A platoon with a mortar seems simple, but the production of shells could overwhelm the current arsenal in Chris's hands. Given the current processing level of the Seris Arsenal, many weapons can be manufactured. However, the production speed of these weapons and the capacity needed for their ammunition pose significant challenges.
Therefore, Chris dares not produce these weapons as he does not have enough ammunition to supply automatic weapons extravagantly. In this situation, Chris has to seriously consider selecting weapons that align with his current production capacity to equip his troops.
Automatic weapons like the Maxim machine gun are not impossible to manufacture now, but the bullet factory cannot supply them in large quantities. Even if forcibly equipped with such weapons, a single battle would leave Chris's troops without ammunition.
So, until Desail provides funds and resources for Chris to establish more and better arsenals, Chris has to rely on bolt-action rifles to equip his soldiers.
Finally, he chose a trendy individual weapon for his infantry: the Mauser 98K rifle!
This weapon, once widely equipped in the army, mature in technology, and with reliable performance, still resonates with young people in the twenty-first century due to its presence in games. The 98K is undoubtedly a weapon representing victory, and the excitement is even greater when associated with winning a chicken dinner at night.
Chris can rest assured because the bolt-action structure ensures that this weapon will not quickly deplete ammunition. Firing seven or eight rounds per minute provides enough firepower to serve as the backbone of the army's weapons for a long time.
From any perspective, this weapon is the preferred choice for modern armies. Until Chris can improve his ammunition supply, it remains an excellent choice for individual weapons.
This weapon has another advantage: moderate length! It is long enough to attach a bayonet, giving soldiers close combat capabilities, and short enough for easy handling—making it an outstanding performer in the category of bolt-action rifles.
There is another reason for choosing the Mauser 98K rifle: in the future, Chris plans to equip the army with the excellent-performing MG42 general-purpose machine gun. Clearly, for the sake of uniform ammunition caliber, Chris is not willing to equip two types of bullets.
Because of this, rifles with different calibers, like the Mosin-Nagant and the accurate Type 38 Arisaka, have been abandoned by Chris: both have peculiar calibers, and the performance of machine guns firing the same type of bullet is not impressive.
"Difficult!" Chris leaned back in his chair, looking at the production reports of the past two days, and sighed in frustration.
His industrial process has completely plunged into chaos. Except for the weapons and equipment being produced for soldiers, the remaining tasks are on the brink of collapse. Haphazardly industrializing in one place has very complicated and serious consequences. Chris is not ignorant of these issues; he was just eager to rise and overlooked these problems.
These days, his textile factory has completely shut down. The consumption of raw materials is too high, and the reserves of raw materials in Seris City cannot meet the consumption rate of such a factory. The fabric, which once had a good price, can't be produced at all now.
The situation is somewhat better in the woodworking factory because wood can be obtained nearby. However, due to the fast production of tables and chairs, the entire woodworking factory has to stop production and transform, starting to produce some strange and useless things.
For example, wooden handles for grenades, or rifle stocks - these things produced according to Chris's drawings, but no one knows what they are for. Even so, it is not a long-term solution: the factory has piled up about 1000 rifle stocks, but not a single rifle has been produced.
The few smelting furnaces that were finally produced have serious insufficient capacity. Once mechanical parts are produced, weapon equipment cannot be produced, and once weapon equipment is produced, armor cannot be produced, and other iron products cannot be produced...
In short, the direct result of blind expansion of industrial capacity is a complete disaster, not much different from a certain era's leap forward.
After all, many things cannot be immediately improved with technology: for example, agriculture. Even though Chris has many theories of modern agriculture that can be popularized, this year's crops have already been planted, and he has to wait until next year to improve planting techniques, no matter how anxious he is.
Without the support of agriculture and chemical industry, the entire industry has come to a standstill. Ceris City's income has not fundamentally increased compared to previous years because the money earned is not used to expand capacity or as workers' wages.
"I can't do it now! The purchasing power around is limited, and the training of the troops has entered a bottleneck... It's a bit of a loss to pull up the seedlings like this." Scratching his head, Chris muttered in frustration.
Just when he was about to collapse from playing with himself, Strede and Desail arrived in Seris with some personnel and supplies. The arrival of these personnel and supplies undoubtedly reinvigorated Chris.
His path of industrialization can finally continue at any cost, and the remaining things can be handed over to Strede and Desail to operate. Chris greeted Desail at the city gate personally, giving Desail enough face.
Desail did not disappoint. At the city gate, he handed a scroll to Chris: "Congratulations, Lord Airenhill Chris, you are now the actual ruler of Seris, Mein, and Duport, officially promoted to the Grand Duchy of Airenhill. Also, you are promoted to the Grand Duke of Seris..."
Chris, with a puzzled expression, took the scroll from Desail's hand and carefully read the text on it. It said, "The Arant Empire now places Mein and Duport under the jurisdiction of Seris City, upgrading them to the Grand Duchy of Airenhill. Furthermore, Chris, the Lord of Seris City, is promoted to the Grand Duke of Airenhill..."
After carefully reading the text with the blood-red seal of the Emperor of the Arant Empire, Chris excitedly looked at Desail, "So, Arant Empire has recognized my rule over Mein and Duport?"
"Of course, they recognized it." Desail smiled and looked at Chris, raising five fingers to say, "But don't get too excited. I promised Minister Clark of Arant that the tax tribute for the Grand Duchy of Airenhill would be increased to fifty thousand gold coins annually!"
"..." Chris heard this number and couldn't help but smile bitterly: the Mein region is still in chaos, and Duport City has not shown much improvement. In this situation, taking on a debt of 50,000 gold coins is not an easy task.
Thinking about this, Chris shrugged and said to Desail, "Honestly, our production is facing some problems and needs someone to plan carefully."
Desail's smile became even more pronounced, pointing to an old man standing beside him. He introduced, "Mr. Gullo, the most formidable businessman I could find. He used to be my personal steward, and now I'm giving him to you."
"Very welcome!" Chris was cautious in trusting people. At the moment, he had no better choice and could only assign Desail's people to important positions. "So let Mr. Gullo serve as the Minister of Commerce for the Grand Duchy of Airenhill."
"Thank you. I want to see the recent output and the income-expenditure situation of Airenhill." The old man didn't decline and immediately took office at the city gate. This old man is efficient, and Chris is happy to let Dean hand over the account books.
"We have produced a large number of fabrics and woodworking products... but we completely did not expect that such a large output would directly drain the surrounding consumption capacity." Chris, walking towards his study with Desail, complained in the corridor.
Desail listened all the way, with a faint smile on his face. He walked to Chris's office, selected a comfortable seat, sat down, and asked, "Can I see your weapon drawings?"
Chris was stunned, then nodded, taking out the weapons he had chosen and related drawings, stacking them in front of Desail. "You don't care about my profits... it seems you're more interested in weapons."
"That's right. Even if your machinery is good, it's not worth my investment." While flipping through the weapon drawings and smelting formulas in front of him, Desail answered, "I'm asking you a question very seriously now. Do you think... your weapons can kill dragons?"
"..." Chris fell silent. He furrowed his brows, carefully thinking about the question and pondering why the other party would ask such a question.
In fact, he has been contemplating this question all along, whether his modern weapon equipment can truly confront the ultimate power of this world. Those dragons flying in the sky, and the mages who can control magic, would modern weapon equipment intimidate them?
Whenever he eats at Seris Castle, he looks up at the mural above his head and contemplates this question - he believes it is possible because Airenhill's ancestors once accomplished the feat of slaying dragons with mortal bodies.
After a while of silence, until Desail felt something was wrong and looked up at him, Chris slowly answered, "I think, for killing dragons, my weapons are entirely competent."
