Steel Dynasty - Chapter 151

[Chapter 151: Unexpected disaster]

The first cannon was successfully cast, and the atmosphere in the Equipment Department was as hot as coal in a blast furnace.

Every craftsman has a smile on his face.

In the past month, they had worked day and night and lost more than ten kilograms, in order to complete the tasks assigned by King Qi.

Now we are just waiting for the test firing of this artillery. If it is successful, it means that the Equipment Department has truly mastered the artillery production technology.

“Your Highness, let’s give it a try. The craftsmen are all waiting eagerly.” Chen Qi was afraid that Xiao Ming would not let them watch the test firing of the artillery. This man and his wife had just given birth and did not know that Choujun was brought here. Just as uncomfortable.

“Yes, Your Highness, just let us see it.” The craftsmen in the Equipment Department requested one after another, with expectations for the power of the artillery in their eyes.

The craftsmen’s bodies were covered in sweat and iron powder, and a smell of metal and sweat wafted through the equipment department.

With so many requests, Xiao Ming naturally couldn’t refuse. He was just joking with Chen Qi.

Of course, the testing of this artillery requires the participation of these craftsmen. Only in this way can problems be discovered and rectified in time.

“Well, today is definitely too late. We need a suitable venue. Moreover, the artillery is very heavy and transportation is also a problem. It is also the shell of the artillery.”

Xiao Ming’s tone became more serious when he mentioned the shells.

Naturally, artillery shells must be suitable for current artillery. If they are too big to fit in, the effectiveness of small gunpowder will be greatly reduced, and the shells may hit the feet.

Before the artillery was produced, the Equipment Department could not accurately calculate the caliber of shells required for the artillery because it did not dare to produce shells.

Xiao Ming is a little helpless about this. After all, there is no precise measurement system in this era, and the products produced cannot be accurate. Currently, the cannon shells can only be produced according to the caliber of the muzzle.

Otherwise, the produced shells may not fit in.

He thought that this precise measurement system should also be established, so that the production of artillery and the production of artillery shells would not interfere with each other.

They only need to produce in strict accordance with the dimensions, and this is also necessary for the future industrial development of Qingzhou.

After all, when lathes can participate in production, a measurement standard will be needed to mass produce parts.

Although Chen Qi and others are very anxious, if the artillery is to be test-fired, it still needs some preparations, not only the issues of shells, location, and transportation.

There is another issue that Chen Qi cannot control, and that is the issue of gunpowder.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming left the Equipment Department and went directly to Lu Tong’s chemistry laboratory.

At this time, the chemical laboratory and the equipment department were also controlled by guards, and everyone involved in gunpowder production was closely monitored.

The important weapons of the country cannot be easily revealed to others, so this confidentiality measure is naturally understandable. These things are related to the safety of the fiefdom.

These people have become accustomed to this kind of environment.

Compared with the production of artillery, the production of gunpowder is much easier, but Xiao Ming wants high-quality gunpowder, because the work of Lu Tong and others is not easy either.

Many granular gunpowders are unqualified and will start over again.

In such a place, in order to avoid danger, no metal objects are allowed to be brought in. The tools here are basically wooden.

This is to prevent gunpowder from exploding.

“Your Highness, why are you here? It’s too dangerous.” Lu Tong looked anxious when he saw Xiao Ming coming.

This chemistry laboratory is not the one in Bowen College, otherwise Xiao Ming is really worried that one day the entire Bowen College will be blown up by Lu Tonghui.

The current chemical laboratory is located outside Qingzhou City and adjacent to the workshop area, but is separated by several hundred meters and is surrounded by several walls.

“You are not afraid of danger, so what am I afraid of?” Xiao Ming said with a smile.

Lu Tong was startled when he heard this. He had never been in contact with other vassal kings, but he still believed that the vassal king in front of him must be different.

From King Qi, he did not feel any sense of superiority and isolation. On the contrary, Xiao Ming was always approachable and approachable.

After sighing for a moment, Lu Tong came to his senses and said to Xiao Ming: “Your Highness, part of the granular gunpowder you ordered has been produced.”

“Really? How many are there?” Xiao Ming asked with interest.

Lu Tong led Xiao Ming through the front yard and straight to the backyard.

This place was designed as both a laboratory and a factory. The front half is the factory, and the laboratory is at the back.

There are twenty buildings of different sizes scattered throughout the area, each with a different function.

The warehouse was also in the backyard, and Lu Tong moved all the gunpowder produced into the warehouse.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Lu Tong pointed to a sack and said, “Your Highness, this is it. Is it enough?”

The sack Lu Tong pointed to was about half a person’s height. It was so thick that a person could hold it. It was estimated that there were enough grains of gunpowder in it. A hundred catties.

“It’s far from enough.” Xiao Ming said: “We have to speed up. If you don’t have enough manpower, just tell me. I can allocate it to you at any time. You must increase production.”

Generally speaking, this ancient war lasted a long time. Long, the artillery fires a lot of times, and this bag of granular gunpowder is not enough for one artillery.

Lu Tong nodded, “Yes, Your Highness, I will ask people to speed up, but Your Highness, this material…”

“Are there not enough gunpowder materials?” Xiao Ming frowned.

“Yes, this saltpeter usually comes from a few saltpeter caves in Sichuan. It is not produced in other places. Chen Bingcao just left before His Highness came here. He said that he bought all the saltpeter on the market now, but it will never be produced again in the future. There are no merchants selling saltpeter to Qingzhou.”

Lu Tong’s words made Xiao Ming feel cold. The current saltpeter in Dayu mainly comes from several open-air saltpeter caves in Shu.

Because it is easy to mine and the demand is not large, Dayu State does not pay much attention to saltpeter. There are basically no other places that specialize in mining saltpeter.

Xiao Ming once checked the resource distribution map in the science and technology library. There are also saltpeter mines within his fiefdom. He also asked Qian Dafu to keep looking for them, but there is no news yet.

He couldn’t blame Qian Dafu for this. In this era, except for open-pit minerals that were easy to discover, finding those buried in places was no less than finding a needle in a haystack.

He asked Qian Dafu to look for many minerals, and now Qian Dafu has been looking for them.

Although it is very hard to eat and sleep in the open air, the harvest so far has been very little, and there is no news about the saltpeter mine.

Now there is a problem with the source of saltpeter, which is a heavy blow to Xiao Ming.

Seeing Xiao Ming’s uncertain expression, Lu Tong hesitated and asked, “Your Highness, do you think this is the fault of the King of Shu?”

(End of Chapter)