"Mine, we are going to be developed! Do you know? We are going to be developed... God! I never thought that I would appear here one day! Oh! My Virgin Mary!"
In a certain reception room of the Elysée Palace, Captain Henri Gustave Devignet stood up excitedly and looked at the decorations in the reception room and paced back and forth, repeatedly muttering words such as "We want to be developed".
For an ordinary French captain, being invited to enter the Elysée Palace is simply a matter of great honor!
"Mine, did you hear what I said?" Perhaps because the middle-aged man sitting in the chair did not respond, Captain Henry Gustave Devine was a little unhappy, and his tone became aggressive.
Claude Edirne Migne, who was sitting on a large blue brocade chair with a gray background, raised his head and glanced at Henry Gustave, who was turning around, and said with some dissatisfaction in his words: "I heard
Here we are, Captain Gustav, can you be quiet for a moment?”
Captain Migne's words made Captain Gustav a little displeased. He was born in a rough family and he looked down on Captain Migne's behavior. You are obviously a captain, so why do you pretend to be noble?
"Okay! I'll be quiet now!" Gustav muttered angrily, but showed no intention of stopping. He ran back and forth in the reception room, praising the portrait hanging in the reception room for a while, and then again and again for a while.
Touching the exquisite porcelain from the Eastern Empire placed in the corner of the reception room, it feels like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
Captain Migne, who was sitting in his chair, was thinking quietly about the next conversation with the president, and from time to time he would put something in his handkerchief in his hand.
Until the door of the reception room was opened from the outside, Captain Migne and Captain Gustave stopped what they were doing at the same time. Migne put the handkerchief in his arms again, and Gustav carefully put the porcelain back
original position.
Under the joint gaze of Captain Gustave and Captain Migne, Jerome Bonaparte appeared in front of the two men. Migne also stood up and prepared to greet Jerome Bonaparte.
Jérôme Bonaparte glanced at Gustave and Migne and asked: "Which of you is Claude Edirne Migne? Which one of you is Henri Gustave de Migne?"
Captain Vickine?"
Before Migne could answer, Gustave quickly came to Jérôme Bonaparte, stretched out his hand and introduced him warmly: "Your Excellency, my name is Gustave!"
Then he pointed at Migne and introduced: "He is Migne!"
"I heard that you have created an epoch-making product that can change the history of the entire infantry!" Jerome Bonaparte exaggeratedly boasted to Captain Gustave and Captain Migne.
Although the Minie bullet and the Minie rifle are indeed the pinnacle products of muzzle-loading guns, the peak of the Minie rifle only lasted for about 16 years.
In the Austro-Prussian War, Austria's defeat indicated that the breech-loading gun that solved the problem of air tightness was far more powerful than the front-loading gun, and the Migne rifle was dying at an extremely fast speed.
France, as the birthplace of the Migne rifle, fully equipped every army with the Chassebol rifle in just four years after the end of the Austro-Prussian War.
However, the nearly one million Chassebol rifles did not help the Second Reich win the Franco-Prussian War. Many troops were captured not long after they got their hands on the Chassebol rifles. The million-dollar Chassebol rifle quickly came to an end in its first battle.
After the French Revolution, France, which had developed a more stable breech-loading gun, once again abandoned the Chassepo rifle. Many rifles were given half-sold, half-given by France to Russia, which did not have enough guns.
It can be said that the Minie rifle and the Chasebo rifle are two products that were born at the wrong time.
"Your Excellency, you are right!" Captain Gustav said before Captain Migne could speak: "Our bullets allow soldiers to reload faster!"
After speaking, Captain Gustav said to Captain Migne in the tone of a host: "Captain Migne, show that thing to the President quickly!"
Migne glanced at Captain Gustave, his eyes full of disdain. In his opinion, Captain Gustave was too keen to show himself to the president, which would only make the president resentful.
Sure enough, Jerome Bonaparte's face showed an unhappy look, and he said coldly: "Mr. Gustave, can you please be quiet for a moment!"
Captain Gustav did not dare to continue showing off after seeing this.
Gustave's forcible ban gave Captain Migne the opportunity to "show off". He took out the red handkerchief again and respectfully invited Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Excellency, can you sit here?
!”
"Of course!" Jérôme Bonaparte immediately hurried to Captain Migne.
Captain Gustave also had no choice but to follow Jérôme Bonaparte to the gold-lacquered snail-shaped foot table.
Migne gently unfolded the handkerchief. Wrapped in the handkerchief was something with a round head and a silver metallic luster. Wrapped inside was a bullet.
"Your Excellency, this is what we invented in Algiers!" Migne said to Jérôme Bonaparte with a slightly excited tone. From his tone, it can be seen that Captain Migne is quite enthusiastic about his invention.
confidence.
"That's right!" Gustav interjected.
"Captain Migne, can you explain to me the wonders of this bullet?" Jérôme Bonaparte stretched out his hand and held the silver bullet on the handkerchief between his thumb and index finger to examine it carefully.
Although he has seen minie bombs on some websites, this is the first time he has touched this thing.
The minie bomb is in the shape of a cylindrical head, with several rings of grooves on the outer ring. There is a conical cavity at the bottom of the bomb. A sunken cork is stuffed in the cavity, which looks like a trace of later metal customization.
It means a bullet, but it is one size smaller in length and caliber than the later metal fixed-loading bullets, so it looks a bit weird.
"Your Excellency, it is set to be slightly smaller than the caliber of the gun bore, so that soldiers can load it as quickly as possible. If the general bullet is like this, it will not be able to aim, but this bullet is different..." Captain Migne pointed out
The cork in the cavity at the bottom of the round-nosed bullet told Jerome Bonaparte: "When shooting, the gunpowder gas forces the plug in the cavity into the cavity to expand the bullet. The bullet expands and engages with the rifling to form a powerful gas.
Sealing, the warhead rotates and flies out of the gun bore under the pressure of the rifling, greatly improving the accuracy.
We once tested the performance of this bullet in Algiers. Its effective range can be about 2.5 times that of ordinary bullets. Ordinary bullets will lose their accuracy beyond the range of 200 meters, while the Minie bullet can shoot at 200 meters.
It can still hit the enemy accurately within a range of 500 meters!"
"500 meters! We can kill the enemy before they even notice us!" Jérôme Bonaparte nodded and sighed.
"That's right! This will greatly improve the combat capability of the army!" Captain Gustav expressed his opinion at the right time.
"However, can the bullet you designed be used on the rifles of the existing French troops?" Jerome Bonaparte asked again.
Migne was silent for a moment and then said cautiously: "Your Excellency, I think the French army should consider redesigning a rifle!"
Then he added: "Of course, this is just my personal opinion! In fact, this bullet can also be used in the existing rifles in France. It only needs to make an adjustment to the rifle. However, in this case, it may be in the range
The range has been reduced!”
"Captain Migne, I hope you have thought about the weapons needed to carry this rifle!" Jérôme Bonaparte said to Migne.
"Your Excellency, the traditional smoothbore rifle cannot meet the demand for bullets. We need a new rifled gun! Although I can't deliver it to you right now, I promise you that I will provide it to you as soon as possible.
The country has designed a new rifle!" Captain Migne said solemnly to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Your Excellency, President, I will assist Captain Migne in establishing it!" Captain Gustave also hurriedly expressed his stance to Jerome Bonaparte.
Jérôme Bonaparte glanced at the Migne bomb in his hand, and then at Captain Migne. He believed that Captain Migne would not let him down. He pretended to hesitate for a moment and then nodded: "Okay.
Come on! Captain Migne, I believe in your ability!"
"Thank you for your trust in me, President!" Migne said excitedly to Jerome Bonaparte.
For Migne, a military enthusiast, being able to personally build a rifle is undoubtedly the greatest recognition for him.
"Captain Migne, Captain Gustave! What do you want? Money or promotion space?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Captain Migne and Captain Gustave.
"I..." Captain Migne, who had just uttered a word, fell silent. He didn't know what choice to make.
Captain Gustav was also silent. He longed for money in his heart, but he knew that some things were still decided by Captain Demini. The president did not seem to have particularly good senses about him.
"Since you two haven't thought about it yet, why not listen to my suggestion?" Jérôme Bonaparte said to the silent two people.
Captain Migne and Captain Gustav nodded at the same time.
"Actually, your patent can be said to be an epoch-making design, but you should know that these days, there are all kinds of imitation products everywhere. As long as they are useful, those guys will use them with peace of mind!" Jérôme Bonaparte spread his hands and told
The two of them got "reality".
In the 19th century, when intellectual property laws were not perfected, it was simply impossible to sell an epoch-making weapon or invention at a high price. Why bother paying royalties to users when you could steal it?
If it is a hostile country, it can be copied openly under the banner of hostility.
"The first option is that I can pay you two 30,000 francs each, and the rifle and bullet patents you design will belong to me! The second option is that I can pay you two 5,000 francs each, and at the same time you will