Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Tsar. It's been a long time, are you and your wife okay? "Compared to the enthusiasm of Tsar Nicholas I, Archduke Karl was much more rigid and cold.

But the former doesn't care, because that's exactly what the latter is like. However, the atmosphere in which the two were talking was very awkward. At this time, Queen Alexandra, who was sitting next to her, had to come out to play the round.

"Dear Karl, you haven't answered my husband's question yet? And we have prepared a great dinner and hope you will feel at home. ”

To be honest, Archduke Karl himself was a lobbyist for the first time. He is an expert in war, but he can be said to be a mess in dealing with interpersonal relationships, and even has a lot of conflicts with his brother who is the emperor.

Especially after his wife's death, he often locked himself in his study. The only pastime is to take his young daughter to watch military exercises or let the family's personal guard practice it.

However, this time, his own pearl was absent from this trip to Russia. Of course, it has nothing to do with the playboy Alexander.

It's that she simply didn't understand that her father specially visited the bitter cold land of Russia for one thing, so she simply hid in Venice.

"I'm here to give a gift." Archduke Karl's answer was simply direct.

Queen Alexandra looked at her husband with an inquiring and playful look in her eyes; It was the first time she had seen someone who spoke as unobtrusively as her husband.

Soon the attendants of the Hermitage presented gifts from distinguished guests from afar. As the boxes were opened, the jewels were unveiled to Tsar Nicholas I and his family.

All of them are set with fine diamonds, sapphires and precious stones, and it is clear that the workmanship is impeccable, and there is no doubt that they are all priceless treasures.

But there was no surprise on the face of Nicholas I. He felt that a real soldier should not care about these external things. But soon the appearance of a novelty changed his mind.

It was a revolver without a jug (gunpowder), but it was equipped with bullets that were oddly conical. And at the bottom of the box there is a blueprint.

This immediately aroused the Tsar's curiosity, and he asked, "Karl, what is this?" Could it be an American pistol? As a military fan, he naturally knows the famous Colt revolver, and he has a few in his collection.

However, because it was expensive to build and could not equip the troops, it was not much of a concern for this weapon.

However, this revolver is obviously quite different from the Colt 1835 in his previous collection, such as the difference in the workmanship material, and the strangely shaped bullet.

"No, this is a pistol of our Austrian production, modified on the basis of the American Colt. In terms of reliability, power and precision, it is far superior to the 1836 Colt. ”

Archduke Karl naturally knew what Nicholas I was most concerned about, but he deliberately sold a pass, and then the conversation changed.

"This is a paper fixed load, which can speed up the speed at which soldiers can reload ammunition, increase the range and accuracy of rifles, and even change the mode of warfare.

But there is no basis for words, Your Majesty the Tsar, you better try it for yourself. ”

After the Grand Duke Karl finished speaking, he was about to get the revolver, and Tsar Nicholas I on the side was looking at it, and the spy chief in charge of the special third section on the side, Duke Liubai, shouted "escort" and rushed towards the Grand Duke Karl.

But as soon as Duke Liubai ran halfway through, he was kicked out by a 1.2m long leg, he only felt that his body left the ground, made several tumbling movements in the air, and then fell heavily to the ground, and even the internal organs were about to be squeezed out.

In fact, Duke Lyubai was not short, he was 175cm tall, he was also a soldier, but he still looked like a child in front of the tall Nicholas I.

"Bad guy! If you come again, I'll test you for a gun! ”

Nicholas I treated Archduke Karl as a friend, and he did not think that Austria had sent a very prestigious royal elder to assassinate him; Seeing that the stupid donkey-like subordinates couldn't even think about this thing clearly, he couldn't suppress his anger.

Archduke Karl also seemed to notice that something was wrong with his actions, and hurriedly handed the box to the master of the Winter Palace. "Your Majesty, I was negligent just now.

The Duke of Lyubai is also faithfully fulfilling his duties, which is understandable. Nicholas I didn't care, and went straight through the box.

He was most concerned about whether the bullet was as magical as his guests had described. The bullet was loaded, the wheel was turned, and the whole set of movements flowed smoothly, which made the tsar feel very comfortable.

This gun does not have the sluggishness of the Colt revolver at all, everything looks so silky. This was, of course, due to the electroplating techniques used by Franz's researchers; It not only enhances the metal texture, but also increases the smoothness between parts, as well as corrosion resistance.

Nicholas I, who was in a good mood, picked up a pistol and searched for a target in the palace, which frightened the officials who accompanied him.

But they didn't dare to make any evasive moves, for fear of angering the tsar by making a fool of themselves, and they were really fortunate enough to become a target for the gun. Only Queen Alexandra looked at her husband with a smile.

She knew very well that he was only asserting his authority as the supreme ruler of all Russia, and at the same time deliberately testing whether the officials were truly loyal and reliable.

Sure enough, Nicholas I put away his pistol after looking at it for a while.

"Carl, we can go hunting in my hunting grounds today! We Russians prefer to hunt bears rather than wild boars and deer, which we often hunt! ”

"No problem, but I have other gifts for your family before then." Archduke Karl said.

"What's that?" Nicholas I looked very excited, but was disappointed when he saw some clocks.

Although these new pocket watches have both timekeeping and alarm clock functions. But none of them were new, which greatly diminished Nicholas I's interest.

It was the design of the watch that made Her Royal Highness the Queen and the children feel very novel. Although pocket watches are not lacking in meticulous and beautiful workmanship, it is clear that watches are more suitable as decorative objects.

What's more, the latter has the added advantage that if you don't want to be seen wearing your watch, you can choose to extend the sleeves to completely cover it.

In the 19th century, the watch industry was definitely a hot industry, but the key technical tourbillon and escapement had already been remodeled, so the intention of triggering an industrial revolution with technological superiority could not be realized.

After many discussions between Franz and his experts, at most they could only use standardized production and industrialization to reduce costs, but their reputation could not be compared with Swiss watches, let alone dominate the European market.

Although the Swiss watch industry started late, after more than 100 years of development, it has become highly specialized and intensive, and even the pioneers of the industrial revolution across the channel cannot compete with it, and can only desperately increase tariffs to prevent their products from entering the British Isles.

(End of chapter)