Chapter 5: One Shot, Two Birds

  Feng Guozhang's rifle was too similar to Grandfather's Hanyang-made one, Zhou Xuanzhang suddenly felt an itch to take a closer look, but he didn't expect to offend Feng Guozhang, and the black gun muzzle was again pressed against Zhou Xuanzhang's forehead.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was not afraid, the rifle pressed against his forehead, just right for a close-up appreciation. Zhou Xuan Zhang studied the structure of the rifle and after a careful examination, came to the conclusion that the so-called German 1888 Commission Rifle was identical to the Hanyang-made one, with only some minor differences.

  Zhou Xuanzhang shook his head and said, "This is a good gun, but the magazine is loaded with bullets, and the magazine stays in the chamber. You can't reload until you've fired all the bullets in the magazine. It's not as good as the Hanyang Arsenal model, which allows single-shot loading, so you can refill the bullets at any time."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang is absolutely right! In fact, the Hanyang rifle was an improved version of the German 1888 Commission Rifle! And the way to fill the bullet is the only improvement that Hanyang made on the Commission Rifle.

  In 1894, Zhang Zhidong established the Hubei Arsenal in Wuhan. At that time, the Qing dynasty was very fond of Mauser rifles. The Germans deceived Qing officials by saying that the 1888 Commission Rifle was a Mauser rifle. Zhang Zhidong believed it to be true and introduced the production line for the German 1888 Commission Rifle at the Hubei Arsenal, producing the Type 88 rifle. Later, after continuous domestication and improvement, the Type 88 rifle evolved into the main battle rifle of the Chinese army. The Hubei Arsenal was later renamed the Hanyang Arsenal, and the Type 88 rifle came to be known as the "Hanyang-made".

  It should be said that the Hanyang Arsenal-produced Hanyang rifle or Type 88 rifle was relatively advanced in the world at that time, with better performance than the Murata rifle of Japan during the same period. However, China's manufacturing industry level was extremely backward, and the fully localized Hanyang rifle had little improvement in technical performance, and there were no major improvements for many years afterwards. Therefore, from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the Republican era, spanning decades, there was not much difference between the Hanyang rifle and the 1888 Commission Rifle. Even during the Anti-Japanese War period, the Hanyang rifle was still widely used in the Chinese army, at which time the Hanyang rifle was two generations behind the Japanese Type 38 Arisaka rifle.

  However, in 1893, the performance of the Type 88 rifle far exceeded that of the Murata rifle, which was the standard-issue rifle for the Japanese military.

  The 1888 Commission Rifle in Feng Guozhang's hand was not produced by the Hubei Arsenal, but was a genuine import from Germany. At that time, it was considered a high-precision and advanced firearm.

  That was the gun awarded to Feng Guozhang by Tianjin Military Academy when he was a student there due to his outstanding performance. Feng Guozhang treasured this rifle very much and always carried it with him. When Zhou Xuanzhang claimed that he wanted to "take a look" at his gun, in his ears, it meant confiscating his arms, of course, he would be furious.

  "What's wrong with the Hanyang rifle?" Feng Guozhang was startled, put away his gun, took a look and said: "You little devil is right on target! This damn German gun has this one flaw, it can't be reloaded until all the bullets are fired, on the battlefield, that would be disastrous!"

  Feng Guozhang furrowed his brow and shouted: "You little brat, do you know how to use a gun?"

  "I don't quite understand, but I've touched it before."

  Feng Guozhang lowered his head and carefully examined the gun, then looked at Zhou Xuanzhang and handed the gun to him: "Forget it, you seem to be a professional too. You shoot one for me to see."

  Feng Guozhang had a hobby, he liked guns, and even more liked people who understood guns.

  In the late 19th century, foreign guns were high-tech, ordinary people couldn't understand them, they just saw a gunshot from afar and thought it was some kind of magical artifact that could take lives. Rich people spent a lot of money to buy a gun, not to protect their homes, but to worship as a deity in the main hall, burning incense every day. Poor people who saw guns were even more frightened, urinating in their pants, and didn't dare to investigate further.

  In Feng Guozhang's view, people who understand guns are high-tech talents.

  The guy opposite, who was barely dressed, spoke out of turn, but he wasn't afraid of guns. Not only that, he could also say something like "zi wu yin mao" (a phrase used to describe someone who is fearless), which greatly piqued Feng Guozhang's curiosity.

  Zhou Xuanzhang took the gun, weighed it, and couldn't help but nod secretly. The weight of this gun was almost identical to that of a Hanyang Arsenal rifle, feeling very comfortable in his hand.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang had long been familiar with the Han Yang rifle, and as soon as it was in his hands, it was like an old friend reuniting after a long time. Without hesitation, he pulled the bolt, held the gun horizontally, and looked around, only to see that the crow king, still flying in the sky, was carrying a dead man's intestines in its beak, while the crow subjects were making a ruckus around it.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang held his gun on his shoulder, aiming at Crow King.

  Feng Guozhang saw through Zhou Xianzhang's intentions and said sarcastically, "Alright, if you can make the gun fire, I'll give you a big reward! Want to shoot down the plane? Don't be ridiculous. That thing has someone shielding it from bullets, you can't hit it!"

  Feng Guozhang was very confident in his marksmanship. When he was a student, his shooting skills were the best in the team, which benefited from his experience as a soldier in the Huai Army for several years, where he had more practice with guns than others. With such marksmanship, he could shoot down a crow with one shot. This guy who can't be drowned by water picks up a gun and wants to shoot at moving targets, really not knowing how high the sky is or how thick the earth is.

  Zhou Xuanzhang furrowed his brow slightly, but didn't put down the gun. Through the scope, that crow king was in his line of fire, however, countless crow subjects were flying around him, ready to sacrifice themselves for their king at any moment.

  When he was in the army, Zhou Xuan Zhang was called "King of Soldiers". Even when he met company commanders, battalion commanders and regimental commanders, they were all very polite to him. Although he had fallen on hard times and been sent to raise pigs, no one dared to look down on him. That Feng Guozhang was young and wore strange clothes, calling out "Sir" at every turn, really didn't know the greatness of Zhou Xuan Zhang!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang and Feng Guo Zhang had a fierce competition, and competing with Feng Guo Zhang was just like competing with Crow King!

  One shot can kill a crow, at most it's just a tie with Feng Guozhang!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang wants to defeat Feng Guo Zhang!

  The Crow King flew leisurely in the sky, not putting the dark gun barrels on the ground in his eyes at all. He had enough confidence in his subjects - when you call your minister to die, he cannot but die!

  Zhou Xuanzhang's mouth corners revealed a barely perceptible cold smile!

  He remembered the trajectory made by Han Yang.

  The trajectory of Han Yang's flat shooting and overhead shooting is very different.

  Due to the weight and inertia of the bullet itself, flat shooting and high-angle shooting have a big difference in actual penetration power. Generally speaking, flat shooting has stronger penetration power, but if you grasp the shooting angle well, theoretically, the bullets fired at high angles will draw a larger arc than flat shooting, and at the farthest point of the arc, the bullet can rely on its own weight and inertia to exert even more powerful penetration!

  For the vast majority of shooters, even the best marksmen, this point exists only in theory. Everyone knows that such a point exists, but no one can grasp it.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang knew of this point's existence, however, like all archers, he had never put it into practice!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang's finger was hooked on the trigger, his eyes staring through the sight at the crow king soaring in the sky.

  He is waiting, waiting for the crow's flight arc to hit that point!

  "Alright, alright!" Feng Guozhang became impatient: "Sir, I have official business to attend to. Even if you know how to use a gun, I'll give you credit for one great achievement. Tomorrow afternoon, come find me to receive your reward... Ah, Sir, I live in Tianjin Garrison..."

  A loud "bang" startled Feng Guozhang.

  The muzzle of the 1888 Commission Rifle puffed out a wisp of smoke.

  "You dare to release..." Feng Guozhang's words were left unfinished, as his mouth was agape and couldn't be closed again.

  In the sky, a group of crows dispersed with a loud noise, leaving behind only a few scattered feathers from a dead magpie, swaying in the wind.

  With two dull thuds, the massive crow king and a small crow that had sacrificed itself for justice fell to the riverbank, sending up two clouds of yellow smoke.

  At the farthest point of that arc, the bullet pierced through Little Crow's shield and shot into Crow King's chest!

  Two birds with one stone!