Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 372 Secret Weapon
Instantly, a huge plume of smoke, mixed with crimson flames, erupted from the cannon's muzzle, and the cannon recoiled violently, the strong smell of sulfur spreading with the wind and enveloping the entire grassland.

Cough cough, what a pungent smell.

Vig stood on tiptoe from the pit and saw that the wooden stockade wall a hundred paces away had been easily penetrated by cannonballs. He ordered the craftsmen to change targets and aim at the stone wall not far away.

The stone wall was relatively sturdy, and the bronze cannon bombarded it more than ten times in a row, finally smashing a large hole in it.

At this moment, the cannon barrel heated up rapidly, and the craftsmen cleaned the cannon chamber with a mop dipped in water, with plumes of white steam rising from the muzzle.

The supervisor leaned over to explain, "Your Majesty, the cannon is too hot and needs to be cooled for a while, otherwise it will explode."

"clear."

Respecting the opinions of the frontline technicians, Vig turned to face the Crown Prince and the three ministers. The four stood frozen in place, their faces showing not joy, but a shock bordering on fear.

Mitcham removed his leather hat, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and his lips moved as he asked, "What kind of weapon is this?"

"Cannons." Vig stared at the collapsed stone wall in the distance, his eyes revealing an indescribable excitement.

The next moment, he walked to the pit next to him, grabbed a small handful of gunpowder from the bucket, and his mind raced.

At present, we face many problems. First, bronze cannons are too cumbersome and unsuitable for rapid field maneuverability. Second, gunpowder production is low and contains too many impurities, which severely weakens its explosive power.

Charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter are the three raw materials for making gunpowder. Charcoal is easy to produce, sulfur comes from Icelandic volcanoes, but saltpeter is the most troublesome. Craftsmen scraped saltpeter from old foundations and the walls of livestock sheds, which contained a lot of impurities. Despite their efforts, they still could not find a suitable method to purify it.

"Father, is this weapon only for us to possess?" the Crown Prince asked in a low voice.

"The Great Tang Empire in the East possessed gunpowder. It is said that in a battle, they used catapults to throw gunpowder, but their gunpowder contained too many impurities and was not as pure as our gunpowder. It could only be used as an incendiary weapon, with a power similar to that of a kerosene canister."

Vig stroked his chin, watching the craftsmen carrying the cannons. They had found twelve draft horses and gone to great lengths to transport the cannons back to the warehouse, leaving a deep mark on the grass.

The Minister of War frowned. “Your Majesty, bronze cannons move slowly. If it rains and the ground becomes muddy and slippery, they may not be able to travel more than five miles a day.”

Given the artillery's poor mobility, the ministers unanimously concluded that it was unsuitable for field battles and could only be used for sieges and defenses, or as a shipborne weapon.

Next, Vigé and his son, along with their ministers, went to the factory to observe the casting process of the bronze cannons.

The craftsmen first make clay molds, ensuring that the thickness is uniform and the inner wall is smooth, and then fire them in a kiln at a low temperature to make hard clay molds.

In the adjacent factory, craftsmen were trying to smelt bronze. They put copper and tin blocks into the brick furnace, maintaining a ratio of 10:1.

On the other side, animal power drove a massive bellows, continuously pumping in air to maintain the high temperature inside the furnace. Once the chief craftsman determined that the molten metal had reached the required temperature, he used an iron hook to open the furnace outlet. Molten copper, as hot as magma, flowed down channels into the cavity of a mold buried underground. Four craftsmen used long poles to continuously poke the flowing solution to remove air bubbles.

After casting, the bronze cannon needs to cool for a period of time. Then, the craftsmen break the outer mold to obtain a rough cannon barrel blank, and then carry out processes such as polishing the cannon barrel.

Observing until 3 p.m., Vig did not interfere with the craftsmen's cannon-casting process, but only offered three suggestions regarding firing:
A new gun carriage was designed to facilitate the adjustment of the gun's firing angle.

During loading, gunpowder packets are used instead of loose gunpowder to increase the loading speed. After each firing, a mark is made on the surface of the barrel to prevent accidental barrel explosion due to excessive use.

After the observation tour, Vig distributed rewards to the artisans and returned to the palace by carriage, still recalling information about early cannons along the way.

According to the original timeline, in the 14th century, the earliest type of cannon to appear in Western Europe was a short, stubby-barreled cannon that fired large-caliber stone projectiles, known as a stone-throwing cannon. The projectiles had a high trajectory, resulting in poor accuracy. Furthermore, these cannons were very heavy and unsuitable for field use; they were typically cast on-site outside the city walls by the besieging forces, a process that was extremely time-consuming.

In the 15th century, Europe began to cast bronze cannons in one piece, with longer barrels and more uniform inner walls, which could withstand higher chamber pressures and further enhance their power.

(In 1453, the Ottomans besieged Constantinople, and the cast Urban cannons could fire stone projectiles weighing hundreds of kilograms, causing significant damage to the walls of Constantinople.)
Overall, the bronze cannons produced by the arsenal were at the technological level of the 15th century. The metallurgical technology of that era was backward, making it difficult to improve the power of the cannons in a short period of time.

In addition, the arsenal also experimented with using cast iron cannons, which cost only one-third of bronze cannons. The trade-off was a higher rate of barrel explosions, so the iron cannon project was shelved.

October, Mediterranean Sea, Sicily.

Following their victory at the Battle of Syracuse, the Byzantine fleet pursued their advantage, sweeping away Moorish ships along the Sicilian coast and cutting off the Moorish army's supplies and reinforcements on the island.

Two weeks later, fleet commander Nikitas Orifas returned to Syracuse and received bad news from home:

The 10,000 soldiers who were originally scheduled to depart from Athens changed course and went to Anatolia to quell a heretical rebellion.

"What does this mean? Without an army, how can I retake the whole of Sicily? Assuming the rebellion isn't quelled, will I never receive reinforcements?"

Orifas asked several questions in succession, but the messenger did not give a direct answer, only advising the commander to wait patiently.

How long will it take exactly?

Orifas was shocked by the incompetence of his colleagues, who, despite expending a great deal of manpower and resources, still failed to defeat the heretical army composed of the poor and lower classes.

He thought to himself, "If Niels hadn't retired, this rebellion probably wouldn't have lasted more than two years."

Without reinforcements, the situation in Sicily reached a stalemate. At this point, a visitor approached Orifas and offered to help in the battle.

"you are?"

The visitor removed his cloak, revealing a young face in his early twenties. "I am Alfred, heir to the throne of Wessex. I lived in a monastery in Frankish England for several years before fleeing to Italy with refugees. I currently serve in the court of Emperor Charles."

Orifas heard about the changes in recent years: the Frankish kingdoms left by Charlemagne were easily conquered by the Viking army, and a large number of Frankish refugees poured into Italy. In order to make a living, they really needed a well-paid job.

“Very well, I will immediately write to Constantinople and request Basellus’s consent. Assuming you cannot obtain the land, will Charles the Bald still be willing to send troops?”

Alfred gave a wry smile. "Of course, we have no other choice."

(End of this chapter)