xymnovel Chapter 145 Greek Fire and Soap
Chapter 145 Greek Fire and Soap
Chapter 145 Greek Fire and Soap (Part 1)
Early February, 1183 (Julian calendar), shipbuilding workshops in Jaffa port.
This workshop, located next to the royal shipyard, was originally a warehouse storing sails and timber, but has now been temporarily requisitioned by Lyon as a workshop for "special projects".
On the table in the workshop was the Greek fire sketch given to him by Alexius, which depicted a bronze pump body, piston rod, one-way valve, heating copper pipe, and most importantly, the nozzle.
Lyon had been standing in front of the map for an hour, while Jacob sat listlessly on a pile of old ropes at the workshop entrance, peeling an apple with his small knife, the peel hanging down to the ground.
"Lyon," Accord finally couldn't help but speak up, "you've already seen through the map. How about we go find something to eat? I heard there's a Cypriot-run restaurant in the port that serves roast lamb with mint yogurt and amazing Cypriot wine—"
"Shh." Leon didn't look up, his fingers lightly tapping the jet propulsion device section of the sketch. "Uncle, tell me, why did the Romans insist on putting this thing on the bow of their ships?"
Accord took a bite of his apple and mumbled, "Because the bow of the ship is facing the enemy?"
"But the bow can only face one direction," Lyon pondered. "Naval warfare isn't like land warfare, where ships charge in formation. Ships maneuver, outflank, and seize the windward position—by the time you finally manage to align your bow with the enemy ship, they may have already dodged away, or worse, they may have even gotten close to your side, ready to board."
He recalled the broadside guns of modern warships in history, so he got up and walked to a rough wooden table in the center of the workshop, on which was spread a side outline of a ship.
This is a sketch of a round ship drawn by workers at the shipyard, commissioned by Lyon. The ship has a rounded hull, a single gun, and a towering sterncastle.
Since the Kingdom of Jerusalem's main naval force was the Armed Guard, this type of round ship, which was suitable for the guards to command from a high position, became the kingdom's best choice.
"Look here." Leon's finger traced a spot near the waterline. "If we make two or three firing ports on each side of the ship, and install a miniature Greek fire-breathing device behind each port—"
"Then our ship will be set on fire first." A gruff voice came from the doorway.
Lyon and Jacob looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zahir, dressed in a practical leather jacket with his precious scimitar at his waist, leaning against the door frame and looking at Lyon.
"Zahir!" Leon's eyes lit up. "Perfect timing. Why did you say it would burn down?"
Zahir strode into the workshop with an air of indifference, ignoring the half-eaten apple that Jacob offered him. Jacob could only reluctantly take it back and stuff it into his mouth.
He bent down to examine the sketch, his rough fingers tracing the lines of the hull.
“First of all, Your Highness, the hull is curved.” Zahir gestured with his fingertip on the diagram. “The firing ports you mentioned should be above the waterline, but not too high, otherwise the flames won’t travel far. This position is exactly where the hull is most frequently battered by waves. If a wave comes, seawater will flood the firing ports, rendering your Greek fire equipment useless, not to mention the possibility of it flooding into the cabin.”
Leon frowned: "We can install a waterproof cover that can be opened when firing."
"Secondly," Zahir continued, "the flame jet requires pressure. The pump in your drawing requires at least two strong men to crank the lever with all their might. On a rocking deck, especially in the context of naval combat, people can barely stand, so how can you guarantee continuous pressure? Moreover, this set of copper pipes needs to be heated and insulated, otherwise the thickened naphtha won't be able to spray out."
"Put the heated copper pipes in the cabin of the wooden boat—" Zahir mocked slyly. "My wise and mighty prince, do you want to build a warship or a pile of firewood floating on the sea?"
That's definitely true.
Lyon felt a wave of frustration, but fortunately he had Zahir by his side, an expert, so that he, an outsider, would never be able to discover the real problems through mere theoretical discussions.
Accord chewed on an apple, vaguely trying to smooth things over: "Zahir is right—Lyon, let's not think about it for now. How about we go eat some mutton and rest?"
My uncle has become increasingly lazy since becoming the acting leader, just like his revenge-driven all-nighters in his past life.
Lyon ignored him and stared at the sketch in deep thought.
Suddenly, he looked up: "What if we don't put it in the cabin?"
Zahir's scarred eyes narrowed slightly: "Hmm?"
"Enclose the entire device—pump, heating tank, fuel tank—in a single metal box," Leon said, quickening his pace as he rapidly added details to the sketch with a charcoal pencil. "Cover the box with fire-resistant plaster, hang it on the outside of the ship's hull, and secure it with an iron frame. The operator stands behind the deck railing and remotely controls the direction of the pump and nozzles via linkages and transmission cables. This way, the flames burn outside the ship, isolating the risk. The waves will only crash against the sealed metal box, not the ship itself."
Zahir was silent for a moment, then walked to the wall, measured the pump body dimensions on the Greek fire map with his fingers, and looked back at the ship diagram on the table.
"The box will be very heavy," he finally said. "Hanging it on one side of the ship could cause the hull to tilt, affecting navigation. And—the transmission cable is prone to jamming in seawater and fire."
"Then let's install it symmetrically on both sides to balance the weight," Lyon immediately responded. "The transmission system will use bronze components, with protective covers for critical parts. Zahir, I know this is a bit—far-fetched, but do you think it's feasible?"
Zahir stared at the sketch for a long time, then slowly nodded: "It's better than sending it to its death in the cabin. We can try a smaller model."
He paused, then said, "But Your Highness, even if this thing works, what about its range? With a tailwind, Greek fire is only a dozen paces away, and with a headwind, it might burn you. Spraying fire from the broadside will at most burn enemies attempting to board."
"If Greek fire were really that effective, the Romans wouldn't have been so thoroughly defeated by Venice," Zahir mocked blatantly. Sensing Lyon's embarrassed look, he quickly added, "So, to sink enemy ships, we need more distant means."
"This is the second thing." Lyon walked to the other end of the table, where several earthenware jars were placed.
The table was covered with common double-eared earthenware jars, about the size of a human head, with the mouths sealed with corks.
Accord leaned closer and curiously poked the jar: "Isn't this for olive oil?"
"It's filled with sand right now, for testing purposes." Lyon picked up a canister. "Zahir, you're right, the jet device is a close-range weapon. We also need a canister that can be thrown onto enemy ships. The Romans used to throw it by hand, or with small catapults. But hand-throwing is too short-range, catapults are too inaccurate, and reloading is too slow."
He put down the canister and gestured with his hands: "I envision a special launcher, placed in the center of the deck, that can rotate. The launcher has a long launch arm that uses a lever principle to throw the canister. The launch angle can be adjusted to control the range, and most importantly, the loading must be fast, ideally enabling continuous firing."
Zahir crossed his arms: "Like a siege catapult? But that requires a lot of manpower to pull it, and it can only fire a few times in half an hour."
Not entirely.
"We won't use gravity counterweights, we'll use torque," Lyon said.
"