Shulot looked serious and gave the order sternly. Everyone also straightened their faces and bowed in salute. The workshop was busy again.
The female workers obeyed orders respectfully. They used a mortar and pestle to carefully grind the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal into fine powders, and then put the powders into the mortar in proportion. The dosage of each batch of powder is 15 taels, 2 taels, and 3 taels, totaling more than one kilogram.
Then, Shulot stretched out his hand, pulled Talea to his side, stepped back a few steps, and signaled the female workers to continue. At His Highness's request, they ground and mixed all the ingredients more carefully for a full quarter of an hour before looking up at the young man.
Shulot thought for a moment. He vaguely remembered that there was a very crucial step ahead, which could effectively improve the burning efficiency of gunpowder. He thought for a long time, but without getting any inspiration, he had no choice but to nod and let the female workers test it again.
Soon, the pottery pot was once again placed on the testing soil platform, and inside was the new formula of gunpowder made from the old one. There are several tied up straw men placed at a distance of one to several meters. A warrior took the torch from the female worker's hand, lit a palm-long fuse, and then quickly retreated at the request of His Highness.
Schlott grabbed Talea's arm and took a few steps back again. The potter girl felt slight pain, and she was led a few steps away obediently, and quietly leaned on the young man's shoulder. Then, she looked sideways, with doubts in her eyebrows.
"Your Highness?"
Shulot looked seriously and looked at the clay pot intently.
"Be careful, it will explode."
Talea also looked at the clay pot.
The fuse burned out quickly, and the gunpowder in the clay pot exploded. Then, a bright flame rose up and rose rapidly, reaching a height of two meters. Along with the billowing smoke, a warm heat wave hit the face. The gunpowder burned much faster this time, but it burned out in just a dozen breaths, and the flame was extinguished. When I looked at the pot again, it was still intact.
Looking at the gorgeous fireworks, the potter girl opened her eyes wide and took note of this unforgettable beauty. Immediately, she turned her head again and looked at the young man with a crooked smile.
"Your Highness"
Shulot looked embarrassed. He thought about the burning speed, recalled the warm air waves, and nodded firmly.
"Cover the pottery cover carefully, press the fuse and light it! Everyone, stay away."
The test was repeated. This time, as the match burned out, there was a brief moment of silence, and then the fire suddenly started. There was a loud explosion, the pottery lids flew away, the pots exploded, and a bright yellow flame burst out from the earthen platform. Smoke and air waves came again, bringing with them flying pottery fragments.
This loud noise, like thunder that pierced the sky, fell into everyone's heart, and also fell at the feet of the rush of the times, forcing it to move towards another brand new future!
Everyone fell silent instantly. After a while, the female workers knelt on the ground, praying towards the source of the loud noise, and looked at His Highness in awe from time to time. The warriors were shaken, and when they looked at His Highness again, they already had eyes that respected the gods. Bertard looked solemnly, observing the pottery pieces embedded in the straw man. Talea looked shocked. She was lost for a moment and leaned against the boy's shoulder again.
Shulot also stared at the explosion of gunpowder, which was the first epoch-making sound in Mesoamerica! He slowly broke out into a joyful smile, his heart was filled with ups and downs, and countless emotions surged into it. Feeling the softness on his shoulder, the young man stretched out his arms and pulled Talea into his arms. He hugged her hard for the first time and whispered to himself.
"I know I'm going to change everything!"
The potter girl groaned and leaned softly against the boy. Her heart was beating violently, her whole body was hot and weak, and her eyes were full of water.
After a moment of excitement, Shulot let go of the girl in his arms and went directly to the testing platform. He carefully examined the power of the explosion. The top pottery cover flew nearly ten meters away, and the pottery pot exploded, but the lower base was still intact, containing incompletely burned gunpowder powder.
The straw man one meter away was inlaid with several tiny pieces of pottery, and the straw man was also shaken by the air waves. The same goes for the straw man two meters away. Three meters away, the straw man was almost undamaged. The young man looked at the ground and saw that the largest pottery fragments were only four or five meters away, while the smaller pottery fragments were six or seven meters away.
Shulot was lost in thought. The power of black gunpowder in front of you is about a few percent less powerful than the fireworks that were common in later generations, and is roughly similar to the power of gunpowder in major countries of this era.
By this time, in Eurasia, the exact recipe for black powder had been discovered. All major powers in the world are rapidly advancing the application of gunpowder, and matchlock guns and copper cannons have been widely used in wars. At the same time, various European countries built a large number of gunpowder schools to improve the production of gunpowder. Gunpowder research in the Tower of London has continued for nearly two hundred years.
Decades ago, HRE's gunpowder craftsmen added a crucial step to gunpowder production. Since then, gunpowder has become more powerful and can be transported over long distances.
"What exactly is this step?" The young man was worried about this step again. Then he shook his head and considered improvements that could be made.
The power of gunpowder lies in the purity of the raw material. Regarding the purification of saltpeter, Xiulote has pointed out the potassium nitrate purification technology, which involves repeated dissolution, precipitation and filtration of plant ash. Regarding the purification of sulfur, the young man only remembered that it was related to the melting point, which seemed to involve heating, vaporization, and water cooling to solidify. The specific steps could not be imagined at the moment. Finally, use charcoal with a higher calorific value. Willow charcoal was commonly used by Chinese craftsmen. Unfortunately, willow did not exist in Central America at this time. Fir, pine and cypress could also be used.
Observing and thinking, Shulot sat down cross-legged again. With the preliminary black powder, what kind of weapons could he make.
Bertard made a gesture to the potter girl, and Talaya blushed and took some paper, pen and ink, and sat next to His Highness again.
Shulot has been thinking for hundreds of years, recalling the early gunpowder weapons that appeared in the history of the Celestial Dynasty. All weapons that require metal must be abandoned, and weapons must be simple to make and in line with the alliance's productivity level. After a moment, three names took shape in his mind.
The first one to appear was the planned rocket. According to the young man's impression, this kind of weapon should first appear in the Northern Song Dynasty, and then shine in the Battle of Tangdao in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a suitable arson weapon for water warfare.
A gunpowder rocket is a spherically symmetrical gunpowder bag tied to the back of the arrow, which does not affect the balance of the rocket's flight. The gunpowder bag is made of slow-burning paper or cloth, pasted into a strong outer shell, and filled with gunpowder. Then use the fire cone to ignite the shell during battle, and then use the crossbow to cast it.
Considering the draw force of the longbow, the weight of the gunpowder pack should range from tens of grams, and can be increased when shooting at close range. The purpose of the longitudinal rocket is to burn, which can appropriately reduce the soil nitrate with less reserves and increase the proportion of charcoal and sulfur.
Shulot nodded slightly. Gunpowder, paper, arrows, and long bows were all in line with the productivity level of the alliance. Immediately, he took the pen and paper, drew a long bow, and in the center was a rocket with a gunpowder bag.
The second matching weapon is the ceramic caltrop, which resembles the original grenade. This kind of weapon appeared in the Song Dynasty and was unearthed in large numbers in the north of the Celestial Dynasty. It was used by all countries in Song, Liao, Jin and Xia. This is a melee throwing weapon.
Ceramic Tribulus has a shell made of pottery and porcelain, a round pot shape, and a large mouth and lower abdomen. The inside is filled with gunpowder and the outside is made of ceramic thorns. After lighting the fuse, it is thrown from several to ten meters. The exploded thorns can kill enemies within a few steps, and the sound can scare horses. Considering its historical performance, this weapon should have a shocking effect on all Mexican ministries that exceeds its actual power.
The boy redesigned it based on the throwing ability of the samurai and the explosive power of black powder. This kind of pottery tribulus should weigh as much as a lead ball, with a shell weighing two to three kilograms and three or four kilograms of gunpowder. The throwing distance is between ten and twenty steps, and the explosion power is about five to seven steps.
If you are defending a city or throwing it with a trebuchet, you can make a large ceramic caltrop, or change the ceramic shell into a paper shell, which will become the paper fireball in the history of the Song Dynasty. By adjusting different ingredient ratios, the function of gunpowder weapons can also change from explosion to arson, smoke, and poison.
Shulot thought for a moment and realized that pottery firing was the specialty of the Alliance. There were also a large number of skilled workers, so he drew the pattern of ceramic caltrops on the paper. To Talea, this was a large cactus thorn ball.
The third weapon chosen was the pine cannon. This weapon appeared in the Song Dynasty, but was still used by militiamen until the Anti-Japanese War. The range of this kind of wooden cannon is between tens of meters and hundreds of meters, which is completely unpredictable. It is a short- to medium-range fire weapon.
The shape of the pine cannon is a tree trunk with a hollow core and a round hole dug in the middle. In fact, a thick iron pipe needs to be inserted to increase the power, and it can be used without pouring. There was no iron, so the outside of the wooden cannon was tightly hooped with copper hoops, and then wrapped with thick copper wire. In order to reduce the technical difficulty, the blast hole is not drilled, but a fuse is used for firing.
Shulot calculated slightly that each firing of the wooden cannon required several to ten kilograms of gunpowder, and the ammunition was more than twenty or thirty kilograms of gravel. Before firing, you need to insert a fuse and seal the muzzle with cotton to increase the air tightness. The operation is very slow, but the power is almost invincible in this era.
He also drew the model of the pine cannon on the paper, and marked the upgraded bronze cannon on the back.
Next, the young man pondered slightly. Individual soldiers' tubular weapons were still too difficult for the alliance's technical level. The fire guns and bronze fire guns of the Song and Yuan Dynasties had limited shooting distances, awkward positioning, and high manufacturing difficulty. The matchlock guns of this era were advanced weapons that the Alliance could not manufacture.
Individual soldiers' long-range weapons have an absolute advantage. Above this distance, the warriors can always rely on the swift spear throwing, the powerful long bow and the powerful Han crossbow!
Gunpowder rockets, ceramic caltrops, and pine cannons, these are the three future firearms and equipment of the Alliance. They will accompany the Mexica Legion to completely conquer the entire world!
