty, the effective kill radius of this wooden-handled grenade is currently six to eight meters."

Zhou Xu nodded again. As the first grenade produced by their Great Zhou, Zhou Xu was quite satisfied with the effect.

"Has the throwing distance been tested?"

"Your Majesty, it has been tested. Because this grenade has a wooden handle, it is relatively easy to throw and the throwing accuracy is also high."

The project leader spoke while flipping through the report in his hand.

"We previously had soldiers from the Grassland Military Region conduct relevant throwing tests. Ordinary soldiers could easily throw over thirty meters. After training, those who could throw over fifty meters were considered excellent, but..."

As he spoke, the project leader glanced at the dwarf researcher in his team.

"Dwarves are an exception. They have such strong arms that they can throw 60 or 70 meters without much training. If they were professional dwarf soldiers with rigorous and targeted training, they could probably throw 100 meters without any problem."

From this perspective, the formation of the dwarven grenadiers was indeed very necessary.

Once a large number of grenades are deployed on the battlefield, assuming both sides have them, the enemy can only throw them fifty or sixty meters, while they have dwarven grenadiers who can throw them at least one hundred meters, or even further. This will inevitably create a powerful suppressive force!

"Okay, before finalizing it, take another look and see if there's anything else that can be improved. I'll have someone from the military factory come and coordinate with you later."

"Yes!"

Given the current pace, it goes without saying that within the next five years, the weapons and equipment of their Great Zhou army will undergo a comprehensive upgrade.

This upgrade will even bring about a radical change in the entire military configuration.

After all, this would mean that their Great Zhou army would be fully entering the era of firearms.

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(End of this chapter)