Chapter 60 [Bonus chapter] Productive Meeting

“Would that be all? No more questions?” Alexander glanced at the four senior military officials,

Four of them shook their heads. Finally! They’ve got it. After three grueling hours of repetition and clarification, Alexander can finally move to the next agenda. The military procurement program.

“Let’s proceed to the next agenda,” Alexander said, signaling to Rolan that was standing by his side to hand the military officials a new type of files.

Rolan nodded as he opened the luggage. In it was a huge stack of papers. He picked it up and handed one to the minister, who then passed it on to the admiral. They did so until there were six files in front of Alexander.

“To catch up to our rivals we have to modernize our Empire. I’ve done so by passing a series of legislation and reforms. In order to protect the interest of the empire while it is undergoing transformation, it comes to my attention that I should modernize the military as well. Now that the reorganization is complete, let’s talk about the new service rifle,”

Everyone except Vladimir leaned forward eagerly for what Alexander had to say. This was just what they needed. A new tool. They were aware of the fact that the army is testing out a new weapon that will replace the Mosin Nagant. Now it became the center of the topic, and they were interested to hear what Alexander has to say next.

“Vladimir, have you already decided what our new service weapon will be?”

The attention of everyone shifted to Vladimir, who was sitting casually on a chair across from Alexander.

They were all eager to know what Vladimir had chosen.

Vladimir grabbed his briefcase and handed each and one of them a file regarding the new service rifle. After that, he stood and began talking.

“It’s been three weeks…No, almost four weeks since we have been testing the four potential rifles that will replace the Mosin Nagant. Albeit short, the military personnel who participated in the experiment as well as military generals and lieutenants who acted as an observer have come to a decision. The answer is in your file, please open it.” Vladimir said, gesturing at them to do so.

Alexander flipped the cover off the file and stared down at the contents inside. There were several pages filled with notes, diagrams, charts, and data about the different rifle models and designs. One particular section caught his eye. It was the recommendation part where the answer for what they are looking forward to is written.

Alexander’s eyes widened slightly. The military…has chosen…the FN Fal. Of course, there must be a reason as to why the military has chosen this.

“Care to explain to us why you recommend the FN Fal as a replacement for the Mosin Nagant bolt-action rifle?” Alexander asked.

Vladimir cleared his throat. “Well, sir, first of all, I would like to tell you that all four assault rifles that you introduced to us are wonderful and amazing. They have their own advantages and disadvantages. But one rifle that stood up among the rest is the FN Fal.

Although it’s slightly heavier than the three, in terms of power, the FN Fal packs more power than the rest. The 7.62x51mm cartridge can penetrate through walls, splinter wood, and even pierce through plate armor.

“The FN Fal is also stronger in long distance. Having an effective firing range of 600 meters. Compared to the T-AR47 which only has an effective firing range of about 350 meters and the T-AR33 has 400 meters. Even though each of the assault rifles that you sent us can carry 30 rounds of ammunition, FN Fal is still superior in every aspect. Be it range, reliability, and effectiveness,” Vladimir paused momentarily and then continued.

“However, even if it’s superior to all, the FN Fal still has its weakness. First of all, is its weight. It’s heavy for our troops and can only carry four to five mags. So firing discipline is needed. It’s not well-balanced, long, and prone to jam when dust gets into the gun. The manufacturing process is complicated but the arms company assured us that it can be mass-produced. Also, it has to be properly maintained to avoid

rust, wear and tear. But if the gun is maintained properly and was handled with care, the FN Fal is superior,” Vladimir concluded.

After listening to his explanation, Alexander leaned back in his seat and contemplated. To him, it doesn’t matter what kind of assault rifle they are going to choose. After all, they are superior to any kind of weapons that currently exist in this era. It will wipe the floor with the guns that are in service in other countries.

In addition, Alexander was somehow impressed that they managed to find out the weakness of the FN Fal. However, it’s not big of a deal as he can just design a better variant to fix it.

Breathing softly, Alexander made his decision. “If it is what you choose then I don’t mind. We will adopt the FN Fal as the new service rifle for the army,” Alexander closed the folder.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Vladimir gave a small bow before returning to his seat.

“Okay, let’s go to the tank design,” Alexander proceeded to the next topic. “General Zhukov, I believe you have something for me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s from the design bureau.” Zhukov said as he passed the blueprint to Alexander.

Alexander spread the blueprint over the desk and looked at it closely. The schematic was quite simple. The tank is 4.65 meters long and 2.44 meters in width and has a mass of 9.6 tons. The caliber of the turret is 45 millimeters and it is powered by an air-cooled 4-cylinder gasoline engine.

“What do you call this tank?” Alexander asked.

“It’s a tank-26 model, Your Majesty, what do you think?”

“Hmm…what do I think?” Alexander hummed. “Well, it’s light and small. Is there something bigger than this one?”

General Zhukov cocked his head to the side, quizzically “We do…Your Majesty…here please take a look at it,” he handed another batch of blueprints.

Alexander checked them and one thing he found in common is their weight. It’s light, it didn’t even go beyond ten tons. The caliber is small and the suspension system is a thing of the past…Wait…this is a 1920s parallel world. Everything in this world is a thing of the past.

For just a moment, Alexander forgot that he was in another world. Well, although the design of the tank is the standard of the era, Alexander wanted to change the nature of tank designs.

First of all, the tank design is similar to the late 1930s tank and the chassis is based on a Vickers 6-ton tank. That alone made Alexander roll his eyes. If he wants the Ruthenian Empire to dominate the land, he’ll have to come up with another superior design and get off the mainstream.

Good thing though, he already has one in mind, but that can’t be built with the current industrial tools the factory of Ruthenia has. If only he can finish the CNC machine that he has been building for months, then it will be possible for him to create one prototype of it.

“To be honest, I don’t want to produce any of these tanks for now,” Alexander said.

Hearing that, the senior military officials couldn’t help but look at each other blankly.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” Zhukov asked, seemingly baffled.

“I have a friend of mine who is working on another tank design that is superior to other countries, better than what you’ve submitted just now. I’ll have to wait for his design before I make a decision. But rest assured, I will prioritize the army and the air force…as for the navy, well it’s got to have to wait because the navy is not on the priority list right now, please understand, Admiral Kutnezsov,”

“I am aware of the Ruthenia’s Empire geography, Your Majesty. Still, I hope the government can still look at our department,”

“Don’t worry, the navy will also be looked upon. You may not know, this but I’m an avid sailor who loves warships,”

They chuckled slightly at his response.

“Anyway this was a productive meeting. I’ll have to call it a day since my bodyguard here has an appointment later at midnight…Have a great day and goodbye.”

All of them stood up and saluted as Alexander and Rolan started to exit the room. Just as they left the office, the two head straight to the state car.

“So Rolan, I heard that The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already located the Black Hand hideout in a neighborhood of Toukola,” Alexander said.

Rolan opened the door and answered, “Yes, we will leave at midnight and start the operation at 0600 hrs. Once I’ve escorted you back to the Winter Palace, I will get going for a mission debrief.”

“I see…well, good luck. This is our only chance to achieve peace in the Ruthenia Empire. Once they are eradicated, a prosperous and peaceful life will follow.”

“I will not let you down, Your Majesty.”