America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 558 "My marksmanship is not very good"

There are many towns in the United States called Springfield, but none of them are as famous as this one in Massachusetts.

In 1777, when the father of the nation, Washington, personally selected this small town as the federal weapon warehouse, he probably would not have thought that the guns that were produced here later would make great contributions to the federal victory in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

Located at the confluence of three rivers and four major arterial roads, the geographical environment is extremely advantageous.

In 1787, the peasant rebel army led by Daniel Shays focused on the munitions stored here, but they were brutally suppressed before they could set off a prairie fire.

Until 1795, the Springfield Armory had not produced a single musket, at most it had built some mounts.

Later, the person in charge of the arsenal built a water mill by the Connecticut River, and used this as a driving force to start large-scale industrial production of guns.

Accompanied by Captain Rhodes, Chen Jianqiu stood on the commanding heights of the river valley and looked towards the direction of the arsenal.

The first four workshops have now been expanded to twenty or so; those hydraulic workshops are still there, but they have lost their original functionality and been replaced by steam boilers.

White smoke came out of the chimney of the workshop, drifted into the air along the wind in the valley, and then drifted into the distance.

"Mr. Chen, how is it? Is our production scale okay?" Lieutenant Rhodes touched the two mustaches on his lips and asked Chen Jianqiu proudly.

He was about forty years old, and he was also a quartermaster of the Northern Cavalry Regiment. He somehow got the position of "manager" of the Springfield Arsenal.

Chen Jianqiu nodded.

He didn't wear his black cloth robe today, but put on a delicate suit and top hat. Except for his unstructured beard and fat body, he looked no different from a business tycoon.

"Are you still using steam power?" he asked suddenly.

Lieutenant Rhodes was so questioned that Monk Zhanger couldn't figure it out. He looked at Chen Jianqiu blankly:
"Uh, besides steam power, are there other power options?"

Chen Jianqiu did not continue this topic.

He now had a little understanding of why the state arsenal was so relatively inefficient.

He did not tell the "factory manager" that all his branches in Liverpool, England, had been replaced with machine tools driven by electric motors alone.

There are milling machines, planers, grinders, and drilling machines.

Not to mention the main factory in Roswell.

It's hard to communicate results with a frog in a well.

Chen Jianqiu just smiled and said:

"That's right, that's right. Under your leadership, Lieutenant, Springfield Armory will surely regain its glory. The future can be expected, and the future can be expected."

Lieutenant Rhodes felt a little overwhelmed for a while by being complimented by an arms tycoon recognized in the American industry, feeling quite top-heavy.

"Mr. Chen, let me show you the shooting range where we test new weapons." Lieutenant Rhodes rubbed his hands excitedly.

Chen Jianqiu happened to be on the top of the mountain and got a headache from the wind.

"Okay, Lieutenant Lao will show me."

The two got on their horses and slowly swayed down the mountain road, with a group of followers following behind them.

Along the way, Lieutenant Rhodes happily introduced the business of the Springfield Armory to Chen Jianqiu:

"Mr. Chen, this arsenal is now the only state-owned arsenal in the country. The army's guns are basically purchased from us."

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu agreed, but turned his gaze to other places.

But from Rhodes' ears, the other party seems to have developed a strong interest.

"There used to be a Harpers Ferry arsenal, but it was burned down during the Civil War." He began to popularize science, "So now we are left alone, the only one."

"Don't look at the fact that the army doesn't have many orders now, but maybe one day when the war starts, it will come up at once. At that time, as long as we work together, we will definitely succeed."

Rhode winked at Chen Jianqiu.

Chen Jianqiu was introduced by the Ministry of the Army, and there is a guarantee there, so he doesn't have to worry about quality and productivity.

This is completely empty-handed white wolf's errand.

Besides, he is Party B, and he is Party A.

According to the usual practice, as long as the tycoon produces more and earns more, his share will be indispensable.

This kind of thing, why not do it.

Chen Jianqiu responded with a polite smile to Rhodes' sneaky glances.

He really didn't want to refute Lieutenant Rhodes' interest.

After all, he is still the "factory director".

A group of people wandered to an open space outside the town.

It was close to the forest, and a boundary post was built every ten meters around, with a wooden sign nailed on it, which read:

Military shooting range, please do not enter.

On the periphery of the shooting range, everyone got off their horses and tied the horses outside the shooting range.

Rhodes took the lead and walked in the forefront.

He led Chen Jianqiu into the shooting range.

There are two wooden tables not far away, and several long wooden boxes are stacked beside the table.

Several Springfield Arsenal employees were already waiting for them there.

"Please allow me to introduce our products to you." Captain Rhodes took a rifle from an employee and held it in his hand.

Chen Jianqiu glanced at it.

Of course he knew this gun, a Clark Jonathan rifle that was reloaded shot by shot.

When the Federal Frontier Army surrendered, this gun was piled up in a warehouse at Roswell Farm.

Except for the guns of the leading guys who were indicted and put in prison, which were still lying there eating ashes, the others were all given back to the soldiers when they were released.

Chen Jianqiu looked down on this broken spear from the bottom of his heart.

Didn't even touch it.

Because it needs to be loaded one by one, the rate of fire of this gun is really too slow.

Needless to say, compared with those semi-automatic and automatic weapons in his hands, even compared with the conventional bolt-action rifles in the Roswell Arsenal, they are all very outdated.

Lieutenant Rhodes didn't feel this way.

He proudly introduced this rifle to Chen Jianqiu.

"Mr. Chen, would you like to try this gun? This is a standard weapon exclusively for the army, and it cannot be found in the market outside." Rhodes handed over the gun.

Chen Jianqiu lost interest and shook his head.

Seeing this, Captain Rhodes thought that this Chinese businessman would not know how to use a gun, so he couldn't help laughing secretly.

He suddenly had the idea of ​​showing off his marksmanship in front of Chen Jianqiu.

"Give me the bullet." He stretched out his hand to the staff beside him.

The employee took out a few rounds of rifle bullets from the box on the table and handed them to Captain Rhodes.

Rhodes opened the magazine cover on the side of the gun, and stuffed the bullets in one by one.

Since the captain was eager to fire the gun, he was a little hasty when reloading, and accidentally dropped a bullet on the ground.

The scene was a bit embarrassing.

The employee next to him was about to come up to pick up the bullets, but was held back by another employee with a slightly higher EQ.

The man took out a new bullet from the box and handed it to Captain Rhodes.

The captain's face turned red and white.

He sneaked a glance at Chen Jianqiu beside him.

Fortunately, Boss Chen didn't seem to notice, he just smiled and looked at the bottle as the target in the distance.

Captain Rhodes quickly slapped the cover of the magazine, raised his gun and aimed.

He adjusted his breathing solemnly, and focused his eyes on the front sight.

The people around also held their breath.

At this distance, a target like a wine bottle is not too big, and it is not an easy task to hit it.

After aiming for a while, the captain finally pulled the trigger.

In fact, he was not sure, but in front of Chen Jianqiu, he didn't want to show his timidity.

Only a "bang" was heard.

The glass wine bottle in the distance was obviously hit and exploded.

"it is good!"

The employee who handed him the last bullet was the first to applaud and applaud at the same time.

The other employees quickly reacted, applauding and clapping their hands.

"The captain is good at marksmanship!"

"As expected of a warrior who fought the Indians with swords and guns!"

Captain Rhodes let out a long sigh of relief.

At last there is no embarrassment.

He glanced at the stone in the distance with satisfaction, and the glass wine bottle that was placed there had been smashed by him.

The captain felt a little complacent.

The shot just now was definitely due to his own strength and had absolutely nothing to do with luck.

He turned his head and found that Chen Jianqiu was looking around with his hands behind his back.

"Mr. Chen, I really suggest you give it a try. It would be a pity if people like us who run the arms business cannot experience the joy of using weapons." Captain Rhodes handed over the gun.

He didn't intend to make Chen Jianqiu look ugly, but to better highlight his outstanding marksmanship.

"My marksmanship is not very good." Chen Jianqiu waved his hand cheerfully, "Besides, I have never used this gun before."

When he said this, Captain Rhodes became even more persistent.

Never used this gun?Standard goods, never used normal.

Bad marksmanship?That's right, otherwise how can I show my awesomeness?

"It's okay, just play, just play." Captain Rhodes forced the gun into Chen Jianqiu's hand.

Chen Jianqiu looked at the gun in his hand.

This is the first time he has seen the gun up close.

The material of this gun actually seems to be elegant, but from the bolt and bolt, it seems that the workmanship is indeed a bit rough.

"Mr. Chen, there are four bullets left in the gun. You don't need to reload it. You just need to follow the front sight, aim at three points and one line, and adjust your breathing."

Captain Rhodes Taotao unconsciously talked about his "knowledge of marksmanship", but he didn't notice that Chen Jianqiu was just playing with the gun, not listening to Rhodes' words at all.

"Thomas, go get a bottle and rearrange it." Rhode ordered to one of his employees after he had said almost the same thing.

"no, I'm fine."

Chen Jianqiu spoke suddenly.

He waved his hand, and then pointed further: "Or just those three iron cans."

Everyone looked in the direction Chen Jianqiu pointed.

In the farther place, there is only one big tree, and there is no iron pot.

Captain Rhodes and others were a little unclear, so they didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Chen Jianqiu's gourd.

Only Thomas raised his hand.

"Uh, I did hang three iron cans on that tree." He said cautiously, "However, they were for testing scopes, not for naked-eye shooting. There is a word written on each iron can of."

As the person in charge of the shooting range, no one knows better than Thomas what things are placed here as targets.

Everyone looked in that direction again.

There is indeed something hanging under the thickest branch of that big tree, but it is very, very small, and you can't see it clearly unless you look carefully.

Thomas picked up a telescope from the table and handed it to Captain Rhodes.

Captain Rhodes raised his binoculars.

"It seems that there is, but this seems to be"

Before he finished speaking, the gun in Chen Jianqiu's hand was already fired.

Not once, but continuously.

"when!"

"Click!"

"when!"

"Click!"

There was a crisp sound of a bullet hitting a metal object in the distance, accompanied by the crisp sound of pulling the bolt.

Two flames appeared in succession in midair.

That was the burst of fire from the bullet hitting the tin can, indicating that the two bullets had hit.

Everyone stared into the distance with bated breath.

They are waiting for the third round.

After the third bullet was fired, the flame did not appear.

Is it empty?

But before everyone could figure it out, Chen Jianqiu pulled the trigger for the fourth time while they were all guessing.

There was a crisp sound, the flames reappeared, and the fourth shot hit.

Everyone has recovered from the shock.

Four hits and three hits. This distance is already a miracle. Seeing the marksmanship of this Chinese boss is really amazing.

Everyone also applauded and applauded.

Except for one person.

Captain Rhodes did not put down the binoculars for a long time, standing there blankly like a plaster statue.

Because besides Chen Jianqiu, he was the only one who knew:

The third shot just now was not empty, but directly broke the rope that tied the iron can. Immediately afterwards, before the can fell to the ground, Chen Jianqiu's fourth bullet hit it.

"My God!" Captain Rhodes murmured to himself as he recalled the scene he had just seen through the telescope.

Chen Jianqiu walked to the employee and handed the gun back to him:

"The speed of loading bullets is too slow, and this kind of gun will suffer on the battlefield." He commented, to be honest, "The production of the barrel has merits, but the other details are very rough."

Hearing Chen Jianqiu's words, Captain Rhodes recovered from the shock.

He finally put down the binoculars and looked at Chen Jianqiu with disbelief.

This is "bad marksmanship"?
"When I first came to the United States, I worked as a cowboy for a while, so I practiced a little marksmanship, which makes you laugh." Chen Jianqiu laughed.

Captain Rhodes obviously hasn't calmed down yet.

He really didn't know how to use words to describe and describe, which made his poor vocabulary reserve and expressive ability even worse.

At this time, another person galloped from the direction of the town's factory on a horse.

He came up to Captain Rhodes and whispered something in his ear.

"No, no, no! I can't pass the customs! And I haven't received any instructions from the Ministry of War on this matter." Captain Rhodes' attention was quickly diverted, and he became angry.

And Chen Jianqiu, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly interjected: "What makes you so irritable? Mr. Rhodes?"

Rhode suddenly realized that Chen Jianqiu was talking to him, and immediately put a smile on his face.

His current admiration for Chen Jianqiu is like a surging river, unstoppable once it flares up.

How else can I say why he sits firmly in the top spot in the US arms industry, possessing supernatural powers and excellent marksmanship.

Regarding Chen Jianqiu's questioning, he told the truth:

"A foreigner came to buy our guns, but we couldn't sell him."

"Oh?" Chen Jianqiu was really interested this time, "Why?"

Captain Rhodes shrugged:

"He's from Cuba."

(End of this chapter)