America 1881: Legend of the West

prince edward

Full name: Albert Edward von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Age: 44 years old

Education: Graduated from Oxford University and Cambridge University

Hobbies: horse racing, yachting, and playing with women.

Because of his absurdity and indiscretion in life, the great Queen Victoria prohibited him from getting involved in specific court affairs and state affairs.

I was afraid that he would inadvertently do something outrageous and harm the royal family and the country.

Fortunately, Prince Edward didn't care about this.

He is a man who yearns for freedom.

After getting rid of his mother's control, Prince Edward's life was very regular and his destination was clear.

Generally speaking, it is the racecourse, the dance party and the woman's bed.

At this point, his close minister Churchill was in line with his taste.

Although the two men were more than ten years apart in youth, Churchill was very good at catering to each other's preferences.

Both men had served in the military, one in Ireland and the other as a military observer overseas.

Churchill not only found women for him, but also came up with some novel things from time to time to arouse the prince's interest.

This made Edward very satisfied.

He won't be bored anymore.

To outsiders, the finance minister's brother was just a jester around the prince.

But Churchill was enamored with this path.

Whether he is a jester or a clown, unless Edward dies early, wouldn't it be her own master who will take the throne of England a hundred years later when Queen Victoria ascends to the throne?

Chen Jianqiu, led by Maxim, carried a small box to Churchill's residence in London.

A chance meeting in Chile made the communication between the two go smoothly.

Chen Jianqiu handed the small suitcase to Churchill and opened it.

Churchill's eyes were attracted by the pure gold statuette inside.

"I hope to arrange for Prince Edward to come and take a look at our products, and it would be best to bring other members of the royal family with him," Chen Jianqiu said.

"Then how should I describe your machine gun?" Churchill's eyes were still on the solid gold statue.

"A wonderful product that allows Great Britain to continue to maintain its suppression of overseas colonies while standing at the top of the empire." Chen Jianqiu described it this way.

A week later, shocking news came from Churchill.

Three days later, members of the royal family would come to see a demonstration of the Maxim machine gun.

Not only Prince Edward, but also Queen Victoria.

The influence of this jester's bragging ability on the royal family even exceeded Chen Jianqiu's imagination.

In front of Prince Edward, he boasted about this weapon and told the prince about his experience in Chile.

This incident soon reached the ears of Queen Victoria.

She actually became very interested in it.

Maxim was trembling with excitement.

There was nothing too disturbing on Chen Jianqiu's face.

But in the next two days, he and Ma Keqin spent time in the workshop every day, holding a wrench and working together day and night to improve the machine gun used for demonstration.

"Hey, Chen, I added an automatic horizontal rotation device to it, so that it can shoot without the need for a shooter." Maxim said proudly.

Three days later, an empty hillside shooting range outside Kent.

The improved Maxim machine gun used as a demonstration was quietly placed at one end of the shooting range.

This is a very finely crafted machine gun, made of blued steel and brass.

Whether it is the wheeled gun frame, the polished brass water jacket, the ammunition box tray, and the mahogany rollers from the grip to the side of the ammunition supply port.

All embody the best engineering technology of this era.

Queen Victoria, Prince Edward and other members of the royal family stood at a distance from the machine guns.

This is the first time Chen Jianqiu meets the Queen.

She is very handsome, with a sharp nose, but her eyes have the aura of a king who looks down upon the world.

But Chen Jianqiu's attention stopped at the other young man beside her.

The young man looked in their direction with a penetrating gaze.

What surprised Chen Jianqiu was that his left hand was wearing a glove, but his right hand was not.

In addition to members of the royal family, people from the Army Staff were finally willing to send people.

Her Majesty the Queen came in person, and it would be unjustifiable if they did not send someone, including Sir Andrew Clark, the British Government's Inspector of Fortifications.

He waved his hand in Chen Jianqiu's direction.

Maxim sat in front of the machine gun, and Chen Jianqiu loaded the bullet belt into the machine gun for him.

The long bullet belt extended all the way to the ammunition box on the ground.

"Let's get started." Chen Jianqiu patted Maxim on the shoulder and then walked aside.

Maxim calmed down.

He roughly estimated the trajectory, then pulled the trigger and started shooting at a target several hundred meters away.

The results are obvious.

The target was quickly torn apart by Ma Keqin's bullets like a storm.

Chen Jianqiu was satisfied with the effect of the demonstration.

He glanced back at the audience.

Most everyone was silent, including the Queen.

Because they knew that if what was erected there was not a target, but a living person and horse, this place would have been filled with blood.

What the Ambassador and Churchill said about what happened in Chile was true.

"There has never been a gun in the world that can kill so many people and horses in such a short period of time!" a staff officer sighed softly.

There are only two exceptions.

One is Prince Edward, and the other is the young man wearing only one glove next to Queen Victoria.

Edward came over.

"Can you let me try?" He thought Maxim was the boss and said to him directly.

Maxim looked at Chen Jianqiu, who nodded.

"Why not? Your Royal Highness." Maxim made a very British salute.

After receiving the consent, Prince Edward immediately sat next to the machine gun and grabbed the handle that controlled the direction of the machine gun with both hands.

He asked Chen Jianqiu to quickly load bullets for him.

Chen Jianqiu walked slowly to the back and brought out a small ammunition box.

At this time, the spectators just now also came to the vicinity of the machine gun.

The staff members stood on both sides of the machine gun, preparing to watch the prince's test firing, while covering their mouths and discussing in whispers.

Prince Edward had served in the military, so he didn't need much introduction from Maxim.

After Chen Jianqiu installed the bullet belt, the prince couldn't wait to pull the trigger.

He fired the bullet into the remaining target on the other side.

A bullet belt was quickly finished, and the thrown shell casings fell on the side of the machine gun, forming a small pile.

"Change another one and I'll try again." The prince seemed unhappy and urged Chen Jianqiu to change the bullet.

His eyes sparkled with immense excitement.

The machine gun roared again.

Chen Jianqiu watched with some boredom as the prince ravaged the air and the torn targets?

Is this guy decompressing?

But as he looked at it, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The muzzle of the gun was slowly spinning clockwise uncontrollably.

Maxim's automatic horizontal rotation device was inexplicably activated.

In the direction of the sweep, there were two staff officers standing aside.

And more officers stood behind them.

The prince did not notice this, he just felt the grip carrying him along.

If this continues, the British Army's General Staff may be overwhelmed by this machine gun.

It's too late, but it's soon.

Chen Jianqiu rushed forward with a lunge, pressed his hand on the handle, and quickly turned off the automatic horizontal rotation device.

Prince Edward is still a little confused.

He and several uninformed officers around the machine gun stared at Chen Jianqiu, wanting to ask the Chinese why he wanted to stop him from having fun.

It can hinder the face and cultivation of the royal family.

The prince still said nothing. He reluctantly stood up from the machine gun and moved his body away.

Queen Victoria, who could see everything clearly behind her, snorted, turned around and left with her attendants.

His son's performance was as disappointing as ever.

Chen Jianqiu was bending down to collect the bullet casings on the ground.

However, a young voice reached his ears: "I want to buy this machine gun of yours!"

Chen Jianqiu straightened up and looked back to find the owner of the voice.

It was the young man wearing only one glove.

When the young man spoke, he did not look at Chen Jianqiu or Maxim.

He had been watching the heavy machine gun.

At this time, Churchill also came over.

He told Chen Jianqiu's ear the identity of this young man.

He was the grandson of Queen Victoria and the grandson of the current Emperor Wilhelm I of the German Empire.

Of course, Chen Jianqiu knew the future emperor's more commonly known title:

William II!