Standing on the empty dock outside Jiangling City, Zhou Huai'an couldn't help but sigh slightly as he looked at the tubular objects wrapped in waterproof oil paper that had been carefully loaded and unloaded from the ship. The journey and beginning of the age of firearms may begin here.

This time it was a batch of rockets that were delivered. It's not a fire bolt that dips oil on an arrow and ignites it, but a rocket that can burn or explode when propelled; Probably similar to the Hale rocket level that was popular on the battlefield in the mid-nineteenth century; The relatively mature cardboard shell tube and thin iron nod head are adopted. Nitrated reed fibers are used to make an embedded wooden spinal canal to delay the ignition.

The final mass-produced product is like a truncated bamboo, about five feet six inches long at the bottom of the bowl, and the biggest feature of the period is the four spiral tail wings wrapped in iron sheets; It avoids the guidance rod of the predecessor Congreve rocket, which is full of metaphysical hit probability, and restricts the curve range and dispersion range to a barely reasonably acceptable range; It is mainly used as a supplementary means of long-range projection firepower in addition to artillery with limited production.

Although this thing is simple to operate and has good environmental adaptability, it can be tied to both sides with a pack horse or other large animals to walk, and it can be launched with a guide track of bamboo chips, or simply dig a shallow pit to make do; However, the requirements for the corresponding operators are not simple, and they require basic mathematical calculations, surveying and mapping, and the ability to set distances.

But this also ensures a certain technical threshold outside the Taiping Army, even if it accidentally falls into the hands of others, without more systematic use training and basic learning, it will not be able to exert any real lethality and hit rate at all.

In addition, there were some things that came from the same ship and were filled with wax-sealed wooden barrels, which were gunpowder (propellant) and explosive (explosive) charge, which were prepared separately; Although the application of artillery and other applications has only just begun to take shape, the corresponding gunpowder manufacturing and production projects have already begun to be prepared and planned.

For example, the use of these gunpowders is some transitional firearms and equipment that are simple and simple; For example, a wooden cannon made of hollowed out the inner chamber of a tree trunk, or a leather cannon made of a leather core; Although it is a consumable that cannot be used several times, it is better to have a wide range of sources and convenient local production; Another example is the gunpowder jar thrown by individual soldiers and the paper medicine bag wrapped with iron slag and broken pottery shards.

These things are simpler to use, and the former only needs to pay attention to the amount of charge; The latter can be equipped with one or two as long as the soldiers are trained in throwing. The main thing is to play a certain substitution and supplementary effect on projected firepower in places where the enemy's artillery is still unable to catch up.

And after these relatively cross-era technical equipment, accumulation and reserve of a certain base; It was time for the Taiping army to launch another offensive; Just when I was thinking about it, someone suddenly said:

"The people from the imperial court have arrived in Jingzhou."

。。。。。。。

And after being promoted to Galu, Mu Haogu, who was reappointed as the envoy of the edict, did not have the slightest joy and excitement on his white and beardless face.

He only felt that he had been cheated again; Originally, it was not enough to venture out to the thief's den, but it was necessary to come back a second time. And the first time he was only locked up in the hotel and did nothing for a while, and then he was driven away; This time, he is going to face the head of the Taiping thief, a virtual monk who is known as a generation of demon monks and has many tricks to deceive people's hearts.

This is not a subordinate of a feudal town that relies on a little bit of the righteousness of the imperial court on the surface, but an anti-thief chief who has a real knife and a real gun to disrupt the country, and there is a probability that he will be cut into meat sauce or thrown into a cauldron to be cooked to death if he disagrees.

Moreover, in order to prevent Liu Jurong's troops from defending against thieves in Xiangyang, he may not be angry with the will of the imperial court, but do something unwise to the angels and his party; He also had to take a detour.

As a representative of the imperial court and a member of the Ouchi eunuchs, he may not have any worries about his life; However, finding a way to find a way to be unappeased, the envoys and representatives of the imperial court, and thus detaining and placing them under house arrest in disguise without allowing their opponents to benefit, is a common drama in the game between the imperial court and the feudal towns since the Zhen Yuan Dynasty.

And if his mission ends in vain here and gives up halfway, it must be one of the results that the new eunuchs who rely on and rely on the great father's footsteps are happy to see; In this way, even if he was not sacrificed as a scapegoat and price bargain for negotiations with the feudal town, he would not be much better off when he was released from prison and returned to Chang'an in the future.

Therefore, after going south out of Wuguan and entering Shannan Road, he gave up the traditional Jin, Shang, Jun, and Xiang relatively convenient water transportation routes, and changed to the land route to Deng, Tang, Sui, and Ying, and finally made Cao Quanhui under the rule of Cao Quanhui through Jiangxi Province, and released from the Han River to Fuzhou in the diversion to connect the tributaries of the Yangtze River, and reached Jingzhou.

Therefore, after a hesitant journey along the way, Mu Haogu, who was originally known for his wealth, couldn't help but lose weight quickly in the past few days and reveal the contours of his cheekbones.

The process of being stopped by the grass thief's sailor and revealing his identity did not have any accidents and twists and turns as he imagined, and it also made him accumulate a stomach of rehearsals and drafts that scolded the other party with righteousness.

He was trapped in the hotel before, and he couldn't spy on the reality of many grass thieves, but the short time he came over this way was enough to make him feel terrified. The scene here is completely opposite to what the princes of the DPRK and China said; Not only is there not much ruin and withering under the continuous fire, and the bones of bandits outside the city who are rampant and wantonly killing and robbing the road are exposed, but there is also a busy and prosperous atmosphere.

I saw that the fields and acres near and far were full of working figures of cattle, carrying water, hoeing, and digging ditches, and the groups of people on the main roads and small roads were weaving back and forth and there were few vegetables, although they were inevitably yellow and thin, but there were few unclothed existence; Even if everyone in the Tao is in a hurry, there is no anxiety or worry about the livelihood and dwelling, or the lifelessness and numbness of the day.

Even the thieves patrolling the road are full of red light and robust, and there is a sense of shocking and vigorous in the neat and tidy drape. When encountering those crowds of people, there will even be spontaneous greetings and little awe of chatter. This is simply unimaginable and unprecedented under the rule of the imperial court.

However, there were many more things that surprised and surprised him.

For example, along the gravel avenue that has been swept through the snow and piled up on both sides separated by straw, there are more than chariots and horses laden with gray-brown charcoal; The large and small riverboats that braved the still cold wind and weaved back and forth. Many of the ship's planks were filled with frozen hard catches or other goods of unknown purpose.

Another example is the canal introduced along the river, the huge water wheels lined up in a row, and many smelting furnaces and workshops that emit smoke all day long, and the roaring and noisy sound of various forging and construction can be heard from far and near.

Mu Haogu even saw a group of big children sitting on the bare barren barn barn, basking in the rare winter sun, followed by a bald head, shaking their heads and singing in unison.

And the content of their rap was faintly heard in Mu Haogu's ears, but it was a little creepy and shuddered; Because what these children read in unison is the full slander and great rebellion against the court.

"Good brother, good brother,

The rebel army turned over, and the poor men in the world raised their heads;

Sweep away the injustices of the world, kill all the pests,

Eliminate corrupt officials and bullies, and sit firmly in peace... ”

"Corrupt officials and corrupt officials are not rampant, and poor men and poor families are not sad,

One day the clouds will disperse, and I will wait for the world to go down;

With a gun on our shoulders and a knife in our hands, we will fight the world;

When the rebels arrived, the government fell,

The local tyrants and inferior gentry are not spared, and the corrupt officials and corrupt officials are all buried. ”

"The sun came out and brightened, and the name of the righteous army spread everywhere.

The poor follow and fight the world, and the powerful and inferior gentry are swept away. ”

If it weren't for the extremely important mission of his identity, at this moment, Mu Haogu just wanted to step forward and scold and teach a lesson regardless of decency and cultivation, these lowly people who have no king and no father and are dedicated to being thieves.

Why can't these ants, insects, and villains not have the slightest understanding of the overall situation and long-term future of the imperial court, why can't they secretly hide at home and wait for starvation and death after suffering from disasters, so that they have to follow these rebellious people to come out and corrupt the world of the imperial court, so that the princes of heaven and the court above the nine layers will work hard and cannot live in peace all the time.

Then, Mu Haogu even saw the existence of some suspected scholars, just on the side of the road or in the construction site not far away; They stood in the midst of the sweaty crowd and gestured something, or ran between the sheds and the seals; Although he also wears a patched uniform, he has a different bearing and behavior habits from others.

Because of this somewhat familiar and similar character style, he actually saw it when he was in Chang'an. It was because of repeated attempts and poverty that a large number of poor scholars gathered in the firewood and grass market between Yanxingmen and Shengdaofang, and used the shacks built by the poor as shelters.

Because they lack food and clothing, they describe the appearance of withering, and they are called "Lu Chai Jing" by Chang'an Shimin; Almost every winter, I will freeze to death and die of disease; Especially in recent years, the financial plans of the imperial court have been getting worse and worse, and even Guozijian and Taixue are unable to maintain them, and their daily life is not easy.

But here those suspected poor scholars, although their faces are still pale or sallow and cracked; But instead of the usual sad and depressed resentment, there is some color of over-activity and upliftment.

And in this regard, Mu Haogu could only sigh helplessly, and even the thoughts of scolding and scolding were lightened. Since even the sage books of righteousness can't be changed, and these people who are so good at reading and knowing etiquette are willing to fall, then only let the sword of the king master let the people of the time understand what is called the way of loyalty and patriotism.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a little sympathetic and sympathetic to the feelings of those who had been repeatedly impeached by the clear stream and direct ministers of the DPRK and the central government as indiscriminate and brutal guards and generals. These people who do not want to be loyal to the monarch and the country, but only drive away the thieves with small interests and small harms, are really not enough to understand the hearts of the people in the world.

However, when he arrived at the city of Gangneung, he couldn't help but be angry. Because Mu Haogu saw a large ship newly approached on the dock, and out of the boat came down the merchant who was obviously dressed in a sleek fur robe, and a passenger full of silk and brocade.

The former has always been known for his speculation and mercenary, even if he risks being robbed by thieves and being liquidated by the government, it is not surprising that he appears here as a grass thief. But between the latter's gestures, even if it is bad and gray, it is recognizable; If it is not the style of the official eunuch family, it is from the background and relationship of a certain family.

When he was in Chang'an and Xiao Yang's Privy Mansion, he had already seen a lot of existences of all kinds; But I didn't expect that when I arrived at the official eunuchs or big families in this southern place, some people would openly communicate with these grass thieves who killed officials and rebelled.

Suddenly he had little room for anger and no position, and became a kind of faint panic. It seems that he has inadvertently discovered a terrible truth. Why did the situation of the imperial court in Hunan and outside the mountains collapse and sink so completely; Could it be that in addition to the decadence of the official army and the incompetence of the generals, it also has something to do with the unclear intentions of the big families in these places.

However, in the following time, secretly according to the additional instructions of Xiao Yang's privy, he devoted himself to observing and trying to record the customs of the place under the rule of the grass thief; Instead of being taken to a hotel or official residence in the city, he was led to a school field outside the city.

This couldn't help but make Mu Haogu suddenly tremble and walk heavily, and even forgot the previous thoughts and lobbying words; Could it be that these grass thieves have no intention of negotiating, but they can't help but say that they will kill themselves first to sacrifice the flag Mingzhi.

(End of chapter)