The return of the Great Qin soldiers directly cemented the position of the steam engine.
Many people did not understand steam engines before, but now they all know their power.
They also understood that Great Qin would inevitably become even stronger because of the existence of steam engines.
As for Lin Tian, he was not only researching steam engines but also another terrifying thing.
That terrifying thing was none other than gunpowder.
Gunpowder had not appeared in this era, but its power was unparalleled by anything else.
Especially with the advent of firearms and cannons, the power of gunpowder reached its peak.
Even the most powerful cavalry, when faced with strong firearms and cannons, were doomed.
Even the human wave tactic, which many took pride in, paled in comparison to firearms and cannons.
Their formations could not even reach the soldiers holding firearms.
The only comparable weapon was the arrow.
However, firearms were simpler than arrows.
With a firearm, even a child could wield its power.
But it was different with arrows; without sufficient strength, one could not draw the bow, and without sufficient accuracy, one could not hit the enemy.
This meant that once firearms appeared, they would inevitably replace arrows very quickly.
And Great Qin now possessed not only iron-making technology but also steel-making technology.
These technologies, combined, gave Great Qin the possibility of forging firearms and cannons.
However, before that, gunpowder had to be produced.
The people of Great Qin were unaware of the existence of gunpowder.
If Lin Tian had not mentioned it, they would not have even known of its existence.
Especially when Lin Tian said that one bomb could directly destroy a city gate or a section of a city wall, it made people even more incredulous.
"How is this possible? How can such a thing exist in this world?"
"Yes! Those are sturdy city gates and walls, very difficult to build. How can they be easily blown open?"
"Is His Highness joking with us? How can such a thing exist? I don't believe it, no matter what!"
Many people did not believe in the existence of bombs.
They were accustomed to the fighting methods of cold weapons and believed that the greatest strength of an army still came from human power or the power of warhorses.
Lin Tian's Molotov cocktails had refreshed some people's perceptions.
But such a refresh was insignificant.
Although Molotov cocktails were very powerful, they were still far from the bombs Lin Tian spoke of.
Therefore, they were even more unwilling to believe in the existence of bombs.
Lin Tian naturally understood their thoughts.
Their voices of opposition were clearly heard by Lin Tian.
But Lin Tian did not care at all.
The more important thing for him now was to configure the bombs.
He knew that only by configuring the bombs would people be more willing to believe in their existence.
Otherwise, no one else would believe in bombs.
With this thought, Lin Tian, unusually, did not argue with them.
Instead, he began to diligently supervise the work of the artisans.
Under his supervision and guidance, the artisans quickly found the formula and configured the bombs.
In the beginning, these bombs did not have much power.
But when there was enough gunpowder, the situation changed.
The power of a single explosive was already earth-shattering.
When the explosion occurred, the artisans were stunned.
They could not believe that this was something they had created.
The tremendous sound and terrifying destructive power refreshed all their perceptions.
At the same time, they clearly felt that if they were to withstand the attack of a bomb, they would be utterly annihilated.
Instantly, all of them were filled with awe for the bombs.
When they made them, they would also tell others to be careful, extremely careful!
"This thing is full of danger, everyone must be careful, if one wrong step, we will all be blown to death!"
"Yes, everyone must be careful, this thing is enough to leave us with no remains, there must be no sparks here!"
"Before, I didn't understand why His Highness asked us to be careful, but now I understand. The power of explosives is truly terrifying. If we are not careful, we might all die!"
With such words spoken, the artisans naturally became even more cautious.
With their utmost care, they finally produced several iron bombs.
The power of the bombs came not only from their gunpowder but also from the fragments of the bombs.
Once the iron fragments exploded, it was a huge impact for the soldiers.
Especially the lethality of those iron fragments, which was difficult to resolve in this era.
This made Lin Tian value them even more.
Therefore, the bombs that Lin Tian had people make were all iron.
When these iron bombs were presented, the ministers were still unwilling to believe that bombs had such power.
"How is this possible? How can an iron lump have such terrifying lethality?"
"Yes, I don't see anything different about them. They look no different from an iron ball!"
"Did His Highness bring the wrong items? Do these iron balls really have the power he claims? Even others wouldn't believe such a thing, would they?"
These ministers had never seen bombs, so they could not believe in the power of bombs.
The idea of a cannonball destroying a city gate or a section of a city wall was something they dared not even imagine.
It sounded more like a myth, how could the soldiers believe it.
Their disbelief naturally attracted more onlookers.
Many people initially paid no attention to the existence of bombs.
But after so many people were discussing the existence of bombs, they could not help but notice, even if they wanted to.
Upon noticing, they also did not believe it.
The power described by Lin Tian surpassed their understanding.
Under such circumstances, it was very, very difficult to make them admit it.
Because of this, Lin Tian did not waste any more words and directly took out the bombs and had someone demonstrate.
When the bombs were placed at the foot of a废弃 city wall, they instantly captured everyone's attention.
Everyone knew that the demonstration was about to begin.
...