KEO.PLUS

Following the principle that demonstration is better than explanation, Arthur simply ordered the experts to organize a live demonstration of the M1897 cannon.

Because there were ten boxes of shells, Arthur generously took out two boxes, just to test the specific power of the famous French Lady.

The test site was chosen on the outskirts of Sydney, a deep mountain, desolate and safe enough to be concealed.

Under the guidance of experts, the Indigenous Peoples prepared the targets for the shells in less than an hour and placed them on the hillside a kilometer away.

The person responsible for shooting was a senior artilleryman in the Australian Army. Although he had never used the M1897 before, he was familiar with the Australian CA-1 machine gun, so naturally understood the principles of these automatic firearms.

At this time, the German experts were holding their breath, staring intently at the only M1897 cannon, afraid to miss any important information.

Soon, after completing all the arrangements, the new French Lady began its roar.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Following the commander’s order, the French Lady continuously poured shells towards the targets on the distant hillside, finally hitting the target with the third shell.

What surprised the German experts was not the hit rate of the shells but the rather exaggerated firing rate of the M1897 cannon.

A German-made 75mm cannon has an average firing rate of about 4-6 rounds per minute. The firing rate depends on the artilleryman’s familiarity with the cannon, but it should never exceed seven rounds per minute.

However, the M1897 exhibited a terrifyingly powerful firepower output, even with the Australian artillerymen who were not familiar with it, achieving a rate of more than eleven rounds per minute.

That is to say, once the artillerymen familiarized themselves with this cannon, the M1897 would be able to exert the firepower of two German cannons of the same caliber, gaining an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield.

In other words, the French only need to employ half the number of German cannons to maintain a balance in firepower with Germany.

What does this mean? Not only can it significantly reduce military spending, but it can also use the extra soldiers in other places.

Realizing this, the German experts felt uneasy and asked Arthur urgently, “Your Highness, the cannon is very important to Germania, can you sell it to us?”

Could it be sold? Of course not.

This artillery is also very important to Australia, so Arthur naturally would not let it go to the Germans.

Seeing their request was rejected, the German experts made another request— to research the cannon together with Australia.

From the perspective of artillery technology alone, Germany is extremely proficient. If they were not so arrogant and actively absorbed the designs of other countries, they would not be pushed to extremes.

Joint research with Germany also has benefits for Australia, namely, greatly reducing the difficulty of copying this cannon.

With the help of Germans, Australia could even master the manufacturing technology of the cannon within six months.

“Joint research is fine, but there are a few conditions we should agree on first,” Arthur nodded, agreeing to the German experts’ request to research the French Lady together.

“Please tell us, Your Highness, as long as we can do it,” the German expert nodded eagerly, fearing Arthur might change his mind.

“First, all results and technology resulting from Germany’s research must be unconditionally shared with Australia. Second, if Germany has any improvements to the M1897 cannon, they should teach Australia at the market price,” Arthur said with a smile.

It would not be difficult for Germany to comprehend the technology of the French Lady in a short time with their advanced cannon technology.

Utilizing German talent to help Australia quickly master the M1897 cannon is also a win-win situation.

Concerning the second condition, once the Germans let go of their obsession with large-caliber and high-power, or rather, became interested in the M1897 cannon, they could have further success in rapid-fire firearms.

Germany’s research and development capabilities far exceed Australia’s. If they could seize the opportunity to obtain Germany’s future research technology on rapid-fire firearms with this chance, it would be much smoother than Australia’s own painstaking research.

“This…” The German expert thought about it, and finally gritted his teeth and said, “No problem, Your Highness. I hope we can start researching this cannon as soon as possible. I will report to His Majesty the Emperor and request equipment and more experts to come, so we can crack the technology of this cannon as quickly as possible.”

The good relationship between Germany and Australia was an important factor in the German expert’s agreement to Arthur’s two conditions.

After all, Germany had given their own cannon technology to Australia, and Arthur’s requirements were not very demanding given their good cooperation.

Arthur nodded with a smile, agreeing.

The German expert’s words were what he wanted. Whether it was equipment or experts, the more, the better.

As long as the research took place in Australia, even if thousands of experts came at once, Arthur was willing to bear the costs.

Of course, these German experts were worth it. Although each expert had high annual expenses, generally exceeding several hundred pounds.

The value they brought was considerable, not only covering Australia’s embarrassing lack of high-end talent but also laying a good foundation for talent cultivation.

Under Arthur’s instruction, the German experts became acquainted with several Australian experts.

As assistants, they helped the German experts with some trivial and simple tasks.

In fact, these Australian experts could also take the opportunity to learn some things they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

Arthur liked the German experts’ serious, careful and cautious attitude. Australian experts progressed quickly under their meticulous teaching.

To facilitate their research, Arthur directly handed over a large part of the military factory’s laboratory to the experts, as the military factory had no plans for any weapons experiments in the short term anyway.

Additionally, he provided 500,000 pounds of funding to support the experts’ research.

As the French Lady continued to be used into the World War II period, its advanced performance goes without saying.

If they could successfully grasp its technology and make certain improvements, it would be appropriate to use it as Australia’s main cannon for the next thirty years.

With the research site available, the only M1897 cannon and the remaining eight boxes of shells were moved by the German experts into the laboratory with great care.

Even if there were enough shells, these German experts would never allow the cannon to be used again.

From now on, they would carefully research and disassemble the cannon, as any damage would be unbearable for their research progress.