Chapter 5 Instant Fame
1259 Words
"Yes, its range and power can be increased by charging.
Different levels of charging have different effects!"
"Yeah, I knew it."
Cai Zheng put the Golden Flash back in its holster and then put it on his gun. He was now a man with a magic-powered gun!
An M1911 and a Golden Flash—very stylish!
"That system... how much experience do I need to upgrade?"
Cai Zheng asked.
"I gained a lot of experience while forging this magic-powered gun. I need to produce about 100 M1987 rifles before the next upgrade!"
"Good, enough materials.
Let's produce them now!"
"Okay, production in progress, please wait!"
"Ding, congratulations on upgrading! Unlocked the Han-made bolt-action rifle!"
"Eh, Han-made?"
Cai Zheng was astonished. How did he unlock this?!
Speaking of the Han-made, although this gun wasn't very famous, it was full of legendary charm!
The prototype of the "Han-made" rifle was the German Model 1888 Commission rifle!
In 1886, the French Army adopted the brand-new Lebel rifle.
This was the world's first rifle to use smokeless powder, surpassing the German Seidon 71/84 rifle in range, accuracy, and power.
Under this pressure, Germany immediately established the "Rifle Testing Committee" (Gewhr Prfungs Kommission, abbreviated GPK).
To counter the Lebel, the GPK decided to design its own new rifle and ammunition.
The new rifle incorporated technologies from the Seidon, Lebel, and Mannlicher rifles. The new smokeless powder rifle cartridge was an improvement on the Swiss-designed 7.92mm rimless bottleneck cartridge.
The new rifle completed field trials in November 1888, and the GPK recommended its immediate adoption.
On November 12, 1888, Wilhelm II signed an order for the new rifle, which was designated the Gewhr 88 (or simply Gew88). It was 1240mm long, weighed 3.9kg unloaded, had a 5-round magazine capacity, used clip-on ammunition, had a sight range of 2000m, and was chambered in 7.92mm ammunition.
The Gewhr 88's entry into service was not without its problems.
First, rumors of barrel explosions quickly circulated. Then, rumors surfaced that the smokeless powder manufacturer had bribed the government. This company happened to be Jewish-owned, and the matter became a hot topic in Germany, leading to the Gewhr 88 being derisively called the "Jewish rifle" (Judenflinte).
Regardless of whether bribery occurred, the Gewhr 88 did have some fatal flaws, such as difficulty loading and unloading, a tendency for spent cartridges to fail, and a high risk of barrel explosions. Ten years later, when the Seiler 1898 rifle was finalized, the Type 88 rifle was immediately replaced.
However, this rifle was not phased out.
Due to the ignorance of Qing officials, the Germans, using the Seiler name, falsely claimed the Type 88 rifle was a Seiler rifle and sold it to the Self-Strengthening Movement, even transferring the design and production machinery to them.
In 1907, the Qing government began training a new army, dividing the country into thirty-six divisions, with two divisions in Hubei.
Their light weapons were "Han-made" (modern-day Han-made).
Therefore, the first shot of the Xinhai Revolution was fired by a "Han-made" rifle.
The later Beiyang Army also used "Han-made" rifles.
Soldiers also carried "Han-made" rifles during the warlord conflicts.
The Northern Expeditionary Army used "Han-made" rifles to fight the warlords.
In 1938, a small batch of "Han-made" rifles were produced in the anti-Japanese base areas of Jiaodong.
Although the Kuomintang Ordnance Factory No. 11 began producing the Type 24 rifle in 1935, while the Type 24 was more advanced than the "Han-made" rifle, the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan two years later, coupled with the Japanese advance and the relocation of the arsenal, significantly impacted its production.
Therefore, apart from a few Central Army units, the "Han-made" rifle remained the primary weapon of the Kuomintang forces during the war.
Even the Japanese army modified captured "Han-made" rifles for training in schools at all levels.
The puppet troops, needless to say, also equipped themselves with "Han-made" rifles.
Until the end of the War of Resistance, the "Han-made" rifle remained the main weapon of Chinese soldiers.
During the Chinese Civil War, many PLA soldiers still used "Han-made" rifles. Even in the early stages of the Korean War, some Volunteer Army soldiers used "Han-made" rifles to fight against "United Front" rifles in the freezing cold.
After the PLA re-equipped with Soviet-style weapons, the "Han-made" rifle continued to serve in the militia and police forces!
It can be said that this weapon, having weathered many storms, is steeped in history.
Although it wasn't particularly outstanding, it was the only weapon that could rival the Type 38 rifle in bayonet fighting!
(The Han-made version was also quite long, not much shorter than the Type 38.
The Type 38 is 1280mm long, the Han-made is 1250mm).
"Hmm, how much more material can we produce?"
Cai Zheng decided to produce some.
"One hundred and eighty Han-made rifles, two thousand rounds of corresponding ammunition!"
The ammunition system said.
"Okay, produce fifty rifles now, to replace the police officers' M1987s, and then produce five hundred rounds of corresponding ammunition."
"Okay!
Production begins."
"Hey system, could you provide me with a bayonet fighting system?"
Cai Zheng suddenly asked. This world didn't have close-quarters combat yet; a bayonet fighting system might be surprisingly effective!
"Hmm, that's possible.
But as a price, twenty percent of the experience gained from weapon production will be deducted!"
"!"
After the rifles were produced, Cai Zheng immediately had them equipped, then found craftsmen to make handguards for bayonet practice, and then began practicing bayonet fighting!
Just as Cai Zheng was busily producing weapons and training his police force, the entire West was in an uproar!
First, Cai Zheng sniped the third leader of the Bald Eagle Gang from a distance in the town of Dilis.
Then, he led five officers to wipe out more than thirty members of the Bald Eagle Gang and even stole their magic stones.
Furthermore, the new rifles used by Cai Zheng's police force, along with the smokeless gunpowder, attracted their attention!
These new rifles and the silent flame aroused the interest of various groups. Mercenary groups, bandits, even wandering cowboys and bounty hunters began flocking to the small town in the West.
Moreover, Cai Zheng earned a title for his long-range sniping ability—Eagle Eye!
Of course, Cai Zheng wasn't stupid.
He knew his new rifle and smokeless powder would attract unwanted attention, so he wasn't unprepared.
In the following period, he began large-scale procurement of steel, timber, copper ore, and other materials needed for firearms production, manufacturing Han-made rifles.
Moreover, the Han-made rifles weren't as bad as he had imagined.
Because of the advanced weaponry system, the Han-made rifles he produced were of very high quality, far superior to the M1987.
Cai Zheng sold a considerable number of M1987s; with guns came ammunition, which he also sold.
With money, he could recruit and train more people.
And after selling weapons a few times, Cai Zheng discovered that the profit from arms sales was incredibly high!
An M1987, converted to the currency of this world, was worth only one coin (roughly five yuan), but Cai Zheng sold it for 10 silver coins, instantly increasing the profit tenfold.
And demand exceeded supply!
It could be said that Cai Zheng's earnings that day were equivalent to the annual income of some people in the West! With that in mind, Cai Zheng could hire people, buy raw materials, sell the finished products, and then make money—a highly profitable venture!
Money makes the world go round; with money, Cai Zheng's next plan could be executed smoothly!
- Writer
