Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Disruptive Weapon
Joseph briefly explained, “This gun will adopt an entirely new ignition mechanism. The loading speed and power will be significantly improved over the current Flintlock Gun, and it will also have better resistance to rain and a lower misfire rate.”
Louis XVI’s eyes shone even brighter. Even those who didn’t understand military affairs could tell that this new gun would have a revolutionary impact on warfare!
In fact, he was quite aware that all over France, people were talking behind his back, calling him “inept” and “not dedicated to his duties.”
He too wished to be a king revered and worshiped by his subjects like the Sun King, but running a country sometimes really depended on one’s natural talent.
And he just happened to lack that talent.
But gun-making was his forte—because of his familiarity with precision mechanics, many gunsmiths of the era came from the Watchmaker’s Guild.
He was a master craftsman certified by both the Locksmith Guild and the Watchmaker’s Guild.
Before, even if he made the finest locks, no one would sincerely praise him for it.
But guns were different! They were a nation’s military pillar!
If the new guns he developed could help French soldiers sweep through enemy forces, who would still call him a useless king?!
Joseph had a guard bring in a Flintlock Gun and pointed to the firing mechanism at the rear of the gun:
“The current Flintlock Gun uses a piece of flint on the gun’s mechanism to strike a steel plate, creating sparks that ignite the gunpowder in the chamber, which then ignites the firing powder in the barrel and shoots the bullet.”
Louis XVI nodded; he often went hunting and was quite familiar with this.
Joseph removed the flint from the gun’s mechanism and continued:
“A few years ago, the British synthesized something called ‘Fulminate Mercury’ that explodes upon impact. If we fix the Fulminate Mercury to the rear side of the barrel and use the gun’s mechanism to strike it, it will directly ignite the firing charge.”
Louis XVI frowned and said:
“But how can we fix the Fulminate Mercury? And since it explodes on impact, it’s not safe for the soldiers to carry—if they accidentally fall, they might lose their lives.”
Joseph smiled slightly:
“That’s also why the British haven’t been able to use Fulminate Mercury to make weapons until now.”
Louis XVI looked at him with anticipation, knowing that his son must have come up with a solution.
“I call it a ‘Percussion Cap,’” said Joseph, picking up a piece of paper he had used for printing and tearing off a small piece, folding it into a bowl the size of a green bean, “this represents a copper shell.”
He pinched some wax: “This represents the Fulminate Mercury.”
He pressed the wax firmly into the paper bowl:
“A Percussion Cap is then complete. The copper shell can block the external impact force so that the Fulminate Mercury won’t explode easily.
“If we put the Percussion Cap into a cartridge bag padded with cotton, it would be even safer.”
Louis XVI asked in surprise:
“But how would the gun ignite it?”
“Because copper is malleable,” Joseph said, taking a small hammer and striking the bottom of the paper bowl, “if the gun’s mechanism is made hammer-shaped and the spring is strong enough, the gun’s mechanism will be able to flatten the bottom of the Percussion Cap, setting off the Fulminate Mercury inside.”
Louis XVI picked up the Flintlock Gun and pondered aloud:
“So, the priming chamber can be removed, and we can just make a hole here in the barrel, stuff the Percussion Cap in, pull back the gun’s mechanism, and it fires.”
Joseph was taken aback, indeed a master, he even beat him to the answer!
He nodded and said, “Making a hole is not conducive to removing the percussion cap after firing. It would be better to fit a hollow cylinder on the rear side of the barrel. The cap would be pressed onto the cylinder. When fired, the flame will travel through the hollow into the barrel, and the cap can be easily pinched off after firing.”
Louis XVI’s expression became increasingly excited.
With a flintlock gun, the latter half of the firing sequence was: removing the gunpowder pack, pouring the powder into the priming chamber, packing it down, pulling back the firing mechanism, and firing.
With a cap, all one needed to do was pull back the firing mechanism, place the cap on, and it would fire.
It was at least two to three seconds faster than the flintlock gun!
Don’t underestimate these two or three seconds. Half a second on the battlefield could decide life or death. A seasoned soldier who has trained for years might only load his gun three seconds faster than a new recruit.
Furthermore, the caplock gun didn’t have the leakage hole of the priming chamber. The propelling force of the gunpowder could fully act on the projectile. The power would certainly be much greater than that of the flintlock gun.
He looked at Joseph with pride and affection in his eyes:
“My dear son, how did you come up with such a brilliant idea? Oh, I guess God must have kissed your head.”
Joseph thought to himself that it was, of course, from a military forum. He smiled and said:
“Thank the Lord.”
He took paper and pen, drew out the structure of the percussion cap gun from memory, and handed it to Louis XVI:
“This is roughly how it looks, but the specific dimensions and proportions, as well as issues with component processes, will have to be solved by our great King.”
Louis XVI puffed out his chest with boundless enthusiasm:
“Rest assured! Together, father and son, we shall create a firearm that will astonish all of Europe!”
Leaving the Royal Workshop, Joseph couldn’t help but sigh to himself. Why hadn’t he thought of asking the King for help with weapon development earlier?
In terms of equipment, this place had the most complete and high-quality tools and instruments in all of France.
In terms of expertise, Louis XVI and his assistants were the very best.
What was more important was that with the King working on research and development, there was absolutely no concern about technological leaks. If this were a munitions factory project, at least a hundred guards would have to be posted to prevent any spying.
He then thought that there would be more and more matters involving technological confidentiality in the future. It would be prudent to hasten the introduction of a patent law.
Furthermore, once the caplock guns were developed, the corresponding fulminate mercury processing and firearm manufacturing would have to catch up rapidly to achieve mass production.
This new type of gun would not just be a simple weapon; it would also be an instrument for him to exert influence over the military. So it would be best for his own arsenal to handle the production…
Lost in thought, Joseph had returned to his quarters. He tiredly unbuttoned his coat, his hand brushing against the envelope Lady Eric had given him that night.
He casually pulled out the theater tickets from the envelope, noting that the play was scheduled for performance at the Comédie-Française in four days.
When he flipped the ticket over, he froze—the name of the play was “Refining the Vault of Heaven,” which had just started serialization a few days ago!
Only then did he remember that yesterday, Denico reported that a theater wanted to buy the rights to perform the serialized novel from the newspaper. Joseph hadn’t paid much attention at the time and let Denico handle it entirely. Who could have thought it would premiere in just four days?
The novel had only been serialized for three days in total. How eager must those troupes be?
And they would have had at most a week to adapt and rehearse. How did they manage it?
In the following days, Joseph first visited Lamark’s pharmaceutical workshop to discuss the processing of ferrous sulfate.
Then, he arranged the promotion and sales of Paris Angel Company’s new product, “Lady’s Delight Oral Solution,” and occasionally visited the Royal Workshop to check on the King’s progress.
Four days passed quickly. That afternoon, Joseph’s carriage stopped at the corner of Rue de Richelieu. The entrance to the Comédie-Française was overflowing with people, packed tight as can be.