Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 40: Easing their Worries

"So, what is your plan?" Napoleon I asked.

"My plan? Well we’ll match the British, even exceed them," Napoleon II simply stated and then turned to the officers. "Can I borrow that gun?"

The officer walked forward and handed him the rifle.

Napoleon II grabbed it and tested the weight. It was long, slimmer than a musket, the balance pulled slightly forward.

He ran his hand along the stock first.

"Industrial cut," he said. "Uniform. This wasn’t shaped by a village craftsman."

He turned the rifle over and studied the receiver.

"No exposed pan. No flint." He looked up briefly. "So ignition is internal."

He worked the bolt.

It slid back with a dry metallic sound, clean and direct. No hammer. No external spring.

Napoleon II paused.

"So this is it," he said. "The needle system."

He leaned closer, eyes narrowing as he examined the chamber.

"Paper cartridge," he continued. "Powder and projectile together. Primer at the base." He tapped the rear of the bolt lightly. "The needle pierces through to strike it."

Davout nodded. "Rate of fire is significantly higher than musketry. A trained soldier can fire prone."

Napoleon II worked the bolt again, slower this time.

"And that," he said, "is the real advantage."

He pointed the rifle downward, never raising it.

"No standing reload. No ramrod. No exposed ignition. You can stay low, reload, fire again." He glanced at Napoleon I. "Infantry that doesn’t have to stand up lives longer."

He inspected the barrel.

"Rifled," he said. "Tighter tolerances than ours." He turned slightly to Berthier. "They’ve solved mass rifling."

Berthier nodded grimly. "With machinery."

Napoleon II gave a short breath through his nose.

"Of course they did."

He examined the bolt face now.

"The needle will wear," he said. "Heat, fouling, corrosion. How long before failure?"

"Two to three hundred shots," Davout replied. "Then replacement."

Napoleon II nodded.

"I can see the French infantry being massacred in the face of this rifle," Napoleon II calmly stated. "Good thing that there is no war between us yet."

"So you know the urgency of the situation, that it’s time for us to modernize our army, starting from the gun, and then the navy," Napoleon I said. "I need your genius brain to design a rifle that is far superior than their rifles."

"Father, there you go again, raising your voice. You don’t have to do that really, we are not really at a disadvantage. The fact that you have invested heavily in industrializing the country means that we will have a superior means of production compared to the British. Sure they have these amazing rifles and their amazing ships but future warfare dictates that those who produce faster would win the war. We have the industrial bases that Britain doesn’t."

"Also, what do you mean we didn’t invest in the military? We invested in its infrastructure, particularly our naval infrastructure to facilitate future shipbuilding. Give me a week, and I’ll design a rifle so powerful that the British that you wouldn’t be anxious about them anymore," Napoleon II said.

Napoleon, Berthier, and Davout looked at one another.

"You sound so confident, but what about their navy? Sure you can produce a superior weapon than the British Army but the Navy is going to destroy us, just like what they did during the coalition wars. They’ll simply blockade our ports, isolating us, and our navy is at the mercy of their ships."

"I’ll design that too," Napoleon II said. "You don’t have to worry about all of this. For now, we have to keep the status quo."

"I understand," Napoleon I said. "Make sure that you will come up with something that can be of use for the army and the navy."

"Speaking of which, who are the military contractors who supply us with cannons, rifles, and ammunition? And who built our ships?"

"Davout you have the names of the contractors?" Napoleon I looked at Davout.

"I have them," Davout said.

He reached into his folder and laid several documents on the table, pushing them forward with two fingers.

"Small arms are supplied primarily by the state arsenals—Charleville, Saint-Étienne, and Tulle," he said. "Private workshops support output, but final assembly and inspection remain imperial."

Napoleon II leaned forward, scanning the names.

Berthier spoke next. "Artillery is more centralized. Le Creusot handles heavy forgings. Smaller foundries supply field pieces. Ammunition production is spread across regional depots."

"And ships?" Napoleon II asked.

"Toulon, Brest, Rochefort," Davout replied. "Hull construction is state-run. Engines and fittings are a mix—some private, some naval workshops."

Napoleon II straightened.

"That’s the problem," he said. "We’re organized for peace output, not surge output."

Napoleon I’s jaw tightened. "Explain."

"We produce," Napoleon II said, "but we don’t scale fast enough. Not yet."

He tapped the list of arsenals.

"Rifles are treated like craftsman goods. Cannons like monuments. Ships like individual projects." He looked up. "Modern war doesn’t care about pride. It cares about throughput."

Silence followed.

"So what do you want?" Davout asked.

Napoleon II didn’t answer immediately. He stood, walked to the crates by the wall, and placed his hand on the rough wood.

"I want consolidation," he said. "One lead arsenal for infantry weapons. One for artillery. One naval construction authority. We are going to industrialize production, that means assembly lines. This is how we will beat Britain,"

He turned back to them.

"Standardized designs. Standardized parts. Gauges, dies, jigs—shared across facilities." His tone stayed flat. "If one factory is bombed or blocked, another can take over without retraining an entire workforce. During wartime, how many guns and ammunition can France produce in a year? In the coalition wars? And how much is it for Britain?"

"Why?" Napoleon I asked.

"To make you all realize something."

Berthier answered without hesitation.

"In the final years of the Coalition Wars," he said, "France could equip roughly 180,000 to 220,000 infantrymen per year with complete sets—muskets, bayonets, basic ammunition allotments. Ammunition production averaged 35 to 40 million cartridges annually, assuming no disruption."

He glanced down at his notes.

"Britain, by comparison, produced fewer complete muskets—around 120,000 to 150,000 per year—but compensated with naval dominance, imports, and colonial supply. Their powder and shot production was higher, sustained by uninterrupted trade."

Davout added, "Their advantage wasn’t numbers alone. It was consistency. They could maintain output year after year without collapse."

Napoleon II listened, expression unchanged.

"And now?" he asked.

Berthier continued. "With current capacity, factoring mechanization and expanded arsenals, France could likely produce 300,000 rifles per year within two to three years. Ammunition output could reach 70 million cartridges annually under sustained funding."

He paused.

"That is the optimistic estimate."

Napoleon II nodded once.

"Good," he said. "Now here’s the part you’re all missing."

They looked at him.

"That number," he continued, "assumes we are still thinking like it’s 1812."

Napoleon I narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

Napoleon II stepped back to the table and placed both hands on it.

"With centralized arsenals," he said, "true standardization, and continuous production instead of batch production—France doesn’t produce three hundred thousand rifles a year."

He looked at Berthier.

"We produce one and a half million."

Silence hit the room.

Davout’s brow furrowed. "That’s five times—"

"Yes," Napoleon II said. "Five times."

Berthier shook his head slightly. "That would require—"

"—machines replacing craftsmen," Napoleon II cut in. "Shift work. Fixed gauges. Parts that don’t care who assembled them."

He straightened.

"Britain outproduced us before because they treated war like industry," he said. "Now we treat industry like war."

Napoleon I slowly folded his arms.

"And ammunition?" he asked.

Napoleon II didn’t blink.

"Five times as well," he said. "And cheaper per unit."

The room stayed quiet.

"That," Napoleon II finished, "is why I’m not worried about their rifle. So, the plan is I design and you Father are going to enact standardization reforms. I’m going to visit the contractors who will build the rifle I designed and consult with naval architects and engineers. We will win this arms race, as long as you have me."