Chapter 128: Schmeisser Arms Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

After hearing such an aggressive remark, General Horndorff did not fly into a rage as Morin had imagined.

He simply turned around, his deep-set eyes quietly fixed on Morin, as if trying to see through the young man entirely.

After a long pause, he slowly began to speak, his voice tinged with a complex emotion.

“Captain Morin, some of your ideas are indeed… remarkably forward-looking.”

The old General’s expression finally changed. He dropped his smile, his entire demeanor becoming increasingly solemn.

“I myself have already foreseen that once the Empire engages in a full-scale war with an adversary of equal or greater strength in the future, we are highly likely to be dragged into an unprecedentedly brutal quagmire of attrition warfare.”

“However, Captain Morin, you must understand one principle.”

“The greater the success a system achieves through a particular method, the more difficult it is for that system to undergo self-revolution.”

“Personally, I greatly admire your talent and foresight.”

“But as one of the maintainers of this system, my primary duty is to ensure the stability of the entire structure, not to push for a violent transformation that could lead to its collapse.”

General Horndorff’s clear-headed yet resigned conservatism gave Morin a sense of immovable heaviness.

Before Morin could speak, the old General’s gaze returned to the window. He looked out at the massive Imperial War College, letting out a faint sigh.

“Captain Morin, Truth is a demanding mistress… You may see her, but that doesn’t mean you can instantly possess her.”

However, at the end of their conversation, the old General offered Morin a glimmer of hope.

“Since His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince personally authorized you to form that ‘Teaching Assault Battalion,’ it suggests that he… and the highest levels of the Imperial command he represents, have already realized the necessity of reform.”

“It’s simply that the time is not right yet.”

Morin nodded in silence.

He agreed with the old General’s assessment, but a thought couldn’t help but flash through his mind.

The time is not right yet…

But is there really enough time left?

The conversation with General Horndorff, while revealing the immense resistance to reform, also clarified Morin’s future path and methodology.

Since top-down reform was difficult to implement, he would, as the old General suggested, forge a completely new path from the bottom up, starting with the small Teaching Assault Battalion under his command.

In the days that followed, Morin’s life continued to operate at high speed, tracing a line between the War College and the Assault Battalion garrison.

In the mornings, he avidly absorbed various modern military theories at the College, continuously refining his command system.

In the afternoons, he was invariably present on the camp training ground. Shedding his officer’s uniform, wearing only a white shirt like the soldiers, he participated in the rigorous physical training with the entire battalion.

Following his lead, the training enthusiasm of the entire Teaching Assault Battalion soared to new heights.

The average score for the whole battalion on the 400-meter obstacle course was visibly and steadily improving.

Seeing that the ‘recruits’ of the Teaching Assault Battalion had gradually adapted to the training intensity, Morin, in addition to the 400-meter obstacle course, instructed Executive Officer Kleist to organize full-gear mountain cross-country marches at the company level.

When Kleist heard this new training exercise from Morin, the expression on his face was even more perplexed than when he first heard of the ‘400-meter obstacle course.’

“Sir, isn’t this… a bit too intense?”

He asked the same question that Klaus once had.

Soldiers were already expending immense physical energy just completing the obstacle course and the standard drill and shooting training daily.

Adding a ten-kilometer full-gear cross-country march now—he genuinely worried that the soldiers’ bodies wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“No, it’s not too intense.”

Morin shook his head, his tone brooking no argument.

“The demands on a soldier’s physical fitness will only increase in future warfare. In mobile warfare, long-distance assaults and deep penetrations will become commonplace.”

“Sweat more now, bleed less on the battlefield.”

He patted Kleist’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I will ensure the medical officers and stretcher teams follow closely throughout the exercise, and logistics support will keep up.”

“And this exercise can be organized as a competition between companies. The winning company can receive some rewards.”

“Rewards?” Kleist’s eyes lit up.

“Exactly.” Morin smiled. “For example… an extra dinner, perhaps a barbecue.”

Just as Morin predicted, this new training exercise once again ignited the competitive spirit between the companies.

Especially the company composed of former Guard Corps soldiers.

They had been embarrassed during the previous obstacle course test and were determined to redeem themselves in this exercise, which demanded even more teamwork and willpower.

And Morin’s old 1st Company, along with the soldiers transferred from the Jäger units, were equally unwilling to back down.

One group consisted of battle-hardened veterans who had executed numerous long-distance assaults in real combat.

The other were natural mountain experts, possessing an innate confidence in exercises like cross-country marches.

How could they accept losing to those ‘parade soldiers’ who were only used to marching in Dresden?

Morin did not overly interfere with the charged, competitive atmosphere within the Teaching Battalion.

In his view, as long as it remained within the bounds of healthy competition, this environment would be entirely beneficial for improving the unit’s training standards and cohesion.

However, he still pulled Kleist aside and sternly reminded him to maintain control.

After all, they would all be comrades-in-arms in the trenches in the future, and minor friction during training should not damage their bond.

He specifically reminded Kleist, who also hailed from the Guard Corps, that the Guard Corps company must not receive any form of ‘special favor.’ They had to be treated identically to everyone else.

Kleist immediately stood tall, loudly assuring Morin that he would be fair and impartial, showing no favoritism.

While the training of the Teaching Battalion was progressing rapidly, the acquisition of the Schmeisser family’s arms workshop was smoothly completed, thanks to Cecilia’s immense financial power and unparalleled efficiency.

Following the acquisition, the former ‘Schmeisser Arms Workshop’ was formally reorganized into

Schmeisser Arms Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Initially, Morin excitedly suggested naming the company after himself.

He imagined that one day, the weapons designed and manufactured by this company would bear his ‘F&M’ inscription, like the Smith & Wesson and other gun manufacturers of the other timeline.

However, this romantically idealistic proposal was quickly vetoed by the pragmatic Cecilia.

“Fritz, you are currently an active Imperial officer, and you are already in the public spotlight… Naming a weapons manufacturing company after yourself is too attention-grabbing and will invite unnecessary trouble.”

Cecilia patiently explained to him.

“Controlling the company’s operations as a silent majority shareholder is the safest and most common way for these Imperial Junker nobles to manage their assets.”

Morin thought carefully and realized Cecilia was right.

While it was a tradition for military men to engage in business in the Saxon Empire, he had never seen anyone establish a company directly under their own name.

So, Morin ultimately accepted Cecilia’s suggestion and agreed to control the company through silent shareholding.

Shortly thereafter, the brand new Schmeisser Arms Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was formally established in Dresden.

Meanwhile, at the temporary workshop Cecilia had set up for Helga, the firearms designer’s work achieved a breakthrough.

After several rounds of disassembly, tuning, and live-fire testing, the performance and reliability of the first light machine gun prototype were flawless, fully reaching a state where it could be produced based on the revised blueprints.

The overall length of the gun was 1120mm, with a barrel length of 716mm.

The total mass of the gun with the bipod was 12.9kg, and it could also be fitted with a light tripod when needed.

It used a short-recoil operating mechanism and fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser full-power rifle cartridge.

“Good, good, good. This is truly what I wanted.”

Morin’s eyes glowed when he saw the prototype gun.

At least from Cecilia’s perspective, she had never seen Morin look at any other object or person with such fervent intensity.

Morin also felt it was time to push this matter forward.

He personally drafted a meticulously worded official document, submitting it directly to the War Office in his capacity as the Commander of the 1st Teaching Assault Battalion of the Guard.

In the document, he detailed the Assault Battalion’s urgent need for squad-level support firepower in future operations.

He formally proposed a request to procure a batch of the latest air-cooled light machine guns, developed by the Schmeisser Company, for the Teaching Assault Battalion.

Truth be told, Morin felt a slight blush while writing that sentence.

His unit commanding officer was requesting the purchase of weapons designed and manufactured by the company he himself controlled…

After the document was submitted, Morin initially expected to wait ten days to half a month for the process to complete before receiving a response.

However, he once again underestimated the importance His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and the War Office placed on his ‘Teaching Unit.’

Only two days later, the War Office’s reply was delivered to his hands as an urgent file.

The content of the reply was simple:

His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, along with several senior officers from the War Office and the General Staff, would soon conduct a comprehensive inspection of the 1st Teaching Assault Battalion of the Royal Guard.

During the inspection, they would personally observe a live-fire demonstration of the new light machine gun.

The final decision on approving the procurement would be made based on the results of the inspection and demonstration.

(End of this Chapter)

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