Li Yueji is going to go to the Zide Hall every three or five days, and she has to say hello to the two queens in terms of etiquette, and there will be some distribution of money and property, because she is nominally in charge of the affairs of a palace.

When I saw the queen come out, it was already three poles of the sun, and the dense shade of the summer trees was printed with spots of sun. The bright sunshine didn't brighten up Li Yueji's heart, she only felt muddy.

happened to meet the eunuch Wang Zhong. This eunuch is the chief eunuch of the Inner Servant Province, and Li Yueji remembered that the palace maid said that the eunuchs of the Inner Servant Province knew a lot of things, so she stopped Wang Zhong.

The eunuch was also clever, and when he stopped, he bent down and said with a smile: "Virtuous concubine Niangniang, what are your instructions to the slave maid?" ”

Li Yueji glanced left and right at the scene of people coming and going in Zide Palace, and besides, she was not familiar with this eunuch. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What are the officials busy with these days?" ”

Wang Zhongpi smiled and said: "Concubine Xian, the official family went to inspect the firearms over there in the armor workshop, and I heard that the people below have made new cannons!" ”

Li Yueji asked, "Is it amazing?" ”

Wang Zhong said solemnly: "Of course it is powerful, the slave maid heard that if a cannon goes down, the military camp a mile away will be wiped out!" ”

Li Yueji heard that the emperor was busy with military affairs, and her heart became more and more worried, and she wanted to ask Wang Zhong if the imperial court wanted to use troops against Xiazhou, but as her imperial concubine, it was okay to ask what the emperor was busy with, and it was very inappropriate to ask about military affairs.

…… On the banks of the Bianshui River, this time the water is abundant, and several city-like armor making workshops are noisy, and the sky is filled with black smoke. The castle was originally built to forge armor, but a complete smelting workshop was built here, and firearms were made here.

Bronze cannon casting is not complicated, the process can cast a bell to cast a cannon, but no one thought of making it this way before.

The new bronze cannon used the classification test method, and the gun was tested in turn, and the size was finally determined. The cannon body is about five feet long, and the single barrel weighs about 1,000 catties, mainly firing 10 catties of iron bullets, and is named "Tiger Roaring Tianzi".

This bronze cannon weighs more than twice as much as the previous iron-cast "Dragon Howling Cannon", but it can only fire a ten-pound cannonball; The iron cannon weighs hundreds of pounds, but it can fire shells weighing 100 pounds.

The difference is that the iron cannon is a large-mouth mortar cannon, which can only be thrown upwards like a stone-throwing cart, relying on the weight of the stone projectile to hit the wall; And the bronze cannon can shoot flat!

Guo Shao stood behind the female wall, covering his eyebrows with his palm, blocking the sunlight on his head, and looking intently into the distance.

Suddenly, a cannon rang out, and a flash of fire flashed in the white smoke. After a while, I saw a black cannonball flying sideways and hitting the ground, and the angle of the flat flying cannonball was very small, so it immediately bounced on the ground, continued to fly forward, jumped and jumped for a long time, and then fell to the ground and rolled up.

"The farther you go, the worse the accuracy." Zan Jurun said, "It's not easy to hit a target. However, if there is a crowd in front of you, this cannon will definitely hit a bunch of people! ”

Guo Shao looked a little excited, and said: "This is not a siege weapon to smash a pit, it doesn't matter if the accuracy is poor, what is needed is deterrence." In the future, even if the enemy army gathers and arrays a mile away, it will be within our firing range! ”

Zan Jurun took out another drawing and said: "The official said, using two wheels as a gun mount, we tried, but it didn't work out for a while, it was too heavy and the cannon would fall apart and deviate." However, the Armory's superintendent has reworked a new one. Official, please see, this is a gun carriage, which can be pulled by horses; When transporting, the gun body and gun carriage are placed on it. When the cannon is fired, eight people carry the cannon down and put it on the gun carriage, and the iron frame at the end of the gun is fixed, so that it can be placed. ”

Guo Shao said: "Eight people want to carry it? ”

Zan Jurun said: "It weighs a thousand catties, and it can't be eight people less." The folk method of carrying the coffin, eight people easily lifted it away. ”

Guo Shao: "......"

Although this cannon is bulky and heavy, there is no way, what Guo Shao wants is a flat shot and bounce, and the muzzle velocity of the cannonball must be high, otherwise the angle is too small and the muzzle velocity is too low, and it will land as soon as it is discharged. In this way, the pressure of the chamber that deflagrates in the chamber is high, and the bronze cannon wall must be thick, otherwise the chamber will be exploded, and more than 30 people will be killed and injured in the process of testing the gun, which is too thin and fried!

However, because of the high pressure, this time I can shoot scattered bullets at close range. The previous iron cannon tried gravel shots, but the results were useless, because the opening of the mortar cannon was too large, and the loading chamber pressure was too small.

The army structure changes according to weapons and tactics, and a team of more than 20 people in a regular army and a team of more than 30 people in an arquebus army are not suitable for an artillery army. The artillery men and horses were to be in a team of fifteen people, equipped with a gun carriage, fifteen arquebuses, horses, and a number of long and short weapons; To lighten not to equip armor, only helmets. Because it takes at least eight people to carry the cannon, it is also necessary to take care of the horses and do the odd work, the people who install the gun carriage when carrying the cannon, and the reserve personnel after the dead and wounded. The artillery corps was full of eight guns and one hundred and twenty people. One commanded five capitals and six hundred people.

Guo Shao saw the combat power of artillery with his own eyes, and he had a bottom in his heart, and returned to Jinxiang Hall to restart the deployment of the recent military and political ideas.

He first summoned Wang Pu and Wei Renpu, important ministers of the military state, and then successively summoned Zan Jurun, Lu Duoxun and others to prepare to formulate a complete set of foreign strategies.

After hearing Guo Shao's meaning, Lu Duoxun said: "When the minister sent an envoy to Xiazhou, he saw that there were Khitan people coming and going in Xiazhou, and the imperial court could use this as an excuse to order Li Yiyin to hand over the envoy of the enemy country and escort Tokyo to ask for guilt. ”

Guo Shao said: "This battle is also very good. ”

…… After a busy day, Guo Shao returned to the Long Live Palace, he did not sleep in the main hall, and cleaned up a house in a corner of the Long Live Palace.

As soon as he entered the Long Live Palace, he heard Wang Zhong's report: "Concubine Li Xian is waiting, wanting to see Your Majesty." ”

Guo Shao listened and said, "Please come in." ”

Generally in the palace, the emperor takes the initiative to think about who will serve the bed before summoning him, and the concubines ask to see, what should be the matter. There are only five queens and princesses in total (usually four), and they are still very important people.

Wang Zhong didn't leave, but stepped forward and whispered: "Today, Concubine Li Xian asked what the official family was doing, and the slave maid tried it, and saw that she looked panicked, I am afraid that I heard that His Majesty wants to use troops against the party." ”

"Oh......" Guo Shao suddenly responded.

Guo Shao sat down in the hall of the living room and waited. After a while, I saw Concubine Li Xian come in, she didn't wear the clothes of the party members, but she wore a skirt and regular clothes, and her hair was combed into a falling horse sideburns. Li Yueji has black hair and black eyes, her face is not much different from that of the Han people, she is also good-looking, with white skin and a bumpy figure; can wear a skirt and a half-arm streamer, but it still doesn't smell like that, it's a little weird.

Guo Shao was silent, she was dug up by her fingernails last time, and she still feels that her skin is hot when she thinks of Guo Shao.

Li Yueji made a blessing, "The concubine came to see Your Majesty." ”

"No need to be polite, just sit down." Guo Shaodao.

Li Yueji said softly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sitting." ”

Guo Shao rubbed his head: "Why do you think something is wrong?" ”

Li Yueji said: "Your Majesty's women, aren't they all like this to Your Majesty? ”

Guo Shao nodded.

After a short silence, the greetings were a little cold. Mainly because Guo Shao has a negative attitude and does not take the initiative to find topics. This woman didn't feel much about him, a "foreigner", and she didn't like to stay in a foreign land, otherwise she already had a reputation, how could she desperately not let Guo Shao touch it?

At this time, Li Yueji's face was red, and she finally spoke, with a certain sense of humiliation, "When I was in Lingzhou, the concubine ran away without knowing anything and was almost killed by a wolf...... The concubine has always wanted to ask one thing, is the person who shot the arrow to save me that day Your Majesty? ”

Guo Shao recalled for a moment, nodded and said, "Exactly." ”

Li Yueji said softly: "Thank you, Your Majesty for saving your life." ”

"It doesn't have to be like this, it's just a matter of meeting it by chance." Guo Shao said, "I don't want you to be bitten by a wolf." ”

Li Yueji was silent for a while, and then said: "It's all because the concubine doesn't know anything, and she even hurt Your Majesty, and Your Majesty tolerates the concubine's ......."

Guo Shao said: "It's just a small thing, I still have this bit of open-mindedness." ”

"Your Majesty......" Li Yueji looked at him a little embarrassed.

In fact, Guo Shao already understood what she meant, she was dissatisfied with the marriage before, but now she is forced to be helpless, afraid that the tension between the imperial court and Xiazhou will cause disaster for her and her family.

She has no choice, even if Guo Shao is a pig, she has to please. And Guo Shao doesn't seem to be so disliked.

Guo Shao sighed slightly.

But when he looked back, Li Yueji was actually very innocent. Even all party members can't be said to be bad people...... In their own eyes, there is nothing wrong with getting rid of the control of the Central Plains Dynasty and expanding their territorial power for their own people; It's just that their inferiority and ambition are not conducive to the Great Xu Dynasty, and the threat of more border troubles is a pressure on any dynasty and an increase in military defense expenditure.

Li Yueji is just a woman, and it is unfortunate that she was sent to a foreign country thousands of miles away to marry. Now it seems excusable to survive like this.

Guo Shao thought about it, so he called warmly: "Concubine Xian......"

"Huh?" Li Yueji raised her head and looked at him expectantly.

Guo Shao was relieved: "Concubine Xian is just a woman, don't take everything on yourself, who can afford to carry such a heavy load?" Since you are my concubine, you don't have to worry too much. ”

Li Yueji was slightly moved when she heard this: "Your Majesty treats people very well, why didn't you figure it out before the concubine......"

Guo Shaoxin said, I am good to the people around me. The sage said well, where there is oppression, there is resistance. These people stay in my harem and are often close to me, how can you make you resist and find yourself unhappy?

He suddenly noticed that her neck was red, her hands were tense, and she was silently tugging at her clothes. Her voice seemed to be about to cry, and she trembled in humiliation: "Your Majesty, since I am your woman, I have been in the palace for so long, Your Majesty...... Your Majesty wants me! ”

Guo Shao was stunned and sighed: "Concubine Xian, there really doesn't have to be this. ”

Li Yueji's expression was complicated, and she was a little angry, and she was about to cry: "I'll send it to the door, others don't want to ...... it."