Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

Chapter 10: The Royal Commissioner

Chapter 10: The Royal Commissioner

TL: Etude

A debate was underway.

"Lord Count, I still think this is inappropriate," said Captain Holman, a former family knight who now led his own company for rotational training.

"Don't try to persuade me anymore, Holman. After all, we've been doing this for a while now, how can we just abandon it halfway?"

"But I must say, teaching the soldiers to read and write is truly unnecessary. They only need to understand orders."

"No, I want to create an army unlike any other. The first difference is that the soldiers are knowledgeable, they are thinkers."

"Well, let's not discuss whether they are qualified for education. Have you considered that once they learn, they may no longer be content being soldiers under your command?"

"I will make being a soldier a prestigious profession. Of course, I'm not talking about the kind of soldier that exists in noble circles, but a profession truly belonging to the common people. If even then they choose to leave my leadership, it only means I am not worthy."

"What? That's absurd. Ah, forgive me, Lord Count, I was impolite. But, you are their lord, what does this have to do with being worthy or not? Ruling them is both a right and a duty, as natural as the sun rising and setting."

"Enough, Holman. I have made up my mind. We've been doing this for so long, do you want me to retract my orders now? That would be like slapping my own face."

Seeing Holman about to continue the argument, Paul raised a hand and said, "Let it be. I need to return to the town immediately to meet with the emissary from the capital. I'll probably be there for a few days. I hope when I return, the soldiers of the second battalion can not only meet physical standards but also read and write their own names."

After a stint as an "enlightenment teacher", Paul had learned not to set his expectations too high. He turned and left the tent.

Holman turned to Claude beside him, "Is the Count really teaching the soldiers to read and write?" He still found it unbelievable.

Claude shrugged and smiled bitterly, "When I first heard his plan, I thought I was dreaming. Our young Count always does things beyond the norm!"

...

Paul arrived at the blacksmiths' tent, "How's the progress with the muskets?"

Blacksmith Herman, busy tinkering with something alongside his colleagues, immediately stood up to greet him, "Lord Count, we are trying to improve the flintlock mechanism. Since we're not mechanists, it's quite challenging."

He honestly added, "This trigger I'm working on... the guns made with it are likely to have a high misfire rate."

Paul nodded. On Earth, when the flintlock musket was first invented, due to subpar steel and bullet manufacturing technologies, it often failed to produce sparks or produced insufficient sparks to ignite the gunpowder, leading to high misfire rates. This was understandable.

"It seems technological development cannot be achieved overnight."

He picked up a completed matchlock musket and examined it closely. The structure was very rudimentary, lacking sights and aiming aids, consisting only of a barrel, stock, powder pan, and trigger. It was indeed a real musket, similar in many ways to the flintlock, but the matchlock's firing mechanism was much simpler.

The mechanism consisted of a serpentine rod and trigger. The rod held the lit match cord, and when the trigger was pulled, a lever moved the serpentine, bringing the burning cord into contact with the powder in the pan at the end of the barrel. The flame then passed through the touch hole into the barrel. This mechanism was much easier to produce.