"Cough, cough!"
As his thoughts raced, Zhou Xu let out two heavy coughs.
"I think this flintlock can already enter mass production. You don't need to get too hung up on this minor issue. From now on, you can gradually shift your research focus to the M1891 blueprints."
"Improve and upgrade the existing firearms while studying the M1891 blueprints."
When he had first given them the blueprints, they had been developing the matchlock gun. Given Great Zhou's technology and manufacturing experience at the time, it had been unrealistic to produce the M1891 right away. That would have been like trying to run before they had even learned to walk.
Now, however, Great Zhou's industrial development was expected to undergo a comprehensive upgrade within the next few years, which meant the M1891 blueprints could finally be put to use.
After making the necessary arrangements, Zhou Xu returned to the palace, but he was hardly idle there.
After all, a comprehensive upgrade often meant the establishment of various project teams. While these projects consumed Great Zhou's financial resources, they also caused Zhou Xu and the others' workloads to skyrocket.
Under these circumstances, Qin Fen, their master of power and a fervent enthusiast of the steam engine, had been running himself ragged ever since his return.
At present, nearly half of the project teams within Great Zhou had Qin Fen listed as a "project consultant."
There was nothing to be done about it. In this steam age, a great many of the projects they were currently developing and upgrading were related to steam power.
For example, they were extending steam power to Great Zhou's major industrial production plants for use in the chemical industry and steel smelting.
It was easy to imagine that once the application succeeded, the operating efficiency of these production