European Financial Emperor

052 The Good Baron (2)

As of October 11, 1823, Lee Hwan became the commander of the ‘East Stella Mercenaries’ and the ‘Blackmaul Fleet’ of the Royal Navy.

The Dutch royal family was investing huge amounts of capital through negotiations with Mexico so that Yi Hwan could make a nest on the coast of western North America.

Accordingly, Lee Hwan moved ‘East Stellar Chosun’ to North America and was spurring preparations to have mercenaries stationed there.

Inside the East Stellar Company’s underground machinery development room.

Here, the development of heavy-duty steel-wire cannons and turret-type guns was in full swing.

“Development is smooth enough that we can sail right away.”

“Ugh!”

“I’m preparing for the actual artillery fire, and I only need to give you one day.”

“good. Let’s test fire tomorrow.”

Lee Hwan preached to the East Stellar development team about the concept of the main regression seat, and drew the blueprint and delivered it.

Controlling the recoil accompanying firing is the key to cannons, especially in the case of cannons used on the ground, since there was no medium to act as a buffer, a buffer system such as the main recoil seat was essential.

The main recoil seat system refers to a system in which only a part of the cannon is pushed back when the cannon is fired and then restored.

The reason that Lee Hwan previously studied the hydraulic machine was to complete the mechanism of this main recuperative seat.

In addition, a system capable of annihilating an enemy with one single blow by developing an iron-clad shell wrapped in a brass casing and a detonation-type explosive shell was now nearing completion.

However, in the case of high-explosives, the disadvantage was that the rate of misfire was rather high, as it was still suffering from a lack of technology in the development of the fuse.

It could be said that Lee Hwan achieved innovation in modern combat only with the development of Hana armored shells.

next day.

Lee Hwan decided to mount the gun on the ‘West Stella’, the first ironclad ship, and fire. Also, immediately after the artillery fire was over, there was going to be an artillery fire from the ground.

Dressed in military uniform, Lee Hwan entered West Stella’s bridge.

“Everyone is attentive!”

“rest.”

The East Stella mercenary corps now had an army of 3,000 men and was in excellent training condition.

Also, 300 soldiers from the first pirate subjugation came in and acted as training instructors, so morale seemed to skyrocket.

Since West Stella had not yet installed a power plant, it was unable to depart, but artillery fire was possible.

“Okay, then let’s start the test shooting.”

“Yes, Commander!”

According to Lee Hwan’s orders, the soldiers moved in unison.

ding ding!

When the guns installed on the bridge sounded, the soldiers were trained to move to their designated positions and prepare to maneuver and fire.

The soldiers, who moved as if a single human body were metabolizing, moved the two-row extended main battery guns on the deck.

The 8-inch double-row extended guns installed at West Stella were used as the main guns of the armored personnel carriers, and small-caliber guns were installed on the stern and deck sides.

It evolved from an old turret-type gun, but it was inferior to a modern turret, so it could be seen as a middle ground.

It was a hydraulic chain system that moved the guns, requiring six men to hold on to the handle and exert their full force.

However, it has a range that is well over ten times that of a battleship of the 19th century, and its destructive power is enough to sink a wooden ship in one shot.

The history of naval battles would change just by having such a cannon rotate 360 degrees.

Lee Hwan said while examining the pile of dirt on the banks of the Mas River with a telescope.

“Fire as the first target.”

“Yes! Shoot as the first target!”

As the lieutenants took Lee Hwan’s order and issued the firing order, artillery with modern training began to calculate the firing specifications.

The observer gave accurate specifications based on the best existing lens, and the fire control center calculated it accurately, so if only the shooter moved it properly, there would be no problem.

After a while, the specifications were issued from the shooting command post that had finished the calculations.

and the subsequent shooting.

“West Stella main battery guns ready to fire!”

“launch.”

“launch!”

Whoops!

The hull felt a little shaky.

However, as if the god of thunder struck the waterside with a hammer, the stream bounced in a circular shape.

🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

After a while, an armor-piercing bullet that flew hit the target.

Aww!

“Hit!”

“Commander, it’s a hit!”

Lee Hwan smiled contentedly.

“Fufu, it’s finally finished!”

It is by no means a perfect system.

Although they made early steel, they did not have proper armor, so if they were hit with a warhead of the same weight, the ship could easily sink.

But in this day and age, that was never going to happen.

Because there was no ship in the world capable of hitting West Stellar.

In addition to the main battery guns, the gunfire continued to side guns and stern guns, and all of them hit the target.

Lee Hwan fed the soldiers well and started firing the ground artillery.

The ground gun was manufactured in the form of a towed gun in which a 100 mm diameter barrel and a long rear gun leg were driven into the ground.

It will take some time to line up, but the fact that it has a range of more than 18 km will show its formidable power.

However, compared to modern towed guns, the range is shorter and the destructive power is considerably lower, because a barrel strong enough to withstand the action of gas has not yet been developed.

East Stella Company’s patent is currently the only technology that can fire more than 10 km of shells, so it was clear that if a bullet was fired from over the ridge, the enemy would have to die without even knowing the English language.

Lee Hwan made and distributed a manual to the artillerymen, and based on it, he repeated and mastered it, and the artillerymen had the skills of hundreds of thousands.

However, the problem was that the internal combustion engine was not fully developed and there was no means to carry it.

If only one internal combustion engine was to be developed, it was all just a matter of time.

After lunch break, Lee Hwan opened fire.

“Commander, you have completed the formation!”

“Okay, we hit target number one. Fire from the ready gunner.”

“The first target in the direction of the port! Start shooting from the prepared shooter!”

There were many parts that were somewhat different from modern times as we prepared a system suitable for the 19th century based on the knowledge of the modern military, which we do not know who belonged.

But the important thing was that it could hit the target accurately.

Quang!

The shells flew to the target 5 km ahead and exploded.

Of the 15 guns, 4 were unsuccessful.

“A misfire was observed in guns 4, 5, 6 and 10.”

“It’s a pretty high probability of a misfire.”

“But the fragments alone will be more than enough for the enemy to die.”

There were still a lot of things to be corrected, and there were a lot of places to fix.

Nevertheless, it was an unmistakable fact that it possessed overwhelming firepower and range.

Lee Hwan wrote down the parts that needed to be corrected immediately in the incorrect answer notebook, and worked hard to make a better army based on it.

“Let’s hand over the questionnaire to all the mercenaries so that they can describe the problems they felt during today’s test shooting.”

“A survey?”

“There may be difficulties in the lower part that the upper part is not aware of. We only give orders, but the ones who actually shoot are the soldiers in the front.”

“Ugh! After all, even if something is different, it is different. Then, I will create a questionnaire and distribute it right away.”

The more detailed the notes for incorrect answers, the better, and it is better to get questionnaires from as many people as possible.

Quite a number of soldiers were mobilized for today’s shooting, so it seemed that a fairly decent note of incorrect answers would be completed if a questionnaire was received.

That evening.

Lee Hwan carefully read the questionnaires collected from the soldiers one by one.

In general, it was an atmosphere that was satisfied with the comfortable environment compared to life on a wooden boat.

After the defeat in the English War, the Netherlands, as an ally and neutral country of Britain, gradually reduced its navy and was almost on the verge of dissolution except for a small number of mercenary units.

As a result, the ship was rotten, and the harbor was not well-maintained for launching battle ships.

In a word, the navy, trapped in the country of the Netherlands, was notorious for the worst living conditions.

However, contrary to what I had heard, the ironclad ships were well maintained, and the movement lines were well organized in a very systematic way.

Although it was hot and humid, it meant that there was no need to sniff the dung or eat a disgusting meal.

In addition, the freshwater facility was also filtered through a filter developed by Lee Hwan to drink water, so the satisfaction with the water quality was high.

“In general, I have no complaints about the living environment.”

Although life on a ship is difficult no matter how much the ship develops, Lee Hwan did his best to treat the soldiers, so this was the result.

However, in the process of preparing for battle, there was no choice but to be dissatisfied.

The biggest problem was that the firing system of the rear-mounted cannon was still a bit unstable.

The cannon designed by Lee Hwan was a method of inserting a charge made of nitroglycerin, pulling the loading handle to fire the cannon, then removing the ejected cartridge case and reloading it.

The key to this mechanism is the stability of the charge and smooth gas operation, but since it is an early model, it seems that triggering failures such as detonator failure occur frequently.

In addition, since the tanme is still quite thick, it was a bit difficult for the burst fire.

“Other problems include the fact that the barrel heats up quickly and communication between the gunner and the firing command post. Hmm… … .”

Overall, there were a lot of things to look out for, but Lee Hwan was more satisfied with the number of incorrect answers.

The process of creating a masterpiece is generally difficult, and the more tribulation you go through, the more likely it is that a masterpiece will be born.

Lee Hwan was organizing the notes for the wrong answers, and then he suddenly had this thought.

“Wait, can’t you at least send Morse code even if you can’t transmit your voice?”

The next morning, Lee Hwan visited the lab with the supplements he had organized himself.

As the first shot was successful yesterday, the researchers, who were intoxicated with victory, seemed to have drank alcohol last night.

Lee Hwan didn’t want to reprimand them.

However, he showed a firm attitude in delivering the things that need to be improved in the future.

“I will give you a rest today. However, starting tomorrow, please complete the homework I gave you. Do you know?”

“Yes, sir! Of course.”

“And one more thing, we’re going to make something that makes a constant sound by passing an electric current through it.”

Lee Hwan conceived a telegram system last night, designed it and made it into a single drawing.

Of course, behind this drawing, the telegram-related theories written by Lee Hwan were written in abundance.

The technicians opened their mouths in surprise.

“Huh! How the heck did all these theories… … .”

“Telegram is a system of communication using signals made up of dots and lines. You can use it to make words or you can make sentences. Sometimes it can even be used for military communications.”

“iced coffee!”

“Then I will trust you. I hope it will be completed by the next departure.”

“Yes, sir! Just trust me!”

The current East Stellar Company had no difficulty in completing the telegram system.

Researchers could not yet imagine how telegraphs designed for military use would develop in the future.

However, only five years later, they would realize how great of an invention Lee Hwan had made.