It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Horns has figured it out.

With loyalty, bravery, and patience alone, he could never be a general. He was actually very grateful to Sean in his heart, especially when Sean invited the bass boss over and made a very speculative demagogue in front of him:

"Mr. Bess, I admit that your company's Type 1825 rifled gun is very good, especially when compared to the smoothbore guns that are currently commonly equipped in the army.

But you should also realize that this rifle has many flaws. The speed at which it reloads bullets is simply too slow, and the time it takes for the smoothbore gun to fire three shots, it fires a maximum of two shots. Due to the presence of rifling, the residue of gunpowder was too laborious to clean. Some veterans are still accustomed to slamming the butt of their rifle into the ground before aiming, as they would with a smoothbore gun, to simplify the reloading process, but this is more likely to lead to a dumb fire.

After a fierce battle, rifled guns reported almost twice as much damage as smoothbore guns. What's even more terrifying is that it's half as expensive as a smoothbore gun.

That's why your business hasn't gotten bigger. The whole world knows that the imperial court is short of money. ”

Boss Bass has heard something like this countless times:

"But our enemies are already heavily armed with rifled guns, and learning from our enemies is what a good commander should do. Know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles. This is the military thinking of the Xia people, and the soldiers of our country should also do it. ”

"You should say this to the bigwigs of the Military Command Department, and it's useless to tell me. Sean smiled, "There's a great opportunity right now, it's up to you to take it." ”

"What chance?" said Boss Bass.

Shaun showed the bounty poster:

"On the orders of the lieutenant colonel, I have assembled a force of 250 men with the goal of capturing or killing the evil bandit Benjamin Don. At the moment we need some equipment, two trained horses per person, two best rifles per person to replace at any time, as well as ammunition, food, boots, tents, sleeping bags, blankets, etc. ”

Boss Bess glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Horns, who was silent next to him, and shrugged:

"Does this have anything to do with me? Without profit, a businessman will be indifferent, and a businessman who is not loyal to his own interests will achieve nothing. This is my motto, and I give it to Mr. Ensign for free.

Of course, we have reached a tacit agreement on some aspects before, but this matter really has nothing to do with me, especially not with what you just said about the advantages and disadvantages of the Bess 1825 rifled gun. ”

Sean smiled slightly: "As a veteran user of the Bess 1825 rifled gun, including the rifled gun I tried captured from the enemy army during the war, I found that I suddenly had some inspiration for the manufacture of rifled guns. ”

"I want to hear about it. "Bess remains unmoved.

He was able to spend 2,000 louis to buy a famous horse and prepare to give it away, because of the interests, but in terms of money, he had his own principles, and he would never spend an extra shilling if he didn't pull out a dime.

"An invention that dramatically improved the reload rate of bass rifled guns, while also reducing the failure rate. Are you interested?" said Sean.

"Haven't you heard that Mr. Connelly is also an expert in gun-making?" said the bass boss scoffingly, "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, has one of your subordinates produced a great inventor?"

Horns didn't know what kind of medicine Sean was selling, but that didn't prevent him from protecting the reputation of his subordinates:

"I'm sure Sean isn't a big talker, Mr. Bass, please take a few more minutes to listen, there's nothing to lose, right?"

"Okay. Bass moved his fat hips to make herself more comfortable.

"In fact, the enemy's rifled guns are not much better than those produced by your company, but in the early days of the war, we failed to anticipate the enemy first, and aimed at the same distance of 100 meters from the enemy at the training ground, but they were always far away from us, and they shot first, and the first round of shooting made us pay a heavy price. ”

Horns also added at this time: "Later, the enemy army was not so easy, and the 21st Infantry Division discovered this relatively early, so when we faced the enemy, we stalemate a shotgunner like Sean with the enemy, and we also used rifled guns, and we did not suffer." And the troops with smoothbore guns counter-charge at any time, approach the enemy with the spirit of seeing death as home, repel the enemy with speed, the enemy shoots 2 shots, we shoot at least 3 shots!"

"At that time, because your 21st Division was abandoned and isolated, you had to hold on there. Boss Bess hit the nail on the head and said, "It's called putting death and resurrection." ”

"Okay, let's not talk about that. Especially when I was the only one left of the 21 Infantry Division's 500 officers and soldiers of the 500 Infantry Division. Sean looked very unsightly.

"I'm sorry!" Boss Bess looked apologetic, "Salute to the heroes of the 21st Infantry Division!"

"As we mentioned earlier, one of the disadvantages of rifled guns is the difficulty of reloading. In the past, when we used smoothbore guns, the projectile was smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel, which was easy to fit in, and if it was wrapped in paper or linen and poked down with a strip, it could also increase the breath-holding. Sean said, "The rifled gun is different, in order to achieve the fit of the lead shot and the rifling, the lead shot is usually made slightly larger than the inner diameter of the barrel, the lead is a soft metal, but it still needs to be vigorously pushed and stabbed to deform, so as to fit with the rifling." This has a serious impact on the reload speed. ”

"That's true. Boss Bess nodded in acknowledgement.

"When I was a recruit, the rifled gun issued to me by my commander was much larger than anyone else's, and your company's manufacturing level is really not flattering. I've had to pay for someone to sharpen the lead bullet into smaller ones, and I've seen people have guns with slanted rifling. ”

Seeing that the boss of the bass blushed, Lieutenant Colonel Horns made up for it:

"Arms are always made by the lowest bidder, always. ”

"Well, that's going to cost me a little bit of an advantage in negotiations. Bess smiled awkwardly.

"So, I thought, if the shot is a little smaller than the barrel inner diameter, it will be easier to load, and it will be no worse than a smoothbore gun. Sean said.

"Second Lieutenant Connery, you've just explained the difference between the two, and with all due respect, there's no solution. If the lead shot is too small, it will not fit with the rifling, let alone ensure the breath-holding, and the muzzle velocity and range will be reduced. Bess said.

"No, no, Boss Bass. There are always more ways than difficulties, this is my motto, and I will give it to you for free. ”

"Well, I would like to hear the high opinions. ”

Horns listened to it on the sidelines, and seeing Sean's confident expression, he was also interested, and reprimanded:

"Sean, tell me what you can do to do that. ”

"Sir, it won't work if I say this, it's a small patent. Of course, I haven't had time to apply for this patent yet. In order to prevent plagiarism, I can only keep this secret, and perhaps other arms dealers are interested in this secret. Sir, how much do you think this patent will be worth?"

Speaking of this, Sean sold: "Imagine that such a rifle, not only has the accuracy and range of a rifled gun, but also has a loading speed that is not inferior to that of a smoothbore gun, which is enough to offset the increase in cost of rifled guns compared to smoothbore guns, which can be offset by at least two-thirds." I think if my inspiration is realized, it will cause a revolution. ”

Bass looked a little nervous:

"Sean, Mr. Ensign doesn't mind me calling you that, do you?

"No, no, my only friend is dear Mr. Louie!"

"Mr. Lieutenant Colonel. Beth turned to Horns and said, "Look, your men don't really look like soldiers. ”

"It's not quite like that. Horns nodded, "But if Sean's inspiration can be realized, it will be of great value." You know, it is precisely the flaws that the current rifled guns do not have as much advantage over smoothbore guns as you think. ”

"Okay. God testifies that if Sean can name his 'great discovery', I am willing to pay 20,000 gold louis for it, including of course all the equipment of the 250-strong force just mentioned. In addition, this patent is owned by Bess Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and a patent will also be applied for in the name of Bess Machinery. ”

"50 thousand. Sean held out a hand.

"20,000 5. It couldn't be any higher. ”

"You have a Bess 1825 rifled gun, which costs 30 louis, and I just ask you to pay 50,000 yuan in a lump sum. I dare say that if you make it according to my inspiration, you will sell at least 200,000 pieces in the next five years! And it is not difficult, it is simple, effective, and inexpensive, and if I want, I can do it with the help of two skilled blacksmiths. Sean said.

"200,000?" Boss Bass's eyes lit up, "If it's as simple as you say, 50,000 isn't impossible." Dear Lieutenant Colonel Horns, Imperial Hero, would you like to be a witness for me? If it is true, as Sean says, that it is simple, effective, and does not add much cost, I not only agree to these conditions, but also give you 10,000 louis as the cost of witnessing a great invention. ”

"Absolutely. "If you break your promise, I'll kill you with my own hands, and I promise no one will know about it,"

Bess shrugged, he believed that Horns would do what he said, but his eyes were fixed on Sean, and when it came to this, he didn't quite believe it yet, but God testified that he wanted to believe it.

The rifles made by his own company have not been sold so far, and he has always been a headache when he faces competition from other opponents.

"If, when making a rifled gun, the size of the projectile is set at a point slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel, but slightly larger than the rifled chamber, it would be sufficient, and the increase in cost would be almost negligible. ”

The room was a little cold for a while.

Bess's eyes widened, his mouth wide open, his nose inhaled, and his expression was very complicated.

Surprise, surprise, abruptness, remorse, and more excitement.

The projectile is smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel, so it is easy to stuff in, but it is larger than the bottom chamber, and when poked with a through strip, the lead shot will be deformed, and it will be tightly attached to the rifling of the bottom chamber to ensure the gas holding.

Sure enough, as Sean said, this inspiration will not work when it is said, it is a very simple invention, and it can be understood at one point.

Hateful minormen, who are paid a lot of money a year, don't think of this.

The boss of the bass happily left two checks and ran away as soon as he smoked it.

Horns took his own check, 10,000 louis, which was not a small amount to him, and muttered:

"Sean, I seem to have done something stupid, I should have advised you to raise the price. ”

"Sir, believe me, he'll come and deliver us a check. Next time, we can raise the price again, according to today's example, I will be five and you one!"

"You kept a hand?"

"No, a few hands left!"

"Oh, I now understand why you don't want to stay in the army. ”