1850 American Gold Tycoon

Late March 1857.

Liang Yao returned to California. As soon as he returned to Sacramento, the Sacramento Arsenal and the Volcano Repeating Weapons Company brought him good news.

The center-loading rifles and machine guns he had longed for finally took shape.

In fact, the Sacramento Arsenal's new rifle successfully developed a prototype gun in early February and carried out small batch production.

On the contrary, the progress of the machine guns of the Volcanic Stone Repeating Weapons Company was relatively slow. It was not until mid-March that six so-called "machine guns" were produced according to the blueprint provided by Liang Yao.

Liang Yao was not surprised at all that the new rifle was progressing so smoothly.

The precision machining industry in the mid-19th century was already quite developed, and California gathered the essence of the American precision machining industry.

By dismantling the Dreiser needle gun and developing its own Walter-type rifle, the Sacramento Arsenal has completed the technical reserves for manufacturing the first-generation bolt-action metal fixed-loading rifle.

The reason why firearms failed to make further progress is not because of the mechanical processing industry, but because the supporting chemical industry has been lagging behind.

Now that California has the technical reserves for metal fixed-loading rifles and center-fire ammunition, the advent of the first-generation bolt-action metal fixed-loading rifles and even machine guns is a matter of course.

Sutter, the director of the Sacramento Arsenal, a veteran firearms player, has experienced the pleasure and fun of using a bolt-action metal fixed-loading rifle in advance.

At the test firing site of the Sacramento Arsenal, both the Sacramento Arsenal and the Volcanic Rock Repeating Weapons Company brought their samples for test firing, waiting for Liang Yao's acceptance.

"The center-fire bullet is really easy to use. This gun is more reliable than the Walter M1851 rifle. A large part of the credit is due to this bullet! This is a real rifle!"

Sutter was full of praise for this new rifle and couldn't put it down.

"Listen to what you said, this rifle has no shortcomings?" Liang Yao picked up a brand new rifle from the table.

“You’ll know the shortcomings once you try it.”

Liang Yao designed this gun based on the later Mauser 1871 rifle. Therefore, the gun and the Mauser 1871 rifle cannot be said to be exactly the same in appearance, but the similarity is still very high.

The biggest difference between the two is the caliber. The Mauser 1871 uses 11x60mm flat-head bullets. The gun makes a trade-off between power and recoil. It chooses to sacrifice part of the power in exchange for smaller recoil to improve shooting accuracy. It uses smaller bullets. 8x50mm flat nose bullet.

In addition, the gun is shorter and lighter than the Mauser 1871 in length and weight.

The gun is 1200mm long and weighs 9kg, all of which met Liang Yao's psychological expectations.

Under the guidance of Walter, the gun's designer, Liang Yao quickly figured out how to operate the gun and conducted a test fire.

Comparing the imported Dresser needle gun that has been withdrawn from active service and the current Walter M1851 rifle, this gun combines the bolt opening and locking firing pin into one action, which improves shooting efficiency.

Liang Yao grabbed the bolt of the gun, rotated it and pulled it back, extremely smooth.

After four or five shots, Liang Yao was very satisfied with the performance of the new gun. The sight range of this gun was 500 meters. In fact, Liang Yao felt that it could maintain accuracy even at 600 meters.

Moreover, the shooting feel is better than that of Walter M1851, and the operation is simpler and easier to use.

Liang Yaogang wanted to praise him a few times, but he didn't expect that after firing seven or eight consecutive shots, the pull of the gun bolt became more and more astringent, making it difficult to pull.

Unable to pull the bolt with just his hands, Liang Yao had an idea and pushed hard with his foot. Then he pushed the bolt open, poured the hot cartridge case out of the magazine, loaded the bullet and fired another round, and found that the bolt was still there. It's so tight that it takes a lot of force to pull it open.

"This is caused by the tightness between the bolt and the bore being too high. The Walter M1851 we produced previously suffered from poor air tightness in the bore, so this time we intentionally increased the tightness between the bolt and the bore. I didn't expect it to be self-defeating. Cleaning it frequently and applying Vaseline can alleviate this problem." Walter explained to Liang Yao.

"Can it be improved in subsequent production?" Liang Yao asked.

Liang Yao could understand that the new gun had just come out and there were some problems. The key was to improve it in subsequent batches of production.

"With the processing accuracy of the Sacramento Arsenal, yes." Sutter replied very confidently.

"It's just that the smoke is too big. Every time after shooting, the smoke is not only choking, but also affects the field of vision ahead." Liang Yao felt that there were some flaws.

"It would be great if there was a gunpowder that could be fired without producing a lot of smoke."

He said this specifically to Walter and Nobel.

The next innovation in standard rifles is smokeless gunpowder. In the final analysis, it is still an innovation in ammunition, that is, chemical industry.

In the 19th century, the relative lag in the development of the chemical industry had seriously affected the progress of weapons.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion after hearing this. They didn't know what was going on in Liang Yao's head. Sartre said, "You are just thinking too much. The gunpowder we produce produces very little smoke when shooting."

"Yes, where can such gunpowder be found? Are you crazy again?" Liang Shaoqiong also believed that there could be no such gunpowder in the world.

It is necessary for gunpowder to burn and not emit smoke. In his understanding, such a thing cannot exist.

"Sir, there really is such a thing." Old Nobel thought for a long time, and soon his eyes lit up.

"Ten years ago, the French chemist Astan Lecroir accidentally prepared a compound that produced very little smoke when burned, almost negligible. It seems that he called this compound nini. "Fiber?"

Thinking of this, old Nobel scratched his head and head anxiously, his head seemed to be short-circuited, and he couldn't remember what this compound was called.

"Nitro fiber is called Nitro fiber father." Nobel reminded his father.

"Yes, that's the name. Your memory is better, kid." Old Nobel slapped his forehead and finally connected the missing memories.

"Mr. Nobel, do you know how to prepare this fiber?" Liang Yao asked the old Nobel.

"I don't know. It happened many years ago. I remember it was 1846 or 1847. I read it in a local chemistry journal when I was traveling in Paris. I only have a vague impression now." Nobel spread his hands regretfully.

"It seems to be made by the reaction of some kind of cellulose and nitric acid." Nobel grabbed his chin and stared in deep thought, as if he was searching for memories from many years ago.

After thinking about it for a long time, he could not remember the specific preparation formula of this compound.

"After so many years, if this kind of thing can be prepared into the kind of gunpowder that burns without producing smoke as you said, I don't think no one will care about it." Old Nobel said.

If the French really used this fiber to prepare smokeless gunpowder, a chemical with such great military value would never be hidden.

This is not surprising. In recent years, chemists and chemistry enthusiasts from all over the world have discovered many interesting compounds through various weird and imaginative implementations.

But few of these new compounds have commercial value.

"At least it opened up a new way of thinking," Liang Yao said.

"If you are interested in preparing this compound, I will provide you with all the support you need."

"The experimental conditions you have provided us in the Nobel Laboratory are already very, very good. We don't lack anything." Old Nobel said.

He is very satisfied with the scientific research environment in California, so satisfied that he can't think of anything that needs improvement.

"Your Excellency, you haven't named this gun yet." Sartre reminded Liang Yaodao.

"According to the old rules, it is still called the Walter rifle. This year is 1857, so let's call it the Walter M1857 rifle." Liang Yao said.

"Sir, this rifle is the idea and blueprint you provided. I dare not plagiarize your scientific research results." Walter declined quickly.

The current Walter M1851 rifle was also the idea and blueprint provided by Liang Yao. He felt worthy of having this type of rifle named after him, Walter.

"In your opinion, how should this gun be named?" Liang Yao asked everyone for their opinions.

"We have discussed privately that the General Liang M1857 rifle will be named after you," Sutter said.

It was difficult to disobey the public opinion, and Liang Yao accepted the proposal.

Finally, Liang Yao learned about the cost of General Liang's M1857 rifle and was very satisfied when he learned that the cost of this rifle was US$18 a piece.

This price is slightly higher than the Walter M1851 rifle currently used by the Western Brigade. After mass production, the price can continue to decrease.

The Sacramento Arsenal is worthy of being the number one arsenal on the West Coast, and it did not disappoint him.

After test-firing the rifle, the next thing to be inspected is the hand-cranked machine gun.

To be honest, Liang Yao looked forward to the performance of the machine gun more than the rifle.

"General, this is a machine gun manufactured by our Volcano Repeating Weapons Company according to your ideas."

Kony confidently untied the oilcloth covering the hand-cranked machine gun, revealing the mystery of the hand-cranked machine gun.

This is the first public appearance of the hand-cranked machine gun of Volcano Repeating Arms Company, and everyone is curious about this strange-shaped weapon.

"Kony, doesn't this just connect 10 barrels together?"

Sartre stepped forward and looked at the strange-looking gun carefully.

"This guy is not so much a gun as he is a door cannon."

"This thing is indeed more like a cannon." Liang Shaoqiong also thought so.

This thing is mounted on something similar to a gun carriage, and it doesn't look like a gun at all.

"Mr. Sartre, how many bullets can 10 skilled riflemen shoot if they are given one minute?" Kony asked knowingly.

"60 rounds, up to 70 rounds." Sartre thought for a while and replied.

"My gun only requires two people, one is responsible for shooting and the other is responsible for loading. It can shoot more than 300 rounds of ammunition per minute!" Kony patted his hand-cranked machine gun.

"More than 300 rounds per minute? Kony, you are bragging again. Do you know what the concept of firing more than 300 bullets per minute is? Even a platoon in the Western Brigade may not be able to produce this kind of firepower!"

Sartre looked at the bulky gun next to Kony, not believing that this big, silly, cannon-like guy could fire at a rate of 300 rounds per minute.

Not only did Sartre not believe it, but no one present, except those who had personally participated in the development of hand-operated machine guns, believed this terrifying parameter. Unless they've seen it with their own eyes.

"Hehe." Kony smiled maliciously, "How about we make a bet, Mr. Sartre?"

"What are you betting on?" Sartre asked alertly.

"If the rate of fire of this machine gun can reach 300 rounds per minute, the Sacramento Arsenal authorizes Volcano Repeating Arms Company to produce the General Liang rifle," Coney said.

Bet on this? Then you lose.

Sartre was overjoyed and asked expectantly: "What if you lose?"

"All my shares in the Volcanic Stone Repeating Weapons Company belong to you." Coney felt happy when he saw that Sartre had taken the bait.

"It's a deal, even if you are very cunning, General Liang is here today, so I don't think you dare to play any tricks." Sartre said with a smile.

"Listen to the thunder, gentlemen!"

As he spoke, Coney put his hand on the hand crank, took a deep breath, and motioned to his companion Winchester to load the bullet.

Winchester understood, took out the long upright magazine that had been loaded, inserted it into the ammunition supply port on the top, and held the magazine.

Sartre quickly took out his pocket watch and prepared to count the time.

Kony was ready. He slowly turned the hand crank, and the barrel of the machine gun rotated, and bullets were fed into the chamber one by one.

Bullets sprayed out from the barrel of the machine gun, shooting forward like a sudden rain of iron.

One after another, the metal projectiles accurately hit the wooden target, making a crisp sound and easily tearing the wooden target into pieces. For a moment, the smoke filled the air, and the metal shells that were constantly thrown jumped and danced on the ground.

In just a few seconds, the thick smoke rising from the machine gun had completely blocked the view ahead.

Kony endured the choking smell of gunpowder smoke, slowly and slowly cranked the hand crank according to his own rhythm, and shot based on instinct.

"One minute's up! Stop!"

Liang Yao's voice came to Kony's ears. He stopped and the sound of machine gun shooting stopped abruptly.

The smoke from the shooting range gradually dissipated, and people saw a messy scene again.

Kony's breathing was rapid and excitement was written on his face.

"Mr. Sartre, don't forget our bet!"

Kony was extremely excited, and everyone's stunned expressions were the best affirmation of this new weapon.

Among the people present, except for Liang Yao and Walter, who was involved in the design and manufacturing work, and there was no reaction, the rest of the people were already in a state of panic.

Shen Baozhen, who had never been on the battlefield and had heard the fierce gunfire, turned pale with fright, collapsed to the ground, and did not recover for a long time.

"338 rounds, my God, a full 328 rounds of bullets were fired in one minute," Sutter muttered to himself, looking at the hand-cranked machine gun whose barrel had been beaten to the point of smoking.

"This is truly a magic weapon that one man can defeat and no one can open!" Liang Shaoqiong took a breath of cold air.

"This thing only needs to be driven up to the city wall! It only takes two people to block the attack of hundreds of people! Killing people will be as easy as mowing grass!"

Liang Shaoqiong, who has led soldiers and fought in wars, knows very well how terrifying the killing efficiency of this hand-cranked machine gun is. He has never seen a weapon with a higher killing efficiency than the hand-cranked machine gun.

"Uncle who wants money." Liang Yao reminded, "Kony just wiped out a month's salary of an ordinary person in one minute, a full 20 US dollars, and it was gone in an instant."

This is not an exaggeration. A center-fire bullet costs 6 cents. Kony just shot out a total of 338 bullets in one go. Not counting the wear and tear of the machine gun, it cost 28 US dollars.

An average Californian can only earn this much without eating, drinking or spending money in a month. It would take an average person in the East more than two months to earn $20.

"Tsk, tsk, it's like a giant gold-swallowing beast!" Liang Shaoqiong tutted.

"Koni." Liang Yao called Kony to him and patted Kony's shoulder approvingly.

"You did a great job. How much did this hand-cranked machine gun cost?"

"750 US dollars per gun! General! This is a full 250 US dollars lower than what you originally asked for us. It is not expensive. 750 US dollars buys half a company of firepower." Kony rubbed his hands excitedly.

"You kid." Liang Yao scolded with a smile, "There is no charge for the bullets, and there is no charge for daily maintenance, right? Anyway, mass production, I will charge you as much as you can produce."

"Little brother." Liang Shaoqiong grabbed Kony's sleeve and asked, "Do you have any in stock? I bought them all! I want them now!"