Greece to roman road

Everyone heard what Constantine said, but they couldn't refute it.

"As for the Italians' thoughts on Albania, I would rather believe that they have it than that they don't have it."

"On the other hand, even if there are no political factors behind these Italians, it is not wrong for us to sponsor some Albanian scholars. In any case, it can bring them closer to Greece."

"Remember to allocate a sum of money in the name of your educational foundation to sponsor the Albanians," Constantine said to the three Sophies.

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Time entered 1888, and the steel plant that Constantine had been thinking about was finally completed and put into production.

The manager of the steel plant, Skaroy, invited the three shareholders of the steel plant, Constantine, Laris and Rodokanaski, as well as the Prime Minister of Greece, Trikoupis, to come to the steel plant to witness this. A great moment.

When you take a horse-drawn carriage to the steel factory in the Piraeus Industrial Zone, the most eye-catching sight you see is the towering chimneys puffing out black smoke and the brown factory buildings made entirely of steel pipes.

Under the leadership of Skaloy, the three people put on their safety helmets and entered the smelting workshop.

In the spacious factory building, the air was filled with hot smell, which made the faces of several usually pampered gentlemen turn red.

I saw a huge iron furnace suspended in the air by iron chains, with a red light emitting from the top. Workers were standing around carefully holding tools.

"This is the first batch of molten steel from our steel plant," Skarloy, wearing a safety helmet, pointed at the steelmaking furnace and said excitedly to his three bosses and Prime Minister Trikupis.

Under the operation of the workers, orange-red molten steel pours out, the temperature in the air is three points higher, and sparks fly like fireworks.

"Can this steel be used to produce seamless steel pipes?" Constantine asked Skarloi looking at the scene in front of him.

As soon as this was said, Trikupis, Larris and Rodokanaski looked at Skaloy at the same time.

Because seamless steel pipe is the steel that needs to be used in the production of firearms.

When the firearm is fired, the internal chamber pressure is extremely high. In order to avoid the risk of the chamber exploding, a seamless steel pipe cast in one piece must be used.

The steel factory can produce seamless steel pipes, in other words, it can produce guns.

The three of them were naturally concerned about the answer.

"Your Highness, the steel plant is well equipped and can produce seamless steel pipes," Skarloy said.

This answer made everyone happy. Laris and Rodokanaski were happy that their family had become arms merchants, while Constantine and Trikoupis were happy that Greece could produce its own weapons instead of blindly Relying on imports.

"It's just that, Your Highness, if you're going to produce guns, it's probably not the right fit," Skarloey said.

"What do you say? Why?" Constantine's originally fiery heart suddenly cooled down.

The other three people were also attracted by Skarloy, waiting for his explanation.

"If you want to produce guns, technically speaking, it is not difficult. If you introduce technology to produce mature rifles that are already equipped in other countries, such as Mauser rifles, there is no technical problem."

"But as a factory manager, I would like to say that from an economic perspective, with the size of Greece's army, it may be more cost-effective to purchase directly from a large country," Skarloy explained.

Constantine suddenly understood what Scaloy meant.

Why do small countries often purchase guns from large countries, such as Britain, France and Germany, instead of producing them themselves?

It’s not that the production technology is difficult, but that the cost is not cost-effective.

For example, Greece can purchase its own machinery and equipment and build a firearms factory.

It's just that the Greek Army only has about 50,000 people, and at best it can only purchase 50,000 rifles. So the total price of 50,000 rifles may not be enough to buy machines, let alone return the money.

Even if you grit your teeth and build a factory with the mentality of losing money, you still need to cultivate the country's ability to manufacture arms and weapons, so there are other problems.

After spending a lot of money to purchase machine tools and equipment for manufacturing guns, the production of 50,000 rifles has been completed. What next?

In peacetime, if a rifle is repaired and the barrel is replaced, it can be used for ten years without any problem.

It is impossible for these machine tools and equipment to wait for ten years to operate again. If the machines and equipment are idle, they will rust and rot. If there are no orders to maintain the operation of the machines, if they are not used for many years, the machines will be abandoned.

Even if a third country purchases weapons, it usually purchases them from a big country, and it is impossible to purchase them from a third-rate country like Greece.

Unlike large countries, such as Germany and France, small countries have hundreds of thousands of troops in their armies, and they can also maintain the operation of their production lines through military sales to foreign countries.

Moreover, even if they lose money, big countries still have the capital to maintain firearms factories.

This is something that a small country like Greece cannot compare with.

After thinking about this, Constantine understood what Skarloi said about not being cost-effective.

"Then what is the steel smelted by your steel plant used for?" Constantine asked.

"Making rails, Greece is building railways on a large scale, and is in urgent need of a large number of rails."

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On the way back to Athens from the steel factory, Constantine and Prime Minister Trikopis were in the same carriage.

In the front seat of the carriage, Trikupis looked at the worried Constantine and said, "Your Highness, have you made up your mind to purchase equipment to make firearms?"

"Yes, Prime Minister, Europe's military technology has improved recently, and the Chacepo rifles equipped by the Greek army are already behind the times."

"The smokeless gunpowder recently invented by the French has caused a stir in the armies of various countries."

"The Chacepo rifle commonly equipped by the Greek Army uses black powder and has a caliber of 11 mm."

Constantine said worriedly.

"If you purchase from abroad, tens of thousands of rifles are a huge expense."

"Black powder and smokeless gunpowder?" Trikupis was not a technician, so he naturally did not understand the difference between black powder and smokeless gunpowder.

"Black powder guns produce thick smoke after being fired, which will affect the sight of soldiers. Especially on the battlefield, when many soldiers fire at the same time, the smoke will fill the sky, which will greatly trouble the soldiers. Moreover, after the black powder is burned, the residue leakage is relatively large. Too much will affect the use of guns."

"In comparison, smokeless gunpowder is much more advanced. It has almost no smoke and very little residue. It generates great thrust when burning, which can increase the range of the projectile."

"If the gun uses smokeless gunpowder, it does not have to be as large as the Charbosse rifle (the Charbosse rifle has a caliber of 11 mm), and a smaller caliber can be used."

"In short, there are many benefits to using smokeless gunpowder"

"Not to mention anything else, just the copper used to produce bullets can save a lot."

The emergence of smokeless gunpowder was a revolution in the history of firearms development, and Constantine could not help but be in a hurry.

Constantine's original plan was to introduce technology to produce rifles using smokeless gunpowder after the steel factory was equipped to produce seamless steel pipes.

But Skaloy's reminder made Constantine hesitate.

Maintaining a firearms production line requires a lot of capital investment.

After Trikupis heard Constantine's statement, even a layman realized the necessity of equipping the army with new firearms.

"Your Excellency, since this matter is so important, I think it is up to me to inform His Majesty the King to hold a military meeting to discuss this matter together."