Two days passed.

There was no new news from Ma Teng, and Chen Xu didn't take this matter too seriously, because everything in the Academy of Sciences had not officially begun, but he secretly increased the number of guards and forbidden troops on the construction site, let Yingbu garrison the construction site to closely monitor, and isolated the two most important places on the construction site, the newly built iron-making furnace and the blacksmith shop, except for a few blacksmiths who were recruited to be good at smelting and making blades, no one else could approach, and of course they could not leave.

"Master Hou, news has just come that after the snow melts on the road, the convoy transporting coal, iron and graphite has already set off from Weinan, and it will arrive tomorrow at most!" Zhao Qing hurriedly came to report the situation.

"Good, good!" Chen Xu was sitting on the kang in a separate laboratory in the Academy of Sciences and discussing the nine chapters of arithmetic with Zhang Cang, and after listening to Zhao Qing's report, he happily got off the kang and put on his shoes: "Let's go, go to the construction site to inspect again, as long as the coal and iron arrive, it can officially start!" ”

A few days have passed, the snow has melted, although it is a warm winter weather, but it is still unbearable cold, as soon as he left the gate of the Academy of Sciences, Chen Xu shivered a few times.

After leaving the city, the river is steep, the sound of whining and lala swept through the wilderness on both sides of the Wei River, the jackdaw flew low, the eyes were full of withered yellow, the cold river water also soared a few feet, the Qinling Mountains in the distance were undulating, and the snow could be seen on the top of the mountain.

The sky is high and the earth is wide, and everything is depressed.

Riding his horse down the Wei River, facing the biting cold wind, in the ups and downs, Chen Xu also felt that his body was slowly warming, and at the same time, his heart was slightly hot.

As long as the iron is refined, Chen Xu decided to give Qin Shi Huang a big surprise at one time, saddles, stirrups, horsesshoes, sabers and various long weapons suitable for horse warfare in later generations, such as Zhao Zilong's gentian bright silver spear, Zhang Fei's Zhangba long snake spear, Guan Guanyu's Qinglong Yanyue knife, axe, sword, gun hook, whip, hammer, boring, kidnapper, meteor, eighteen weapons are all sorted out, and Qin Shihuang must be addicted to great health care, after all, the disciples of the immortal family can't be too cold.

Inside the construction site, the new iron-making furnace has been built again, this time because Yingbu led the Guards and Forbidden Army to personally supervise the construction, so there are no forks.

This iron-making furnace was modeled after the small experimental iron-making furnace in Qinghe Town, and the changes were not big, and the purpose was still a semi-experimental nature, because it was necessary to smelt the pig iron first, and then wait for the graphite to make a large crucible and fry steel furnace for secondary smelting, so that a variety of steel products with different carbon contents could be obtained.

In fact, to make good steel, it is best to use coke smelting, rather than directly using coal, because the general coal contains sulfur, so that the desulfurization in the smelting process is not clean, it will increase the impurities in the iron, which can only be reduced through repeated heating and forging, which is why the ancient times can not use the casting and cutting method to directly obtain steel weapons, but for this era, these are not the most important, to be able to smelt carbon steel, and then create sharp weapons and various appliances is the most important, coking this kind of thing needs to be done slowly, The requirements for steel are not so strict at the moment.

Everything can only be done step by step, and as long as there are more and more craftsmen who are proficient in ironmaking, the skill of steelmaking will become more and more perfect in three or five years.

Gong Shengsheng's body is much better, and he is already able to walk with a cane.

After Chen Xu inspected the ironworks and blacksmith shops, he asked people to bring the secret of Gongsheng to the ironworks, gathered all the hemp rods and the craftsmen and slaves and strictly instructed them to start work as soon as the coal, iron, graphite and other ores arrived tomorrow, and told Yingbu to mobilize the forbidden army to strictly guard them.

At noon the next day, under the escort of two hundred soldiers in armor and halberds, hundreds of ragged prisoners shouted trumpets and pushed dozens of ox carts and wagons from the southeast along the muddy road after the snow had melted.

Chen Xu, who was already looking forward to wearing it, couldn't wait for the construction site.

After all these ox carts and carriages entered the construction site, the construction site immediately became noisy, according to the steps that had been arranged, all the coal, iron and graphite were assigned a large number of slaves and craftsmen for screening and processing, and in the afternoon, with a thick smoke rising from the iron-making furnace, the iron-making workshop under the Daqin Academy of Sciences officially opened to smelt the first furnace of iron.

At the same time as ironmaking, a smelting furnace for frying steel was also built.

Although the weather was freezing and dripping into ice, the construction site was very lively, and a large number of workers and slaves carried rattan baskets and wheelbarrows began to transport coal, ore and masonry back and forth.

Looking at the soldiers in front of him scolding and beating the ragged and emaciated slaves and prisoners, Chen Xu sighed silently in his heart.

If you want to rely on the power of one person to promote such a big country to complete change, the suffering can be imagined, there are too many things that need to be changed, especially the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the burial of the living, the abolition of the strict household registration system These deep-rooted ideologies and concepts, for the current Great Qin, any one is an obstacle, not only the emperor may not agree, but also the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty will not agree, and the nobles as the exploiting class will not agree.

"Order, whether it is a slave or a prisoner, increase the daily ration to one pound of coarse grain, tell the canteen not to derogate from any food, let them eat enough and drink hot water, and also, the shed where the slaves and prisoners sleep should be kept warm, the corn grass should be thicker, if it is not enough, go to the nearby farmer's house to buy, and the injured should also be treated in time, everyone must strictly follow the system of the construction site, and those who dare to violate the law will be severely punished!"

"Oh~" The stewards and captains of several construction sites all agreed together.

Before leaving, Chen Xu came to the ironworks again, called Gong Win and Ma Pole over and told him closely before returning to the city, the main thing is safety, and then he will create a batch of qualified equipment as soon as possible.

"Hou Ye, Hou Ye~" As soon as he walked to the door of the Hou Mansion, the steward of the Hou Mansion, Huang Fu, greeted him with an anxious face.

"What's so flustered!" Chen Xu asked nervously.

"Master Hou, half an hour ago, His Majesty asked the messenger to come to deliver the decree, so that you can go to the palace as soon as you return home!"

I'll go, scare me! I thought something was wrong.

Chen Xu couldn't help but roll his eyes, so he had to tell the coachman to turn the horse's head and go to the palace.

When Chen Xu came to the palace, the noon dynasty had just dispersed, and the civil and military officials had just come out of the court hall at this time, and when they saw Chen Xu coming with the inner servants, everyone bowed and greeted with a smile.

"Hello everyone!" Chen Xu also kept bowing his hand, except for Li Si and Zhao Gao, Jiuqing Chen Xu still couldn't recognize it, and other lower-level officials didn't know it anymore, so they could only greet each other indiscriminately.

After entering the palace, the chamberlain directly brought him into the Zichen Palace, and Qin Shi Huang, who had just dispersed the dynasty, had not even changed his court clothes, and was waiting for him after getting the news.

"Your Majesty forgives the sin, the minister went to the construction site outside the city and just came back!" After Chen Xu entered the hall, he respectfully saluted Qin Shi Huang.

"Qinghe Hou doesn't need to be polite! You may be seated! Qin Shi Huang smiled and waved his hand, instructed the palace people to serve tea, and only after sitting down did Qin Shi Huang say: "I heard that the coal and iron ore needed by Qinghe Hou have been transported to the construction site today, and I have also heard that there is smoke rising on the construction site, so I can't wait to ask Qinghe Hou to ask about the situation!" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister has improved the method of iron-making according to the records on the Tiangong Kaiwu, and it should soon be able to refine a kind of steel, which can be used to forge sharp and tough weapons, and also improved the horse harness, as long as the full set is fully equipped, my Great Qin soldiers will be able to completely abandon the chariot, and after simple training, they will be able to become a super horse pawn with one as ten, and Your Majesty will sweep the Xiongnu and Hu people in the northwest is just around the corner!"

"Is that true?" Qin Shi Huang stood up excitedly.

"The minister does not dare to deceive Your Majesty, in fact, the method of making steel has been successfully tested in Qinghe Town, but more skilled craftsmen are needed to promote it on a large scale, so the smelting workshop outside the city is mainly used to train new steelmaking craftsmen, and the improved harness has also been successful, and it will be able to be made in two or three days, please take a look at it when the time comes!"

"Haha, good, good!" Qin Shi Huang stroked his palms and laughed heartily, and after being excited, his face became a little solemn and said: "Marquis Qinghe, when I asked the general to go to Qinghe Town to ask you about your strategy to conquer the land of Lingnan Baiyue, you gave three strategies, not only Marquis Qinghe, do you still remember?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister naturally remembers!" Chen Xu stood up and bowed in reply.

"The best policy given by the Marquis of Qinghe at the beginning was to expel the Xiongnu first and then pacify Lingnan, which is exactly the opposite of what I thought before, and today you have improved the harness, saying that you can make my Great Qin horse pawn one as ten, could it be that the Marquis of Qinghe did it on purpose? Can you elaborate on the reasons for this? After Qin Shi Huang finished speaking, he sat down and looked at Chen Xu quietly.

"Originally, I planned to play this matter to His Majesty after the improvement of steel weapons and horse harness was completed, since His Majesty asked today, the minister did not dare to conceal it, yes, the minister just hoped that His Majesty could first go north and then south, and then slowly pacify the south after sweeping the Huns, from a strategic point of view, the south is mountainous, watery and rainy, the mountains are high and dense, the climate is hot and humid, the poisonous barriers and snakes, ants, insects and beasts are dense, and the products are not abundant, plus Baiyue are all barbarian aborigines who do not obey the king, even if they are forcibly requisitioned, there is not much benefit to my Great Qin, Instead, it will consume a large number of soldiers to suppress, now the north has 300,000 troops to defend against the Huns, and at the same time there are millions of soldiers from the six countries, this huge consumption is completely a bottomless pit, and countless grains and materials will be filled into it every year, if the south also falls into this situation, my Daqin simply cannot support the consumption of these two fronts of warfare, Your Majesty's tour of the southeast, Nanyang counties and the banks of the great rivers are the main grain producing areas of my Daqin, but all the way Your Majesty has seen, the people of Daqin are hungry and clothed, once the war starts, It is inevitable that a large number of people will need to be requisitioned to participate in the transportation of grain, grass and materials, and the land will be uncultivated, and the next will lead to a sharp decrease in grain production, and if the battle of Lingnan begins, it will definitely not be completed within three years, and if it drags on for three years, Your Majesty can imagine the consequences. ”

Qin Shi Huang was silent after hearing this, and only the breathing of the two could be heard in the room.

"Your Majesty, it's not a malicious speculation by the ministers, I think that Daqin seems to be stable at the moment, but in fact, the people are panicking, the nobles and the remnants of the six countries all want to see Your Majesty fall into this chaos of two-front warfare, and they also hope that this battle will drag on as long as possible!"

Qin Shi Huang's face shook slightly, and Chen Xu's words obviously poked at his sore spot.

"The land of Baiyue is actually like a chicken rib to Great Qin!" Chen Xu continued.

"Chicken ribs? Why? Qin Shi Huang asked for a moment.

"Eat without meat and discard taste!" Chen Xu gave up.

Qin Shi Huang nodded after thinking silently for a long time: "Yes, Lingnan is actually like a chicken rib, I am reluctant to abandon it, but I hesitate slightly, I also know that Lingnan is difficult to take, so I have not made up my mind, the last time I toured the southeast, I went to the land of Wuling to inspect, and asked the border soldiers and scouts in detail, but I still hesitated after I returned, Qinghe Marquis just said, it is the reason why it is difficult for me to make up my mind, the land of Lingnan, it is difficult to take and give up, otherwise I would not have let the general go to Qinghe Town to ask you." ”

"Since Your Majesty also finds it difficult to choose, why bother to make a trade-off, why not put it aside first, and wait until the time is ripe to slowly discuss countermeasures, the Lingnan Yue people are mixed, and the barbarism is not united, even if it is placed there, it will not have too much impact on my Great Qin, the Yue people will definitely not gather a large army to attack my Great Qin, on the contrary, the Xiongnu and Hu people in the northwest are the mortal enemies of our Central Plains, whether it is the original Yan Zhao, or the current Great Qin, they have been constantly harassed by it, Therefore, for hundreds of years, the city wall has been constantly built to try to block the road to the south of the Xiongnu, and in fact, the best defense is to attack, only to complete the battle, a drum to completely sweep away the Xiongnu, in order to completely calm the trouble in the north, so the minister believes that instead of spending time and troops to pacify the south and there is no threat to Baiyue, it is better to recuperate and determine the north, once the north is calm, the south is like a bag, just see when Your Majesty wants to take it! ”

"What's more, the land of Henan and Hebei is abundant in water and grass, the Huns have grazed here for hundreds of years, even if they are forcibly taken down, they will get hundreds of thousands of millions of cattle, sheep and horses, these livestock just happen to be scarce things in my Daqin, wool can be woven, cattle and horses can be cultivated, once millions of cattle and horses are distributed to the main grain-producing areas of our Daqin, coupled with the method of intensive cultivation, after two or three years, the grain of my Daqin can be multiplied several times, the people of the whole country have abundant food and clothing, and the natural people's hearts are stable, and the scourge of the remnants of the six countries will slowly disappear invisibly."

Qin Shi Huang nodded: "I also agree with the words of the Marquis of Qinghe, but I still want to see the improved harness and weapons of the Marquis of Qinghe before making plans, the disaster of the Xiongnu is that it is uncertain, and it is very difficult to defeat its main force in one go, which is also the reason why I have always wanted to take South Vietnam first and then pacify the north!" ”

"Your Majesty, rest assured, you will not be disappointed after seeing it!" A smile appeared on Chen Xu's face, "After a few days of preparation, the minister will ask His Majesty to personally go outside the city to inspect the results of the improvement." ”

"Okay, I'll wait for the good news from the Marquis of Qinghe!" Qin Shi Huang also had a hearty smile on his face.

Coming out of the palace, Chen Xu was a little excited.

As long as Qin Shi Huang can change the plan to attack Lingnan first, it can be said that history has been distorted by more than half, in the era when there were no stirrups, the role of cavalry was mainly to use archery to harass the enemy, called cavalry shooting, and could not be armed with weapons in close combat, because it was easy to be knocked off the horse, and with the stirrup saddle, which can be borrowed, the combat effectiveness of a horse pawn can be fully exerted, plus with the spear and saber this offensive weapon, it is not a luxury to be ten to one.

Imagine a man who has to hold the horse's belly and lie on the horse's back with all his strength during the run, facing an opponent who can completely release his feet with the help of his hands, just like a wild boar rushing into the flock of sheep and plowing the field, and can arch all the way over.