Chapter 21 of 43
Chapter 21
15 min read3,705 words
PS: First update of the day! Please follow, recommend, and thank the readers for their support and reviews!
Deputy Commander Long Yufei nodded. The equipment was all purchased through Antonio. Originally, it was from a small steel mill in Manila, which had been poorly managed and faced closure. After Antonio returned to Manila, he bought the equipment. This included a set of small-scale steel smelting equipment and a set of non-ferrous metal smelting equipment. Additionally, there were some machine tools, all essential for the early stages of industrial development!
To manufacture guns and cannons, steel was needed. To support Long Yufei's plans, developing steel and other non-ferrous metal smelting was essential! Long Yufei's expertise was in machinery and metallurgy, and these two areas were precisely his strengths! However, even with his expertise, sufficient materials were still necessary. Without enough materials, no matter how strong Long Yufei was, he couldn't conjure things out of thin air!
"Uncle Zhao, we need to get the steel mill up and running as soon as possible. We will face significant pressure in the future, and the demand for weapons will be high. Having our own steel mill will greatly reduce the pressure on weapons production!" Long Yufei said.
Wu Yongxing was even more shocked after hearing Long Yufei and Zhao Yi's conversation! He became even more curious about the Feiyu Company. The fact that they could establish their own steel mill and produce weapons was truly impressive! This made him feel that the decision to merge Wu Family Village with the Feiyu Company was very wise. The villagers of Wu Family Village now had a strong backing, and their future lives would be much better!
The meeting ended quickly, and the entire seaside became a massive construction site. Both the former pirates of Feiyu Island and the villagers of Wu Family Village, regardless of age or gender, joined in the labor. Among the workers, the most noticeable were the dark-skinned natives. The over five hundred natives captured in battle were now used as slaves! Their feet were tied with ropes, allowing them to take only small steps, and they were supervised by the Feiyu Company's army as they performed heavy labor.
At the foot of a small mountain not far from Wu Family Village, a brick factory was established to produce the bricks needed for building the city. Additionally, after Long Yufei provided the formula for cement, a cement factory was also planned. The most important steel mill was located at the edge of Wu Family Village. Meanwhile, Zhao Yi and his son, led by the villagers of Wu Family Village, began searching for iron ore in the western mountains.
The largest native tribe in the vicinity was the Buena tribe. In the previous battle, the main force of the Buena tribe had been destroyed, giving Long Yufei and his team a period of time to develop!
After about half a month, the small steel mill was initially completed. The small blast furnace stood by the Agusan River, not far from the beach. When the first furnace of iron flowed out, Long Yufei was very excited. The iron ore from the western mountains of Wu Family Village was rich, with high-grade ore that was easy to mine. Almost half of the over five hundred native slaves were sent to the mines. The mined ore was then transported back by animals or human labor. However, due to the limited labor force, the scale of the steel mill was not large. It could only produce a few dozen tons of pig iron per month. This pig iron would then be refined into wrought iron or steel!
"Commander, at the current scale, we can smelt fifty tons of steel and wrought iron per month! Now we can manufacture our own muskets!" the logistics officer Zhao Yi said excitedly. Although the current steel production was still small, it was a breakthrough from zero! As more slaves were captured in the future, the steel mill's production would gradually increase. Although it couldn't compare to the Western powers, it was a first in the entire South China Sea! Zhao Yi, who had lived for half a century, had never felt so confident about the future.
Long Yufei nodded, watching the red-hot iron flow, feeling very excited. This was the beautiful scene of industrialization! However, producing steel was just the first step. It still needed to be processed by subsequent equipment to make the necessary items, such as gun barrels.
The original Feiyu Island firearms workshop had expanded significantly and now had over a hundred people. However, most of them were older. The younger ones had already joined the Feiyu Company's army!
"Uncle Zhao, when will the new rifles be produced?" Long Yufei asked. The Berdan-style muzzle-loading rifles had a low rate of fire and weak power, which Long Yufei found unsatisfactory. Due to the small population, the expansion of the Feiyu Company's army was greatly limited. To improve the army's combat capability, they had to focus on weapons! Replacing the muzzle-loading rifles with breech-loading rifles was undoubtedly the best solution! By simplifying the loading process, the rate of fire could be increased by at least five times! Of course, Long Yufei could have provided more advanced rifle designs, such as adding a magazine. However, he ultimately rejected this idea. The Feiyu Company was still too weak. If these advanced weapons fell into the hands of Western powers, their advanced industrial capabilities would easily overwhelm the Feiyu Company. Therefore, he could only gradually introduce advanced weapons. Once the Feiyu Company had the strength to protect itself, they could produce more advanced weapons!
"Production has already started! Before our own steel was smelted, we started using the steel purchased through Antonio to produce gun barrels! Additionally, we have also manufactured the firing mechanisms, and the results are quite good! The main issue now is the production of bullets. There is a lack of copper, which is needed for the bullet casings and jackets. The copper we currently use is all purchased through Antonio. Also, our people are not yet proficient with the machinery, which greatly affects production efficiency! We can only produce two rifles per day!" Zhao Yi said.
Starting is always the hardest, and Long Yufei knew this well. However, producing only two rifles per day was still very frustrating.
"Uncle Zhao, try to increase production as much as possible! We will soon be fighting again, and the demand for weapons will be high! I will purchase more materials and equipment through Antonio!" Long Yufei said.
"Understood, Commander!" the logistics officer Zhao Yi quickly replied.
"Commander, don't worry. I will station a platoon to guard the firearms workshop, ensuring that not even a fly can get in!" the military officer Niu Meng said, patting his chest to guarantee it!
Inside the firearms workshop, production was in full swing. Some people were using machine tools to process the gun barrels and engrave rifling. Others were making other parts of the rifles. On the other side, bullets were being manufactured. Brass casings were filled with gunpowder, and the primer, made from copper and mercury fulminate, was installed at the bottom, followed by the pointed bullet. One bullet was thus produced. However, due to technical limitations and the workers' lack of proficiency, the current production speed was very slow, with only about a hundred bullets produced per day. This speed was also very low! Long Yufei hoped that in the future, this speed would increase by at least fifty times!
The current manager of the firearms workshop was Zhao Yi's eldest son, Zhao Xingkai, while his younger son, Zhao Xingchuan, managed the steel mill and the planned non-ferrous metal smelting plant. After all, long-term reliance on external copper purchases was unsustainable for the Feiyu Company. Additionally, the current gun barrels, made directly from steel pipes, did not meet Long Yufei's hardness requirements. Long Yufei knew that in the future, gun barrels were generally made from steel and chromium alloys to meet the requirements. Of course, the production of steel for cannons was the next goal to strive for!
In the warehouse of the firearms workshop, Long Yufei saw only six rifles on the shelves.
"Commander, the new rifle is 1344 millimeters long, with a barrel length of 852 millimeters and a weight of ten pounds. It uses the firing mechanism and breech-loading method you proposed. The caliber is 7.6 millimeters. After testing, the maximum range is 600 meters, and the effective range is around 200 meters! A skilled soldier can fire at least ten rounds per minute!" Zhao Xingkai introduced to Long Yufei.
Long Yufei nodded. The rifle in front of him was exactly the same as the Mauser 71 rifle in his memory. However, due to the use of black powder, the maximum and effective ranges were not high.
Long Yufei and the others picked up the rifles and examined them carefully. Niu Meng, in particular, couldn't put it down.
"Commander, this rifle doesn't have a name yet. Since you designed it, you should name it!" Zhao Yi said.
"Name? Let's call it the 'Feiyu' rifle!" Long Yufei said directly!
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