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The eldest grandson Wuji on the side was dumbfounded, he never expected that a simple request for help would be fooled by the emperor into a large Zhou attached to the Ryukyus, so that the Zhou Dynasty would have another overseas territory.

Although the Ryukyus are still in the hands of Japan, according to the idea of the eldest grandson Wuji, what strength can this kind of projectile island country have? As long as the Zhou army's sailors are killed, they will definitely be able to win a big victory.

Yu Ming smiled slightly at this time: "Brother Wuji, call Zhou Tao to me!" I would like to ask him if his sailors can be confident of winning the war against Japan! ”

Although the Zhou army's naval divisions were already invincible, they had fought in inland rivers and offshore waters before. The first battle of this expedition to Japan was to recover the Ryukyus, and the naval warships would fight in the sea area more than four miles away from the mainland, which had never happened since the establishment of the Zhou army's naval division. So of course he'll have to ask! ”

The eldest grandson Wuji then went down to inform Zhou Tao, but Dezhao stayed, and Yuming asked him to introduce Zhou Tao to the customs, geography and landforms of the Ryukyus, so as to ensure that he could understand the local topography and water conditions.

It didn't take long for Zhou Tao to come, and after he heard Yuming's introduction to recover the Ryukyus and attack Japan in the future, he was overjoyed.

Now the Tang army has been trapped in a corner of the pass, and the ships of the sailors cannot drive in. Therefore, he had no battle to fight, and what he did every day was to transport grain from the Jiangnan area to Luoyang to support the front-line battle.

Zhou Tao has been so stuffy that he has gone crazy these days, he never expected that he would be a dignified water master and a metropolitan governor, and he would actually do the business of grain and grass officials. And just when he was at the peak of his depression, it was finally time for His Majesty to put such an important and honorable errand into his hands.

You must know what an honor it is to open up territory! In history, every military general who laid a new territory for the Central Plains Dynasty was recorded in the annals of history for future generations to admire.

"Wechen thanked Your Majesty! I love the last general so much, I really don't know what to say! Zhou Tao burst into tears.

"Hehe, General Zhou is really too modest. At present, except for the general, there is no one else in my Great Zhou who can serve as the commander of this maritime expeditionary force. I won't let you take on this responsibility, but who will do it? Yu Ming smiled and said, "How much do you need to know about the situation in Ryukyu and Japan, so ask this Ryukyu King Dezhao!" ”

Zhou Tao was busy asking Dezhao about the information he needed to know. And Dezhao also patiently answered. Of course, there are many questions that he doesn't know the answers to. For example, when Japan attacked the Ryukyus now, which military port did it depart from? There are several generals of the Japanese army now, what are their names, what are their characteristics, and how strong the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army is......

The two had a very pleasant conversation, and they chatted for nearly an hour before it came to an end. And Yu Ming listened a little impatiently next to him.

Seeing that these two guys finally stopped talking, he yawned and said, "General Zhou, King Dezhao, are you finished?" If there's nothing to do, quit, I want to take a good rest! ”

"It's almost!" Zhou Tao nodded, but then suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty's question, the last general remembered one thing: my brother Zhou Qiang asked the last general to report to you, saying that he found that the ballista used by the sailor was not powerful, and he could only shoot some fire bombs through the winch. However, in the rough sea, not only is it difficult to hit the enemy ship, but even if it does, it will be very lethal to those large enemy ships with protective nets. So he combined the characteristics of gunpowder and developed a fire-breathing bamboo tube. ”

"A fire-breathing bamboo tube?" When Yu Ming heard this term, his first reaction was a flamethrower.

It's just that how did this flamethrower have anything to do with gunpowder? It's strange that you don't blow it up right away.

So, he also asked with some curiosity: "General Zhou, where is the fire-breathing bamboo tube that Brother Ling studied?" Can you take me to see it? ”

"Good! Then please ask Your Majesty and King Tokuzhao to go to the Weapons Manufacturing Bureau! Seeing that His Majesty was so interested in the new weapon developed by his younger brother, Zhou Tao also agreed excitedly.

Under the leadership of Zhou Tao, Yuming and Dezhao, surrounded by a large group of forbidden troops, rode to the Weapons Manufacturing Bureau in Luoyang City.

After entering the door, I didn't go far when I saw a pile of wood in the open space in the center, and several craftsmen were fiddling with it on the side.

This made Yu Ming and the others a little puzzled, not knowing what this wood was for.

When the emperor arrived, it was naturally extraordinary. The officials of the Arms Manufacturing Bureau had already been informed.

When they heard that the emperor was coming, they hurriedly came over to greet him, and naturally there was Zhou Qiang among them.

"You don't have to be so nervous, this time it's not an official inspection, it's just that I heard that Zhou Qiangqiang made a fire-breathing bamboo tube and wanted to come and see it. Let's do whatever we need to do! Don't put it on hold! "Yu Ming is colorful.

As soon as he said this, most of the officials bowed and dispersed.

After Zhou Qiang heard this, he was overjoyed, and he hurriedly said to a craftsman beside him: "Wang Lao Wu, you quickly go to get two torches from the armory, I want to demonstrate it to Your Majesty!" ”

The craftsman turned and ran towards the armory.

After a while, he walked over against two bamboo tubes with thick bowl mouths, and then set the bamboo pipes on an iron frame, and the mouth of the barrels was aimed at the pile of wood.

Zhou Qiang then ordered a craftsman named Wang Lao Wu to pour a large amount of gunpowder into the mouth of one of the bamboo tubes, and sealed the bottom of the barrel with a sealed iron cap.

Immediately afterwards, Yu Ming and Zhou Tao saw Wang Lao Wu put a sealed clay pot into the mouth of the bamboo tube.

Then, Wang Lao Wu took out a fuse from his arms and inserted it into a small hole in the back of the bamboo tube.

At this time, Zhou Qiang personally picked up the torch and nodded the fuse, and then saw it burning.

The fuse was quickly burned out, and a deafening "boom" was soon heard from inside the bamboo tube.

Everyone covered their ears and looked up, only to see that the clay pot that had been loaded into the mouth of the bamboo tube had flown out, hit the pile of wood, and shattered.

And a large amount of fire oil immediately flowed out of the tank, which instantly covered the surface of the pile of wood.

At this time, Zhou Qiang took another rocket from a soldier, and then shot an arrow at the pile of wood.

Hearing a "boom", a bright red flame immediately rose from the wood, blazing, and completely burned the pile of wood.

Seeing this, Dezhao couldn't help but praise: "This torch is really powerful!" In the battle at sea, because the ships were all made of wood, the sails, sail carriages and ropes hung on the masts were also easy to catch fire. Lord Zhou's fire-breathing bamboo tube can indeed be called an attack weapon for the sailor's battle. ”

Zhou Qiang heard the king of the Ryukyus praise himself so much, his face was also full of joy, the invention of this torch is the most proud thing in his heart, even his brother Zhou Tao thinks that he may get the Luban Prize set up by the Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau for this invention.

But at this moment, he saw Yu Ming looking at the bamboo tube, his brows furrowed slightly.

Zhou Qiang's heart suddenly cooled down, and he hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, but are you dissatisfied with this torch designed by Weichen?" ”

Yu Ming shook his head, and then sighed: "Master Zhou's craftsmanship is excellent, and his ingenuity is unique, and such a flamethrower really makes me admire." It's just that I think it's better to call it artillery! ”

"Your Majesty said it's called artillery?" When Zhou Qiang heard this term, he was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "This torch has not been officially named yet, since Your Majesty thinks it is good to call it artillery, then call it artillery!" In the past, the kind of oil crockpot that was projectile was called a fire bomb, and the oil crockpot fired by Weichen's fire barrel was simply called a cannonball! I wonder what Your Majesty thinks? ”

When Yu Ming heard this, he was very surprised, he didn't expect that the world's first artillery and cannonball were named by mistake.

Although the flamethrower in front of you can only be called a flamethrower, it has some rudiments of real artillery.

The first artillery in history was produced during the Yuan Dynasty, and what Yuming is thinking about now is how to enlighten Zhou Qiang with the knowledge of firearms in later generations, so that he can build real artillery in advance. It enabled China to advance from the era of cold weapons to the age of hot weapons, and then to the colonial period.

In this way, the Great Zhou will be able to gain an advantage in the future when fighting against the Turkic, Tuyuhun, Tubo and other nomadic peoples. Yu Ming knew what kind of subversive significance the appearance of artillery had for the outcome of the war in the Middle Ages.

He sighed lightly at this time and said, "Although Lord Zhou's cannon and cannonballs are cleverly designed, I feel that if we make some further improvements, the attack effect of the artillery will be stronger!" ”

"Your Majesty even knows how to improve this artillery?! Please also make it clear to Wechen! After hearing this, Zhou Qiang was also overjoyed in his heart.

It turned out that he also thought that Yuming's ability to lead the army in battle might be first-class, but he didn't believe that this young boss could make any improvements in terms of armament. But later, when he was studying sailing, Yuming gave him a good lesson, so that he no longer dared to despise Yuming's opinion, but paid more attention to it than ever before.

Yu Ming saw Zhou Qiang's respectful face, so he smiled slightly and said: "I see that although Lord Zhou put a lot of gunpowder into the bottom of the bamboo tube, the distance from which this clay pot flies out is only less than twenty zhang, so the power is greatly reduced, and on the sea, there is nothing that can be done against the enemy ships that are farther away." ”

After Zhou Qiang heard this, Fang couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty, if I fill too much gunpowder, after lighting it, it is possible to blow up the bamboo tube; Therefore, the firing distance of this artillery is helpless. Wechen also tried to fill two parts of gunpowder. But in addition to blowing up the bamboo tube, the crockpot didn't fly a foot more. ”

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