Steel Dynasty - Chapter 152

[Chapter 152 The problem of saltpeter]

“King of Shu?”

Xiao Ming muttered softly.

What followed was the memory of his predecessor, Xiao Ming, about this Shu king. Among the princes, he, the fifth prince, had the worst relationship.

The two people, who were both rebellious, had constant conflicts in Chang’an.

Xiao Ming and the King of Shu fought many times because of jealousy, and therefore were often scolded by Xiao Wenxuan.

The fifth prince was now in the land of Shu, and he had not thought of him for a long time.

In Xiao Ming’s memory, the land of Shu was remote and mountainous, and its location was equally remote. However, since ancient times, the land of Shu has been called the land of abundance, and there was always a lot of food.

The only shortcoming is that the Nanman in the south of Shu and the Tubo in the west often disturb the border.

But overall, the situation of the King of Shu was slightly better than his, but not much better.

In addition, Shu is located in an inland area with rugged mountain roads, which seems to make the fifth prince even more uncomfortable.

“That’s right, Your Highness, think about it. Originally, Qingzhou purchased a large amount of saltpeter. The merchants from Shu were very happy and wanted to make money. But suddenly, the merchants could not get the saltpeter. Except for the king of Shu, who could have this Who else can do this?” Lu Tong complained: “If this is true, this King of Shu is simply harming His Highness. The barbarians are running south in a hurry, and he is trying to hinder His Highness. This is not to show that he wants to see His Highness. It’s a joke.”

If it were someone else, Xiao Ming might have considered it, but if it were the King of Shu, he really believed that the King of Shu had this intention.

The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the sky.

Because of this, Shu is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Now the vassal kings in the south and the vassal kings in the north have two different minds.

The king of Shu naturally belongs to the vassal king in the south. If the north is lost, he can be happy just guarding a piece of Shu.

Moreover, the King of Shu also knew that the throne of Dayu was not destined for him, but with the chaos, it would be different.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ming said, “It’s not yet known whether the King of Shu did it. How much gunpowder can be produced from the remaining materials?”

“Up to five hundred kilograms of gunpowder.” Lu Tong said.

Xiao Ming felt irritated. Five hundred kilograms of gunpowder was not enough to stuff the teeth of the barbarians.

Today’s artillery fires solid shells, and its power is only equivalent to a trebuchet that can shoot directly. However, the range is longer and the damage caused is not great. If the shell does not directly hit the body, it cannot kill people, unlike Huahua. The projectile can also kill enemies with shrapnel and shock waves.

There is enough gunpowder, so it will be difficult to fight a war. If there is not enough gunpowder, I am afraid that Cangzhou City will be reduced to a battlefield of hand-to-hand combat.

“I’ll figure out how to deal with the materials. You’d better produce it as soon as possible.” Xiao Ming said, looking a little gloomy.

There were iron and coal in front of him. Because this matter had been discussed in the court, the other vassal kings did not deliberately make things difficult for him.

Moreover, the coal mines and iron mines were flooded, but the local area could barely provide some, so it was not enough. In addition, the King of Wei was willing to do his best to let Xiao Ming act as a human shield for him.

Therefore, coal and iron have never been a problem.

But now this saltpeter can really kill him. The country of Chongqing is already using gunpowder, but the use of gunpowder has not yet reached a large scale, so the demand for gunpowder is not great.

The saltpeter used to produce gunpowder also came from Shu, but because it was used by the Chang’an Equipment Department, the King of Shu naturally did not dare to make a fuss about it.

After leaving the workshop area, Xiao Ming returned directly to the palace. Now he could only write a letter to Chang’an and let Xiao Wenxuan resolve the matter.

At the same time, he was going to ask the King of Wei for some more saltpeter and gunpowder, but he estimated that he would not get much gunpowder and saltpeter from the King of Wei.

Because the King of Wei also did not pay attention to firearms.

After writing the letter, Xiao Ming asked Zi Wan to go to the inn and have someone rush to send her to Chang’an.

This country of Chongqing is not a modern country. If there is a problem, a phone call can solve the problem. The fastest way to send letters between cities is the inn, but for a journey of 800 miles, it takes at least nine days to go back and forth.

And if there is any fork in the future, we have to send letters back and forth to convey the information.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming became more and more angry. What he was most afraid of now was that the King of Shu did it deliberately. If so, the King of Shu would only need a dragging trick to make him unable to bear it.

After the battle of Cangzhou City was completed, the saltpeter arrived late, and it would be of no use at that time. If Cangzhou City was captured, he would not need to send saltpeter. Instead, Xiao Wenxuan would rely on him in the future.

“King Shu, if you do this intentionally, I will skin you sooner or later.” Xiao Ming’s teeth itched with hatred, but there was nothing he could do.

Shu and Qingzhou are thousands of miles away, and he is beyond his reach.

While asking for help from Chang’an, Xiao Ming realized that he could not sit still and wait for death, so he wrote another letter to King Wei.

At the same time, someone was sent to notify Qian Dafu to come back.

In the evening of the next day, Qian Dafu arrived at the palace after receiving the news.

“Your Highness, when have you been so anxious?”

Qian Dafu is still tired from sleeping in the open. He has suffered a lot from prospecting these days and has lost a lot of weight.

“Don’t look for other minerals for the time being. From now on, you must try your best to look for saltpeter and sulfur, and postpone the rest for the time being.” Xiao Ming said.

Industrial upgrading can be postponed, but dealing with the barbarians is urgent.

And once he uses artillery to defeat the barbarians, Dayu will definitely pay attention to gunpowder. At that time, saltpeter will probably become a trump card for all parties to suppress themselves.

This is just like modern oil. An oil-poor country is very sad. If oil is blocked, the economy will soon collapse.

“Your Highness, what happened?” Qian Dafu asked in confusion.

Xiao Ming then told him about the saltpeter, and Qian Dafu’s expression suddenly became solemn.

“This saltpeter is related to the king’s wealth and life. Let’s do this. I will allocate five thousand young slaves to you. In the saltpeter mine area, even if you drag a net to dig, you must find the saltpeter.” Xiao Ming’s voice was loud.

Qian Dafu realized the seriousness of this problem and bowed and said: “I will withdraw the mining teams from all over the country and search for saltpeter with all my strength.”

After that, Qian Dafu turned around and left the palace. As soon as he arrived at the door, he met Pang Yukun was walking over.

“Steward Qian looks anxious, what happened?” Pang Yukun, always good at observing words and expressions, couldn’t help but ask.

“Hey, there is something wrong with the saltpeter. His Highness is angry. You have to be careful when you go in.” Qian Dafu said.

Pang Yukun frowned, “It’s true that good fortune and misfortunes never come alone. I’m afraid His Highness will be angry again.”

Qian Dafu was in a hurry to find the mine and had no time to inquire about other things. He just cupped his hands and got on his horse and galloped away.

Looking at Qian Dafu’s leaving figure, Pang Yukun smiled bitterly and hesitated before entering the palace.

(End of chapter)