Diversions

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

In the end, Biddeburg was lost. The lords inside took advantage of the cover of night to set up false torch banners on the city walls and quietly withdrew through the underground tunnels.

When dawn broke, the Duke's army began preparing for a new day of assault. Jaius, with bloodshot eyes from a lack of sleep, commanded the operations.

The night before, he had only slept for a few hours. Late at night, a patrol from the western edge of the castle reported seeing faint lights in the distant west. The officer in charge of the patrol, not daring to be careless, rode quickly to report to the camp.

Suppressing his frustration at being woken, Jaius asked, "Are you sure it was enemy reinforcements?"

"We can't be sure; the distance was too great and the lights soon disappeared. But I think caution is wise."

"You did well. Notify all camps to be on high alert!"

Jaius had to remain extremely vigilant; who would be traveling in the dead of night unless planning an ambush? A surprise attack without any preparation could be disastrous.

Most of the soldiers, coming from civilian backgrounds, couldn't see well at night. When startled awake, they could only swing their weapons indiscriminately, and the continuous defeats had left the troops exhausted, raising the risk of chaos.

Thus, the entire army spent a tense night.

At dawn, to boost morale, Jaius ordered the distribution of wine and meat, allowing the soldiers to feast before starting a new day of assault.

However, they found that the dreaded Thunderhammer, usually heard from afar, was silent.

The siege soldiers, pushing heavy shield carts closer to the castle, found that these defensive measures were effective at long range against incoming shells and could also protect against lethal shrapnel at close range—provided they weren't destroyed in transit. They proceeded cautiously but noticed the Thunderhammer was silent, creating an unsettling sense of foreboding that the castle defenders might be preparing even worse traps.

When the leading troops finally reached the main gate, no grenades greeted them. They soon discovered the truth—the figures on the walls were merely straw dummies.

"Have the defenders retreated?"

With this thought in mind, some bold soldiers climbed the walls.

Sure enough, there was no one inside.

"The enemy has retreated! I can take Biddeburg!"

...

Hearing the "victory" news, Jaius was both amused and frustrated. After mobilizing forces and enduring over a month of battle with over three thousand casualties, the result was this?

From the outcome, it was indeed a victory, but it felt like a victory handed over by the enemy.

There were no prisoners begging for mercy or dejected enemy generals; such a victory was deeply unsatisfying.

With troops stationed around the castle, how did the defenders manage to escape in the night? There must be some hidden secrets in the castle.

Jaius ordered a thorough search of every part of the castle, eventually discovering a tunnel leading underground in one of the warehouses.

He sent troops to search the tunnel. An hour later, the troops returned, saying the passage was blocked after a certain point.

There must be an exit to the west of the castle, and Jaius was furious, knowing that this tunnel had likely been used to transport a large amount of supplies.

"Brett Sean, you bastard!"

The entire castle seemed to echo with the Duke's son's furious roar.

The tunnel was long and had extensive reinforcements, indicating it couldn't have been hastily dug. It must have been excavated and maintained by the Sean family for emergencies.

...

On the other end, Paul was also dismayed to learn of Biddeburg's abandonment. He had hoped his allies could hold out a bit longer.

"I sent them so many weapons and supplies, including eight rapid-fire cannons, of which we ourselves have hardly any."

But there was no use in rushing; all he could do was remind the two garrisons stationed in Emden to stay vigilant.

Another thing that made him cautious was a secret letter from Schroeder, mentioning that during the battle on the Duke's border, the enemy had managed to sneak up on and occupy the artillery position through a flanking maneuver. Although the Alden army quickly counterattacked and regained the position without losing any artillery, the enemy had come into close contact with the cannons and might have obtained residual gunpowder.

While the enemy might deduce some information about gunpowder, Paul was not worried they could immediately reverse-engineer the true black powder. Even knowing that black powder consists of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, they wouldn't quickly determine the optimal ratios. Historically, China, despite being the birthplace of gunpowder, struggled to perfect the ratios even by the late Qing Dynasty due to a lack of rigorous chemical knowledge. Manufacturing quality gunpowder required a complex process involving crushing, mixing, pressing, drying, and polishing. Since Paul invented gunpowder, his armory had been diligently researching and experimenting to improve the purity of nitrate and sulfur, and to safely grind the powder, developing dozens of processes and making fine adjustments to the ratios based on usage.

Although the northwest bay had abundant nitrate, the extraction method was still primitive. "Boiling nitrate for a thousand days is no match for a single cannon shot," and expanding nitrate production remained a headache for Paul. To obtain nitrate, he even sent people to scrape out latrines, which was also why he strictly prohibited public urination. Every little bit counted, no matter how insignificant.

Paul knew the principle of using nitrifying bacteria and latrines to create nitrate on a large scale, but understanding the principle and developing a feasible process took time.

Given Alden's great demand for nitrate, it couldn't be hidden from the observant. So instead of meticulously guarding the gunpowder formula, he decided to spread misleading information.

Paul consulted with the administrative head, Old Ford, and the intelligence department head, Cecil, about his plan to build several ice factories to cover up his intentions, given the increasingly hot weather.

Old Ford was astonished: "My lord, although we are not as strapped for resources as in previous years, there aren't many wealthy people in Alden Town to buy our ice. It's bound to be a loss-making venture."

"Hmm, whether it's profitable or not is secondary. My main goal is to use it as a cover…"

Paul explained his intention.

Old Ford nodded: "It sounds like it might be useful, but it will require a large sum of money. We can't let people see it as a mere shell factory."

With the administrative head's agreement, Paul instructed Cecil: "You need to spread false information to confuse the gunpowder formula and create confusion about its sources, like claiming it's extracted from seawater."

"Leave it to me, my lord. Spreading rumors is easy."

Cecil confidently accepted the task.

(End of the Chapter)

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