Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 379 Shipborne Artillery
In November 871 AD, Vig traveled by carriage to the arsenal south of Rendenium to observe the latest model of bronze naval cannons.

The grassland was the same as last year. Ten draft horses pulled a heavy bronze cannon, its target a thick wooden plank a hundred meters away.

The craftsman stuffed the gunpowder packet and iron ball into the powder packet one by one, then pierced the powder packet with an iron rod and inserted a fuse to ignite it.

boom!
A deafening roar tore through the air, the cannon recoiled violently, carving deep furrows in the ground, and flocks of birds in the distant forest scattered in panic.

After the shooting ended, Vig ran over to observe: the wooden plank at the front was damaged, and although the scarecrow behind it was not directly hit, it was riddled with holes by the flying wood chips.

The second round of firing also targeted the wooden planks, slightly thinner, equivalent to the planks of a medium-sized warship. This time, a terrible gap was torn in the foremost plank.

The results of the two test firings showed that the bronze cannon could penetrate the hull of small and medium-sized warships.

If facing the Romans' heavy Dromon warships, bronze cannons would be somewhat ineffective. They should aim at the bow, stern, and upper deck, as these areas are relatively weak and can be easily penetrated by the cannons.

Next, the craftsmen tested the destructive power of the naval cannons on the stone walls. The bombardment lasted for about an hour, until Vig's patience ran out, and he went to the canteen for lunch.

After eating a large plate of shrimp pies, he lay down in his chair for a midday nap. Some time later, Vig returned to the firing range, where the shelling continued, and a thin plume of white smoke filled the air.

Suddenly, he heard a booming sound that seemed to carry an unusual, muffled noise. He went over to check and found many scratches, some shallow and some deep, inside the cannon barrel.

The craftsmen looked at each other, finished loading the cannon again, inserted an extension fuse into the breech, lit it, and then everyone took cover behind nearby bunkers.

This time, there was no deafening roar. Instead, there was an extremely terrifying, sharp, and piercing tearing sound, like the dying howl of a giant beast!
A clear, twisted crack suddenly appeared in the middle of the cannon barrel, and a large amount of white smoke and sparks shot out from the crack, igniting a small patch of dry grass nearby. The shell left the muzzle weakly, and after flying only a short distance, it softly fell to the ground on the grass.

Vig: "How many shells were test-fired in total?"

The supervisor replied awkwardly, "Two hundred and ninety rounds. We can continue to improve it, and it will definitely meet your requirements."

“There’s no time. Produce them according to the current model.” A three-masted sailing ship can carry twenty cannons, so Viger decided to produce one hundred and twenty cannons to make six gunboats to deal with the possible outbreak of war in the Western Mediterranean.

After his visit, Vig returned to Londinium. To accommodate the growing population, the cabinet assembled a 6,000-strong engineering team to build new city walls in the eastern and northern suburbs, expanding the city's area.

Before construction began, the cabinet recommended a wall height of twelve meters, but Vigé felt this was unnecessary and reduced it to seven meters. The future would be an age of firearms, and tall walls would be more likely to be hit by cannonballs, making them less effective for defense.

Traditionally, defenders have built as high as possible city walls to prevent attackers from scaling them, but this has the drawback of being vulnerable to artillery fire and easily breached. Vig, drawing inspiration from the defensive design principles of the firearms era, abandoned purely stone walls and instead opted for a mixed earth and stone structure.

The interior is filled with rammed earth, which can effectively absorb the impact of artillery shells, and the exterior is built with bricks and stones to prevent rainwater from eroding the rammed earth layer.

During the siege, even if the outer brick and stone layer was destroyed by artillery shells, the inner rammed earth layer could still effectively block infantry charges and subsequent artillery bombardment. The cabinet did not strongly oppose this ingenious idea. Even if the city wall was built according to the new specifications, it would only cost more money. The empire was now financially secure, and there was no need to anger the emperor over such a trivial matter.

Once the city walls are completed, the city area will expand to three times its current size, accommodating up to 150,000 residents. Afterward, the construction team will pave the streets, with the middle slightly higher and drainage ditches on both sides, through which rainwater and sewage will flow into the underground sewer system.

The sewer system features a classic Roman arch structure, measuring 4 meters wide and 3.5 meters high, allowing a small boat to pass through, facilitating future maintenance and dredging.

Meanwhile, the University of London team, referencing ancient texts, reconstructed the surveying instruments and levels used by the Romans to ensure that the sewers always maintained a slight slope, allowing sewage to flow and eventually flow into the lower reaches of the Thames.

The final major project involved laying wooden tracks in the middle of the main road. These tracks reduced wheel resistance, allowing horses to pull heavier carriages, significantly improving transport efficiency and reducing congestion on the main road.

In Vig's memory, in the mid-19th century, horse-drawn carriages appeared in European and American cities. They had fixed stations and timetables, and their operation was similar to that of buses and subways in later times, until they were replaced by trams.

Due to a shortage of manpower, the residents' houses were contracted out to private construction teams.

The residential buildings were generally similar in style, three stories high. The ground floor facing the street was used as shops or workshops, while the second and third floors were for living. Ordinary people could not afford glass windows, so they used wooden shutters to cover them.

As evening fell, Vig finished his inspection and was returning to the palace when he suddenly smelled a peculiar and strong aroma, bitter yet containing a certain fragrance.

He gently patted the carriage to signal it to stop and leaned out to observe his surroundings.

Not far away, two sailors huddled together in the cold wind, huddled around a copper kettle, the flames beneath it flickering in the wind. One of them was pounding dark beans in a stone mortar, the powder being poured into boiling water to create a thick, dark brown liquid.

"A magical drink from the New World, sold cheaply, or your money back if you don't like it."

A bored young man took the earthenware bowl handed to him by the sailor, took a small sip, and exclaimed, "Devil's bile!" He coughed, almost spitting it out, which drew undisguised laughter from the surrounding crowd.

Another, younger sailor sighed, tossed a piece of brown sugar into the copper pot, and stirred it vigorously with a wooden spoon. Finally, he poured himself a small bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it down, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

After finishing his drink, the young sailor exhaled a puff of white breath, his face radiating an almost divine glow. His fatigue and hunger seemed to vanish instantly, and his eyes blazed with a burning light.

“Those native priests were right, this is food for the gods! I felt a warm flame burning from my throat all the way down to my stomach, and then spreading energy throughout my entire body!”

However, no matter how hard the sailors performed, no one was willing to buy their hot cocoa. Until a soldier in a black cloak came along, dropped a small bag of coins, and bought the unsold cocoa beans.

(End of this chapter)