War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

However, Franz did not manufacture weapons on a large scale in Tyrol, because those weapons would completely change the battlefield pattern of the entire era, and even the rules of war.

Franz is afraid that if he interferes too much in the historical process, he will be counterattacked by the times, and then enter a completely unknown era, losing his advantage as a time traveler. After all, human beings' fear of the unknown is rooted deep in their genes and is not that easy to overcome. .

In addition to artillery and breech-loading guns, Franz's greatest hope was grenades. In fact, grenades are nothing new in Europe, and even grenadiers themselves are derived from the word grenade.

However, the grenades of this era are very different from those of later generations. They look more like the spherical mines of later generations, usually 5 kg, 10 kg, and 20 kg.

It’s understandable that the 5kg model is about the same weight as the shot put in later generations. It’s not a problem for strong people to throw it about 15 meters, but it is a problem for ordinary adults to throw it 7-8 meters.

As for the 10 kilogram grenade, it is very difficult for even a strong man to throw it 10 meters, and the 20 kilogram grenade is even more outrageous. Franz does not believe that it would be embarrassing for someone to bring a 20 kilogram grenade to the battlefield.

In fact, both the 10kg grenade and the 20kg grenade are defensive grenades. The reason why they are so heavy is because they are afraid that the opponent will throw them back. After all, the grenadiers at that time cut the leads of the grenades themselves. In order not to blow up themselves, they usually cut the leads. Leave it longer, which leads to the dilemma of throwing it over and being thrown back by the opponent.

Especially in a siege battle, the defender is already in a small space. If another grenade is thrown back and explodes, it will be a huge blow to the soldiers' spirit and body.

Someone may be able to throw a 5kg grenade more than ten meters in a straight line, but it is almost impossible to throw a 20kg defensive grenade back to a 3-5 meter high wall.

However, with the development of rifles and artillery, grenades have gradually faded out of people's sight. Only backward countries like Austria and Russia will use them in defensive warfare.

Franz hopes that weapons experts can reduce the weight of grenades to less than 0.5 kilograms, because even the famous wooden handle grenade is only 0.6-0.8 kilograms, of which the weight of the warhead usually does not exceed 200 grams.

Austrian weapons experts did not understand Franz's intention, but after repeated tests, they found that if you want to maintain the lethality of the grenade, a minimum charge of 1.5 kilograms is needed. With the addition of a wooden handle, it can indeed be thrown farther.

Even an ordinary soldier can throw it 25 meters away, but this is still not comparable to the distance of a rifle.

Franz understood their thoughts, but he could not tell them that trench warfare and street fighting would become the mainstream of war in the future. Even if he told it, no one would believe it.

But something happened that shocked Franz. A group of rocket engineers invented the grenade, a magical piece of equipment, based on the principle of rodless spin rockets.

One of the rocket engineers, Essen Borner, built a miniature launcher, which was the prototype of the grenade.

This kind of weapon is light in weight, easy to carry, and can also provide considerable firepower. Its range is much higher than the throwing distance of infantry, up to 80 meters.

Although compared with the 300-meter range of later grenade launchers, 80 meters seems a bit ridiculous, but this does not affect it from becoming a major killer weapon on the battlefield of this era.

In fact, the main factors that affect the range are air tightness and propellant. This is a hurdle that cannot be overcome in the development of weapons. However, Franz's understanding of yellow gunpowder was not enough for him to explain its principles to the experts.

Moreover, the explosive power of this kind of gunpowder was astonishing, which prevented Franz from conducting experiments himself.

In fact, Dr. Schönbein had already invented collodion in Vienna, but he contributed it to the medical industry, used to treat wounds, seal bottle stoppers, etc.

Nitrocellulose was the main raw material for the world's first smokeless gunpowder. Unfortunately, Austrian weapons experts selectively ignored this great invention, and of course they were blown away.

In fact, Austria still has a long way to go from nitrocellulose to smokeless gunpowder, but Franz is not in a hurry, after all, he is still "young".

At this time, the most profitable business of the entire arsenal was the sale of rifled barrels. The price on the market was as high as 15 florins, and the quality was far inferior to the products of the Franz Arsenal.

Therefore, it is impossible to expect Franz to lower the price. After all, the arms business is stealing foreigners' money. As for domestic military purchases, all purchases are at a 50% discount. Even so, selling rifled barrels is still a hugely profitable business.

Rhine, Ruhr industrial area.

Alfred Krupp looked at the manganese steel in the crucible in a daze, because its price could completely bankrupt a small businessman, and making a cannon required more than a dozen or even dozens of pots to complete.

There is no doubt that no country in the world would accept such a price. He smiled to himself and could only turn this furnace of molten steel into swords and kitchen utensils.

And Werner von Siemens, who could really change the history of Prussia and even the entire European steelmaking industry, is still happily making inventions in a prison in Magdeburg.

There is a saying that "gold always shines." It is apt to describe Werner von Siemens, whose invention in prison attracted the interest of King Wilhelm IV of Prussia.

As mentioned above, the Prussian king was a very gentle man on the surface. He could lend money to Krupp to help his family tide over the difficulties, and he also pardoned the inventor in prison.

William IV hoped that Siemens could contribute more patents to Prussia. The latter would naturally be grateful for the king's actions and completely ignored Franz's solicitation.

Because there is no place in Prussia that is more anti-Austrian than the army. As a captain of the Prussian artillery, Siemens had also received favors from the king, and it was even less likely that he would have a good impression of Austria.

Meanwhile, Siemens' release from prison attracted the attention of another man, a farmer from Pomerania.

After Siemens was released from prison, he was sent to the Spandau Fireworks Manufacturing Factory. It was an honor to enter the fireworks manufacturing factory in Prussia, because their products would be displayed in front of the kingdom and very distinguished guests from various countries.

He loved his new job and used his ingenuity to create several unprecedented fireworks. Those gorgeous fireworks and the annual income of 500 florins made Siemens very satisfied, because he could pay the tuition of his two older brothers and take care of their younger brother.

One day, a young man with a face as sharp as a knife and a slightly gloomy temperament came to Siemens.

"Hello, Mr. Siemens."

"Hello, sir. How can I help you? If you want to reserve fireworks, you need to wait until next month. You should know that there are many celebrations and festivals recently."

"No, sir. I think you deserve better."

"I'm sorry, sir. Did I hear you correctly? You mean the fireworks factory employees have better jobs?"

"Yes, you heard it right. I hope you can join Mr. Krupp's steel factory." The young man replied in a very firm tone.