Empire Ascension: The Rise of the Fated One-Chapter 212: New weapons for expedition

Purana Qila, Delhi , 19th April 1557.

The miquelet lock gun was invented in Spain during the 1670s and gained widespread use in nearby regions, including Italy, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Prior to the advent of the Bessemer process, these guns were widely utilized alongside matchlocks due to the ease of replacing their cheap iron components.

Aditya frowned, his mind racing with his past memory. Internally, he reasoned, ’Maybe I’m overthinking. This world has been filled with variables even before I regressed, and there’s no rule that events will follow the same path as in the past... But if there’s a reincarnator like me in Europe, I need to be cautious. Thankfully, I haven’t done anything too eye-catching yet, but now is not the time to dwell on this.’

He steadied himself, forcing a calm smile as he handed the musket back to the envoy. "It seems the excess work has taken its toll on me, Senhor. I’ve seen what I needed to, and I’m very satisfied. I trust the rest of the weapons will arrive on time as well."

The Portuguese envoy’s smile widened, brimming with pride. He bowed once more, replying, "I’m glad the weapons meet Your Highness’s expectations. Rest assured, the remaining shipment will arrive soon. We look forward to the fulfillment of your end of the agreement as well."

Aditya nodded and turned to Hari Singh. "Handle the rest of the process and make sure all of this is sent to the armory," he instructed. Picking up one of the muskets from the cart, he added with a slight smile, "I’ll be taking this one for a private demonstration. Consider it accounted for."

Hari Singh bowed slightly. "Noted, Your Highness."

Aditya handed the musket over to Bheem, instructing him to carry it, and informed him that they would head to the village now. Though puzzled with the recent event, Bheem followed without question.

An hour later...

They arrived at the village and made their way straight to the cement factory, which currently served as a temporary headquarters. The factory was bustling with workers, busy with the cement manufacturing process. Before reaching the office, Aditya and Bheem walked past the laborers, their surroundings filled with the sounds of industry. The office itself was illuminated by a large window, revealing a spacious room furnished with a customized table, several chairs, and documents scattered across the surface. Shelves lined one side, along with a wardrobe, and a man was busy searching for some papers—it was Vinayak.

Vinayak was overseeing the accounts when he heard footsteps. He turned to see Aditya and Bheem standing at the doorway. Placing the documents back on the shelf, he greeted them, "Welcome, Your Highness. I was expecting your arrival."

Aditya approached him with a smile. "Good to see you, Vinayak. How’s the progress coming along?"

Vinayak handed over a few documents to Aditya. "The headquarters’ construction is still ongoing, but the cannon factory is nearly complete. Some of its sections are already operational. Here are the plans and estimates for the remaining work."

Aditya skimmed through the papers, feeling satisfied with the progress. Placing them back on the table, he asked, "It’s all looking good so far, but what about the flintlock gun designs I gave you? Have you made any progress?"

Vinayak glanced at Bheem, noticing the musket slung across his back, before turning his attention back to Aditya. He sat down and replied, "Your Highness, the design you provided is complicated. If I had a working model to reference, I could replicate it exactly as described."

Aditya smirked and leaned back in his chair. "You misunderstand if you think I’ve brought a prototype." With a quick gesture toward Bheem, he signaled for him to hand over the musket. Aditya continued, "This gun isn’t a flintlock, but it operates on a similar principle that could help guide the design." Placing the musket beside him, he added, "But first, I want you to explain what you’ve learned so far and where you’re getting stuck, so I can assist you precisely."

Vinayak nodded and replied, "As I understand it, matchlock guns require an external flame source to burn the matchcord. When the trigger is pulled, the burning matchcord comes into contact with the priming gunpowder inside the pan, causing ignition and firing the bullet. However, this process is slower and more cumbersome.

He continued, pointing to the design, "The problem I’ve encountered with the flintlock design is the balance of flint and the metallic part. The quality varies, and I can’t achieve consistent ignition. After a few uses, the metallic plate wears down quickly and fails to produce enough spark. Additionally, the mechanism is quite sensitive; without a proper working model, I’ve noticed repeated occurrences of misalignment, which leads to misfires."

Aditya nodded thoughtfully, considering Vinayak’s words. "That’s a valid concern. The reliability of ignition is crucial, especially in the heat of battle. Have you considered ways to enhance the mechanism’s resilience?"

Vinayak leaned forward, enthusiasm growing. "I’ve been experimenting with different spring tensions and positions for the hammer, hoping to improve the force with which it strikes the metallic plate. If I can increase the impact, it should create a more reliable spark."

Aditya corrected him, "That metallic plate is called a frizzen. So, what metal have you been trying?"

Vinayak replied, "I’ve been using iron and bronze, the usual materials for weapon construction."

Aditya chuckled, raising an eyebrow, intrigued. "Have you tried steel?"

Vinayak’s eyes lit up in realization. "No, Your Highness, I haven’t. But we could. However," his enthusiasm faded, "the manufacturing cost and labor would increase. We’d have to adjust matching components as well."

Aditya placed the gun on the table, pleased with Vinayak’s honesty. "Take a look at this," he said, pointing to the gun’s design. "This is a miquelet lock. You can learn a lot by studying its mechanism. Feel free to open it and see for yourself."

Bheem, standing nearby, voiced his concern. "But Your Highness, this gun still needs testing. If it.. "

Aditya silenced him with a raised hand as Vinayak stood up, surprised. "This has an external spring and hammer. Is it a special variant of the flintlock, Your Highness?"

Aditya nodded slightly. "Partially correct. It’s a miquelet lock, the final version of the matchlock before transitioning to the flintlock. Since the flame passes through an external source, it’s technically a matchlock, not a flintlock."

Vinayak carefully unscrewed the nuts and bolts, using various tools to open the gun slightly. He was surprised by the precision of the internal components. "So, this frizzen is made of steel. The external spring drives the hammer, which strikes the frizzen to generate the spark. No wonder this variant is efficient, with the replaceable external hammer and steel components."

Aditya shook his head, correcting him. "Your analysis is correct, but this version still has issues. It’s heavy, and the barrel is too long compared to the flintlock design I gave you. Also, the problem of wearing down persists because the hammer is made of iron. I want the entire lock system made of steel."

Vinayak frowned. "But that would increase production costs significantly, Your Highness. Steel is fine for small parts, but making the entire lock from steel would slow down the manufacturing process."

Aditya waved off the concern. "Don’t worry about that. We’ll soon have enough steel much like water. I need you to develop a working prototype and produce as many as you can by the end of this month. They will be the new weapons for our southern expedition."

Vinayak hesitated, "We can certainly do that, but we might only manage to make 2,000 or, at best, 3,000 flintlocks. Wouldn’t it be better to manufacture more miquelet lock guns? With their simpler mechanism, we could probably make 5,000 with the current assembly line."

Aditya sighed. "You won’t know until you try. Besides, the miquelet’s external ignition mechanism can be tricky to manufacture, and in rainy conditions, especially in the south, it might become more unreliable. We could waterproof the guns with wax, but it would still be troublesome."

Bheem chimed in, "Why not just upgrade the existing matchlocks like you did with the arquebuses?"

Both Aditya and Vinayak shot him a sharp glance, silencing him instantly. Aditya face-palmed, while Vinayak explained patiently, "Matchlocks can be upgraded to flintlocks, but it’s more complicated. The lock system needs to be completely replaced, and the barrel lengths re-adjusted. It’s faster to manufacture new guns."

Aditya simplified it. "You can train a swordsman to become a cavalryman in a few months, but teaching an archer to do the same will take ages, unless we are training cavalry that can shoot."

Bheem nodded. "Ah, so it’s about specialization."

Vinayak’s eyes brightened at Aditya’s remark. "Your Highness, there’s something else I’d like to discuss."

Aditya raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

Vinayak inquired, "Your Highness, a thought just came to mind. The repeating crossbow our company is developing currently requires two hands for operation, making it unsuitable for cavalry. If we could integrate the refill mechanism like those from repeating crossbow and merge it with a trigger style grip system, it could be made operable with one hand. If we reduce the size, it could certainly work for cavalry!"

Aditya felt goosebumps at Vinayak’s insight. In just a few conversations, Vinayak had stumbled upon the future firing mechanisms of rifles. But a thought crossed Aditya’s mind: ’What if another reincarnator has already advanced to that level? No. I need to upgrade with balance and not make it too obvious. Many things are at stake.’ He made up his mind but first, he needed to address something.

He laughed heartily before composing himself. "I don’t mean to undermine you, Vinayak, but we’re short on time. Don’t deviate from what I’ve asked. You can carry on the experiment secretly, but keep in mind that in the future, it may become outdated."

Vinayak looked puzzled. "Outdated? But why, Your Highness?"

Aditya explained, "The flintlock we are going to use will eventually spread in the region, and we must be ready to upgrade more. While your crossbow idea is effective, it won’t deliver the needed punch in real battles. I want you to focus on ideas related to guns and muskets. You can continue your research, but don’t forget your priority."

Vinayak nodded. "Understood, Your Highness."

Aditya felt a twinge of guilt, as if he had unintentionally crushed Vinayak’s innovative idea. "Let me tell you in advance, I have designs for guns suited for cavalry as well. So, you better bring me good news. Once that’s done, you can get to work on the next project, and you can also explore your crossbow cavalry prototype. Who knows, maybe we can apply some of those concepts to the guns as well."

Vinayak’s eyes lit up with excitement. "It will be done, Your Highness."

Just then, a middle-aged man’s voice echoed through the room. "Brat, so you finally got some time? Huh!"