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Chapter 978: A Dazzling Array of Birthday Gifts

Chapter 978: A Dazzling Array of Birthday Gifts

After the church's morning blessing ceremony concluded, Paris entered a festive state.

Music resounded everywhere. People, adorned with colorful makeup and dressed in exaggerated, vibrant costumes, clustered around carriages festooned with flowers and ribbons, dancing as they slowly paraded through the streets.

Spectators lining both sides of the road shouted, "May God protect our King!"

"Long live His Majesty, the King!"

"Praise the 'Savior of Suffering'!"

In recent years, France's development had been undeniable. While everyone knew most of it was due to the Crown Prince's efforts, this had also garnered immense support for His Majesty the King.

Naturally, another reason was that people had a little extra money in their pockets and were eager to seize the opportunity to let loose.

Yes, the Labor Protection and Safety Act stipulated that all factories across the nation were to close for the King's birthday.

Large festive processions gradually converged on Versailles, where various performances were held annually. These included traditional noble fencing competitions and song-and-dance contests, which were not only highly entertaining but also allowed betting on the outcome of each match, making them a highlight of the King's birthday celebration.

Another major highlight was, of course, the national lottery. The prize money two years prior had already risen to 40,000 francs, and the winning textile worker was rumored to have later bought the factory where he worked, becoming its owner.

Of course, the new district stretching from Old Paris to Versailles, filled with all sorts of delicacies, also held immense appeal for the populace.

Tornado Potato Towers for one sou a skewer, beetroot apple juice for two sous a cup, roasted fish for two sous a piece — all were so delicious people couldn't stop eating.

What made this year's birthday celebration different from previous ones was the presence of over a thousand nobles from various Italian states, who had flocked to Paris to attend the grand event, primarily hoping to make a good impression on the French royal family.

Oh, this count didn't even include the delegations sent by Modena and Parma, the "in-laws," which would add another 300 people.

Louis XVI, the day's protagonist, was quite pleased with the arrangements for the celebration.

Previously, his birthdays had involved an entire day of dealing with foreign envoys and attending multiple banquets, where he always had to address the assembled guests.

Now, with everyone else busy reveling, he found himself considerably more at leisure.

From the VIP box overlooking the fencing competition on the Versailles Palace square, Louis XVI gazed at the birthday gift from the Crown Prince, utterly captivated.

It was Da Vinci's original design blueprint for a mechanical man.

His Majesty the King was already pondering whether it could be constructed. It was said that if you blew air on it, it would raise its hand and shake its head with surprising dexterity.

Louis XVI fiddled with Da Vinci's manuscript when something suddenly occurred to him. Leaning closer to his son, he whispered, "My dear Lion, when will you be able to give me the blueprints for that new type of firearm you mentioned before?"

After Joseph's decisive victory over the Duke of Brunswick in Luxembourg, Louis XVI had started calling him "The Lion." Joseph found it a bit awkward, but as long as his father was happy, he tacitly accepted it.

Joseph immediately slapped his forehead, laughing helplessly. "You see, I simply haven't had any free time, so I still haven't finished drawing it..."

'Well, in truth, I simply forgot about it,' he thought.

Louis XVI was a little disappointed but pressed on, curious. "But surely you can tell me what kind of gun it is?"

The two types of firearms he had personally overseen the design of were now the French army's primary equipment, playing an unparalleled role in the ongoing war against the Anti-French Coalition. This had led to him becoming widely recognized as Europe's foremost firearms master.

"Of course," Joseph nodded. "I call it a Revolver – it uses a rotating cylinder mechanism that allows it to hold six rounds at once."

"After firing once, you simply flick the cylinder with your thumb and cock the hammer, and it's ready to fire again."

"I estimate that a skilled marksman could fire all six rounds in three seconds."

He was describing the legendary Colt Walker Revolver of later generations – the world's first practical front-loading revolver, which would be widely adopted by the American military half a century later.

In truth, after France mastered the production of mercury fulminate percussion caps, the foundational technology for such a weapon was largely in place.

However, the mechanism was overly complex, and Joseph, in his previous life, had only seen cross-section diagrams a few times, which meant he had never been able to accurately draw it.

Louis XVI, however, was as excited as a child with a new toy. He eagerly pressed, "Tell me quickly, what ingenious design allows for such a high rate of fire!"

Joseph requested his short-barreled percussion cap musket from the attendant behind him, then pointed to the middle of the barrel and explained to his father:

"The general principle is to hollow out a section here."

"Then, a cylinder is installed here. This cylinder has six circular chambers, into which gunpowder and a projectile can be loaded, with the percussion cap fitted at the rear."

"Next, you rotate the cylinder to align the next chamber with the barrel, and continue loading ammunition, until all chambers are full."

"When firing..."

Louis XVI's eyes lit up. He cut in, "When firing, it's the opposite! After one shot is fired, the next loaded chamber is simply aligned with the barrel!"

"My God, this is a miraculous invention!"

"Joseph, my Lion, you must have received divine inspiration!"

Joseph nodded. 'You're practically stealing my lines,' he thought. 'Saves me the trouble of playing coy.'

Louis XVI rubbed his hands together excitedly. "You must draw up the blueprints as soon as possible. No, you should go to the Royal Workshop tonight! We'll start by making a wooden model directly..."

Joseph, however, smiled and shook his head. "My dear father, I actually have another brilliant concept that you might enjoy."

Louis XVI hadn't expected another surprise. He eagerly asked, "What is it? Heavens, tell me!"

"A steam forging machine."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing those words, Louis XVI shook his head with clear disappointment. "Let's stick to discussing the revolver instead."

Water-powered forging machines had been in use in Europe for over 300 years. In his mind, this would merely be replacing a waterwheel with a steam engine – nothing particularly new or exciting.

Seeing his father's lack of enthusiasm, Joseph immediately added, "The steam forging machine I'm describing can generate an impact force of over 10 tons."

Louis XVI still showed little reaction. Giant water-powered forging machines could also, with effort, reach that level.

Joseph continued, "And it can forge more than 30 times per minute."

His Majesty the King's eyes instantly widened. A 10-ton class water-powered forging machine could only strike once every two minutes, and that was only when the water flow was surging.

Joseph said, "Furthermore, its impact force can be freely adjusted between 100 kilograms and 10 tons, with an error margin of no more than 1 centimeter."

Louis XVI could no longer remain calm. He gasped, "How is that possible?!"

Indeed, this was a miracle brought forth by the Industrial Revolution.

In fact, Joseph had been conservative in his description; a fully developed forging machine could adjust its output between 10 kilograms and 10 tons, with precision reaching the millimeter scale.