Liang Xiao now treated his equipment as insurance, fearing the cannon might misfire.
The shadow guards looked at Liang Xiao, who was cautiously operating and inspecting the launcher, with confusion.
To test these things, the imperial court specifically mobilized the Imperial Guard, evacuating all civilians within a twenty-li radius.
This long tube-like object, lacking the terrifying size of the Huihui Cannon and the imposing appearance of the three-bow crossbow, was truly so dangerous that it made the Heavenly General dare not be careless?
"Are you sure there's no one in front?" Liang Xiao still asked Ding Wuyi.
Ding Wuyi replied with conviction, "Absolutely not!"
"I'm not sure how loud this thing will be, so open your mouths and cover your ears," Liang Xiao added.
The crowd was puzzled and complied with his instructions.
Liang Xiao then felt relieved. He motioned for everyone to retreat behind him, then took a torch and lit the fuse at the touchhole at the rear of the barrel. He then stepped aside, dropped the torch, covered his own ears, and opened his mouth to prevent himself from being deafened.
Everyone watched the fuse burn, until it reached the cannon barrel—
"BOOM!"
With a muffled sound, the barrel vibrated. Then, flames erupted from the muzzle, and a solid ball shot out like a meteor towards a rocky mountain face a li away.
Rumble!
In an instant, the entire small mountain exploded, sending rocks flying like a landslide!
The solid shot burrowed into the mountain wall and disappeared, but it left a crater.
Everyone, including Ding Wuyi, was stunned.
They could vaguely see the crater on the mountain wall.
This was by no means the power of a Huihui Cannon!
"I was just wondering why you were so cautious..." Ding Wuyi exclaimed in amazement.
Such a divine artifact could not be allowed to leak out!
Based on his experience, once this iron ball was fired, it would surely destroy any man or beast in its path. Even heavily armored soldiers would die from a single shot!
Liang Xiao smiled with satisfaction, but then sighed.
The threat from the Tianri tribe was only one reason why he began preparing cannons this year.
The steel production of the Great Gan Kingdom was no longer what it used to be, sufficient to manufacture cannon barrels and carriages.
The current generation of shadow guards was steadfast in their faith and capable of great service.
As the living conditions of the common people improved, fewer people would be willing to undergo castration to enter the palace in the future. Liang Xiao and Xiao Qing had also considered gradually ceasing the recruitment of "eunuchs" and even only employing palace maids.
With the development of productivity, the thoughts of the common people were gradually liberated, and future generations might not be as supportive of imperial power as they were today.
However, firearms technology had to be kept absolutely secret, even exclusively used within this era. Therefore, it was necessary to make thorough preparations while the current generation of shadow guards had not yet retired, to avoid a generational gap in the future and a lack of time to cultivate faithful and reliable elites.
Furthermore, the Tianri tribe might also gather the treasures of Eastern and Western civilizations and integrate them to research gunpowder and firearms, necessitating preemptive action.
If the threats of this era could not be resolved, the Great Gan Kingdom might perish, let alone think of future generations.
The cannon barrel was still smoking, but the shadow guards were already cheering.
"Your Highness, why don't we give these cannons a name?" Ding Wuyi suggested.
"Let's call them Divine Martial Cannons," Liang Xiao replied.
Once the name of the cannon was decided, Liang Xiao inspected the barrel and ensured its safety. After confirming the shadow guards' proficiency in operation, he retreated to observe.
Liang Xiao had personally guided every step from the production to the use of the Divine Martial Cannons.
This included the projectiles, caliber, the relationship between the powder chamber and the propellant.
The method of manufacturing iron cannons was roughly divided into seven steps: First, refine pig iron into wrought iron. Second, forge the wrought iron into iron plates, then shape these plates into tile-like pieces, thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges. Third, roll the tile-shaped pieces into tubes. Fourth, join the tubes together into a single unit. Fifth, reinforce the part of the cannon barrel that held the gunpowder. Sixth, suspend the cannon barrel and use a steel drill to ream the bore. Seventh, install the vent, the rear sight, and the front sight.
The cannon barrel was long, its walls were thick, and its caliber was large. The overall shape gradually thickened from muzzle to breech, weighing two thousand catties. Each charge used several catties of gunpowder, and the projectiles weighed from eight to twenty catties.
These Divine Martial Cannons were similar to the Redcoat Cannons...
"Rumble!"
With more deafening roars, the small mountain, subjected to repeated assaults by the Divine Martial Cannons, finally collapsed!
"Lord Marquis is truly a divine being!!" The shadow guards could not conceal their excitement.
Easily destroying a hilltop was something that, in their understanding, only gods could achieve!
Liang Xiao also provided on-site instruction on the use and cooling methods of the cannons.
After their initial excitement, the shadow guards couldn't help but worry, "Such divine artifacts are likely difficult to mass-produce, and we can't supervise too many artisans..."
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "We don't need too many. After all, what the Great Gan lacks is gunpowder, not cannon carriages."
Everyone suddenly understood, "Then it's even more necessary to classify the Divine Martial Cannons and gunpowder as state secrets, to prevent the Tianri tribe from imitating them and using more gunpowder to harm our army..."
Seeing that they had not become overconfident, Liang Xiao nodded with a smile.
The Divine Martial Cannons appeared secretly. Only Liang Xiao, Xiao Qing, and the shadow guards knew about them. Even the operators were from the shadow guard ranks.
Fortunately, the shadow guards no longer needed to transport gold from the desert, and the Silent Wolf Guard had taken over the task of intelligence gathering from them. The current number of over ten thousand shadow guards was sufficient.
To ensure stability, Liang Xiao increased the number of gunners for each Divine Martial Cannon to ten, to facilitate mutual cooperation and support.
Currently, there were only five Divine Martial Cannons, made from the finest steel.
The other four cannons also underwent testing by the shadow guards, with comparable power.
"Able to easily destroy a small mountain?" Xiao Qing was startled when she learned of the situation.
These Divine Martial Cannons surpassed her understanding of military affairs!
In comparison, the Huihui Cannon's only advantage was that it did not require gunpowder or iron projectiles...
As for the three-bow crossbow, it had an advantage in range.
At present, neither of these weapons was obsolete.
Xiao Qing finally made up her mind, instructing Ding Wuyi to personally select artisans. First, she stipulated that they must have clear backgrounds. Second, they must be absolutely loyal to the Great Gan Kingdom and willing to sign a contract with the court, accepting temporary supervision in exchange for the welfare of their entire families.
These chosen artisans, without hesitation, happily signed the contracts.
This was at the behest of His Majesty and Marquis An Guo!
In their eyes, besides their families, who else could be more trusted than these two?
On the day the contracts were signed, the shadow guards distributed one hundred taels of silver to each artisan's family and promised that the state would provide them with opportunities for martial arts and education for their descendants free of charge.
"Are there such good things?"
The artisans were so excited for two consecutive days that they couldn't sleep, vowing to work diligently.
These artisans would henceforth become the vanguards of the Great Gan Kingdom in forging firearms and other top-secret military equipment.
The construction of the Divine Martial Cannons took time. Currently, all five were under the supervision of the shadow guards, ready to be transported to Jiangnan with Liang Xiao to support the Jiangnan defenders.
Outside the western border of the Great Gan, the army of the Guishuang Dynasty was utterly shocked after learning of the "miraculous appearance of the Heavenly General."
Only Achilles laughed wildly to the sky.
"I can't stay in the western border! I'll detour to Jiaozhou. The Heavenly General will surely reappear in Luzhou!!"