Chapter 430: Initial Production of Gunpowder
Xiao Xia never dreamed that he would accidentally discover coal. When he encountered a fuel crisis in Hexi, he thought of coal, but he had never heard of any coal-producing area in Hexi, and the nearest coal-producing area was in Shuofang, so he could only give up.

Now that I am in the south of the Yangtze River, although the winter is not that cold and there are more trees, so we can burn firewood, but after all, burning firewood is not as thermally efficient as coal.

Especially during this period he was considering competition in the salt industry. The biggest cost of boiling salt is fuel. If he could get cheap fuel, the cost of boiling salt would be greatly reduced, and he could make refined salt himself and compete with others.

Xiao Xia also knew that Hedong Road had a large coal production area, but the freight was too high. The freight for a shipload of coal from Hedong Road was almost the same as the price of coal. The best way was to mine coal nearby, preferably open-pit coal that was easy to mine. But where was there coal in Jiangnan?
Now Xiao Xia seems to have found the answer.

Soon, a short and fat middle-aged man came running over and bowed. “Your Excellency, this is my coal!”

Yes, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was called stone coal, not coal, but it didn’t matter what it was called. Xiao Xia asked, “Where did you buy this stone coal from?”

“It’s from Pengcheng County!”

Xiao Xia was immediately relieved, because Xuzhou produces coal!

“How much?”

“Ten cents a load. Actually, coal is cheap in large quantities, almost free. You can see it just by removing the soil. The key is to have someone to dig it and carry it to the river. Ten cents is mainly for labor.”

Xiao Xia was overjoyed. He heard that he meant an open-pit coal mine, which was great.

“I want the detailed address of the coal mine. Draw me a detailed map!”

When Xiao Xia returned to the palace, he immediately sent someone to find Zhang Liang. He pointed at the map and said, “There is a lot of open-pit coal here. Send an intelligence spy, pretending to be a merchant, to the county government to buy all the land that produces coal. If someone buys it, I will force them to transfer it. Once it is bought, I will send a large number of ships to transport the coal. Remember, I want coal mined in the open air. I don’t want coal mined by wells. It’s best to be closer to the river for easier transportation.”

“I understand. I will arrange the candidate right away.”

Xiao Xia thought for a moment and said, “Let your men find out who the magistrate of Pengcheng County and the governor of Pengcheng County are.”

“Yes, sir!” Zhang Liang bowed, took the map and hurried away.

In the afternoon, Xiao Xia returned to the backyard and went to visit his wife first. It was now early September. According to the time calculation, his wife should give birth this month. Several experienced midwives and doctors also believed that the due date would be this month. The atmosphere in the backyard was quite tense. Two doctors and three midwives had been invited. Fortunately, his wife’s fetal position was relatively correct and she should be able to give birth smoothly.

“My husband, go ahead! I have Xiaoqing and Chuchen to accompany me, so it’s okay for me.”

Xiao Xia nodded, “Where’s Chuchen?”

“I am here!”

When Xiao Xia turned around, she found Zhang Qiao behind her, who seemed to have just entered the room.

“Sit down, I want to ask you something.”

Zhang Qiao sat down beside the bed and smiled, “Speak, sir!”

Xiao Xia asked, “Are you refining elixirs in Qingcheng Mountain?”

Zhang Qiao nodded, “The so-called elixir, refining medicine and refining elixir are actually the same thing.”

“Then have you ever encountered anything that is very effective in assisting combustion while refining the elixir?”

“Of course, it is necessary. Sir, you are talking about alum and saltpeter, right?”

Xiao Xia was overjoyed. Sure enough, there was one. He quickly asked, “Where did you get it from?” “Alum saltpeter is needed for all alchemy. There is a store in Qingcheng Town at the foot of the mountain that specializes in selling alum saltpeter. But I don’t know where they bought it from?”

“What kind of alum saltpeter is it? Where is the owner from? What is the name of the store? Do you remember it?”

“Alum saltpeter is like stone. You need to break it and grind it into powder after you buy it. The owner is a local. I remember the shop. I went there several times to buy something. It was called the Saltpeter Shop.”

Xiao Xia was basically certain that the saltpeter sold in the saltpeter shop was most likely from Laojun Mountain or the surrounding areas.

Xiao Xia certainly wanted to make gunpowder, but at that time he did not intend to use it for military purposes. He was considering using it for coal mining.

After picking up sheep dung in Hexi, the soldiers received another strange task. They spent two days going to the base of walls in Jiangdu County to “sweep the snow.” Everyone knew that thing, which was said to be a medicine, but no one had ever taken it seriously. Now they actually needed this thing.

Ten thousand soldiers rushed to Jiangdu City, searching for this white snow everywhere, especially in the toilets. In just two days, they found more than 500 kilograms of it.

The amount of this toilet saltpeter is limited and can only be used for experiments. The key is to get saltpeter. Laojun Mountain in Changlong County, Jinshan County in Shuzhong is the largest saltpeter producing area in history. Taoists have been refining elixirs in the mountains since ancient times. Xiao Xia has sent people to Bashu to find the saltpeter mine through the clue of Qingcheng Mountain Saltpeter Shop, purchase a large amount, and then transport it to Jiangnan by water.

Five hundred kilograms of saltpeter powder filled five large bags. Xiao Xia certainly would not do it himself. There were many craftsmen who were more dexterous than him. As long as he told them how to do it, they would definitely do it better than he could.

The key here is to purify saltpeter. The method is also very simple. Dissolve potassium nitrate in water, filter it continuously, heat it to crystallize it, then grind the charcoal and sulfur into powder, and mix them in a ratio of seven parts saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and one part charcoal.

Gunpowder made in the Song and Ming dynasties was all made from powder. Later, it was gradually discovered that granules burned faster, had stronger explosive power, and were easier to make into granules. They were first crushed into powder, then stirred with egg white or honey, dried, and then ground into small, sticky granules.

As for the fuse, it was also simple. Roll up the saltpeter powder like a cigarette and dry it to make a fuse. After Xiao Xia handed the principle to the craftsmen, he asked them to conduct repeated experiments to find the best solution and technical know-how.

The craftsmen were all smart and capable and understood the idea quickly. A few days later, the first paper-rolled firecracker in history appeared in front of Xiao Xia.

In a corner of the military camp, Xiao Xia and several craftsmen were looking at a wooden box from afar. A five-inch long firecracker stood in the box, surrounded by some dry straw. After the soldiers lit the straw, they quickly left.

The dry straw burned and then the fuse was lit. The fuse burned quickly and burned into the firecracker. After a while, the firecracker emitted billowing black smoke accompanied by flames.

The firecracker did not explode in the end. It only burned for a moment and then went out.

Humanity’s first gunpowder weapon ended in failure.

In fact, making gunpowder is not difficult. The key is cognition. If you know what you are making, know the principles, and know what effects it will have, then it is very simple. If you know nothing, or even don’t know what you are doing, then you will need to grope your way through it over a long period of time.

Often after an alchemist failed, he would lose interest. A few decades later, another alchemist would take over, but fail again. After another ten years, the new alchemist adjusted the formula and achieved initial success. More alchemists joined in and continued to adjust the formula, and gunpowder gradually took shape.

But no one knew what it was used for. Perhaps by chance, the alchemists used gunpowder to scare away thieves in order to resist them, and then they realized that gunpowder had a deterrent effect, and then they began to use it in military affairs little by little.

This is a long process that takes hundreds of years.

They are nothing like today’s high school students who know exactly what they are doing and can make gunpowder in just a few hours. This is the difference in cognition.

The theory of making gunpowder is simple; the practice is another matter.

The gunpowder clearly burns with a bang when it is ignited, but when it is rolled into a firecracker, it does not explode. What’s the problem?
Xiao Xia didn’t have a good solution either, so he could only let the craftsmen experiment again and again and find inspiration from the experiments.

(End of this chapter)