Artillery Demonstration

"Honorable Count Paul Greiman, we are deeply sorry for your father's death. We had no choice but to fight that battle at the time..."

"Franklin Harbor will continue to exist as your territory, but if you could grant it to us as a place to live, we would gladly offer you our loyalty..."

"Each quarter, we will offer you half of the goods we collect. We guarantee that the money you receive will far exceed the taxes you used to collect..."

This was a letter sent by the Shark Gang, which had occupied Franklin Harbor. Paul had someone read it aloud to everyone at the meeting.

After the letter was read, everyone in the hall was so exasperated that they laughed. These pirates were truly delusional, actually dreaming of carving out their own territory—especially when the Alarda Army held an overwhelming advantage.

Paul took the letter and tore it to pieces. "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Putting aside the fact that the defeated pirates had no right to challenge him, Paul could never let them off simply because of the blood feud over his father's murder. Otherwise, how could he ever show his face again?

"My lord, two fully equipped Infantry Battalions have completed their training. Please order us to march and retake Franklin Harbor, then wipe out these pirates completely." Bryce voiced the wish of most of the officers.

But the count did not agree. "There's no rush. They're already locusts in autumn and won't be able to jump around for much longer. Let's test the newly developed firearm first. If it works well, our army will be even more powerful. These clueless pirates will make perfect targets for its first trial."

Everyone was extremely curious. Muskets and Hand Grenades had already opened their eyes, and they wondered what novel invention this young count had come up with now.

The count was in high spirits. After working day and night, the paper workshop built near the lord's castle had finally produced usable paper and developed a viable manufacturing process. Chief Steward Ford had taken the first batch of paper to promote throughout the Northwest Bay region, finally opening up a few sales channels.

The nobles and merchants discovered that this New Type Paper was indeed both good and cheap. For just a few coins, they could buy a large stack and use it for writing, drawing, correspondence, and bookkeeping without feeling the slightest pinch. It was far more useful than those absurdly expensive sheets of parchment.

Another major buyer of paper was the monasteries scattered across the various regions. Monasteries in this era also fulfilled some educational functions, so naturally they had a great demand for paper.

The paper being produced was still relatively rough and fragile. Paul ordered the workshop artisans to continue improving the papermaking process and set different prices according to quality, meeting the needs of customers from different social classes.

Once the sales channels opened, the money followed. Although they were currently selling only in the Northwest Bay area and the profits were still small, the prospects were bright.

Of course, just as it had happened on Earth, papermaking would eventually undermine the nobility and the Church's monopoly over cultural knowledge, benefiting the people at the bottom. I suppose I'm helping push the wheels of history along. He felt a little smug inside.

In the forest camp that had previously been used to train recruits, the temporary tents and low fences had disappeared. In their place stood rows of brick-and-stone buildings and brick walls taller than a person. The site had been transformed into what the count called a "military base."

The Internal Guard Unit in Lakeheart Town had also been expanded. It now filled an entire company, with two platoons of Inner Guard Soldiers stationed there. Outside the walls, soldiers leading wolfhounds patrolled the surroundings day and night without pause.

In an open area near the base, Malo, Herman, Kelly, and the others responsible for weapons research were tinkering with an object while soldiers maintained tight security all around them.

If someone from Earth had been standing nearby, they would have recognized the object as an early-nineteenth-century-style bronze muzzle-loading cannon.

Paul had simplified the cannon's overall design based on the "transmigrator's cheat" he had seen online in his previous life—the Napoleon Cannon. The structure supporting the barrel was very simple, consisting of four main parts: the wheels, the axle, the rear carriage, and the elevation mechanism. The elevation mechanism consisted of a screw connected to the rear carriage and an adjustment handle. Turning the handle raised or lowered the muzzle.

The voices of the count and a group of officers drifted over from a distance. "I'm going to name this place 'Area 51.' Don't ask me what Area 51 means. In any case, it's called Area 51..."

When Malo and the others heard the voices, they hurried over to greet him. "My lord, you're finally here. Everything is ready on my end."

The young count ran over to the bronze cannon and lovingly "caressed" the barrel from one end to the other.

Everyone: "..."

Paul cleared his throat. "Ahem! I've brought everyone over. The rest is up to you."

Malo slapped his chest and replied with complete confidence, "Yes, my lord."

Thanks to the "contributions" of the pirate captives during the previous experiments, he was extremely confident in this public demonstration.

A double-layer brick wall had been erected one hundred meters in front of the cannon as the target for this test firing. Malo ordered the cannon crew to take their positions, while everyone else hid behind a low wall behind the cannon to watch the firing.

The seven-man cannon crew carried a bucket of water over to the cannon and operated it according to their assigned steps.

First, they dipped a long rammer with a wool-wrapped tip into the water and inserted it into the muzzle to clean out the sparks left over from the previous shot. It was not necessary for the first firing, but to prevent the artillerymen from forgetting this step during later firings and causing an accident, they were strictly required to perform it every time.

Next, they inserted a brush into the barrel to dry the water left behind by the previous step. Then they loaded a cloth-wrapped powder charge and a solid iron ball into the bore in succession, before using the rammer to compact the ammunition. The loading was then complete.

They entered the ignition stage. First, they inserted a thin iron spike through the touch hole at the rear of the cannon and pierced the powder charge to make ignition easier.

There were two methods of ignition. One was to insert a cotton fuse and light it. Since the fuse took some time to burn, this method was relatively safe.

The other was to fill the touch hole with gunpowder and use an Ignition Rod, whose wrapped slow match would ignite the powder inside the touch hole. The advantage of this method was that it allowed for rapid firing.

This demonstration used the fuse method. After lighting the fuse, the cannon crew quickly covered their ears.

As the burning fuse rapidly shortened, it finally ignited the gunpowder.

"BOOM!!!"

The four-pound bronze cannon let out a deafening roar, and the powerful recoil sent the barrel sliding backward a considerable distance. Everyone standing behind the low wall was badly startled. For a moment, the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble slightly.

"Ah~~" The count wore an intoxicated expression.

Once the smoke from the firing dispersed, everyone saw the scene ahead clearly. A terrifying hole had been blasted through the thick brick wall.

Everyone sucked in a cold breath. With that kind of power, what would happen if they fired a shot into a crowd...

Most of them immediately ran over to examine the cannon carefully, while several others, including Schroeder, surrounded Malo and bombarded him with questions.

"After our repeated tests, this thing can fire more than a thousand meters."

"Fire larger shells? Shoot farther? Of course we can, but first you'll have to allocate more funds for our experiments."

"With sufficient practice, it can fire two or three shots a minute. However, frequent firing will cause the barrel to overheat."

Malo's lips curled upward as he suppressed his excitement while answering the officers' questions. Such a powerful weapon was actually created by my hands. Choosing this path back then really was the right decision.

"A weapon of war! A weapon of war!" the old knight Schroeder exclaimed in admiration.

"Bigger is beautiful~~ Bigger is beautiful~~" Captain Holman murmured as he stroked the barrel, as though a door to a new world had opened before him.

"Malo, fire a grapeshot round and let them open their eyes even further."

"Coming right up, my lord!"