Chapter 3296 wants to take advantage

Zeng Bu pointed to the terms of the covenant and explained, there are many new words in the language, some of which Zhao Ji has only seen in Zhao Xing's letter, which makes him deeply suspect that Zeng Bu is parroting, he said: "Your Majesty, in the past, my Song people entered the Liao realm to spy on the news, and the image was too obvious, and the Liao people could see it at a glance, but with that bazaar, it was different. Under the guise of merchants, the Song people could openly operate on the territory of the Liao State, buying, spying, and subverting ...... Do everything---- one of them.

Second, the licensing system. I know that Zhao Liren always gives people a trap, Your Majesty, what does this permit mean, we allow him to enter the bazaar and trade with the Liao people with a license. Not to mention how much income the sale license can add to the imperial court, just that this license also stipulates the examination period, if any Song merchant is not satisfied, we can cancel his license at any time---- so that all the Song merchants sent to that city are pinched in the palm of the imperial court.

Third, the Liao people wanted to exchange war horses for gunpowder and muskets...... It is not difficult to do tricks and feet, I know that the musket is separated from the appropriate gunpowder, that is, a waste material, and the gunpowder composition is complex, as long as the formula is a little bit done, the gunpowder of the Liao people is far inferior to the army of our court. The confrontation between the two armies is child's play, and with only a slight difference in range, let the Liao people give us the army's life.

Previously, the minister had also carefully studied the report of Zhao Liren and Jiang Zhiqi, Zhao Liren said that the emaciated camel was bigger than the horse, and although the Liao State was weak, it was not fully prepared, and we could not swallow this camel. He also said that it is rumored that the female straight people are more fierce than the Khitans, what if we kill the Liao people and are exhausted, what if we meet the female straight people again? ……”

Han Zhongyan interjected on the side: "That's right, although the Liao people have been harassing every year since the alliance of the Yuanyuan, on the whole, they have no longer invaded the south on a large scale. Silver 100,000 taels is just a piece of cake for us, so the Liao people are not afraid, for many years, we have known that the Liao people generally abide by the covenant, but can the female straight people abide by the covenant, the ghost knows?

Zhao Liren said it well: in order to make the two dogs fight longer. We should use gunpowder and other commodities to empty the treasury of the Liao State and empty his horse ranch. These gunpowders have to be manipulated, and it is difficult for the government to come forward and hand them over to the people. Although the gunpowder that has been done is not as powerful as our army, it is enough for the Khitans to deal with the Jurchens. Let them bite and bite, we might as well sell some weapons on both sides, and whoever is weak will sell a little more to whom. ”

Zeng Bu smiled and shook the covenant: "Zhao Liren said that he wanted to use this to pry open a hole in the Liao State. Now he has exchanged gunpowder for a piece of land in Liao and built a new city...... Who knows what else. In case the Liao people empty their homes, perhaps, they will exchange it for something else. ”

Zhao Jitong stood up suddenly: "Change to something else!?" ---- the former Taizu left a pile sealing warehouse. Originally, he planned to exchange money for the head of the Liao people, but if Zhao Liren could use the money to buy back the land of Yanyun, he would be my good assistant, and I would definitely reward him generously. ”

After a pause, Zhao Ji said meaningfully: "The law of the ancestors, whoever obtains the land of Yanyun can also be crowned king with a different surname, if Zhao Liren can retrieve Yanyun for me, I will not be stingy with a prince." ”

It's strange to say. The patronage of the monarchs and ministers enthusiastically discussed whether money could be exchanged for more things, but Zhao Xing's previous unclear intention to suppress the banks of the Yellow River and exchange fire with the Liao people without the permission of the imperial court was ignored intentionally or unintentionally. It was silent, as if nothing had happened, and even Zhao Xing's fight with the Liao's firing line was like a flock of ducks chirping twice on the riverbank, so it was not surprising. The courtiers were only interested in discussing what the new city should be used for, and no one wanted to say how the new city came to be.

It is said that the courtiers did not mention it. The emperor should have a mustard in his heart. After all, challenging the imperial power is the most taboo place for the emperor of all dynasties. But Zhao Ji is so good and happy. In normal history. Even if he was in his forties. It's still a great achievement. Zhao Xing fought with the Liao people in an indescribable battle. Let Zhao Ji see hope. A hope of defeating the Liao country. Now. His heart was full of thoughts about surpassing his ancestors. Restore Youyan---- regardless of the other party's "great disrespect".

Historically. said that Zhao Ji was mediocre because of this. During his reign, the eunuchs Liang Shicheng and Li Yan forged the holy decree. After the imperial history informed him. He just laughed it off......

The topic turned to the reality of the Liao State. Frontline Cao Yu and Zhang Dunli. Jiang Zhiqi, who participated in the negotiations and went deep into the Liao country, has successively passed back to their places to witness and hear. The disciples of the generals talked about the great power of the new weapons. It's refreshing for them. Jiang Zhiqi talked about Wuqingzhi County, He Hao, and the ancient land took the initiative to take refuge. made them see the hearts of the Liao people again. Cao and Zhang also made a bold prediction: Zhao Xing and Zhao boldly experienced the proof. The gunpowder was introduced into the army by the Shi generals. After more than 80 years of development. has evolved into a full-fledged weapon; An equal number of musketeers. It can fight the same number of cavalry. Or even double the cavalry......

It was this kind of prediction that gave Zhao Ji the hope of seizing Youyan Land.

Da Song is so much. There are more people and more money.

If you have money, you can make more guns. Someone can pull more soldiers.

The prospect of training a skilled archer in three to five years, and a musketeer in just three months, excites Zhao. He turned to Zeng Bu and asked kindly: "Zeng Qing, your fellow countryman Zeng Gongliang once compiled the Seventh Book of Martial Arts, which also described firearms, and Zeng Qing also served as a privy envoy, I don't know if I know about firearms." ”

Zeng Bu smiled and replied: "Your Majesty, Zeng Gongliang is a native of Jinjiang, Quanzhou, and his minister is from Nanfeng, and the two of us are not fellow villagers. And "Wujing VII" was not compiled by one person, so the minister did not know much about firearms.

However, when the Mizhou pear flower gun entered Beijing, the minister had watched it and found that it was very similar to a firearm recorded in the "Wujing VII", the kind of firearm recorded in it was called the thunder fire whip, and there was also a small amount of equipment in our forbidden army, and the difference between it and Guangnan firearms was in the gunpowder formula. The musket made by Zhao Liren was ten times more powerful than the pear flower gun, and the ordnance supervisor once ordered Zhao Liren to offer new gunpowder, but Zhao Liren refused to pay it, saying that this thing was the ancestral secret art of private merchants, and I did not compete with the people for profit, so he could not force it. In addition, he also mentioned: The gunpowder formula was handed over to the imperial court, for fear that the imperial court would write it into the Chinese for people to watch, or sell it to the enemy country.

I've heard. Zhao Liren specially placed firearms on an isolated island in Guangnan, surrounded by naval forces, where four kinds of explosives were produced, one was a soil explosive used to open mountains and build roads, which was powerful; the other is used for fireworks; There is also poisonous fireball gunpowder commonly used in the military. Then there is the granular black powder used in the Quang Nam musket.

Because Zhao Liren was unwilling to hand over the gunpowder formula, the army was not very active in promoting new muskets. Later, the ordnance supervisor also made black powder, but unfortunately the power is not as good as Guangnan gunpowder, perhaps there is really an ancestral secret method here---- Chen only knew because of that controversy that although the musket is powerful, there is no matching gunpowder, that is, a burning stick. ”

Zeng Bu did not study chemistry, and he casually talked about black powder, but he did not know that the chemical definition of "black powder" is very strict, even if the components of sulfur, nitrate, and charcoal are exactly the same. As long as the proportions of the three are slightly different, even if the thing that comes out is still black, it can still burn and explode, but it is no longer called "black powder".

Science is rigorously. For example, "normal saline", only saline with a salt content of 0.9% can be called "normal saline", and if it is not saline of this concentration, even if it does not contain other substances except salt and water, it cannot be called "normal saline".

Another example: copper sulfate pentahydrate is called bile alum, which is blue; Basic copper sulfate is also a copper sulfate crystal, but it is specifically made by the reaction of copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide, and the color is green......

In this sense, there are three gunpowder formulas recorded in the seventh chapter of the Wujing. None of them are "black powder". And the gunpowder imitated by the ordnance supervisor is not black powder.

Zhao Ji was silent for a moment, and said wryly: "I will issue an edict: pass Zhao Xing into Beijing to play the right thing." Ladies and gentlemen, you must persuade Zhao Qing to put state affairs first, and it is best to hand over the gunpowder formula to the imperial court. ”

When the ministers heard this, they frowned together--- Zhao Laohu's land is cheap and not easy to take advantage of, so far, the Liao, Xixia, Dali, and Jiaozhi people have fought him cheaply, and some people have lost the country. Chapter is the best. It's just that he lost his official position and left Beijing in embarrassment, but his life is still there. Is it easy for the officials to let us speak?

At this time, Zhao Xing, who was at the mouth of the Yellow River, did not know that someone in the court was calculating him, and he was carefully observing the "Thunder Fire Whip" discussed by the court lords.

It is a whip-shaped weapon, similar in shape to the steel whip of the Eighteen Weapons, but this whip has a hole in the center and a hole in the handle of the whip to set fire to the twist. When using. A torch is used to ignite the twist at the handle of the whip, which ignites the gunpowder contained in the whip. The stream of gunpowder flames erupted and made a loud noise, so it was called the "Thunder Whip".

"I wonder what will happen if we put our gunpowder in it?" Zhao Xing finished playing with the thunder fire whip and said thoughtfully.

"It must be blown up", Shuai Fan replied unceremoniously: "The gunpowder stuffed in this thunder fire whip is a formula developed by the Ordnance Supervisor, and the ingredients are mixed with iron sand, arsenic, wolf venom, yellow wax, croton, clear oil, asphalt, etc. It doesn't have explosive power, so it doesn't matter if the wall light of the inner chamber is not smooth, and it doesn't matter at all whether there is a trachoma hole or not.

But our muskets, because the explosives used are different, the processing accuracy is very high, if you put our gunpowder in it now, it will definitely turn this thunder whip into an iron soldering cone, and the name of the "Wujing General Essentials" is similar to a grenade-like throwing bomb, and later Japan followed this name and called it baking). ”

Zhao Xing shook the hot thunder whip in his hand, smiled at Cao Yu and said, "I also have a copy of "Wujing VII" in my hand, but unfortunately I never finished reading it. At first, I thought it had no segmentation and punctuation, and it looked dizzy, so I glanced at it a few times and threw it aside. Later, after the new re-annotation of punctuation and paragraphs, I was too busy to calm down and look through this book.

It's funny that when I was looking for a prototype of a firearm, the first thing that came to mind was the Western Xia bronze handcuff, but I didn't know that my Song army was also equipped with this kind of firearm similar to the copper handcuff...... Well, when I was in Mizhou, I wondered why I wanted to cast a few protrusions that looked like bamboo knots on the pear flower gun, but now I understand that the people of the original ordnance supervisor were unconsciously imitating the whip made by the thunder fire whip......"

This thunder whip was brought by the Japanese army and the Gongsheng army, and after the Song Liao talks, Zhao Xing swept through the belongings of Wuqing County and slowly retreated to the north bank of the Yellow River. Because the weather was cold and the Yellow River was frozen, Zhao Xing retreated to Shunbao Village in advance, and the Xiao brothers led the people of Wuqing County to continue to move to the mouth of the Yellow River. After landing on the shore, Zhao Xing met Cao Yu, who led the two forbidden armies of Gongsheng and Zhuri to arrive in Shunbaozhai.

Cao Yu pointed at the thunder whip in confusion, and asked rhetorically: "Liren, this thunder whip is cast of steel, you said that gunpowder can make it explode, I don't believe it, why don't you fill it with gunpowder and let me try it." What is this black powder? It's not like I haven't seen it, since I was a child, I grew up playing with firecrackers during the New Year, it can burst such a thick iron wall---- try it, you give it to me. ”

The muzzle in the middle of this thunderfire whip is very thin, similar to that of modern small-caliber rifles. Its appearance imitates the traditional weapon iron whip---- that is, the short whip in the hand of Chi Gong, the god of the New Year's painting, is not more than 40 centimeters long, the whip body is cast with several bone joints, and there is a hole in the handle of the whip in the thick ground, which is reserved for the fire twist.

This iron whip is not equipped with a general strip, so it cannot be tamped with gunpowder, but fortunately, there was originally iron sand in the formula of the Great Song Dynasty gunpowder ground, so this thunder fire whip is not so much the ancestor of modern pistol land. It is better to say that it is the ancestor of modern fireworks. Since it is "gunpowder" and not "explosives", it does not matter whether the filler needs to be tamped or not.

When demonstrating just now, Zhao Xing saw it. The former owner of the Thunder Fire Whip used a funnel device similar to a Cranepemouth to fill the whip with "Song Dynasty gunpowder", which was filled until the muzzle of the gun overflowed, and then the forbidden soldier pressed the gunpowder with his fingers on the muzzle...... This can also be regarded as tamping gunpowder.

When the powder is ignited, the gunpowder burns from the back of the whip to the muzzle, and the accumulated gunpowder pressure is sprayed out at the muzzle, and the iron sand heated into iron liquid is ejected through the muzzle, and at the same time there is a thunderous sound. Those who are whipped by this kind of thunder and fire will definitely turn into pockmarked faces, but if you really look into it, the damage to the ground is not serious, and if you encounter a cavalry impact, the "stopping effect" of the impact is not as good as that of a real musket.

Zhao Xing swept the thunder whip and asked: "When my gunpowder is fired, the recoil should not be underestimated, and it is made in a straight line, I am afraid it is not easy to hold---- which means that the gunpowder of the ordnance supervision is less powerful." It is convenient to hold in the hand.

But my musket is different. Cao Guanjun, our army uses not gunpowder but explosives, there are three categories, now the musket uses the cheapest black explosives, but this explosives have been processed, the barrel is filled with a maximum of one penny, if the black explosives are loaded into the muzzle, I estimate that the strength of people is not able to hold the handle of the whip.

In addition to black explosives. I also used another cartridge pack in the artillery...... This battle. I haven't used the fourth generation of shells yet, and the explosives in those shells are even more violent. You said you were going to test it with explosives......

Well, you can half-bury the whip in the ground and test the power of explosives. However, it is true that an explosion cannot destroy such a thick subway pipe wall, but metal, like people, has its own fatigue strength, and after repeated use, the iron will definitely break from its weak point. Cao Guanjun, do you really want to test? Are you sure? ”

The reason why Zhao Xing asked so solemnly was because among the forbidden army, the thunder fire whip belonged to the high-tech products of this era, and only a few generals held it. The value of this thunder fire whip is higher than the cost of a set of step armor, and Zhao Xing speculated that the test result was that the thunder fire whip was damaged, and he was worried that Cao Yu would not be able to explain afterwards, so he repeatedly sought confirmation.

Cao Yu's eyes turned to Zhao Xing's waist, which had three handcuffs pinned to his waist, which were imitations of the Spanish flintlock pistol, but with more ornate decorations. It adheres to the Song Dynasty's pursuit of glitz and glamour, with a delicate and gorgeous Tang Dynasty flying map carved on the body of the mahogany gun, and two archangels carved on the barrel in Western style.

The ignition of the flintlock pistol casts an image of a demon, and the demon's open mouth happens to be the flintlock ignition pool. The handle of the gun is inlaid with white ivory, and the carving on the ivory is full of Israeli style---- that is, in modern parlance, the style of the African savannah, rough, quaint, yet elegant and gorgeous.

Cao Yu blinked and drooled, "To be honest, I used to think that this thunder fire whip was an amazing weapon, but I watched you fight with the Khitans on the south bank, compared to the ground weapons in the hands of the Vermilion Bird Army, this thunder fire whip is not worth mentioning."

Isn't the thunderbolt in your waist expensive? I see that your soldiers are each equipped with a long and short weapon, and I am not uncommon in the handcuffs on the soldiers, and I fancy the other guys on your waist, this thing is exquisite...... I see that your servants have six or seven sticks hanging on their bodies, and this thing must not be very rare, you give me the thunder gun on your body, and I will give you the thunder and fire whip on my body, and we will exchange them with each other, how about it? ”

Cao Yu's expression when he said this was like that of a child looking forward to being rewarded by adults, Zhao Xing smiled slightly, took off two handcuffs from his body casually, and handed Cao Yu the tongtong and gunpowder sac by the way, and explained in his mouth: "Actually, the thunder gun (handcuff) is useless." As a general, if he needs to pick up this thing to fight, then he should first use this thing to shoot himself in the head---- the battle has been fought on this, so that the enemy rushes to his side, as a general, it is a failure.

Take it, I'm curious: the two armies of the Thunder Fire Whip, the Iron Soldering Cone, the Thunderbolt Fireball, and the Pear Flower Spear. What is the specific combat effectiveness? …… I used these two handcuffs to test it, and it was worth it. ”

When Cao Yu took the Gongsheng and the Japanese army to force Shunbaozhai, although he did not think of disarming Zhao Xing, Cao Yu, who thought that the army was in hand, did not want to fight for more right to speak for himself, so this game also involved the comparison of forces between the two sides and the struggle for the right to speak.

Shuai Fan squinted at Cao Yu and added with bad intentions: "Cao Guanjun, my Lord Zhao has always had a habit of collecting trophies, and the three guns on his body have their own origins. The two are given to you, the ivory handles on them are seized from the palaces of Cham and Dali, and the mahogany spears are made of handrails that remove the thrones of the kings of the two countries. The value of this thing is not light, and Lord Cao must cherish it. ”

Shuai Fan spoke coldly here, and Zhao Xing was already directing the soldiers to fill the gunpowder next to him. This time it was filled with black powder, and the soldiers dug a pit in the ground, loaded the thunder whip into a bamboo tube, half-buried it in the ground, and after filling it up, they began to ignite the powder twist.

There was a boom, and the earth seemed to tremble. An unknown object flew past Zhao Xing's ear with a whoosh, and a attendant behind Zhao Xing snorted softly, accompanied by his hum, the iron armor on the attendant's body made a crisp sound, and the attendant's body shook, and then he touched his body curiously, and shouted happily: "It's okay, I'm alive, I'm fine." It's just so bizarre, and it's good luck today. ”

When the smoke cleared, Zhao Xing and the others looked at the ground where the thunder whip was buried, and a shallow pit appeared on the ground, and the thunder whip no longer existed.

What hit the attendant just now was a fragment of the thunder fire whip body, which was almost one-third the size of the whip body, but after flying over a space of more than ten meters, it is estimated that a layer of yarn can block it---- this is what the ancients said: the end of the strong crossbow cannot wear Lu Min.

"The barrel of the gun was blown up by black powder?!" Zhao Xing looked at the shallow crater after the explosion in disbelief. Muttered, "This." It's outrageous! ”

Shuai Fan said in a "hindsight" tone: "I knew it was so!" When I fired the Thunderfire Whip just now, I noticed that the whip body was unevenly hot and cold. The temperature is lower in the thick part of the joint, and the weak part of the pipe wall, the whip body is hot--- isn't the grenade in our army also cast like this, through the thickness of the iron wall is different, so that the explosion causes more fragments---- I now know why the barrel is smooth even the outer wall. ”

Zhao Xing glanced at Cao Yu, Cao Yu was reminded, and hurriedly looked down at the two handcuffs that had just been snatched from Zhao Xing's hands in his hands, he touched the statue on the barrel of the gun, and asked with palpitations: "If one day, the barrel of this thunderbolt explodes, is it also like a thunder whip?" ”

Zhao Xing nodded casually: "I know that after this battle, the Ordnance Supervision Council will copy the Guangnan musket, and I can give them this technology, but Lord Cao must tell the people of the Ordnance Supervision what he saw today." Tell them: Don't paint snakes, don't add carvings to the outside of the barrel, especially what is carved on the seal, beauty is beautiful, and it is the most dangerous to the person holding it. ”

Cao Yu held Zhao Xing's two muskets, like holding two pieces of coal, Zhao Xing shook his head and smiled, and added softly: "However, you don't have to worry about my two handguns, the power of black powder is not great, as long as the barrel is finely processed, the iron is uniform, there is no trachoma, and the bore wall is smooth, this barrel can't be exploded." ”

Cao Yu's eyes rolled, and he asked tentatively: "There are three hundred generals in my house...... Listening to Brother Zhao's words, I'm afraid that the thunder guns made by the Ordnance Supervisor will not be satisfactory, I wonder if I can buy 300 handguns from Brother Zhao to equip the Zhuang Ding generals? ”

Shuai Fan interjected with slanted eyes: "Gunpowder is such a powerful thing, it is very troublesome to maintain, and it must be professionally trained, which is why we are not afraid of the capture of the Liao soldiers."

Gunpowder is susceptible to moisture and needs to be stored with extra care. Once the gunpowder is hardened, you can be careful if you want to re-crush it, but there is skill in crushing, and if you don't get it right, it will become suicide. ”

After meeting again, Zhao Xing and Shuai Fan have always used the title of "Guan Jun" to call Cao Yu, which is an officialdom title, which means that during this time, the distance between Zhao Xing and Cao Yu has not been narrowed, but gradually estranged.

And Shuai Fan called Zhao Xing "my family", which is actually a Han and Tang Dynasty title, and Shuai Fan claims to be Zhao Xing's vassal here.

This kind of title is not in line with the system of the Song Dynasty, and Cao Yu has to frown slightly every time he hears this kind of title. But he thought about it, Shuai Fan followed Zhao Xing to Yangzhou Huanqing with a white body, and finally went to the wild land of Lingnan, although Shuai Fan has now achieved the merit of assisting in the destruction of Dali, and has been promoted to Wupin Zhizhou in his official position, but this person has been in the shadow of Zhao Xing, and it is no wonder that he considers himself Zhao Xing's retainer.

In retrospect, the surname "Shuai" did not exist in the Central Plains before, the appearance of Shuai Fan was very abrupt, this person's birth was shrouded in a fog, if he hadn't met Su Shi and was introduced to Zhao Xing by Su Shi, maybe Shuai Fan would have spent his life in the market.

Although the Song Dynasty was not a gate society, but in this patriarchal society, the support of the family is very important for personal development, and Shuai Fan is an exception, this person is like a rootless Ping, without any clan support behind him, his success is also a special case in the Song Dynasty, and it is no wonder that he keeps claiming to be a vassal of Zhao Xing.

And Zhao Xing, now it seems, seems to be similar to the most prosperous authoritative increase stock on the stock market, when the new emperor Zhao Ji was in Qiandi, his fief was taken care of and operated by Zhao Xing, and the relationship between the two was not generally close, and there were letters and exchanges almost every month. The new emperor ascended the throne, and Zhao Xing appeared very abruptly at the mouth of the Yellow River, leading the army to faintly threaten Bianliang. At the same time, the new emperor with the help of Zhao Xing's troops, killed the strong prime minister Zhang who opposed his accession to the throne, and then Zhao Xing inexplicably fought a battle with the Liao people, this war, in Cao Yu's view, seems to be very strong in the purpose of cover-up, he is sure that Zhao Xing is looking for the stubble of the Liao people, is to hide his original intention to threaten the imperial capital.

The merit is greater than the support, Zhao Xing's actions, in the eyes of the court ministers, he is echoing the new emperor, such a capable minister, and belongs to the little emperor's cronies, and the current left minister Zeng Bu and the right minister Han Zhongyan are already old, and in the future era, it is difficult to think about whether it belongs to Zhao Xing.

Such a power development unit, not to mention Shuai Fan, even Cao Yu has the heart to please, it is Jiang Zhiqi, although he was very dissatisfied with Zhao Xing's domineering and arbitrariness during the negotiation, but the head of the imperial history still endured this breath......

Even Jiang Zhiqi, who has always been a professional in finding faults, is so obedient, Cao Yu fully understands Shuai Fan's betrayal, his eyes blinked, and suddenly a thought came to him, looked at Zhang Dunli beside him, smiled and raised the handcuff in his hand---- Cao Yu called it "Lei Gong": "Lord Zhao, Brother Zhao, I heard that you have four children and a daughter."

Thinking about it now, no matter what the adults say, they have also embarked on the road of commanding the army, I don't know if I have the intention to develop into the hairpin family, I Cao's ...... Plus Zhang, willing to marry Lord Zhao, Brother Zhao is not limited to which child, regardless of men and women, is he willing to marry me? ”

ps: At the beginning of the month, Dazhang asked for votes, and I implore readers to vote for it, thank you!