Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Several loud noises in a row exploded the morning fog in Beiping.

On the outskirts of Beiping, Jin Wuwei, Bannerman Guard, and Yulin Guard set up a guard of honor, and Jinyi Wei guarded with a knife on the side.

The court officials who accompanied the Son of Heaven on his northern tour seemed to be determined, but their ears were buzzing, and their eyes were fixed on the place where the black smoke and dust were rising, and the wooden man who was originally standing there had broken with the loud noise, soared into the air, and then fell, slamming on the ground.

The smell of gunpowder could be smelled in the air, and everything seemed to be in slow motion, constantly replaying in front of their eyes, and the shock in everyone's hearts was beyond words.

The military generals under Emperor Yongle are no strangers to firearms, even if they have not seen them with their own eyes, they know how powerful firearms can be.

The scene in front of them overturned all their previous cognitions.

The power is so powerful, the broken wood and the broken stones, how can the flesh and blood be able to resist?

Before the smoke of gunpowder completely dissipated, several guards of the Son of Heaven had already galloped to the place of explosion and explosion, and found the wooden figure that had been blown into several sections.

The fractures of the wood are charred black, and irregular pieces of iron, sand and gravel are embedded in them. You can also smell a pungent smell of gunpowder.

The broken wood is in Zhu Di's hands, and only a few people such as Zhu Neng, the Duke of Chengguo, and Shen Xuan, the Marquis of Dingyuan, can be seen closely. The rest of the generals, including Zhang Fu, could only stretch their necks and take a look at each other.

While watching, there was a lot of discussion.

"This is Fire Thunder?"

"It's so powerful."

"The Ordnance Bureau also has an oversight, which is far less than that."

"To get this divine soldier is to God bless the Ming."

The generals paid attention to the power of firearms, and the ministers did not leave the blessing of heaven in three sentences, and did not leave the auspicious rui in five sentences. Although the angle is different, the positive evaluation and affirmation of the Ming Dynasty version of the grenade is the same.

Zhu Di called Zhu Gaochu to the front, looked at the second son, who was more stable than before leaving Nanjing, patted Zhu Gaochu on the back, and smiled very heartily.

"My son is very good."

Zhu Di is the Son of Heaven, an instant emperor who kills people without blinking, and a father.

Zhu Gaochu offered fire and thunder, which made him very face-saving in front of the military generals, as the king of a country, he was happy, and as Zhu Gaoxu's father, he was even happier.

The son is out of breath, which one will be unhappy?

Look, this is my son, who is on his horse to fight, leading his troops to sweep the battle, a first-class warrior. Dismount to train the troops and make firearms, and there is no ambiguity!

Squinting at the courtiers, envy and jealousy?

Envy is useless, jealousy is even more useless!

The father, who is proud of his son, has an occasional brain pump, which should be understandable.

"Father, this is not the work of the sons alone."

Zhu Gaoxu was dressed in the usual clothes of the king of the red county, riding on the jujube red horse, showing even more handsome and arrogant. Rao is Wenchen, who supported Zhu Gaochi's ascension, also had to admit that in terms of appearance, Zhu Gaochi was indeed inferior to Zhu Gaochi, even if the prince reduced his width.

The selection of officials in the imperial court depends on their appearance, and they can be ranked in the temple only if they are handsome and chic, which is the rule set by Emperor Hongwu.

Emperor Yongle prefers to look stiff, Xiao is like his own son, and he seems to be able to say it......

"Oh?" Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaoxu and motioned for him to continue.

"Father, the fire thunder was originally made by the craftsmen of the Daning Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, and the sons heard it from the letter of the third brother, so that the Kaiping Wei Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau tried to make it, and found that the power was indeed stronger than that made by the Ordnance Bureau. Order the patrol border army to carry, encounter several times the size of their own Tartar rangers, but still calmly escape. It can also alert the bunker defenders with a burst of sound and a warning of wolf smoke. ”

Zhu Gaoxu's expression was serious, and he talked about the border defense work at all. Zhu Di listened very seriously, occasionally asked a few words, and could always ask the key point, if it weren't for Zhu Gaoxu's intentions, I was afraid that he would be asked on the spot.

After several responses, Zhu Di became more and more satisfied, and Zhu Gaoxu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since he was ordered to prepare for the side, he has made up his mind to make an appearance and do everything himself, and now it has finally paid off.

From February onwards, the bunkers of the guard posts, the lookout piers, and the enemy platforms on the city walls were all reinforced one by one.

The rations, weapons, and jackets and military shoes of the border army were even more urged every few days.

Jiang Pingbo, Chen Xuan, who was ordered to ship food and salaries by sea, and the former military governor Xuanxin were urged to get one head and two big.

It is not that they deliberately delay, it is a matter of the border defense of northern Xinjiang, and they dare not do anything about the food and salary of the border troops in Liaodong and Kaipingwei and other places. In fact, the sea is quite risky, and the danger is too high to go to sea in less than a suitable month, and in the event of a big wave, the whole ship's food and salary will sink to the bottom of the sea, and the soldiers will also feed the fish.

Unable to wait for the food and salary by sea, the harvest of Juntun and Shangtun was limited, and the local people still relied on the relief grain of the imperial court to live, and the grain was really not enough to eat, so Zhu Gaoxu could only find another way.

Gathering the generals and brainstorming, the soldiers were accustomed to being simple-rough-brutal, and if they wanted to eat their stomachs, there were only two most effective methods, hunting, and robbing the Tartars.

There are a number of prey on the steppe, and it is more in the interests of the border army to kill them all and destroy the ecological balance, and rob the Tartars.

Tartars are allowed to threshk grass at their own borders, and their own families are not allowed to go to the grassland to set cattle and sheep?

It doesn't make sense.

Only by reciprocal exchange of gifts can sustainable development be achieved.

This concept was instilled in Zhu Gaosui through letters.

The original words came from the mouth of Xingning Bomeng. After hearing this, Zhu Gaosui thought it was very reasonable, and Zhu Gaoxu thought it was true.

Put aside the psychological burden, all kinds of foreshadowing and preparation work are done, what are you waiting for? Just one word, grab.

Do a good job of camouflage, bring a long knife, and straddle the warhorse.

If you can grab it, you can grab it, and run away after it's finished, and you can fight in a mobile way.

It is reported that Zhu Gaosui also learned this from Xingningbo's mouth, and Zhu Gaoxu once again thought it was true.

Before Chen Xuan's boat division went north, the Tatar tribes on the steppe, especially those who often went to the border guards to threw grass, became the lambs in the eyes of the border army, and were repeatedly looted, unable to catch robbers, unable to keep cattle and sheep, and their living standards plummeted.

In contrast, the standard of living of the Kaiping Border Army is soaring along with the combat effectiveness, and when it comes to Tatars, the eyes of each one are shining.

The robberies were carried out in secret, and not only did the court know about it, but also the Duoyan Sanwei around him.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was common for border troops to patrol deep into the grasslands, who would have thought that the Ming guerrilla generals representing justice would put on leather robes and buttoned their leather hats on the outside of their jackets, and pretend to be foreigners to carry out the crime-crime-activity?

Everything is because of Meng someone's several leaks.

Can it be or is it accidental? Only God knows.

After many trainings, the robbery skills of the Kaiping Wei border army have been perfected, even if there is no cowardly Timur and other Tatar leaders to take refuge, there is still a great certainty to deceive Duoyan Sanwei, and after grabbing, the X basin is buckled to the head of the ghost Li Chi.

Ghost power is not good, and Mahamu is not?

Acting like this is definitely not in line with the external image of the Ming Dynasty, and the county king will be scolded by the official for taking the lead in robbing his neighbors, Zhu Gaoxu will not tell his father in front of outsiders, and can only report it in private.

After Emperor Yongle praised his son, he sighed, why didn't I think of such a plan in the first place?

It can be seen that with neighbors and bosses like Zhu Di, Tatar and Uliangha are really moldy, and they are extraordinarily sad.

After Zhu Gaoxu reported to Zhu Di, Zhu Neng and other generals also circulated the broken wood and began to study the ignited fire and thunder.

It is really amazing that a fist-sized hollow iron ball, filled with gunpowder and equipped with a fuse, can be so powerful.

Meng was not summoned by the emperor for the time being, so he simply started to work as a docent for everyone present.

Zhu Neng and Xu Zengshou asked if they could change the shape of the fire thunder to make it easier to carry and throw, and Zhang Fu extended the possibility of transforming the solid iron ball of the artillery into a flowering bullet.

"If a mighty general shoots such a fireball, its power should be incomparable."

Hearing Zhang Fu's words, Meng couldn't help but smack his tongue. Looking at Zhu Neng and the others who frowned first, then suddenly, and then eagerly on their expressions, Meng unconsciously scratched his head.

Could it be that following the patrol of Emperor Yongle in the north, the appearance of the Shenji Battalion will also be advanced?

With the national strength and the level of scientific and technological development of the Ming Dynasty, it was not impossible to organize a "modern" thermal weapons unit.

After all, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would not order the fire guns in the army to be replaced with bows and arrows, but would come quietly, "don't make them feel conscious". can do such a brain-deficient thing, out of half a scoop, only half a scoop.

Looking at the momentum of the discussion between Zhu Neng, Zhang Fu and others, Meng really wanted to remind that with the inspiration of fire and thunder, the manufacture of flowering bombs should not be too difficult. At the moment, we should pay attention to the attack on the artillery.

Without a stable breech, no matter how sharp the shell is, it is useless.

In order to make up for the imperfection of the iron-making process and to strengthen the stability of the artillery, most of the artillery in the early Ming Dynasty was short and fat, and all of them were honest and strong. Even the tiger squat cannon created by the underground-soldier-factory of Daoyan is not as good as Qi Jiguang's era in terms of technology.

In order to increase the power of firearms, it is necessary to strengthen the stability of artillery and firearms. In this way, improving ironmaking and strengthening forging techniques are the top priorities.

Thinking of this, Meng scratched his head again.

He didn't come from an engineering background, and most of the inventory in his head came from non-academic channels, and many of them were very unreliable. It's like knowing the general direction of history, but not being able to pinpoint the main events that took place at each stage.

Therefore, in order to realize the technical revolution of firearms, more professional personnel are needed.

In the War Bureau, the Ordnance Bureau, and the Miscellaneous Bureaus in various places, there must be many skilled craftsmen. It is reported that Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry has a lot of research on the smelting road, maybe, you can ask for advice?

Shaking his head, it was not appropriate for him to come forward. In the previous verbal battle, he almost offended the Wenchen of the Manchu Dynasty, and dared to hand over a post to the officials of the six ministries, which was definitely the end of falling back in the face.

His eyes turned to Zhu Gaoxu, who reported to Emperor Yongle, and then glanced at Zhu Gaosui who was summoned.

These two can give it a try.

When it comes to the most suitable candidate, it is actually Zhu Gaochi. Among the three sons of Emperor Yongle, the relationship between him and Wenchen is iron.

Meng frowned, judging from the current situation, it was not a good idea to ask him for help.

"Xingningbo, the emperor called."

Zheng He walked over and interrupted Meng's thoughts.

Gathering his mind, he really likes to think about it, and he hasn't drawn it yet, so he just thinks about where to draw.

However, since he had made up his mind to take Zheng He's downwind ship to the Western Ocean, if possible, he would also go to the Americas for a walk, and it was imperative to strengthen the artillery power of the fleet.

Who knows what to expect on the way to the ocean?

It's always okay to plan ahead, think in the worst-case direction, not to mention being completely prepared, and take care of most of the details.

If we had been one step aboard the American continent, we might have changed history.

During the Xiaoice River period, will the cultural retreat after the splendid civilization appear?

Meng didn't know how to say. But he's willing to work hard for it.

History sent him to this era, from a small shrimp to a claw, without waving a few times, it is really unreasonable. If you can't clamp people, it's good to clip the air a few times and listen to a few sounds.

followed Zheng He to Emperor Yongle, and Meng Na bowed.

"Your Majesty."

"Ride."

Zhu Di was in a good mood, smiling into his eyes, and his face was full of red.

"I heard Gao Xu say that Xingningbo is dedicated to the country and has made great contributions, and I am very relieved."

His Majesty praised him, but the minister did not dare to take it. The minister just did his duty, and the great credit should be given to the king of Gaoyang County and the three princes. ”

Meng is very modest and sincere.

said that with Zhu Gaosui's support, his work in Daning City could go so smoothly.

With the efforts of the king of Gaoyang County in Kaipingwei, sharp firearms really came out.

"The two princes should be the first to be promoted."

Zhu Gaoxu shared the credit, Meng shirked, and by the way, Zhu Gaosui was proposed.

Zhu Gaoxu and the brothers were praised by Zhu Di again, they were very embarrassed, and pulled Shen Xuan out, if it were not for the support of the Marquis of Dingyuan, and sent troops to support the border army's cattle and sheep activities in the desert, they would not have repeatedly received praise from their father.

Therefore, the merit should be divided, and the reward should also be divided.

"I'm glad you can do that."

Zhu Di was a little emotional, and decided to reward all four people, including the craftsmen of the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau who participated in the transformation of firearms, as well as the border army, all of whom should be rewarded for their merits.

"Your Majesty is wise, long live my emperor, long live!"

There is a reward, and of course there is gratitude.

This time, together with Zhu Gaochu and Zhu Gaosui, he was rewarded for preparing the side and firearms, and the Yongle Emperor was even more early to crown Zhu Gaochu as the king of Han, and Zhu Gaosui as the king of Zhao.

The will was delivered to the Jingshi, and the courtiers were shaken.

Zhu Gaoxu Zhu Gaosui suddenly became the king, but the prince is still the prince, at best, the Son of Heaven deliberately named him the crown prince. At worst, the Son of Heaven has completely disgusted the Son of the World. The two younger brothers were crowned kings, but he was the only one left, how embarrassing his position was.

Along with the will of the king, there were also rewards for Shen Xuan and Meng.

Special entry Shen Xuan Guanglu Doctor Zhu Kingdom, Jialu Thousand Stones. Posthumously presented Shen Xuan's father Shen Liang as the Duke of Anguo, and his mother as Mrs. Anguo.

Give Meng gold and silver color banknotes, Wenqi cloth silk. Posthumously presented Meng's father as an earl, his mother as his wife, and a jade brocade robe.

In the northern parallel department, the Daning Capital Division, and the Kaiping Wei Command Division each have a reward.

The military attache was promoted, the border army was promoted, and new jackets and grain money were issued.

The ambassador and deputy envoy of the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau were rewarded with 30 taels of silver and 100 ingots of banknotes. The craftsman is based on the size of the merit, and the reward for the silver treasure is poor.

Taking this opportunity, Emperor Yongle sent the reward he had suppressed before to Meng in disguise.

The official is still not promoted, but the gold and silver rewarded, as well as the posthumous gift of Meng Guangzhi's title, are big pies smashed from the sky.

Sons have knights and fathers and sons have knights, which are completely different things.

Not to mention Meng Wang's family, even Meng's two sisters-in-law have improved their identities invisibly. Although she has no status as a wife, she will not be underestimated. Third Sister Meng and Fifth Sister Meng will also be much smoother in the future.

Meng tried his best to control his expression, but the corners of his upturned mouth couldn't be suppressed. In the next few days, he was even more smiling every day, and when he saw some civil officials who were not very good, he also greeted him with a smile, and unanimously raised the first-level alarm, for fear that Xingningbo would set up another drill.

"Xingningbo is grateful to Mu Tian, and he is innocent."

Zhu Di's comments on Meng are very positive, and many of them are credited with Zheng He beating the side drum and saying good things.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui are happy for the king, and they can understand Meng Shishilang's mood very well. When the three of them get together, they can often enjoy themselves all day, with the corners of their mouths grinning to the roots of their ears and their white teeth shining.

At this time, the attendants and guards who followed the three of them would silently turn their heads. Either look up at the sky or look down at the ground. In short, the prince and the earl giggled at each other, and they resolutely did not see it.

Meng's good mood continued.

Zhu Di summoned him to ask questions, and when he played the right match, he was also inspired, and his mouth was neater than ever. When Zhu Di asked about the question of Tatars, the generals basically advocated "sending troops to talk", and the ministers paid attention to convincing people with reason, but they did not oppose sending soldiers, and saluted first and then soldiers.

Shen Xuan didn't say anything, but seemed to agree with Zhu Neng's opinion on sending troops.

Meng tugged at the corner of Shen Xuan's clothes, "Dudu, and Warat......"

"Varat?"

Shen Xuan raised his eyebrows, indicating that he understood, and then said, Your Majesty, it's not enough to just fight the Tartars, by the way, let's clean up the Varat together.

Zhu Di thought so, and Zhu Neng, Zhang Fu and others applauded loudly.

Wenchen pondered how to put pen to paper and let justice stand on his side.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui rubbed their hands, and the eyes of the leader of Duoyan Sanwei, who was fortunate enough to observe, glowed green.

After robbing the Tatars, go to rob the Warat?

One word, good!

Three words, very good!

Five words, too good to be better!

Meng was dumbfounded, he just wanted to remind Shen Xuan that he could suggest that the Son of Heaven should also send a messenger to Warat and send a seal book, the content of which could be written casually, the purpose was to arouse the Tartars' vigilance and stir up the water even more.

How can the result be understood as even Warat to fight?

"Master Hou, that ......"

Meng also wanted to correct it, but found that it was useless. In addition to him, from the Son of Heaven onwards, including Wenchen, all of them have bruises in their necks, and they are all excited about the war.

This doesn't make sense!

It doesn't make sense that the breezy Hanlin attendant is also so belligerent.

A question mark appeared on his head, and his wrist was suddenly grasped. The heat came through the sleeves, Meng was startled, and he hurriedly looked at Zhang Fu, who was closer, even if the other party didn't notice it, his heart was still beating faster unconsciously.

The big red unicorn suit, the delicate corners, and the slender fingers buckled on his wrists.

Meng subconsciously struggled, but his fingers were even harder, and his head was sweating in a hurry, but Shen Xuan suddenly let go of him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I pinched the place I could hold just now, and the roots of my ears were a little red.

It seems that there is still a temperature that does not belong to him.

Yang Duo, who was standing a little farther away, suddenly raised his head and looked at where Shen Xuan and Meng were standing, and a touch of deep thought flashed in his eyes.