The completion of the renovation of the official roads in the prefectures and counties in Central Asia has completely stabilized the newly conquered Central Asian region. Everything that should be done is still going on in an orderly manner, and thanks to the development of metal materials driven by the development of the steam engine, the cannon that the previous weapon maniacs of the Ministry of Industry had been thinking about in their minds and drawings had the possibility of successful manufacturing, so after replacing the steel-filled barrel made with the latest casting machine, the redesigned gun was once again pushed to the experimental field.

The artillery of this experiment was different from the artillery of the last experiment in Wuwei County. First of all, the barrel was not made of ordinary cast iron barrel like the one used in Wuwei County last time. This time, the barrel used was smelted in a blast furnace by blowing charcoal into the furnace, and the toughness of the steel smelted by this method was greatly improved compared to the previous one, and it could withstand a stronger impact under the same shape and thickness. It is precisely because of this characteristic that these workers decided to use this metal to make the barrel of the artillery.

Li Wenyuan was invited to the side of the experimental site and sat in an absolutely safe position from a distance to observe this experiment. It was no different from the last experiment in Wuwei County, and after taking the corresponding safety precautions, the guns were aimed at a wasteland on the outskirts of Dunhuang County. Early in there, there was a special artillery shell landing observation area that was planned as a weapons testing site. Even though there were no artillery for such a long time, this carved area has survived to this day, and it was at this time that it finally came in handy.

With the order of the experimental commander, I saw a ball of fire burst out from the mouth of the barrel of the gun, and then a puff of smoke slowly drifted out of the barrel. Then an earth-shattering loud bang accompanied by the trembling of the earth reached Li Wenyuan's side. When the smoke cleared, the observers next to them walked to the front and observed the artillery. There was no obvious external injury to the gun, and the inside of the barrel was later detected by other methods, and there was no obvious internal injury, so the final conclusion was that the test firing of the gun was successful, and the barrel successfully carried the impact of this gun fire.

Not long after, the observation post on the other side of the wasteland on the outskirts of the city also sent a message that the shell fired by the artillery had landed accurately in the wasteland, and compared to the frustration caused by the last artillery explosion, the success of this artillery fire made the faces of those who participated in the artillery research smile with joy. This cannon can be said to have condensed the efforts of almost all researchers for more than two years, and in these two years, they have completed a breakthrough from scratch.

In the days that followed, Li Wenyuan also began to order the expansion of his army because of the boldness under his command, and the artillery was also handed over to those researchers to continue to improve, striving to improve this prototype into a mass-produced model that could be mass-produced as soon as possible. After all, as a weapon to be installed in the army, it is natural that the cost should be as low as possible.

With the artillery in his hand, Li Wenyuan now looked farther away. Even if this kind of artillery is not able to fire the kind of shells that fire on the ground and burst open, relying on the fragments of shells to kill the enemy, as later generations have done; Even if, as is the case now, the stone projectiles that can only be propelled into the barrel of the cannon can hurt people, but these are already very powerful. The advent of this type of cannon inevitably replaced the bulky and inconvenient catapult, and it could bombard the walls of the city at a greater distance than the catapult. Therefore, before the enemy also has artillery, this kind of artillery can hide out of the range of the defender and easily break the city. This made Li Wenyuan almost have an urge to lead his troops back to the Central Plains to seize the world, but then Li Wenyuan quickly suppressed this small impulse, after all, compared to his ultimate goal of only one Central Plains, it was still a little too small.

Li Wenyuan stood in his own governor's mansion in Dunhuang County, no, it shouldn't be called the governor's mansion now, it should be called the superintendent's mansion. In short, Li Wenyuan stood in the prison mansion and looked at the map hanging on the wall, thinking about something deeply. At this time, Qiu Niang next to her stepped forward and asked Li Wenyuan, "What's wrong?" His Royal Highness King Tang, what is the purpose of frowning and looking at the map on the wall like this? ”

"Hmm. Now, now that we have ended all foreign wars, and the newly conquered areas are beginning to gradually stabilize, the new round of military expansion is almost complete. I'm wondering if I'm looking for an opportunity for these recruits to see blood on the battlefield and complete their final test from civilian to soldier. Li Wenyuan turned his head and saw that it was Qiu Niang who asked him, so he said with a smile.

"It's not impossible, the key is who are you going to find to be the testing stone for this army that has completed the new recruitment and training?" After Qiu Niang listened to Li Wenyuan's words, she was also very curious and asked Li Wenyuan.

"I'm wondering, should I try it with the Eastern Turks? Anyway, this does not conflict with our next strategic goals, and the Eastern Turks fought another defeat under our hands some time ago. That defeat cost their khans their lives, and I think I can give it a try. Li Wenyuan lowered his head and thought about it, and then gritted his teeth and said. He had never hated other forces as much as he hated the Eastern Turks, after all, so far only the Eastern Turks had made him feel the crisis of the country's demise, as if a guillotine was hanging over his head. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to deal with the Eastern Turks, Li Wenyuan will definitely seize it without hesitation, and spare no effort to deal with the Eastern Turks until they are killed.

"The Eastern Turks are not good yet, and we night owls still have one last chess piece that has not been arranged. If you attack the Eastern Turks now, there will be more gains than losses. We need at least two more months, and in these two months we will not be able to attack the Eastern Turks, but on the contrary, we will try to help the Turks hold back the attack from others from the outside as much as possible. After listening to Li Wenyuan's words, Qiu Niang shook her head and said.

"Oh, then it seems that in this case, there should be only Liang Shidu that was lent to the Eastern Turks before, and if I can't move the Eastern Turks, I can always fight a dozen Liang Shidu, right? Oh, by the way, I forgot that Liang Shidu was only the godson of the Eastern Turks, and even if Shi Bi died, he would still be the godson of the Turks. It's still okay for me to settle accounts with him, right? Let your night owls on the steppe find a way to drag the Eastern Turks and make them unable to go south, and rescue Liang Shidu, how can it be done? ”

(End of chapter)