After the explosives were prepared, Manuel had the house's leaks hastily repaired and then slept soundly. Two days later, after he had prepared a certain amount of nitroglycerin, Manuel immediately took them and left the house, heading to the palace to gather relevant personnel, asking them to personally take him to the mine site. When asked why he wanted to go personally, he gently shook the glass bottle he held in his hand and the oily liquid inside it, smiling warmly: 'Regarding the excavation of the iron ore, there is a way now.' At the same time, he struck a pose he liked very much in his previous life, thinking: 'Let me show them what I can do.'
The crowd was half-believing, half-doubting, and could only lead him to the mining area in the hilly region near Panticapaeum. This was the location confirmed by naturalists after he ordered the exploration and excavation of iron ore, and the personnel and miners responsible for this aspect were worried about this theoretically existing but unexcavatable iron ore vein, fearing that if the Crown Prince became angry, he would personally order them to be exiled to the Kerch Isthmus.
But now they saw the Crown Prince personally bringing people to this mining site that was already under excavation, and they were greatly puzzled: What does the Crown Prince want to do?
The personnel in charge of this aspect hurried forward to greet him, and Manuel, seeing this, also went straight to the point: 'Tell me directly, what is the current progress of the mine excavation? How deep have you dug? How long have you been digging? How many pule rong are left until the theoretically existing ore vein?'
The person in charge dared not neglect and quickly replied: 'Reporting to Your Highness, we started digging from the bottom of the hill, and we have been digging for nearly a month. Currently, we have probably dug half a pule rong, and adding the height of the hill, it should be more than 2 pule rong in total. Although professional naturalists have indeed confirmed that there is iron ore below, Your Highness, now it's just hard rock that is difficult to dig. As for the specific depth, I am very sorry, it is unknown.' As he spoke, he couldn't help but become a little agitated.
Manuel listened, pondered for a moment, and quickly made his decision.
'Just take me to the deepest pit currently dug. I brought some things that might be useful.' He stroked his chin, giving this order, and showed them several large bottles of oily liquid he brought, along with a large box of black gunpowder. On the way, he personally supervised to ensure no mishaps occurred while moving them.
Everyone looked greatly puzzled, and some even whispered in doubt: 'That's strange, does the Crown Prince also know alchemy and natural history? I haven't heard of it?'
A few moments later, Manuel, led by several responsible persons, approached the deepest mine shaft. He first squatted down to observe the soil, then took some soil particles with his right hand, and then took out a magnet from his bosom, making a gesture to inspect the soil in his hand. 'This location should have iron, at least from the color of the soil it should contain iron, the specific amount is unclear. But according to what I remember from my previous life, if I'm not mistaken, the iron ore should be here. Anyway, just put on a show to fool those around who don't understand scientific knowledge.' He muttered to himself.
'If all goes well, there should only be about half a pule rong left, in which case the nitroglycerin I brought should be enough. But I still pray it's not a 160-meter vein.' Thinking of this, Manuel immediately made an orthodox cross in his heart to that God, who he didn't know if he existed.
After he was mentally prepared, Manuel stood up and ordered: 'Alright, first bury half of the box of gunpowder I brought into this small pit that has been dug out, then bring me those oily agents in the glass bottles that I brought. Remember to handle them with care, otherwise, accidents will happen. As for what kind of accident,' he added at the end, 'I don't think you'll want to know.'
Upon hearing this, the transporting miners immediately became highly vigilant, carefully burying the black gunpowder into the pit as he instructed, and then carefully placing the bottles of nitroglycerin, which had already been moved nearby, beside him.
Once they were all ready, Manuel took a deep breath, carefully placed a large bottle of explosive right in the middle of the buried black gunpowder, then took out a fuse from his pocket, lit it directly, and threw it among the black gunpowder. He then quickly retreated several steps straight out of the mine pit, moved to a safe position, and then turned his back. At the same time, a strong urge made him involuntarily spread his arms and smile confidently.
Almost at the same time Manuel smiled, a violent roar came from the mine pit behind him, startling everyone present, including him. But for the sake of his demeanor, he stubbornly did not turn around to look at the explosion he had caused.
But the onlookers around were completely startled; some uneducated and superstitious miners had already knelt on the spot, making the sign of the cross, praying to the Holy Father, Mother, and Son. Some even regarded the Crown Prince before them as a miracle worker. And those noble officials were also shocked by the Crown Prince's actions and the resulting outcome. Manuel's calm expression contrasted sharply with the violent explosion behind him, causing many people, either out of fear or admiration, to unconsciously obey him.
After the explosion ended and it was confirmed safe, Manuel sent someone to check the depth of the newly blasted pit. Half a moment later, the person returned with joyful news: 'Reporting to Your Highness, the new pit formed after the explosion is already nearly 3 pule rong deep.'
Everyone was overjoyed, except for Manuel. After hearing this, he secretly frowned, wondering in his heart: 'That's not right, why does nitroglycerin only have this much power? This doesn't match my stereotype of it. Is it because of the limitations of medieval conditions that it's impossible to produce a purer oily explosive? That's a bad conclusion.'
But seeing the joy on everyone's faces, he could only suppress his wild thoughts and not express them. Instead, he took another large bottle of nitroglycerin, turned around after confirming a safe distance as he had just done, then forcefully threw it backward again, performing another 'real men never look back at explosions' act.
This time, he finally got the result he wanted. After the explosion ended and it was safe for a period, the skilled miners immediately went to inspect the pit. This time, it had been blasted to a depth of three and a half pule rong, and the iron ore vein hidden underground finally revealed itself. After double confirmation by experienced miners and naturalists, everyone here cheered heartily, celebrating the perfect result they had achieved.
'These oily agents, because they use nitric acid and soap, let's call them nitroglycerin. As for their classification, I have decided to designate a category of chemicals called explosives,' Manuel introduced after everyone had finished celebrating. The key personnel responsible for the iron ore meticulously recorded what he had just said, to be used as important reference material for future construction.
'A total of 4 bottles of nitroglycerin; two were just used. As for the remaining two bottles, I'll leave them for you to blast out the rest of the iron ore vein.'
'Thank you for the Crown Prince's generous gift.'
'Oh, by the way, one more thing, be careful when using this nitroglycerin,' Manuel immediately added, reminding them after thinking about its properties, 'Their nature is active and unstable; if you are clumsy, it's very easy to…'
Before he finished speaking, a violent explosion immediately occurred among a team of miners who were trying to handle a bottle of nitroglycerin. Several people at the center were instantly blasted to a crisp.
'What did I tell you?' Manuel sighed, rubbing his forehead at the sight.