"Stand up, His Highness the Fourth Prince is coming," Iron Axe clapped his hands and shouted before they had even rested for a quarter of an hour.
Van'er quickly returned to his position. The previous special training had given him a conditioned reflex to obey orders. Almost subconsciously, he had already picked up the wooden stick and made the preparation for the previous stab.
The Prince and his entourage went up the wall and passed behind the troops. Van'er noticed that His Highness slowed down when he passed his position.
Roland sighed in his heart. It was true that getting up late ruined the morning and getting up early ruined the day. He had just finished dealing with the aftermath of the night attack on the castle, and now he had to come to review the results of the militia's recent training. Poor me, I didn't sleep all night, and now I'm sleepy. But I have to come. Now the militia has entered the stage of pre-battle training. As the supreme commander, if I don't show up for a long time, my sense of existence will decline, and the people will become unstable.
Hmm... what should I say during the review? Roland thought for a moment, "Good morning, comrades, you've worked hard?" If no one answered the second half, it would be very embarrassing to shout out this slogan. It would be better to find someone to talk about daily life, to show that I am polite to the wise, and to increase my reputation.
With that in mind, he patted a rather sturdy looking young man on the shoulder.
"You've worked hard, are you tired? Have you had a good meal? "
According to the experience from watching the news, the other side's reaction should be to excitedly answer, "I'm not tired, very good!" As a result, he was so excited that he turned around and directly knelt down on one knee, which scared Roland.
Van'er felt that he was blessed by God. His Highness actually asked him if he was tired from the training in a friendly tone! Usually, not to mention the royal family, even the ordinary nobles were unwilling to say a word to them. He subconsciously imitated the Knight and saluted to His Highness, regardless of whether this set of etiquette was suitable for him or not. There was only one voice in his heart: when I return to the old street, I, Van'er, will also be regarded as a person of importance.
After being asked to stand up, Van'er was still confused, and he couldn't remember how to answer.
Finally, when His Highness asked him if he had any opinions or opinions on the training, Van'er suddenly became sober — this was a good opportunity! If he could convince His Highness that the militia alone could not shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding the city wall, he wouldn't have to worry all day about whether to run or stay.
He carefully considered the words in his heart, "Your... Your Highness, there are too few people in the militia at present. According to their current formation, when the demonic beasts attacked, they would only be able to defend less than one-third of the city wall. You... "
Even if the prince were to recruit a few more batches, the training time would be too late, Van'er thought. In addition, the weapons used by these people were also a big expense. It would be very difficult for Border Town to gather enough spears for three hundred people within two months, even a hundred would be very difficult – so they were still using wooden poles to train.
If His Highness could realize this, he might recruit a group of mercenaries from other towns as the city. At the very least, they did not need to train and could directly enter the battlefield. At the same time, they brought their own weapons and armor, but the price was higher.
Roland thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. It's not realistic to rely on a militia to guard the entire city wall."
Van'er was delighted. "Does His Highness mean... that he agrees with me?"
But Prince Roland did not say what he expected to hear. Instead, he called Iron Axe to his side. "Demonic beasts are, in a sense, just a variant of beasts. They don't have the ability to think, do they?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Ordinary demonic beasts are no different from wild beasts, even their habits are basically the same … But I haven't seen many mixed demonic beasts, so I'm not sure."
"That's good, although the distance from the Redwater River to the foot of the Northern Slope Mountain is nearly 1,800 feet (600 meters) long, we can lure them to attack a specific area."
"You mean setting a trap?" Iron Axe asked.
"It's a trap, but it's not the kind hunters usually use. Ordinary traps relied on hiding themselves to catch their prey, but I intended to do the opposite. I would set up pocket roadblocks far away from the city walls, such as fences, slopes, and ditches, forcing these brainless demonic beasts to take a detour. The continuous obstacles will lead the prey to a specific location, and finally, they will be concentrated in the defensive area we have prepared. "Roland looked at Iron Axe." As for how to lure these monsters, I think no one is better than you at it. "
Iron Axe thought for a moment, "Leading them is not a problem. Wolves don't like to touch water, wild boars are afraid of light, and other demonic beasts have their own habits. But Your Highness, if we do this, all the demonic beasts will be concentrated in this 600 feet range. Isn't it too dangerous? "
"If we only relied on spears and bows, it would indeed be so." Roland confidently said, "But now, we have new weapons."
When they left, the prince once again came behind Van'er and patted him on the shoulder. "Good observation. What's your name?"
"Van... Van'er, Your Highness."
"I will propose to my Chief Knight to appoint you as the Vice Captain of the Lancer Team. Mr. Van'er, do a good job."
*****
Roland built a new bungalow in the backyard of Duan Shaofang, which was used to make snow powder – that is, gunpowder.
This 300-square-meter room had only one entrance and exit, and the strictest security system was implemented. Two Knight guarded the door, and anyone who entered had to register and be searched to prevent bringing in any kindling. No fire was allowed inside, so they could only work during the day. In order to prevent Nightingale from sneaking in, the door frame was also hung with a gauze curtain.
"Is this the new weapon you mentioned?" Carter, who had been summoned, picked up a little black powder with his fingers, put it in front of his nose and sniffed, "Isn't this snow powder?"
Iron Axe might not know, but Carter often participated in royal ceremonies, so he naturally knew that this was the stuff in the ceremonial barrel. It was the proudest work of the alchemy workshop. The formula was a secret to outsiders, but if the prince wanted it, he would definitely get it.
"It's snow powder, but not exactly," Roland said, "The alchemy workshop's latest improved product, I call it gunpowder."
Gunpowder could be said to be an essential farming tool for any transmigrator. The materials came from a wide range of sources. As long as one knew the best ratio of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter was 1: 1: 7.5, it could be produced without any technical barriers.
In this era, the snow powder contained 60% charcoal, 20% sulfur and saltpeter, and 20% other strange materials (such as mercury, butter, honey, etc.). It burned slowly and released little gas, so it was completely unable to play the role of gunpowder. But Roland knew that the alchemists were constantly experimenting with other ratios, and in 30 years at most, a snow powder that was closer to the standard formula of gunpowder would appear.
In history, it took a long time after the invention of gunpowder, before cold weapons were completely eliminated. This was because the formula and the corresponding weapon manufacturing process could not keep up.
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