Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

Before receiving this time-travel topic, Zhu Youjian was happily preparing to start a time-travel historical novel.

In historical time-travel novels, plots about gunpowder and steelmaking are essential. Therefore, Zhu Youjian had long ago begun collecting and organizing such materials. It was during this process that he accidentally joined the mysterious time-travel chat group.

Since arriving in the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen had been working tirelessly to organize these relevant materials. He knew the value of the modern knowledge he held within him, like a rare treasure, fearing it would be lost. He wanted to quickly sort through the important materials while his memory was still fresh. After all, time is merciless, and he feared that over time, these crucial memories would slip through his fingers like sand.

After arriving in Yangzhou, Chongzhen could not wait to put the development of gunpowder on the agenda. During this period, he asked Wang Chengen to intensively prepare the materials needed for gunpowder. Once everything was ready, he was ready to start trial production.

It happened that Xie Quanfeng came today. How could Chongzhen let him go? Naturally, he asked him to accompany him to do this experiment.

For safety reasons, the raw materials for making gunpowder were placed in a specially prepared room. Chongzhen and Xie Quanfeng, led by Wang Chengen, went there. Along the way, Chongzhen asked, "Quanfeng, I wonder what you think of the gunpowder of our Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, the main problem with Ming Dynasty gunpowder is its lack of power. I believe the root cause is a problem with the ratio," Xie Quanfeng frowned and said after a moment's thought. "The lack of gunpowder power directly leads to the lack of lethality of firearms, making it difficult to play the role they should on the battlefield."

"That makes sense." Chongzhen nodded in agreement.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, I've devoted considerable time to studying gunpowder. I've consulted many experts in the field, but the exact proportions vary from person to person! Even those artisans within the military who specialize in gunpowder production mostly rely on their own instincts and experience... Furthermore, there's also the issue of raw materials. Even if the same person uses the same formula, using materials from different origins, the gunpowder produced can have varying potency..."

"Indeed," Chongzhen said with deep feeling, "In addition to the ratio, the purity of the raw materials is also crucial. If we want to produce powerful black powder, the selection of raw materials is a key issue."

As they were talking, they had already arrived at Chongzhen's laboratory. Although it was called a laboratory, it was actually just an empty room. At this time, in the center of the room were placed the items and raw materials that Chongzhen needed for this trial production of gunpowder.

The raw materials for making gunpowder may seem simple: saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. However, the quality of these three ingredients varies greatly depending on their origin. Unfortunately, current artisans still lack a comprehensive understanding of how the origin and quality of raw materials affect gunpowder performance. However, the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal Wang Chengen prepared this time were all carefully selected and of the highest quality.

"My formula is actually very simple," Chongzhen said, ignoring Wang Chengen's helpless look. He personally prepared the gunpowder and said to Xie Quanfeng as he worked. "We have always believed that the ratio of one nitrate, two sulfur, and three charcoal is not accurate enough. The formula I got is: one pound of sulfur, one and a half pounds of charcoal, and seven and a half pounds of saltpeter. The gunpowder made according to this ratio is much more powerful than the current gunpowder."

Chongzhen started mixing the gunpowder while Xie Quanfeng assisted him. Chongzhen was doing this for the first time, so his movements were a little unfamiliar and he was a bit flustered. Fortunately, with Xie Quanfeng's help, it didn't take long before the first batch of black powder prepared according to the optimal ratio appeared before them.

"The next steps are even more critical..."

Chongzhen poured an appropriate amount of water into the gunpowder and stirred it again, gradually forming a moist paste. He then placed the paste into a mold, pressed it into blocks, crushed it again, put it into a sieve, and began to sift it.

"Look, how is the black gunpowder made in this way different from the one you usually see?" Chongzhen kept shaking the sieve in his hand, and gunpowder particles as big as yellow rice were sifted out from the bottom.

Xie Quanfeng grabbed a handful of black powder, examined it carefully, and said hesitantly, "This black powder is in granular form and of uniform size, unlike the powdered gunpowder used in our army."

"Good eyesight," Chongzhen praised with a smile, "This granular gunpowder is the second key to this formula."

"Your Majesty, what is the difference between this granular gunpowder and powdered gunpowder?" Xie Quanfeng asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"There's a huge difference," Chongzhen explained with a smile.

"The powdered gunpowder we previously used had numerous drawbacks. For example, it could easily be squeezed too tightly inside the barrel, resulting in incomplete combustion due to lack of oxygen during ignition, significantly reducing the gunpowder's effectiveness. Therefore, experienced gunners were wary of packing the gunpowder too tightly, but packing it too loosely would also reduce its effectiveness. To pack it just right and unleash its full potential required a high level of experience and skill, making it difficult for the average person to master. Another example was that powdered gunpowder was susceptible to moisture. The saltpeter we used in our gunpowder production was often combined with highly hygroscopic calcium nitrate, which made it easily deliquescent, rendering the gunpowder unusable. Furthermore, powdered gunpowder easily stratified and agglomerated during storage and transportation, causing significant logistical challenges for the army..."

"That's true." Xie Quanfeng looked at Chongzhen in surprise and shock.

He was well aware of these problems. Even a veteran who had been working in the industry for many years might not understand them so thoroughly, but Emperor Chongzhen knew them all clearly. He couldn't help but feel curious about how Chongzhen obtained the formula.

"With this kind of granular black powder, all the shortcomings mentioned above can be solved." Chongzhen reached out and grabbed a handful of black powder, a proud smile on his face, and said,

"You see, these granular gunpowders are granular. Even when compressed, they won't stick together too tightly, nor will they clump together like powdered black powder. This allows the spaces between the granules to facilitate the flow of oxygen, which helps the gunpowder burn, making the burning rate more uniform and thus improving the efficiency of the gunpowder combustion. In contrast, when powdered gunpowder is fired, a large portion of the gunpowder is ejected from the barrel before ignition, so the power of granular gunpowder is greatly increased..."

"...Furthermore, while granulated gunpowder will stratify after bumpy transportation, the larger particles will sink to the bottom of the barrel, while the smallest particles will float to the surface. This significantly reduces clumping and does not affect the quality and usability of the gunpowder. Most importantly, granulated gunpowder has a smaller surface area to volume ratio, absorbing less moisture from the air, significantly extending the storage life of black powder..."

"Am I right?" Chongzhen said, then looked at Xie Quanfeng who was a little confused and asked.

"Your Majesty, I roughly understand what you said, but I have never heard of many of the words. I am really stupid..." Xie Quanfeng was an expert in making gunpowder, but he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Hahaha, it's okay. I actually only have a vague understanding of it." Chongzhen also realized at this time that what he said was too advanced. For example, the concept of "oxygen" was proposed by the French chemist Lavoisier in 1777. It was normal that Xie Quanfeng did not know its meaning.

However, Chongzhen would gradually organize and spread these simple chemical knowledge in the future. Of course, this is all a story for later.

"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. Let's first see if this black gunpowder is really as I said, more powerful than the one used in the army," Chongzhen said, placing a small amount of gunpowder on a special test bench, and Wang Chengen on the side lit a fuse.

At this time, Chongzhen was actually a little nervous. After all, this was his first trial production. Although he was very confident in his knowledge, he could not guarantee that there were no mistakes in the operation steps just now.

"Hey!"

The fuse instantly ignited the gunpowder on the test bench. The gunpowder burned violently, a dazzling white light flashed by, and then with a "pop", the gunpowder quickly burned out, leaving only pungent smoke.

"Ahem, this black powder burns too fast," Xie Quanfeng said, coughing as the smoke choked him. He was filled with shock. "And it burns very completely, leaving almost no residue. Unlike the gunpowder used in the army, which leaves a lot of impurities after burning..."

"Ahem, not bad, not bad." Chongzhen was also coughing repeatedly due to the smoke, but a heavy burden on his heart finally fell to the ground. He laughed heartily and said, "If this power is applied to the army, wouldn't the power of the musket be increased by several levels?"

"More than that, Your Majesty. If the power of gunpowder can truly be increased to this extent, then the role of firearms in the army will become even more important. In the past, firearms were too weak to inflict significant damage on the Qing cavalry. If the power of firearms can be significantly increased, our chances of victory in future battles with the Qing army will be much greater."

"Simply improving firearms isn't enough," Chongzhen said, shaking his head. "If we want to defeat the Qing army, we also need to improve firearms tactics. Take muskets, for example. They can only be used in a concentrated manner to achieve their maximum power. Therefore, how to maximize the power of muskets requires improvements in combat strategy. I have some ideas on this..."

"Your Majesty, it's late at night." At this time, Wang Chengen on the side couldn't help but remind him.

"Oh? What time is it?" Chongzhen came to his senses and asked hurriedly.

"It's already three o'clock in the morning." Wang Chengen said with a helpless smile.

"Time flies so fast?" Chongzhen then remembered that it was already late when Xie Quanfeng came to see him. He dragged him to do experiments and discuss things, and before he knew it, it was already midnight. "Then let's stop here for today. We can talk about other things later..."

"As you command!" Xie Quanfeng knelt down to receive the order. If he still had doubts when he first arrived, now he was truly convinced and completely devoted...