Chapter 178: 179

After finishing the inspection of the shipyard yesterday, I went back to Cien Villa, had dinner with everyone, and then rested. This morning, after being made to do the usual special training, I finished the preparations for the morning. Today’s inspection is with everyone.

Today we’re going to Eins’ cannon test firing… well, it’s a secret, so to speak, but there’s no problem showing it to everyone. Either way, it will be unveiled on the battlefield soon, and I have no intention of hiding the existence of the cannon itself. From the point of view of deterrence, it is more effective to have information available to some extent. 1

However, it would be a problem if it was imitated too early, so it is necessary to keep the manufacturing method and operation confidential. For the time being, we must ensure that we have the advantage. From that point of view, we decided that there would be no particular problem if we only let them observe the test firing.

“Shall we go then?” I asked.

“What’s so amazing that you’d put so much importance on it, Flora?” Father asked.

“Father…… I think it would be better if you could judge it by seeing it directly……” I replied.

My parents will accompany me on today’s test firing. It’s just that it’s attracting a lot of attention. Artillery is not very developed here, a world of swords and magic. No, to put it bluntly, it is not used at all at in live combat level. It may have a use somewhere, but at least I couldn’t confirm it in the Kingdom of Ploiss or its surroundings.

If the cannon is put into practical use in the trial fire, and if its usefulness is proven in the naval battle with the Kingdom of Hollant, warfare in this world could change completely. That’s how dangerous it is, and that’s why we need to pay close attention to the outflow of technology.

While thinking about such things, I arrived at my destination in a rumbling carriage. It’s a secret laboratory located a considerable distance west of Cien.

This is a small plain sandwiched between Hexennacht and the Hulk Sea, facing both the mountains and the sea. However, there is a reasonable amount of space, and there is enough area for the test firing range, so there is no need to worry. The research institute is only built to hide its inventions.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sir Caan, please, feel welcome here,” Eins said.

“Eins, thank you for your hard work,” I said.

Eins was waiting for me when I entered the laboratory. Eins has hair that looks like it exploded, but his work seems contrary to his appearance. Or rather, he works insanely well. Even if I say something irrelevant using my knowledge, it will somehow turn into something practical and applicable. He is kind of a genius.

“Then let’s go quickly!” Eins said.

Even though we’ve just arrived, he immediately urges us to move because he wants to show us the test firing as soon as possible. Normally, when there are high-ranking aristocrats like my father, it would be rude to not invite them to tea first. But no one said such things to Eins and followed silently. I understand it’s useless to ask this doctor for such a thing… he should not be but there’s no point with how he is.

Not only my father but also Mikoto and Christa are far above me and Eins, so normally it wouldn’t be strange to get angry at Eins. Perhaps it was because everyone wanted to see the test firing as soon as possible, or because you could just say it was Eins’ personality, that we came to the test site without any complaints, and I was glad about that.

“Then please take a look! This is the new weapon, the ‘Caan Cannon'”’ Eins cried.

“””””Oh……”””””

When Eins removed the white curtain, there was an antique gunpowder cannon enshrined there. Everyone else didn’t know what it was, so there was a momentary uproar that quickly subsided. It just looks like a trolley with a metal tube on it.

“First of all, it would be quicker for you to actually see its power,” Eins said. “I would like to begin the test firing if that’s alright with you?” he asked me.

I get the last say. But it’s a bad idea to fire it here. I’ve asked everyone to go down to a safer position.

“You shouldn’t shoot right from this position,” I said. “I’d like everyone to go down somewhere with more cover and distance.”

“I assure you complete safety, you don’t even need to worry about that!” Eins countered.

Well, I can’t say that the person who made this would say that if it wasn’t proven safe. They’ve already done trial fires, so they think it’s safe and certain, so they’ll show it off in front of me. With that in mind, it makes sense to say that it’’d be fine for everyone not to move back and behind cover.

But things don’t have absolutes, and they might be surprised by the sound and shock. First of all, let everyone go down to a safe position and tell them the precautions. There is also noise and smoke, so you need to be careful not to harm your ears.

That’s why I let everyone go down to a safe place and told them that it would be better to cover their ears as much as possible because there was a loud noise when firing. After finishing all the preparations, it’s time to start the test fire.

“Well then… FIRE~!” Eins yelled.

DOOOOOHHHNNNNN…!

At the same time, there was a loud explosion, and smoke rose from the “Caan Cannon,” then a shockwave at the target far ahead, and finally a cloud of dust and smoke thrown up in its wake.

“Ooh…!” Mother cried.

“This is……” Father muttered.

I can see the surprised expressions on my parents’ faces. It may be the first time I’ve seen Father so surprised. The target is nothing more than a circle drawn on a gigantic board. The distance is probably about 500m from the cannon.

The target was so big that I thought it was natural to hit it, but even so, we barely hit the edge of the target. This would be technically unavoidable.

Speaking of guns that I think of as a modern human being, I think of a long, rifled barrel, towed around on a platform with a motor, with a braking mechanism to deal with the recoil. In comparison, the guns here have short barrels, smooth-bore barrels, and no braking so they get hit with the full brunt of the blast.

In modern times, smooth-bore cannons are being used again for tank guns, but that is due to the evolution of shells, and rifled barrels are better than smooth-bore barrels for normal firing.

Many people probably know that in baseball and soccer, non-spinning balls are treated like magic balls that change trajectory unpredictably. The same is true for the shells fired from a gun, cannon, or other forms of artillery.

Whether it’s a cannonball or a ball fired without spinning, they don’t fly straight and their trajectory changes irregularly due to the influence of air resistance and the direction air is displaced in thanks to the shape of the bullet or shell. In baseball and soccer, it’s a magic ball that works to your advantage because the opponent can’t trace the trajectory, but that’s not the case with guns and cannons. There’s nothing more meaningless than a cannonball that doesn’t hit what you were aiming at.

If you shoot from a cannon as a means of attack, it is better to hit the target as much as possible. The more accurate you are, the better the weapon, and you’ll find that there’s no point in having bullets that don’t go where you wanted them to. Rifling solves these problems and improves control accuracy.

By digging a spiral groove in the gun barrel, the cannonball that passes through it will rotate in a certain direction. Rotating shells fly almost straight, unlike non-rotating shells from smooth-bore guns. Rifling the barrel is a good way to improve accuracy.

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I know it’s better to rifle my barrels intellectually, but it’s technically difficult. Just casting the barrels is all we can do now, so it’s impossible to suddenly rifle them, too.

In the history of the earth, the smooth-bore artillery developed first. The opponent was an immovable target such as in a siege battle against fortifications or a large target such as a ship, and the basic operation was to just fire it and hit it somewhere. Of course, artillery can also be used for anti-personnel purposes, but they originally did not have the accuracy to consistently drop shells in the middle of massed soldiers.

That’s why the cannons that were equipped on ships were always a long line of them, counting on any one of them hitting by sheer numbers than accuracy. In addition, it does not have the power to sink a ship with guns, so it will be a close-up firing at a certain distance. It’s just a way to use it to soften up an enemy before boarding and getting into hand-to-hand combat.

From there, the guns and ships gradually evolved… but let’s put that aside for the time being.

It’s technically impossible to suddenly build a cannon on par with modern Earth at this point. In the test firing test, the target was placed about 500m away, but I think the actual maximum range is 2-3km. However, if it is that far away, the accuracy will waver too much and it will not stand up to practical use. At this rate, it will be limited to operating within 1 km in actual combat.

Then there’s the problem of how to load the cannonballs. In modern times, breech-loading is common, but it is structurally difficult. To begin with, the muzzle-loading type has various problems, such as a slow loading speed and a high possibility of a serious accident during the removal of a loaded cannonball in the event of a misfire or delay in firing.

The breech-loading type has the advantage of reducing the possibility of misfires, delays, and serious accidents when reloading, fast loading speed, and easy re-aiming because the gun does not need to be moved if it is a naval gun.

However, it is not necessary to make it a rear-loading type. The rear-loading type has a difficult structure. If the tail end is not properly sealed, the combustion gas will leak and explode everywhere, which is dangerous. Furthermore, gas leakage means that the energy is not transmitted to the shell and is lost, and the power of the gun decreases.

There are various problems, such as the structure must be tightly sealed and strong, and the breech must be strong enough to withstand the stress of repeated firing.

The “Caan Cannon” developed by Eins this time is a muzzle-loading smooth-bore cannon with a short caliber. I think this alone has the power to completely change the battlefield of this era, but it’s still hard to say that it’s a satisfactory result from my point of view. However, there is one thing that our guns excel at: gunpowder.

Originally, black powder was used on Earth. Before long, brown powder, which was improved from black powder, began to be used. Both were smoky, though. In a windless battlefield, the smoke from the gunfire turned the air pure white and obstructed your vision.

After that, the technology progressed further and smokeless gunpowder was invented, and smokeless gunpowder is still used today. Smokeless gunpowder is somewhat of a misnomer as it naturally produces smoke, but much less than smoked gunpowder.

Smokeless gunpowder is still in use today, but one type is made of nitrocellulose. Yes, we make cellulose from cotton, and nitrocellulose is made by mixing nitric acid and sulfuric acid with that cellulose.

There are various problems with these gunpowders, but the big one is that they are superior to smoked gunpowder and only we can supply them within our territory. There is nothing better than this from the viewpoint of technological superiority and risk of outflow to third parties.

After that, trial firing tests with multiple cannons side by side and endurance tests by continuous fire were conducted. I have to say that it is still immature for me, but this alone can be said to be a big change. Further research is needed in the future, but with this, I can deliver a good beating to the Kingdom of Hollant’s ships.

“This is a massive achievement,” Father said, his face grim.

“Thank you very much,” I said.

I don’t think he was praising me. This is… it may be that he is vaguely aware of the changes that will be brought about by the cannon.

Anyone can handle a cannon with a little training. And you can easily fire a series of shots that ordinary magicians couldn’t handle. If you’re a magician, it’s over when your magic power runs out, and it takes a long time to cast a spell. In comparison, with a cannon, you can shoot as much as you want until you run out of ammunition.

And the soldiers and knights who get hit by it will be mowed down without any means to defend themselves. No matter how well-trained a knight is, there is no way to defend yourself in the face of a gunpowder cannon. A knight’s training efforts, a magician’s education, it’s a devil’s weapon that blows away anything put in front of it.

As a person in charge of his army, and as a soldier who is one of the strongest in this country… Father must have his thoughts…

“Say, Flora dear! Mother wants to try going against that thing! It’s fine, isn’t it? Go shoot one of these things at me! Okay? Okay?”

“………… Mother,” I said.

And now there’s Mother… Are you going to take a cannon on foot? I don’t want to see my mother get turned into minced meat…

“Come on! Anytime is fine! Hurry up and shoot me!” Mother said.

“When did you…” I muttered.

In the space of that thought, Mother was now standing in front of the target with her usual spear at the ready, pulled out from somewhere.

“Then let’s fire again!” Eins cried.

“Hey! Idiot! Stop it!”

Eins immediately gave the order to fire. The artillerymen fired without hesitation. I could see the cannonballs being shot out like it was in slow motion… At this rate, Mother… No, with this cannon’s accuracy, it should be rare to hit a standing human with pinpoint accuracy… Mother, please don’t die!

“Haah!”

“Huh……?”

Unable to believe the scene in front of me, I stiffened with my hand outstretched. Mother had rushed towards the cannonball that was straying off target and knocked it down with her usual spear.

No…it doesn’t make sense at all. What is this? Is it a dream? What does it mean for a flesh-and-blood human to knock down a cannonball, even if it’s quite old-fashioned by modern earth’s standards?

“You can shoot more at me, you know~!” Mother said.

“Very well then… FIRE~!” Eins cried.

DON-DON-DON…!

I stopped thinking while watching Mother knock down the cannonballs as they were fired one after another.

Footnotes

Sun Tzu would have endorsed this wholeheartedly. If you could get your opponents to go “Nope, not dealing with that shit!” and refuse to go to war with you, to begin with, that would be the greatest victory.

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