Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

"The Chief Divine bestows upon us a Divine Artifact, unyielding and indestructible!... The cannon burst... it burst..."

A flock of crows flew across the high sky, leaving behind a cacophony of "caw caw." Xiulote sat under the tent top of the large tent, clutching the letter from the Master Caster, his face changing from pale to flushed. After a moment, he calmed his emotions, took a deep breath, and patiently read on.

"Your Majesty, more than two years ago, you mentioned many fragmented, chaotic, and unclear Divine Revelations, and you spoke of a short mortar cannon specifically for sieges..."

"Fragmented, chaotic, and unclear," upon seeing such a candid critique, Xiulote raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip.

However, this was indeed the truth. Many times, the so-called "Divine Revelation" was just him suggesting a seemingly correct technical direction and describing the shape of a creation. As for how to achieve it concretely and the technical details, those were left for the professional Craftsman Masters to explore and overcome gradually.

And during this process, the progress of the Craftsman Masters is quite evident. Just like Tilipi, who has been exploring cannon casting for many years, accumulating a wealth of experience, and even researching and manufacturing mortars on his own.

"...You mentioned that the length of the cannon determines its range, the bore size determines its power, and the weight of the cannon influences its mobility... For heavy siege artillery, the larger the bore, the better, with range being a secondary consideration. Of course, the weight of a siege cannon can be increased as long as it can be transported, even if it's slower..."

"Following this idea, I designed a new siege mortar. It is about one and a half meters long, with a bore size between seven to eight inches, holding thirty pounds of stone balls, weighing over 800 pounds..."

At this point, Xiulote focused his thoughts, picked up his pen, and began calculating.

A bronze cannon one and a half meters in length, with a bore size between seven and eight inches, equivalent to 22-26 centimeters. A matching stone ball would be approximately a half-pound, 6-6.5 centimeters in diameter, with a volume of about 1000 cubic centimeters. Based on the standard density of stone, 2.8 grams per cubic centimeter, the weight of the ball indeed approximates thirty pounds. Converted into pounds, it equates to a hefty 33 pounds! And if it were a matching iron ball with 2-3 times the density, the power would be...

"Hmm, the iron balls widely used in Europe are still too extravagant for the current Alliance. On the contrary, the manpower to machine stone balls is abundant for the Alliance. After all, when the stone balls hit the city walls, the shattered fragments could cause shrapnel damage, more suitable for the current Alliance..."

After a brief pause for reflection, Xiulote began sketching the shape of the bronze cannon on the draft paper.

The density of bronze is about three times that of standard rock, approximately 8.4 grams per cubic centimeter. An 800-pound bronze cannon is approximately 50,000 cubic centimeters. Based on the formula for calculating a hollow cylinder, with an internal diameter of 12-13 centimeters and a length of 1.5 meters, then the external diameter would be...

"External diameter of 24-25 centimeters? A cannon with a wall thickness of 6 centimeters?"

Upon reaching this point in the calculations, Xiulote's face showed surprise. Such a short, stout cannon is practically...

"...just a lump of bronze! This... the Kingdom's cannon casting technology still has significant room for improvement! Phew... with the current technology, making it as mighty and powerful as possible is the only option."

Xiulote held the pen, staring at the bronze cannon he had drawn, and after a while, he marked an "X" underneath. Then, he once again looked at the letter.

"Your Majesty, the casting of this short and broad cannon is considerably easier than that of long barrels. While the Cannon Casting Bureau took one or two years to produce the first one, with this template, they can manufacture three... no, five this year! ...Please watch and see, I, Tilipi, will exhaust my own life to death and that of my apprentices, to create enough siege artillery for you!"

The candid Master Caster left a declaration, making uncertain promises. Then, with a half-excited, half-anxious tone, he described the cannon testing details.

"During our fire trial, we used five pounds of gunpowder, launching at a forty-five-degree angle as instructed by His Majesty. The thirty-pound stone ball's range was nearly a hundred paces, creating a half-meter deep pit in the soil where it landed... During the second trial, we added ten pounds of gunpowder, reaching over two hundred paces, knocking down several big trees in the woods! Your Majesty, such range could enough to roll the city walls without worrying about the crossbows on the walls!"

Upon reading this, Xiulote's eyes flashed. Based on the parabolic formula, the range of a cannonball is related to the square of its initial velocity and is affected by air resistance. The kinetic energy provided by ten pounds of gunpowder approximately doubles that of five pounds... no, considering the possibility of incomplete combustion, it should be less than double. And since kinetic energy is proportional to the square of initial velocity, which is also proportional to range, factoring in air resistance, if five pounds of gunpowder offer less than a hundred paces' range, then ten pounds of gunpowder certainly will not exceed two hundred paces... Tilipi, my Master Caster, you're boasting again!... Moreover, such a range is slightly short, even for a mortar. Air-tightness during firing needs improvement..."

Xiulote picked up the pen, ready to pen a reprimand in reply. But after contemplating for a moment, he put down the pen without writing any words of criticism.

The last part of the letter contained details of the cannon bursting, described in only a few brief sentences.

"God bless us! The power of this mortar cannon is akin to the Divine's Thunderbolt, capable of shattering wood and stone, even walls cannot withstand! ...The Craftsman from the Cannon Casting Bureau and Gunpowder Bureau were all excited and unanimously decided to test the cannon's range limits. Director Talaya also nodded in agreement, providing the new type of gunpowder..."

"Nonetheless, I underestimated the power of the new gunpowder and added a full fifteen pounds... this resulted in the cannon bursting, and two gunners died. I have already compensated their families... Most high His Majesty, I beseech your mercy, forgive my ignorant error!..."

Upon reading this, Xiulote lowered his eyes slightly. Although Tilipi's mishap resulted in a cannon burst and casualties, such an outstanding Master Caster still deserves generous encouragement and rewards. Of course, this has to wait until the new mortar arrives at the front and demonstrates its castle-destroying, nation-destroying power!

"Your Majesty, by the time this letter reaches you, the new batch of mortar molds should have dried. This time, I'll thicken the cannon's walls again and increase its weight to a thousand pounds, wrapping the exterior with a copper hoop! With this reinforcement, this siege artillery will surely launch heavier stone balls, load more gunpowder, and hit farther distances. They are Divine Artifacts bestowed by the Chief Divine, an indestructible revelation!..."

"Hmm? A thousand-pound mortar..."

Xiulote lifted his pen once again, and after a brief calculation, adding 200 pounds, the cannon's wall thickness increased by another centimeter, further enhancing its sturdiness.

"Ha! Tilipi, my Master Caster, you are on the path of making it mighty and dumb; there's no turning back now..."

Xiulote chuckled quietly to himself. Then, he began calculating again, with a 45-degree projectile trajectory, the projectile height is about half its range. If it can fire a 33-pound stone ball over a hundred steps far, onto a little hill a hundred steps high ahead, then the daunting and hard-to-conquer White Snake Hill City in front...

"Phew! If there truly is such heavy artillery... all nations and cities of the world, before the Kingdom's army, will be as defenseless as a girl, without any power to repel!"

Xiulote's expression turned intense as he put down the letter. He rose to his feet, exited the large tent, climbed the watchtower in the camp, gazing into the northeast sky. There stood a solid hill city like a turtle awaiting the knife, recoiling tightly within its shell. At this moment, a group of Warriors of the Kingdom was escorting two genuinely fragile young girls, slowly entering the camp.