The First Generation of Firearms

However, more and more Transcendent plants and animals are being discovered these days, and the territory's Transcendent soldiers even regularly have to go out to the grasslands to capture Transcendent animals they find.

Perhaps one day the territory will have more Transcendent resources, and then such Transcendent modifications can be carried out more frequently.

After the modifications were completed, Victor led the newly modified group on a tour of the Black Knight Camp in Caoyetown.

This Transcendent armed force in the territory has been stationed here for a long time. After all, these soldiers are the first batch of Transcendent warriors in the territory. They need to conduct observations from multiple perspectives to determine the actual combat effectiveness of this force. In particular, Isaac also needs these soldiers to cooperate in the research.

In reality, although this army is strong, it is more of a reference point for the territory.

Even relying solely on its current army, the Golden Sunflower Family possesses considerable combat power; this Transcendent force can at most only serve as icing on the cake.

Some people had suggested assigning the Black Knights to Victor as his Guard Corps, but after much consideration, Victor decided that the unit was not suitable, as their purpose was far different from that of ordinary troops.

Another reason is that there are bound to be many people around him, which could easily attract the attention of some people with ulterior motives.

After all, there are quite a few spies from various forces in the Two Rivers County. Even with the joint efforts of the Internal Security Bureau and the Intelligence Department, these people are like weeds that cannot be eradicated.

Victor did not want to reveal the Golden Sunflower Family's ability to cultivate such Transcendent warriors on such a large scale for the time being.

While technology and industry can greatly enhance the entire family, the Transcendent is inherently more likely to arouse people's apprehension.

For the Golden Sunflower Family now, having more cards to play is not a bad thing.

Caoyetown was a very remote place within the Two Rivers Army, which could effectively avoid detection by outside intelligence agents.

Another secret base in the territory, which is now the location of the entire Territory Research Institute, is also sparsely populated, but the Artillery factory and testing grounds are located there and are difficult to hide.

Victor stayed in Caoyetown for two days before setting off for Futuretown, where the Territory Research Institute was located, where a groundbreaking achievement awaited his inspection.

Upon arriving in Futuretown, Victor, accompanied by several senior researchers and the person in charge Yonicha, immediately headed to the prepared experimental site.

A military unit was already waiting for them at the scene, serving as both guards to protect the Research Institute and the Arms Factory, and also as an experimental unit to assist in weapons testing.

"Duke Grace, look, this is the groundbreaking result we are presenting to you."

As per your request, the Artillery has been successfully miniaturized to a size that can be used by a single person.

Yonicha pointed, and Victor saw a long tube made of metal and wood, nearly 1.5 meters long, on a wooden shelf next to him.

The iron pipe section, nearly 3 centimeters in diameter, is more like a small cannon than the rifle Victor envisioned.

Victor picked up the Musket, which resembled a small cannon, and weighed it in his hand. Because it was made of a lot of solid wood and metal, the Musket was quite heavy, weighing nearly sixteen or seventeen pounds.

Victor noticed that there was no firing mechanism at the rear of the gun; instead, it was clearly a breech-loading mechanism.

Clearly, the Research Institute skipped the Flintlock and Matchlock stages and went straight into the breech-loading era.

This is quite normal, since the Territory Research Institute already has a very mature propellant— Fulminate of Mercury —which, combined with the Blazefire Gel that has been modified and iterated several times, can fully meet the requirements of breech-loading guns.

Victor also suspected that the Territory Research Institute made the gun barrel so thick because the properties of the Blazefire Gel were too violent.

The barrel has an inner diameter of about one centimeter, and six rifling grooves are drawn inside the barrel wall. The handguard is also ergonomically designed, making it comfortable to hold. The design is very well done.

However, the weight of sixteen or seventeen pounds requires a lot of physical strength from the soldiers. Although the soldiers of the Two Rivers Army are indeed quite strong, even if they carry this gun for a long time, they will definitely get tired, let alone hold it for a long time to fire and charge.

Victor turned to Yonicha: "Yonicha, have you considered the problem of this gun being too heavy? It's very inconvenient for soldiers to use!"

Yonicha nodded. "Duke Grace, please look!"

After saying that, a soldier took a Y-shaped fork from the wooden shelf next to him and easily inserted the unpronged end into the ground, where the fork stood firmly.

Then the soldier took another gun, placed it on the fork, and demonstrated it to Victor.

Victor's eyes twitched when he saw this. It was hard to accept that such an advanced breech-loading rifle had been made to fire like an early heavy Matchlock.

However, this was only difficult for Victor to accept; the Research Institute and soldiers did not have such a mental burden.

Given that it's impossible to hold this gun and fire it for an extended period, adding a tripod is indeed a very reasonable choice.

Victor glanced at the Y-shaped fork, which was made from a single piece of paulownia wood and seemed to be coated with glue and paint. It protruded about 1.6 meters above the ground, a height that was just right for a soldier to place his gun on, without having to bend over too much; he could simply lower his head to operate it.

Moreover, Victor pulled out the frame and felt that the frame was a little over 1.7 meters tall and weighed only about two kilograms, so carrying it on his back wouldn't have a significant impact on his physical strength.

Such auxiliary facilities can indeed greatly reduce the physical exertion of soldiers.

Next, a live-fire demonstration was held, and the soldiers began loading ammunition.

Victor noticed that although the gun used fixed ammunition, it was not made of metal. Apart from the bullet being metal, the bullet body was made of a soft material such as tree bark, somewhat like a fixed propellant pack with a primer.

The bullet is divided into three parts: the bullet head, the bullet body, and the primer, which are glued together.

Victor picked up a bullet and examined it, wondering how well such a soft bullet would actually preserve its shape.

Yonicha, who was standing nearby, explained directly to Victor: "Duke Grace, this is the bark of the Flooded Willow. Although it looks inconspicuous, it is strong and tough, and it is also waterproof, which can ensure the stability of the gunpowder to the greatest extent."

The bark is reinforced with wooden rings to prevent deformation and facilitate transportation.

Actually, the Research Institute initially wanted to use the all-metal cartridge case you proposed, but later discovered that the Blazefire Gel was too corrosive to metals, making ammunition preservation a major problem.

According to our tests, it may corrode in less than six months, causing damage to the cartridge case and potentially creating a safety hazard.

Therefore, we chose the Flooded Willow, a tree that can live in the intertidal zone and whose bark is very resistant to corrosion.

If this bark is used as the cartridge case, the bullets could be preserved for 4-5 years or even longer. We are currently testing its maximum preservation period.

Victor asked curiously, "So how do you process these bark-covered bullet casings?"

Can you guarantee that the specifications will be consistent?

"And I remember that the bark of the Flooded Willow is quite difficult to process. Is there a sufficient quantity of raw materials?"

Yonicha smiled and said, "Duke Grace, you can rest assured that the processing of the Flooded Willow is not difficult for us."

Moreover, the growth curve of this plant is very stable, and as long as the bark is taken from branches of the same year, the specifications are highly consistent.

In addition, the bark of the Flooded Willow is relatively smooth, with few pores and insect holes, so the defect rate can be controlled very well.

We have specially made a small hydraulic lathe that can produce several thousand of these cartridge cases a day, provided there are enough raw materials, which can fully meet the demand.

As for the raw materials, you don't need to worry at all; we have this kind of Flooded Willow everywhere in the estuary and coastal mudflats of our entire Two Rivers County.

According to our calculations, given the current number of water willows within our territory, a certain amount of logging each year would not have any impact and could provide raw materials for at least 20 million bullets annually.

If we source them from elsewhere, the quantity can be further increased; there are many more of this plant along the entire eastern coast of Vela.

Victor nodded. It seemed that Flooded Willow Bark Cartridge Case were indeed more suitable than metal shells, and they were also much cheaper. In short, adapting to local conditions was the best choice.

The test firing officially began. A soldier mounted his rifle on a stand and fired directly at a target 100 meters away.

After the trigger is pulled, the firing mechanism strikes the primer directly, producing a loud bang.

Victor noticed that after the gunpowder was ignited, it produced quite a lot of smoke and the gunshot was also loud.

A moment later, the wooden target in the distance flew apart. Victor looked closely and saw that a large hole had been blasted in the middle of the humanoid target, and the upper half of the target had been completely broken off.

Victor was somewhat surprised; the power was greater than he had anticipated.

However, the experiment was not interrupted, and the photographer continued to watch their demonstration. Soon, the shooter set his sights on targets 200 meters and 300 meters away, firing two shots in succession, each hitting the target.

The two targets fared poorly, either blown off their heads or broken in two, fully demonstrating the powerful force of this Musket. Victor was quite satisfied with this power.

However, based on other aspects, such as the thick smoke and gunshots after the firing, he worried about the potential negative impact on the soldiers.