Infantry Guns / Preparations

Ursus came charging in with such overwhelming momentum that the Victorians were completely caught off guard.

Two army groups! Just transporting them here had to cost a fortune. Did Kazdel really need to spend so much to support them?

Ursus, however, had no idea why Victoria was surprised. As soon as the army reached its designated position, it began deploying.

The soldiers formed battle formations facing the Victorian fleet. The naval guns shed their protective covers one after another, their dark muzzles slowly rising before turning with the turrets to point toward the Victorian fleet.

Although this was a joint exercise, Ursus was clearly the star of the show. Kazdel had only sent out its cavalry corps and Wendigo units.

As soon as the Sarkaz soldiers took their positions, Ursus announced that the joint exercise had officially begun. The naval guns that had been holding back all the way here could finally speak their minds.

Countless shells flew from the gun barrels, tracing arcs through the sky before falling back to the earth. The thunderous explosions and billowing smoke continued without the slightest pause.

Watching the commotion, the Victorian soldiers seemed to have been roused by the desire to compete. They were soldiers of a naval force, after all, and had their own pride.

Thus, Victoria's naval guns began to roar as well. Both sides were competing to see whose "voice" was louder!

For a time, the desert between Siracusa and Kazdel shook beneath the thunder of artillery. Countless animals living in the desert were startled into scrambling about in panic, unable to find peace. The lucky ones had already fallen asleep and did not have to endure this terrifying torment.

By coincidence, a small mountain was chosen as a target by both Ursus and Victoria. One side bombarded its northern slope while the other shelled the southern slope, causing the surrounding terrain to undergo rapid and drastic changes in elevation.

When the Ursus infantry began their drills, Kazdel's cavalry corps and Wendigo units joined in as supporting forces. However, when Bodrocasti saw the cavalry corps, he was extremely surprised. He had not expected the Sarkaz to have Beastmaster Knights as well—and they were even using imitations of Kazimierz knight armor.

By then, Kazdel's cavalry corps had already begun to take shape after a period of training. Through their constant mock battles, they had even split into light cavalry and heavy cavalry units.

The light cavalry were equipped with blades for dealing with isolated infantry. The heavy cavalry had better protection and used lances modified from piercing spears, making them responsible for countering Kazimierz's Beastmaster Knights and breaking through enemy heavy infantry. To increase their combat capabilities, both units had also added mounted archers and mounted casters to provide fire support.

After a hurried exercise ended, Victoria suddenly sent Theresica a diplomatic letter, claiming that its diplomatic personnel were unwell and that the friendly visit would be postponed by one day.

Theresica did not take the letter to heart, because he was currently preparing to speak with Mr. Wei.

After some negotiations, Theresica stated that trade between Lungmen Special Administrative Region and Kazdel could be settled directly in Lungmen Dollars, while Yan would exert influence regarding the difficulties currently facing Kazdel.

On November 11, while Ursus continued competing with Victoria to see whose naval guns had the louder voice, Yan sent a diplomatic letter to the Victorian Parliament. It rarely used such blunt language, accusing Victoria of undermining regional peace and wantonly interfering with the normal activities of other countries.

All of Victoria's warships were equipped with communications base stations, so the Parliament urgently sent a message to the fleet.

"Why are you still over there in Kazdel?!"

After glancing at the copied note, Vice Admiral Brown, commander of the Victorian fleet, tossed it into the trash.

What a joke. From the soldiers to the officers—and including himself—the entire fleet was loyal to Duke Wellington. What right did Parliament have to order them around?

The captain beside him was also somewhat puzzled and tried asking, "General, why are we wasting time here with Kazdel? Aren't our missions to suppress the unrest in Leithanien and eliminate the remnants of the Duke of Cumberland's forces?"

"The Duke has his own arrangements. Don't discuss them."

Vice Admiral Brown glanced at him indifferently. At that moment, another copied message was delivered. This time, after reading it, Brown's expression changed completely. He ordered his adjutant, "Find those old bastards in charge of the war of words."

On November 12, Victoria's friendly visit arrived once again.

This time, Victoria's diplomatic personnel behaved much more normally. They made only one request.

"The export price of Kazdel's ships must be increased by twenty percent compared to the current price."

"Agreed."

Theresica nodded. There was nothing to hesitate about. He had spoken with Vitt the previous night.

During that conversation, Theresica learned the true purpose of Victoria's operation. They were actually suppressing Leithanien in order to restore the flow of Originium ore to Victoria.

Their arrival in Kazdel was purely because Kazdel's ship export prices were too low, which had severely impacted quite a few shipbuilding companies in Victoria and left them without orders.

Without orders, there were no profits, and naturally there were no taxes to hand over to the military. That was why Duke Wellington had come to Kazdel—for the merchants and for himself—to recover his losses.

"Why don't you raise the price a little?"

Vitt wanted to put an end to the matter. Since the boss had already made his position clear, Theresica had no choice but to take the opportunity and go along with it.

After the agreement was reached, the Victorian and Ursus fleets set sail at the same time. One headed for Leithanien, while the other returned to Ursus.

Kazdel could still call in foreign aid, but Leithanien truly had no one willing to pay attention to it.

Wherever Victoria's fleet moved, it searched for people or organizations refusing to obey Victorian law. Once a target was confirmed, infantry units would charge into the city and begin an unrestricted melee. If an entire city declared its independence from Victoria, the warships would arrive and fire naval guns of calibers exceeding 400 millimeters directly into the urban district.

The moment the explosions erupted, pedestrians vanished into the smoke. Buildings that had seemed solid collapsed as if they had been broken down into particles. After everything settled, the once-orderly urban district had become a festering sore.

Sarkaz drones had been tracking Victoria's fleet the entire time. The brutal sight of naval guns bombarding urban districts was now displayed before the patriarchs of the Royal Court.

"You've all seen it. This time, we were able to trade things for aid, but there may not be a next time."

Theresica took a deep breath. "I need more comprehensive institutional reforms. Does anyone object?"

No one in the council chamber spoke in opposition. After receiving permission from the patriarchs, Theresica began further stripping the various tribes of their authority to manage affairs independently. He modeled the system after Victoria and Ursus, establishing various departments and placing all national affairs under the administration of the relevant departments instead of having each tribe shut its doors and do whatever it pleased.

The first department Theresica established was the finance department, and he also proposed the allocation of next year's expenses.

"Military expenditures will account for eight percent, while education and scientific research will account for fifteen percent... Give us a few years, and give Victoria a few years as well."

Victoria had genuinely forced Kazdel to give up quite a few things. Although the matter had been brought to an end through Ursus's intervention, the article had not yet been finished.

Infantry Cannons

After a large amount of funding was allocated to the military, Kazdel's army formulated an entirely new training program under Theresica's instructions.

The food standards for the entire army were raised, and the requirements for basic physical training were increased as well. The number of arrows issued for archers' daily training was raised from sixty to 120, while mortar crews could fire ten shells a week—twice as many as Ursus's mortar crews.

In addition to daily training for individual branches, each regiment would conduct a collective drill once a week and a combat exercise once a month.

But simply focusing on soldier training was not enough. They also needed suitable weapons.

Under the Military Committee, Theresica established an Equipment Department. On the very day it was founded, he summoned Zeppelin, Alfred, Mel, and the others to a meeting.

"Alfred, how is the technical documentation for the mortar shells sent over by Ursus coming along?"

"Your Majesty, we've already figured out what chemicals Ursus adds to its propellant. We've also successfully manufactured three shells to Ursus's specifications. After removing the casing structure and firing them three times in succession, there wasn't even a trace of residue inside the barrel!"

Alfred's face was filled with confidence. "The new shells can begin mass production next January."

"Mm, very good."

Theresica nodded, then asked, "Can we make the shells larger? Like Victoria's naval guns."

Alfred's eyes widened, as if he found the question somewhat astonishing. His Majesty shouldn't be asking something like that.

"Your Majesty, we don't have metalworking technology as advanced as Victoria's. If we tried making a 400-millimeter shell, all we could produce would be an explosive charge that detonated on the spot."

"It doesn't need to be that large."

Theresica waved his hand. He remembered that mortars had an inner diameter of roughly sixty millimeters. If that was the case...

"Could we try making a 75-millimeter one first?"

"Er... We could give it a try. If we thicken the barrel..."

Alfred had not finished speaking when Theresica interrupted him. "I want an entirely new type of artillery."

Alfred froze. We only know how to produce mortars right now.

At that moment, Zeppelin, who was sitting beside him, leaned over and quietly said something in his ear. Alfred hurriedly took out paper and pen, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"

Theresica paused, then inexplicably picked up a water bottle.

"Do you remember the casings we made before? Back then, they were only used as covers to block incompletely burned material. But now... now I have a new idea."

Pointing at the water bottle in his hand, he said, "What if we made the casing as large as this water bottle, made the warhead as large as the stopper, and filled the inside with propellant like water filling a bottle? What do you think the result would be?"

"Your Majesty, then the barrel would have to be as large as the casing. The warhead wouldn't fit tightly against the barrel, which would waste the propellant's power."

Alfred looked worried, but Theresica laughed.

"That's a mortar. That's why I said I want a new type of artillery. What if a gun using this kind of shell wasn't loaded from the front, but from the rear?"

He set down the documents and ran his finger along the bottom of the water bottle. "The barrel could have a tapered interior. The rear end would be the same diameter as the casing, then extend forward and narrow again so that the inner diameter of the barrel fit the warhead. If we're worried about the barrel exploding, we only need to reinforce the rear section. Then, once it ignites..."

Bang—

The stopper of the water bottle in Theresica's hand suddenly flew out, while the sound of boiling water continued to come from inside.

Alfred sprang to his feet in excitement. "The casing has a forward tapering section! That would gather the propellant's energy and produce a more concentrated driving force!"

"But how would we ignite it?"

Zeppelin had also studied mortars. If the shell was loaded from the rear, how would they ignite the propellant? At his words, the light gradually faded from Alfred's face as well.

"If the shell can't strike the firing pin, then let the firing pin strike the shell!"

Theresica suddenly reached out and flicked the bottom of the bottle, producing a crisp sound. "Wouldn't that work?"

Zeppelin froze, then suddenly covered his face and laughed.

"Hahahaha, good heavens! How could I not think of something so simple?"

"This... this... I don't even know how to describe it."

Everyone present burst into laughter. They were all veteran craftsmen and highly educated scholars, yet today they had been stumped by a problem as simple as one plus one.

Theresica did not laugh, however. He knew very well that the breech mechanism at the rear of a breech-loading gun was extraordinarily complex. Having the firing pin strike the shell was not nearly as easy as it sounded.

"Zeppelin."

"Yes."

Theresica instructed him solemnly, "You and Alfred will work together to complete this new artillery piece. Please."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I'll do everything I can!"

"Alfred."

Noticing Theresica's gaze, he hurriedly stood up. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

"I need a propellant that can burn continuously and provide sustained power instead of erupting instantly and producing enormous recoil."

"Your Majesty..."

"I need it."

"Understood."

After finishing these matters, Theresica looked around at everyone and asked, "What do you think of the Steam Knight?"

"It's incredibly strong!" Mel glanced at Theresica. "Boss, you aren't thinking of making one of those, are you? That won't work. Kazdel absolutely can't produce one, and even Columbia can't. Its mechanical structure is far too complicated!"

"I understand that. The Steam Knight is mobile, and it can jump that high and land without suffering any damage, which means it's quite sturdy. It's also highly destructive."

Theresica thought for a moment. "Could we use simple mechanical structures to piece together a weapon with the same characteristics?"

The people in the meeting room looked at one another, and no one spoke. Theresica, however, continued muttering to himself.

"Mobility... a personal land vehicle? But we need to consider its ability to pass through terrain. Let's use tracks. Protection... an outer shell made of high-strength metal. As for its attack method... add a gun turret on top?"

Seeing how absorbed he was, Mel could not help reminding him, "Boss, Kazdel doesn't have any factories producing personal land vehicles. And the artillery, along with the high-strength metal vehicle you just mentioned... all of that would require enormous quantities of high-quality steel. Can Kazdel's steel production support it?"

Mel's words suddenly brought Theresica back to reality.

Right. Producing these weapons would require huge quantities of steel!

He immediately summoned the person in charge of the metal smelting plant and asked about steel production. The other man, however, replied with a pained expression.

"Your Majesty, our monthly steel consumption is ninety percent of our output. If you need us to increase consumption, we may have to import some steel."

Preparations

After hearing the metal smelting plant director's words, Theresica immediately decided to investigate the current state of Kazdel's raw-material production in greater detail.

He took Mel to visit Kazdel's various raw-material processing plants, only to witness a horrifying sight. He was shocked to discover that he had gone to such lengths to develop industrial machinery and machine tools while overlooking raw-material production!

The metal smelting plant's current output was limited, first, by its equipment. Kazdel was still using extremely old and worn-out machines, far behind Terra's standard level.

Second was the shortage of manpower. There was nothing more to say about that. The Sarkaz population was what it was, and the vacancies in even one army division had yet to be filled!

Besides these two obvious factors, there was also an indirect one. Kazdel itself had no mineral resources, so all raw ore had to be imported!

After thinking it over, replacing the machinery seemed like the most realistic option.

But where could they replace the machinery?

Apart from Siracusa, every country near Kazdel had advanced metal-smelting technology. However, Theresica did not want to cause such a huge commotion.