The Expeditionary Army Arrived Safely
Soon, just as Burke was secretly pleased with the Arms Factory's performance this year, a craftsman presented Burke with a rifle.
Burke glanced at the rifle and saw it was one of the engineers from the rifle technology team. After looking at the rifle, he asked directly, "Is this the sniper rifle we were talking about earlier?"
The engineer nodded. "Yes, Director Burke, it's the sniper rifle that has successfully passed the tests."
Currently, we have not only added an auxiliary aiming structure to the front of the barrel, but also added a scope above the barrel, and made minor adjustments to the gun body to ensure that the trajectory and the scope are consistent.
Two more rifling grooves were added to the barrel, changing it from 6 rifling grooves to 8 rifling grooves, which increased the range by another 100 meters.
After test firing by our best marksmen, we were able to hit the target at a distance of 600 meters, fulfilling the Duke's previous requirements.
Burke was delighted after hearing this, picked up the sniper rifle and examined it closely, especially stroking the scope on the top of the gun.
"But isn't the maximum range of this sniper rifle 1000 meters?"
Why can I still only hit targets at 600 meters? Can't I hit targets further away?
The engineer shook his head. "It's difficult. Our current technology can only do this much."
If you want to extend the range of precision shooting, adjusting the Firearms alone may not be enough; you also need to adjust the bullets.
That would require switching to a whole copper-cased bullet, which would be too expensive—four times the cost of our current soft-loaded bullets, costing eight Copper Piece per shot.
We are attempting to structurally modify our current soft-charge ammunition to achieve a flatter trajectory while maintaining current costs.
Burke was taken aback after hearing this. "Why make adjustments? Just produce a batch of copper-cased bullets specifically for this kind of precision sniper rifle."
Including the newly added scope, this sniper rifle costs at least twice as much as a regular rifle, so it's normal that the bullets are more expensive too.
Originally, these could only be issued in small quantities, not on a large scale. You should produce a batch of copper-cased bullets first, and then test the accuracy and range. That way, it will be easier for me to take this rifle and report to His Excellency the Duke."
Soon, the Arms Factory's technical team began adjusting the plan according to Burke's suggestion, and the results were very good. After adopting copper-cased ammunition, the sniper rifle shooting tests were perfect.
Burke immediately reported to Victor with the sniper rifle. Victor was very satisfied with the brand-new sniper rifle, especially when he saw the copper-cased ammunition it was equipped with.
This can be seen as the Arms Factory making a technological reserve in advance, as soft-shell fixed-load ammunition will eventually be phased out in the future.
Although the production cost of copper-cased cartridges is currently higher, and there is no dedicated production line, with many processes relying on manual labor, this is definitely good news for future Firearms development.
Victor was very satisfied with Burke, who was very bright. This man was indeed the most suitable candidate for the Arms Factory, Bob's recommendation was correct.
Victor asked Burke, "So, can the Arms Factory deliver the first batch of orders from the Army Department on time?"
Burke paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Absolutely no problem, Your Duke."
According to estimates, the Arms Factory's expected production this month should reach around 800 rifles, and this number can increase afterward. Orders can be delivered within approximately six months, about a month ahead of schedule.
Victor nodded. "Then place another order and get my guards dressed up too."
You will begin production of 1,000 Type One Rifle, with an additional 100 sniper rifles. Each rifle will be equipped with 200 rounds of ammunition. I will have my finance officer transfer the deposit to you shortly.
There's no rush. Just prepare it for me after you've completed the Army Department's order.
Burke was overjoyed upon hearing this, as it meant the Arms Factory would receive another new order.
Moreover, although sniper rifles are very expensive to manufacture, their profit margin is also higher than that of ordinary rifles. One sniper rifle is equivalent to three ordinary rifles. Including the expensive copper-cased bullets, the profit from this order of 1,100 rifles alone can reach one-third of the profit from the order from the Army Department.
"Please rest assured, Duke Grace, the Arms Factory will fulfill your order promptly and ensure that the rifles for the Personal Guard are of the highest quality."
"Just follow one standard."
It is crucial to ensure absolute standardization in the production of these rifles, allowing all parts to be interchangeable, which will also facilitate maintenance by the troops.
"Please rest assured, Your Duke, we have already completed the standardized procedures."
Currently, the entire rifle production process uses standardized molds and measurement standards, ensuring there are absolutely no problems, and all parts are directly replaceable.
Victor nodded. He naturally believed what Burke said. After all, the territory's ordinary civilian factories, Steelworks, Machine Factory, and so on had long been operating on standardized assembly lines, and the Arms Factory was no exception.
Victor was just a little worried that with the Arms Factory's production capacity increasing so rapidly, there might be a huge waste of production once the entire Golden Sunflower Family's army had been re-equipped.
However, in an instant, Victor felt that this idea was a bit of an overreaction.
After all, the Golden Sunflower Family's standing army now exceeds 40,000, and when you include the local Garrison Army, it's nearly 60,000.
Based on the current output of the Arms Factory, it would take at least 5 more years to produce enough of this Type One Rifle to equip the troops.
The troops might not even finish upgrading their equipment before the rifles are replaced.
Moreover, even if better and newer firearms were available, these obsolete Type One Rifle would still be considered advanced weapons, intended solely for arming militia forces.
With this in mind, Victor decided not to adjust the gun production at the Arms Factory.
Moreover, it's unlikely that Burke can increase its monthly output to over 2,000 units in the short term. Temporarily maintaining this output level for equipment replacement isn't a major problem.
Once the first batch of orders is delivered, Victor will have the Army Department issue second and third batches of orders.
Currently, all ranged units must be phased out, and most melee weapon units must be re-equipped with Type One Rifle. The only melee weapon units that might be retained are probably some Heavy Infantry and Cavalry units.
While firearms are more powerful, they also have other problems, such as insufficient deterrence. Knives and axes are obviously more effective at intimidating weaker enemies and are also much cheaper than bullets.
Victor waved for Burke to leave; after all, as the director of the Arms Factory, he still had a lot of work to do.
For the next period of time, the Two Rivers County fell into a state of quiet. Although Victor still had to deal with some government affairs from time to time, there weren't many due to the current season.
A month later, Victor received news that the Expeditionary Army had arrived at the Snow Mountain surrounding the Faith Order Headquarters.
The Expeditionary Army of the Fourth Regiment waded through the snow the whole way, and finally arrived at their destination before the grasslands entered the frost season.
Although Santos followed Victor's instructions and slightly reduced the marching speed, the Expeditionary Army was still exhausted after more than a month of continuous marching.
To ensure the success of the upcoming battle, Santos led his army to turn around and rest in a sheltered valley in the opposite direction from their target.
In any case, the Expeditionary Army brought ample supplies this time, so even if the Expeditionary Army rests here for a period of time, it will not have any impact.
More importantly, Santos did not fully trust Mizhene and did not want to expose the Expeditionary Army's current state of exhaustion.
If that Mizhene leads the army of the Faith Order Headquarters to attack them, the exhausted Expeditionary Army may not be able to withstand it.
Before Santos changed course, he had already sent people to contact the forward outpost located on the outskirts of the Snow Mountain. They sent a report from the Expeditionary Army to Two Rivers County, which summarized all of Santos's ideas.
Santos's strength lies in his caution; he anticipates the worst-case scenario in everything he does, and can react promptly even when faced with danger.
Santos planned to contact Mizhene again after the Expeditionary Army had rested and regrouped, and adjust the battle plan based on Mizhene's performance.
Victor did not raise any objections to Santos's battle plan, Victor also placed full trust in Santos.
He believed that this excellent commander would lead the entire Expeditionary Army well and successfully complete the mission of capturing the Faith Order Headquarters.
However, just in case, Victor still sought out Keledu.
At this moment, Keledu had changed his appearance from a few years ago and had become a short, fat, dark-skinned old man.
He is now an advisor at the Territory Agricultural Research Institute, spending his days in the fields breeding crops. As a result, he is tanned dark and looks like an old farmer, a far cry from the powerful Barbarians warlord he was a few years ago.
Even so, Victor still gave Keledu full respect.
Although Victor only granted him a lifetime title, Keledu's treatment was on par with that of a viscount, and his annuity was far higher than that of an ordinary lifetime title holder.
Victor planned to promote Keledu viscount only after completely taking over the Faith Order Headquarters.
The former followers of Keledu have now become an important part of the Golden Sunflower Family.
Many of the outstanding talents he cultivated back then have played important roles within the entire Golden Sunflower Family system, with some even becoming mid-level officials.
Therefore, Victor's willingness to treat him with courtesy also serves to win people's hearts.