[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-65":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364993,4632,"Chapter 65: Military Industry Relies on Imitation","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-65",65,"\u003Cp>While Kadier Bruno was working himself to the bone for the sake of Ma Deli's orders, Ma Deli, far away in Ma Deli, had also ended his own leisure life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long period of waiting, Ma Deli's Royal Arsenal had finally taken shape, and it had recruited a portion of workers from Spanish weapon workshops, while also poaching a large number of rifle design experts from countries like Falanxi and Yixi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting this year, rifles will enter a brand-new era, namely the era of bolt-action rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The prosperity of bolt-action rifles will continue until the Second World War, and then they will be replaced by semi-automatic and fully automatic rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the primary equipment for the Spanish military for the next hundred years, Ma Deli attaches great importance to the research and development of bolt-action rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, as early as last year, the Swiss had already developed the first practical bolt-action rifle, named the Vitali rifle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This rifle was not only purchased in large quantities by the Swiss military but was also exported to Yixi; this is all the information Ma Deli currently knows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides Yixi, other countries are also constantly experimenting with research into bolt-action rifles. Within the next few years and decades, a large batch of famous firearms will be born, and they will demonstrate their utility in multiple wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first task Ma Deli gave to the Royal Arsenal was to go to Switzerland to purchase a batch of Vitali rifles and, based on the advantages of the Vitali rifle, design the first bolt-action rifle belonging to Spain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is still very difficult for the current Royal Arsenal to independently develop a bolt-action rifle. It is not that it cannot be developed, but that the bolt-action rifle developed would have many shortcomings, and its safety and stability could not be guaranteed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rifle is a soldier's most important weapon; if its safety and stability cannot be guaranteed, how can soldiers feel at ease taking such a weapon onto the battlefield?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, before independently developing their own bolt-action rifle, it is very necessary to study the approach of foreign arsenals toward bolt-action rifles and absorb their advantages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, the Swiss rifle has already been doubly affirmed by Switzerland and Yixi, and its safety and stability are guaranteed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he had come to the Royal Arsenal, Ma Deli naturally would not only handle issues regarding rifles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, there are two most important weapons in the military: rifles as light weapons and artillery as heavy weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good news is that after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Germany and Falanxi phased out a large amount of artillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is not that these artillery pieces have problems, but that Germany and Falanxi in a state of peace do not need to arm themselves with so many cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How should these second-hand cannons, which were only used in the Franco-Prussian War, be handled? Naturally, by selling them to other European countries at a lower price, reducing the large amount of capital the country invested in the war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Falanxi's artillery, Ma Deli actually wants to purchase Prussia's Krupp cannons more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no other reason; the Germans taught the Falanxi people a lesson with Krupp cannons in the Franco-Prussian War, and in terms of current artillery, the Germans are undoubtedly in the lead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Falanxi's artillery is certainly of an excellent European level, but compared to the even more superior Krupp cannons, it is slightly inferior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current Royal Arsenal is divided into a rifle design group and an artillery design group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Deli also gave the artillery design group a new task, which is to go to Germany to purchase a batch of Krupp cannons and, as much as possible, carry out imitation, ensuring that Spain possesses the technology to produce Krupp cannons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Producing them yourself is more cost-effective than purchasing them from Germany. Although the Krupp company's output is larger and production costs might be lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the export of this kind of heavy firepower requires a large markup, and it will not be more cost-effective than Spain producing it itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, this kind of artillery technology is also quite important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides being applied in the army as important firepower to support infantry, artillery can also be installed on warships, becoming the main firepower output method for current warships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Current artillery technology can only be considered to have just started; learning the Germans' cannon technology can at least ensure that Spain will not fall behind other great powers in terms of artillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Purchasing a batch of weapons and equipment from countries with excellent designs, and then continuously conducting research and imitation through these purchased weapons and equipment—this is the current task of the entire Royal Arsenal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is also a matter of no choice. Although Ma Deli has invested quite a bit into the arsenal, as a newly founded arsenal, it is difficult to possess perfect independent weapon research and development capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to independently researching and producing weapons, purchasing excellent weapons and carrying out imitation will be more cost-effective and also more reliable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And imitating weapons is not shameful, because other countries do the same thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in later generations, it is like this; when exporting one's own weapons, one must be prepared for the weapons one exports to be extensively studied and imitated by other countries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is also the reason why there is a saying in weapon research about phasing out one generation, exporting one generation, equipping one generation, and developing one generation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, relatively advanced weapons are not exported; those that can be exported are products that are almost about to be phased out domestically, and the purpose is also to exchange for a certain amount of income to pave the way for developing more powerful weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After investing a new budget into the Royal Arsenal, Ma Deli can only hope that after the arsenal purchases new rifles and cannons, it can quickly grasp the technology and achieve imitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This might take a few years, but it is definitely more beneficial than harmful. However, this is only the first step of the goal, and for the Royal Arsenal, the task remains arduous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Independent production of weapons and equipment is nothing to the great powers; what the future Royal Arsenal must achieve is to continuously research new weapons and equipment and always keep its weapon level at a world-class standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among all of Ma Deli's industries, the arsenal is the most money-burning industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it weren't for obtaining more than a dozen factories, relying solely on the income from those newspapers would be completely unable to support the arsenal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, those who can buy newspapers are not illiterate, and they must first be able to understand the content of the newspapers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Spain's illiteracy rate is as high as seventy percent, which is also one of the reasons why newspapers cannot develop at present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, there are many nobles around Ma Deli, plus factory owners, the middle class, and some skilled workers with higher incomes, which allowed Ma Deli's Sun Newspaper to have stable daily sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the newspaper office that has already fallen into a bottleneck period, what is undoubtedly more profitable are Ma Deli's several steel factories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of whether it is for the expansion of Spanish industry or to make his own wallet bulge, Ma Deli has issued orders to the steel factories, requiring the steel factories to continuously expand their scale and increase steel production in the next few years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, with the Royal United Bank as a capital guarantee, as long as the expansion of these industries is not too radical, there will basically not be any major problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Expanding industrial businesses in current Spain will not lose money at all, because Spain's future development plan will carry out a large amount of infrastructure construction; the railway project alone determines that the steel factories will not lose money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second update, asking for support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1335,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","fc0383e213e3b1b9c1fd83d532127e9bcaaf7eb055d6c2c495d6f9e9bfad6697","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-66","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-64",493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]