In the arsenal on the outskirts of Gyeonggi, Jiang Chuan looked at a drawing in front of him and was silent.

It was a drawing of a machine gun, with a thick barrel, wheels on both sides, and a huge cartridge box hanging to the left side of the barrel, all indicating great lethality.

This is a blueprint obtained from the fortress base, at the cost of research and development costs of one million taels of silver.

It looks expensive, but for Jiang Chuan, he doesn't care.

According to the parameters given by the system, the maximum firing range of this machine gun is about 500 meters, and the rate of fire is about 200 rounds per minute. The cartridge box can be loaded with 500 rounds at a time, which is about two minutes or so.

It is in water-cooled mode, and because it is the first generation of products, the barrel cannot be replaced for the time being. As for how many rounds a barrel can shoot continuously, it still needs to be verified in the field.

Such parameters are not half a star worse than later generations, even compared with the machine guns of the World War I and World War II periods.

But after all, it is a first-generation product, and you can't ask for too much.

Moreover, Jiang Chuan carefully looked at the drawings and predicted that the weight of the real thing should be at least two hundred catties after it was made, so there was a tail rudder with a pull ring at the tail of the machine gun, which was made of pig iron.

This tail rudder can be stuck to the ground during combat and is used to ensure stability during machine gun fire. When marching, the machine gun can be pulled by the tail rudder.

In a sense, the machine gun in front of me is more like a machine gun of later generations, of course, mainly in terms of appearance.

According to the price given by the system, the cost of such an old antique machine gun is about a thousand taels of silver.

That's a thousand fiat currency.

This cost is actually expensive enough, and this is still the cost price given by the system. Jiang Chuan did not believe that the cost of the machine gun made by the British could be cheaper than this.

No matter how rich the British are, it is impossible to install them on a large scale. This should be certain.

Although this cost does not seem cheap, it is not a concern for Jiang Chuan.

After ten years of peaceful development, although the Great Qin Empire did not dare to say that it had become a peaceful and prosperous era, it could also be called a country and a peaceful country, and the income of the treasury was rising every year.

Not to mention anything else, it is the figure reported by the household department last year: the annual income of the imperial court is 93 million legal currency, the expenditure is more than 41 million legal currency, and the balance is more than 52 million legal currency.

Although this figure is simply unbearable compared with the financial statements of later generations, it is astonishing enough in such a feudal era where the economy of small peasants and the economy of nature are dominant.

Moreover, this was a nascent empire, and the imperial court reduced many local taxes every year.

This result is of course due to Jiangchuan's emphasis on commercial development and the redetermination of commercial tax; Policies such as checking household registration, re-measuring land, cracking down on land annexation, and implementing a whip law.

In addition, there was peace in the country, all the big reactionary forces were suppressed and surrendered, and people were determined, so that the situation we have today has emerged.

All Egawa now has enough funds to research new weapons and build new warships.

"Ruzhen, look, this is the blueprint of the machine gun I told you." Jiang Chuan glanced at Hu Zongxian on the side and handed over the drawings in his hand.

Although Hu Zongxian had never seen the real thing, after Jiang Chuan's explanation, he nodded frequently and admired: "Such a sharp weapon, if we can assemble troops on a large scale, my Great Qin military power will be even more invincible." ”

Shanjia also shouted: "If there is such a repeating musket, the cavalry will have a nemesis in the future." A hundred machine guns are lined up, and no matter how powerful the cavalry is, they can't parry. ”

In the end, it is a veteran, and you can know the power of the machine gun at a glance.

It is also true that after the appearance of machine guns, whether it is infantry or cavalry, if they line up and charge head-on, it is like suicide.

In the face of dense queues, the power of the machine gun can be used to the extreme.

"Yes, the advent of every new weapon changes the form of warfare. Although the machine gun looks powerful, there will be more domineering and powerful weapons in the future. Think about it, now that we have made a car, can we make a car in iron armor to charge on the battlefield in the future? Will there be a cannon that can fire continuously like a machine gun? And even warships made entirely of steel and without sails? ”

Jiang Chuan looked at his generals and inspired them step by step.

Of course, he knew that these things would appear in the future, and he almost even said the plane just now, but he didn't say it because he felt a little out of place.

What he is saying now is to give these generals a preventive shot, to be mentally prepared when these new weapons appear in the future, and to let them know that the forms of warfare they master, including tactics and command art, need to be constantly innovated in order to adapt to the changing forms.

Looking at the surprised but thoughtful expressions of the generals, Jiang Chuan also knew that his goal had basically been achieved.

"Well, these are just my ideas at the moment, and we still have a long way to go before we can actually realize them. Now let's go to the shooting range with me to see the real thing. ”

The group followed the Emperor to a shooting range built in the arsenal to test new weapons.

The shooting range was ready, and there were hundreds of targets walking from 200 to 500 meters, and a brand new machine gun had been fixed to the firing position, and boxes of bullets were piled up next to it.

"Your Majesty, the machine gun firing test has been prepared, please show your Majesty!" The director of the arsenal stepped forward to ask for instructions.

The director of the arsenal was a major general, and the arsenal was under the direct management of the emperor.

"Okay, you send me a deputy, and I'll shoot it myself." Jiang Chuan nodded and stepped forward.

He is wearing a military uniform today, with an armed belt around his waist, leather boots under his feet, and a beard that he has grown up in recent years.

The major general hesitated for a moment, then immediately stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty, the last general will personally be your deputy." ”

Egawa nodded, stepped forward, and crouched down on one knee behind the machine gun.

The group of generals behind him were not surprised, in terms of the level of musket shooting, none of the people present could surpass His Majesty the Emperor.

Besides, it is said that this first machine gun was designed by His Majesty himself, so it is even more reasonable for His Majesty to test it himself.

After getting a little familiar with the operation, after watching the major general who served as the ammunition hand next to him put the bullet chain through and put his hand on the ammunition supply hand crank at the back of the ammunition supply box, Jiang Chuan opened the safety bolt, grabbed the shooting handle behind the gun with both hands and aimed at the target at a position of 100 meters.

"Start shooting!"

With an order, the ammunition hand shook the feed handle, and a sudden clatter sounded instantly, shattering the calm of the shooting range.