At this time, the palace people came in to report, and Xu Qilin, the big Ying Kuku, was waiting outside.

"I'm here to give me good news." His Majesty Li Er nodded with a smile, and ordered the palace people to invite Xu Qilin in.

Xu Qilin walked in with two glass lamps, according to the standards of later generations, it was a simple lantern made of a glass bottle in the shape of a canned bottle and a candle, and the canned bottle was not round, which was a defective product.

But in this era, glass is a precious thing, and it is worth a lot of money to make anything.

"This is for the two highnesses of Jinyang and Xincheng to play on the Shangyuan Festival." Xu Qilin put down the glass lamp and saluted again, "Wechen has seen Your Majesty." Then, Xu Qilin turned around and saluted Ma Zhou.

His Majesty Li Er stretched out his hand and motioned for the palace people to bring the glass lamp over and fiddle with it a few times.

With the addition of dye, the glass is translucent pink, and the characters are depicted on the outside, so it would be nice to light the candles inside.

"This thing is also for sale?" His Majesty Li Er raised his head and asked with a smile.

Xu Qilin replied: "Back to Your Majesty, it will take a few months to make a certain number of goods. ”

His Majesty Li Er nodded and said, "I already know the situation of the auction. 30,000 yuan of income, well done. ”

Xu Qilin hurriedly submitted the accounts and said, "The price of the mirror is basically determined, and I ask Your Majesty for permission." ”

His Majesty Li Er took the account and looked at it, and said, "Do you want to approve the pricing?" ”

Xu Qilin said: "Your Majesty, it is best to set the price. ”

"Are you afraid that the emperor's relatives and ministers of the DPRK and China will buy it and go out in private?" His Majesty Li Er guessed Xu Qilin's thoughts, and said with a faint smile: "This price is much less than at the auction, they should be able to accept it." ”

Saying that, His Majesty Li Er put pen to paper on the pricing list, and the name of long live pricing was finally given to Xu Qilin.

Xu Qilin smiled and said: "The powerful and important ministers want to buy mirrors, but they will raise fewer kaki and dancers, and spend less luxury." If it's too expensive, don't buy it. ”

His Majesty Li Er smiled, didn't say anything else, and handed over the pricing list from the palace people to Xu Qilin before asking: "The auction has passed, and the gunpowder demonstration on the tenth day of the first month should be prepared attentively." ”

Xu Qilin bowed and said: "Wechen has already started to prepare, and the exercise on the tenth day of the first month will definitely not be delayed. After a pause, he continued: "Wei Chen thinks that the exercise should be kept secret, and His Majesty can bring fewer ministers to watch. ”

His Majesty Li Er smiled and teased: "Why, you still have to rely on the formula of gunpowder to make money?" ”

"How dare we." Xu Qilin scratched his head and said, "Regarding the equipment and tactics of my Tang army, Weichen naturally wants to give it for free. ”

"Actually, in addition to gunpowder, Weichen also has a weapon to demonstrate to His Majesty. These two things are not used in the battle array for the time being, but they may be of great use, and it is best for few people to know about them. ”

His Majesty Li Er nodded, thought for a while, and said, "Since this is the case, then I will only bring a few veterans to watch. Over there, I'll send some more guards to keep the secret."

Xu Qilin bowed down to receive the order, and he was about to retire.

His Majesty Li Er remembered something again and said, "Don't forget, you also said that you would edit the agricultural book, about increasing grain production and income." ”

Xu Qilin really forgot, but how dare he say it, he could only bow down and say: "How dare Weichen forget, before the beginning of spring, it will be presented to the imperial review." ”

Well, His Majesty Li Er showed a look of satisfaction at this time, waved his hand, and signaled that he could retreat.

……………

Why are things still one after another, and they don't leave Lao Tzu some time to enjoy themselves?

Xu Qilin sneered, left the palace, and went to the workshop to supervise the manufacture of the stone thrower.

After two days and two nights, the first counterweight trebuchet with a grenadier belt was finally built.

The boom is 16 meters long, and the four balanced sandboxes can hold up to 6,000 catties. During the experiment, more than 130 pounds of stones were thrown more than 200 meters.

According to historical records, the giant trebuchet can throw more than 800 catties of projectiles, the counterweight reaches 9 tons, and the maximum range reaches 300 meters.

In such a short period of time, Xu Qilin certainly couldn't create such a huge thing. And this experimental trebuchet is enough to demonstrate its power to His Majesty Li Er.

You must know that more than 100 catties of stones smashed over with kinetic energy, which is enough to shake the strongest masonry city wall. If it is replaced with gunpowder bullets, or fire bullets, it will also cause great damage to the people and houses in the city.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Xu Qilin finally finished preparations. Dozens of carts, loaded with gunpowder, bombs, and parts of the stone thrower, slowly drove to the exercise site.

After arriving at the exercise site, Xu Qilin began to make arrangements again.

The catapult was assembled, and continuous experiments were carried out, and a lot of straw men and wooden signs were erected in the approximate range of the impact point as imaginary enemies. Then he turned around and fired stone projectiles at the old city wall, determining the approximate location of the stone thrower.

There are more than 100 Qianniuwei sent by His Majesty Li Er, including Xu Qilin's acquaintance - Wang Fangyi.

The Qianniu guards were responsible for cordoning off the exercise site to ensure that no idle people entered to peep. They also saw the advance arrangement of the exercise, and they were very shocked by the power of this new type of stone throwing machine.

"Xu Cheng, this is a trebuchet?!" During the break, Wang Fangyi and Xu Qilin bumped into each other and sounded curiously.

Xu Qilin nodded and said, "The improved trebuchet, I would like to ask Your Majesty to name it." ”

Wang Fangyi felt that this sycophant was a good shot, but he was still more interested in the performance of the stone thrower, "This weapon is so powerful, that stone has a hundred or ten catties, right?" ”

As he spoke, he stared at the stones on the ground not far away, and made a gesture to move forward, "Come and move, see how heavy it is." ”

Xu Qilin hurriedly grabbed it and said with a smile: "Those who have been weighed have labels and records. The piece thrown out for the experiment weighed one hundred and thirty pounds. ”

One hundred and thirty catties is nothing to Wang Xuanyi, he will definitely be able to lift it. But it is quite shocking to throw such a heavy stone so far with a trebuching machine.

"Is this going to be used on the battlefield?" Wang Fangyi blinked, "It's to fight Gaochang?" ”

Xu Qilin felt that it might be used to fight Gaochang, and it should be in Liaodong that could exert its power.

So, he wasn't too sure, and said, "Probably, right?" I don't know much about this, but I just find it very inconvenient to use an old-fashioned trebuchet. ”

Wang Fangyi nodded in approval and said, "This trebuchet is indeed much sharper than the original, Xu Cheng is smart and amazing." If the conquest of Gaochang wins, Xu Cheng will also be meritorious. ”

Xu Qilin looked at Wang Fangyi carefully, and asked tentatively: "Does Brother Wang want to fight on the battlefield and make contributions?" ”

Wang Fangyi smiled, but then said with a straight face: "This is indeed the intention." The conquest of Gaochang is already on the line, and this husband has an opportunity to make contributions. ”

Xu Qilin scratched his head and said: "Actually, there are still many opportunities to make meritorious contributions, so there is no need to rush for a while!" ”

Wang Fangyi said: "Don't wait for me, I'm already at such an age, but I don't dare to waste it." Xu Cheng, you haven't forgotten the old words, right? ”

Xu Qilin laughed twice and said, "I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten." It's just that I didn't find a good opportunity, and I hope that Brother Wang will wait more. ”

Wang Fangyi stretched out his finger and pointed at the trebuchet and said, "This is a good opportunity. Xu Cheng could not go to Gaochang, so he was willing to learn the method of use and go to serve in the army. ”

Well? That's really an excuse. Taking advantage of His Majesty Li Er's personal inspection, it is not difficult to let Wang Fangyi show his face.

Xu Qilin touched his chin and thought about it, nodded and said, "Then I will give the approximate data to Brother Wang, and you can test more." If you can grasp it as soon as possible, how about your majesty coming tomorrow and you will be in command? ”

Wang Fangyi was overjoyed and bowed, "Thank you Xu Chengcheng." ”

Xu Qilin hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Brother Wang has great ambitions, so why not help him?" Besides, this is just a gesture, and it may not be able to do what Brother Wang wants. ”

"Then thank Xu Cheng too." Wang Fangyi said: "The matter is man-made, Xu Cheng helped out, and he was grateful." ”

Xu Qilin smiled and said, "Then I have to test Brother Wang, which is the matter of this expedition to Gaochang." ”

Judging from historical records, although Wang Fangyi was listed as a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, his real talent was still in governing the place. Of course, this guy is also very good at leading troops to fight.

And the purpose of His Majesty Li Er's expedition to Gaochang is by no means to teach a lesson, and to allow the existence of Gaochang State as he did to the Turks.

Gaochang will serve as the beginning of the Tang army's conquest of the Western Regions, that is, a stepping stone, and a stable occupation is necessary. There are many small countries in the Western Regions, many tribes, and the Western Turks are making trouble, and military affairs alone are far from enough.

The first is to strike at the enemy, minimize the enemy, isolate and strike at the Western Turks; The second is to operate, not only to strive for the self-sufficiency of the garrison, but also not to oppress the local tribes too much, lest they rebel.

As a bridgehead for the conquest of the Western Regions, Gaochang still has an advantage that is difficult to replace, which also determines that the Tang army must adopt a different strategy.

This advantage is that the population of Gaochang is dominated by the Han people, and it is a place where Han people gather, and the traditional culture of the Han nationality dominates in Gaochang, and even the kings of Gaochang in previous dynasties are mostly Han Chinese.

In other words, it is more convenient to turn Gaochang into a county of the Tang Dynasty. There were not so many contradictions and estrangements in ethnic and cultural traditions, and the rule of the Tang Dynasty was easily recognized by the Gaochang Han people.

In this case, the Tang army should not kill and loot too much in Gaochang, at least show some of the faces of the army of benevolence and righteousness. Not only in order to subdue the hearts of the Gaochang people, so as to facilitate a stable and long-term rule, but also to let other countries in the Western Regions watch, don't be frightened to run to the Western Turks.

Why do you think the government soldiers in the early Tang Dynasty were happy when they heard the war, and you think that the Tang army was the people's soldiers who did not commit any crimes in the autumn? That would be a big mistake.

In the conquest of foreign races, the Tang army was not soft in killing people, and it was not ambiguous in grabbing property. That's why there is an army that is happy to jump high when it hears about the war, without it, this is going to be rich again!

The reason why Hou Junji in history was punished after destroying Gaochang was because he was too greedy and grabbed the gold and silver treasures of the Gaochang royal family first.

The so-called upward and downward effect, Hou Junji robbed the royal family, and the officers and soldiers below naturally robbed the common people. He can't be cheeky enough to restrain his subordinates.

This completely ruined the image of the Tang Army, a whole gang of robbers! Do you say that His Majesty Li Er can not be angry, and the ministers in the court can not be angry when they see Hou Junji robbed and become a tycoon?

And Xu Qilin's so-called examination is to see if Wang Fangyi has a long-term vision and whether he can see the true intention of His Majesty Li Er's expedition to Gaochang.

Obviously, Wang Fangyi's answer satisfied Xu Qilin. It may have been a bit perfunctory to promise to help before, but now, Xu Qilin really decided to recommend Wang Fangyi, a famous general, to the stage of history earlier.

You must know that in ancient times, what made Xu Qilin feel the most uncomfortable was the inhumane law of Liansit. If any relatives or friends commit a serious crime, most of them will be implicated. In officialdom, this is especially true.

For example, Du Gou, the son of the virtuous minister Du Ruhui, inherited the Duke of Laiguo. originally did a good job, but because of Du He, who was a pit father, he was exiled to Lingnan and died in the border field.

There is also Uncle Wei, who recommended Hou Junji and Du Zhenglun, and these two guys actually rebelled and pitted Uncle Wei, who had already fallen into the ground. His Majesty Li Er's servant monument is not without anger in this regard.

Therefore, the recommender should be cautious. Even if you are a famous general in history, Xu Qilin has to investigate it to see if you are in vain.

……………

Early in the morning of the eleventh day of the new year, Xu Qilin set off from his home and rushed to the exercise site on the outskirts of the city.

This is the final arrangement, and the gunpowder must not be filled too early, lest it get wet. Taking advantage of the time when His Majesty Li Er went to the early court, it was just time to make the final preparations.

Wang Fangyi tried and tested trebuchets yesterday and has mastered the essentials and some tricks. In fact, Xu Qilin cannot completely determine the landing point of the bullet through paper calculations, and it must be summarized by repeated practice.

Therefore, if it is actually operated, Wang Fangyi is no worse than Xu Qilin. After all, this guy is a smart guy, and he can research out the coupling farming method to replace the ploughing ox with manpower, but he is very powerful.

Seeing that Xu Qilin began to fill the pit under the city wall with gunpowder, Wang Fangyi looked at it like a studious baby, and asked Xu Qilin questions from time to time.

Xu Qilin also does not hide his selfishness, after all, if the army uses gunpowder weapons in the future, someone must understand how to operate it, and it cannot be all commanded by him.

"The more stuffy it is, the harder it explodes." Wang Fangyi didn't seem to understand, but he still remembered the key to gunpowder blasting.

Xu Qilin commanded the staff to put the gunpowder of several large coffins into the pit, use a hollow bamboo tube to export the lead, and then collapse the tunnel, forming a confined space.

He took a closer look again, and felt that it was not strong enough, and it was only completed when it was filled with soil.

But Xu Qilin always felt that today was a little different, looked around, and finally found the problem from the fluttering flag, and couldn't help but slap his thigh and scolded: "This damn God." ”

Xu Qilin hurriedly asked someone to re-erect the shed, but looking at the time, it is estimated that His Majesty Li Er is already on the way, and I am afraid that it will be too late.

……………