"Cousin? When did you get back? In the Jingfu Palace, when Zhao Zhen saw Li Zhang walking in behind Liu E, he couldn't help but scream in surprise, and then he jumped up and hugged Li Zhang, and even forgot to salute Liu E.

Liu E didn't care, I saw him wave his hand to let everyone else retreat, and Li Zhang finally broke free from Zhao Zhen's arms at this time, in fact, he didn't blame Zhao Zhen for being so enthusiastic, he only had such a friend as Li Zhang since he was a child, and Li Zhang was nothing with him every day before, but Li Zhang suddenly left for half a year, which made him miss it very much.

"Huh? I'm taller than you, so I finally have a cousin! Li Zhang suddenly screamed in surprise at this time, because he found that he was two fingers taller than Zhao Zhen, you must know that Zhao Zhen was obviously smaller than him before, but he was as tall as him, so Li Zhang was also quite depressed.

"Cousin, you are two years older than me, and now that you are a little taller than me, it is nothing, I will be able to catch up soon!" Zhao Zhen also measured it carefully when he heard Li Zhang's words, and found that Li Zhang had really grown taller, but he was not discouraged at this time.

"That's not necessarily, it's the so-called step high, step by step, it's not so easy for you to catch up with me in the future!" Li Zhang smiled proudly at this time, and Liu E next to him couldn't help but show a warm smile on his face when he saw that Li Zhang and Zhao Zhen were talking non-stop about being taller.

At that moment, after Li Zhang and Zhao Zhen chatted for a while, they suddenly thought of the business of coming here today, so they said to Zhao Zhen at the moment: "I remember that there is a garden behind Jingfu Palace, let's go there, I will bring something fun!" ”

"What's fun?" Zhao Zhen also asked curiously when he heard this.

"You'll find out later, and you tell everyone to step back and don't let anyone near the garden." Li Zhang patted the box in his hand at this time. Zhao Zhen only found out at this time that Li Zhang was carrying a long flat wooden box in his hand, and he didn't know what it contained?

At that moment, Zhao Zhen took Liu E and Li Zhang to the garden behind Jingfu Palace, and then asked the chamberlain and the palace maid to retreat, and Li Zhang also looked at Liu E at this time, only to see that the other party also nodded and said, "That's it!" ”

Just now in the Vertical Arch Palace, Li Zhang presented a musket to Liu E, and also wanted her to see the power of the musket with her own eyes, but Li Zhang was worried that the sound of the musket was too loud, and there were many people in the Vertical Arch Palace, and if a little wind leaked out, it might cause trouble, so he proposed to come to Zhao Zhen to test the gun, even if it was known, I am afraid that others would only think that it was a toy he made for Zhao Zhen.

Liu E happened to feel a little bored because of the review of the folds, and seeing that Li Zhang was so careful with this musket, she was also quite curious, so she thought about it for a while and agreed, and by the way, she could also come and see Zhao Zhen.

I saw that after Li Zhang came to the garden, he put the box in his hand on a stone table, and then opened the wooden box, revealing the musket wrapped in silk, and at this time Zhao Zhen and Liu E also stepped forward curiously, but the two looked at it for a long time, but they were all confused, because they couldn't see what use this thing was.

"Cousin, what are you doing with such a strange iron pipe?" Zhao Zhen finally couldn't help but ask at this time, in fact, Liu E next to her also wanted to ask, but she was calm, but she was also secretly doubting at this time, how do you look at this thing doesn't look like a firearm?

"It's called a musket, or a flintlock pistol." Li Zhang introduced with a smile at the moment.

"Guns?" Zhao Zhen also looked at the musket a few times again when he heard this, and then said with a frown, "If you put it with a gun head, it will be a bit like a gun, but cousin, your gun is too short, right?" ”

Zhao Zhen's impression of the "gun" is only the kind of spear used in the army, that is, there is a metal gun head in front of a pole, although it looks simple, but it is one of the standard equipment of the Song army, but Li Zhang's so-called musket He didn't see the gun head at all, is it still a gun without a gun head?

"Hehe, this gun is not the gun you think, you'll know how powerful it is later!" Li Zhang smiled mysteriously at this time, and then saw him take out a cylindrical paper bag with the thickness of a baby's finger from the box, and then bite the paper bag open with his teeth, revealing the powder powder inside, and poured them into the fire door, and then stuffed the paper bag into the muzzle of the gun, and pushed it to the innermost point with a push rod.

The paper bag that Li Zhang took out is actually the most primitive bullet, the front of the paper bag is filled with lead shots, and the back is gunpowder, and the amount of gunpowder is certain, the advantage of this is that the amount of gunpowder can be controlled, the loading speed of bullets can be accelerated, etc., it can be said that it is very practical.

"Queen Mother, please take ten steps back!" Li Zhang turned his head to Liu E's Zhao Zhen at this time and said, although the quality of the musket has been guaranteed, everything is afraid of a case, and the sound of the musket is so loud, it is easy to scare them if it is too close.

Zhao Zhen was still a little strange, and wanted to ask why, but at this time, Liu E pulled him back, because Liu E knew that firearms either smoked or made loud noises, and they really shouldn't get too close.

Seeing Zhao Zhen and them retreat, Li Zhang turned his back to Liu E and them, there was just a big tree hugged by three people in front of him, the distance was about thirty or forty steps, Li Zhang put the butt of the gun against his shoulder socket, and then aimed for a long time, feeling that he was still not sure of hitting, this was the first time to show in front of Liu E, in case he didn't hit, it would be a little too embarrassing, so in the end he actually took ten steps forward, and then pulled the trigger.

"Huh~" With the sound of a gunshot, Li Zhang also felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, no way, the greater the power of the gun, the greater the recoil, I heard that there is a kind of recoilless gun in later generations, and I don't know how they did it?

"Cousin, this musket is so funny, it's even louder than firecrackers!" Zhao Zhen ran over with an excited face at this time, he still thought that the musket Li Zhang brought was a toy made for him.

However, Liu E walked to the big tree with a solemn face at this time, although Li Zhang's marksmanship was average, and the accuracy of the musket was also problematic, but the distance of twenty steps still allowed Li Zhang to hit the big tree, only to see that a piece of bark was missing from the trunk, and a lead pellet was also deeply embedded in the body of the tree.

"Hiss~! It's so powerful, even a pair of armor is afraid that it will be pierced! "Although Liu E is a woman, she also sees that the power of this musket is definitely stronger than that of a bow and arrow, and I am afraid that only a strong crossbow can have such power at this distance.

"Big lady has good eyesight, although this musket is not as good as a bow and arrow in terms of range, but within fifty steps, the armor-piercing ability is stronger than that of a bow and arrow, and its cost is cheaper than a crossbow, and the use of it is less limited than a crossbow, for example, a crossbowman will be tired and weak when he pulls the crossbow string several times in a row, but the musket does not have this limitation, as long as the gunpowder is enough, the gunner can keep shooting!" Li Zhang introduced again at this time.

The musket is a long-range weapon, and it competes only with bows and crossbows, but bows and crossbows have their own limitations, such as these two weapons require the user to consume a lot of strength to pull the bowstring, generally even if it is a trained crossbowman, shooting more than a dozen arrows will be unable to shoot again, in addition, the archer needs a lot of training to be familiar with the use, and the cost of the crossbow is extremely expensive, and it is particularly delicate, when it rains or the weather is wet, it may cause damage to these two weapons.

In contrast, the musket does not have the above shortcomings, although the musket needs to use a lot of steel, and the cost is not cheap, but it is still much cheaper than the delicate crossbow, and although the range of the musket is not as good as the bow and arrow, but in the penetration power at close range, it is not comparable to the bow and arrow, even if the opponent is wearing iron armor, it is difficult to block the lead shot from the musket at close range.

After Liu E listened to Li Zhang's words, she looked at the lead pellet embedded in the trunk of the tree and was silent for a long time, Zhao Zhen finally woke up at this time, this musket is not a toy at all, but a sharp weapon to kill, and I heard Li Zhang say that this thing can also be used in the army, better than a bow and crossbow, which made his little face also show an excited expression, because he believed that Li Zhang would definitely not lie about this kind of thing.

"Who else knows about this musket but you?" At this time, I saw Liu E finally ask.

"In addition to me, only Liu Shu, the judge of the Third Division Iron Case, knows, and there are also several blacksmiths under Liu Shu, all of whom are involved in the construction of the musket!" Li Zhang was also overjoyed when he heard this, because he knew that Liu E was already moved, and as for Liu Shu, it was Judge Liu's name.

"Nonsense! Why don't you find Hongu first for such an important matter? In addition, the real supervision of the manufacture of weapons is the case, how did you let the people of the iron case intervene? When Liu E heard this, she glared at Li Zhang and said.

"This ...... I was just on a whim, and it happened that Judge Liu took his blacksmiths to help build the imperial tomb, so I borrowed a few blacksmiths from him, but I didn't expect the musket to be so powerful. Li Zhang called out to Liu E half-truthfully at this time, in fact, he also wanted to come directly to Liu E, but if there was no real thing, he was afraid that Liu E would not believe it, so he took the opportunity of acquaintance with Judge Liu to make the musket privately.

Liu E didn't want to blame Li Zhang anymore when she heard this, and then she inquired in detail about the details of the musket, such as the cost, range, power, etc., and even the shortcomings of the musket, of course Li Zhang didn't dare to hide it, and immediately introduced all aspects of the musket in detail.

"Big lady, the cost of the musket is still a bit high, but if you organize craftsmen to improve the process and then manufacture it on a large scale, the cost will definitely come down!" Li Zhang finally spoke again, the cost of muskets is a big problem, even if it is cheaper than a crossbow, but it is more expensive than a bow and arrow, and the Great Song Dynasty is now very short of money, so Li Zhang's biggest concern is that Liu E is unwilling to promote it because of the cost.