Chapter 12 How Gunpowder Was Made

  In a sunken slope valley behind the mountain, Di Lie was staring at an object the size of a watermelon in his hand, turning it over and over again with a thoughtful expression. Across from him, Aji had a pleased expression as he held a bamboo basket containing several similar-shaped hemp balls.

  Di Lie seemed very interested, and A Ji's eyebrows danced as he explained: "Brother Di, what you're holding is the 'Thunder Fireball'. The outer layer is wrapped in hemp, inside is filled with gunpowder, and there are iron thorns embedded within. When the fuse is lit, it will explode and shoot out in all directions, injuring the enemy. It's a great weapon for our Song army to kill enemies."

  Di Lie's eyebrows rose, wasn't this the case? During the Song Dynasty, there were already such great things similar to hand grenades? If it was really that powerful, how could a large Song country be defeated so miserably by the northern barbarian tribes with bows, arrows and knives, leading to national humiliation?

  Aji saw Di Lie's expression of doubt and hastily said: "It's true, if Big Brother Di doesn't believe it, you can try it out right away."

  Yes, indeed we must test the power of this original giant hand grenade.

  Di Lie first erected several wooden stakes on the ground in a disorderly manner, then had someone bring over several tattered leather armors with iron leaves attached to them. He hung the armors on the stakes, and at a rough glance, they seemed to have some semblance of human form.

  Next, Di Lie held the ball, Aji ignited the fire, and the flames burned for nearly half a time. Di Lie exerted himself to throw this five-kilogram thunderball more than twenty steps away into the wooden stake. Then Aji threw the spark and was pulled by Di Lie to quickly rush towards the hidden point - a protruding rock that had been looked at early on.

  The two had just hidden their figures when a loud explosion came - but what made Di Lie depressed was that this sound was really not worthy of its heavy weight and large volume, at most, it was equivalent to a relatively loud firecracker in later generations.

  "Boom!" Agi excitedly jumped out from behind the boulder and ran towards the wooden stake, eager to see the result at the first moment.

  Di Lie hadn't even approached the wooden stake when Aji was already excitedly holding up a suit of leather armor, bouncing and jumping around, presenting it like a treasure: "Big Brother Di, look, this leather armor has quite a few iron thorns from the Tribulus terrestris plant!"

  Di Lie took over the leather armor and examined it carefully. Indeed, the shockwave generated by the explosion had shot numerous small iron caltrops into the leather armor, some of which were stuck to the surface, while others had even pierced through the leather and nailed themselves to the wooden stake. However, according to Di Lie's observation, the penetrating power was very weak, and with a light flick of his hand, the iron caltrops that were stuck to the wooden stake fell to the ground. If this wooden stake were a human body, such an injury would not even be considered a minor wound; if the enemy were wearing iron armor, such a weak explosion wouldn't even be able to penetrate...

  It's indeed a primitive explosive, no wonder it can't deal with the alien cavalry, it's just a big firecracker.

  Di Lie had already thought of a number, this should be the problem of gunpowder formula and material purification, so he asked Ajie with a try-out idea: "Do you know the ratio of this gunpowder?"

  "Ah, I remember Wang Wu Shu telling me about the gunpowder recipe." Ah Ji quickly recited it: "14 taels of Jinzhou sulfur, 7 taels of Wohuang, 2.5 catties of Yanxiaoniao, 1 tael of Mazhu, 1 tael of Ganqi, and 1 tael of Pi Huang. Take the bamboo shavings and hemp shavings, lightly fry them into fine powder. Mix together the beeswax, pine resin, clear oil, tung oil, and thick oil to make a paste. 1 tael of Dingfen, 1 tael of Zhuzhu, 1 tael of Huangdan, 0.5 taels of Huangla, 0.1 taels of Qingyou, 0.5 taels of Tongyou, and 14 taels of Songzhi. Mix together Jinzhou sulfur, Wohuang, and Yanxiaoniao, grind together Luobohuang, Dingfen, and Huangdan, and pound Ganqi into powder. Wrap the mixture in five layers of paper, tie it with hemp rope, and then melt the pine resin to apply it..."

  This is the method of making gunpowder as recorded in the "Wujing Zongyao" compiled by Zeng Gongliang during the Northern Song Dynasty, which includes everything from preparation to packaging. It can be considered one of the most detailed recipes for gunpowder in the early days of its invention. Unfortunately, the proportion of ingredients is greatly incorrect, and there are too many ineffective components in the recipe, so that even a large fireball has very little power. No wonder it was regarded as a toy by craftsmen, who would rather transport more grain than want this so-called war material. The formula closest to the composition of modern black gunpowder was not developed until several hundred years later during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

  Di Lie knew the best ratio of black gunpowder, and in the isolated island training camp of the United Nations, one of the wilderness survival training courses had personally collected sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal to make a few earth bombs, used to blast fish and shrimp and hunt wild animals. At that time, it was limited by the lack of materials, and each bomb was only the size of a fist, but the explosive power seemed to exceed this so-called "thunderball". If using modern black gunpowder formula to make a bomb the same size as the thunderball... no, just one-third the size, how would its power be? It's really exciting!

  He immediately had Agi fetch a few catties of sulfur, saltpeter and wood ash.

  "Does Brother Di want to personally make the Thunder Fireball by hand?" Ah Qi scratched his head, "But with just these three materials, I'm afraid it won't catch fire."

  "Never mind, just bring it over and I'll show you what a real bomb looks like later."

  Although Ah Qi was confident in his own skills with gunpowder, he would rather believe this amazing Di Da Ge, and hastily ran back to fetch the raw materials.

  The most common modern gunpowder formula is: potassium nitrate (saltpeter): sulfur: charcoal = 75:10:15. Depending on the use, the composition of gunpowder must also be adjusted accordingly. Since Di Lie wants to make explosive packs, he uses a blasting powder formula. The raw material ratio is: saltpeter: sulfur: charcoal = 66.6:16.7:16.7.

  To ensure the accuracy of the match, Di Lie also had Ah Ji Duo run a few more times to get a medicine scale from several medical officers in the palace among the refugees. In this era, the most accurate weighing tool is this doctor's and pharmacist's special medicine scale, with units that can be as precise as "fen".

  From the perspective of later generations, the purification of sulfur and saltpeter in this era is not good enough, with many impurities, which will affect the power of explosives. However, under current circumstances, it's also not possible to ask for too much, so we'll just have to make do.

  Di Lie measured out the three ingredients separately and then poured them together into a wooden bowl. He carefully stirred the mixture with a wooden spoon until he was sure that the three ingredients were fully mixed together. Di Lie handed the bowl to Ah Ji, who had been watching curiously from the side, and let him take care of the next steps, including packaging the powder, compacting it, and inserting the index. In this regard, Ah Ji was much more skilled than he was.

  The final product bomb is elliptical in shape, about the size of a melon, weighing around 1.5 kg, with a three-inch long fuse on top. Inside, apart from gunpowder, no iron spikes or similar objects were placed. What Di Lie wants to test now is the explosive power, not the lethal force of the shrapnel.

  Aji looked at the "little not point" in his hand, then glanced at the several big ones in the bamboo basket, and was very hesitant: with such a small amount and "cut corners" little thing, what kind of effect can it have?

  Di Lie didn't know what the difference was between ancient materials and modern ones, but one thing was for sure: this calabaza bomb made with a modern black powder formula had far surpassed the power of that previous thunder fireball.

  Still use that simple wooden stake as a test target.

  Di Lie took the bomb from Aji's hand, lit the fuse, aimed at the target, threw it out with a swing of his arm, and quickly hid behind the rocks.

  Boom! A deafening crash like thunder shook the air, sending Agi tumbling backward behind the rocks. His ears rang and his heart pounded wildly as he stared blankly ahead, unable to regain his composure for a long time.

  This time, Di Lie was the first to arrive at the test site. Through the swirling smoke and dust, one could see that everywhere there were scattered burning fragments of armor plating. At the center of the explosion, a shallow crater with a diameter of over three meters had been formed. All the wooden stakes had been uprooted and sent flying in all directions, with the farthest one being blown more than twenty meters away into the valley below. The air was thick with the intense smell of gunpowder and the acrid smell of burnt leather.

  Success! Di Lie excitedly clenched his right fist and slammed it into the palm of his left hand. This is truly a bomb! The previous Thunderfire Ball, aside from its name being able to intimidate people, was completely incomparable. Moreover, due to time constraints, he hadn't even had the chance to refine the gunpowder grains, which means that the power of the gunpowder still has a lot of room for improvement.

  It was only after a while that Agi came back to his senses, but he was immediately stunned again by the shocking destructive power on the scene - this...this is still the impression of gunpowder? It's simply like thunder from the sky! This Di brother, really is quite amazing!

  "De Big Brother..." Ah Ji swallowed a mouthful of saliva with great effort, and asked hesitantly, "The method for making this Thunderbolt Bullet... can you teach me? I won't learn it in vain, I'll acknowledge you as my master..."

  "Thunderbolt? That's a good name." Di Lie accepted the name with ease, smiling as he roughly ruffled the young man's messy hair. "No need for formalities like acknowledging a master, this Thunderbolt was meant for you to create in the first place. Come on, I'll tell you the formula, let's make a few together..."

  Di Lie hadn't finished speaking, but seemed to sense something, his eyes flashing like lightning towards the boulder that had been hiding someone earlier. He shouted: "Who's hiding there? Come out!"

  Behind the rock first appeared a pale yellow dress, then slowly emerged a beautiful figure.

  Butterfly!

  Di Lie slowly withdrew his hand from the dagger in his military boots, furrowed his brow and said: "Didn't you hear that loud noise just now? This is a testing base, it's very dangerous, hurry back."

  Ye Die'er walked lightly over and then made an unexpected move - she suddenly knelt down in front of Di Lie.

  Di Lie was stunned for at least three seconds, and after coming to his senses, he quickly stepped forward to support Ye Die'er's delicate arms: "What are you doing? Get up quickly."

  Yè Dié'er bit her red lips, gently but firmly shaking her head: "I beg of you, brave warrior, to grant me one thing. If the brave warrior does not agree, I will never get up."

  With Di Lie's strength, it would be easy to lift Ye Die'er, and pulling her up would be a cinch. But doing so would be too rough. Di Lie had no choice but to let go of his hand, straighten his body, and calmly ask: "You say, if you can do it, then do it, if not..."

  "A heroic warrior, with the strength of one man, defeated hundreds of Jin soldiers, and seized tens of thousands of grain and fodder. He is indeed a martial star descended to earth, and can certainly accomplish it." Ye Die'er was afraid that Di Lie would refuse, so before he could finish speaking, she hastily said a heap of flattering words. Of course, apart from the "martial star" remark, they were basically true.

  Di Lie's eyebrows furrowed again, and in order to avoid arousing others' curiosity about the weapon in his hand, he repeatedly warned Yang brothers not to spread the astonishing achievement of killing nearly a hundred Golden Soldiers with just one person and one gun, causing them to flee in disarray. The Yang brothers had indeed kept their mouths shut for the past few days, and whenever anyone asked about the situation at that time, the two brothers were vague and only said it was everyone's effort, plus the use of strategy. As for those who had some idea in their minds, probably only Hou Fangjing and Ye Die'er, who had witnessed Di Lie's incredible skills, knew the truth.

  Di Lie shook his head in his heart, probably Yang's second child had slipped up, anyone facing a beauty would always have a weaker defense line. Forget it, anyway Ye Die'er had also witnessed him blowing off the head of Ma Ansa with one shot, and his sniper rifle was no secret to her either.

  "Go ahead and say it, see if this 'Wu Qu Xing' can help you."

  "I want to ask the strong man to rescue my sister..." Ye Die'er hesitated for a moment, her pretty face turned slightly red, and she bit her red lips with her white teeth, as if she had made up her mind. She spoke quickly and hastily, "I have nothing to repay you with, I am willing to be your servant, serving you for the rest of my life..." Her voice became smaller and smaller, until it was almost inaudible.

  "Is that your sister? Your older sister? You have an older sister?" Di Lie was drawn in by Ye Die'er's first sentence and didn't catch her subsequent whisper, missing out on a surprise.

  "Yes, I and my elder sister were both selected as tribute women to be presented to the Khitan people. Alas, my poor elder sister was already married, yet she too could not escape such humiliation..." As soon as she mentioned her sister, Ye Die'er's face turned pale and tears welled up in her eyes.

  "Where is your sister now? Wasn't it that night we raided the Golden Army's camp, she didn't have time to escape?"

  Yè Dié'er shook her head: "I and my sister were not originally from that Saqi camp, but were among the first batch of tribute women who were driven out of Bianjing by Qingcheng camp and escorted north by Meng An'gou. A few days ago, because Saqi repeatedly asked Meng An'gou for women, I was sent back to the Saqi camp..."

  Di Lie Mo stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded: "So, your sister, or rather that new team of Malan's, where are they now?"

  "When I was sent back, I had already reached Tangyin, now under... probably almost arrived at Xiangzhou."