Chapter 961: The Great Killing Weapon

"Replying to Your Highness, the current Hand-cranked Machine Gun is still undergoing testing and improvements. Give your subject one more month, and I will be able to deliver a Hand-cranked Machine Gun that can be put into service. However, small-batch production will need to be delayed for a while longer," Wang Ying pondered for a moment and said slowly.

Zhao Xu nodded.

The important thing he and Wang Ying were discussing was naturally the Machine Gun.

In fact, the Metal Bullet was born precisely alongside the Machine Gun.

It was not the rifle that spurred the creation of the Metal Bullet.

In the contemporary year of 1861, the first Hand-cranked Machine Gun was born, but from 1861 to 1865, during these four years, the Machine Gun was never delivered to the army for use.

The reason lay in the fact that paper-cased cartridges could not satisfy the high-speed loading and unloading operations of the Machine Gun.

At the same time, due to the gas leakage problem at the breech of the Machine Gun, the range and power of the Machine Gun were also insufficient.

Thus, the Metal Bullet was developed independently, and from then on, the era of the Metal Bullet began.

Therefore, the application of the Metal Bullet went from the Machine Gun to the rifle, not from the rifle to the Machine Gun.

It was precisely for this reason that he had Wang Ying manufacture the Metal Bullet first, and then the Hand-cranked Machine Gun, to avoid taking a detour.

"So, there is already a sample of the Hand-cranked Machine Gun? Send it to the Council Hall immediately, let this Prince see it," Zhao Xu was somewhat impatient.

This thing was a genuine battlefield butcher, the terminator of Cavalry.

Historically, the heart-wrenching trouble of the Central Plains dynasties had always been the nomadic tribes of the northern Grassland.

The high mobility of the Cavalry left the Central Plains dynasties, which relied mainly on Infantry, at a loss.

But with this thing, the peak era belonging to the Infantry would arrive.

"Your Highness, you are treating us generals as outsiders. This 'Metal Bullet' thing, and now this Hand-cranked Machine Gun, not a whisper of news was revealed to us," Chang Wei had not yet recovered from the shock of first seeing the Metal Bullet, and now he was stimulated by the Hand-cranked Machine Gun, unable to help feeling a sense of grievance.

Yang Feng also shook his head; he knew nothing about this matter either.

Zhao Xu laughed, "What is there to be aggrieved about? This Prince didn't tell you so that you would focus on the enemy, instead of staring at the Armament Bureau all day long, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei immediately chuckled sheepishly; he had been hit on the mark by Yan Wang.

Scratching his head, he couldn't help but ask again, "Your Highness, what is this Hand-cranked Machine Gun?"

"Don't be anxious, wait until the Armament Bureau transports the item over, and this Prince will introduce it then," Zhao Xu continued to keep them in suspense.

Half an hour later, escorted by a squad of soldiers, the Hand-cranked Machine Gun covered in black cloth was delivered to the Council Hall.

Wang Ying lifted the black cloth, revealing the first Hand-cranked Machine Gun of Da Song before everyone's eyes.

The moment the Hand-cranked Machine Gun revealed its true face, everyone's breathing became heavy.

"How is this used? It actually has six barrels."

"The shape is truly strange, and there is a crank wheel."

"..."

The ministers began to discuss it animatedly upon seeing the Hand-cranked Machine Gun.

Zhao Xu did not mock the ministers for their lack of experience.

Because he was essentially dragging Da Song forcibly from the feudal era into the modern age in an instant.

They always needed time to accept the arrival of new things.

And with the arrival of the Second Industrial Revolution, they would be subjected to even greater stimulation, whether from the endless stream of industrial products or the new schools of thought.

The Westerners were certainly a challenge.

But for him, the greater challenge in the future lay within.

After all, the collapse of an empire often comes from its own internal disorder.

Therefore, after he defeated the Westerners and established the world order belonging to Da Song, what he would face was the problem of governing this vast empire.

It is easy to conquer the world, but difficult to hold it; this is an eternal truth.

This thought only flashed through Zhao Xu's mind before it passed.

His attention was once again focused on the Hand-cranked Machine Gun.

Walking over to the Hand-cranked Machine Gun, Zhao Xu squatted down to observe it for a while, then turned the crank wheel on the machine gun.

At this moment, the six barrels began to rotate at a uniform speed.

And at the breech position of the barrels, there was a strip-shaped magazine slot used to house the ammunition clip.

When firing,

after the Bullet fell into the chamber and was fired, it rotated to the next barrel, and then the next Bullet fell in, cycling in this manner.

Its principle was similar to that of a Revolver.

"Your Highness, what exactly is special about this Machine Gun?" Chang Wei saw Zhao Xu playing with it with such concentration that he could not suppress his curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu patted the Hand-cranked Machine Gun, stopped keeping them in suspense, and proceeded to explain to them what a Hand-cranked Machine Gun was.

"It can fire two hundred Bullets in one minute?" When Zhao Xu spoke of the rate of fire of the Hand-cranked Machine Gun, Chang Wei and the other generals opened their mouths wide in astonishment.

Zhao Xu nodded, "You heard correctly, and this is still just the most primitive Machine Gun. When the next Machine Gun comes out, the rate of fire can even reach six hundred Bullets per minute."

The Machine Gun Wang Ying tested was actually a Gatling-style Machine Gun, while the next Machine Gun he spoke of was a Maxim-style Machine Gun.

The birth of these two Machine Guns was separated by twenty years.

Among them, the Maxim-style Machine Gun was the first Machine Gun powered by gunpowder gas.

Its appearance marked the arrival of the era of automatic weapons, after which automatic and semi-automatic weapons erupted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

But relatively speaking, the structure of the Maxim-style Machine Gun was naturally much more complex, requiring the design of a specialized pneumatic structure.

Because the Maxim relied on the recoil generated by the gunpowder gas when the Bullet was fired to complete the unloading and loading, without the need for hand-cranking.

At the same time, the increase in the rate of fire naturally raised the requirements for the materials of the firearm accordingly.

Both the pneumatic structure and the material issue were problems that needed to be solved by the Armament Bureau.

It was precisely because he considered these problems that he decided to first manufacture the simple and easy-to-operate Hand-cranked Machine Gun.

Although not perfect, it was enough to deal with the Cavalry and to teach the Westerners a lesson.

"His Highness is right, but for the time being, you all will have to use this model of machine gun; the Weaponry Bureau will actively develop the next type of machine gun," Wang Ying said.

Chang Wei said happily, "Having this is enough to make the Northern Di and the Westerners cry for their fathers and mothers. Tell us when some can be delivered!"

Wang Ying rolled his eyes immediately, "This is the reason why His Highness did not reveal any news to you."

"Hahaha..." everyone laughed, and the atmosphere in the Council Hall was filled with a sense of relaxation.

Zhao Xu also smiled lightly, then he returned to the main topic and said, "How the war should be fought is how it will be fought; the army cannot just sit around guarding the food in the pot without doing any work."

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei knew that Yan Wang was reminding him, so he replied.

Zhao Xu looked at Wang Ying again, "I will give you all the support you need to expand the production of Metal Bullets, and at the same time, the testing of the hand-cranked machine gun must be stepped up so that some can be equipped as soon as possible."

After a pause, he continued, "As for the Metal Bullets already produced, one portion will be provided to Chen Hu's Gun Cavalry, and one portion will be provided to the sharpshooters of each army. This time, with the pack of wolves invading, I am going to slaughter them one by one."

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