blueteamnovel Chapter 68 I didn't realize you were so good at criminal investigations.
Chapter 68 I didn't realize you were so good at criminal investigations.
After Bart finished speaking, the command center fell silent for a while.
At this moment, a fact was laid bare before everyone: the Western Territory would receive no external aid in the short term. Once Frostland fell, the remaining territories would be leaderless and their dismemberment would only be a matter of time.
Ronan, who was appointed to the position in a time of crisis, became almost the only key to breaking the deadlock.
"I think we shouldn't always focus on external factors, but rather pay more attention to what we have."
Ronan clapped his hands, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.
He then went to the map and shared his views with everyone:
Although the rebels came with great force, their total number was no more than 30,000. After deducting the more than 10,000 surrendered soldiers and serfs they had taken along the way, their core fighting force that could truly be relied upon was no more than 10,000.
Furthermore, having come from the far north and ventured deep into the rear alone, they could not afford excessive losses and risks. That is why they chose a strategy of sustaining their war effort through warfare and launching surprise attacks. If they slowed down, the entire rebel army would be dragged into a quagmire from which they could not extricate themselves.
So the ones who were truly anxious were not the Duke, but the rebels.
On the other hand, although the western border is weak, it has only lost six territories in its heartland so far. There is still a lot of potential power that can be mobilized in the outer areas, and it is easier to resupply and support when fighting on home ground.
If these forces can be integrated, they may still be able to fight against the rebels.
They don't even need to completely defeat the rebels; just thwarting their momentum will suffice.
"In the end, the biggest reliance of the rebels in raising an army was nothing more than the so-called slogan of resisting oppression and pursuing freedom. They used this slogan to win the support of many lower-level border troops, and most importantly, they won the support and defection of a large number of witches. But did the rebels really carry out their actions as they claimed? Judging from the combat feedback of the grassroots militia, I think it's not necessarily true."
"I agree!"
Li Yan raised her hand in agreement, "I've fought their witches and observed how they treat them. They promise respect and equality, but in reality, they still make witches work for them, especially those with relatively weaker combat power, who actually have a very low status among them. The rebels use the 'the more capable, the more they get' ruse to cover it up, and they also block information to prevent any disparity among the witches."
"That's right. Once the rebel rank-and-file soldiers and witches realize that nothing they're fighting against has actually changed, and that we're actually doing better, their morale will naturally waver."
Ronan concluded, "Grant, Howard, the propaganda war is your responsibility. You can discuss your thoughts with me privately after the meeting. Other battalion commanders, after the meeting, inform your groups of the situation. The focus of recent training is gradually shifting towards field operations and raids, so everyone should be prepared for support."
"yes!"
After the brief meeting, Ronan returned to his office to continue working, while Bart was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof.
"My lord, field battles are not like defensive battles; they cannot be mastered in a short period of time. Against experienced heavy cavalry, even with superior numbers, victory is almost impossible."
"Your point of view is certainly correct, but that is on the premise that there is no generational gap in the weapons between the two sides."
Ronan glanced at him. "Even a militiaman who has only been trained for three days can kill a battle-hardened heavy cavalryman with the help of the Arrow of Maddale."
"Well... I admit that Miss Medall's magical abilities are indeed incredible. But in open field battles, this one card alone might not be enough. Putting aside the fact that the rebels are already on guard, they also have a large number of witches who will definitely launch a fierce counterattack."
"That's right—but they'll soon find out that witches aren't used like that."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Madale knocked on the office door, and Bart saw that she was carrying a strange object shaped like a bird's beak.
"Ronan, I'm here."
"What a coincidence! I was just talking about you."
"No, actually I've been better for a long time."
"Huh? Then why didn't you come in just now?"
"If you wait until you say so before coming in, you'll find it quite a coincidence."
What a strange thought process… Ronan, both amused and exasperated, steered the conversation back to the main topic and took the latest product from her hands.
"Take a look at this, the Ronan Model 1736 rifle."
"Is this your latest weapon?"
Bart examined the object, which resembled a crossbow in shape but was clearly distinct. Experience and intuition told him that it was some kind of ranged weapon, and the long, straight iron tube was obviously for firing something.
However, he did not see any bowstring or rope, so how could he fire the arrows without them?
But Bart soon found out.
Because Ronan took him directly to the militia's shooting range and taught him the answer by hand.
"Bang!"
Under Ronan's guidance, Bart loaded, aimed, and pulled the trigger.
Although everyone was mentally prepared, they were still startled when they saw flames shooting from the muzzle and heard a thunderous roar—Bart himself, who fired the shot, was especially so.
The shot hit an armored humanoid target fifty meters away.
Without any additional support from Medallion, the bullet pierced through both chainmail and plate armor, blasting a large hole in the scarecrow below.
The battalion commander and militia representatives who were observing were all dumbfounded. If they were hit by such a weapon, they would have no chance of survival.
Subsequently, the militiamen's feelings split into two: those skilled in shooting realized that they might one day be able to wield this powerful new weapon; those proficient in close combat and hand-to-hand fighting felt a sense of dread, as this weapon, while destroying the enemy, also destroyed their future.
As a knight, Bart's feelings leaned towards the latter.
Faced with such fire, even a high-star knight wouldn't be killed on the spot, but serious injury would be inevitable.
He had already envisioned the style of knightly duels many years later: the two knights would no longer settle their differences with swords, but rather with who could pull the trigger first...
"Sir, how many of these weapons do we have?"
Bart asked with mixed feelings.
"We only have this one right now. Production capacity will gradually increase once the corresponding machines are in place. Of course, I plan to have Madale expedite the production of a batch to arm one battalion first."
Ronan surveyed the ravaged target, quite pleased with the rifle that bore his name.
Ronan did not replicate the historical evolution from muzzle-loading to breech-loading guns. Instead, he combined his previous life's experience and fast-forwarded directly to a breech-loading needle-shot smoothbore gun. The bullets were not round-nosed bullets, but pointed bullets with greater kinetic energy and superior armor-piercing ability.
However, compared to the guns and bullets, the biggest technical challenge actually lay in the cartridge cases—although metal cartridge cases could be directly produced using Meadows, it wouldn't be very meaningful if mass production was difficult. Therefore, Ronan chose a compromise: using bullets with paper cartridge cases filled with propellant.
When this type of bullet is fired, the explosive gases from the gunpowder will burn the paper cartridge case directly. Furthermore, the production process and cost of paper cartridge cases are much simpler than those of metal cartridge cases, and women can make them with minimal training.
Compared to metal cartridge cases, it certainly has many drawbacks, such as easy gas leakage, misfire, and dust accumulation. However, based on his familiarity with modern firearms, Ronan redesigned the structure, making up for its shortcomings to the greatest extent possible by improving the breech sealing structure, optimizing the stroke and shape of the firing pin, and incorporating an internal top case rod.
This rifle can use bullets with either paper cartridges or metal cartridges.
Once the production capacity of cartridge cases increases, the transition can be smooth without adjusting the rifle model.
Compared to the Maudel steam engine and the Ronan machine tool, the Ronan 1736 took only one day and one night to go from blueprints to the actual product.
While Ronan's familiarity with firearms certainly played a role, without Maddale's precise control over metal, even the most perfect design would remain just a blueprint.
Bart, who had been lamenting the impending end of the Knights' era not long ago, was now deep in thought, holding the first rifle on this land.
"You said that if the caliber of the 'rifle' were made larger, wouldn't it be more powerful?"
"I didn't realize you were so into criminals."
Ronan gave the chief knight a look of considerable appreciation.
"This is content to be broadcast later. However, I prefer to call those rifles with a caliber of over 100 million a cannon..."
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