Developing breech-loading cannons was not particularly difficult either; after all, it merely required altering the structure.
At first, the officers at the British Royal Artillery Academy had been extremely disdainful of the idea. They felt breech-loading cannons were far too unorthodox and overly complicated.
In those officers' experience, the more complex an artillery piece was, the less efficient it became on the battlefield—and it could even lead to unforeseen disasters.
Before long, British weapons engineers had produced the first batch of breech-loading cannons. During weapons testing, they discovered that breech-loaders fired far faster than muzzle-loaders.
After all, every time a muzzle-loader fired, the gun crew had to use a ramrod to clean the barrel, push the powder charge in, then load the shell. The entire process was laborious and time-consuming.
With a breech-loader, however, one could simply open the breech, insert the shell, close the breech, and fire again. In terms of sheer density of fire, the latter held an overwhelming advantage.
However, the weapons testers were insufficiently skilled, and they were too eager to show those old fossils the performance of the new artillery. As a result, the very worst thing in those officers' eyes occurred.
Due to improper operation, two weapons testers caused a leak of powder gas, which eventually ignited the entire artillery position.
A ton and a half of black powder exploded. One of the testers was blown directly into pieces, which splattered across the generals' faces.
An elderly general immediately wiped his face and said furiously.
"I told you so! Damn it! Let those drunks operate this cursed thing, and we'll all be finished!"
Another general immediately chimed in.
"That's right. We can defeat Napoleon without this thing. What is there to be so nervous about? The French were our defeated foes!"
The officers left