Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

Midsummer of the first year of Xuanji.

Deep within the Gewu Academy, in a secluded courtyard several times more heavily guarded and hidden than the site where the "Huihui Cannon" was tested, the atmosphere was distinctly different from the bustling activity of ordinary workshops.

This place is called "Dan Ding Yuan". On the surface, it belongs to the Ge Wu Yuan, but in reality, it was secretly established by Xiao Chen after he ascended the throne. It is responsible for a research project that is listed as "top secret among top secrets" - gunpowder and its application.

The layout of the compound is unique, with half of the area consisting of sturdy stone workshops and the other half being an open experimental field far from the buildings, solidified with thick earth.

The air was filled with a unique and slightly pungent smell of burning saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, occasionally accompanied by a dull rumble, like thunder from the earth, which caused the ground to tremble slightly and birds to disappear.

The one in charge here is not a master craftsman like Mo Heng, but a remarkable man named Ge Yuan.

He was about forty years old, with a thin and refined appearance. He had been a Taoist priest in the mountains, skilled in alchemy, and also knowledgeable in metals, minerals, and herbs.

When Xiao Chen was in Han Yuan, he discovered by chance that Han Yuan could not only refine "immortal pills", but also had an almost obsessive research on the "ignition" and "explosion" properties of the mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal and other substances. Han Yuan was also able to put forward some strange theories about "purification", "proportioning" and "granulation" that were difficult for others to understand.

Xiao Chen was well aware of the potential of this path, so he secretly recruited him, offering him generous rewards and treatment. He even set up a separate "Dan Ding Yuan" within the Ge Wu Yuan (a department for studying natural phenomena) for Xiao Chen to lead, not asking about the process, but only looking at the results.

At this moment, Xiao Chen once again arrived at the stone house in the core of the Dan Ding Academy.

On the long table in front of him lay several rough earthenware bowls, filled with black or grayish-black powder of varying colors and particle sizes.

Ge Yuan stood to one side, his expression a mixture of excitement and exhaustion, his eyes bloodshot, and his Taoist robe sleeves and fingers stained with indelible blackish-gray marks.

"Your Majesty, please look," Ge Yuan's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he pointed to a bowl of dark-colored, coarse powder on the far left. "This is gunpowder commonly used in the military and among civilians. The saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal are mostly mixed using a crude method of 'one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal.' Saltpeter often contains impurities, sulfur is not pure enough, and the charcoal is of varying coarseness. It is acceptable for use in firecrackers and fireworks, but if used in military formations, its power is limited, and its ignition is unstable, often resulting in 'flame leakage' or 'delayed ignition.'"

He then pointed to the two bowls in the middle, which were noticeably darker and shinier, with much more uniform particles: "These two are the result of our 'purification and refining' method as instructed by Your Majesty. We repeatedly dissolved and crystallized them with hot water, greatly increasing the purity of the saltpeter. The sulfur was purified by distillation. The charcoal was made from carefully selected wood, calcined in a sealed environment, and then ground into an extremely fine powder using a stone mill before being sieved and evenly mixed. The most crucial aspect is the proportions and the method of preparation."

Ge Yuan picked up a thin wooden stick and carefully stirred the powder in the bowl in the middle to make it more even: "Through hundreds of trials by your disciples and me, we have discovered that a slight increase in saltpeter and a slight decrease in sulfur, as well as the type and fineness of the charcoal, are all very important. There is another method..."

He pointed to the bowl on the far right, where the powder particles looked slightly moist and were irregularly shaped into small granules. "The purified medicinal powder is mixed with a small amount of rice water or strong liquor, slightly moistened, and then shaken through a specially made copper sieve to form these particles. After being air-dried, the particles have gaps between them, making the combustion more rapid and complete, and the power is incomparable to that of the powder."

Xiao Chen listened carefully, his gaze sweeping over each piece of gunpowder before finally settling on Ge Yuan's face: "How powerful is it?"

Ge Yuan took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with fervor: "Your Majesty, the power has increased several times over! Not only is the explosion more intense and the sound louder, but the ignition is also more reliable! Would Your Majesty be willing to move to the testing ground and see for yourself?"

Everything was ready at the test site.

A hundred paces away, there were three low walls built of a mixture of rammed earth, bricks, and wood, simulating a small fortress.

In front of each wall, there was a pottery jar of similar size, the mouth of which was sealed with wet mud, and a hemp rope soaked in oil was used as a wick.

Ge Yuan pointed to the first earthenware jar: "Your Majesty, this jar contains ordinary gunpowder, in powder form, from the old formula." He then pointed to the second and third jars: "This is refined and purified, the best new formula powder. This is granular gunpowder."

Xiao Chen nodded slightly, indicating that they should begin.

Three carefully selected, bold and meticulous craftsmen stepped forward, lit the fuse with a tinderbox, and then quickly ran away, hiding behind a pre-dug shelter covered with thick wooden planks.

"Sizzle..." Three fire snakes quickly darted toward the earthenware jar.

"boom--!"

The first explosion was muffled, with more smoke than fire. The pottery jar shattered into several pieces, but the force seemed to dissipate more upwards and to the sides. The low wall in front was only partially disturbed by the blast wave, with only a patch of loose soil being lifted up. The wall itself sustained only minor damage.

Immediately afterwards, a second explosion rang out.

"Bang--!!!"

The sound was completely different, sharper, shorter, and louder! The pottery jar instantly shattered into countless fragments, engulfed in the suddenly expanding flames and thick smoke, forming a visible shockwave that slammed hard into the second low wall!

The wall, a mixture of rammed earth and bricks, shook violently, revealing obvious cracks on its surface, causing many pieces to fall off and filling the air with dust.

Before everyone could recover from the second explosion, a third explosion followed!

"BOOM—!!!"

This sound was no longer a simple "explosion," but more like a muffled thunderclap exploding in your ears!

His voice was deep and powerful, carrying a sense of destructive strength.

The flash of the explosion was not instantaneous, but rather appeared to be followed by a very brief and more intense burning process.

The earthenware jar didn't seem to have been blown open; rather, it was completely torn apart and scattered from the inside by a violent force!

The shockwave, carrying countless sharp shards of ceramic and unburned gunpowder particles, shot forward in a fan shape like countless tiny but deadly arrows!

The third low wall was hit first, with a noticeable dent in the rammed earth section, the bricks and stones loosened and cracked, and the wooden reinforcements on the surface torn to pieces. The whole wall looked like it was about to collapse!

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

The scene was silent, with only the acrid smell of the explosion lingering in the air.

Everyone was shocked by the obvious difference in power, especially the power of the third gunpowder pellet, which far exceeded expectations.

Ge Yuan was so excited he almost danced for joy, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty is wise! Particle gunpowder burns faster and more completely, thus doubling its power! Moreover, its particle structure makes it less prone to moisture and caking during handling and loading, resulting in more reliable ignition!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes as he slowly walked towards the three low walls, carefully examining the traces left by the explosion.

He already had a good idea of ​​the extent of the damage to the third wall, in particular.

This is not a simple firecracker; it is a real "bomb" that can be used in actual combat.

"How difficult is it to make this kind of gunpowder? How much does it cost?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, the purification process is complicated and requires meticulous operation, but practice makes perfect. Granulation requires additional steps. However, once the process is fixed and the craftsmen are skilled, the output can be steadily increased. Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal are not rare materials, but the time and effort required for purification are in the charcoal fire. Compared with the huge logs and refined iron consumed by the 'Huihui Cannon,' it consumes less, yet its power can reach far and explode at close range, and its usage is more unpredictable!" Ge Yuan had obviously thought about this issue and answered quickly.

"Okay." Xiao Chen nodded, his gaze drifting to a more distant place where there seemed to be some novel objects.

"The test just now only involved detonating the explosive pack. How is the progress on your idea of ​​'firearms' that you mentioned earlier?"

Ge Yuan's spirits lifted again, and he led Xiao Chen to the other side of the test site.

The objects displayed here are even more peculiar: there are thick bamboo tubes with iron pipes embedded inside and iron hoops on the outside; there are short cast iron guns, crudely made; there are even rockets bundled together, with small medicine packets attached to the arrowheads.

"Your Majesty, please look. This is an instrument that was experimentally produced based on the new gunpowder formula."

Ge Yuan picked up a "large bamboo fire lance" about the thickness of a bowl and about four feet long. "The bamboo tube is lined with an iron pipe and reinforced with iron hoops. There is a flint at the end. Fill it with gunpowder pellets, then compact it with broken porcelain and iron sand. When the flint is lit, it can spray out flames and iron sand. Within ten paces, men and horses will be crushed! However, the bamboo tube is easy to crack and can only be used for testing. We have already tried casting copper and iron tubes, which are more durable."

He then pointed to the cast iron short gun: "This one is even smaller, and a single soldier could carry it, but it is not easy to cast and is prone to bursting. It is still under improvement."

Finally, there were the rockets: "These are the 'Divine Rockets,' propelled by gunpowder, capable of flying a hundred paces. The arrowheads are bound with gunpowder packets, exploding upon contact with anything. However, their accuracy is extremely poor, and the timing of ignition is difficult to control."

Xiao Chen examined it carefully, and even weighed the heavy cast iron short gun in his hand.

These "firearms" were extremely primitive and crude, riddled with problems, but they represented a completely new direction that could potentially change the nature of warfare.

He recalled the might of the "Huihui Cannon," and looking at the "fire-breathing iron pipes" and "flying fire meteors" before him, a vague yet awe-inspiring vision of the future slowly took shape in his mind.

"Ge Yuan."

"Your subject is here!"

"The new gunpowder formula is classified as top secret. Those who know about it are restricted to the core craftsmen of the Dan Ding Academy, and their names must be reported to me. Research and production shall be carried out entirely within this academy, and not a single detail may be leaked. Those who violate this rule will be executed by slow slicing and their entire clan will be exterminated." Xiao Chen's voice was icy cold, devoid of any emotion.

"Your subject... obeys the decree! I will serve with my life and spare no effort to safeguard the secrets!"

"These firearms," ​​Xiao Chen pointed to the bamboo tubes, iron cannons, and rockets, "continue to improve them. The primary issues to address are safety, reliability, range, and accuracy. I'm giving you manpower, resources, and time. Remember, what I want are weapons that can kill enemies, break formations, and terrify the enemy on the battlefield, not toys."

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will do my utmost!"

"The Huihui cannon is the hammer that breaches the city walls."

Xiao Chen took one last look at the primitive "firearms" on the test site, his gaze deep and far-reaching. "And this gunpowder, this future firearm... may become the poison dagger that pierces the enemy lines, the raging flame that burns everything, and the thunder that shakes all directions in my Great Xia army."

He turned around, his dark robe sleeves fluttering in the hot summer breeze.

"Accelerate gunpowder production and prioritize its supply to the central and western armies. Furthermore, select loyal, reliable, and skillful craftsmen to specialize in firearms. I await your next thunderous attack."

Deep within the Dan Ding Academy, the flames and smoke had not yet dissipated.

The initial sparks of a military revolution far more profound and fundamental than the "Huihui Cannon" were carefully ignited in this secluded courtyard.