The Ming Dynasty 1626 Enlightenment

Chapter 26 Apocalypse Grenade

A loud explosion suddenly rang out in the distance, rattling the windows of the workshop.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

Bi Maokang instinctively stood in front of Zhu Ming, and the guards quickly came over and surrounded him.

A few wisps of dust fell from the roof, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Then, an incredibly irritating voice came from that direction, hoarse yet filled with wild joy, and ecstatic yet smug.

"It's done! It's done! You, Grandpa Sun, have finally succeeded!"

"It's done! It's done! You, Grandpa Sun, have finally succeeded!"

......

Bi Maokang's face darkened: This Sun Dapao... is he courting death by making such a commotion at this critical moment?

"His Majesty……"

Zhu Ming waved his hand, signaling Bi Maokang to be quiet, then had the guards around him make way and quickly walked out of the workshop.

Bi Maokang followed closely behind, his mind filled with the thought of Sun Yuanhua, that big-shot idiot, spouting nonsense indiscriminately. He could only risk the consequences of his actions to remind Zhu Ming.

"Your Majesty, it's dangerous over there..."

"Stop talking nonsense and keep up."

Bi Maokang had no choice but to lift the hem of his robe and jog after him.

The gunpowder testing ground was located on the east side of the secret research institute, covering an area of ​​more than ten acres. It was surrounded by thick rammed earth walls, and the top of the walls was covered with spiked fragments to prevent thieves from breaking in.

At this moment, in the center of the test site, a large pit was billowing black smoke, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur and nitrates.

A dark-skinned person was standing by the pit.

From head to toe, from his official robes to his beard, everything was stained the color of a soot pot. His hair was styled into an afro, and his two clear yet excited eyes were darting around.

The man, however, was completely oblivious, gesturing wildly and shouting incessantly:

"One part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, three parts charcoal, add a little sugar, and you've got it! It's done! I've done it, Cannon Master!"

Zhu Ming walked up and almost didn't recognize him.

"Sun Yuanhua?"

Sun Yuanhua looked up abruptly and saw that it was the Emperor. Far from panicking, he rushed over, revealing a set of white teeth, and said, "Your Majesty! Great joy! A momentous occasion!"

"Using the formula Your Majesty provided, I added nitrated sugar to black powder and experimented repeatedly for two months. Today, I have finally successfully formulated a new gunpowder! Its power is several times greater than that of traditional black powder!"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, gesturing with his hands: "Your Majesty, look at this huge crater! This blast is at least three feet deep! If it had been loaded into a cannonball, one shot would have collapsed half of the Jurchen city wall!"

Zhu Ming looked down at the pit, then at the disheveled man in front of him, and his lips twitched slightly.

After all, the saying "one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, three parts charcoal, add a little sugar and you have the Tsar Bomba" is no exaggeration; at present, it has at least one-tenth the power of TNT.

However, it is still a long way from the real "Tsar Bomba," but in this era, it is enough to make any opponent question their life and whether they were born in the wrong era.

"Very good." Zhu Ming nodded in satisfaction. "I will record this merit for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Sun Yuanhua bowed and expressed his gratitude, his face beaming with pride.

He paused, then suddenly remembered something, and a smile appeared on his lips again. "Um, Your Majesty..."

"Speak up!" Zhu Ming's heart skipped a beat. What was this guy up to? Did he still want to go north to Liaodong to bomb the Jurchens?

It is said that after Sun Yuanhua was summoned back to the capital last year, he had been experimenting with explosives and shells and was having a great time.

But the thought of using the entire target as a bomb was not a good idea, so he kept thinking of using the Jurchen cavalry to test the results of the explosives.

In addition, there were constant impeachments in the court against him for wasting national treasury funds on daily artillery and military exercises, and for constantly disturbing the people.

This further fueled his desire to return to Liaodong, and he submitted several memorials requesting that he take his artillery shells to the battlefield for testing!

Damn! Zhu Ming knew how important this talent was, and he couldn't let him just run away with the bucket.

Therefore, they kept increasing his research workload and giving him guidance on research directions.

However, people in ancient times were only limited by their perspective; their creativity was no less than that of modern scientific researchers, and in some ways even surpassed it!

Zhu Ming casually offered a suggestion: "One part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, three parts charcoal, add a little sugar, and you're good to go, Ivan."

Sun Yuanhua upgraded traditional gunpowder in just two months!

Of course, after upgrading, you need to find monsters to test it out, and the Jurchens of Liaodong are the best monsters!

Therefore, Zhu Ming was afraid that he would bring up the matter of sending him to Liaodong again!

Not approving it is problematic, but approving it is also problematic.

"Your Majesty, I've used up the thousand catties of white sugar you gave me last time!" Sun Yuanhua said, stroking his frizzy, blown-out hair. "Could you approve a few thousand taels of silver for me?"

"?" Zhu Ming breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for the mention of the reward for returning to Liaodong, they would still be good ruler and his subjects.

However, a lot of coarse sugar was used to refine that thousand catties of white sugar.

Fortunately, when Wang Tiqian returned from his second trip to Southeast Asia, he brought back 50,000 jin of nitrated sugar. Now that he had figured out the correct ratio of nitrated sugar and gunpowder, it was not impossible to make hand grenades.

After all, the power of black powder was not enough before, so making hand grenades was a waste of gunpowder.

Things are different now. With a more powerful gunpowder formula, let him research the production of hand grenades, and at the same time suppress his desire to run away.

Zhu Ming breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it best not to mention Liaodong.

"I have ordered the Ministry of Works to allocate you 20,000 catties."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Don't thank me yet," Zhu Ming waved his hand, "I have something new I need you to make."

He asked someone to bring him paper and pen, and began to draw by the light of the lamp.

Bi Maokang and Sun Yuanhua went over and were both stunned.

The paper showed a stick-like object, resembling both a ceramic jar and an iron kettle, with a string attached to it.

The surrounding area was densely labeled with dimensions, weight, proportions, and internal structure: medicine chamber, iron shot, fuse...

"Your Majesty, this is..." Bi Maokang squinted.

Twenty thousand catties of white sugar, just for developing this stuff? Bi Maokang didn't quite understand, but the more he looked, the more alarmed he became!

"This is called a hand grenade... the Apocalypse Hand Grenade!" Zhu Ming pointed to the design with his finger, his tone casual. "A clay pot or an iron shell will do. Fill it with new gunpowder, mix in some iron filings and broken porcelain shards. Add a handle, light the fuse when you need it, and throw it. Can you make one?"

“…”, Bi Maokang opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything.

Sun Yuanhua's eyes grew brighter and brighter, shining like two heart-shaped stars.

"Your Majesty means..." his voice trembled with excitement, "to have the soldiers throw it by hand?"

"Yes. It can be used in sieges, defenses, street fighting, and even cavalry charges," Zhu Ming said, then added, "Of course, the premise is not to blow up your own people. So the length of the fuse and the burning speed of the gunpowder need to be tested repeatedly."

Bi Maokang finally came to his senses.

He stared at the drawing, his mind racing. The pottery jar was fragile, the iron shell was expensive, the fuse needed to be moisture-proof, and storage and transportation... one thing after another surged into his mind like a tide.

But he only said one sentence: "Your Majesty, this... can be done."

"It can be done." Sun Yuanhua nodded emphatically, his eyes burning with determination. "I will begin testing the gunpowder specifically for hand grenades tonight!..."

"Alright, alright," Zhu Ming waved his hand with a smile, "I know you two are in a hurry. But it's getting late, go back and eat something and wash your faces first. Sun Yuanhua, wash the ash off your face first, it's making me choke just looking at you."

Sun Yuanhua was taken aback, subconsciously touched his face, brushed off a handful of black ash, and smiled sheepishly.

Bi Maokang also smiled.

The evening breeze wafted through the workshop windows, carrying the scents of rust, sulfur, and caramel, and stirred the still-wet ink on the drawing on the table.

That night, at Kunning Palace.

Zhu Ming lay on Zhang Yan's lap, clutching several red and green bills in his hand.

My mind was filled with images of grenades and flying cannons from research institutes, textile bureaus, and ordnance bureaus. How wonderful it would be if we could build a super cannon with a range of 200 miles right now.

"Now that we have the powerful cannons to defend the city, and the three major battalions have achieved initial success, it's time to send ships to Southeast Asia..."

"Your Majesty, please rest well," Zhang Yan said gently, rubbing his temples. "Don't think too much."

"My dear sister, I have no choice but to think about it," Zhu Ming said after a moment of silence, then sighed.

Zhang Yan looked at his tired face, opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

Her gaze fell on the bills in his hand, and she suddenly paused, startled: "This is...?"

"New Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes," Zhu Ming said, handing over the notes. "They were just delivered by the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes Bureau."

Zhang Yan took it and examined it closely by candlelight. A new Ming Dynasty banknote showed different shades of color under the light.

"This is... a portrait of the founding emperor, it's so exquisite!"