Chapter 1838 - 508: Future Speakers of Parliament (3)

If the gun fires, be secretly happy; if the barrel bursts, just blame the farmers for overloading the gunpowder.

Of course, Edward is a wise Grand Duke, and the reliability of the Campbell Duchy's equipment is certainly much higher than that of the Ryan Kingdom.

Moreover, this Grand Duke is evidently learning, too.

That's also why the Punk Armory Factory secured the Duchy's orders, rather than the Royal Armory. Clearly, in the eyes of the Grand Duke, it's not only the Parliament that needs reform but also those outdated royal industries.

However, since it's affecting his own people, he handles it more tactfully.

Luo Yan and Pont didn't get too close, they just stood at a distance watching the situation inside the factory.

As the foreman finished assigning tasks, the workers quickly began another busy day.

They methodically selected parts from the wooden crates delivered by porters, picked up files from the long table to carefully polish, and then assembled them.

This is a craft.

Due to the limitations of the era, neither the factories in Thunder City nor Beifeng City could yet produce standardized castings for an assembly line.

The vast majority of parts required assembly workers to use files, scrapers, and rasps to adjust them to usable conditions before assembling.

Therefore, in addition to the regular assembly workers, each assembly line in this workshop also had a "Fitting Master," responsible for inspecting the fitting accuracy of the parts, preventing anyone from forcibly fixing "moving parts" into "stationary parts."

But these difficulties are temporary.

When more specialized machine tools are born, these assembly workers can upgrade to skilled fitters, while the assembly work will be handled by real assemblers.

By then, we might just be able to create a true assembly line, and production efficiency can be further improved.

Looking at the finished products placed at the workshop entrance, Luo Yan casually picked up a "Roxey 1053 Rifle" named after his father.

The straight gunstock felt slightly heavy, with sleek lines on the wooden stock, and the steel parts reflecting the cold gleam of metal, resembling a piece of art.

Luo Yan skillfully pulled the lever; the breech opened, the movement was smooth and fluid, producing a crisp, melodious metal clashing sound.

"Ding—"

Closing the breech, Luo Yan nodded in satisfaction.

He recalled that at the end of last year, the products produced by this factory were still significantly inferior to those of the North Peak City's factory, but now these "counterfeits" were no worse than the "genuine articles" from Colin Duchy.

No wonder it's a miracle on the Northeast Shore of Vortex Sea, the place once graced by the presence of the "Mechanical God" Linte Isaac.

The industrial foundation here is indeed impressive!

"...Very good, Simon Factory Director, your work is impressive; I hope you continue to strive, contributing more strength for Duke Campbell!"

Upon hearing the Prince's praise, Simon, who had been standing nearby, could not suppress the joy on his face and said excitedly.

"Thank you for your affirmation, Your Highness! It's all the workers' credit, along with the engineers' tireless research results! Of course... along with Mr. Punk's emphasis on us."

"You're too kind, Mr. Simon, I haven't done much," Punk modestly gave a soft cough, not knowing whose humility he was imitating.

"You are all contributors, it's all seen... By the way, how are the orders coming along?" Luo Yan put down the rifle and casually asked, "I want to know, is there a high demand for our rifles?"

At the mention of orders, Simon's eyes instantly brightened, just like the kerosene lamp hanging above the workshop.

"Your Highness, you don't need to worry about this at all! Our factory is flourishing, and orders have been scheduled into next summer, we're basically overwhelmed! I'm planning to expand two new workshops in the south, aiming to increase the factory's monthly production capacity to six thousand units within half a year! By then, we'll be the largest arms supplier of the Duchy!"

Luo Yan smiled.

He wasn't worried, just asking casually. Such revolutionary equipment will never lack demand; the buyers are always more eager than the sellers.

Currently, the production capacity of the Punk Armory Factory is limited and insufficient to meet the Duchy's equipment demands.

Once the production capacity here is increased, not just becoming the largest arms supplier of the Duchy, but even becoming the armory of all "New Covenant Forces" on the Aus Continent is entirely possible!

But these distant goals needed no mention to those standing beside him.

Seeing the Prince's calm reaction, Simon took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped to one page, and eagerly pointed it out to him.

"...Look, Your Highness, these are the recent big orders! Not just these, Duke Campbell also ordered a batch of Roxey 1053 Rifles without any factory markings, and the quantity is substantial! Additionally, there's a batch of custom short-barreled rifles according to customer requirements, shortened barrels, more lightweight, and more suitable for combat in jungles or confined terrains!"

Luo Yan nodded with a smile.

"It seems our customers are increasing."

The unbranded rifles were undoubtedly intended for Twilight Province, most likely to arm the private troops under those Earls of the Holy Light Council.

And the short-barreled rifles, undoubtedly prepared for the Salvation Army undergoing secret training deep in the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, indicate the Duchy's intelligence personnel have already made contact with them.

As he expected.

Edward's counterattack has already begun and much faster than he anticipated.