Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 48: The New Design 3

No charge? That’s great, of course, but Ou Yang didn’t want to offend a Bronze Badge member of the Scientific Society in the future, so he needed to make things clear. “Master Dai, the selection process for the next-generation rifle is already over. No matter how good this kid’s design is, if it doesn’t land a military contract, the Association won’t award many points for it either.” “Are you a member of the Scientific Society too?” Old Dai glanced at Ou Yang with a hint of surprise, then nodded: “That makes sense. If you’re not an officer or a gunsmith in the Scientific Society, who would design something like this—especially when there’s not much money to be made?” “What rank do you hold?” Old Dai asked. “I just joined the Association—I’m still an Iron Badge.” “You’ll be a Bronze Badge before long,” Old Dai said, stroking his mustache with a touch of pride as he explained to Ou Yang: “It only takes ten points to go from Iron to Bronze. Old Dai thinks your design will earn at least a ‘Highly Innovative’ rating, which means you’ll have at least twenty points in the bag. You only have a single firearm blueprint and came to an old man like me to build it, so I’m guessing you don’t have any investors. In that case, the lead designer gets sixty percent—twelve points—and Old Dai gets eighty percent. When you upgrade to a Bronze Badge, riding on your coattails, I’ll be able to upgrade to a Silver Badge too.” Eight points short of a Silver Badge—no wonder. But… “You can get a ‘Highly Innovative’ rating even without a military contract?” Ou Yang was puzzled. The Scientific Society is a for-profit organization—can a patent that doesn’t generate revenue really earn such high points? “How the Scientific Society evaluates your design is their business—what does the military have to do with it?” As a Bronze Badge holder of the Scientific Society, Old Dai’s words were laced with pride: “You’re young and haven’t been in the Scientific Society long, so it’s not your fault you don’t know these ins and outs—actually, many Gold and Silver Badge holders don’t care about this sort of thing either. If the military chooses to use your patent, the Association will add to your points based on the royalty fees they pay. Take the Republic 28 model, for example: for every thousand rifles the Armaments Bureau produces, the R&D team earns an extra point. By the end, the entire R&D team will likely earn over 200 points, but that doesn’t affect the 20 points awarded for ‘exceptional novelty’ at the time of design.” I see. So the points awarded by the Association aren’t a one-time grant; profitable patents earn additional points based on the benefits they bring to the Association. No wonder that member who invented the heating stove was able to earn a Gold Badge. According to the Scientific Society’s standards, a member can attain the Iron Badge simply by receiving a recommendation from a member holding a Bronze Badge or higher. Advancing from Bronze to Silver requires ten points; from Silver to Gold, thirty points; and from Gold to Platinum, seventy points. Above the Gold Badge lies a special insignia known as the “Gold-Inlaid-Jade,” though this does not require points; it is a special award. To date, only seven people nationwide have received it, one of whom built the world’s first practical steam engine. “In that case, I won’t beat around the bush,” said Ou Yang, pulling out the copper-cased bullet he’d been keeping in his pocket all along. “I’d like to use this type of bullet.” “A 12-millimeter Jinling Type 26? Why not choose the more powerful Hanyang model?” “Too much propellant. The downside of excessive power is heavy recoil. The new rifle’s rate of fire should be slightly faster than the Republic Model 28. If the recoil is too strong, it won’t be long before the shooter develops a distaste for the weapon.” “You have a deep understanding of firearms,” Old Dai turned to Zuo Hengbai and said, “It’s a real shame he’s just a junior armorer in your unit. If he’d come up with this design a year or two earlier, he’d have earned the Gold Emblem by now.” ‘My understanding of firearms is quite superficial, but I’m standing on the shoulders of so many master firearms designers from my past life,’ Ou Yang thought to himself. ‘Since you think this blueprint is good, why not cough up a little extra? I’m broke right now.’ “Once you’ve finished the prototype, I’ll come check it out. If it works, I’ll agree to list you as the second designer. But…” Ou Yang asked with a sheepish grin, “Could you throw in another two hundred rounds of ammo for me?” “No problem!” Old Dai looked thoroughly generous. He pulled over Little Dai, who had been standing nearby grinning like an idiot, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “My son’s going to be the third designer!” With three designers, the first would get half the points, the second thirty percent, and the third twenty percent—which wouldn’t delay Ou Yang’s promotion to the Bronze Badge. “Give me another Plum Blossom pistol,” Ou Yang called out. “With thirty rounds. I won’t budge any further—if we add another person, I won’t be able to advance directly to the Bronze Badge!” “Deal!” Old Dai, thoroughly satisfied, instructed his son, “Go get a ‘Plum Blossom’ for Qubing—pick the best one.” The “Plum Blossom” referred to the Republic Model 22 revolver, so named because its five-round cylinder resembled a plum blossom when viewed from the front. This revolver was a formidable self-defense weapon in close-quarters combat, but it used rimfire ammunition—a somewhat unconventional choice in the Empire—and was quite expensive. Even in the field army, it was issued only to officers at the rank of Captain and above. Xiao Dai immediately set off cheerfully to fetch the guns—one prototype, one “Plum Blossom,” and 230 rounds of various ammunition—in exchange for the second and third co-authorship credits on the repeating rifle’s design blueprints. Both sides felt they’d struck gold. Xiao Dai knew full well that more than one adventurer—or soldier dissatisfied with the rate of fire of their current weapon—had commissioned his family to design a suitable repeating pistol, and his father had already been working on it behind closed doors for quite some time. Once this project succeeded, even if the Armaments Bureau didn’t adopt it, there would be plenty of private orders to sustain the business, and earning a few dozen extra points over the next decade wouldn’t be difficult. Besides, there was still a long road ahead. As the second and third designers, his family naturally had the right to improve the firearm. If Ou Yang didn’t come up with any better ideas by then, he’d have no choice but to settle for third place on the list of designers for any improved versions. As a newcomer to the Association, Ou Yang was unaware of these unwritten rules. This practice is widely regarded as a form of plagiarism, which is why many agreements stipulate that the original lead designer must, at the very least, be recognized as the second designer of any comprehensive modification. Of course, this is an unwritten rule; if Ou Yang doesn’t speak up himself, it’s considered a waiver of his rights. “Dad really values this design—he’s even willing to stake his reputation on it,” Xiao Dai mused to himself. After leaving the gun shop, Ou Yang had been fiddling with his newly acquired Plum Blossom revolver. Depending on caliber, this pistol came in three variants: the 13-millimeter Artillery Model, the 11-millimeter Cavalry Model, and the 9-millimeter Navy Model. The earliest models fired separate-loading cartridges, but most had since been upgraded to fire modern pistol cartridges with copper rimfire cases. Ou Yang chose the Naval Model with the smallest caliber; this model weighed only one kilogram unloaded—about half as much as the Artillery Model. What he wanted was a weapon for self-defense, not a piece of fitness equipment to build wrist strength. From the moment Ou Yang pulled out the blueprints, Zuo Hengbai hadn’t said a single word. As a full member of the Scientific Society, he could take no sides while the other two members debated the allocation of points, since he hadn’t participated in the design process. It wasn’t until they were back on the street that Zuo Hengbai couldn’t resist voicing the subtle concern that Old Dai hadn’t made clear to Ou Yang: “Brother Qubing, since you agreed that the new pistol would be credited to all three of us, you should have first established the order of the lead designers for the overall redesign just now. Otherwise, if you can’t take the lead in the redesign, you’ll likely end up being listed as the third contributor—or even lower.” Hearing this, Ou Yang felt a surge of goodwill well up within him; it seemed that this young captain from the Zuo family truly regarded him as a friend. A responsible person wouldn’t have voiced such remarks—remarks bound to offend a member of the Scientific Society holding a bronze badge (who would be promoted to a silver badge once the new gun’s design was completed), not to mention a friend of his own father. At the very least, it shouldn’t have been him to say it. “No problem,” Ou Yang replied with a smile. “I have a few ideas of my own for the new gun; they’re just not fully developed yet, so I haven’t brought them out. Even if Old Dai beats me to it, that would only prove he’s truly capable. On the contrary, if he doesn’t even have a single original idea for the improvements, I’d actually question his craftsmanship.” “It’s good that you think that way, Brother Qubing,” Zuo Hengbai said, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Needless to say, Old Dai was highly regarded; Ou Yang had also earned high praise from his father, General Zuo, Wei Xuezheng, Master Yu, and the incoming Academic Commissioner Ouyang Ming. Today, right before his eyes, Ou Yang had presented a design that even a veteran spear craftsman like Dai Zi found compelling—proof that none of those dignitaries had misjudged him. He truly didn’t want to offend a single one of them. With that, the atmosphere between Ou Yang and Zuo Hengbai became much more cordial. “If Brother Qubing’s design can prompt Old Dai to act this way, it must truly be outstanding. Before I set out, I’ll have Old Dai make one for me to try out as well.” “Brother Zhengming, you should have mentioned this earlier. If you’d just asked Old Dai to make an extra one back then, it would have been free. Now you’ll have to pay for it.” The two were joking around when they suddenly saw Zuo Jia Nu galloping toward them at full speed, leading two empty saddles by the reins. Only after the Zuo Jia Nu reached the two men did he pull on the reins; the three horses, despite their full gallop, came to a stop with remarkable obedience. Ou Yang was utterly amazed by such horsemanship. “Young Master! Magistrate Ou!” Zuo Jia Nu didn’t even dismount in front of his master; it was clear this was an urgent matter: “The Anxi Garrison troops intercepted a Xidi merchant caravan and captured two new prisoners. They’ve already been sent to the Commander-in-Chief’s quarters, and the Commander-in-Chief has ordered you both to go there immediately!”