Munitions Empire

Since the revolver was no longer a secret weapon, it was imperative for Tang Mo to make himself a true "Left-Wheel Handgun".

In fact, he had already accumulated some smokeless powder and had several apprentices help him use the steam engine to stamp out some copper bullet casings. With the steam engine, stamping became very simple, especially stamping the soft metal, copper.

Using the time squeezed from his busy schedule, he handcrafted some metal fixed ammunition in his own laboratory — bullets specifically designed for the use in the Left-Wheel Handgun!

This might have been the first batch of true metal fixed ammunition in the world, complete with primers and made of copper, closely resembling the appearance of modern bullets.

Tang Mo always had the habit of keeping an ace up his sleeve. Since he had already revealed the revolver, producing another secret weapon was only natural.

After bidding farewell to a jubilant Tagg, promising to deliver some ammunition to him in a few days, Tang Mo strolled leisurely to the workshop where Mathews was.

In the noisy workshop where the roar of machinery could almost be described as deafening, the workers were busy with their tasks and greeted Tang Mo only when they saw him.

Walking up to Mathews, Tang Mo waited until he had finished polishing a new part before asking loudly, "How are the new parts I wanted coming along?"

"You mean this? It looks like a cylinder... Like a brand new cylinder for a revolver." Mathews handed over a beautifully polished cylinder to Tang Mo.

Unlike the old-fashioned revolver's cylinder, this new cylinder had some interlocking grooves on the side to lock the position during the automatic rotation of the cylinder.

Meanwhile, in the center of the cylinder, there was an extremely precise spring mechanism that could, after all the bullets had been fired, use a push rod to eject all six shell casings from the cylinder, allowing for a swift reload.

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The overall precision of the cylinder's design was comparable to the most precise parts on a steam engine. Such craftsmanship could only be achieved by Mathews; even Roger might not have been able to make it.

"This is a very complex structure! Without the steam engine-driven drill press and other machines, I might not be able to make it myself," Mathews honestly admired. "It's enchanting, even just the part of its function I've guessed, it can already be said to be a revolutionary product."

Mathews was a very experienced weapon manufacturing worker. He had once worked at Shireck and was dismissed after talking back to his supervisor and ended up wandering to Northern Ridge.

He was very familiar with the structure of weapons and equally experienced in manufacturing them. Had it not been for this, he wouldn't have had the temperament to talk back to his boss — those with talent often have a bit of a quirky temperament, or conversely, it's the ones with no talent who are meek and compliant...

"Oh? What have you figured out?" Tang Mo was very interested in Mathews' professional capability. If there was one person in the workshop who could follow some of Tang Mo's weapon design ideas, it was this old Dwarf from Northern Ridge.

From this perspective, Lord Earl was quite generous. He was willing to let a master weapon maker with so much experience work for him, a gesture that certainly deserved praise!

"Are you testing me?" Mathews looked at Tang Mo, also harboring a thought to gauge Tang Mo's worth.

Truth be told, he was eager to find out whether Tang Mo was worth his allegiance, for as a skilled old craftsman, he believed he had some value.

The more competent a person is, the more cautious and careful they are, unwilling to easily offer their loyalty. Wes was like that, and it was evident that the old Dwarf Mathews felt the same.

"More or less. If you guess right, I might consider finding some new things for you to work on," Tang Mo said with a smile, making a promise that would surely interest Mathews.

Mathews was startled, then burst into hearty laughter, a laugh that could be heard far away even amid the roar of machinery in the workshop: "Ha! I like your ideas."

It was the truth; he really liked Tang Mo's ideas about the Quick Gun and the design of the steam engine had also shocked him.

Moreover, Tang Mo had showcased a design for a revolver capable of continuous fire—designs that had never appeared in this world before.

For a craftsman who had spent half a lifetime in a weapon workshop, dealing with machinery every day, the allure of these fascinating mechanical designs was simply irresistible.

"You won't be disappointed," Tang Mo assured with a smile, filling Mathews with anticipation.

Since it was an exam, Mathews began his assessment. He pointed at the ammo cylinder that Tang Mo was fiddling with in his hand and said, "I can tell that at the center of this thing is a mechanism for quick ejection! The indented part should have an almost identical piece that, together with a spring, would allow you to push all six bullets out of the cylinder!"

"Completely correct." Tang Mo was surprised. He nodded his head, full of interest in Mathews' response. He really wanted to know just how much potential a craftsman from this world could have, how much they could infer just from a single component.

Mathews continued, "Furthermore, I believe these odd engravings are not for decoration. You intend to use these marks to fix the cylinder in place... to increase its stability..."

Indeed, there were many grooves and engravings on the cylinder of the Left-Wheel Handgun, none of which were designed for aesthetics but were intentionally made from a practical standpoint.

Some indentations were made to reduce weight, and some engravings served their own purpose—Tang Mo of course knew this, as what he was creating was indeed a truly modern left-handed revolver!

But Mathews couldn't possibly know that, so his ability to deduce so much from these engravings alone really made him a remarkable weapon craftsman.

So Tang Mo nodded in acknowledgment and said to Mathews with approval, "Hmm, you are impressing me more and more, Mathews."

Hearing Tang Mo's approval, Mathews knew his conjectures were right and continued, "If I guessed this correctly, then it proves that compared to the previous revolver's cylinder, this one might be less stable, so I can be sure that it is a moving part... The pivot in the middle of this cylinder won't be fixed to the frame of the gun!"

Inferencing from such minute details, Tang Mo felt once more that Mathews was indeed a talent.

The other actually managed to guess that Tang Mo planned to use a movable cylinder! That was the fundamental difference between a left-handed revolver and a revolver, as well as the key distinction between modern left-handed revolvers and traditional, outdated ones!

Traditional revolvers could not eject the cylinder to speed up reloading—they had to be loaded one bullet at a time, a flaw that modern firearms could not tolerate!

The modern left-handed revolver, improved upon, had a cylinder that could swing out of the frame, thereby allowing for quick loading. The speed and convenience of loading were several times better than those of old-fashioned revolvers!

Moreover, there later appeared speed loaders designed specifically for left-handed revolvers, which could load six bullets at once, greatly increasing loading speed!

"Hahaha..." Upon hearing Dwarf Mathews' speculations, Tang Mo laughed heartily, feeling that keeping such a talent would definitely be a major gain for him.

Unexpectedly, Mathews continued to surprise Tang Mo—only to hear the old dwarf continue, "Alright, such a precise structure can't use paper cartridge anymore, because the gunpowder residue from the paper would definitely clog these nearly gapless mechanisms."

Tang Mo was taken aback, he really hadn't anticipated that Mathews could deduce so many design details from just the cylinder.

If Mathews' previous conjectures could be described as professional, then what he was saying now could almost only be described as uncanny.

Actually, this was also because Tang Mo wasn't truly a craftsman in the strictest sense, so his impression was somewhat exaggerated. Real craftsmen have an intimate understanding of the structures they're familiar with.

Clearly, Mathews' technical skills were nearly impeccable, so what limited him was only the direction. He didn't lack the keen probing power a weapon craftsman should have regarding the development of weapons.

"Such a delicate structure itself can't withstand the impact of gunpowder combustion! So you definitely need to figure out a solution for the bullet issue." Quickly, he shared his view—which was due to these details, that he could infer so much about Tang Mo's new weapon.

As he had said, the ejection structure and even the more delicate cylinder couldn't withstand the erosion of gunpowder.

If it weren't for the use of metal cartridges, just the gunpowder residue alone would turn the delicate ejection mechanism into a malfunction-riddled joke.

By a different line of reasoning, if paper cartridges were still to be used, there would be no need for an ejection mechanism, would there? Cleaning the bore would suffice, with no need for a complicated structure at all.

"Let me guess, you plan to use metal cartridges, right?" After such speculation, Dwarf Mathews looked up at Tang Mo with an almost certain tone and asked.

Tang Mo did not answer him, but instead smiled in response to Mathews' confident gaze and counter-asked, "Is it only you who has such talent, or are all you dwarves so clever?"

The roar of machinery grew noisy again as steam-powered lathes, after a brief pause, started spinning cheerfully once more.