Zheng Kai slowly opened the long box in his hand, and the thing that appeared in the box looked like it was beautifully made.

Luda leaned his head to look at it, picked it up, looked at it a few times, saw some clues, and asked, "How did Ling Zhen make such a small cannon?" ”

Zheng Kai nodded when he heard this: "Uncle, the name of this thing is the musket, which is the name taken by the father himself. There is no difference between the truth and the cannon. Pour gunpowder into the barrel, then poke it solid and put the projectile on it. You can launch a projectile out, and within 100 steps, you can easily penetrate the armor and enter the body. The lethality is amazing. ”

When Luda heard this, he picked up the musket and looked at it repeatedly, but he also had doubts in his heart, and asked, "Where did you light the fire?" ”

Zheng Kai stretched out his hand and pointed at the musket, and replied: "Originally, there was a kind of musket that needed to be ignited, and my father couldn't look down on it, so he pointed out General Ling a few times, and General Ling made this kind of musket that did not need to be ignited two months later, and it was enough to ignite it with a fire sickle. Pull this thing, pull the trigger, and you can get a great scythe. About eight out of ten can be ignited. Sometimes it fails, and you need to re-pick the hammer and fire again. ”

Luda naturally understood, and only said: "This thing is too cumbersome, it is extremely time-consuming to load gunpowder and projectiles, and it must be even more cumbersome to clean the barrel, and it is not necessarily easy to use when fighting cavalry." This thing is fired once, and the elite archer is afraid that he has already shot a few arrows in a row. ”

Zheng Kai shook his head when he heard this, and said, "Uncle, there should be pros and cons. Now that the armor is getting thicker and thicker, the ability of arrows to penetrate armor is getting worse and worse, and often an ironclad soldier is hit by a few arrows, only hurting the flesh and skin. This thing can break the armor with one shot, which is slower, but it is more efficient, even in the face of cavalry charges, a volley will inevitably shoot down a row of people. If you shoot continuously in several sections, the effect is even more significant. Although it may seem tedious to operate, it is easier for a soldier to practice, than a longbow or even a hard crossbow. It is much easier to get started, and a soldier can mature this thing within a month. ”

Zheng Kai talked eloquently, obviously really insightful. This musket, although it is just a simple flintlock pistol, has no rifling, and the accuracy is not very high, but compared with the bow and crossbow, which is a weapon that is fired by human feeling, the accuracy has been improved by several grades. Most sharpshooters with about 100 paces are rare, but a sharpshooter with about 100 paces is much easier.

Luda heard Zheng Kai's words, and said very firmly, frowning and asking, "Kai'er is so determined, but she is really knowledgeable?" ”

Zheng Kai nodded and said, "Uncle, the little nephew has really seen a few times. Now there are more than a thousand such muskets in the river, and they have begun to practice more than a month ago. The little nephew has been practicing this thing with the army, and the power is amazing. That's why it's just that the method of creating this thing is still a bit cumbersome, and the factory is also studying how to produce this thing more quickly. Tomorrow morning, I will go to the school field to give my uncle a try, and I will know that breaking armor within 100 steps is like cutting paper, and it is effortless. ”

Hearing this, Ruda nodded, put the musket back in the long box, and said, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." ”

But Lu Meng beside him took out the musket from the long box and looked left and right.

Zheng Kai's face was slightly solemn, and he said: "This time Liu Xianggong has entered Beijing, and he is talking about the northwest in the middle of the third dynasty, and the little nephew may have to go to the Western Regions with the army, bring a thousand muskets, and go into battle with Liu Xianggong." ”

Luda was stunned when he heard this, looked at Zheng Kai, and saw that although Zheng Kai's face was solemn, he couldn't hide his nervousness, and sighed: "Your Majesty should be really ruthless, this time, in three or two years, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back." Out of the Yumen Pass, go thousands of miles, when is the way back? ”

Luda really thought so in his heart, if he had to say that he would let the prince go into battle to fight, he could fight anywhere, go to the northeast, there were Jurchens, all the way to the horseshoe, and it would be enough to go back and forth for two or three months. When I went to the Western Regions, it was a fast letter to the post station, and it took more than half a year to make a trip. The army goes back and forth, and it has to fight, and three years is less. In Zheng Zhi's heart, he was too ruthless for this son.

When Zheng Kai heard this, his face was a little gloomy, and he only said: "My father doesn't know why he is always so concerned about the Turks, the territory of the Turks is more desert to the south, the sea (Mediterranean) to the west, and cold to the north. There are few people, there is not much food, and it will not threaten my Great Xia, if you want to exterminate it, you want to exterminate the Western Liao of the Khitan. Na Xiliao also sent envoys last year, which was quite a sign of peace, and there were many people in the DPRK and China who supported it. Only Liu Xianggong fought a few battles with the Khitans, and he was resentful and unwilling to negotiate peace. But the father and the emperor also wanted to go west, and he had to go to the land of the Turks. It's incomprehensible. ”

Zheng Kai is not reluctant to fight, but it is difficult to understand Zheng Zhi's obsession.

Luda nodded and thought for a moment, and said: "I don't know much about other things, but your father's idea has never been bad, and it naturally makes sense to fight." 108,000 miles, it is also to fight, there is no need to doubt this, just do it. If you really want to talk about the truth, the Sprinkle family heard the old Wu Tou say something seven or eight years ago, that is, His Majesty took a fancy to a piece of land, and on the map of all countries, there is a narrow bay land, and the surrounding territory, His Majesty said that he had said for many years, and he said that he must take it in his hands. This time, the Sprinkle family went south to build a city and guard the seaway in the seaside place, thinking that it was also because of that territory, the seaway was closer, so this seaway must be unblocked. ”

That bay is called the Persian Gulf, and the land of the Persian Gulf is the land of oil. No one knows what's good about this site, and no one knows how important oil will be. This is Zheng Zhi's obsession.

Zheng Kai also nodded when he heard this: "Since my father is trying to disagree with the public, he has to fight." That's it. This time, at least three years, three years later, I will come to visit my uncle again. ”

When Luda heard this, he was a little distressed, but this man never expressed these emotions, just looked at Zheng Kai and didn't say anything about it. Looking at the musket in Lu Meng's hand, he seemed to have figured out another thing, and said: "Your father has always supported Lao Wu Tou's method of destroying the Jurchens, but he has never given an explicit order. I think this musket is another solution in your father's heart. If this thing is really so useful, Yue Fei's kid should lead the troops into the forest. ”

When Zheng Kai heard Ruda's words, he also suddenly realized, and said: "Uncle woke up the dreamer with a word, and he really wanted to go into the forest to find the Jurchens when he wanted to come to this musket." Yanyun, Hebei, last year's cotton harvest was large, and local governments were hoarding cotton. It looks like I'm really going into the woods. ”

The forest is not suitable for large-scale battles, and it is not suitable for the tactics of large army gatherings. Therefore, the power of the cavalry charge is greatly reduced in the forest, and the stragglers fight, and the musket has a much greater advantage than the feather arrows. The Han people are not suitable for the real extreme cold, this cotton is naturally an artifact to keep out the cold, and a large amount of cotton is hoarded in various places, Zheng Kai has already guessed the matter in combination with these things.

"Your Majesty is really far-sighted, no one can match it." Ruda praised from the bottom of his heart. I also thought a lot more, thinking that back then, cotton was just a few people planted in the border land of the party, and it was also brought into the Central Plains in large quantities by Zheng Zhi, although the city of Hangzhou is located in the south, the winter is not warm, a small cotton jacket, it is really very useful, the winter is cold, it is not a problem.

Zheng Kai heard Ruda's admiration, and also laughed, and said: "I heard that the land of the Western Regions is also very cold, so bring more cotton jackets on the road." With a cotton jacket on his body, even the iron suit does not feel cold. ”

At this time, Lu Meng, who had played with the musket a few times, put the musket back into the long box, and suddenly interjected: "Father, I will also go to the Western Regions, and I will also go with His Highness to fight the Khitans." ”

When Zheng Kai heard this, he waved his hand again and again: "You are only fourteen, and the court law stipulates that the grade for enlistment in the army is sixteen, what are you going to do?" ”

But it was Luda who frowned slightly, and when Zheng Kai finished speaking, he said: "Go, the Sprinkle family goes into battle, and they have always charged in front of His Majesty's head, and when you go to the Western Regions, you should also fight bravely in front of Kai'er's head." ”

After speaking, Ruda's face was a little heavy. If Ruda hadn't given birth to this son, he would have been free and easy in this life, and he didn't care about anything. But he gave birth to such a son again, no matter how strong his heart is, he has more real concern after all. It is his duty to open his mouth to let his son go into battle thousands of miles away. The heaviness of his face is a father's reluctance.

Lu Meng was overjoyed when he heard this, although this man is now also a tyrant, he is mostly lawless in the military academy, after all, he has never really been in the battle array, and he doesn't know the pain of the battle array, only happy and excited.

Zheng Kai found the heaviness of Luda's face, and he couldn't bear it, so he opened his mouth and said: "Uncle, Meng'er is still young, and his body has not really opened yet, so let's talk about it in a few years." ”

Lu Meng was reluctant, stood up, walked left and right a few times, and said, "Your Highness, what are you talking about?" How can you underestimate me, my father is infinitely powerful, and I am infinitely powerful. Ordinary soldiers, there are a few people who can compare to my strength. ”

Lu Meng said as he waved his arms from side to side, and also posed his chest, realizing that he was strong. It's also true, although this kid is only more than fourteen years old, he is really much stronger than the average person, and it is also genetic.

Luda sighed slightly, nodded and said: "Let him go, his mother is a Khitan, he also understands the Khitan language, and it is convenient to talk to the Khitan people in Western Liao, and it is always useful to go into battle." ”

Now Yelu Dashi is really not what it was at the beginning. At the beginning, hundreds of Khitan knights escaped from Yanjing City, but now more than ten years have passed, and the land of Central Asia is already the world of the Khitans. The country of Western Liao is mighty. Yelu Dashi is also a rare person in this world.

But Yelu Dashi probably knew in his heart that if he could escape from Yanjing, it was Zheng Zhiwang who opened up at the beginning. After all, Liu Zhengyan has reached the territory of Western Liao, and Liu Zhengyan wants a city, a territory, and a war. Yelu Dashi may not be willing to fight, but he can't. Yelu Dashi will not be cowardly, although he has the heart to seek peace, but Yelu Dashi is not a person who can kneel to survive. What's more, there are more and more people under the command of Yelu Dashi, and they are unwilling to fight, which does not mean that they dare not fight.

Obviously, this big war cannot be avoided.

Lu Da had already uttered his words, and Zheng Kai couldn't disobey him, so Lu Meng was naturally in the excitement and joy of going into battle to kill the enemy.

But it was Luda's wine that was booming, and he frequently raised his glass, and he was also extremely uncomfortable.

Where can Zheng Kai parry, it won't take long for him to get drunk and fall aside. It was also the practice of the beginning of spring every year.

Even so, early in the morning of the second day, Zheng Kai still woke up at dawn. Being drunk last night did not affect the state of the second day in any way, which is also the benefit of being young.

Instead, Ruda woke up a little late. Wash up and put on armor. Find one of the strongest horses and carry Ruda to the school grounds outside the city.

Zheng Kailu accompanied him, and he also went to test the power of the musket.

The accuracy of the musket, although it is not as good as that of the rare marksman who wears through Yang in a hundred steps, is not bad, a round target, a hundred steps away, the basic bullet is not missing, and the gun can be on target.

Even after Ruda fired a few shots himself, he mastered the trick and could easily hit the target.

Hitting the iron armor again, it was really easy to break the armor, which also made Ruda extremely satisfied.

Ruda returned to the Hussar General's Mansion. But it was these two young people who also found their own fun.