Greece’s Roman Road

When everyone heard Constantine's words, they couldn't refute it.

"As for the Italians' thoughts on Albania, they would rather believe what they have than what they do not have"

"On the other hand, even if there is no political factor behind these Italians, it is not wrong for us to sponsor some Albanian scholars, and in any case, it will make them closer to Greece."

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

........

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

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

When I took a carriage to the steel factory in the Piraeus industrial zone, the most conspicuous sight I saw was the towering chimneys emitting black smoke, and the brown factory building entirely composed of steel pipes.

Led by Scalloy, the three put on safety helmets and entered the smelting workshop.

In the spacious factory building, the air was full of scorching heat, which made the faces of several gentlemen who were usually pampered and pampered to turn red.

I saw a huge iron furnace hanging in the air with iron chains, the top of which was glowing red, and the workers stood around cautiously with tools in hand.

"This is the first batch of molten steel in our steel plant," Scalloy, wearing a hard hat, said excitedly to his three bosses and Prime Minister Terry Kupis, pointing to the steelmaking furnace.

Under the operation of the workers, the orange-red molten steel poured out, the temperature in the air was even higher, and sparks flew like fireworks.

"Can you use these steels to produce seamless steel pipes?" Constantine asked Scalloy looking at the scene in front of him.

As soon as these words came out, Trikupis, Larys, and Rodo Kanazki looked at Scalloy 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 explosion, a whole piece of cast seamless steel pipe must be used.

Steel mills can produce seamless steel pipes, in other words, guns.

The three of them are naturally very concerned about this answer.

"His Royal Highness, the steel plant is well equipped to produce seamless steel pipes," Scalloy said.

This answer makes everyone happy, Laris and Rodokanaski are happy that the family has become an arms dealer, while Constantine and Trikupis are happy that Greece can produce its own weapons, not blindly rely on imports.

"It's just Your Highness, if you want to produce guns, it may not be suitable," Scalloy said.

"How do you say that? Why?" Constantine's fiery heart suddenly turned cold.

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

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

"However, as a factory manager, I would say that, from an economic point of view, with the size of the Greek army, it may be more cost-effective to purchase directly from a big country," explained Scalloy.

Constantine suddenly realized what Scarloy meant.

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

It's not how difficult the production technology is, but the cost is not worth it.

For example, Greece can buy machinery and equipment and build firearms factories by itself.

It's just that the Greek army has only about 50,000 people, and at best, it buys 50,000 rifles. So if the price of 50,000 rifles adds up, it may not be enough to buy the machine, let alone pay back.

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

He spent a lot of money to buy machine tools for making guns, and the 50,000 rifles were also produced. What about after that?

In peaceful times, a rifle can be repaired and maintained and the barrel replaced, and it can be used for ten years without any problem.

It is impossible for these machine tools to wait ten years before running again. If the machines are idle, they will rust and rot. There is no order 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 is generally purchased from a big country, and it is impossible to purchase it from a third-rate country like Greece.

Small countries are not like big countries, such as Germany and France. Their army has hundreds of thousands of people, and they can maintain the operation of production lines in the form of foreign military sales.

Moreover, even if it loses money, big countries have the capital to maintain gun factories.

This is incomparable to a small country like Greece.

After thinking about this, Constantine understood what Scarloy said was not worth it.

"Then what is the use of the steel smelted by your steel plant?" Constantine asked.

"To make steel rails, isn't Greece building railways on a large scale? A lot of steel rails are urgently needed."

........

On the way back to Athens from the steel factory, Constantine and Trikupis shared a carriage in the same city.

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

"Yes, Prime Minister, the military technology in Europe has made progress recently, and the Xiasaipo rifles equipped by the Greek army are already behind the times."

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

"And the Xiasaibo rifles commonly equipped by the Greek Army~www.wuxiax.com~ use black powder with a caliber of 11 mm."

Constantine said worriedly.

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

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

"The thick smoke after the black powder gun is fired will affect the sight of the soldiers, especially on the battlefield, when many soldiers fire at the same time, the smoke is full, which will greatly trouble the soldiers, and after the black powder is burned, there are more residues. , will affect the use of firearms”

"In contrast, smokeless powder is much more advanced. There is almost no smoke and little residue. The thrust generated when burning is extremely large, which can increase the range of the projectile."

"If the firearm uses smokeless powder, it doesn't have to be as large as the Chapsey (11mm Chapsey), you can use a smaller caliber"

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

"Let's not say anything else, just the copper used in the production of bullets can save a lot of money."

The emergence of smokeless gunpowder is a revolution in the history of firearms development, and Constantine cannot be in a hurry.

Originally, Constantine's plan was to introduce technology to produce rifles using smokeless gunpowder after the steel plant was able to produce seamless steel pipes.

But Scalloy's reminder made Constantine hesitate.

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

After hearing Constantine's statement, Trikupis, even a layman, was aware of the need for the army to equip new firearms.

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

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