"My lord, why do you want the three of them to expand their family's armed forces and strengthen their armaments? Not only do you provide them with loans, but you also give them a discounted price for the standard equipment they need? Now our family's reserve fund is only one million goldfords. Manager Hanske said that if you are so extravagant The spending family will soon lack follow-up construction funds and will not be able to complete the development plan of the territory."
On the carriage to Professor Bob's gunpowder experiment field in the Blade's Edge Mountains, Schward asked.
Lorist reached out and ruffled Schwader's hair, and laughed: "I thought you would be uneasy when your little fiancée left yesterday, but I didn't expect you to think about such things..."
"My lord!" Schwader was very dissatisfied: "I just can't figure out why my lord did this."
"Okay, Schwader, don't mind just being a joke." Lorist said, "There is a saying that it is going to rain, so we must be prepared to go out with rain ponchos, so that we won't be caught in the middle of the rain." We were drenched like dogs on the road. The situation our family is facing now is the same as before the rain. If we are not prepared, our whole body will be soaked.
I'm not worried about the Chicod Chamber of Commerce in the Business Alliance. Even though they are the overlords of the sea, their foundation is still merchants. I'm also not worried about the upcoming expedition to the Kingdom of Haneyabad. After all, they are a group of pirates, slave owners and slave traders. They are no match for our family's elite armed forces.
The only thing I worry about is His Royal Highness, he is ambitious to become a great emperor who unifies and rejuvenates the former Krissen Empire, and when everyone is not optimistic about him, he unexpectedly crosses the Snowy Mountain at the cost of huge casualties , a surprise attack on King Federica's city, in one fell swoop established the victory over the Kingdom of Ridleys.
From this surprise attack, it can be seen that His Royal Highness is an excellent commander, not an incompetent king, and he really has hope to realize his dream. After destroying the Kingdom of Ridleys, the most likely direction of his troops is the Kingdom of Iberia. With the current situation of the Kingdom of Iberia, it is impossible to resist the attack of the Second Highness.
Now the entire Northland is in the hands of our four families, so it can be said that we are at ease. But once His Royal Highness destroys the Kingdom of Iberia and comes to the north, with his strong attitude of wanting to control everything, he can let Baron Shaheen, Baron Felim and Earl Kenmes go. Are these three nobles of the orthodox Iberian Kingdom conferred by the second prince
Even if they surrender to the Second Highness, the most likely thing that the Second Highness can do to them is to break up the alliance of our four families and transfer or reduce them to other places, so that the Second Highness can extend his hand into the Northland. Like Xing'an Yuan that our family has developed now and Honghe Yuan that is being developed, it is not our family's traditional territory, and it is easy to be transferred to others by the Second Highness to provoke conflicts between us and other nobles... "
"But my lord, didn't the Second Highness say before that you would make your lord the Grand Duke of the Northland? As long as it borders the Northland..." Schwader suddenly realized something, and his voice dropped.
"Hehe..." Lorist laughed, "When he said that, the Second Highness was in a weak position. He had just taken over the ruling power of the Antinak Kingdom, and we still needed us to lead the way for him. Of course he would promise so. Now He has more than 300,000 troops in his hands. After he wiped out the Kingdom of Iberia, the general situation is set, and there are an endless stream of nobles who defected to him. His troops can even expand to 500,000. In this way Under such circumstances, would he still care about the promise he made
Our family adopts the strategy of elite soldiers. Although our family has a large number of troops now, but the sea and land are divided, there are only 70,000 to 80,000 horses who can really fight in the field. But next, we will go to the Kingdom of Haneyabad and stay in the family territory There are only two Lancer regiments and chariot regiments, and one knight regiment is a mobile force.
The rest of the Archer Battalion is stationed at Woniugang, which is the main force to prevent the invasion of the mountain barbarians. There are also two guard battalions, one in Guishan Fortress and the other in Rock Castle. The three guard battalions are stationed at the family's warehouse. Prisons, labor camps, and industrial and mining workshops each have their own functions. The rest are the garrison teams in those towns and villages, and it is their duty to maintain order and protect the residents.
If you look at the map, you will understand that the western part of the Northland has become our family's pasture, grazing nearly 300,000 head of cattle and sheep, and within the next three years, the Fesabrun family will continue to support our family. Only by providing nearly 600,000 head can we complete the agreement signed with us in exchange for cattle and sheep for equipment. The three allies have no objection to our family turning the western part of the Northland into a pasture. They can also buy a batch of cattle and sheep from our family at a low price for their own food.
But if the Second Highness stretches his hand into the Northland, he will immediately plan to use this batch of cattle and sheep, because the western part of the Northland is not our family's territory either. He can find many excuses and reasons to take away these cattle and sheep and make us suffer, just like the canonization of the territory as an excuse for compensation, etc., causing our family to suffer heavy losses and can only suffer from this dumb loss, unless we risk everything. When His Royal Highness was at its peak, he fought against the Second Highness for these cattle and sheep.
With the strength of our family, we can recruit 300,000 troops. We are not afraid of the huge force of the Second Highness, and we can even defeat him. But what good would that do us? Not to mention the impact on the livelihood of the people in the family territory, even if we defeat the Second Highness, our losses will be heavy. And the Second Highness is the upper lord of our family, we have nothing but the reputation of a rebel.
Therefore, the best way is to strengthen the family arms and strength of the three allies, push them to the front and confront His Highness the Second Highness head-on, and our family will provide support in the back. He was not willing to spend all his troops on those two chain bridges. Unless he agrees to our request, the Northland will remain as it is, and the four of us have the final say. Otherwise, he will face off with our three allies forever... "
"My lord, what if the Second Highness orders us to deal with the three allies? He is the upper lord of our family." Schwader asked.
"That's okay, we can refuse the unreasonable orders of the superior lord, he has no right to ask us to betray the covenant." Lorist replied.
…
The valley where Professor Bob's gunpowder laboratory is located has arrived. It has been nearly two months since Lorist assigned them firearms research. Two days ago, news finally came that significant progress had been made. Lorist rushed here after seeing off the three allies Baron Shaheen, Baron Felim and Earl Kenmes.
Professor Bob, Master Sid, Master Julien and Master Falin were all there, and after they were seated, they began to report their progress to Lorist.
Professor Bob was in charge of developing the blooming ammunition, but he had no clue about it, but he gave Lorist a surprise. He brought a plate of ammunition with brass shells.
"How did you do this priming?" Lorist asked.
"My lord, this primer is actually very simple. We use fire crystals, grind the fire crystals into small discs and embed them in the bottom of the shell, add a circle of flint to the bottom of the shell, and the steel hammer will hit the bottom of the shell after the trigger is pulled. On the flint, just a spark will cause the fire chip to deflagrate, which will then ignite the gunpowder filled in the shell, and the gunpowder explodes and pushes the bullet out..." Professor Bob said.
Master Falin opened a mahogany box on the table. Inside the box were two revolvers with engraved gold barrels and mammoth ivory handles. One was engraved with the pattern of a beautiful woman, and the other was Engraved with exquisite patterns. It was exactly the same as those old-fashioned and expensive revolver handguns that Lorist had seen on the Internet in his previous life.
"Huh? You actually made a revolver?" Lorist was greatly surprised.
"Yes, my lord." Master Falin said, "According to the blueprint of the revolver short musket you designed, we spent two months manufacturing these two short muskets by hand, and even the bullet casings were made by ourselves. A crafted…”
"Uh..." Lorist was speechless. He was sure that these two exquisite revolvers were polished one by one by Master Falin himself, and only he had this ingenious handwork. Even Master Sid could not compare to this. superior. But the problem is that Lorist hopes to find a production method for large-scale production of firearms. It is not such a handmade production method. In that case, even if Master Lin can do everything he can, he will only make a few hundred guns...
"Can this musket fire well?" Lorist asked worriedly.
"Of course it can be shot very well." Master Falin quickly replied: "We have tried it, but the range is not very far. Twenty or thirty meters of lead bullets can penetrate a finger-thick thin wood, and we don't know where to hit it at fifty meters." gone."
Well, the effective range is 20 to 30 meters, no matter how far away the bullet will float and cannot hit the target.
"Also, my lord, we can't make the connecting device that can automatically switch the cylinder and trigger that you designed. We have no choice but to learn from that dwarf musket. After firing, the hammer cylinder needs to be moved to the next one. Bullets..." said Master Farin.
Well, no wonder I think the hammer is a bit big, it turns out it is for the convenience of moving with the hand.
"My lord, there is one more thing to pay attention to. After firing five bullets in a row, the barrel will become hot. You have to wait for it to cool down before you can reload and shoot again..." Master Julien next to him reminded.
Well, the steel used to make the barrel is not up to standard, and it will get hot after five bullets...
"Is there anything wrong?" Lorist asked.
"Well, my lord, although the gunpowder and primer in these bullets are loaded by myself, and the weight is the same, but sometimes one or two bullets out of the five bullets cannot be fired. It needs to be fired several times. I It might be because the flint didn't emit sparks..." Professor Bob added a knife.
Lorist was completely speechless. It turned out that these two exquisite revolvers really looked good. No wonder the surface was carved so beautifully. They were purely for appreciation as handicrafts. But in any case, this can be regarded as the first and second revolver produced by his family, and it is worth commemorating that it can be fired with power.
"Are you all making these bullet casings by yourself?"
"No, we recruited more than 20 craftsmen to make more than a dozen bullet casings each, and selected ones of similar size, and then Master Falin personally polished them slowly, and finally selected these 73 bullet casings of average size. After charging, they can be put into these two short muskets to fire. In the future, adults can recharge the gunpowder again. I still have a small mold for making lead bullets here, and this mold for pressing lead bullets into the shell casing." Professor Bob explain.
As long as the cartridge case is there, you can reload the gunpowder by yourself. This is still a good idea, and you won’t worry about running out of bullets in the future.
"Okay, I'll take these two short revolvers, bullets, and molds away. You don't have to do this in the future. It would be a waste of your talent to spend two months of energy on this. Not an ordinary craftsman." Lorist complimented, and the masters were very happy.
"Did you have any difficulties in the process of trial making firearms?" Lorist asked.
"My lord, I found that the biggest problem is the lack of suitable steel for making gun barrels. The steel we have now is all forged, and it is not suitable for making gun barrels. Just like these two short revolvers, they are prone to fire. Hot. Besides, making a gun barrel is time-consuming and laborious. I am currently conducting research on new material configurations with Master Julien. In addition, I have decided to conduct trial production of refractory bricks, trying to improve the black iron refining furnace, and strive to be able to smelt molten steel for use. Directly pour out the long barrel..." This is the speech of Master Sid.
Lorist nodded. He was too eager for success and wanted to achieve it overnight without laying a solid foundation. The result was like the two revolvers carefully crafted by several masters. Although they could be manufactured, they were expensive and had many problems. What Master Sid said is right, let's find a way to get the steel suitable for making gun barrels first, everything has to be done step by step.
"Okay, Master Sid is right. Don't worry about this matter. The family will provide the cost of the trial steel. There is another one. Now we use hydraulic machinery to forge and press. You can also think about whether you can make some Also use hydraulic power to cut, dig holes, and drill holes, which will save a lot of manpower and time.”
Lorist casually drew the rough appearance of the machines he said on a few pieces of paper on the table, and Master Sid snatched them away like a treasure.
"My lord, now we consume a lot of thenardite, because there are more than 40 bronze cannons undergoing gunner training. The thenardite we produced and collected can no longer support the ten-day consumption..." Professor Bob reported.
This is a new question. Lorist pondered for a while and replied: "Well, let's reduce the charge of those training medicine bags, as long as they can be fired, and allocate a few normal medicine bags to the gunners every day, so that they can cherish them. In addition, I will allocate funds In the Blade's Edge Mountains, we will open a few more valleys for the production of thenardite to expand the production of thenardite."
…
After leaving the gunpowder laboratory, Lorist rushed to the seaport city of Oxhorn Bay. Yesterday Sambawood led the fleet and returned, and the day after tomorrow they will set off for Shirowas Island with the troops on board.
Ingerek and Tiger Ross will take Chenxi's Flying Fish to set off to the Sad Ocean to requisition ships this time, and Lorist will have to stay in the family territory for a while to go.
In the big camp by the harbor, Sambawood was leading a group of subordinates to welcome Lorist's arrival.
"Sembawood, you stay here the day after tomorrow, and leave the fleet to Uncle Torin, let them go first." Lorist said.
"Yes, my lord." Sambawood didn't know why Lorist made such a decision.
"See the Tempest over there? That's your new flagship. You have to get familiar with its performance before setting sail." Lorist pointed to the Tempest moored in the bay.
Semba Wood's eyes lit up: "It's a beautiful ship. But my lord, can I get familiar with its performance on the road?"
"No, no, no, Sambawood, this is not the ships you are familiar with in the past. This is the unique and invincible warship of Galintia. You will understand when you get on this warship." Lorist proudly explain.
"Okay, my lord, I will follow your instructions. By the way, my lord, this is the battle report about the Kingdom of Ridleys and the Kingdom of Trimble from the city of Morente sent by the Knights of Renmod." Semba Wood handed Put on a thick bag.
Lorist took out a folder, opened it and found that it was about the battle report of the Second Highness in the Kingdom of Ridleys, huh? Something's wrong, how come the Second Highness hasn't dealt with the resistance of the Ridleys Kingdom yet
Excluding a legion arranged on the border of the Principality of Madras and the garrison forces in the Kingdom of Antinac, the Second Highness has deployed almost 240,000 troops in the Kingdom of Ridleys, and recruited the rebels after the surprise attack on King Federica's city , especially the 70,000 defenders in Campona Province surrendered to him, so that His Royal Highness has truly possessed an army of more than 300,000.
However, after the nobles in the territory of Andover Province rejected the Second Highness's request to surrender, the Second Highness personally led the army with illness after the first conquest failed, adopted a strategy of step by step, and finally won a big victory, occupying Andover husband province. However, the remnants of the nobles of the territory unite together and continue to resist in Magik Province, and they seem to have received a large amount of military assistance, and their strength is getting stronger as they fight.
Strange, why haven't you heard from the eldest prince? I only heard that after he escaped from the royal city, his whereabouts are still unknown, and he doesn't know where he went... Lorist continued to read.
The Second Highness is now dividing the more than 300,000 troops at hand into three parts. One part threatens the border of the Principality of Rulm, demanding that the Grand Duke of Rulm cancel the title of the country and return to the territory of the empire. The second part is deployed in the territory of the original Redelis Kingdom to search for the wealth and food and other materials of those nobles to ensure the logistics supply of the army. Army combat.
It seems a little too impatient. Lorist commented. Then he took out the battle report on the Glass War between the Merchant Alliance and Trimble Kingdom from the bag.
I was dumbfounded just after taking a look at Lorist, what's going on? The Glass War only involved the Merchant Alliance and the Trimble Kingdom. How could the Duchy of Urubah and the Duchy of Delia be wiped out? In particular, the Principality of Ulu Baha and the Kingdom of Trimble are nearly a thousand miles away, and there is not only the Titanini Mountains, but also two small countries mixed in between. How did it be wiped out
…