Translator: Cinder Translations
...
"Respected Earl Paul Grayman, we deeply regret the death of your father. The battle at that time was a necessity..."
"Port Frand will continue to exist as your territory, but if you could bestow it upon us as our residence, we would be willing to offer you our loyalty..."
"Every quarter's revenue we collect, we will give half to you. We guarantee that the money you receive will be much more than the taxes you previously collected..."
This was a letter sent by the Shark Gang, who were entrenched in Port Frand. Paul had someone read it aloud during the meeting.
After the letter was read, everyone in the hall chuckled. These pirates were truly delusional, dreaming of becoming territorial lords, especially when the Aldar army had an absolute advantage.
Paul took the letter and tore it to shreds. "Utter nonsense."
Not to mention that the defeated pirates had no qualification to challenge him. Even based on the grudge of killing his father alone, Paul couldn't let them off. Otherwise, how could he maintain his reputation?
"My lord, two fully equipped infantry battalions have completed their training. Please order them to recapture Port Frand and completely eliminate these pirates," Bryce voiced the desire of most officers.
However, the Earl disagreed, "No rush. They are already like locusts after autumn, barely able to hop for a few more days. Let us first test the newly developed firearms. If they prove effective, our army will be greatly strengthened. It's just right to use these short-sighted pirates as a test."
After hearing this, everyone was curious. Rifles and grenades had already been eye-openers. They wondered what novelty this young Count had come up with now.
At this time, the Earl was full of spirits. The paper mill built near the lord's castle had finally overcome numerous challenges, and the produced paper was finally usable. After summarizing a feasible production process, the steward Ford carried the first batch of paper to promote it across the Northwest Bay area, finally opening up some sales channels.
Nobles and merchants found this new type of paper to be both excellent and affordable. For just a few coins, they could buy a large stack of it, suitable for writing, drawing, communication, and accounting, without any hesitation. It was much better than the expensive parchment.
Another major buyer was various monasteries around. In this era, monasteries still played a role in education, so their demand for paper was naturally significant.
The paper produced now was still relatively rough and fragile. Paul ordered the craftsmen in the workshop to continue improving the papermaking process and tailor different prices based on product quality to meet the needs of customers from different social classes.
With sales channels opened, money started flowing in. Although profits were still meager at this stage, as they were only selling in the Northwest Bay area, the future prospects were bright.
Of course, as happened on Earth, the invention of papermaking would eventually challenge the nobility and the church's monopoly on cultural knowledge, benefiting the lower classes. "I guess I'm pushing the wheels of history a bit," he felt a small sense of satisfaction in his heart.
...
In the forest camp previously used for training new recruits, the temporary tents and low fences had disappeared, replaced by brick buildings and walls over a person's height. It had been transformed into a "military base" as mentioned by the Count.
The town of Alden's internal defense force had also been expanded. Now, the internal defense force had a full platoon, with two squads of guards stationed here. Outside the walls, soldiers with hounds patrolled day and night.
Near the base, in an open area, Malo, Herman, Kelly, and others responsible for weapon development were tinkering with something, while soldiers kept vigilant around.
If there were any Earthlings nearby, they would recognize the object they were handling as a muzzle-loading bronze cannon with an early 19th-century style.
The overall structure of the cannon was simplified by Paul based on the "transcendent artifact" - the Napoleon cannon - he found on the internet. The cannon carriage's structure was simple, consisting of four main parts: wheels, axle, trail, and elevation mechanism. The elevation mechanism, connected to the trail, consisted of a screw and an adjustment handle. By turning the handle, the cannon's muzzle could be raised or lowered.
The conversation between Count Paul and the officers could be faintly heard from afar, "I plan to name this place 'District 51'. Don't ask me what District 51 means. In any case, it's called District 51..."
Upon hearing the voices, Malo and the others hurried over to greet them, "My lord, you've finally arrived. Everything is ready here."
The young Count ran to the bronze cannon and affectionately ran his hand over it from end to end.
Everyone: "..."
Clearing his throat, Paul said, "Hmm! I've brought everyone here. It's up to you now."
Malo patted his chest confidently, "Yes, my lord."
Thanks to the "contributions" of those captured pirates during the previous experiments, he was very confident about this public demonstration.
A double-layered brick wall was built 100 meters in front of the cannon, the target for this trial. Malo ordered the cannon crew to take their positions while the others hid behind a low wall behind the cannon to watch the firing.
The seven members of the gun crew came to the cannon with a bucket of water and followed their respective steps to operate the cannon.
First, they used a ramrod wrapped in wool to dip in water and clean the sparks left in the barrel from the previous shot. Although this step wasn't necessary for the first shot, to prevent accidents in subsequent shots due to negligence, it was strictly required for every firing.
Then, they used a brush to dry the moisture left by the previous steps. Next, they inserted a fabric-wrapped cartridge of gunpowder and a solid iron ball into the barrel one after another, followed by using the ramrod to compact the ammunition. With this, the loading was complete.
Moving to the ignition stage, they first used a fine iron rod to probe into the breech vent hole, piercing the gunpowder cartridge to facilitate ignition.
There were two ways to ignite it: one was to insert a cotton fuse and then ignite it. The fuse burning would take some time, but it was relatively safe.
The other method was to fill the vent hole with gunpowder and use a firing rod wrapped with a fuse to ignite the gunpowder. This method allowed for a quick shot.
For this demonstration, they used the fuse ignition method. After lighting the fuse, the cannon crew quickly covered their ears.
As the fuse burned rapidly, eventually igniting the gunpowder.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening roar erupted from the four-pound bronze cannon, and the powerful recoil caused the cannon to retreat significantly. The people behind the low wall were startled, and for a moment, it felt like the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
"Ah~~" The Earl's face was filled with intoxication.
Once the dense smoke from the shot cleared, everyone could see clearly ahead. The thick brick wall had been blasted open with a terrifyingly large hole.
Everyone gasped in shock. The power of this cannon—if fired into a crowd...
Most immediately ran over to closely inspect the cannon, while several, including Schroeder, surrounded Malo with questions.
"After multiple tests, this thing can shoot over a thousand meters."
"Can it fire larger projectiles? Further? Of course, but only if we allocate more experimental funds."
"With skill, we can fire 2 to 3 shots per minute, but frequent firing will overheat the barrel."
Malo smirked, suppressing his inner excitement as he answered the officers' questions. To think such a weapon had been created by his own hands—his initial decision had indeed been correct.
"A national weapon! A national weapon!" exclaimed old knight Schroder.
"Bigger is better~~ Bigger is better~~" Captain Holman murmured to himself as he stroked the cannon, as if he had opened the door to a new world.
"Malo, fire a canister shot to give them another eye-opener."
"Alright, my lord!"
(End of Chapter)