At the Bohemia Holdas Arsenal, engineers are conducting weapons tests. Twenty experimenters lifted their qin and shot at the shooting range ahead.

After a burst of qiu, weapon designer Holman Steyron stepped forward and looked, calculated the parameters as quickly as possible, and said with satisfaction: "I'm qualified."

The parameters are as follows:

Diameter: 792 mm

Weight: 42 kg

Length: 1417 mm

Leng tube length: 920 mm

qiāng ammunition: paper shell acorn shape qiān    dàn

Reloading method: Back-install

Rate of fire: 12-15 rounds/min

Initial speed: 410 meters/sec

Effective range: 650 meters

Maximum range: 1512 meters

Ammunition supply: single shot

The arsenal manager, Holdas, walked away with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Steyron, you have designed another excellent step.

This step is very excellent. It allows soldiers to load up when lying down and crawling. The accuracy of close-range shooting is still above most steps.

I heard that the Prussians have changed their clothes on a large scale, and we have also got a few of their steps, but their performance is not as good as ours."

Holman Steyron said calmly: "Mr. Holdas, this is just a laboratory product, and it is still unknown whether it can be produced on a large scale.

In fact, in recent years, there have been many advanced machinery manufactured by our laboratory, but very few have assembly value due to production costs.

For example, the previous 1850 series step qiāng has much better performance than this in all aspects. Because of the production cost, we have to give up."

As a weapon design expert, the first thing you have to learn is to give up. The more advanced the weapon, the better, and you also consider the overall cost.

In terms of design, it is a step that can be designed a hundred years later. Now it can still be designed. Whether it can be produced is an unknown number.

Holman Steyron has become accustomed to it. More than 95% of the weapons he designed are lying in the laboratory. Although this step is good, it is still an unknown whether it can be equipped in the Austrian army.

Holdas said optimistically: "It doesn't matter. Now that the Near East War is in fierce fighting, we can sell it to the Principal of Montenegro for trial. As long as the excellence of this qiāng is proven in actual combat, the military will not refuse it.

From a technical perspective, this step is much lower than the 1850 series. I can initially judge that the production cost of this step will not be much higher than the current step."

It can't be said that it was the Emperor's order to design a breech step suitable for use by the Austrian army, right?

Now almost every Austrian arsenal has taken out samples. More than a dozen breeched steps have appeared on the shooting range in the palace. Judging from experience, Holdas believes that this step is very likely to win.

Cheap, simple operation and stable performance are the advantages of this step. The only disadvantage is that it has a slightly lower lethality, but the precise hit rate and the advantage of being able to load on the ground can still make up for this.

Now there is only the last link of actual combat, and the Near East War is a good opportunity.

After the outbreak of the war, the Principality of Montenegro relied on Austria's logistics supply. In order to facilitate supply, it had fully replaced Austrian weapons, and now it has become the experimental field for Austrian weapons.

The Austrian military also sent weapons observers to collect practical parameters of various weapons as an important reference factor for the troops' future dress replacement.

Holman Steyron said seriously: "Okay, Mr. Holdas. You make arrangements as soon as possible. This time I will lead the team to the battlefield to collect information."

"No! It's too dangerous on the battlefield. You are the best weapon design expert in Austria and you can't take risks." Holdas said excitedly.

Holman Steyron smiled and said, "Don't worry, the Montenegro will protect us from safety. If you are worried, you can also apply for the military to send someone to escort.

Danger is only relative. If God wants to take me away, even if he stays in the country, there will be an accident."

...

The new style of Schonbrunn Palace and the Hallas Arsenal have appeared on the shooting range, and Franz skillfully completed the loading and shooting.

Perhaps because of his talent, his shooting skills are really ashamed to meet people. He can shoot a target within a hundred meters, and it is God's blessing to be able to avoid off the target.

Franz has always believed that this is the poor performance of step qiāng and the strong recoil force caused the bullet to fall off the target. The evidence is that the bullet kill rate after each war is several thousand rounds, and tens of thousands of bullets can kill an enemy.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

After the qiāng sound ended, Franz's face turned green and he actually hit the target next door. There was no one else who could escape the target.

A puff sounded, and the little guys laughed gloatingly. Franz glared at him and found the culprit.

"Is it so funny? Isn't it just that bullets are off the target? What's so strange about it?"

Franz has been in power for a long time, and his three younger brothers and two cousins ​​have forced themselves to hold back. The expression is so cute.

After suppressing the ridicule of several little guys, Franz smiled and said, "Come here and try it, pay attention to keeping a distance."

They have never played these steps before. If they were used as a front-end step, you will know that Franz's performance just now. The bullet can be offset by more than ten meters.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A series of qiāng sounds sounded, and I looked at the target from afar. Franz rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Are they all the gods sought after?

As it turns out that he is thinking too much, everyone's hit rate is not very good, and he is considered a master if he can leave bullets on the target.

"Cousin Franz, you are the last one!" Princess Sissi exclaimed in surprise.

Franz glared at him, and he decided to turn back and increase her etiquette class time. He really didn't understand the rules.

Is it necessary to say such an obvious thing? You should know that the youngest of those who participated in the shooting was only ten years old. Where did Franz put his face?

"Elizabeth, pay attention to the image!" Sister Hai Lún                                                      

"What happened?" The voice of Empress Dowager Sophie came from afar

Seeing Franz's ugly face, no one answered this question. Looking at the expressions that everyone wanted to laugh but held back, and glanced at the target on the field, Empress Dowager Sophie burst out laughing.

While smiling, he pointed at Franz and said, "It's been a good thing, Franz, you finally broke the record of the fifth ring."

At this time, everyone discovered that there was an extra bullet hole in Franz's target. I don't know who knocked the bullet away just now and hit it by mistake.

Everyone could no longer hold back their laughter, and Franz said helplessly: "It's almost done, continue to live-fire training."

Grand Duke Carl patted Franz on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Look, I asked you to go hunting with me. If you don't go by yourself, you know it's embarrassing now, right?

Don't be discouraged. Just go out with me to hunt a few more times and your qiāng method will catch up with them."

Franz nodded in cooperation, as if he said again: His poor qiāng method is because he has too much homework and lacks practice in daily life. As long as he practices hard, he will definitely be able to catch up.

Hunting is impossible. Franz is self-aware. It is unknown whether an elephant can concentrate there a hundred meters away from his qiāng method.

He was too lazy to drive the pheasant and the prey inside the rabbit, and was simply a waste of bullets. Franz understood why many hunters in the folk had shot a large area.

"Father, why didn't you go out to hunt today?" Franz asked in confusion.

"Seeing that you are having fun, he wants to come and guide you." Empress Dowager Sophie said first.

"Yes, your qiāng method is so bad that it is simply a shame for the nobles. I'll come and teach you how to use it." Grand Master Carl said aggrievedly.

Franz probably guessed the reason and said decisively: "Is that so, this is great. Just teach them, I have a step ahead."

After saying that, Franz turned around and left. It seemed that something was really wrong and was in a hurry to go over and deal with it.

This is an excuse for the panacea. The Vienna court has rules and no one can interfere with the emperor's handling of official affairs.

Even if it was Empress Dowager Sophie, she knew that Franz was delaying time, and she could do nothing. Under normal circumstances, the fate of the engaged parents of European nobles was enough, and Franz was obviously abnormal.

Facing a son who is too opinionated, she also felt pressured.

Franz is under greater pressure. At this time, after the engagement war broke out, how should the royal family handle themselves?

...

St. Petersburg

In Coors Manor, in this midsummer August, the indoor air is still very cold.

"Everyone, this cannot continue. The expeditionary forces on the front line are already changing their Austrian weapons on a large scale. It won't take long for the entire Russian army to be equipped with weapons produced by the Austrians.

What should we do then? Let the arsenal close? Or will we fight for the narrow private market and sell hunting?" An old man said indignantly

The host of the meeting, Kurs, persuaded: "Mr. Ivanov, calm down. Things are not that bad, and it is impossible for the government to watch us all be ruined.

It is a war time, everything must be served by the war. The logistics of our front-line army is supplied by the Austrians, so it is impossible to kick them out.

After the war is over, it is our time. The government does not want to see the Austrians control our military production, and our market will come back then."

Everyone came for the sake of interests. The military and government were very dissatisfied with the inferior weapons they produced, so the Expeditionary Force replaced Austrian weapons on a large scale.

Stupid, big, and thick are the consistent characteristics of Russian weapons. If there is only this shortcoming, the military will tolerate it. The problem is that these weapons and equipment are often stuck, and they may even explode.

If there is no choice, or if everyone has the same weapon, then forget it. The problem is that Britain, France and Austria are now surpassing them, and even the Ottomans on the opposite side have begun to change into new weapons.

In order to win the war and to increase the chance of saving lives on the battlefield, the officers on the front line strongly demanded a dress change. The interest groups in the government could no longer suppress them and could only purchase Austrian equipment to change the dress for the Expeditionary Army.

The young man complained: "Mr. Coors, even if the market comes back, I will face competition from Austrians. Will the military use Austrian weapons and still use our junk?

Sorry, I am a person who speaks too simply. Compared with my European counterparts, the weapons and equipment we produce are indeed behind an era.

Don’t everyone want to change? The government cannot tolerate it all the time. If this continues, we will be eliminated sooner or later.”

Couls laughed and explained, "Little Peter, you are still too young, didn't Old Peter tell you?"
To be continued...