America 1881: Legend of the West

"Dear boss, we all agree that your idea does not conform to the logic of current artillery design."

After some discussion, an artillery design expert pointed to the "abstract" paintings on the table and said carefully to Chen Jianqiu.

"It looks like, uh, a, uh, mortar, but it's very difficult for us to get a handle on the amount of medicine it uses."

"You have at most three months." Chen Jianqiu's answer was concise and to the point. "After three months, I hope to see the finished product that can be used, and then I will give you three months to debug and improve."

The experts present were stunned.

"This is impossible, boss, I think you are too idealistic." It's the same artillery expert who just spoke.

As the leader of the group, his brows were twisted into knots.

"I'll increase the money!" Chen Jianqiu leaned back in his chair and took out his cigar. "The salary of everyone sitting here will be doubled."

"Mr. Chen, this is not a question of money. Our design team has always worked hard to make this happen."

Chen Jianqiu picked up a cigar and gestured with two fingers:

"I will give this project a bonus of 200,000 US dollars and a high patent share, as long as you design a product that satisfies me."

"I think it's totally worth trying." A German artillery designer who once worked for Rheinmetall stood up and said in English with a German accent.

“I don’t see a problem with it either,” added another mechanical engineer from Stokes, England.

Chen Jianqiu glanced at the artillery expert who was the team leader:

"If I understand correctly, it doesn't seem like there's much of a problem."

The expert nodded solemnly.

"Yes sir, no problem now."

In fact, after Chen Jianqiu provided the design direction, the main remaining problem was how to balance the parameters and design the shells, and do everything possible to ensure the range and lethality without exploding the barrel.

Chen Jianqiu didn't spend much energy paying attention to how the mortar design team worked.

The first one is from his point of view, Party A is only responsible for making demands and paying money;

If these people can't do it, then it must be that they really can't do it under the current technical conditions.

The second is that he has more important things to do.

He had to rush to Washington to tell Theodore Roosevelt, then Under Secretary of the Navy, about his discovery in Cuba.

The latter must be very interested in this.

At that time, there was no Department of Defense or General Staff in the structure of the U.S. government.

The War Department was part of the War Department, while the Navy Department was a separate department.

The secretaries of both departments were cabinet members in the McKinley administration.

One is Chen Jianqiu's friend in the west, Russell Agee, who has just given Chen Jianqiu a job at the Springfield Arsenal.

The other one was John Long, who took sick leave for more than 100 days out of 365 days a year. The actual person in charge of specific affairs was Deputy Secretary Theodore Roosevelt.

When Chen Jianqiu entered the building where these two departments are located, he encountered no obstruction.

"Mr. Chen, are you here to see Mr. Agee or Mr. Roosevelt today?" an officer who was waiting at the door asked with a smile.

"I'll go get off at Teddy's first." Chen Jianqiu took off his hat.

This was his first time here, and he had no impression of the officer in front of him.

It seems that I have never seen him.

"We saw you in a photo of Undersecretary Roosevelt with you on the shelf behind his desk."

the officer said with a smile.

"In his spare time, he often told us about his past on the ranch in North Dakota, including how you saved him several times."

"Oh~" Chen Jianqiu suddenly realized.

He did take a picture with Roosevelt in town, and it was taken by the circus.

That circus is now a special formation of the Border Detective Agency, traveling across the country and responsible for intelligence and transcontinental operations.

"Secretary Roosevelt is having a meeting with the generals of the Navy Department in the large conference room on the third floor. You can go there to find him." the officer said very politely.

Chen Jianqiu thanked the officer, turned around and walked up the stairs.

The stairs were narrow and crowded, and he sidled past several uniformed army or navy personnel coming down from the stairs.

Chen Jianqiu has been thinking about how unpopular the American military is now, and they don't even have a spacious office space.

This situation was not alleviated until the Pentagon was built more than fifty years later.

He walked to the third floor, passed through the narrow corridor, and came to a place that looked like a lounge.

Opposite the lounge is a door made of walnut wood.

The door is closed, and the sound insulation effect is very good. You can't hear what is said inside at all.

Chen Jianqiu thought that this was the conference room that the officer on the first floor mentioned.

He walked to the window of the lounge, leaned on the window sill, and looked out the window.

Outside the window is a green lawn. On the other side of the lawn, there are passers-by driving horse-drawn carriages by, and the sound of horse bells is heard. It is quiet and peaceful.

While he was counting the number of passing carriages with great interest, a familiar smell of tobacco drifted over from behind.

Chen Jianqiu turned his head.

Teddy Roosevelt's round face, smoking a pipe, suddenly came into view.

When Roosevelt saw Chen Jianqiu, he was suddenly stunned for a moment, then walked up excitedly and gave Chen Jianqiu a big hug.

"I was still wondering why this figure looked so familiar, and it turned out to be you!" Roosevelt patted Chen Jianqiu's back enthusiastically and said with a hearty smile, "Why are you here?"

"I have something to do with you." Chen Jianqiu also put his arm around his old friend's shoulders and pointed to the walnut door. "They said you were in a meeting, so they planned to wait outside for a while."

"Oh, then you have to wait for me for a while. It's not over yet inside. I'll come out and get some air."

Roosevelt took a drag on his pipe.

He thought for a moment and said to Chen Jianqiu: "Hmm~ Why don't you come in and listen together."

Chen Jianqiu was stunned.

"Is it appropriate for me to go in?" He asked with a smile, "I am not from the Admiralty, let alone a Chinese."

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay, it's not an internal meeting."

Roosevelt's hearty laughter echoed in the lounge again.

"I asked Professor Alfred Thayer Mahan from the Naval War College to teach everyone about his sea power theory."

After saying that, Roosevelt walked back, opened the walnut door, and walked in.

Chen Jianqiu, on the other hand, followed behind.

This door is the back door of the conference room.

Officers in navy uniforms sat in rows in their seats.

Their military caps were placed on their right hands, and most of them were holding notebooks in their hands, recording something.

These people were all listening very carefully to the speech of a bald old man on the stage.

But it was more like teaching than a lecture.

Roosevelt and Chen Jianqiu found two seats in the empty last row and sat down.

"When I met Mahan, it was 1880. At that time, he was still a captain in the U.S. Navy." Roosevelt lowered his voice and said to Chen Jianqiu, "but he is now the president of the Naval Academy."

Chen Jianqiu nodded and moved his eyes to Ma Han.

He began to listen carefully to the professor's views.