War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

Vienna, Royal Garden.

Friedrich spent a lot of effort to stop Albrecht.

The gun Albrecht mentioned obviously did not include a pistol, but it only allowed Franz to forcefully take advantage of the loophole, which made him feel very humiliated.

But Franz was right. Before the advent of the revolver, who could have imagined that a firearm capable of shooting six rounds in five seconds would actually appear.

At this time, the Colt revolver can directly fire continuously without pressing the hammer.

Maybe one day a rifle that can fire continuously will appear.

Thinking of this, Albrecht calmed down.

"You mean a breech-loading gun, right?"

Franz nodded, admiring in his heart.

"As expected of a military family and a famous general, his reaction speed is indeed far beyond that of ordinary people in this era."

"A breech-loading gun looks beautiful, but it is expensive to make, has a very short range and poor accuracy. The most important thing is that this kind of gun is prone to various accidents, ranging from gunpowder burns to the face to serious injuries, including disability. lethal."

Albrecht's words contained the disadvantages of breech-loading guns.

First of all, it is expensive. The price of a breech-loaded gun is almost three times that of a front-loaded gun. For a huge organization like the Austrian Army, the funds required to update equipment are even greater.

The breech-loading gun had a range of only 400 yards, while Austria's main musket had a range of 1,000 yards.

Since the Minie bullet had not yet been invented, the accuracy of breech-loaded guns at this time was not as high as later generations imagined. On the contrary, jamming often occurred due to bullet problems, and even the bores of rifled guns were straight.

As for the accident, the most serious problem was the sealing problem. The gunpowder burned rapidly in the barrel of the gun, and hot gas sprayed from the gap in the breech to the shooter's face, leaving a very painful memory for the shooter.

So much so that the test shooters were unwilling to operate this weapon, and many generals believed that the breech-loading gun was an inferior weapon.

"A noble gun should be eaten with the mouth, and a gun that eats with the anus is despicable." This is the consensus of the European military circles at this time.

"Uncle Albrecht, believe me, technology will definitely improve. Just leave the breech-loading gun to me. I plan to build an arsenal. Are you interested in investing in it?" Franz asked.

"Are you short of money to buy shares?" Albrecht took out a check and filled in the amount of one hundred thousand florins on it.

At this time, the maximum denomination of a check was one hundred thousand florins, and only two banks in the Austrian Empire had such checks, one was the Rothschild Bank and the other was the Chartered Bank of the Austrian Empire.

And one hundred thousand florins is definitely not a small number, it is about 1,000 years' salary of an ordinary soldier. (*500 is almost the current value.)

Franz's annuity is 12,000 florins, which is the highest in the entire royal family except the emperor himself, followed by his father and Grand Duke Louis with 10,000 florins, and his mother with only 5,000 florins.

This money was nothing to Albrecht, after all, his father was the richest nobleman in the Austrian Empire.

Franz didn't want to take a stake for money, but because he wanted him to keep the secret of the breech-loading gun.

After all, Franz couldn't tell them that there would be a storm sweeping Europe in 1848, and the center of that storm would be the Austrian Empire.

As far as Franz knew, there were massive rebellions throughout the Austrian Empire, except in Tyrol and Galicia.

Franz, who has lived in Vienna for many years, knows very well how strong this city is. Not to mention the large number of military facilities and forts, there are 8,000 military police and 20,000 city defense troops in the city, as well as 1-2 armies outside the city. Troops were stationed, taking turns guarding the heart of the empire.

For such an impregnable city to fall, there is no doubt that there is a traitor in the army, and who is the traitor? Franz didn't know how many people would rebel.

But he knew very well that Albrecht and Friedrich in front of him would never participate in the rebellion.

Albrecht was a conservative through and through. Although Friedrich had liberal ideas, he looked down on those liberals and was even less likely to directly participate in the rebellion.

Although breech-loading guns are a major advancement in the history of rifles, they actually do not have too high technical barriers. Maybe countries like Chenla and Vietnam cannot imitate it, but in Europe, even small countries like Sardinia and Serbia can easily produce it as long as they are willing to invest manpower and material resources.

So Franz hopes to use the breech-loading gun as a secret weapon and a trump card at critical moments. He now needs some people he can absolutely trust, such as the two brothers in front of him.

Although Franz was not without money, he still quickly pocketed the money.

"Uncle Albrecht, in fact, Grandpa Karl has already given support in terms of funds. I will regard these 100,000 florins as additional investment."

Albrecht and Friedrich didn't care about Franz's naked behavior of cheating money. It would be better to say that the family's attitude towards money was very indifferent.

"Franz, how do you want us to invest in it?" Albrecht asked.

"Are you asking me and my eldest brother to hold billboards and stand on the streets of Vienna to shout for you? I think your two nannies are more suitable." Friedrich joked.

Albrecht punched Friedrich in the head again.

"Miss Adjani is Franz's attendant, and Miss Thalia is Franz's first teacher. You kid, be more respectful." Although Albrecht looks rough, he pays great attention to etiquette.

Friedrich looked very unconvinced. Of course, he would not continue to contradict his eldest brother. After all, he knew well that "a good man will not suffer the consequences of his immediate loss." He just said.

"Franz, stop being so pretentious. What do you want us to do?"

"I need you to keep this secret and continue to speak out against breech-loading guns in front of people."

"Why?!" the two brothers asked in unison.

They all felt that if it was an advanced weapon, it would gain the greatest value only if it was fully promoted in the Austrian Empire.

Of course, Franz couldn't tell them that there would be a major rebellion in a few years, and then the entire Austrian Empire would be as chaotic as Werewolf and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

"Because this is a secret weapon! Of course, it must be used by trump cards to maximize its value. And we must also prevent other countries from imitating it, which will have a negative impact on our country."

"Breech-loading guns are nothing new. The British have made them, and the Americans are also making them. You can't hide it." Friedrich said disdainfully.

"No, the breech-loading gun Franz mentioned is not the British or American type, but a breech-loading gun with no obvious flaws. Although the firing rate of the breech-loading gun is not yet as high as Three rounds in 10 seconds, but maybe it can be done after long-term training," Albrecht said.

At this time, the rate of fire of breech-loaded guns is actually generally 4-5 rounds, and a skilled shooter can shoot 7-8 rounds. Of course, as progress is made, the rate of fire of breech-loaded guns will become faster and faster.

"Yes, I hope that our weapons can crush the weapons used by the enemy. Although the spirit of fair competition is worthy of appreciation, it does not belong to war. For war, victory is the only purpose." Franz said.

"Bullying people? I like it!" Friedrich said.

Albrecht nodded noncommittally.

The protagonist will come forward to solve the problem in Hungary.

As for Austria's weakness, which makes people angry, Austria in history was even weaker than in the book.