Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Albrecht shrugged, he did not deny Franz's ability. It's just that the imperial government, the royal family, and the church didn't treat those Hungarians well, so what can Franz do about it?

"Let's talk about what good goods you kid has, right? Looking at your smug look, there must be something good, right? ”

Franz took out a large "Sky Monkey", and the two brothers opposite said in unison.

"Congreve rockets?"

"Yes, the potential of this weapon is huge, but it hasn't been tapped yet."

The origin of Congreve rockets should be the Ming Dynasty's Divine Fire Crow, which was later imitated by the Indians and made into the "Indian Giant Eagle".

Modified by the Indians, the rocket is more powerful and has a longer range, reaching up to 2.5 kilometers.

Later, during the British invasion of India, the British were hit by this rocket, so the British brought the captured objects back to China for research and modification.

The engineer in charge of modifying the rocket was none other than Major William Congreve, who, after five years of research, finally created a weapon that could be adapted to the European battlefield.

The Congreve rocket, weighing 14.5 kilograms, is 1.06 meters long, 0.1 meters in diameter, and is equipped with a 4.6-meter-long balance rod with a range of up to 1,800 meters.

Later, in 1807, the British fired 25,000 Congreve rockets into Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, in 10 hours, destroying the Danish navy and nearly burning the city to the ground.

The Austrians recognized the potential of this weapon, but the British, as allies, were reluctant to share their secrets with the Austrian Empire.

As a result, the Austrian military, which has a clear brain circuit, set its sights on Denmark, the victim of this weapon, and tried to get the secret of this weapon from the victim.

Surprisingly, at this time, the Danes not only cracked the secret of Congreve's rocket, but even created a lighter and more powerful version.

In order to get the Congreve rocket, Foreign Secretary Metternich even promised the Danes political support at the Vienna Peace Conference.

However, the Danes were also reluctant to provide drawings, and only sent their designers to give verbal instruction to the Austrian engineers.

But for the Austrian engineers, that was enough.

Vincent Augustin, the Austrian engineer responsible for building the Congreve rocket, was able to mass-produce the Congreve rocket within two months.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the weapon faded into obscurity, and only Austria and Denmark remained enthusiastic about it.

At this time, the Austrian Empire had the world's first rocket technology, but the stock was limited, and it was mainly equipped with the navy to fight pirates.

Within the Austrian Imperial military, the evaluation of the Congreve rocket was polarized.

On one side were represented by Field Marshal Radetzky, who felt that the Congreve rocket was simply a God-given weapon for the Austrian Empire.

The Austrian Empire had a large number of cavalry, and the army was also known for its high mobility.

However, during the Napoleonic Wars, due to the skyrocketing status of artillery, the Austrian army became more and more dependent on it.

Especially on the march, or in offensive battles, the infantry often had to slow down in order to wait for the heavy hammer to arrive on the battlefield, which in turn led to the loss of the Austrian advantage in mobility and the lag behind the French in artillery technology, which led to a total rout.

(At the time, the Austrians themselves concluded that they did not think that they could defeat the French, but only that it was the gap in tactics and weapons.) ）

Although there are four types of Congreve rockets, including 6, 12, 16 and 28 pounds, they are all within the acceptable range of the soldier's body.

This weapon can be distributed to the company and mobile with the infantry or cavalry.

At the same time, the rate of fire and range of Congreve rockets are much stronger than those of the artillery of the same period.

The other side is represented by Prince Wendy Gretz and General Rich, who think that Congreve rockets are just nonsense. The garbage left over from the Oriental people's play hundreds of years ago can only be used to attack the city, and it is very inhumane.

It is also criticized for its accuracy, and the accuracy of this weapon is indeed impressive, compared to the smoothbore gun.

Someone once used 100 Congreve rockets to try to destroy a house 200 meters away, but all 100 Congreve rockets missed.

General Richie even attributed his defeat in Italy entirely to this weapon.

In fact, General Rich's rocket forces were with artillery, ready to provide cover for the infantry in front, but it turned out that it was not known whether it was a technical problem, or a matter of luck, more than a hundred Congreve rockets hit directly the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Austrian Udine, which was advancing.

Not only did it inflict hundreds of casualties, but it also completely collapsed the 3rd Infantry Regiment of Udine, freeing the charcoal burners of the rebels.

The Navy was also not interested in this weapon, although the British once used it to destroy almost all of Copenhagen.

But the lethality of Congreve rockets in naval battles is extremely limited, especially since most naval battles are fought at distances of more than 300 meters.

At this distance, even against a target the size of a battleship, the Comgrif rocket's hit rate is very low, and the climate at sea is much worse than on land, whether it is rain or storm, the Congreve rocket will be neutralized, and sometimes the Congreve rocket will be blown by the wind to change direction, and even fly towards your own ship.

Moreover, the major powers of the world, Britain, France, Russia, and even Prussia have given up the research on the Congreve rocket, and the only countries that are obsessed with the research and manufacture of it are Denmark and Austria, which is enough to prove that it is not the mainstream weapon, and the Austrian Empire should not waste money and manpower to continue to develop this kind of equipment.

"What's good? Gunpowder is a good thing, the Orientals use it for firecrackers, and you use it for Congreve rockets. Friedrich said sarcastically.

"Franz, I advise you not to expect too much from this thing. Its rate of fire and range are very good, but the hit rate of this thing is terrible, and it often flies around, and even the launcher doesn't know who it will hit. ”

Albrecht had used this weapon himself, but the Congreve rocket, probably due to the large amount of charge, flew directly off the launcher and flew directly over the heads of the people, and after the explosion, countless small iron balls flew out without causing casualties.

In fact, Congreve rockets have three types of warheads, which are high-explosive, scatter, and incendiary.

But the military usually uses incendiary grenades, because the direction of such weapons is uncontrollable, and if the explosion distance is more than 5 meters, it is basically difficult to cause harm to people.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you solve the hit rate problem. Although it is not a solution in the real sense, at least it will not let this rocket fly back and hurt its own people. ”

Franz pointed to the tail of the rocket.

"What is this? It seems to be the tail feathers on a bow and arrow. Friedrich said.

"You're not going to use it for a bow and arrow, are you?" Albrecht asked.

"Is there a difference? After adding the tail, the rocket can maintain a relatively stable state in the air, so that it will not be too outrageously deflection. Isn't it exactly what the military needs right now to increase the hit rate? Franz replied.

(End of chapter)