Chapter Twenty-Nine: Gunpowder

Large quantities of weapons used by special operations units—including special daggers, trilobed spikes, climbing ropes, and compact crossbows—were already being manufactured by the Directorate of Military Armaments according to Yang Xi’s designs. Such weapons could be used in any era. Even in the firearms warfare of later generations, they would remain indispensable in special operations and would be employed in large numbers.

When special operations teams carried out missions, they could not use firearms or grenades under every circumstance. At many critical moments, they had to rely on the soldiers’ specialized skills, including hand-to-hand combat, as well as weapons that were easy to carry, convenient to use, and completely silent.

The dagger and trilobed spike forged by the Directorate of Military Armaments according to Yang Xi’s designs were surprisingly refined and durable, much to his delight. After examining the samples, he immediately wrote a letter suggesting several improvements and asked his father, Yang Guozhong, to order the Directorate to perfect the designs and manufacture them in large quantities for future use.

A climbing rope was an essential tool in special operations, particularly in the age of cold weapons. Without one, it was impossible to scale city walls or cross trenches. Yet producing a rope that was both sturdy and easy to carry was no simple matter.

Yang Xi’s climbing rope was made from jute fiber. Although it was inferior to the nylon ropes of later generations, it was still strong and durable enough to serve as a tool for scaling city walls, fortifications, cliffs, hills, and other structures or elevated terrain. One end was fitted with a grappling hook. It could be thrown by hand or launched with a specially designed large crossbow, reaching even a city tower dozens of meters high with ease and striking its target accurately. It could also be used to cross rivers, ditches, and similar obstacles.

A batch of telescopes had also been produced, but Yang Xi was not very satisfied with them. Their main flaw was the poor quality of the images. He suggested that Yang Guozhong order the craftsmen of the Directorate to continue improving them.

All these were auxiliary devices for special operations. What Yang Xi wanted even more was for gunpowder to be produced as soon as possible. If it could be used to make portable grenades or hand bombs, the combat power of the special unit, once fully formed, would be greatly enhanced. Unfortunately, producing gunpowder was destined to be no simple task. Even preparing the raw materials alone required considerable time and effort.

Yang Guozhong wielded enormous influence at court, ranking second only to the emperor, Li Longji. Even the Crown Prince, Li Heng, could not compare with him in influence. Nevertheless, when Yang Xi asked Yang Guozhong to prepare the necessary ingredients, some effort was still required. Sulfur and charcoal were easy enough to obtain. Saltpeter was produced within the Tang realm as well, but high-purity saltpeter was difficult to acquire and even harder to refine.

It took Yang Guozhong more than a month to collect two or three hundred pounds of reasonably pure saltpeter for Yang Xi.

Before Yang Xi made the request, there had been little need for saltpeter anywhere, and the court had issued no order to gather it. To collect it at short notice—and demand a high degree of purity—was hardly easy. Moreover, Chang’an was not a place where saltpeter was produced. After it was gathered, it had to be transported to Chang’an and then sent onward to Tong Pass. To obtain several hundred pounds in less than two months was already an impressive achievement.

And this was still a time of war.

After the saltpeter arrived, Yang Xi immediately ordered the craftsmen he had selected to begin experimenting with the formula he had provided.

Seven parts saltpeter, two parts charcoal, and one part sulfur: this was the commonly used formula, and Yang Xi instructed the craftsmen to follow that ratio.

He also ordered them to grind the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal into powder, preferably with the particles as uniform as possible. They were not to pound the ingredients with force, however. The place where the materials were stored had to be a dry cave, and no open flame was to be allowed anywhere nearby. Highly flammable and explosive materials had to be guarded with the utmost care; otherwise, any accident would lead to immense trouble.

Fortunately, there were many mountains near Tong Pass, along with numerous natural caves. Many were easily accessible, and they were immediately designated military exclusion zones. No one was permitted to approach them without Yang Xi’s order.

With the ingredients prepared, black powder could easily be produced by mixing them in the proper proportions. On the third day after the saltpeter reached Tong Pass, a junior officer named Wang Xuan, who was responsible for the project, reported that several dozen pounds of black powder had been produced and asked Yang Xi to determine whether the process had succeeded.

Yang Xi personally oversaw the project, and the young officer Wang Xuan reported directly to him. Any successful results had to be presented to him at once.

Hearing that several dozen pounds of finished product were ready, Yang Xi immediately set aside the work in his hands. He entrusted the training to Yang Zheng, commander of his personal guards, and went to inspect the properties of the newly produced gunpowder. To give the generals an entirely new understanding of gunpowder and make them hold him in even higher regard, Yang Xi summoned every commander of the rank of senior general and above to witness the demonstration. He deliberately excluded the army supervisor, Li Fuguo.

“Marshal, what is that?” Gao Shi asked curiously when he saw the soldiers carrying a basket of black powder behind Yang Xi into a valley.

Yang Xi did not answer. Instead, he put on a mysterious expression and said, “You will know soon enough.”

Whether the gunpowder had truly been produced successfully could be determined simply by testing its explosive force.

At Yang Xi’s instruction, Wang Xuan grabbed a handful of powder and placed it in a shallow depression in the ground. He lit a stick of incense and held it close to the powder.

Under everyone’s curious gaze, the gunpowder quickly caught fire, giving off a great deal of smoke and flame. It burned out in an instant, leaving very little residue. Because he did not know how powerful the powder might be, Wang Xuan did not run away immediately after igniting it. Only when it began burning fiercely and producing vast clouds of smoke did he react. Startled, he hurried backward, but after retreating several steps, he stumbled and fell, cutting a thoroughly disheveled figure.

“What powerful substance is this? How can it produce so much smoke?” Wang Silu assumed it was some kind of powder used to create warning smoke.

“How could it be that simple? You have greatly underestimated my inventions!” Yang Xi gave a disdainful snort, leaving Wang Silu red-faced. “Cut some bamboo for me at once,” Yang Xi ordered again.

At his command, several soldiers quickly ran to the nearby hillside and cut down several lengths of bamboo as thick as a man’s arm. Following Yang Xi’s instructions, they cut them into sections, selecting one closed at both ends and boring a hole through one end.

Yang Xi instructed the soldiers to pack the black powder into the bamboo tube and gently tamp it down with a wooden rod until the tube was full. Once gunpowder was available, making a fuse would not be difficult, but none had yet been produced. Igniting the powder directly would be dangerous without a fuse. Yang Xi quickly thought of another method.

They placed the loaded bamboo tube on a rock and laid out a thin line of gunpowder extending nearly two meters from the opening. Using a fire striker, they ignited the powder at the far end.

After ordering everyone to retreat to a safe distance, Yang Xi instructed Wang Yuan, who had by then regained his composure, to go and ignite the end of the powder trail. He told him to flee immediately afterward and take cover in a safe place. Wang Xuan had already learned from his first experience. After hearing Yang Xi’s instructions, he cautiously stepped forward, used the incense in his hand to ignite the black powder trail, and immediately ran away.

The gunpowder began to burn with a rapid sizzling sound.

With a tremendous boom, fragments of bamboo shot in every direction, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Everyone except Yang Xi was badly startled.