There is a small city between Tuozhi City, the capital of Shiguo, and Talas City in the north, called Baishui City, the city is narrow, only a few hundred households, the residents of the city mainly live on animal husbandry, each family has slaves, most of them are Han Chinese, since Li Qing repelled the Great Food Army, according to the agreement he reached with Mohedu, all the Tang slaves in Tuozhi City belong to him, in order to prevent the slaves' families from being disturbed by the old master, Li Qing borrowed Baishui City to temporarily house the slave army and their families, and the Doulu Army was also stationed in Baishui City, This small city has gradually become a base of the Tang Dynasty in Shiguo.

Since the end of May, the weather in Shiguo has begun to get hot, Li Qing has been very busy, the relocation of tens of thousands of people is a systematic project, clothing, food, housing and transportation have to be arranged carefully, fortunately he brought two accompanying officers, one is the former Dunhuang County Commander Zhang Xun, the other is his staff Zhang Ji, are quite effective, all kinds of small chores are completed by them, Li Qing is responsible for coordinating the relationship with Shiguo.

On this day, a team of carriages drove ten miles away from Baishui City, there were nearly 100 carriages, the carriages were full of grain, and the escort carriage was a young officer, very handsome, she was naturally the princess Luo Yan who dressed as a man, since Li Qing left the city half a month ago, Princess Luo Yan has never seen him again, missing is like a rooted seed, quietly sprouting in her heart, she is waiting for his arrival day by day, but every time she comes and leaves in a hurry, like a gust of breeze, she just arrived at Qingfeng's side, Qingfeng has gone away, Unable to suppress her longing any longer, Princess Luo Yan decided to go on the road and escorted the carriage carrying the grain to Baishui City.

The city in the distance was already in sight, and she suddenly panicked. Her cheeks were slightly feverish, and she didn't know what to say when she saw him. You can't just say hello and run away! "No! I'm going to let him know a little bit. Princess Luo Yan took a deep breath and grabbed back the courage that was about to escape.

"Everyone, keep it up! It's almost time to get to Whitewater. ”

Princess Luo Yan waved her hand back, and loudly encouraged the coachman, he sent him so much food behind his father's back, he should at least be grateful to himself, love is blind, Princess Luo Yan didn't even ask Li Qing about his marital status.

Thinking of her father, Princess Luo Yan's shy mood suddenly became heavy, people say that power is the touchstone of a person. This is true at all, he has only been king for more than ten days. The father is like a changed person, and the humility, gentleness, and intellect of the past are gone. Turned into a suspicious, hypocritical and even a little cruel monarch, in order to consolidate the throne, he has executed three nobles who talk about him behind his back, everything he does is a transaction, even to himself, Luo Yan has a faint premonition that his father has probably sent someone to Dashi.

Do you want to tell Li Qing about this? Princess Luo's eyes suddenly flashed with a hint of pain. She bowed her head gloomily. ......

In the temporary military camp in the interior of Baishui City, the Dawan Army is training in full swing, and the Dawan Army is also the name of the slave army, they are mixed with the Doulu Army, and the regular army conducts rigorous training, archery, fighting, and drills. There is nothing special about it, the slightest delay or mistake is a whip, and their status at this time has changed from slaves to military households. became an out-and-out professional soldier.

Li Qing, accompanied by several senior officers, walked through the barracks and came to a small school yard, the entrance of which was tightly guarded by soldiers, and no locals were allowed to approach.

Li Qing entered the school field, only to see a group of sheep in a corner of the school field, and next to the sheepfold, gathered more than 200 craftsmen, they are Li Qing from the Tang Dynasty slaves selected high-level craftsmen, responsible for the production of military products, such as bed crossbows, heavy stone throwers, etc., this heavy weapon is not easy to carry long distances, generally by the marching Sima with a pattern, in the spot to build, at this moment the craftsmen in a circle, is nervously watching an old craftsman move, only to see him carefully from a large wooden barrel out of a lump of wet greasy, There are also oval hemp balls dripping with black liquid, and the black liquid is the fierce fire oil, which they designed according to Li Qing's ideas, and is a secret weapon used to deal with the heavy cavalry, which is ignited and then thrown out with a giant stone thrower.

But the key is not in the fierce fire oil, the secret of this weapon lies in its core, which is a small clay pot filled with black powder, which is filled with hundreds of small pieces of iron that have been boiled with poison, and the mouth of the clay pot is filled with a twist, and when a fireball rises into the air, the twist inside will be ignited, and then explode overhead or when it lands.

Black powder was found by Li Qing in a warehouse when Shule was preparing for the war, there were ten barrels, it had been stored for more than ten years, it was bought from Chang'an by Renwan, the capital of Anxi at that time, the purpose of his use is unknown, but Li Qing knew its function, so he brought it to Shiguo.

In the past few days, Li Qing has tried to use this kind of gunpowder, this black powder is completely different from what he imagined, the combustion is not sufficient, the lethality is weak and extremely unsafe, and the slightest improper use will hurt his own people, which is probably the reason why gunpowder was invented as early as the Jin Dynasty, but has not been used in the military.

However, burning in a closed container will produce a large amount of gas, forming a certain shock wave, although the gunpowder itself is not very lethal to the human body, but those iron pieces that have been fed poison are different, it will cause a fatal blow to the horses of the Great Food Army.

The best way is to throw it out from a long distance and let it explode in the enemy position, and the fire-starting thing, the craftsmen used the fierce fire oil abundant in the Western Regions, and after a dozen failures, the craftsmen crushed the gunpowder more evenly, so that it could burn at a uniform rate, so as to control the time of twisting and burning.

"Everyone retreat to two hundred paces!"

The old craftsman put the ball into the sheepfold and retreated a hundred paces away, when a crossbowman lit the oilcloth on the arrowhead, and the flame on the tip of the arrow suddenly ignited, and the crossbowman aimed at the black ball, and the bowstring gradually rounded, 'Whoosh! With a bang, a fiery arrow shot at the black ball like lightning, and a ball of fire soared into the air, and everyone's hearts were raised to their throats, and the fire ball burned bigger and bigger, scaring a flock of sheep into a ball, bleating and trembling.

Suddenly, 'Bang! There was a loud bang on the ground. The fireball was blown to pieces, and a black smoke rose into the air, and soon enveloped the sheepfold, and a hundred fine pieces of iron burst out, sweeping in all directions, and the farthest piece flew a hundred steps away, and the black smoke gradually disappeared, only to see a flock of sheep fall most of the way, and the outermost ram was blown up like a sieve. Blood bubbled outward.

"It worked!" The craftsmen burst into cheers in unison, hugging each other and jumping in surprise. The old craftsman stared blankly at the sheepfold, and he kept looking at his hands. I can't believe that this powerful creature was made by himself.

Li Fei Yuanli's mouth was so surprised that he couldn't close it for a long time, "Dudu, if this thing explodes in the cavalry team, it's bad!" ”

Li Qing smiled slightly, then turned back to Nan Jiyun and asked, "Jiyun, what do you think?" ”

Nan Jiyun shook his head slightly. "It's good, but it's a big amount, and we have too little gunpowder, and we don't have enough raw materials here to make ourselves, so we can't make it ourselves, and when the time comes, we will start a war. I'm afraid that the killing effect will not be ideal. ”

"You're right, it's true that this doesn't have a mass lethal effect, and it can only be used when it matters most. It shocks the enemy far more than it kills, and that's what I'm aiming for. ”

After that, Li Qing beckoned everyone again: "Go!" Let's take a look at the trebuchet. ”

At this moment, a pro-soldier shouted at the gate of the school: "Governor! The grain team of Tuozhi City is here, and Duke Luo Yan wants to see you! ”

The last sentence made all the local officers laugh ambiguously, Nan Jiyun stepped forward and hugged Li Qing's shoulder, squeezed his eyes at Wu Xingsu, and said with a smile: "You guy killed Peach Blossom, and he provoked Awan when he was in Nanzhao, and now he is not satisfied with three mothers in the family, and he has an affair when he comes to Shiguo, see how you explain when you go back." ”

"Where did you guys go? It seems that it is necessary for me to set up a prostitute, so as to save my heart itching when I see a woman. ”

Li Qing laughed while walking towards the gate hurriedly, everyone saw him walking in a panic, and the laughter became louder, Li Fei Yuanli simply shouted at the top of his voice: "Let's talk about it, who wants women the most?" ”

Everyone was the only one who didn't smile, he looked at Li Qing thoughtfully, but a different color flashed in his eyes, and he quietly slipped out of the other door of the school yard while no one was paying attention.

Li Qing is not stupid, how can he not know that Princess Luo Yan is interested in him, he also has to admit that this woman's amazing beauty does have a strong temptation for him, if it is an ordinary daughter from a good family, he will only be able to enter the house, but she is the only heir to the throne of Shi, and her identity is extraordinary.

"Governor, take a slow step."

Li Qing turned around and saw Duan Xiushi chasing after him from behind, he couldn't help but stop and wait for him to step forward.

"What's the matter?"

"Does the Governor really want her?"

Duan Xiushi scratched his scalp and said a little unspeakably: "I mean Princess Luo Yan!" ”

Li Qing stared at him in surprise, Duan Xiushi has always been serious, why did he suddenly mention this, he suddenly laughed, and gently punched him in the shoulder socket, "What?" Did you see her? ”

"Nope! No! Duan Xiushi was so frightened that he waved his hands, and when he saw that there were Li Qing's henchmen on the left and right, he stepped forward and whispered to him: "Have you ever thought about replacing Shiguo?" ”

Li Qing glanced at him, this person did have a vision, and he saw things very thoroughly, he simply didn't hide it from him, and said in a low voice: "The key is how to explain to the imperial court?" And Gao Xianzhi's side, how could he tolerate it? This has to be done in the long run. ”

"But there's an opportunity right now." Duan Xiushi's eyes looked towards the gate, and he saw Princess Luo Yan with her hands on her chest, looking at Li Qing with an excited expression.

Duan Xiushi sneered and said: "She is the only heir of Shi Guo, marry her, and get rid of Mo Hedu, won't Shi Guo be in hand?" At that time, the governor took Shiguo as the base, with my Datang as the backing, and then took the Zhaowu Kingdom in one go, completely breaking the ambition of the eastward expansion of the Great Food, and finally solving the hidden dangers of my Tang Dynasty's Western Regions. ”

The idea is good, but the consideration is too simple, Gao Xianzhi is about to arrive, the army of black-clothed food is about to be killed, the situation is critical, and now is indeed not the time to think about it/

Li Qing patted Duan Xiushi on the shoulder and said with a slight smile: "I understand what you mean, but now is the time to collect grain, and it is not the best time to talk about this matter, so please run for me and find Zhang Ji for me." ”......