Chapter 194 Something is wrong with this world (Part 2)
"You all, speak one by one. Alexi, you go first."
"Yes." Alexei glanced at the others and took a step forward. "We have discovered a saltpeter mine. The reserves are very large and the quality is extremely high."
"What!?" Hughes slammed the table and almost jumped up from his chair. Castel's war industry has always been strangled by saltpeter. Whether it is the manufacture of nitroglycerin or smokeless gunpowder, a large amount of saltpeter is indispensable.
But this stuff is not produced on the island. Fortunately, it is not completely impossible to obtain saltpeter. Hughes was forced to build a number of public toilets - feces is also a traditional means of making saltpeter, but the output is still too small.
"Hahaha, this is great. I said it. If there are gypsum mines, how can there be no saltpeter mines? It turns out that I was just unlucky and didn't find it before." Zeus walked to Alexei with excitement on his face and patted him on the back, completely unaware of his strange expression.
Gypsum is often a symbiotic mineral of saltpeter. Since there are migrating birds on the island, saltpeter mines are actually very easy to find. Therefore, Hughes never gave up and planned to send a prospecting team to look for it after the war.
etc!
Hughes's movements suddenly paused.
"I remember that all mineral exploration work was stopped after the war. Did you secretly send someone there yourself?"
"No, sir."
"Then how did you discover the saltpeter mine?"
"..The workers dug it out when they were laying the foundation for the new factory."
“.”
This is possible? So lucky? Hughes blinked.
"Well, it seems like we're lucky. Where did you find it?"
"At the door of the smokeless powder factory."
“.”
Hughes was silent.
After a while, he nodded with a strange look on his face: "That's quite convenient, Chloe. What are you doing here? I heard that you went to look for forbidden information."
"Uh, it has nothing to do with that. I came here because the experiment in the lab was successful."
"Experiments? Which experiments?"
Xius's spirits were lifted. After the war, Xius stopped many experimental projects and focused his efforts on climbing the war-related technology tree.
No matter which part Chloe successfully conquers, it can provide some help to the battle situation.
"The trial production of mercury fulminate primer was successful, the trial production of diatomaceous earth for passivation was successful, the trial production of cartridge stamping process was successful, and the trial production of annealing and tempering process was successful. Then we tried to use the lathe to make a few bullets, and all of them fired normally, exactly as you described before."
Hughes sat in a chair, his eyes widening a little with every word Chloe said, and when she finished speaking, Hughes froze in his chair.
It is actually normal to make these things. Hughes had already provided Chloe with a complete set of processes and plans. Theoretically, they could have been made long ago, but there is often a huge gap between theory and practice.
For example, the best ratio of black powder is 74.84% potassium nitrate, 11.84% sulfur, and 11.32% charcoal. However, if you use this ratio directly to mix it, the effect will probably be very poor.
There is no other reason. All raw materials contain impurities, and in this era people don’t even mention the quality control of raw materials.
If we don't consider these practical issues, the finished products will often have big problems. We need to know what impurities are in the raw materials, find ways to purify or reduce the impact, and then test over and over again to find the actual ratio that can be used. None of these steps can be omitted.
Each type of ammunition uses a different ratio, and the raw materials are randomly mixed and it succeeds at once, and all the reactions occur normally. Such a wonderful thing "By the way, we also built a steam ramming machine, which I designed after modifying the blueprint you gave me. It was successful after a trial run. We now have the ability to mass-produce bullets."
"You designed the machine according to the principle, and you didn't encounter any need for modification, and it worked on the first try?"
"Yes, the first batch of shells have been successfully produced."
Hughes fell silent again.
This... Theoretically it is possible, as long as you are very, very, very lucky. After all, even a monkey has the chance to type out the complete works of Shakespeare. This is a good thing in any case. The correct formula for the bullet has been found, and the rest is just a matter of slight modifications.
Compared to bullets, the design of firearms is much simpler. It is nothing more than a mechanical structure. Zeus has many ready-made designs in his mind that he can copy. With Nini's melted steel at room temperature, it is easy for him to make a hand-cranked Gatling gun.
Moreover, solving the propellant problem also means that all the prerequisite technologies for another weapon of war have been unlocked, that is, artillery.
This is something that can truly change the form of war. From now on, firing squad is just a joke, and the empire's infantry drill manual, which has been invincible in conquering all directions, has completely become toilet paper.
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Such a thing. Just came out like this? Hughes should have been happy, he should have cheered, but he just felt a chill on his back. He understood why the people in the room had strange expressions even though they brought good news.
Everything went weirdly smoothly.
Xius noticed that several people in the room looked at Connor vaguely, and the old butler also looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Yes, I haven't heard his report yet, but he didn't ask Connor to do anything. Hughes swallowed his saliva and looked at Connor with a serious face.
"Connor, I remember that I didn't assign you any extra tasks, right? I just asked you to pack up the things in the manor and bring them over."
"Yes, Master."
Connor obviously hesitated for a moment, and the old butler, who had always been calm and composed, now looked surprised.
"When I was cleaning the manor, I accidentally discovered a hidden darkroom"
Is this possible? He has lived in the manor for so long and never found the darkroom, but now he has found it?
"What's inside?" Zeus took a deep breath. He would not be surprised even if Connor said at this time that he had found the treasure left by the Pirate King.
"Sir, our second phase of conscription has been completed. We now have a total of 112 soldiers, two of whom were extra recruits due to statistical errors." Alexei suddenly interrupted and did not explain any more. Zeus looked at him in confusion.
Connor paused for a moment, quietly waiting for Alexei to finish speaking, and then continued, "I found a batch of steam rifles in the darkroom. They were all wrapped in oil paper, well maintained, and came with a full set of equipment." He paused, his voice trembling a little, "I counted them. There are a total of 112 sets."
The documents in Hughes' hands fell, he staggered a few steps, and fell into the armchair.
(End of this chapter)