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

Xishan, deep underground at the Great Xia Academy of Sciences.

There were no windows here, the air was stuffy and hot, filled with a pungent smell of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal.

Inside the enormous stone laboratory, dozens of whale oil lamps illuminated the room, and the walls were densely covered with test tubes of various sizes, balances, mortars, and finely graduated measuring instruments made of brass.

This is the most dangerous restricted area of ​​the Academy of Sciences—the Department of Explosives.

Zhao Tie, the former minor official in the Ordnance Department and now the chief firearms engineer at the Academy of Sciences, was lying face down in front of a long stone table, covered in oil stains.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the pile of dark, unevenly sized powder on the table—this was the standard gunpowder currently used by the Great Xia Army, produced by the Beijing Garrison Gunpowder Bureau.

"It still doesn't work..."

Zhao Tie muttered to himself, picked up a glass tube, scooped up a spoonful of powder, and examined it carefully under the light. "The particles are of varying sizes, there are too many impurities, and the combustion rate is uncontrollable... This is why our artillery has a short range, poor accuracy, and a high rate of barrel explosion!"

Behind him stood two blond, blue-eyed Westerners—Father Michele Ruggieri's assistants, Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Ferdinand Verbiest.

Although the two young missionaries had reservations about Xiao Chen's order to prohibit missionary work, they were overjoyed at the opportunity to access such a large and professional laboratory and to "study the natural mysteries of God's creation."

"Respected Master Zhao," Johann Adam Schall von Bell said in heavily accented Mandarin, holding a handwritten notebook, "Based on what we learned in Europe, the key to gunpowder lies in the purity of the saltpeter and the proportion of the mixture. Your saltpeter contains too many impurities."

Ferdinand Verbiest pointed to several different powder samples on the table and added, "Furthermore, the size and shape of the particles determine the surface area of ​​combustion. European granular gunpowder, through a special process, makes the gunpowder granulated and standardized, and its power far exceeds that of powdered gunpowder."

Zhao Tie abruptly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot but flashing with a terrifying glint: "Particle-like? Are you sure?"

"Yes! We use alcohol and elm bark glue to bind the powder together, then granulate and dry it..." Johann Adam Schall von Bell gestured.

"Talk is cheap!"

Zhao Tie slammed his fist on the table, his voice booming, "Make it for me! Plenty of ingredients! If you can't, you two foreign devils can prepare to be fed to rats in prison!"

The two Western missionaries were startled, but quickly threw themselves back into their work.

They knew that although Master Zhao was rough, he possessed amazing hands-on skills and an intuition for machinery.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the laboratory, Xu Guangqi, a scholar from Shanghai, was arguing heatedly with Feng Laosan, an old craftsman from Jiangnan with white hair and beard, known as the "King of Saltpeter."

"Mr. Xu, I understand the logic!"

Old Feng held a handful of freshly refined white crystals in his hand, trembling with excitement. "But this 'purification' method is too troublesome! We used to boil them in water and absorb them with charcoal. Although they weren't pure, they were fast! You're adding butter for saponification and then crystallizing them with liquor. With all these steps, how much time will that waste?"

Xu Guangqi patiently explained, "Old Feng, it's because the gunpowder used to be impure, containing sulfur and sand, that it didn't burn completely, leaving a lot of residue. Not only was it weak, but it was also prone to exploding! His Majesty wants cannons that can penetrate iron armor, not fireworks! We must increase the purity of the saltpeter to over 95%!"

"Ninety-five percent..." Old Feng clicked his tongue in amazement. "How much manpower and resources would that have taken?"

"His Majesty said, at any cost!"

Zhao Tie's booming voice came from over there, "As long as you can make good gunpowder, I'll pay you even if you have to hollow out this entire Western Hills!"

Just then, the heavy iron door of the laboratory was pushed open.

Xiao Chen, dressed casually, entered accompanied by Mo Qi and Han Lie.

He ignored the pungent smell and walked straight up to Zhao Tie.

"How is it?" Xiao Chen asked, his gaze sweeping over the several powders on the table that were completely different in color and texture.

Zhao Tie immediately reported, "Your Majesty, we have made progress! These two foreign missionaries have brought us the Western method of 'granulation.' Old Master Feng and Mr. Xu have also basically solved the problem of purifying saltpeter. However…"

Zhao Tie's expression was grave: "However, the adhesive used for granulation in the West is wine lees and elm bark glue, which is expensive and easily spoils when exposed to moisture. We in Great Xia cannot find a suitable substitute."

Xiao Chen picked up a small pinch of Western granulated gunpowder and examined it in his palm.

It consisted of uniform, millet-sized black granules that felt dry and hard to the touch.

The powder produced by Daxia itself, on the other hand, was moist, fine, and contained a lot of impurities.

"Adhesive..."

Xiao Chen pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Zhao Tie, why do those old gunpowder stored in our armory so easily get damp and harden?"

"Your Majesty, it's mainly because of the high sulfur content and the extremely fine particles, which make them highly hygroscopic," Zhao Tie replied without hesitation.

"wrong."

Xiao Chen shook his head. "I remember when I was a child in the palace, I saw a palace maid use something to prevent moisture. That thing was sticky and extremely dry."

He raised his head and looked at Xu Guangqi: "Xu Qing, do you know of anything called 'peach gum'? Or... powder made from the root of 'Acorus calamus'?"

Xu Guangqi was taken aback, then his eyes blazed with astonishing light: "Your Majesty is wise! Peach gum! There are many peach trees in the Jiangnan region. Extracting their resin, drying it, and grinding it into powder gives it both stickiness and the ability to absorb moisture! Moreover, it's non-toxic, odorless, and leaves almost no residue after burning!"

"besides!"

Zhao Tie also realized, "We produce a lot of sorghum in the north. Wouldn't it be better to extract the starch from the lees left over from sorghum liquor? It's low-cost and readily available!"

"try!"

Xiao Chen made the final decision: "Both plans will be implemented simultaneously! Zhao Tie, you will be in charge of overall coordination. Mo Qi, transfer personnel from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to seal off the entire West Mountain. No one is allowed to approach within a hundred paces of this place without permission! Violators will be killed!"

"As you command!"

For the next two weeks, the entire Department of Explosives operated at breakneck speed.

Feng Laosan led a group of veteran craftsmen to establish a massive saltpeter purification production line. Using "alkali desulfurization" and "recrystallization" technologies, they purified saltpeter, which originally had a purity of less than 70%, to 98%!

Xu Guangqi, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and Ferdinand Verbiest worked day and night to improve the granulation process.

They tried countless ratios and finally determined the best solution: 75% high-purity saltpeter, 10% sulfur, 15% willow charcoal, and then used peach gum aqueous solution or sorghum lees extract as a binder. After mixing evenly, the mixture was extruded into granules through a specially made copper sieve and finally slowly dried at a low temperature.

The first batch of test samples has been produced.

It was a cold morning, and the open-air testing ground of the Academy of Sciences was completely silent.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the three wooden targets placed in the center of the field.

The first target, fifty paces away, was used to test the power; the second target, one hundred paces away, was used to test the range; and the third was a piece of iron armor half an inch thick, used to test the penetration power.

Han Lie personally operated the cannon. He first loaded an old-fashioned powder gunpowder round.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, the cannonball shot out, trailing black smoke, and flew off at an angle, hitting a wooden target fifty paces away and shattering it, but its power was limited.

Next, they switched to newly developed granulated gunpowder.

Han Lie carefully filled the container, while Zhao Tie watched nervously from the side.

Even Xiao Chen put down his binoculars and focused his gaze.

"put!"

"boom--!!!"

This time, the explosion was completely different! The sound was crisp and powerful, like a thunderclap from a clear sky! The cannon had almost no recoil, and a jet-black iron ball shot out like a meteor!

"call out--"

Visibly, the bullet sliced ​​through the air, moving at an astonishing speed for fifty paces, a hundred paces... and finally, it crashed hard into the armored target three hundred paces away!

"Clang!"

With a deafening roar, the half-inch-thick iron armor was pierced through! Around the bullet hole, wood shattered, and fragments flew everywhere!

The entire room fell silent.

Moments later, the cheers that erupted almost lifted the roof off!

"Hit! Three hundred paces! Armor pierced!"

"My God! This power..."

"We did it! We did it!"

Zhao Tie was so excited that he hugged Tang Ruowang tightly. The two people, who could not speak the same language, embraced and jumped wildly.

With tears welling up in his eyes, Xu Guangqi knelt down deeply in Xiao Chen's direction.

Xiao Chen put down the binoculars, and a long-lost, genuine smile appeared on his face.

He walked up to the still-smoking cannon and touched its barrel—this time, it didn't explode, and there wasn't even any obvious overheating.

"How much has the power increased?" Xiao Chen asked.

Zhao Tie rushed to the measuring board, comparing the data, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty! Conservatively speaking, for the same weight, the range has increased by at least two times! The penetration power... has increased by more than three times! Moreover, the combustion rate is more stable, and the barrel life can also be extended!"

Xiao Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the scientists who were visibly excited.

"This is just the beginning."

Xiao Chen's voice was calm yet powerful: "From today onwards, all armies of the Great Xia will be equipped with new gunpowder. All old gunpowder will be destroyed."

"Zhao Tie, I'm giving you three months. I want to see the first batch of 'Thunderbolt Cannons' and 'General Cannons' equipped with the new gunpowder roll off the production line!"

"Xu Qing, you and the two priests, immediately begin compiling 'A New Compilation of Gunpowder Science,' standardize this method, and promote it nationwide!"

"Mo Qi, dispatch the most elite 'firearms unit' of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to train them specifically in the use of these new weapons. I want them to become the first 'modernized infantry' of Great Xia!"

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

At the summit of Xishan Mountain, a new wave of machine roars is more awe-inspiring than ever before.

The secret of gunpowder has finally been revealed. And this is merely the first thunderclap of a massive explosion in the Empire's military technology.