I want to be emperor

In the spring and April of Chengshun 46, the rainy season ushered in the early summer in the British area... However, for the British area where it rained all year round and was always cold and humid, the locals were already used to the rain.

However, although it is early summer, the local rainfall is not heavy. The local climate is quite special, with relatively few thunderstorms, mostly showers and light rain... but it rains all year round.

At the same time, although it is early summer, the temperature is still not high. Even in most areas in the south, it is only more than ten degrees, while in some areas in the north, it is only a few degrees.

After all, the latitude of the entire British region is relatively high, roughly equivalent to that of the Blackwater and Monan provinces in the empire's East Asian hinterland. However, it is different from the empire's Blackwater and Monan provinces where the winter temperatures are often minus [-] or [-] degrees. Although the British region has a high latitude, it has a temperate maritime climate, so it is not too cold even in winter, and it is not too hot in summer.

The temperature difference between the four seasons is actually not too big, and it is a relatively balanced area.

This special climate also means that wars in England are not significantly affected by seasons... There is no such thing as saying that wars cannot be fought in winter because it is too cold, let alone that there is too much rain in summer.

Because the winter in England is not too cold, and it also rains...

It’s not too hot in summer, and it also rains.

There is no obvious difference between the four seasons.

This is also the reason why the Kingdom of England launched an attack in April, which seems to be the rainy season... It is because the climate in England does not differ significantly throughout the year, at least for military operations.

However, the local rainy and humid climate also made local military operations more troublesome.

When the Chu army first landed in the British area, they encountered a lot of trouble... For example, ammunition was easily affected by moisture, especially since the Foreign Legion still used percussion cap flintlock guns and paper-wrapped bullets in order to save costs. , the paper-packed bullets used in Europe at that time were all ordinary paper-packed bullets. Although there were moisture-proof measures, they were only of ordinary moisture-proof level.

However, the Chu army still underestimated the local humid environment. When they first landed in the British area, the paper-wrapped bullets used by the Foreign Legion often became damp. For this reason, they had to urgently mobilize a batch of special moisture-proof bullets from Africa. Paper wrapped bullets are used.

In addition, temporary and emergency reinforcements had to be made in terms of waterproofing and moisture-proof materials for soldiers, such as military uniforms and bedding, because they found that the various materials prepared for the European region had no problem satisfying the European continent, but they still could not withstand the British region. The climate here is wet all day long.

This situation lasted for a long time, and finally the Chu army solved the problem by allocating a large number of special rain-proof and moisture-proof materials to this area.

The reason why the Chu Empire was able to solve the local rainy and humid problem so quickly is also related to the fact that the Chu Empire has territories all over the world and overseas garrisons all over the world. It has various needs and has made corresponding preparations for this. .

Once encountering any problems, the Chu Empire can quickly mobilize corresponding materials and transport them to the corresponding areas to meet extreme needs.

There is no way, who allows the Chu Army to travel around the world... From the arctic cold areas, to the equatorial high temperature and high salt areas, to the desert areas of West Asia and North Africa, the Chu Army has traveled all over the world. In order to meet the combat needs of these special areas, the Chu Army Combat equipment and even logistical supplies often come in various types.

Taking the Army as an example, there are more than ten kinds of combat uniforms in active service... There are extreme cold-resistant combat uniforms, there are winter combat uniforms used in ordinary winter areas, there are autumn combat uniforms, and there are summer combat uniforms... In summer, there are Combat uniforms are also divided into desert summer combat uniforms and jungle summer combat uniforms used in desert areas.

In addition, the military is still studying camouflage military uniforms, and has successively developed some camouflage combat uniforms based on the above-mentioned various combat uniforms. For example, desert summer military uniforms have begun to use yellow-based camouflage colors, while jungle combat uniforms have begun to use yellow-based camouflage colors. Use green-based camouflage color.

Soldiers serving in different regions are equipped with different combat uniforms...

None of the above has broken down into different arms such as infantry, artillery, cavalry, baggage, engineers, etc.

Due to the requirements of global deployment and global operations, the Army has more than ten official combat uniforms. If you break down the colors and service types, there are dozens of them... which is an exaggeration.

And there is nothing that can be done about it. Who allowed the Chu Empire to spread its territory all over the world and need to control such a large area.

Even if the top military officials want to maintain the uniformity of military uniforms and other logistics materials as much as possible to reduce military costs, there is no way...

You can't let the troops deployed in the deserts of North Africa and West Asia use the same specifications of military uniforms as the troops deployed in Siberia and Northern Europe!
However, although this would be troublesome and expensive, it also brought another benefit, that is, the Chu Empire was fully prepared for the combat needs of various climates and terrains.

If there is a demand in a certain overseas frontline area, a large number of them can be mobilized from the combat readiness warehouse and transported there.

Even in a rainy, humid and relatively low-temperature area like England, the Chu Army's logistics department can dig out suitable military uniforms, bedding, tents and other military supplies for you on the spot, and then urgently ship them by sea. Go to the front.

After several years of improvement, the Chu army in the British area has completely adapted to the local conditions in terms of weapons, equipment and logistical supplies.

For example, military uniforms, tents, bedding, shoes, etc. are all made of rainproof and moisture-proof styles. At the same time, additional long and wide rainproof and windproof cloaks will be issued to the soldiers...

This poor place not only has a lot of rain and humid air, but also has strong winds from time to time...especially the area near the North Sea, which is very windy.

As for the weapons, you don’t have to worry too much. Since the large-scale equipment of the Type [-] rifles in the Chu army, they are using all-metal bullets. This thing is not afraid of rain.

Even if it rains heavily, you can still fire easily!
Even the previous Foreign Legion used flash cap guns. Although it was impossible to conduct shooting operations in a real heavy rain environment, it could still be used if the rain was not heavy.

Here we should mention the flash cap firing gun in the Chu Army and its loading and firing modes.

The ammunition used in the flash cap percussion gun in the Chu Army is even custom-packed paper-packed ammunition. That is, the ammunition has been separated and packed in waterproof and flammable paper in strict accordance with the fixed weight in the factory. At the same time, when packaging The lead bullets will also be packed together.

After this kind of paper-packed bullets are in the hands of soldiers, when the soldiers want to fire, they directly take out the paper-packed bullets, then tear open one end with their teeth, pour the propellant into the barrel, and then put the lead bullets with the remaining paper The package is stuffed into the barrel and compacted with a purge bar.

Then take out the copper flash cap and install it...then you can fire it.

Note that there is no step to add gunpowder to the gunpowder pool... because the flash cap percussion gun does not have such a thing at all, and there is no windproof cover in the flintlock gun.

This is the fundamental reason why the all-weather firing rate of percussion cap guns far exceeds that of flintlock guns...

Therefore, even the Chu Army's Foreign Legion, which uses percussion cap guns, will have all-weather combat capabilities after landing in the British area... Of course, it won't work if it rains too much. After all, you still have to put the muzzle of the gun up and pour the propellant. No, if there is too much rain during this process, the rain will run directly into the barrel.

However, even so, the foreign legions of the Chu army also have certain all-weather combat capabilities. Therefore, during the battle to conquer England in the early years, these foreign legions especially liked to launch attacks in light rain and light rain.

In this kind of weather, the local indigenous troops using flintlock guns basically have no outdoor combat capabilities, but their foreign legions are able to fight calmly.

This situation also caught the attention of the local indigenous people, so after the war, the five kingdoms in the British area, whether it was England or Wales, applied many times to purchase percussion guns.

As for why not apply for the purchase of a better breech-loading rifle? That's because they also knew that this was impossible. Those were weapons and equipment used by the regular army of the Da Chu Empire. At that time, even the foreign legions and militia did not have rifled weapons, so it was impossible to export such things.

Therefore, for the indigenous people, the most advanced individual weapon they have access to and can hope to obtain is the flash cap percussion gun.

However, the Dachu Empire had previously considered that foreign legions and militiamen were still using flash cap percussion guns on a large scale, so they did not approve the export.

This situation did not change until 45 years after Chengshun. As the two main small-caliber repeating rifles were mass-produced and served in front-line troops, the militia and foreign legions also began to equip single-shot rifles retired from the regular army. .

The export of flash cap percussion guns is a matter of course... and the number of subsequent exports will be very scary. It is estimated that at least 500 million retired flash cap percussion guns will enter the export market.

At the same time, domestic weapons companies will also restart the production lines of flash cap guns and corresponding ammunition... 500 million second-hand flash cap guns will not last long in the military trade market.

After all, rifles are individual weapons. If those indigenous countries have one and a certain amount of reserves, the amount of use will be very large.

In addition, rifles are actually consumables... After a regular battle, it is normal for a rifle to be damaged or lose [-]% or [-]%... This is still talking about regular loading, and there is no large-scale rout.

If there is a large-scale rout, some of the people may run back, but most of the rifles will definitely be lost.

So the rifle consumes a lot of money.

The arms export business of the Chu Empire spans the world, with Europe, West Asia, India, and North Africa being important regions. In addition, there is also some arms export business in sub-Saharan Africa, but the arms export business of the Chu people in central and southern Africa There are no flash cap percussion guns, and even flintlock guns are bought infrequently... What I buy now are some cold weapons and matchlock guns.

It is estimated that it will take many years before flash cap percussion guns can be exported to these places. Considering the global arms export market of the Great Chu Empire, 500 million second-hand flash cap percussion guns cannot withstand it for too long. In addition, some customers also want to get some brand-new goods, not those used by the Chu Army. For more than 20 to [-] years, even the handguards were tattered second-hand goods, so it was natural for weapons companies to rebuild the production lines of backward weapons such as flash cap percussion guns.

Not to mention the production line for flash cap percussion guns, today’s weapons companies in the Da Chu Empire even have production lines for matchlock guns...

For example, the Guangdong and Guangxi Arms Company exports more than 2 matchlock guns every year through the arms trading company, and the value is not much cheaper than a flintlock gun.

Not only matchlocks, but also cold weapons such as spears, swords, shields, and armors, the weapons companies of the Dachu Empire are still producing and exporting them, and the output is not small.

In the weapons product catalogs of the five major weapons companies combined, you can find any type of weapons and equipment...from cold-weapon sabers, spears, and armor, to arquebuses, flintlock muskets, and percussion cap guns such as front-loading muskets. Then to front-loading rifled rifles, 11mm breech-loading rifled single-shot rifles, to 11mm caliber repeating rifles, 8mm repeating rifles, 11mm, 8mm machine guns, military 11mm pistols, and various civilian pistols, shotgun. From various army artillery, naval guns, and even the top [-]-ton battleships... As long as you can think of weapons that actually exist, the five major weapons companies have them, and most of them have ready-made production lines.

Quite a few of them are not for personal use, but for export...and some are actually civilian weapons, such as pistols and shotguns. The largest users of these two items have never been the military and police, but civilian users.

The Tianwu-type pistol is a typical example. It is used both by the military and civilians. However, the military and police have only purchased about 200 million in total so far, but its total output has reached more than 700 million... Its output far exceeds that of various standard rifles. , where did so much production go? It was basically bought by private individual customers, especially many people in overseas territories. It is basically a must-have Tian[-] pistol when going out.

Because the output of this stuff is too large and it is mainly sold among the private sector, it has even flowed into indigenous countries through some black market channels.

So occasionally you can see some indigenous people with a Tianwu-type pistol in their waist... and this thing is actually prohibited from being sold to the indigenous people, because the Tianwu-type pistol is a rifled revolver, and rifled weapons Exports are currently prohibited.

Not to mention these civilian firearms, in fact, even the breech-loading rifled rifles used by the regular army have flowed into the hands of the indigenous people through various illegal channels in small quantities. However, they are sparse in number and scattered at the same time, and they do not pose any practical threat.

Just like the previous percussion guns, even the Kingdom of England had obtained more than 100 of them through private channels, and secretly assigned them to a small group of their most elite guards.

In fact, the Chu people had heard some rumors, and went to investigate as a routine matter, but they didn't go into too much detail. The English were good at concealing things, and there was no use showing off in front of the Chu people, so the Chu people didn't bother. Got it.

Again, a small amount of rare advanced weapons are actually of little use.

Especially for things like rifles, if the number is too small, it will actually be difficult to affect the entire battle situation.

This is because some advanced rifles can be obtained secretly from the black market, and even a few Type [-] rifles can be obtained.

However, these indigenous countries are still trying their best to purchase flash cap guns on a large scale.

The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Wales are typical examples... Only large-scale procurement can lead to large-scale equipment, and large-scale equipment can produce practical effects.

Of course, thanks to the fact that they had secretly made use of the flash cap firing gun before and used it for several years in advance, they accumulated some experience, trained corresponding technical talents for using the new flash cap firing gun in advance, and formulated a training process.

When they purchase a large number of flash cap percussion guns, they can quickly complete the equipment change and form combat effectiveness, and then put them into the battlefield.

In this way, on April 46, Chengshun [-], more than a dozen Chu army officers who were watching the battle were able to see the indigenous troops fighting with percussion guns.

In the first few hours of the encounter between the two sides in the wild, the flash cap percussion gun did not actually show a very obvious advantage. After all, the percussion cap percussion gun was just a front-loading smoothbore gun. Regardless of the firing rate, the percussion cap percussion gun had no obvious advantage in terms of rate of fire and power. In terms of accuracy, it is actually no different from an ordinary flintlock gun.

The flintlock guns and percussion guns exported by the Chu people actually have the same barrel specifications, similar materials and craftsmanship, and are mature technologies more than 20 years ago.

Well, mature technology also means cheap.

Therefore, aside from the advantage of firing rate, there is actually no practical difference between these flash cap firing guns and the previously exported flintlock guns.

However, the weather in England is changeable. It was fine in the morning and the sun shone for a while, but it became overcast at noon and started to rain lightly in the afternoon.

Although the rain was not heavy, it still seriously affected the infantry combat using flintlock muskets on both sides.

At this time, the elite troops on both sides equipped with percussion rifles truly demonstrated their weapon performance advantages... When other flintlock troops stopped to wait for the rain to stop, or braved the wind and rain to forcefully load and shoot, but there appeared When a large number of shots are unsuccessful.

The flash cap firing gun was not affected at all, and continued to load and fire in the light rain.

This situation also caused the second half of the battle to become a confrontation between elite troops equipped with flash cap percussion guns on both sides, while the other ordinary troops using flintlock guns became spectators.

In the end, the English Guards were superior. In the final stage, one of their regiments withstood the Welsh army's artillery fire and rifle fire, forced forward to a distance of 30 meters, and launched a wave of attacks on the Welsh army. After firing volleys in the face and finally launching a bayonet charge, the victory was finally established.

In this battle, the English side suffered more than 3000 casualties, and the Welsh side suffered more than 5000 casualties. The battle ended with England's tactical victory.

However, the outcome of this battle is actually not important anymore. What is important is that after the process of this battle came out, both England and Wales immediately found the Chu people and applied for the purchase of more Flash cap percussion gun.

Soon after, the other three kingdoms in the British region, such as the Kingdom of Ireland, the Kingdom of York, and the Kingdom of Scotland, also approached the Chu people and applied for large-scale procurement of percussion guns.

And for these five kingdoms in the British region alone, their total applications for the purchase of percussion guns reached as many as [-].

This is still the initial purchase volume in the British region. If it is enlarged to the entire Europe, West Asia, North Africa and India, and the timeline is extended to two or three years, then the entire shipment volume of flash cap percussion guns will be very terrifying.

The military is very happy about this situation. You must know that the flash cap percussion guns shipped in the early stage are basically second-hand goods replaced by the military. The money obtained from the sale will not only share a part of the profits to the weapons company, but also serve as In addition to the sales cost, the rest is the military's own money.

With this money, it can also alleviate the pressure on the military to replace small-caliber rifles on a large scale.

You know, the military now has to purchase a large number of small-caliber rifles every year to equip the regular army. The pressure can be said to be very high.

According to the military's plan, about 30 Type 24 and Type 26 small-caliber rifles will be equipped every year. The replacement requires not only the purchase of the rifle itself, but also the large-scale purchase of corresponding eight-millimeter black powder bullets, as well as some combinations. Weapons... such as magazines for loading bullets, and soldier individual ammunition bags matching eight-millimeter bullets.

Then after installing a new gun, we need to continue to explore and train according to the characteristics of the new gun to form new tactics.

It's all money...

Not to mention that in recent years, the military has been purchasing and equipping two new weapons, heavy machine guns and mortars, and has begun to equip the Foreign Legion with rifled artillery.

Therefore, the overall equipment procurement pressure is still relatively high.

In this case, some old and useless second-hand weapons can be simply refurbished, such as painted and sold, and the price is not cheap... This means that the military can even recycle these second-hand flash hoods. In the firing gun, at least more than 1000 million Chu Yuan's funds were withdrawn.

This is not a small amount for the military, and it can purchase millions of Type 26 rifles.

Don't look at the Chu people selling their outdated flash cap percussion guns for five or six Chu Yuan, but in fact, the Chu army now purchases the latest Type 26 rifle, which only costs more than ten Chu Yuan. The Type 24 rifle is more expensive, but It's only about twenty Chu Yuan.

Basically, after buying three broken flash cap percussion guns, after deducting the refurbishment costs from the weapons company and the sales fees from the weapons sales company, the remaining money can allow the military to purchase a new Type 26 rifle.

From this we can understand why the military supports the export of flash cap percussion guns so strongly.

Anyway, this thing does not threaten itself, and if it is opened up for export, it can directly cause the upgrading of indigenous weapons and equipment, which in turn will lead to large-scale purchases by indigenous countries.

Therefore, the native people are happy about the export of flash cap percussion guns, the military is also happy, and the weapons companies are also happy, because they also got the refurbishment business and sales business... The Dachu Empire Arms Trading Company was jointly established by the five major arms companies. and operate.

At the same time, after the export of flash cap percussion guns is opened, once the military's junk goods are sold out, new guns can continue to be produced for sale. At the same time, ammunition, especially copper flash caps, will continue to be produced and exported.

This is a very stable financial path for the domestic defense industry, which can fill the vacancy caused by the current decrease in exports of matchlock guns.

Don’t worry too much in the next ten years... Anyway, given the stubbornness of the Chu State’s top brass, it is estimated that rifled weapons will not be allowed to be exported for a long time. The flash cap percussion gun may be the best thing that can be exported in the next ten or even 20 years. A good individual weapon.