My British Empire

  Chapter 506 Improvement of matchlock guns

  Since the arquebus entered the war, especially after the Spanish phalanx was famous and everyone was frightened, major European countries have equipped a large number of arquebus to improve their combat effectiveness.

   Drawing on the situation of the Spanish phalanx, various countries have more or less started to reform, but the stubborn forces are so powerful, and there are many matchlock guns.

   To say that the most effective reforms are the English.

  The prerequisite for reforming the army is equipment.

  Only with a large number of matchlock guns can reforms be carried out and the army strengthened.

  Since the bold innovative technology and the comprehensive study of the Spanish phalanx, the nascent United Kingdom Army has finally exploded its potential and performed well in the French battlefield.

   And all of this is inseparable from the support of the military factory.

  In order to do their best to produce matchlock guns and supply the army, the royal family invested 10,000 pounds at once to expand the factory and recruit talents.

  Combined with the water mill and the maturity of ironmaking technology, the monthly output of the royal military factory has reached 1,000 sticks.

   But in this way, it still cannot meet the needs of the Army.

  In order to strengthen the army, His Majesty the King directly ordered the Bank of England to loan money to other private matchlock gun factories to allow them to expand production.

  In this way, the unlimited supply of steel directly allowed the monthly production of matchlock guns to reach 2,000.

  One year can temporarily meet the needs of the army.

  As for artillery, due to the discovery of iron mold technology, cheap iron cannons were mass-produced, with a monthly output of 100 pieces.

   And also sold to sea merchants and pirates, making a lot of profits.

  Of course, at this time, the bronze cannon is the most powerful, and the iron cannon is still slightly inferior.

   It is also fortunate that there are many copper mines in England, which can temporarily meet the demand.

  The mass production of iron cannons and bronze cannons, driven by His Majesty Edward who admired artillery first, immediately established an artillery force in the army.

  Each regiment has ten companies, each company has 250 people, plus a special artillery company of 400 people, with 20 artillery pieces, the total number of each regiment has reached 3,000 people.

   When necessary, several artillery companies can also be merged, and the artillery can be used in a centralized manner.

  It can be said that the United Kingdom Army is the most artillery-intensive force in the world.

  A tributary of the Thames River fifty miles away from Oxford City, dozens of chimneys emitting black smoke are exhaling polluted exhaust gas. The black smoke slowly drifts into the air along the wind, leaving a trace of unpleasant smell.

   "Your Majesty, this is where the military factories are located, including the royal gun factory, private gun factory, iron factory, coal factory, gunpowder factory, artillery factory, wood factory, etc., a total of fifty-eight factories."

  On a hillside, a gorgeous carriage was parked on it. On the carriage, a young man in gorgeous clothes was holding a telescope and observing the black-smoky factory.

  Beside, an old man with dark skin, wearing glasses, explained in the direction the young man was looking.

   Surrounding them are more than two hundred well-equipped, handsome guards, and the black guns look chilling.

   "Not bad, very good!" Looking at an industrial area in front of him, factories are connected one after another, covering an area of ​​tens of thousands of acres, and the sizes of factories vary.

  Black smoke enveloped the factory area. From a distance, it looked like a gray smoke ring surrounding it.

  In the eyes of modern people, the air pollution here is serious, the nearby cultivated land has also become barren, and the yield has been greatly reduced. It is an out-and-out heavily polluted area.

  But in the eyes of the young King, this is the foundation of the United Kingdom, the location of heavy industry, the starting point of military and industry, and this is where a little pollution is compared with hundreds of years of dominance?

   "This is the important place of the kingdom, it is very important, so you must be prepared for fire prevention, and there must be no loss!"

  His Majesty the King raised his opinion to the person in charge of the factory area.

   "Yes, Your Majesty, we have already made preparations. There are a large number of water tanks near each factory, which can extinguish the fire in time!"

  The old man was dressed in decent clothes, with rough skin, glasses, and curly gray hair. Like a gentleman, he replied politely.

   "En!" Edward nodded, with a look of joy on his face, put away the binoculars, looked at the old man with gray curly hair, and asked seriously:

   "Mr. Jonathan, you say that a craftsman has made a new invention, which proposes a major improvement on the existing arquebus. Is this true?"

   "Yes, Your Majesty, he is the young craftsman who improved the arquebus—Hercules Owen."

  Mr. Jonathan nodded slightly, and said politely with a smile.

  Following his movements, a dark young man with bright eyes came out timidly behind him, and saluted Edward.

  Edward noticed his wide palm covered with black marks, looked at his height of about 1.6 meters, and showed a smile that he thought was kind and friendly. He walked a few steps closer and asked kindly:

   "Mr. Hercules Owen, I heard that you have made a major improvement to the matchlock gun?"

   "Yes, Your Majesty! I was born as a watchmaker, and I am very interested in some machinery, so after seeing the matchlock gun, I made some improvements!"

  Although Hercules Owen was a shy young man in his twenties, facing the king's friendly smile, he plucked up his courage and said loudly.

   "Then what are the improved parts for the arquebus?" the king asked tirelessly.

   At this time, Owen brought a matchlock gun from the side. The dark muzzle of the gun was dazzling. Just as he was about to speak, there was a clattering sound.

  The vigilant guards immediately raised their muskets and rapiers, aiming at the young craftsman Owen holding the gun.

   At this moment, Owen was stunned, and he was full of panic: What did I do?

   "How is this different from the old version?" Edward waved his hand to make the guards retreat, then picked up the musket in front of him and observed it carefully.

   "Your Majesty, please see, I have added an opening and closing device for the powder pot cover to the original version, which can increase the shooting speed to a certain extent.

   You can operate it with just one touch of your thumb, no need to free up your right hand to open the cover! "

   Owen pointed to the cover on the musket, and said a little timidly, with timid eyes.

   "Click ~" Edward demonstrated that the cover would pop up automatically, which surprised the king.

  A matchlock gun needs to open the cover to fill the gunpowder, which must take time.

   After the cover plate is semi-automatic, it will reduce the filling time.

  On the battlefield, every second may decide the outcome, and these few seconds are very likely to tilt the battle situation.

   "Mr. Owen, this is an outstanding contribution of yours, a very practical improvement!"

  His Majesty the King said happily that inventive and creative talents are exactly what the Kingdom urgently needs.

   "You will get a hundred pounds, and a knighthood for life!"

  (end of this chapter)