Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

"What? Talaya personally led a team to the copper mining area in Zicao County to experiment with 'explosive mining'?"

As daylight descended, the wind stirred the great tent. Xiulote suddenly paused, his heart tensing. His steady face showed surprise, with a hint of worry hidden beneath. After a few moments, he threw down the feather pen in his hand and slapped the table in anger!

"Damn it! Using gunpowder for mining, and personally conducting on-site tests? That reckless woman! Who taught her such a dangerous method?!"

Hearing His Highness's question, Guard Commander Ecatl froze for a moment, unsure of what to say. He lowered his head, remaining silent, though his mind was racing.

He had served the High Priest for many years, knowing well that the Divine Revelation Director Talaya, was the pottery girl brought into the residence seven years ago by the High Priest under his discreet command. At that time, it seemed His Highness was merely momentarily interested, without any real engagement with her. But now, listening to His Highness's tone... indeed, since His Highness could trust the Divine Revelation Place to her, their relationship must be extraordinary!...

Ecatl's thoughts drifted far, seeming to understand something. Moments later, Xiulote's expression also froze, showing embarrassment.

He suddenly remembered that just over half a year ago, he received a report from Talaya, discovering a new type of granular gunpowder! The report brought him great joy, as he imagined the potential power of the granular gunpowder, writing a lengthy reply with enthusiasm. Naturally, in the reply, he also mentioned that with the increased power of gunpowder, new applications could be expanded, including mining, road construction, clearing river reefs, and building reservoirs...

"Cough! Cough!"

A few moments later, Xiulote lightly coughed twice. His expression softened slightly as he reached out to take Talaya's letter and began to read it directly.

"Honorable Your Highness! Over the past half-year, I experimented with several new uses for gunpowder that you had mentioned to me, and suddenly a whole new world unfolded before my eyes... In the mining area of Blackstone City, I tested the first copper mine explosion with 6,000 jin of new-style gunpowder, collapsing two tunnels! During that moment, even the entire mountain was shaking, causing panic and unrest among the miners, with thousands fleeing and shouting, almost inciting a riot..."

"Although this terrifying underground explosion did excavate some ores, the risk was indeed too high! After much consideration, I decided to conduct all future blasting in open-pit mining areas. Last month, when the rainy season was over, I led the priests of the Gunpowder Bureau to mine in the open-pit copper mine in Zicao County. After two large-scale blasts, 7,000 to 8,000 jin of gunpowder were consumed, and tens of thousands of jins of blasted copper ore replaced the digging volume of over 2,000 people in a single day!..."

"Your Highness, your Divine Guidance has led me! This truly is a mining method beyond everyone's imagination! However, the consumption of gunpowder is indeed too high. The granular gunpowder consumed in this round of mining, from saltpeter collection, saltpeter making, charcoal burning, sulfur gathering, gunpowder mixing, to water granulation, also required about one to two thousand people in a day... But I believe that with more reasonable calculations and more suitable explosion points, we can effectively reduce gunpowder consumption and enhance blasting power!..."

Seeing this, Xiulote rubbed his brow, pondering for a long time. It was clear that the Alliance's gunpowder production efficiency was still not high enough, and the cost of employing miners was very low. Such explosive mining, for the time being, could not demonstrate a significant cost advantage, though its potential was very high for the future.

"My only Your Highness, the application of the new gunpowder is truly as vast as the sky! And you, are the brightest sun in my sky... In recent months, I have also attempted blowing up small hills to make the road from Mall City to the Blackstone City mining area smoother. Together with Apa County Magistrate Ezpan, we agreed to bring professional Gunpowder Bureau priests to help him clear the mountain pass and build the 150-li county road from Flower Fruit City to Apa City..."

"As for Zicao County Magistrate Etalik, he hopes the Gunpowder Bureau can send people to study the 160-li river course from Aoto City to Raven Town. However, for river course explosions, I am not confident and plan to attempt blasting the reefs exposed during the dry season when the water level is lowest..."

Reading Talaya's letter, Xiulote's eyebrows twitched, feeling uneasy. But these new uses of gunpowder were closely related to the kingdom's major construction plans and were of great importance. Thinking of this, Xiulote could only sigh softly, whispering to himself.

"Over the years, you have done well, and I have always seen it. There is no need to go to such lengths for me! I cannot trust the affairs of the Divine Revelation Place to anyone else..."

Two steps away, Guard Commander Ecatl stood with his head bowed. He observed his nose, and his mind seemed oblivious as if hearing nothing.

"Blessings of the Chief Divine!"

Xiulote whispered a prayer and looked at the latter part of the letter. Here, Talaya narrated the latest progress in gunpowder production within the Gunpowder Bureau.

The kingdom lacked neither sulfur nor charcoal; the most critical component in gunpowder production was "saltpeter." Besides the traditional methods of salt land saltpeter collection, leaching, and boiling, the Divine Revelation Place also explored ways to concentrate urine in towns to produce urine saltpeter. However, this "odorous" method was still technically immature, inefficient, and of insufficient purity.

In the past year, the real increase in gunpowder production came from the mining of saltpeter soil inside the bat caves in the southwest mountains. The kingdom's influence expanded into the southwestern mountains, and a large-scale reclamation was underway in Apa County. Many bat caves in the mountains were discovered by the reclaimed villagers, reported to the preaching priests in the villages, and then conveyed to the Divine Revelation Place.

This huge accumulation of saltpeter soil in the tropical caves was vast and of relatively high purity, nearly doubling gunpowder production to 16,000 jin per month! And such increased production gave Gunpowder Bureau Director Talaya the confidence to conduct various explosive tests and various "boom! boom! boom!" experiments!

"Your Highness, I have personally visited the bat caves to observe the craftsmen excavating saltpeter soil... Some craftsmen even lived in the caves, capturing the bats inside as food..."

As the wind died down in the great tent and the sky darkened, Xiulote was suddenly startled upon reading this segment. He immediately picked up a pen to write a reply to Talaya.

"Talaya, you must ensure to stay away from the explosion site, commanding from a distance. For every explosive plan, you must designate an on-site person in charge. And you yourself must keep your distance from the site. I command you in the name of the sun, do not disobey!..."

"Furthermore, always remember! Carefully use smoke to drive out bats from the caves, minimize contact, and especially do not consume them. The Chief Divine once bestowed enlightenment upon me, indicating that bats are His favored creatures, harboring a tiny yet fearsome curse, prohibiting followers from killing or consuming them!..."

"Finally, I leave you with a research topic... that is to collaborate with the Blackstone City mining area to study how to excavate tunnels and demolish sturdy city walls... Remember, exercise caution in everything, maintain distance, and ensure no accidents occur!"