After Zhu Jingyuan looked at the car, he played with several new types of firearms that he requested to make for a while.

The mainstream infantry firearms at this time were large bolt-action rifles, while bicycle soldiers and traditional cavalry used carbines or lances.

The lance was also the carbine in the previous life, and the Kar.98k is a carbine in this sense.

It may be difficult for modern people to imagine that something like 98k is a short carbine...

Because they have shortened from a rifle length of more than 1.2 meters to about 1.1 meters, they are already "short guns".

But it is still relatively long for cavalry, and it will appear longer for street fighting.

So Zhu Jingyuan requested the design of assault rifles and submachine guns.

I basically didn’t think much about the reference objects and directly chose Kalashnikov AK47/AKM and Bobosha PPSh41/43.

Of course, the caliber was changed to eight millimeters commonly used in the Ming Dynasty, but the amount of powder was reduced compared to rifle bullets.

It's just that the finished products made now make Zhu Jingyuan feel a little difficult to use, mainly because they are relatively heavy.

It should be that the current level of production technology is still lagging behind that of World War II, and there is no way to manufacture automatic weapons of the same grade at similar weights.

Zhu Jingyuan asked Zheng Fuguang holding a weighted version of AK:

"What do the people in the Dudu Mansion say?"

Zheng Fuguang directly copied the other party's words:

"For assault rifles, the Governor's Office doesn't think highly of them.

"They believe that when used as the main weapon of an individual soldier, the assault rifle is heavier than the existing bolt-action rifle.

“If used as a light machine gun, its shooting accuracy and destructive power are relatively weak.

"If a large number of assault rifles are provided to infantry, it will put too much pressure on logistics, which is equivalent to increasing the number of light machine guns several times.

"In the current typical tactical system, there is no suitable place for this kind of weapon.

"The key is to redesign reduced ammunition, which will change the entire ammunition production system.

"The Governor's Office ultimately did not order the assault rifle and suggested changing it to semi-automatic mode and using existing bolt-action rifle ammunition.

"The Dudu Mansion's evaluation of the submachine gun you designed is quite good, but it is not ready to be used on a large scale.

"I just ordered a small batch and am going to try to use it with traditional rifles.

"So Your Highness, the Ministry of Industry is also waiting for your response on whether to design an assault rifle that shares bullets with existing rifles."

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan shook his head without hesitation:

"No, now we use specially designed bullets that have reduced size and power compared to bolt-action rifles. The resulting assault rifle is already overweight.

"If you use a complete large bullet for a bolt-action rifle, it will definitely make the firearm heavier, which will make it even more difficult to popularize. It can really only be used as a light machine gun.

“Let the Ministry of Industry continue to optimize the production process, find ways to reduce the overall weight of firearms, and at the same time continue to find ways to improve shooting accuracy.

"The Governor's Government is unwilling to try to replace these two types of firearms on a large scale. The most critical reason is probably logistical pressure.

"With the full use of automatic firearms, the logistics system will definitely not be able to supply them now, but it may not be possible in the future.

"We are developing and producing cars on a large scale, which will be the main logistics force in the future."

There were actually automatic rifles during World War I, such as the American Browning automatic rifle and Tsar Lucia Fedorov 1916.

The original intention of the Browning's design was to be used as an individual automatic weapon. This target is actually an assault rifle.

But it is too big and heavy, with a length of 1.2 meters and a weight of 7.2 kilograms. It cannot be carried well by a single person.

Using complete bolt-action rifle bullets, the huge power and recoil are also difficult to use.

The logistical supply capabilities at that time also made it difficult to popularize this thing on a large scale.

As a result, it became a squad light machine gun, which was used from World War I to World War II. It was still very popular, but it was completely off track.

Lucia's Fedorov 1916 meets most of the definitions of an assault rifle, even a little too advanced.

The gun body is one meter long, has a caliber of 6.5 mm, and weighs 4.4 kilograms.

But before it could be deployed on a large scale, the Tsar was gone.

In addition, it was too advanced compared to the combat environment and was not suitable for the battlefield environment at that time. Production was completely discontinued in 1925.

The advice given by the Governor's Office pointed to squad light machine guns. Now the Ming Dynasty has squad light machine guns. If they want to be upgraded, they can also be specially designed.

Therefore, Zhu Jing was not prepared to "reinvent the wheel" and refused without hesitation to become a squad light machine gun.

But we are not prepared to build something that is too advanced. If we are too advanced, we will inevitably pay a higher price.

Ming Dynasty is now directly manufacturing small-caliber assault rifles, which is equivalent to skipping the piston radial engine and going directly to the jet engine.

After the 1970s, small-caliber assault rifles below 6 mm gradually replaced 7.62 mm medium-caliber assault rifles.

The basis is the improvement of production technology, which allows small-caliber rifles to use a larger proportion of charges and obtain higher muzzle velocity.

At a distance of 400 meters, the small-caliber rifle with higher muzzle velocity is dominant, lighter and stronger, so there is no reason not to change it.

But now, the industrial level of Ming Dynasty is roughly equivalent to that of Britain and the United States after World War I, and it is temporarily unable to produce what they did in the 1970s.

Nowadays, it is very difficult to build a complete AK47 from the late 1940s.

Compared with the bullets of bolt-action rifles, the bullets of assault rifles such as AK47 have greatly reduced the amount of powder and reduced the power.

This allows it to better balance the relationship between production difficulty, power, and ease of use under the technical level of the World War II era.

During the First World War, if you insisted on using a smaller caliber, you could of course reduce the overall weight of the firearm.

However, it will inevitably cause the power of the firearm to decrease again, and its role on the battlefield will become awkward.

This was actually the main reason why the Soviet Union ended the Fedorov armistice in 1925 in 1916.

Therefore, Zhu Jingyuan is not planning to engage in small-caliber weapons for the time being, but is targeting the promising AK47 and Bobosha.

After looking at the firearms, Zhu Jingyuan browsed several other machines and made some suggestions based on his own experience.

Finally, he took Zheng Fuguang and all the craftsmen to a meeting in the lounge not far away to arrange future work:

"The main task of our Daming Airlines branch in Liusha City in the future is research and development.

"Liusha City is not suitable for building labor-intensive factories. Even if a large food country wants to build a factory, it will have to be located in the Mesopotamia River Basin or along the coast of the Great Food Sea and the Great Qin Sea.

“There are three specific research and development directions, so three laboratories can be set up.

"The first one is the piston laboratory. Its main task is to continue to develop piston internal combustion engines for aircraft and automobiles, and to explore any feasible methods to increase the total power and power density on the basis of existing engines.

"This is a long-term, cumulative, and basic laboratory.

"The second is the machine laboratory. Its main task is to design specific aircraft, automobiles, and engineering machinery, and continue to optimize the form, transmission, control, production and other process-level technologies of several existing aircraft and automobiles.

"At the same time, we should complete as soon as possible a car design that is as cheap as possible, as convenient as possible for mass production, but still reliable.

"The third one is the turbine laboratory. We will start exploring new types of engine designs in advance. I will provide some ideas. The name of this laboratory also comes from my ideas.

"This kind of engine is for the future...it may take ten, twenty, or even longer years before it can be put into practical use.

“What is being done now is just an exploration of principles and feasibility, and there is no need to rush to produce actual results.

"Don't worry about wasting money. All laboratories cost money. As long as it is successful, you can earn back everything."

When Zhu Jingyuan said this, he stopped for the time being, picked up his water glass and took a sip.

The craftsmen around him discussed in low voices for a while, but they had no doubts about Zhu Jingyuan's first two requests.

Those are all natural directions, and they have already planned them themselves.

What everyone is curious about is the last project, which is the so-called Future Power Laboratory.

There is an idea, but it is not current. It can only be used after how many years in the future. How complicated is this thing?

Most of the craftsmen have a straightforward personality, and Zhu Jingyuan has always been relatively easy-going, so Zheng Fuguang acted as a representative and asked directly:

"Your Highness, can you tell us a little bit about the future engine concept you mentioned?"

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan was stunned for a moment, then thought about how to explain to them, and finally asked with a smile:

"Everyone has seen a windmill, right? It whirls in circles when the wind blows. This is actually the principle."

Zheng Fuguang and the craftsmen nodded subconsciously, and many people also had ideas in their minds.

"That's how the steam turbine works."

"It is now used in steam turbines."

Zhu Jingyuan continued to smile and asked:

"Yes, the principle is similar to a steam turbine, but we don't use steam to drive the turbine, we directly use air to drive the turbine."

Immediately another craftsman asked:

"The movement of air is the wind?"

"Continuing to make windmills?"

"Where does the wind come from?"

Zhu Jingyuan continued to ask:
To be continued...