Time flies very quickly, and in a flash, a month has passed.

Li Ke has been gone for so long, and he has not returned, and there is no news from the capital. Counting the footsteps, if Li Ke travels lightly and quickly along the way and goes to the capital to make a round trip, half a month should always be enough.

Qin Mubai was somewhat worried, firstly, there was no news from Li Ke, and secondly, it was too quiet in the capital. It stands to reason that the reappearance of the jade seal of the country and the excavation of Yang Guang's real mausoleum are all earth-shattering events. But now, everything is abnormally quiet, and Qin Mubai can't help but feel a little drumming in his heart.

In the past month, Qin Mubai spent most of his time in the Assassin's Mansion to take care of the people's livelihood and government affairs left by Li Ke. Sometimes he would go back to the barracks as an inspection. There are Pang Fei and hundreds of horsemen on duty over there, and everything is normal. Occasionally, I will also go to Xihe Caozhong to see the mausoleum guarded by Yuwen Hongtai.

Three points and one line, the days are tight and busy.

On this day, Qin Mubai was handling official business in the study room, and a government official came to report that three "strange old beggars" had arrived at the door of the Assassin's Mansion and asked to see General Qin by name.

Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile: "The people who can go to the 'Thorn History' Mansion and come to find Qin's 'General' are of course my acquaintances, let them come in!" ”

The official brought in the three "strange old beggars", and as expected, they were the three apprentices of Niu Wuzhi, Da Lei Erlei and Sanlei.

"The three masters, why did they come to me together today? Didn't I send you a little boy and a handyman, so that they could run errands? Qin Mubai asked.

In fact, Qin Mubai knew without asking, if it weren't for something important, how could the three of them run to the Thorn History Mansion together to find Qin Mubai? This is the first time this has ever happened.

"General, the matter you explained to you a while ago is almost done now. It's just because the matter is important, so the old man and the others only dare to come to the general in person to inspect it. Da Lei said.

Qin Mubai couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised: "What, so fast?" Impossible! ”

"Not only do the generals not believe it, but the villains don't believe it either." The three old men chattered and said, "After the general confessed, the old man and the brothers on the iron ore field studied day and night to speed up the work, and worked day and night for half a month, and the middle was abandoned many times, and several brothers were injured. It's just that I don't know if that thing is what the general wants, so I specially asked the general to go and check it. ”

"Okay, I'll go right away." Qin Mubai nodded happily and said to them again, "Three masters, it's really hard for you. After that, you don't have to work too hard, you can rest as much as you can, and you don't have to be in a hurry. Take care of your health! ”

"Thank you General Qin for your concern, Lao Yu and the others have been busy with the master for most of their lives, and they are used to it. General, let's go quickly! ”

"Okay, let's go!"

Qin Mubai called for the carriage and horses, rode his horse, and took the three old men to the iron ore area in the suburbs. It didn't take long for the mine to arrive. Several craftsmen are already waiting here.

"General Qin, please!" The craftsmen didn't say much, and directly led Qin Mubai and the three old men to an extremely remote corner of the mine.

"Good guys, I really let you get it out!" Qin Mubai couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

Cannon!

A cannon!

The cannon in front of him still looks a little rough, as the three old men said, it is just a "rough embryo". But in essence, it is the same as the Hongyi cannon that was introduced to China in the last years of the Ming Dynasty. (The Qing people thought that "Hongyi" was indecent, and because the cannon was often covered with red cloth, it was called "red-clothed cannon)"!

The real red-coated cannon is an ancient cannon with a front-loading smoothbore fire door ignition type, with a long barrel and a thick tube wall, and it is gradually thickened from the muzzle to the tail of the gun, which conforms to the principle of chamber pressure from high to bottom when gunpowder is burning; There are cylindrical lugs on both sides of the center of gravity of the gun body, and the gun can adjust the firing angle with this axis and change the firing range according to the amount of gunpowder; It is equipped with a crosshair and a light gate, and the trajectory is calculated according to the parabola, which is very accurate.

At this moment, the barrel that is enough to be called the "ancestor of the red-clothed cannon" and weighs more than 1,000 catties is mounted on a sturdy car, and it is tied up. The swarthy muzzle of the cannon was aimed at a barren mountain wall in the distance. It's just that it hasn't been decorated and polished, so it looks quite rough. But the huge size and natural heaviness give it a layer of domineering and domineering color.

"General, according to the drawings you left and repeated instructions, we used the method of fan casting to cast six cannon bodies in front and back. We also tried to bomb a few times before, and on two occasions we blew up and injured our own people. After repeated modifications and tests by these masters, it shouldn't be so easy to blow up now. Da Lei said to Qin Mubai.

"As for the cannonballs, show them to me." Qin Mubai said.

"Yes." With a wave of his hand, two strong men brought a small box and carefully opened it, revealing a huge pitch-black spherical cannonball.

"Most of the shells are made of iron and lead stone, and they are of different sizes, shapes, and weights, and they can all be successfully fired." Da Lei said, "General, do you want to test the bombing on the spot?" ”

"Well, I'd love to know if this cannon really succeeded." Qin Mubai took a deep breath and said, "If it's ...... Well, you people, you're really going to change history. ”

"Change...... History? Everyone looked at each other in confusion, as if they didn't quite understand, and they all went to prepare for the debugging of the gun.

"General, just in case, let's step back and leave a long lead. If it is blown up, it will be a matter of human life! Everyone said together.

Qin Mubai also felt a chill in his heart, although he had full confidence in his theoretical knowledge and design, but these things that "civilian inventors" were tinkering with, he really couldn't believe too much.

"Then go back away, everyone has to be careful, and you have to make sure that you don't hurt the people in front of you." Qin Mubai said.

"The general can rest assured, there is a barren mountain ahead, which has been used for experiments for several days, and it has long been closed to the mountain, and the living will not go up."

"That'll be fine." Qin Mubai said, "Let's start!" ”

Everyone retreated to Xu Yuan, and a brave man held a torch and carefully dragged an extremely long lead to light it. Then he fled with a loud cry and threw himself into a pit in the grass.

Everyone covered their ears and stared at the burning fuse with bated breath. Seeing that it was about to burn to the cannon, everyone squatted down a little nervously, and even Qin Mubai felt his heartbeat speed a little.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the sky seemed to collapse in a place in front of it!

In an instant, Qin Mubai almost instinctively fell to the ground, and the others also screamed in horror and fell to the ground without getting up.

Obviously, this is a bore!

Fortunately, everyone was far away, and there were no casualties this time.

"It's a pity!" Qin Mubai let go of his ears and sighed. The three old men and the craftsmen also sighed together, and kept pleading guilty to Qin Mubai.

"It's okay, I don't blame you. If it was so easy to succeed, it would not be our turn to figure it out. Qin Mubai said this, feeling a little regretful in his heart. After all, it is something that is ahead of its time, and I don't have the corresponding tools and no actual hands-on ability. It seems that there is not much else that can be done except design and theoretical support.

It seems that invention is not so easy. Compared with high-end technology and advanced weapons, the red-coated cannon is a kind of old-fashioned thing. However, it is really difficult to actually build it without the corresponding equipment and technology. Comparing the skills of Fan Casting, the purity and high temperature resistance of steel, the amount and purity of gunpowder, etc., these small links must not be missed.

"General, the villain has a suggestion, I don't know whether to talk about it or not." A craftsman said.

"Oh, I remember you. You are the oldest qualified Fan caster in this Xiangzhou iron mine, Master Zhou, right? Come on, I'd love to hear your advice. Qin Mubai said.

Master Zhou smiled bitterly guiltily twice, shook his head and said: "I'm not afraid of the general's jokes, in fact, the villain is just a fan caster who is not in the stream, and the kung fu of pouring copper and iron is not very good, and Fan Zhu of gold and silver is even more ignorant." Otherwise, how could it stay on this small iron mine and empty grinding for decades? - The villain's suggestion is that if you want to make such an extraordinary artifact, you must invite a real master caster! ”

Qin Mubai twisted his brows slightly: "You mean, let me go to the imperial court as a supervisor?" ”

"Exactly. Most of the skilled craftsmen and Fan Zhu masters in the world are gathered in the imperial court as prisoners. No matter how hard we try, I'm afraid we won't be able to make the magic cannon that the general wants. Master Zhou said, "If you don't believe the general, you can go back and take a look at your own family heirloom weapon, which will be used as the one built by the Weapons Supervision Department - the Tiger Head Chisel Golden Gun." If you have that Fan Zhuye skill, why can't you make the magic cannon that the general wants? ”

After his reminder, Qin Mubai's eyes really lit up: "It makes sense!" So, it's really worth a try? ”

"The general forgives the sin, the villain and the others are really powerless. Perhaps, the high-ranking people who will be the prisoners can help the general fulfill his wish! ”

"Well, anyway, thank you very much." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, "Everyone has worked hard, I will immediately send someone to distribute the rewards to you." In the future, if there is a problem, I may have to come back to you for help. I also ask you to keep this matter tight-lipped and not to leak it. ”

"Thank you, General! Rest assured, general, we are all people who know what is good or bad. All the craftsmen thanked each other happily.

Qin Mubai left the mining area, somewhat disappointed in his heart, but there was a glimmer of hope. When I return to Chang'an one day, I can ask the person who will be the prisoner to help me make a cannon! At that time, even if you can't build a destructive Shenwu cannon, you should always build two firearms, right? When Edison lit the first light bulb, he certainly didn't expect that the brilliance of the spacecraft would shine in the vast space galaxy.

As long as I first drill and develop the first torch and the first cannon, and use the radical, inclusive and creative national temperament of Datang, there will definitely be more capable people and skilled craftsmen to carry forward the past and forge ahead into the future to optimize this kind of invention, and continue to create more outstanding advanced products. What I'm doing now is like Edison lighting the first light.

In other dynasties, especially the Qing Dynasty, if I changed these so-called inventions, I might be labeled as "misleading the people with evil words, and disrupting the country with strange tricks......

Walking and thinking all the way, Qin Mubai returned to the Assassin's Mansion. Calculating the time, I actually went for most of the day, wasting a lot of time, and there are still many official duties to be dealt with today.

When they arrived at the gate of the yamen, there were only a few very unsightly soldiers standing, and there were strange carriages and horses in the courtyard.

"Heh, the Guards? Could it be that Li Ke is back? Qin Mubai recognized the robes and armor of these sergeants, and couldn't help but step in with joy in his heart.

"Meet General Qin!" A person who looked like a small colonel obviously recognized Qin Mubai, and hurriedly greeted him and bowed his hand, "We are ordered to come and hand over a piece of things to General Qin." ”

"What?" Qin Mubai glanced up and down at his little colonel, "Aren't you the Qianniu guard in the palace, could it be that His Majesty the Emperor sent you?" ”

"Back to General Qin's words, exactly." The junior colonel replied, "Actually, this was originally a reward from His Majesty the Emperor to the general. It's just that Your Majesty has a word first, and if you don't do the holy decree, you won't give a reward, but it should be a personal gift. General Qin can just accept it, and he doesn't have to kneel down to thank him. ”

"Oh, so complicated?" Qin Mubai couldn't help laughing, "Okay, then Weichen will obey the holy decree carefully, neither kneeling to greet nor thanking - what is it, take it!" ”

The little colonel waved his hand, and a Qianniuwei soldier came over, holding a vermilion lacquer box in his hand, and handed it to Qin Mubai.

"Since the general has received the treasures, we will immediately return to Beijing to hand over the decree and leave!" After the little colonel finished speaking, he took this group of Qianniuwei to get on the car and straddle the horse, and left again in a blink of an eye.

"What's the matter, mysterious?" Qin Mubai was puzzled, returned to the study and opened the box, and couldn't help laughing.

It turned out to be an "Analu"!

Analu is one of the Buddhist tools introduced by Tianzhu, the handle end is made of "heart" shape, and is commonly made of bamboo, bone, copper and jade. When the Dharma Master preached, he often held the Analu in his hand and memorized the scriptures on it in case he forgot them. Later, with the prevalence of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, this Buddhist tool began to spread, and the shape gradually changed. Until now, the Tang Dynasty court often used beautiful jade to make this kind of "Analu", and the front end was made into a hand shape - specially used to tickle the back.

Therefore, Analu has another nickname, "Don't ask for people", also known as - Jade Ruyi!

"I'm too familiar with this plaything, isn't this Li Shimin's Jade Ruyi? When he is alone, he often tickles the back of his neck with this play. Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh secretly, "Now that he has given me his 'don't ask for people' and 'jade ruyi', the implication is that I handled the matter of Xiangzhou exactly what he wanted?" ”

It seems that this is a good omen!