Chapter 159: The Birth of Artillery

Yanguan.

Mo Di stared at Kutu and the other two with an expressionless face.

After receiving the news of Kutu's arrival, he was very calm, because he was certain the Imperial Court would yield.

The current Da Song is precarious, with strong enemies on all sides constantly nibbling away at Da Song territory, while the Royal Imperial Guard is unable to defend against them.

In the Northwest and Southwest, they must even rely on the Shizu Army to hold them off.

And this has only made the Shizu Army grow increasingly powerful.

Therefore, he was very clear that the Emperor could not possibly trigger a war with the Northern Di for the sake of Kutu and his two companions.

"You may return to the Grassland," Mo Di said.

The city gates had already been opened, and the land outside once belonged to the Ningjin Dusi.

But now, it belongs to the Northern Di.

"Hahaha..." Charha and Tamu laughed wantonly.

Kutu did not laugh; even if he returned to the Grassland, he would still be a disgrace to the Grassland.

This sudden sense of humiliation made his hatred for Yan Wang reach his very marrow.

Yes, even if he were mocked, he still had to go back.

Even if he only served as a Langlu upon returning, it would suffice.

He wanted to return to Yan Commandery once more and end Yan Wang's life with his own hands.

Passing through the city gate.

He strode toward the Cavalry that had come to meet him.

Mounting his horse, he looked back at Yanguan once, then spurred his horse toward the army.

Not long after Kutu left, the Northern Di army began to move.

They headed slowly toward the North, disappearing into the skyline as if they had never appeared at all.

"Finally gone," Xiao Yuanshan laughed loudly.

Mo Di gave a cold snort, "Do you not feel any shame?"

Upon hearing this, the veins on Xiao Yuanshan's neck instantly bulged; he looked at Mo Di with venomous eyes and said angrily, "Mo Di, today you are the Main General of Yanguan, so I accept these words, but you cannot be the Main General of Yanguan forever."

Having said this, he turned and left.

Behind him was the Xiao Family; in the Imperial Court, the Xiao Family and the Dou Family were united, and had always been trying to have him replace Mo Di as the Main General of Yanguan.

Therefore, he did not fear Mo Di.

Mo Di ignored Xiao Yuanshan; he looked toward the North again, his eyes filled with a trace of worry.

He had an ominous premonition that the time for the Northern Di to head south was drawing ever closer.

If Yanguan were to fall, who would be able to turn the tide?

He turned his head toward the West.

In Yanzhou, the Yuan Family could not be counted on; only Yan Wang might be able to fight the Northern Di.

He knew that Yan Wang had nowhere to flee and no way to retreat; if he lost his fief, he would be on a path to certain death, with only a desperate fight remaining.

This was also the reason he sent Mo Yu to serve under Yan Wang.

Yan Wang was like a spark of fire; although dim and weak, he burned with persistence.

"This is the method for manufacturing Artillery?"

In the Prince's study, Wang Ying held the blueprints as if they were a treasure.

On the blueprints was the complete process for manufacturing Artillery.

Yan Wang had always liked to show him craftsmanship through drawings.

This was not only intuitive but also easier to understand.

"You go back and prepare now; come tell this Prince once everything is ready," Zhao Xu said.

Artillery production was just one final step away.

Now, he was just as full of anticipation as Wang Ying.

The anger of the generals yesterday had made him feel the same.

Although he had tried to console them, he was still unhappy in his heart.

After all, having been in this world for so long, he had gradually integrated into it.

The hatred for the country and the grudges of his house were no less than theirs.

Moreover, for him, he was also facing a substantial threat to his survival.

Looking around, he was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

He had no way out; he could only constantly make himself stronger.

"Yes, Your Highness," Wang Ying went off happily.

The next morning.

Wang Ying came to the Prince's residence again; the Armory Bureau was now ready.

He washed and dressed under the service of Feng'er and Luan'er.

After a simple meal, he set off for the Armory Bureau.

At the Armory Bureau, Zhao Xu saw that the craftsmen had already set up the iron molds.

There were a total of nine complete iron molds.

And in the Blast Furnace area for smelting iron, the craftsmen were exceptionally busy.

In the past two days, the Armory Bureau had purchased a large amount of Iron Ore.

It is prepared for this day.

The steel required for one piece of Artillery is enough to manufacture one hundred sets of Plate Armor.

"Your Highness, these are rice husks ground into powder, these are fine Sha that have been washed, and these are coal dust."

In front of the iron mold, Wang Ying pointed at the items in the wooden crate; he had prepared all of this according to the text on the diagrams.

Before pouring, they need to be used.

Zhao Xu leaned over and grabbed a handful of rice husk powder.

These fragments were ground very fine, almost to the state of dust.

He then looked at the Sha.

This Sha had been sifted once, the coarseness was roughly the same, and the carbon powder was the same.

"Let the craftsmen brush it on," Zhao Xu said; he was very satisfied.

These things must all be brushed inside the artillery mold, so uniformity is required.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying gave the order to the craftsmen.

At this time, the craftsmen mixed the rice husk powder with lard and brushed the first layer.

The second layer was fine Sha; this was to prevent the artillery body and the iron mold from sticking together.

For the third layer, the craftsmen brushed on carbon powder, the purpose of which was for carburization.

After pouring the molten steel, a portion of this carbon would melt into the molten steel, causing the carbon content of the outer layer of the molten steel to rise.

As everyone knows, steel is actually iron with a carbon content within a certain range.

The higher its carbon content, the harder it is.

In this way, the artillery achieves an exterior that is hard and an interior that is soft.

The purpose of a soft interior is to allow the artillery to better withstand the explosion of the Gunpowder.

Because if it is too hard, it is prone to bursting the barrel.

The hard exterior is to ensure the artillery does not deform; otherwise, the artillery would be like a balloon, expanding at the tail during the explosion.

In the contemporary Ming Dynasty, there is a type of copper-core iron-body artillery that utilizes this principle.

However, this type of artillery is more troublesome to build and is far less suitable for mass production than Iron Mold Casting.

After the craftsmen finished brushing, Wang Ying went to check it carefully and had the craftsmen fix some flaws.

He was exceptionally strict when it came to production.

Afterward, Wang Ying had the craftsmen put the iron molds together and fasten them with iron hoops to form a cylinder.

He also ordered the craftsmen to light a fire to heat the iron mold; this was to prevent the outer layer from cooling too quickly when pouring the molten steel, which would affect the carburization.

Once all these preparations were completed, Wang Ying ordered the craftsmen to bring the mud core and insert it into the iron mold.

The thickness of the mud core is the width of the artillery muzzle.

After the casting is complete, one only needs to break the mud core to remove it.

"Pour the molten steel." Everything was ready, and Zhao Xu nodded at Wang Ying.

Wang Ying immediately shouted, his voice even cracking slightly.

He was excited; creating such a sharp weapon, it is not impossible to leave his name in history.

The craftsmen received the order, split into left and right sides to carry the Crucible up to the earthen platform; the left side poured the molten steel slowly and then withdrew, and the right side began to pour.

Another craftsman on the left climbed up, and once the right side finished pouring, he would pour, thus maintaining continuity.

The rolling molten steel flowed down, and at this moment, the air seemed to become scorching hot.

The craftsmen carrying the molten steel were drenched in sweat.

When the molten steel was level with the artillery muzzle, Wang Ying called for the craftsmen to stop pouring.

Next was to wait for the artillery to cool naturally.

Carburization has a process; artificially accelerating the cooling would make the carburization insufficient, affecting the quality of the artillery.

Not until evening did the artillery cool down completely, and Zhao Xu immediately had people dismantle the mold.

Smashing the iron hoops, the craftsmen removed the iron mold, chiseled away the mud core, and cleaned the artillery bore; a true piece of Artillery was born.

This piece of Artillery is not the Firearm used by the Northern Di and the Great Song; its power will definitely make his enemies feel great.