Johanssen
patreon
Chapter 159: The Irresponsible Director of the Powder Bureau
🕑 Added 2024-12-25 21:05:19 +0000 UTCChapter 159: The Irresponsible Director of the Powder Bureau
Thinking about the need for standardized measurements, Joseph couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.
In fact, the French Academy of Sciences had planned to establish a "Standards Committee" to work on unifying measurement standards years ago, following the suggestion of several prominent scholars. The French scientific community was quite forward-thinking, and this was the earliest attempt to standardize measurements in all of Europe.
However, due to the terrifying inefficiency of the bureaucracy at the time, the Academy's request for funding had been stuck in discussion for years, and the Standards Committee never materialized.
Historically, it wasn't until after the French Revolution that this initiative was finally supported by the National Convention and brought to fruition. The efforts of the French Standards Committee eventually led to the creation of the metric system, paving the way for France's industrialization.
But right now, the "Standards Committee" was just an idea. Joseph knew that if he didn't intervene, it might take another decade or more before France had standardized units of measurement.
The damned French bureaucratic system… Joseph shook his head. As soon as he could spare the time, he would have to reform the civil service system as quickly as possible!
Joseph spent the rest of the day explaining the concept of "standardized production" to the two managers of the armory.
In the modern world, standardized production is considered common sense—even small workshops in the countryside follow these norms when producing goods. But in the late 18th century, this was an extremely advanced concept, and the two managers found it quite challenging to grasp.
Joseph also sprinkled in some tips on business management, further increasing their learning burden.
By the time Joseph finally wrapped up the session and was ready to have dinner, he was utterly exhausted. He downed a large glass of water to soothe his throat, strained from overuse, and felt a headache coming on when he realized he'd have to continue the same the next day.
At the current pace, it would take at least two weeks to cover all the knowledge about standardized production.
Putting in so much effort just to train Garman and Martinière—wasn't the cost-benefit ratio a bit too low?
Since he had to "teach," why not teach a larger group at once?
He quickly thought that perhaps he could start a course on "Industrial Enterprise Management," which would be far more efficient than teaching individuals one by one.
But who would make up the first batch of instructors?
When Joseph thought of business management, one person immediately came to mind: Venio. Venio had completed the task of promoting potatoes and had come to report to Joseph. Afterward, he had stayed in Paris to enjoy Fashion Week and hadn't returned to Bordeaux yet.
Venio himself was a business owner who managed a plantation, was good at giving speeches, and had a lot of enthusiasm for his work. He was perfect for spreading advanced ideas about industrial management.
In fact, his Girondist friends would also be quite suitable for this task.
Initially, they could start by teaching the managers in the industrial development zones, and later they could offer a course at the University of Paris to train professional managers.
This would be much more scientific than the traditional family-run management model.
France might not be able to match Britain's industrial technology and production capabilities in the short term, but in management, it could certainly achieve an early lead!
And optimizing management practices often boosts production efficiency even more than new technologies do.
With this in mind, Joseph summoned Emond and instructed him, "Please have someone find Mr. Venio tomorrow—the gentleman who helped me promote potatoes in Bordeaux."
"Yes, Your Highness. I remember Mr. Venio quite well."
"Oh, and also his friend... I believe his name is Jean Sonnet. Have him come too."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Just as Joseph was preparing to wrap up his teaching session and head back to Versailles for dinner, he noticed the armory manager writing down the quality control requirements he had just mentioned: every musket must be test-fired at least five times before leaving the factory.
This reminded him of the progress on producing the copper caps needed for the percussion muskets, so he turned to Martinière and asked, "Mr. Martinière, do you know the status of copper cap production?"
Martinière quickly replied, "Your Highness, I visited the Royal Powder Bureau two days ago. They said it would take three to four months to produce the first batch of mercury fulminate, after which they could begin producing copper caps."
The Royal Powder Bureau was responsible for developing and producing gunpowder in France. Naturally, the production of an explosive like mercury fulminate was entrusted to them.
"Three to four months? That's so slow!" Joseph frowned upon hearing this.
Martinière explained, "They've already tried several times, but all attempts have failed."
"Alright, I understand." Joseph sighed in frustration. Mercury fulminate was a technology the British had perfected ten years ago, and he had even provided the Royal Powder Bureau with the synthesis method, yet they still couldn't get it right?
The next day at noon.
In the Crown Prince's reception room at Versailles Palace, the assistant director and production manager of the French Royal Powder Bureau stood nervously before Joseph, repeatedly offering explanations.
"Your Highness, you did tell us the synthesis method, but... the exact proportions of the ingredients and the precise process still need to be figured out."
The thin production manager nodded repeatedly, "Yes, and you know, experiments with such a highly explosive substance must be conducted with extreme caution. We also discovered that toxic gases are produced during the process. Fortunately, no one has been injured so far."
Joseph was also feeling frustrated. He knew that mercury fulminate was made by reacting mercury with nitric acid, involving crystallization and cooling, but he had never done it himself. After all, in his previous life, manufacturing explosives could land you a minimum three-year prison sentence, with no upper limit.
He just hadn't expected that, even with the combined efforts of the entire Powder Bureau, they'd make no progress after a month.
If it were something else, he could just buy the technology from the British, but for something as closely tied to military matters as mercury fulminate, they wouldn't sell it.
Joseph looked sternly at the Powder Bureau officials. "Even so, it shouldn't take three or four months just to produce a test batch, should it?"
The assistant director cautiously replied, "Your Highness, if our director were here, it would probably only take a month.
"You know, he used to personally oversee the testing of new explosives. But he took a long leave at the beginning of the year, so..."
Took a leave at the beginning of the year? Joseph frowned; it was nearly April already! This director was taking things far too lightly—did he not want the job anymore?
He said coldly, "Who is your director? Have him come see me immediately!"
The production manager whispered, "It's, it's Mr. Lavoisier..."
"Please wait, I'll go fetch him right away."
"Wait!" Joseph raised his hand to stop him when he heard the name, "Did you say Lavoisier? The same Lavoisier who discovered oxygen?"
The two officials exchanged glances and nodded, "Yes, Your Highness, it was indeed our director who discovered oxygen."
"He also wrote the Treatise on Combustion and other notable works."
End of Chapter
Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.
You can also buy the book if you are only interested in reading the novel.
