Linyuan envy fish, it is better to retreat and close the net; To raise the soup to stop boiling, it is better to draw salary from the bottom of the kettle. Wu Dading's dream is to be able to become the master of the dominant party, with this thought, under Liu Xiaohong's coercion and temptation, he can't help but be unmoved.

In troubled times, even if he is an old friend with the little red wolf, and he has to take care of him to take root in the territory of Hanzhong Mansion, when faced with a choice related to survival, Wu Dading still chose Zhao Ying, who was more beneficial to him, without hesitation. Choosing the strong master is normal in Wu Dading's opinion. If you succeed or lose, as long as you destroy the little red wolf and replace it, this treacherous deed will soon be buried by the wind and frost of time.

However, Wu Dading finally kept an eye on it, did not release Guo Hutou immediately, and agreed with Liu Xiaohong that he would wait for Zhao Ying to capture one of Baocheng and one of the two counties of Wei, and then deliver the people. At the same time, he also promised that Guo Hutou would never be subjected to any more harassment and insults in his place.

Liu Xiaohong accepted it when he saw it, and the failure to return to Guo Hutou immediately was actually expected by him and Zhao Dangshi. Therefore, he put forward a new request, firstly, to help Zhao Ying stabilize his foothold in Hanzhong, and secondly, it can be regarded as a vote of Wuda Dingna.

This requirement is very simple, that is, after the little red wolf retreats to the west of Chenggu County, Wu Dading needs to send troops to assist Zhao Ying in flanking his people. As for why the little red wolf retreated here, Liu Xiaohong did not elaborate, but judging from his confident expression, Zhao Ying seemed to have a perfect plan.

Unlike when he came, Liu Xiaohong was quite beautiful when he left the martial arts camp, and Wu Dading even personally went out of the camp to send him ten miles away according to the specifications of bidding farewell to his old friend. Liu Xiaohong smiled lightly, but he really despised Wu Dading's personality in his heart, and after Wu Dading turned his horse and galloped away, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

During the two days of Liu Xiaohong's envoy, Zhao Dangshi stayed in Xu Hui's camp and waited. Xu Hui went west this time and gained a lot, in addition to capturing such a big fish as the lord of Huaqing, he also caught three special people. Zhao Dangshi inquired carefully and learned that these three were all military craftsmen who had been responsible for manufacturing firearms in the nearby guard station for generations. The leader was in his thirties, with a scruffy beard, a big head and a round body, Xu Hui knew about firearms, chatted with him, and felt that this person had some way, so he took advantage of this time to introduce him to Zhao Dangshi.

The leading warcraftsman was called Lu Puyi, and Zhao Dangshi could tell from the dense pockmarks on his right cheek that this person was definitely an expert in handling firearms. The two communicated slightly, and Zhao Dangshi found that Lu Puyi really had a deep knowledge of firearms, and when he asked, he was actually self-taught. The household registration system of the Ming Dynasty was strict, and the artisan registration was similar to the civilian and military registration, and it was also a compulsory inheritance from generation to generation, and the status was much inferior to others.

People have seven emotions and six desires, and their interests are not the same, and most of the imprisoned craftsmen are just helpless to do the tasks assigned by them. They have technology, but they are all old crafts that have been passed down from generation to generation, because there is no subjective initiative to support, and the exploration of technology has actually made little progress. Basically, everyone is relying on the old book, getting by, and it is good to be able to completely inherit the craftsmanship of the previous generation, and then to further explore the new possibilities of research and development technology, then for them, there is no need for that, and there is no interest.

But there are always some non-mainstream people, and this Lu Puyi is one of them. He had a natural interest in the manufacture of firearms, and he was eager to read and study many books on firearms while others were resting on their laurels. Bi Maokang's "Illustrated Weapons Illustrated" and even Xu Guangqi's translation of "Illustrated Illustrations of Fire Attack Artifacts" He has dabbled in. This was very rare among the craftsmen of the late Ming Dynasty at that time.

Zhao Dangshi tentatively proposed the concept of a flintlock pistol to him, and was surprised to find that Lu Puyi had actually made a "self-generated firearm" based on a firearm from Guli with poison in his body a long time ago. In the memory of Zhao Dangshi's previous life, the body poison is India, which was in the Mughal era, and its military development was influenced by both the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe, which was not inferior to East Asia, and was more advanced in some aspects. Lu Puyi can start from this aspect, at least it shows that his vision is very high.

It's a pity that the "self-generated fire" that Lu Puyi made was destroyed by an explosion a long time ago, and a scar on his face covered with thick hair fell at that time. Through his account, Zhao Dangshi can generally determine that what he is doing is a ramming flintlock pistol, which is not only superior to the arquebus, but also more advanced than the reed wheel flintlock pistol.

But Zhao's excitement didn't last long. According to Lu Puyi, the reason why he gave up on continuing to develop flintlock pistols was mainly due to two aspects: First, the cost was too high. This is not only a material cost, but also a huge human cost. A series of firing of an arquebus can be done with a maximum of seven or eight components, while a ramming flintlock pistol requires about twenty components to operate. The materials used to make these components are expensive, and because they need to be precisely fitted, it is also a great test for the craftsmanship of the craftsmen. Second, the firing rate is not satisfactory. Although the arquebus is clumsy, as long as it is not in the wind and rain, the efficiency of ignition can basically reach 100%. Compared to this indicator, the current flintlock pistol firing rate can reach thirty or forty percent, which is already very good. This is too unreliable for an army that needs to be put into real combat.

Private weapons should be strictly separated from the standard equipment of the army. Lu Puyi had a big picture of the situation, and after deciding that the current large-scale production of flintlock pistols was not a wise choice, he quickly changed his research ideas. So much so that I didn't touch the flintlock pistol again for two or three years.

Zhao Dangshi was very clear-headed, and as a prophetic person, he was eager to use his foresight to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the army. But the fact is that at present, even Western Europe has not used flintlock pistols as conventional equipment, and Zhao Ying, who has no talent reserve and no productivity support, what can he use to pursue new technology?

Suifa was not feasible for the time being, and Zhao Dangshi turned his attention to rifling. The firearms used by the Ming army today are all smoothbore, if the inner wall of the gun tube can be rifled, there is no need for a spiral shape, as long as there is a straight groove, it is bound to make the range and accuracy of the firearm to a higher level.

However, Lu Puyi's words still poured a basin of cold water on his head. First of all, rifling the gun is not only the barrel itself, but also the refurbishment of the gallbladder pills used. This means that if a single Zhao battalion uses a new rifled gun, then all ready-made projectiles captured from the enemy from now on will become waste. It's not a good deal.

Secondly, whether it is the mass production of new muskets or ammunition, it is inseparable from the support of productivity. As for the steel and coal needed to make firearms, Zhao Ying was completely unable to provide them. And not to mention making guns and cannons, just building a crucible furnace for making iron or digging a coal pit is difficult for Zhao Ying, who is now like a rootless tree.

In fact, the steelmaking technology of the Ming Dynasty was not inferior to that of other regions at that time, especially in the conversion of raw and wrought iron and mass production. Compared with the traditional steel filling method, the frying method can be extremely effective in frying steel with a carbon content lower than that of pig iron but higher than that of wrought iron, and even skilled iron frying hands have the opportunity to fry high-carbon steel. But this alone is not enough, because the barrel made of steel or wrought iron is inevitably made of steel bars or wrought iron, and there are joints, which lays the hidden danger for easy explosion in the future. At the same time, the contemporary era abandoned the Tang and Song dynasties to use charcoal as fuel to switch to coal, but the phosphorus and sulfur content in iron ore and coal in the Ming Dynasty was too much, and the thermal efficiency of combustion was not high, so it was difficult to effectively accumulate and retain heat under the conditions of open iron-making furnaces with human and animal power blasts. This is also one of the reasons why the hardness of wrought iron or steel is brittle, and it is easy to explode when made into guns. Unless you can liquefy steel and drill holes in solid steel rods to make the barrel, the risk of blowing up the bore will never be completely solved.

Of course, Lu Puyi's thinking could not be so advanced, and the above was just the result of Zhao Dangshi's synthesis of what he had learned and experienced in his previous life after listening to his words. In the final analysis, Zhao Dangshi now wants to flintlock pistols, but there is no way, and there is no stable base, and he wants to make traditional arquebuses to supplement the army, but it is not possible.

The conversation with Lu Puyi not only dispelled Zhao Dangshi's previous illusions in terms of firearms, but also reminded him of a key point - the base area.

Without base areas, there will be no stable finances, troops, materials, and so on. When a rogue can only pick up the rest of the old teeth that others can use, it is a complete fool's dream to take the lead in equipment. The economic base determines the superstructure, and Zhao Ying can wander around forever, hiding from the officials and soldiers for his own safety, but he cannot complete the transformation from armed to regime.

However, having said that, Zhao Dangshi could not ignore the double-edged sword effect of the base area. Especially for the group of exiles who are now in absolute weakness, rashly taking root in a state of hostility with the official army is tantamount to a bird entering a cage and killing themselves.

In everything, we must combine everything with reality and blindly be guided by subjectivity, and it is easy to fall into one-sided mistakes. Sometimes, it only takes one mistake to turn around.

Even so, with the imminent entry into Sichuan, Zhao Dangshi still decided to put the affairs of the base area on the agenda. Although it is not a good time to put down roots, but during the march, observing on the road can always find some reference information for future development.

Due to his own factors, Zhao Dangshi was temporarily unable to hand over his ideas to Lu Puyi to realize. The two talked for an entire afternoon and had a preliminary understanding of each other's thoughts. Zhao Dangshi said the words that had been depressed in his heart for a long time, even if he couldn't make it immediately, he was also very comfortable.

He arranged Lu Puyi and the two helpers in the back camp, and asked him to make some conceptual plans and plans first, and at the same time, he was responsible for their daily life and communication, and the treatment was quite good. And Lu Puyi and others were originally at the bottom of the society, not as many scholars as the three outlines and five constants, and they used to work for the government, but they were all aggrieved.

Xu Hui made a merit because of his knowledge and good recommendation, which offset the punishment of Guo Hutou for negligence when he was arrested before, and there was no merit or fault. Seeing that Zhao Dangshi's rewards and punishments were so strict, everyone was privately impressed.

Liu Xiaohong did not return, and Zhao Dangshi suddenly remembered that he had never met the lord of Huaqing, who was a strange commodity to live in. She is the key figure in this series of events, how can you not see her?

As soon as he thought of it, he found Xu Hui and asked about the county lord's current situation. Xu Hui was thoughtful and knew that the county lord of Huaqing was an important chess piece to his army, and he was not like an ordinary prisoner to her. Except for not being allowed to leave the camp where they lived, all food and bathing were to be carried out according to the highest standards in the army. In this comparison, even the quality of life of Zhang Miaobai, the master of the back camp who has always refused to accept the slightest grievance, is not as high as this prisoner.

Zhao Dangshi praised Xu Hui's foresight, as the main general, long-term vision is definitely a necessary quality. Speaking of this, Hou Dagui is not as far away as Xu Hui, and this is why Zhao Dangshi left him in Zhongying, seemingly respectful but never released.

With his heart moving, Zhao Dangshi was led by Xu Hui to the residence of the lord of Huaqing. Before he came, he had learned from Xu Hui that this county lord was extraordinary, even if he was prepared, but at the moment of the real meeting, he couldn't help but be stunned.

The county lord of Huaqing, dressed in plain clothes, stood tall without any makeup, and instead simply combed all his hair back and tied it in an extremely simple bun. But because of the long hair, they still fell over their shoulders, like two black waterfalls.

She has dark circles in her eye sockets, and she can see that she is not in a good mental state in the past few days, although she is depressed, her eyes are still clear and bright, and when she saw Zhao Dangshi, she first made a bow and said, "Huaqing has seen General Zhao." ”

Zhao Dangshi was stunned and said, "How does the county lord know that it is Zhao Dangshi below?" ”

The county lord of Huaqing said calmly: "I don't know what the general's name is. But this General Xu I know that he is the chief general of the battalion, and he is like a subordinate by your side, thinking that the commander of the Zhao battalion must be surnamed Zhao, so I had the courage to guess. ”

Zhao Dangshi said embarrassedly: "I see, the county lord is very smart. He saw that the other party was beautiful and temperamental, and he had three points of respect. Then I heard that she spoke decently, neither humble nor arrogant, and I was even more surprised. Thinking to myself, the daughter of King Rui is really different from ordinary women, and the difference in class is clearly distinguishable from the outside. He could obviously feel that even though Xu Hui and the other generals who followed up were victors, they didn't dare to face the county lord of Huaqing when they spoke, and he was actually a little nervous.

To put it another way, fortunately, it was Xu Hui, who was generally sensible, who got the lord of Huaqing, if such a beautiful woman fell into the hands of Hou Dagui, Hao Shaoqi and other reckless people, the end would never be as good as it is now.

Thinking about it, he couldn't say what he had prepared when he came, and said: "Every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, and I will invite the county lord to come here, but it is really forced by the situation and forced to do so." As long as you can save your life, you can guarantee that you will not move the county lord to the slightest bit, and send the county lord back after waiting. ”

Zhao Dangshi likes women, but he is self-aware, although he is amazed by the otherworldly beauty of the county lord of Huaqing, he has nothing to think about at all. Just thinking about such a jade and ice-carved woman, she said that she shouldn't hurt her.

I don't know why, maybe it was because I felt that Zhao Dangshi and the others had no bad intentions, and the county lord of Huaqing didn't seem to have the slightest panic and worry about being in prison, so he only heard her say softly: "General Zhao, I believe you." Zhao Dangshi looked at it in a daze, but saw that she was smiling indifferently at herself, like a jade.