Chapter 438: Upgraded Tiger Cannon

The sudden sound caused Xiao Ming and Fei Yue’er to separate. Instinctively, Fei Yue’er moved toward the inner chamber.

Coughing lightly, Xiao Ming stepped out of the chamber and immediately met Qian Dafu.

“Your Highness, we have found the copper mine,” Qian Dafu said excitedly, pulling out a handful of copper ore.

“Copper mine.”

Xiao Ming felt a surge of excitement. Besides copper still being the currency of the Great Yu Empire, its wide industrial applications made it an extremely important resource for Qingzhou.

“Your Highness, this copper mine was truly hard to find. After more than two years, this old servant finally located it. Now the mining operations are underway, and Qingzhou will be able to mint coins on its own,” Qian Dafu said.

“Mint coins?” Xiao Ming shook his head.

Qian Dafu said, “Yes, Your Highness. Nowadays, any vassal lord who can mine copper uses the copper to cast copper coins. Don’t you want to mint your own coins?”

“Coins must be minted, but not recklessly,” Xiao Ming replied.

In the Great Yu Empire, no one understood inflation, so reckless coin minting was inevitable, causing the people to distrust copper coins.

Sometimes one copper coin could buy a steamed bun; sometimes three coins could not. This was due to the chaotic copper coin market.

For Xiao Ming, he would not blindly mint coins like other vassal lords because it was irresponsible to the people. To avoid inferior foreign coins flooding in, he planned to issue his own currency.

More importantly, he was happy not because of minting coins but because Qingzhou now had a strategic resource.

Qingzhou was about to launch an attack on Ryukyu for the New Year. Now with copper mines, he could have Chen Qi forge six-pound bronze field cannons.

Field cannons did not require large-scale production like siege or naval cannons, and bronze material would improve their quality.

During Napoleon’s era, field cannons were mostly made of bronze.

After a pause, he told Qian Dafu, “Mine and transport a batch here. I will have the Machinery Department produce bronze field cannons.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Qian Dafu paused, finally understanding Xiao Ming’s intent. “The copper mine is not far, about 180 li northwest of Qingzhou. The first batch of copper ore will arrive in five days.”

Xiao Ming nodded, then said, “Besides copper, send people to look for gold in Laizhou and silver in Dengzhou. These are what I need now.”

Qian Dafu smiled knowingly, “Your Highness, leave it to me.”

After delivering the good news of the copper mine discovery, Qian Dafu cupped his hands and left.

Xiao Ming exhaled softly. Besides casting field cannons, copper had many uses. Most importantly, it could be used to make copper wires.

Thus, the copper mine was a reserve for future electrical applications.

After seeing Qian Dafu off, Xiao Ming returned to his chamber where Fei Yue’er waited. After half a month apart, their reunion was joyful, and intimate moments needed no words.

The next day, mid-morning, Xiao Ming leisurely got up. It is said that leaders have busy subordinates, while those without subordinates are busy themselves.

Now he finally experienced having busy subordinates while he relaxed. After all, political affairs were handled by Pang Yukun, and the army was managed by Niu Ben.

Both generals worked tirelessly, almost recklessly, so local prefectures and the army were well managed.

After a lazy wash and meal, a servant informed him that Fei Yue’er had gone with Lu Luo to the textile workshop that morning.

He understood—Fei Yue’er was busy with designing underwear.

Xiao Ming smiled wryly and then went to the military workshop to check on the Tiger Cannon and discuss the field cannon.

“Your Highness, you have come at the right time. This is the new Tiger Cannon design,” Chen Qi said, lifting a brand-new Tiger Cannon as soon as Xiao Ming arrived.

Seeing it, Xiao Ming immediately gave a thumbs-up. Chen Qi had upgraded the Tiger Cannon. This new version had moved beyond the original Ming Dynasty design and was developing toward a mortar-type cannon.

The base was now a square metal plate. The cylindrical barrel was fixed to metal plates on both sides by trunnions, allowing free up-and-down aiming.

Two soldiers could easily carry the whole mortar by the handles on the metal base. It was very convenient and quick to move.

“Not bad. This is progress,” Xiao Ming said, examining the new mortar.

Chen Qi smiled. “Your Highness, I modified the mortar according to the textbook. I also redesigned the shells.”

He handed Xiao Ming a shell with a hollow wooden plug. A fuse was inserted through the plug. By rotating the plug, the fuse’s direction could be adjusted inward or outward.

He asked, “Can you now control the exact explosion time of these shells?”

“Accuracy is not high, but much better than the old powder barrels. At least it prevents premature explosions in the barrel, and by rotating the plug, we can roughly control the timing,” Chen Qi replied.

“Is that so?” Xiao Ming was hopeful. Effective results would make attacking the Dutch much easier.

Chen Qi nodded and told the craftsmen nearby, “Test it for the lord.”

Two craftsmen carried the mortar before Xiao Ming. They poured gunpowder into the mortar base and loaded a shell with a flat wooden bottom.

“Your Highness, fire at the target 300 meters away.”

Chen Qi had mastered parabolic calculations and could now estimate the shell’s landing point based on the mortar’s angle. Though the error margin was large, progress was evident.

“Fire!”

At the command, the craftsmen ignited the powder.

After a muffled boom, the shell flew along a parabola and dropped at about 300 meters. Three meters above ground, it suddenly exploded with a “boom.”

Chen Qi said sheepishly, “Your Highness, the problem now is the blooming shell’s explosion timing is inconsistent.”

Though Chen Qi spoke lightly, Xiao Ming was amazed. Achieving such control within this error range was remarkable.

He said, “This is already very good. Start producing mortars for the Qingzhou army. Also, I want to discuss field cannons with you.”