Chapter 1271 - 1193: Socket Bayonet
Another round of military reform?
The monks and wise men exchanged bewildered glances. In fact, the Holy Alliance had already undergone three rounds of military reform since its founding.
Initially, the tactics changed from castle warfare to Maurice’s Array, then artillery prompted the reform, and finally, the rear-loaded spring gun led to another reform.
Every military reform occasioned a major reshuffling and examination within the military forces’ ranks.
The first two reforms were manageable, but the 1454 reform forced many veterans and officers into retirement; all levels of Corps Commanders and Battle Commanders were drastically affected.
Numerous former heroic military units were disbanded and reorganized, and those who failed retraining had to retire, regardless of their veteran status.
In that instance, nearly half of the distinguished veterans were compelled to retire.
If not for the Holy Alliance’s generous compensations, coupled with the authority of the Saint’s Grandson, they would have caused a stir long ago.
These people either returned home to open workshops or went to Shattered Stone Plain and Roaring Corridor to become instructors.
Is it really that time again?
But it’s only been five years.
Isn’t it a bit hasty to change again like this?
"Does it really have to be now?" Even the few Battle Commanders watching the spectacle were dumbfounded; they hadn’t heard about this.
"Not even my mother can stop it; I said so." Horn replied resolutely.
The Exorcist Leader Hakuto, who spearheaded the military reform, stood upfront and spoke: "This is to adapt to the tactical methods of the new era; don’t be a contrarian to the trends, alright?"
"You all shouldn’t feel too pressured." Horn assured a few Battle Commanders who were sweating along their temples, "The more we reform, the stronger we become. Besides, this time, it’s a minor reform; not too many people will be eliminated."
Several Battle Commanders were slightly relieved.
One of them simply raised his hand and asked, "Then, Your Eminence, what’s the theme of this military reform?"
As the saying goes, the key to the question is finding the key issue.
This Battle Commander clearly addressed the most crucial question: what is the key aspect of this military reform?
"It’s simple, as I just mentioned; we will reduce the number of Long Spearmen to one-fourth or even one-fifth, and then convert all Spring Gunners to Gunner-Spearmen."
The statement by the Saint’s Grandson evidently sparked debate among the Battle Commanders present.
"Gunner-Spearmen? What’s that?"
"Lowering the proportion of Long Spearmen again? What happens against Knights then?"
"You fool, they’ll get shot down by our spring guns before even reaching us."
"And what if light cavalry raids the flanks?"
"What do you think our cavalry is for?"
"First, you can’t expect perfection in all situations at all times, and second, you can’t decide for your opponent."
"Alright, stop quarreling." Horn coughed, "Let’s invite Haimodin to give a demonstration."
Haimodin stood up, her leather boots caused slight echoes as they pressed against the flagstone floor.
Once a frail thief, she now wore a fitted deep gray military technician’s uniform, with tight sleeves and cuffs.
A gear-embedded tool pouch hung from her waist, and her hair was pinned with a copper hair clip at the nape, exposing her sleek forehead.
She briskly walked to the long table, first picking up a rear-loaded Kanni Di spring gun, and then retrieved a metal item from her tool pouch.
It was a semi-circular sleeve, topped with a narrow, elongated bayonet.
This sleeve’s rear end had a zigzag-shaped hollow slot, perfectly matching the small latch on the side of the gun barrel.
"Everyone, please take a look." Haimodin’s voice was clear, showing no hint of stage fright.
She aligned the sleeve with the front end of the spring gun’s barrel, threaded one end of the hollow slot through the latch, then twisted and pushed forward.
Accompanied by a gentle click, the sleeve locked firmly onto the barrel, the bayonet extending along the barrel’s direction, maintaining a straight line with the gun’s body.
The entire process took less than three seconds, faster than reloading.
"This is the sleeve-type bayonet." She lifted the gun, allowing everyone to see the connection point, "The latch can hold the sleeve in place, preventing wobbling during shooting or slicing.
Previously, we used the insert-type bayonet, which had to be inserted through the muzzle; thus, once the bayonet was attached, firing Holy Wind wasn’t possible.
"But this one’s different; you can still load and shoot normally with the bayonet attached."
As soon as she finished speaking, a Corps Commander in the audience stood up: "Ms. Haimodin, may I ask if attaching a bayonet to the barrel affects the gun’s accuracy? After all, it adds weight and shifts the balance."
This Corps Commander belonged to the Fire Lizard Battle Group, most of his soldiers were new recruits, and he was most concerned about equipment modifications affecting actual combat.
Haimodin didn’t answer directly. Instead, she walked to the shooting position, mounted the spring gun with the bayonet onto a standard shooting stand, and aimed at a target a hundred meters away.
She quickly unscrewed the spring box, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!" The gunshot was still crisp, and the bayonet only wobbled slightly during the shot, without deviating.
Everyone looked at the target; the steel bullet hit just next to the previous bullet hole, with a deviation of about half a finger.
"The accuracy is barely affected." Haimodin put down the gun, showing the connection between the barrel and bayonet to everyone, "We controlled the bayonet’s weight to be under half a pound, the shift of balance is minimal, and an experienced gunner can adapt easily."
"This is indeed more reliable than before."
"In that case, it’s not too difficult; just let the Long Spearmen practice more with the guns."
The Battle Commanders went from initial surprise to approval, but Monica suddenly spoke up: "Are you trying to make gunners act as both shooters and spearmen?"
"Yes." Horn shrugged, "After all, under wind pressure, few can charge to the front lines.
Previously, they were all spring gunners with almost no counterattack capability, but now just a bit of added counterattack ability will enable them to resist charging cavalry."
In fact, the preliminary technology for socket bayonets existed long ago.
With the significant advancement in steelmaking brought by the lightning furnace, steel production increased substantially, solving the material issue for the bayonet.
The only problem that was hard to solve was the precision of the sockets.
Socket precision here refers to being reasonably fitted onto the gun barrel without affecting shooting or falling off during a stab.
Normally, the best solution is indeed a spiral-twist socket bayonet, but the cost of mass manufacturing is too high.
The current Holy Alliance can afford it, but the trade-off isn’t worthwhile; wasting a lot of production capacity for a spiral socket isn’t practical.
This isn’t something that can be solved overnight; with the future emergence of a large number of mechanical engineers and processing workshops in the next decade, spiral sockets will soon be introduced and widely adopted.
Since the spiral socket couldn’t be implemented, the mechanical sages proposed a new idea: using a high-precision socket as a temporary substitute.
Horn remembered that there were gunners at the scene who thought this was unnecessary and wasteful; the conclusion required more capacity, which was contrary to the intent of reducing unnecessary waste.
However, Haimodin, the foremost gun sage in the Holy Alliance, offered a different perspective.
Instead of improving socket precision, it’s more about the casual result of standardization efforts by the Holy Alliance.
The requirement for socket precision doesn’t depend on the socket, but on the standardization of the gun barrel.
Once barrel standardization is complete, producing sockets to fit the barrels is actually a natural outcome.
It’s amusing to think that Horn started advocating for standardized parts in the 1940s, but only by the late 1950s was the standardization of gun barrels preliminarily completed.
Originally, the barrels produced by various workshops, due to the characteristics of the spring box, weren’t affected by minute quality precision differences.
To the naked eye, they looked very standard, but the socket’s issue was caused by these minute differences, sometimes fitting, sometimes not.
Though these minuscule differences required a long time to address, fortunately, the great sage Leonardo developed precision lathes.
With the spring-powered ether clock, sockets of this precision could finally be mass-produced.
Haimodin then added, "We also designed matching bayonet sheaths, which can be hung at the gunner’s waist, easily removable when not in use.
Additionally, the socket’s caliber can be adapted to the latest rear-loading Kanni Di, eliminating the need to make separate bayonets for different guns, and easing logistical pressure."
The Battle Commanders below were completely reassured.
The Battle Commander of the Shadow Raven Battle Group, "Phoenix" Selomis, directly asked: "Your Majesty, when can we receive the samples?
Our group is just changing defenses to the Shattered Stone Plain next week and would like to take the samples to try in actual combat."
"Starting next Monday, the Ordnance Department will issue them according to the battle group organization," Horn said with a smile, "but remember to record data during actual combat and report back to the Ordnance Department, and we will adjust based on combat feedback."
The Secret Monks, having finished their last notes, couldn’t help but look up at Horn: "This gives us more confidence in dealing with the Northern Army of the Royal Court."
"It’s not just the Northern Army." Horn gazed towards the distant mechanical workshops, his eyes growing deep, "Serafe wants to emulate the Holy Alliance, but she’s chosen the wrong role model.
This gunner and bayonet reform is just the beginning."
Everyone followed his gaze but saw only the spire of the mechanical workshop, while the sound of roaring echoed in their ears.