The Gunpowder Rocket
by Manny Mandizha
While the Tang (another previous dynasty) was
responsible for the invention of gunpowder, it was the Yuan who made the
gunpowder rocket. A powerful weapon capable of devastating entire villages if
aimed correctly and precisely. The idea first came to the Yuan after a violent
fight with Song warriors which
ended in the Yuan suffering many causalities. The usually dominant Yuan asked
the question, how did we almost get destroyed? Well after careful research the Yuan realized that
the Song had gunpowder, the Yuan realized they had to utilize the heavy duty
explosive. So after conquering a couple of Yuan villages, the Yuan interrogated
enough Chinese pyrotechnics to realize the properties of gunpowder. This helped
them to avoid being defeated by the infamous powder but then they asked how
can we use this?
Yuan
warriors used their excellent craftsmanship and creativity to mold rockets.
Then they filled these sleek and aerodynamically favored weapons with
gunpowder. The Yuan then lit the rockets and they traveled hundreds of yards.
Now these rockets were just rockets, right? Wrong. They traveled hundreds of
yards and had intense, fiery explosions which killed dozens of people on
impact. Why was this beneficial? Aren’t all weapons supposed to do some sort
harm? Why was this special? It was not only was impressive but effective. The
Yuan defended their territory from invaders for eighty-nine years with this
weapon. Also they continued to invade newer territories with this same weapon.
So now this little rocket isn’t so
abstract and awkward sounding or looking. It was one of the most well known
objects in the history of projectile weaponry. It is also the reason the Yuan
were successful for so long. Overall, the Yuan dynasty was honestly one of the most dominant
dynasties because of this little rocket.
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