Jiangling was captured, Xiao Milling and Zhang Zhongjian went to the south, and the forces of all sides began to be nervous.

Du Fuwei's volunteers were in the Jiangling area, and the 200,000 soldiers and horses of the imperial court put great pressure on them.

Especially after the First Battle of Gangneung, they knew the advantage in the number of soldiers and horses, and how strong the defense of Gangneung City was.

Changsun Sheng's capture of Jiangling City is tantamount to capturing a small Chang'an.

The various forces know very well that if they are replaced, there is nothing they can do, and they can't afford to lose alone.

Changsun Sheng quickly became famous after this battle, and various forces wanted to know his next move.

Emperor Yang of Sui seems to be only interested in the matter of treasures, while Changsun Sheng is self-motivated but can also be a person.

Being in Jiangling, there are still 120,000 people after the soldiers and horses are repaired, and he knows very well that the reason why he can control so many soldiers and horses is not just the meaning of Emperor Yang of Sui.

There is also the support of various nobles, otherwise why would he gather so many people.

After winning the battle, Gangneung City has now become a war profit shared by the nobles, and the interests involved are very large, and whether to continue the war depends on whether it is profitable.

The contradictions between the aristocratic group and various forces will also be triggered.

Youzhou City, the situation in Gangneung has long been known.

Li De did not receive the slightest influence, Jiangling is still far away from Youzhou after all.

He doesn't have that time, he has been very busy since the establishment of the Shadow Guard, and he has to personally inquire about the rules and regulations, personnel selection, and office addresses.

After all, the power of the shadow guard is too great, although the captains know that these people are a little afraid of it.

Li De is busy building the skeleton of the shadow guard, the office space, the secret room safe house, and the prison where the prisoners are held, all of which are planned and built from scratch.

Finally, after finishing some things about the shadow guard, there is good news in the Youzhou Workshop, and there has been a further breakthrough in iron-smelting technology, and steel has been successfully smelted.

Compared to the original steel, the steel made in the workshop can really be used.

Not only that, but even rubber has achieved results, and the next plan is to build rubber plantations and processing plants in the good south.

The problem now is that the south is too far away, and if protection is the key issue, Li De convened a meeting of the lieutenants today to discuss this matter.

"Governor, is rubber really that important?"

The lieutenants knew that the investment in rubber required a lot of money and time, and the most troublesome thing was the safety of the workshop.

Sending troops in the past will inevitably attract the attention of the southern forces, if it is really targeted, unless the Youzhou soldiers are dispatched to suppress it, there is really no way.

As the saying goes, the strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, especially the tribes in the south live deep in the mountains and forests, if they use the method of sneak attack, they will leave after grabbing, even if the Youzhou soldiers are dispatched, it is difficult to find them.

"I've got some rubber products here, so let's take a look."

There was no ink, and he directly asked people to show what he had prepared, including rubber on wooden wheels and a few pairs of very strange-looking shoes.

There are also various small parts made of rubber, and the most attractive one is a rubber tube that is more than one meter long.

The captains have all seen the workshop and will research all kinds of strange things from time to time, and after introduction, they will find it very useful.

So they weren't very surprised to see the strange things, and they all started to think about the usefulness of these things.

The most acceptable thing for them is the shoes.

The bottom of the leather upper is made of black rubber, which is very hard.

Ding Qilin didn't care about the size of others, and found a pair of things that he wanted to match, so he changed them directly, and his feet were on the ground, and he first felt that the shoes were very hard.

After adapting, he noticed the difference.

"Good shoes, if they are used in mountain and forest battles, they will not be cut and scratched by stones, and they will cause heavy damage to the enemy when fighting."

Ding Qilin's head was very hard as he was trying on the shoes.

"Governor, isn't there an iron block in such a hard toe?"

"You're really right, but it's not iron and steel."

In this way, Ding Qilin was not so happy.

"Then the cost of these shoes must be very high, and it is unrealistic to want to popularize them." Ding Qilin muttered.

Li De was satisfied with everyone's reactions, knowing that they could think about problems from another angle, rather than blindly seeing good things and wanting them.

After everyone has seen some things, they have a general understanding of the application of rubber.

"If nothing else, the rubber on this good wheel alone is very useful, but I am not sure that I will get more benefits from the investment."

Shi Huaiyi knows that interests come first, and if it is really valuable, what if he lets him take 18,000 people to the south.

Protecting the Workshop does not affect the expansion of power.

"Let's briefly talk about these things, the biggest advantage of the sole made of rubber is that it is wear-resistant, don't underestimate this sole may not be able to be cut off with a knife."

What Li De said was not a lie, the toughness of the vinyl leather is really not something that ordinary sharp weapons can cut at once.

The originally inconspicuous shoes became the focus of several people's attention at this time, but they only now realized that Ding Qilin had no intention of changing them after changing into new shoes.

Now look at the tough shape of the shoes, how to look handsome.

Li Deke is designed according to the military hook, and the shoes are all mid-waisted, which can protect the foot joints, and the shoes of the soldiers are more practical.

If it is a cavalryman, it is hoped that they will use long boots, which can effectively protect the legs.

"Everyone can see the value of rubber wheels, and their benefits are not only wear-resistant."

Li De did not continue, because the current rubber wheels are all solid, and it is far from being able to research suitable pneumatic tires.

He is not in a hurry, with the current road conditions in Sui Kingdom, restarting tires may not be as practical as solid tires.

Rubber tires are just one of the products, and the most widely used rubber belts are all that can be processed and used in steam engines as a link to connect flywheels.

"Grand Duke, what does this hollow thing do?"

"It's the rubber hose that has a big effect, and you'll know about it later."

Today's rubber jars are not food safety certified, so they are mainly used in industry.

As for life, Li De can use this thing as a sewer pipe, but now the amount of rubber is limited, and it will not be wasted here.

The rubber pipe produced is only a test product, but the important thing is that the workshop has produced a machine that can process the rubber pipe.

The application of rubber has played a large role in the mechanical improvement of the workshop, and has become a substitute for some metal products that cannot meet the demand.

This is especially true for applications on steam engines, such as pistons.

"Since the Metropolitan Governor wants this rubber, I, Shi Huaiyi, am willing to lead troops to the south."

"Shi Huaiyi, you're not right, are you thinking about going to the south to develop forces, you can be regarded as fighting for merit."