"The adult, the villain and a few guys are indeed military households in Datong Town, and the villains are artisan households, and several of them are military households that raise horses. The life of the military households is hard, the fields of the guard are all the generals of thousands of households, we have to farm for them, and we have to work as errands, and the grain in the fields for a year can not even eat a full meal. Many brothers can't get by, and they escape from the guard every year.

In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the Mantars entered the customs, and the Mongolian Kol heart also took the opportunity to attack Datong, and we were all transferred to the city of Datong to guard, and after the Tartars retreated, they found that the relatives in the village had been slaughtered by the Tartars.

My relatives were gone, so I discussed it with a few old guys, and then quietly escaped from the guard, and came to Xishan Town, where I mixed a bowl of rice at Zhao Li's house. ”

Speaking of what happened to him and others, Li Xiong's tone was very calm, but the moist corners of his eyes betrayed his sad heart, and several other old men who raised horses couldn't cry silently. It is said that they are old men, but in fact, these people are not old, most of them are more than forty years old, but the perennial work has bent their backs and broken their heads, making them look much older than their actual age.

Chen Yue empathized with what happened to them, how could he not be from a military family, and why didn't he have enough to eat?

"This official is also from a poor military family, and he knows your life very well, you can rest assured, as long as you follow this official and work hard, the future days will be better and better."

"By the way, Li Xiong, I heard that you are a craftsman in the army and can make gunpowder?" Chen Yue asked Li Xiong.

"Yes, my lord, when the villain was on an errand in Datong Town, he specialized in making gunpowder, whether it was the primer for firecrackers, the gunpowder for cannons, or even the gunpowder for fireworks, flying dragons, and even fireworks." Li Xiong nodded.

"Is there any difference in these gunpowders?" Chen Yue asked in surprise.

"It's basically the same, but the gunpowder used in different firearms is slightly different, such as the propellant of guns and cannons, it is best to use purified granular gunpowder, so that it ignites quickly and does not leave residue. Firearms like the Flying Dragon and the Divine Fire Flying Crow are best mixed with some yellow phosphorus in the gunpowder, which is more conducive to arson......" Talking about gunpowder, Li Xiong's face was serious, his eyes were shining, and he was no longer the submissive appearance just now.

"Okay, from now on, I will appoint you as the head of the Gunpowder Bureau, specially make gunpowder for me, and leave the matter of raising horses to a few of them." Chen Yue casually sealed the head of a gunpowder bureau, and he didn't care about his small inspection at all, what qualifications did he have to set up a gunpowder bureau? Anyway, the emperor is far away, and no one can control himself.

"Dare to ask my lord, is the director of this gunpowder bureau an official?" Li Xiong asked with excitement.

"It's an official, and he enjoys the treatment of a flag officer." Chen Yue said casually, so the smile on Lao Li Xiong's face became even brighter. The other old men who raised horses all looked at Li Xiong with envy on their faces, and stepped forward to congratulate the old man.

"You guys also do a good job, and I will also have a heavy reward for raising the horses." Chen Yue said to a few old men.

"It's my lord, you're fine!" Several old men patted their chests and assured Chen Yue.

"You just mentioned the Divine Fire Flying Crow and the Flying Dragon, do you know how to make such firearms?" Chen Yue suddenly remembered a question.

"The Divine Fire Crow is made of fine bamboo and reeds, and the Flying Dragon is filled with gunpowder in a wooden barrel or bamboo tube, these two firearms are very easy to make, and the difficult ones to make are firearms such as the Furlong Machine Hongyi Cannon, which requires special craftsmen to make, and the subordinates will not." Li Xiong had already entered the identity of the head of his Gunpowder Bureau, introducing various firearms to Chen Yue.

"Well, put aside the matter of firearms for the time being, now the Inspection Department urgently needs to make gunpowder, charcoal can be bought in Xishan Town, but sulfur saltpeter is not available, do you have any way?" Chen Yue looked at Li Xiongdao expectantly.

"Rest assured, saltpeter and sulfur are available in Shanxi, and there is sulfur in Yangquan, a hundred and ten miles south from here, and there are saltpeter mines near Taiyuan Prefecture, as long as you are willing to pay silver, these two kinds of mineral deposits are easy to buy." Li Xiong was really familiar with the origin of sulfur saltpeter where gunpowder was made, so he said it casually.

"There are a lot of silver officials, but the snow is so heavy, it's not so easy to go to a place more than a hundred miles away to purchase, right?" Chen Yue was a little worried.

"If you can trust your lordship, and your subordinates are willing to share your worries, a journey of more than 100 miles, even if there is heavy snow, you can buy saltpeter and sulfur for you for a month at most." Li Xiong took the initiative to ask Yingdao, and after living for half his life, he became a "high-ranking official" like the general banner, which made the old man extremely excited and full of enthusiasm.

"There's nothing you can't believe, okay, then it's hard work for Li!" Chen Yue Li's title made Li Xiong's face bloom with a smile, and he said again and again that it was not hard.

allocated five hundred taels of silver, sent Chen Yan with six guards to follow Li Xiong on the road, in order to insure the period, Chen Yue also gave Chen Yan his two crossbows, with the force of Chen Yue's five people, and they were all wearing leather armor, as long as they did not encounter a large number of strongmen, they should be able to bring the goods back safely.

A group of eight people walked south through heavy snow, accompanied by two mule carts.

Looking at Li Xiong, who was at the front of the team with a waist knife and a spear, Chen Yue couldn't help but sigh slightly, a general flag-level gunpowder bureau director made him willing to run for himself, it seems that even a man in power can't stop him. And the taste of holding power is so wonderful, whoever gives an order will have someone to die for himself, this taste makes Chen Yue can't help but be intoxicated.

He is now just a small patrol, with only more than 200 men under his command, if one day he can serve himself with tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, what would it be like?

Sighing slightly in his heart, Chen Yue returned to the compound of the Inspection Division and began to inspect the training of the recruits.

The soldiers who came out of the countryside were simple and obedient, even if they were training outside in the cold winter, and their lips were purple from the cold, they had no complaints.

It's just that after five or six days of training, the cohort training is already in shape.

"Walk in unison, bowls, chopsticks, bowls, ......" With the command of the chief flag officer who led the team, rows of recruits took neat steps in unison, squeaking the snow under their feet.

"Mr. Shan, are my soldiers still mighty?" Looking at the scribe Shan Minglei who came over, Chen Yue asked with a smile.

"Mighty is mighty, but it lacks a sharp spirit, such a team can deter the common people, once it is thrown into the battlefield, I am afraid it will be the life of delivering food to the enemy!" Shan Minglei said expressionlessly, but his words were so poisonous.