The three of them came to a clearing at the foot of the mountain, about a mile to the south of them was a stone mountain that did not even grow grass, Li Yan looked at the irregular deep pits halfway up the mountain, and knew that this was not the first time to test the gun, but he was still a little dissatisfied with the distance, so he asked:

"Brother Ling, is this the limit distance of the wind artillery?"

Ling Zhen pondered for a moment and said, "It's still a little farther away, but it's ...... Need to change the throwing machine. ”

"Throwing machine?" Li Yan suddenly remembered the word and asked, "Is there any difference between a projectile machine and a trebuchet?" ”

Ling Zhen's expression was embarrassed, and he said truthfully: "Actually, it's a trebuchet." ”

Li Yan laughed to relieve the embarrassment, did not continue to speak, turned his head to look away, and said in his heart: I thought it was pushed out by gunpowder pressure, it turned out to be the most primitive method, and it seems that there is still a long way to go to make a cannon.

After a short time, Niu Ben came with a dozen soldiers, and the flat carriage behind him carried a wooden frame of equipment, nearly four meters high, with a six-meter-long log hanging in the middle, with a rope at one end and a spoon at the other.

Li Yan has seen it from TV, this thing is the most primitive trebuchet on the ancient battlefield, put the stone in the spoon, and then use manpower to quickly pull the rope at the other end, and the stone in the spoon can be thrown out, and the seesaw has a reason.

"It's too far behind." Li Yan shook his head helplessly, muttered softly, and suddenly lost a lot of interest, and only pinned his hopes on the cannonball, hoping to "make a splash".

More than a dozen soldiers took a lot of effort to set up the artillery throwing machine, Ling Zhen put the wind cannon on the spoon with his own hands, Niu Ben looked at Li Yan, Li Yan nodded his head and signaled that he could start, and then shouted: 3, 2, 1, put!

The soldiers pulled the ropes, and the spoons quickly rose, and when they reached the highest point, the wind cannons were projected.

Looking at the trajectory of the wind cannon, Li Yan was slightly surprised, much farther than he imagined.

Coax......

A loud bang echoed in the valley, and the cannonball hit the mountain and exploded, producing a large amount of smoke, and what happened in the smoke and dust could not be seen, but countless stones splashed out of the smoke, and the scene was spectacular.

Li Yan was very satisfied with the power of the explosion, and when the echo dissipated, he applauded and said, "It's really extraordinary, good things, the two adults have worked hard." ”

Niu Ben and Ling Zhen were also proud.

Everyone returned to the gunpowder bureau again, Li Yan didn't go in, stopped at the door, asked Ling Zhen for a barrel of gunpowder, and then said:

"Li promised that Lord Niu's affairs will be done in the near future, and Lord Niu can go home and wait for news, after taking up his post in the military department, Lord Niu should not forget Li."

Niu Ben's face suddenly became solemn, this sentence could not be more obvious, although his official position was small, he had long heard that the court was divided into two factions, namely the Cai Party and the Li Party (also called the Imperial Party), and immediately said respectfully: "I am willing to listen to the dispatch of my lord." ”

"Okay, with your words, Li is relieved." Li Yan patted Niu Ben's shoulder, showing a very intimate look, and then said to Ling Zhen: "Brother Ling, the junior brother is setting up a banquet in the mansion tonight, I don't know if Brother Ling appreciates his face?" ”

The teacher was stunned for a moment, and said in his heart: Friends? I have followed him since the morning, but I have never said that I want to set up a banquet for friends, why do you tell this lie?

In fact, how can Li Yan's "straight daughter" understand the sophistication of the teacher.

This kind of hospitality is the most common in officialdom, especially when superiors invite subordinates to dinner, they generally speak very tactfully, and rarely speak directly.

The reason is very complicated, and there are two points in general, one is that the identity is not equal, and the other is to leave room for the other party to refuse.

Sure enough, Ling Zhen hesitated, and said, "The guests who come and go from Shimei are either rich or expensive, so my brother won't go." ”

"No, Brother Ling will know when he goes, there are absolutely no rich people, and there are old acquaintances." Li Yan said mysteriously.

Ling Zhen's eyes lit up, "Old acquaintances? Who is it? ”

"Brother Ling will know when he goes, and the younger brother still has some trivial things to do, so take the first step." Li Yan turned over and got on his horse, clasped his fists and saluted, then shook the reins, and ran to Bianliang City with his master one after another.

Seeing Li Yan walk away, Niu Ben turned his head to look at Ling Zhen, his eyes were full of envy, the two usually had a good relationship and often joked with each other, but at this time, Niu Ben swallowed back the words that came to his mouth.

"Old Niu, if you have something to say, why are you still like this?" Ling Zhen said with a smile.

Hearing him say this, Niu Ben put his mind at ease, regained his old look, and said with a smile: "The little guy next to Master Li is really handsome, how many taels of silver do you say you can buy it?" ”

"Lao Niu, I think you have eaten dry food for more than 30 years, and you can't even tell the difference between men and women."

"Oh? You say that the little guy is a woman dressed as a man? Niu Ben was shocked.

Ling Zhen ignored him and turned around and walked into the Powder Bureau.

"How can it be a woman? Tsk, it's a pity to spoil the good stuff. Oxben muttered softly, his tone full of disappointment.

……

Li Yan and his master were more energetic, and kept urging his crotch to dismount, but he was always seven or eight meters away from catching up, and he was extremely unconvinced.

After falling off his horse in front of Shishi's house that day, he vowed to learn how to ride, and if he knew how to ride a horse at that time, he might be able to chase Shishi back.

After learning from the pain, he practiced very diligently, although he endorsed Li Bei'er most of the time, but once he had free time, he went to the suburbs with Song San.

Li Yan's progress is extremely obvious, and in less than a month, he can leave Song San far behind.

Summing up the experience, Song San was too heavy, and the horse couldn't run, and then compared with Wang Xiaoqi, and half a month later, Wang Xiaoqi also fell behind.

One after another, they challenged the people who were good at riding in Yanggu County, and they were all defeated one by one, and they became the leaders in the riding industry in Yanggu County, and they were sought after by everyone.

At first, Li Yan didn't have much confidence, after all, there were a few people who made a living from this, relying on horse racing to make money to support their families, and more than ten years of hard training, how could he be compared to a few months, so others resolutely denied it when they mentioned it.

But everyone said so, after a long time, they believed it to be true, and when someone mentioned it again, they only smiled and humbly said a few words, but in fact, they accepted it in their hearts.

But now he tried his best, even played for a long time, and slapped the horse's ass at the end of his life, but he still couldn't catch up with his master, and frustration arose.

The master didn't pay attention to his abnormality at first, and only glanced at him occasionally, making sure to keep a certain distance, but suddenly saw him with a hideous face, sitting crookedly on the horse, and his heart was tight, afraid that Li Yan would make a mistake, so he hurriedly pulled the reins and slowed down.

The two walked side by side, Li Yan was afraid for a while, he almost fell off the horse just now, wiped the sweat on his forehead and said, "Senior sister riding skills are really good, how much force did you use just now?" ”

"I didn't use any force." The teacher said straightly.

Li Yan: "......"