Ch.123Finding Work (4)

Coke.

A high-purity carbon mass created by burning away all impurities in bituminous coal.

By placing bituminous coal in an airtight furnace and heating it through a distillation process, all flammable impurities like sulfur can be removed from the coal to obtain coke.

In modern times, those removed impurities are collected separately to make gas fuel, fertilizer, or even put into cigarettes, but in this current era, such complex processes would be considered a luxury. For now, we should focus on building a coke production furnace with the sole goal of obtaining coke.

‘Ugh… why did I have to say that?’

I spoke confidently riding the momentum, but honestly, I’m a bit nervous.

While there are no precious metal or copper mines, the border region with the Empire has not just abundant bituminous coal and iron ore, but they’re practically scattered across open-pit mines, so material procurement shouldn’t be a burden… Hmm, my memory is vague, and there’s a huge difference between theory and practice, so I’ll need to experiment a lot.

I was happily enjoying having less work, and now I’ve created more work for myself. I must be crazy. I should have just kept quiet.

‘At least cast iron is easy to make, which is fortunate.’

Cast iron can be made sufficiently with just charcoal without necessarily needing coke, but using coke allows for tremendously larger blast furnaces.

Looking at the blacksmith shop earlier, I saw they had cast iron furnaces using charcoal as fuel, so the production of large cast iron blast furnaces using coke can be left to the craftsmen. If things go successfully, assuming a steady supply of iron ore, we’ll be able to produce massive amounts of cast iron.

…But was coke originally used for cast iron production?

If concrete and rebar are considered gods in construction, then coke can be considered a god in ironmaking.

Coke, being a pure carbon mass, can remove all impurities from iron and control the carbon content when properly utilized, enabling the creation of steel—the beginning and end of ironmaking.

Hmm… if I succeed in producing coke, it seems wasteful to use it all just for making cast iron, so maybe I could try making steel too— ugh!

‘No, that’s not right. I must be crazy.’

Talking about making steel—I’ve completely lost my mind.

With coke, steel refining is somewhat possible. Simply placing a crucible containing cast iron into a simple furnace filled with coke and blasting hot air from below is enough to refine steel.

But that method has limitations due to its low production volume. For military purposes, we need mass production, not small quantities, which would require building something like a converter… but I don’t know how to do that. My main field is chemistry, not metallurgy.

‘No, even if metallurgy were my main field, the result would be the same.’

As I recall, a converter needs to blast super-high-pressure hot air from below, with uniform pressure per unit area, strong enough to penetrate through molten cast iron—this is impossible with pre-modern technology. Moreover, hot air isn’t the only concern, so no matter what I do, making a converter is unrealistic.

If converters could be easily made with pre-modern technology, it would mean easily mass-producing steel—iron with elasticity, high tensile strength, hardness, and unbreakability—and African and Asian countries wouldn’t have suffered from imperialism.

…High tensile strength, hardness, and unbreakability—that would be perfect for making gun barrels— mmph!

‘Don’t think about it… don’t think about it…’

The more I think about steel, the more my mind drifts toward steel refining. As a non-specialist, if I try to build a converter, I’ll face countless trials and errors, and naturally, a lot of money will be wasted in the process.

It’s best not to even associate with grapes you can’t eat. Lingering on them only twists your insides. Yes, the furnace is a sour grape… a sour grape…

…Still, I should at least try the crucible method. Even if production is limited, there’s no reason not to extract steel when it’s possible.

……….

BOOM!!

“Ow…”

The test—no, the actual firing of the 120mm cannon was somewhat successful.

Those walls protecting the capital Dijon were built with exceptional care compared to other walls, but they couldn’t withstand the impact of a fast-flying iron ball.

However, Dijon’s outer wall didn’t completely collapse. It merely developed a small hole, too narrow for soldiers to enter through.

“Hmm… it’s quite insufficient. I suppose the projectile was too light and the firing speed too low.”

“It appears so to my eyes as well.”

“In comparison, a counterweight trebuchet can hurl a 200kg stone over 150 meters, so for sieges, it seems better to use those trebuchets than these expensive cannons.”

The master craftsman observing beside me shakes his head and sighs. It might sound crazy to say a 120mm diameter cannonball is too light, but when compared to a 200kg rock flying like a meteor… it can’t be helped.

This was probably their first time firing directly at a wall. Their expectations must have been high, but they seem quite disappointed by the power that doesn’t even come close to a trebuchet’s.

“But aren’t cannons easier to transport, faster to fire, and simpler to operate than trebuchets? Even if the power is lacking, firing many shots will eventually bring down the walls.”

“Yes, that’s true. Currently, our technology is poor, resulting in these unsatisfactory results, but once our technology develops sufficiently, we’ll be able to not just make bigger holes in walls but completely demolish them.”

…His words seem to have a sting to them.

The craftsman’s words appear to praise the cannon’s potential, but they also sound like he’s saying the current cannons have limitations, so I should wake up from my dreams.

Is it just my imagination?

No, it’s not my imagination. Since joining the duke’s family, I’ve realized that what I think is just my imagination usually isn’t, with over 90% probability.

“…What if we increase the caliber?”

“Naturally, the destructive power would increase, but so would the cost proportionally.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Yes, let’s make the barrel large enough for a person to fit inside. You said trebuchets launch 200kg stones? Then I’d like to launch stones three times that weight—600kg.”

“Pardon?”

“Obviously, it will require a lot of materials, so we don’t need to make many. Just make two for siege purposes. Oh, and scrap the 120mm cannons and focus on making 65mm ones.”

Based on an adult male’s shoulder width of about 40cm, the caliber needs to be at least 40cm. Compared to the 120mm cannon, assuming a perfectly spherical cannonball, the volume difference would be at least 37,000 times.

Quickly realizing this fact, the craftsman asks me with a dumbfounded expression if he heard correctly, but I reaffirm that he did not mishear.

Well, what can I say?

You started it.

……….

“…Your Majesty, do you know how shocked I was?”

“I… I apologize for that.”

“…”

Normally, Leclerc would have furiously objected to a monarch apologizing to his subject, but now he just silently accepts my apology.

Well, it can’t be helped—I fired a cannon at the wall without any prior consultation…

“Well… it was a wall scheduled for demolition anyway, and I wanted to test the cannon’s power… right?”

“…Since Your Majesty is the owner of this country and this city, I cannot interfere with how you handle your possessions. However, I would request that you inform me at least a few hours in advance.”

I can’t even lift my head.

The atmosphere is so awkward that I tried to make some excuse, blurting out whatever came to mind, but Leclerc doesn’t oppose my view and only asks to be informed in advance.

No… please just get angry instead…

“Ahem… so, were you satisfied with the cannon?”

“…No, it didn’t deliver power proportional to the investment. Look at that hole in the wall.”

Seemingly realizing my discomfort, Leclerc cleared his throat and rather artificially changed the subject. Having been waiting for just this opportunity, I eagerly accept the unnaturally abrupt change of topic without pointing it out.

“Isn’t that how new technology typically is? At first, performance is quite poor, but over time it gradually improves until eventually it renders all previous technologies obsolete.”

“You’re surprisingly progressive in this regard.”

To think that Leclerc, who always adheres to rigid etiquette and is extremely authoritarian and narrow-minded, would say such a thing? Especially since he was in charge of finances before administration was subdivided, I expected a sharper reaction.

“Aren’t the nobility’s dignity and technology’s dynamism on different planes?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

In response to my slightly surprised reply, Leclerc smiles faintly as if it’s no big deal and says so.

To have such a loyal and flexible-minded subject—I’m truly fortunate.