Chapter 173 Mortar
(The picture above shows a large-caliber short-barreled mortar used by the German army in World War I. It needs to be equipped with wheels and dragged by four people, and it cannot be disassembled. The German soldiers in the picture are wearing helmets from 1916) (The review has not been passed for a long time. If you can't see it, you will see the Easter egg stamp later)
Mortars already existed during this period.
The Germans used a large-caliber, short-barreled mortar with a curved trajectory that allowed it to fire shells into Allied trenches.
However, it looks like a mortar but is completely different in concept from a mortar.
It is actually a curved-fire cannon with a trigger that requires charging and is also a breech-loading cannon. On the battlefield, it is equivalent to a fixed artillery position and is difficult to move.
The design drawing provided by Charles is the real mortar: the Stokes mortar invented by the British in 1915.
Charles knew that Steed didn't fully understand, the mortar was not as simple as he thought.
But it doesn't matter, Charles doesn't need to explain it too clearly.
"We need to control its weight to less than 50 kilograms!" Charles gave a brief introduction: "In wartime, it must be carried by two people, and during marches, it can be disassembled into three parts and carried by three soldiers."
Charles looked up at Steed and asked, "Your arsenal should be able to produce this kind of artillery, right?"
"Of course!" Steed nodded hurriedly: "Of course, it won't take too much time!"
Steed was telling the truth. There were ready-made blueprints for this type of artillery and its structure was quite simple. In particular, the gun body did not even require a trigger structure, just a firing pin at the bottom of the barrel.
If Saint-Etienne cannot produce such a simple thing, then it has no right to cooperate with Charles.
"So you agree to produce this gun?" asked Charles.
"Of course!" Steed nodded meaningfully. He leaned forward and shook hands with Charles: "I'm very happy to do that. I will produce it in the shortest possible time!"
"Very good!" Charles replied, "I will persuade the military to purchase them. I estimate that the purchase volume will be several thousand!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
…
After the car left the Ritz Hotel, Deyoka suddenly remembered something. He pulled over and turned to Charles and said, "We forgot one thing, Charles. You haven't replied to Mr. Steed yet!"
"What answer?" asked Charles.
"His first question." Djokovic reminded: "I believe he hopes we can give him a commitment, a commitment to cooperate with him for a long time!"
"No, father," replied Charles quietly; "I have already given him my answer."
"Really...?" Djoka was stunned for a moment, tilted his head and drove the car back onto the road half-doubtfully. He thought he had missed something, but when he recalled carefully, he clearly did not hear Charles give an answer.
…
In the hotel's conference room, butler Lucas was asking Steed the same question.
"Sir!" Lucas said worriedly, "Charles seems to be avoiding your question. He may not want to cooperate with us for a long time. Should we make other plans?"
Steed, who was carefully studying the mortar design, laughed. He raised the document in his hand and said, "No, Lucas, Charles gave a better answer!"
"Is that it?" Lucas asked in confusion, "Another invention? What does that mean?"
Lucas was worried that Steed would be so eager to recruit talent that he would be fascinated by the invention and ignore more important issues.
Steed smiled and shook his head: "Do you think this is just an invention? No, Lucas, it is the basis of our alliance with the Shire!"
"The basis for an alliance?" Lucas looked confused.
Steed nodded and explained meaningfully: "I am worried that Charles will form an alliance with other capitalists, and Charles is also worried that I will form an alliance with other capitalists, Lucas. Therefore, there is only one way for us to come together and trust each other. What do you think it is?"
Lucas was still confused, but when his eyes turned to the artillery design, he suddenly understood: "Produce artillery to declare war on Schneider?"
Steed laughed and said, "It can't be called a declaration of war. After all, this artillery has not yet directly competed with Schneider, but it has made its position clear. Think about it, if there is a kind of artillery that is jointly produced by the Saint-Etienne Arsenal and Charles, what do you think others will think?"
Lucas suddenly realized: "This is to tell everyone that we stand with Ciel to face Schneider!"
"Yes!" Steed stood up slowly, smiling and puffing out his chest, he said confidently: "Saint-Etienne used to be like an old patient, but with Charles, he will be able to compete with Schneider! Wait for us, James!"
Lucas suddenly realized that Steed at this moment was completely different from the one before the meeting. He seemed much younger.
…
The next day, Paris Defense Headquarters.
This time Charles arrived half an hour later than usual. This was not because he wanted to, but because the enthusiastic citizens of Paris had heard from somewhere that he was going to work an hour earlier, so they blocked the street in advance.
Charles had no choice but to arrive half an hour late, and at the same time had someone spread the news that "Charles has entered the headquarters", and the crowd then dispersed in disappointment.
This may be the romance of the French people, they are willing to spend their time on such meaningless things.
Charles thought that if they really loved him, they should donate money to him. Even if it was only one life per person per day, it would be enough for Charles to lie down.
This is what makes sense, or you can cash in the flowers you gave him!
"General!" Charles walked into the headquarters and went straight to Gallieni. "I need a troop!"
"What?" Gallieni quipped. "You want to use it to kill the citizens of Paris who are surrounding you?"
The officers in the headquarters laughed and said one after another:
"Be content, Charles, we don't have so many people blocking us!"
"Hey, Luchini, if Ciel wasn't working here, you would be one of the people who were besieging us, right?"
"Of course, Kane, I'm Ciel's number one admirer!"
…
Charles ignored them. He handed Gallieni the mortar design and explained, "I need an army so that we can avoid the same mistake as with the grenade."
Gallieni took the blueprint and flipped through it with interest, saying, "How is Brownie's unit? They are training now..."
"No!" Charles interrupted Gallieni. "This is a piece of equipment that will be popularized in the hands of frontline soldiers. If I use Brownie's troops for training, the same problem will arise as before."
Gallieni immediately understood that after they learned it, they would have to go back to the front to teach others how to use it, and Brownie's tank troops were obviously not suitable.
After thinking for a while, Gallieni nodded and said:
"I don't think you need an ordinary army, Lieutenant, you need an officer army!"
"I will select two officers from each division and have them report to you."
"You teach them, and they return to their own troops to teach others!"
That seems like a great idea!
(The picture above shows the British artillery group and the Stokes mortar. The inventor Stokes was an engineer at a mechanical company and had never designed military weapons before)
(End of this chapter)
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