Having received a commitment from Crown Prince Frederick to increase his focus on Type B gunpowder, Jochen proceeded to make his second request, which was an important piece of the puzzle for Jochen's own plans for the future. "Father, I also have a request, I'm 16 years old now, and I have a lot of new ideas, so I want to get a grant and then have a comprehensive munitions factory with some research capabilities, and then I can turn my ideas into actual products."

This was a great surprise to Frederick III, for his son had never made any financial or material demands since he was a child, and his only minor interest was to collect the weapons. And now the sudden offer of a fund and a munitions factory intrigued Crown Prince Frederick: "Oh? How did you suddenly have this thought? ”

"Because I have some ideas, and I think that if they are realized, the rate of fire of weapons in the future will be faster, the consumption of ammunition will be higher, and therefore the amount of soldiers will increase, and then the existing equipment for soldiers will not meet the needs of the future. Therefore, I think that the appropriate improvement of the soldier's performance is not the soft configuration of the weapon is conducive to improving the soldier's combat effectiveness, and these non-weapon equipment may not seem to improve the soldier's combat effectiveness much, but it can make the soldier more relaxed and convenient to fight, there are not many people, but millions of people together, then the gap between us and the enemy will be widened. And I think that these advanced, comfortable, and convenient equipment are also conducive to boosting the morale of soldiers. Of course, this may allow us to spend more money on each soldier, and I think it is still cost-effective to increase the combat effectiveness of the entire army. ”

"It sounds reasonable, so that means that your munitions factory is preparing to use the clothing of soldiers as the main direction of production?" In an era when equipment such as infantry carrying equipment was not yet important, Jochen's idea was clearly a maverick. As a result, Crown Prince Frederick believed that Jochen was only trying to get involved in the production of items such as military uniforms.

"Not really, father, I think all the items on a soldier should be taken seriously. Therefore, it is accurate to say that I am ready to get involved in all the equipment fields of the infantry, and weapons are no exception. However, my vision of weapons is based on new types of propellants, and only with new types of propellants can there be new types of ammunition, and only with new types of ammunition can there be new types of weapons. So until the advent of the new propellant, I'm not going to get involved in some equipment that is too technically complicated for the time being. Of course, I also have some ideas for some simple weapons that can improve the combat effectiveness of soldiers. ”

"If you build it according to your vision, it will be a very large industrial chain." Crown Prince Frederick was a little surprised by his son's huge idea.

"That's true, father, I hope that in the future, the technological innovation of military uniforms, combat uniforms, belts, backpacks, military boots, hats, gloves, guns, ammunition, bayonets, shovels throughout the empire will be completed by me, of course, the huge demand I cannot monopolize alone, nor do I need to monopolize, but I want all the products in this market to be produced and manufactured according to my standards. Of course, I also have to pay royalties for the production of my design. And not only that, but my design has to be the standard for all their new products in the future, their products have to be compatible with my design, and they have to follow the rules I have set. ”

"Hehe, your ambition is not small. But it's good to be aggressive. Well, there is a Prussian clothing factory, a munitions factory, and a Prussian soldier factory in Spandau, all of which are royal properties, so you can take care of them. And Spandau is right next to Berlin, which is also a little more convenient for you. And there are all kinds of factories in Spandau, if you are involved in other processing plants in the future, it will be handed over to you if it is royal, and you can buy it privately. As for the funds, I'll decide on the situation after your samples are out, how about it? ”

The Second German Reich was a federal state, and the Hohenzollerns were not only emperors of the empire, but also kings of the Kingdom of Prussia. As a result, the royal family had a large amount of family wealth within the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia. Traditionally, the children of the royal family were given lands at birth, usually fixed assets such as castles and estates. In addition, when the children reach adulthood, they can also receive the emperor's title, and the general gift is the royal family's inheritance. For his only son, the imperial grandson of the empire, the future emperor of Germany, although he is still young, but since he wants to make a try, handing him a part of the industry is also a chance to give him, and his son has always been imaginative, maybe he can bring himself a lot of surprises.

"Thank you, father." Joechen was overjoyed by his father's generosity. And Spandau is a good place, and it is also a huge ammunition processing base, which will provide great convenience for the development and implementation of new ammunition in the future.

With his father's approval, Jochen immediately began to work on the design (plagiarism) of his first products. The first product that Jochen intended to produce at the munitions processing plant was the legendary "artifact", the Chinese multifunctional folding sapper shovel (Note 2). This kind of universal equipment with shoveling, sawing, chopping, hammering, cutting, digging, planing, prying, thorning and even frying, kang, baking, small can be used to open cans, and large can be used to open the braincase, is naturally the best choice for design (plagiarism).

Then there is a multi-purpose military kettle composed of a kettle and a lunch box, which is naturally based on the Chinese Type 78 (Note 3), but of course it is now made of steel.

And Jochen is ready to have the munitions factory design and manufacture metal zippers in preparation for the next offensive in the field of military uniforms. And in history, the first large-scale use of zippers was military uniforms. In World War I, the Americans ordered large quantities of zippers for soldiers to make military uniforms for the first time. But the meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be taken step by step. Jochen was not in a hurry, of course, Jochen did not give the prototype of the zipper design that often had problems in 1893, but directly took out the design of the "hookless No. 2" that appeared in the United States during World War I and handed it to the munitions factory for trial production

The main accessories are M1956 belts, M1956 suspenders, combined M1956ILCE with combined with some later improved designs, M1956 waist belts, M1956 slings, combined anti-detachment chest straps, M1967 hip sundries bag, M1956 ammunition bag, M1967 water bottle bag and shovel cover, of course, the shape is changed according to the folding sapper shovel and the combination is the kettle, LC1 field backpack (no metal back frame Note 5).

The reason why M1956 is the prototype is that the material of this thing is metal and canvas, and the tactical strap made of engineering plastic quick buckle and nylon material can not be made at this time, and M1956 can be said to be the originator of modular carrying equipment in the future. You can only add to this set, design a few packages that can be compatible with the system, and want to replace the whole system? Don't be delusional. Even if you want to replace it, you have to come up with a better one.

As for tactical vests? Although it is true that the material can be changed, but the soldiers of the first war do not have as many items that the soldiers of the 21st century need to carry, and the second is not difficult to make a tactical vest, but it is difficult to sell it. The congressional guys who approve the money have to pounce on you and bite you to death.

This was followed by the lace-up high-top boots, in the form of Panama-soled reinforced jungle boots (Note 6), which were clearly easier to put on and take off than high-cut leather boots, better protected ankles, and more breathable. Moreover, the edge of the Panama sole is on the ground, and the center of the sole is suspended, so that the mud is not easy to adhere to the sole, which enhances the comfort in muddy terrain, and will not be like the general sole with a large amount of mud on the shoe, increasing the weight of the shoe.

There is also a canvas inner belt that is used in place of a belt, and the style is the US military ACU belt (Note 7).

Finally, the simple, easy-to-use, and safe Chinese Type 67 wooden-handled grenade (Note 8) was handed over to the Spandaupuru Soldier Factory, and its main component, the Ray Grenade. Mercury and TNT are already well-established technologies, so there is no difficulty.

These 6 products are the first step for Jochen to open up the individual equipment market, so the choice is not too high, the production is not too complicated, and the design can show obvious advantages.

Of course, even if the product is successful, in the face of the needs of the army across the country, such a large order volume will definitely not be able to eat by yourself, so when the time comes, you can divide some of the cake appropriately, and you can also make some good karma. Especially jungle boots, changing the style and material can be put on the market as civilian products. Of course, it is no fun to expect to sell to those gentlemen, whose aesthetics are not compatible, and can only be aimed at those special working people who often travel through the wilderness, such as explorers, prospectors, forest rangers, and mountaineering enthusiasts. However, no matter how small the mosquito is, it is also a piece of meat, anyway, it is a derivative product, and it will not be earned in vain.

When Jochen finished the drawings (drafting, which he had studied in the engineering department of the Naval Academy), he went to Spandau to visit the factory. The heads of the three factories accompanied Jochen on a tour of the factory and introduced the production capacity of the factories. Jochen then handed over the design drawings to the factory manager and asked them to conduct a trial production, and after the trial production was successful, the patent was registered. It is then submitted to the Army for probation. He also informed them that the three factories would be integrated into one company in the future, and asked them to set up a complete management organization and R&D department to carry out administrative management and new product research and development of the entire company, while the factory area was only used as a production organization. And explain to them that in the future, they will only be responsible for the design of the product, and they will not ask about management, sales, and business negotiations. They will act as the full managers of the company and will only be responsible for their own profits. And tell them that when they get on the right track, they will be given a certain amount of shares, so the development of the company will also bring them great benefits. The three of them immediately expressed their service to His Highness, which was a supreme honor.

After learning all about Jochen's explanation, the three responsible asked what the name of the new company was. The corners of Jochen's mouth curled slightly, and then he said in a somewhat subtle tone: "Let's call the Herrlichkeit Kaiser Infantry Equipment Manufacturing Joint Stock Company, abbreviated as HK Company." ”

Note 1: I made up the quilt factory and the munitions processing factory, but the Pru Soldier Factory in Spandau is real, and the Pru Soldier Factory in Spandau was the main supplier of rifles to the Second German Reich from 1888 onwards.

Note 2: For the picture, see Technology Related: Artifact - Multi-Purpose Sapper Shovel

Note 3: For the picture, see Technical Related: Type 78 Multi-Purpose Military Kettle

Note 4: For the picture, see Technical Related: M1956ILCE Individual Soldier Carrying Equipment

Note 5: For images, see Technology Related: LC1 Field Pack

Note 6: Pictures are related to the technology: Panama soles reinforced jungle boots

Note 7: For images, see Technical Related: ACU Belt

Note 8: See Technical Related: Type 67 Wooden-Handled Hand Grenade