When Xu Wei lit the twisted thread, the craftsmen held their breath and did not dare to take a breath. Because they made the things, they are responsible in case of any accidents. And the guards stared at the black iron cylinder nervously, watching the twisted thread burn shorter and shorter!

Xu Wei also retreated to the door of the workshop and watched without turning his eyes! I saw that when the twisted thread burned, a large puff of white smoke came out, and it was drilled into the iron cylinder. Suddenly, there was an explosion, which startled everyone and covered their ears involuntarily! But when I saw the iron cylinder jump violently, the table thirty paces away was tilted to the side almost at the same time! Xu Wei rushed over first, looked at the desktop, and suddenly showed joy!

The tabletop, which was originally about an inch thick and extremely smooth, has been completely out of shape at this time! The messy iron filings are embedded in the wood, and they are beaten like a pockmarked face! After looking at it carefully for a while, the handsome man of Shaanxi couldn't help laughing. Although this thing was far from a gun, it was not as powerful as it could be, and not even a single piece of iron could penetrate an inch-thick table. But at least it turns out that this thing is useful! Moreover, it can be used in field warfare!

The guards and craftsmen gathered around, marveling at the devastated table. This weapon is obviously more powerful than the assault rifle! Iron cylinders are stronger and more durable than bamboo, and gunpowder can also be poked tightly in the barrel to increase the power. And this new medicine is much more violent than the original formula, and with the iron cast tube, it can come in handy both offensively and defensively.

And when the soldiers look at this equipment, they think differently. A soldier squatted down, pulled out a small piece of iron from the table, touched the wound and said happily: "If the two armies face each other, when the enemy cavalry attacks, set a fire and not sweep down a piece?" ”

A fellow comrade immediately retorted: "You would think that thirty steps away in the blink of an eye can allow you to calmly light a fire?" ”

"Elm head! Seeing that there was no wound, I dare say that moving the table forty paces would still be useful. And this instrument is more than three feet long, as thick as an arm, and you will use it as a blunt instrument after you finish it? The soldier gave his comrades a blank look.

Xu Wei noticed at this time that there was a mark on the wall behind the iron cylinder, indicating that it had recoil. When I touched it with my hand again, it felt very hot, probably because the pipe wall was too thin. In the future, the iron pipe needs to be cast thicker, otherwise it will not be able to fight hand-to-hand after the soldier said.

"Handsome! Handsome! Just as Xu Wei was deep in thought, a voice came. Looking for prestige, it was Zhang Qing who came quickly.

This guy has a dark face and a strong body, but he has a delicate heart, so he fills the position of "supervisor of Jiyi writing" in charge of confidential matters in the Shaanxi Hua Shuai Division. Zhang Qing came closer, first saw the table on the ground, and said in surprise: "This is ......"

"Messing around, what's the matter?" Xu Wei asked.

Zhang Qing retracted his gaze and nodded: "I just received a letter from Chang'an." ”

When Xu Wei heard this, he was silent for a moment, and then turned back to the courtyard and said: "You continue to test the firing, and fire the remaining two as I did before, remember, safe!" No one can stand in front of a firearm, and no one can hold it! Try a few more times and report the results later. ”

Half of the heart that had been hanging fell down, and he hurriedly responded: "Yes!" ”

Xu Wei glanced at the black iron cylinder again, smiled knowingly, and then walked out. Zhang Qing followed beside him and glanced at Du Feihu behind him, who understood and followed not far away, so as not to hear the secret.

"Ma Zichong sent a letter, something happened to Huanqing!" As soon as Zhang Qing said his words, Xu Wei waved his hand. Out of the gate of the courtyard, they all stepped on the door, and went straight to the former Zhijun Yamen, and the current Shaanxi Hua Marshal's Mansion.

After entering the Shuai Mansion, he didn't go to the second hall, he found a secluded room, and after the two sat down, Zhang Qing took out the letter and handed it to Xu Wei. The latter took it out and looked at it, and Ma Kuo said in the letter that He Shaobao, the Department of Preparation, informed the Xuanfu Division of an incident yesterday, saying that the Department of Preparation received an urgent report from Quduan in Ningzhou, and the Huanqing soldiers were in chaos!

After watching it, Xu Wei's face was cloudy. Ma Kuo said before that it is still unknown whether Qu Duan can successfully take over Huan Qingbing. Now it seems that Ma Zichong is not bad, and there is really a mess all the way to Huanqing!

It is right to make friends with Ma Kuo by himself, although he is as talented as he can't use it for himself, but it is beneficial and harmless to make this friend. No, I just was appointed by Li Gang as the senator of the Xuanfu Division, and I thought about myself, and the news came. However, according to his own understanding of Ma Kuo, he wrote this letter to himself, and Li Gang should know that it is possible that he still acquiesced or even instructed.

There is one thing that Xu Wei has always been puzzled about. A few days ago, when he went to Chang'an to promote senior generals, Li Gang did not attend, and no officials from the Xuanfu Department appeared. This is neither in line with the system nor with common sense. Later, he and Ma Kuo went to meet Li Xuanfu, and there seemed to be a lot of inconvenience between his words, as if he was hiding something. If you don't ask yourself, you won't know.

"Will the Huanqing Mutiny disturb Shaanxi?" Zhang Qing asked worriedly.

Xu Wei shook his head: "No, Qu Duan is not a good type, and there are tens of thousands of strong soldiers in his hands, how many people are there in Huanqing Shuaisi?" It can't make any big waves, but the impact of this matter is extremely bad, and if it is not handled well, it will shake the morale of the Western Army. ”

"With Qu Dutong's temperament, he is very likely to kill the killer and quickly extinguish the rebels!" Zhang Qing's tone was very affirmative.

Xu Wei sneered, except for this method, Qu Duan had no other choice. It's just that in this way, he was pinned down in Huanqing and couldn't get out, and he couldn't get out of the defense of Fang, Dun, and Dan.

Zhang Qing also sighed, suddenly remembered something, took out something from his side, and said with a smile: "There is another thing that is comforting, Wu Jue won the first battle." ”

Xu Wei was quite surprised and said in surprise: "Oh, have you won Tongguan?" ”

"Exactly! This morning, Wu Tongzhi has led his army to conquer Tongguan, and is now sweeping away the enemy in Shaanzhou. It is reported that Lou Su did not have many troops left in Shaanzhou. Zhang Qing replied.

How can it be more? He was full of thoughts about fighting the Western Army again, and he would be ashamed of it, and he must have gathered his troops and entrenched in Luoyang, waiting for reinforcements from the north. But now that our army has taken Tongguan, even if your reinforcements come, I won't let you enter the pass. If you dare to come to the level, you will be greeted with new gunpowder!

In April of the second year of Song Longxing, a mutiny of small scale shocked Shaanxi Sixth Road. Qu Duan lured Wang Yi into his marshal's mansion to arrest him, and then handed over the crime to Yousi, and was ordered to temporarily suspend Huanqing Marshal to fulfill his duties. But things did not go well, at the beginning of the Huanqing Shuai Division who followed Wang Xiang to Xiangle County, Ningzhou, commanded Murong Wei, after Wang Xiang was secretly arrested, Qu Duan sent troops and horses to disarm, led the army to resist, and took advantage of the chaos to escape. After returning to Qingyang Mansion, he gathered troops in the name of the commander's command. said to the Huanqing generals that the marshal had been harmed, and Qu Shiyin would come to the second place in Qingyang, Huanzhou, in a blink of an eye, and he had already sent someone to report to the two directors to complain about the matter. Before the two divisions reply, it is necessary to block the Quduan troops, and not let his conspiracy of fire and Huanqing succeed!

That Huanqing soldier followed Wang Xiang to fight in Yaozhou, and he was already dissatisfied with Qu Duan, but after Murong Wei's instigation, the crowd was furious! Claiming to kill Qu Duan and avenge the handsome! Murong Wei took the opportunity to mobilize troops, guarded the roads everywhere, and fortified in Qingyang Mansion, waiting for Quduan to come.

At this time, it happened that Qu Duan went to Chang'an to report on the military situation and accept the award, although his subordinates Zhang Zhongfu, Zhang Zhongyan, Li Yanqi and others found out the news, they did not dare to make decisions on their own. By the time he returned to the army, Murong Wei had already completed his defenses. Qu Duan was furious when he heard the news, and on the one hand, he reported to the Preparation Division, and on the other hand, he waved his army to the north, approaching Qingyang Mansion!

Chang'an, Shaanxi Xuanfu Division.

Li Gang didn't know how many times he had turned around in the second hall where he worked, and when his subordinates saw that he was restless, they all buried their heads in the council and didn't dare to disturb him. How can he not be annoyed? Just beat off the Jin people, and this happened! He Guan insisted on arresting Wang Yi for questioning at that time, and he told him that he would demote two officials and reprimand him to see the after-effects, but He Shaobao said that it was an itching of the boots that did not work, otherwise, it was not enough to revitalize the law. Now it's okay, your law is revived, but Huanqingbing has mutinied! How does this end?

The more he thought about it, the more he didn't give it, Li Gang frowned tightly and said, "You all put aside the affairs in your hands, and we will discuss the matter of Huanqing." ”

All the officials put down their official brushes and sat in their seats, and no one spoke. This matter is indeed tricky, and the army mutiny has always been a particularly taboo matter in the imperial court. It's just that the Jin army invaded the south and turned the Great Song Dynasty upside down, and many things are not so absolute, especially on the ground of Shaanxi, the Western Army has developed an unruly and unruly style in the southern and northern wars for a hundred years, and friction between troops is a common thing. But the mutiny of the soldiers along the way is unprecedented!

"Why don't you speak? Got no idea? Seeing this, Li Gang asked dissatisfiedly.

"Xuan Xiang, this matter is handled by the Department of Preparation, so if something goes wrong, why not let the Cabinet Shaobao go to work?" The one who said this was the staff officer of the Xuanfu Division, who was above the senators. There was a bit of dissatisfaction in his words. It's just that the West Mansion has been acting recently, and they have bypassed the East Mansion. Although you have appointed the envoy to be in charge of military affairs, the Xuanfu envoy is the highest military and political commander along the way, how can you act arbitrarily without asking Li Xuanfu's opinion? And Fu Xuan Xianggong is really weird, you are a civil official, He Guan is a military minister, are you still afraid of him?

Li Gang stared at him, waved his hand and said, "Such words cannot be mentioned in the future." Now, this official is going to listen to your opinions, how will this celebration end? ”

Xuanfu Judge Wang Shu sighed twice, and asked: "Xuanxiang, this matter is He Shaobao's strong initiative, even if we come up with a plan, what can we do?" ”

The more Li Gang listened, the more annoyed he became, he opened his eyes and looked into the hall, and suddenly asked, "Where is Zichong?" ”

The officials also looked around, and listened to the lowest-ranking official and said in a mocking tone: "I think I haven't returned yet." The voice fell, and Ma Kuo just crossed the threshold.

When Li Gang saw it, he beckoned: "Zichong came just in time, Huanqingbing mutinied, in your opinion, how is it good?" ”

Ma Kuan bowed, calmly returned to his seat, and muttered: "Xuanfu Xianggong, although the Huanqing soldiers mutinied, it is not difficult to calm down with the ability of the curved end. Although Huanqing is safe, Yan Yan is worried. ”

Li Gang glared, paced over and asked, "Oh? Where does this begin? ”

"Lou Su is based in Luoyang, does not advance, does not retreat, its meaning is nothing more than to wait for help. It's the beginning of April, and it's not long since the summer heat. I'm afraid that the Jin army will make a comeback within this month. As a six-way barrier, there is a void in the defense of the three states. Once the Jin army returns, it can go straight to Yaozhou and detain Chang'an. Ma Kuo said in a deep voice.

As soon as these words came out, the hall was full of solemnity! Huanqing is far away, so don't worry about it for the time being, if the Jin army hits Yaozhou again, can we still hold it like last time?

After Li Gang heard this, his heart jumped! He Guan asked Qu Duan to take over the defense of the three states, but now that the Huanqing mutiny, Qu Shi Yin is no longer able to withdraw, how can the defense of the three states be good?

When I was worried, I listened to the office work and said: "Declare forgiveness, and forget for a while, I received an official letter from Zhang Shen, who was appeased by Yan Yanjing, and I didn't have time to submit it." The so-called "doing office work", the full name is "doing office work in time", that is, the well-known "officer" in later generations, the office runs errands for the leader and writes materials. It's just that the word "opportune" is added to the front, just like the "confidential secretary" of later generations. He knew all the confidential official documents sent to the Xuanfu Division.

When the official document of the Shuai Division of Yan Yan was submitted, Li Gang looked at it, and it turned out that Zhang Shen was worried that the Jin army would come again and the defense was empty, so he asked the two divisions to send troops and horses to take over as soon as possible.

"Qu Duan can't get away from Ningzhou, how can he take over the defense? Alas, what an eventful time. Li Gang frowned.

The officials in the hall whispered, and some people said, isn't Jingyuan Xu Jingluo garrisoned in Huazhou? It's okay left and right, just let him take over. Some people say that Xu Yuan will return to Jingyuan sooner or later, how long can he defend it? It's better to let Zijin Tiger go, didn't he just expand the army, and he was asking Xuanfu Si to equip food and salary? Again, Shaanxi and Yanyan are adjacent to each other in the south and north, so why bother to seek the near and far?

Before Ma Kuo came to Chang'an, he suggested that Xu Wei take over the defense and expand the armament, but at this time he didn't plan to help Xu Wei speak, because he knew that someone would naturally speak.

Sure enough, the one who was doing the office work raised his voice slightly and said, "Yes, it's better to let Xu Ziang take over." He guarded the pontoon bridge and took over the defense of the three states. ”

"Reasonable, the Purple Gold Tiger is quite good at fighting, and its troops are tenacious and brave, and they can be used for heavy tasks."

"Didn't he just expand? Troop strength is not a problem, and it is important to supplement some food and equipment for him, and to arrange defense well. ”

All the officials also seconded the proposal, Li Gang sighed in his heart, at a critical time, it is still Xu Wei who can be relied on, and others can't be counted on at all! If you say that after you were excluded from the court, the biggest support given by the official family was to transfer Xu Wei to Shaanxi to serve, and in the past two or three years, I don't know how much I have to worry about.

"Let's go, this matter is discussed by the official and the Shaobao, Xu Wei is very close to Yan Yan, and it would be better for him to take over."

On the same day, Li Gang discussed this matter with He Guan, who agreed with him without much thought. Because he knew better than anyone else in his heart that Qu Duan was tripped in Huanqing and couldn't get out for a while, and the defense of the three states must be reorganized as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Xu Jiuyan was hit, the Jin army would make a comeback, and Sanzhou would be empty, Chang'an would be threatened. The next day, the military order of the Preparation Division arrived in Dingrong, ordering Xu Wei to take over the defense of the three states, and the requested food and ordnance were allocated according to the amount. Coincidentally, on the same day, Yan Yan and Zhang Shen also sent Xu Wei a generous remuneration. And let the escort repeatedly express his gratitude.

"Humble Xu Cheng, please see the minister." In the Shaanxi Hua Shuai Division, Xu Wei's cousin Xu Cheng paid homage in military uniform. In the battle of Pingyang to defend the city, Xu Cheng had military exploits, and when he broke through, he led his troops to compete for the first place and made another meritorious service. Xu Wei saw that his nephew was a material who led troops to fight, so when he went to Chang'an to accept the promotion, he relied on his status as a fourth-rank martial artist to make up for Xu Cheng's eighth-rank martial arts. The current former army is "under the same command" and is Yang Yan's deputy.

"Well, sit down." Xu Wei was reading the report handed in by the capital. After he left that day, the craftsmen did as he instructed them to test-fire each of the three firearms. As a result, Xu Wei was very puzzled. It's not that the power is not good, it can meet the standards applied to actual combat, and the problem lies in the quality.

The arm-thick firearm, which was more than three feet long, was freshly felt by the craftsmen, and it was tested twice at a distance of forty and fifty paces, and the results showed that even at a distance of fifty paces, this firearm could inflict a large number of casualties on the enemy. Of course, the premise is that the other party is not equipped with such a solid "step armor" as the Song army.

The rejoicing craftsmen continued to test the iron projectile as instructed, and it was this time that the cup appeared. The cannon went off, the fire started, and the projectiles came out, but the iron cylinder exploded into several pieces! Fortunately, the craftsmen all hid behind according to Xu Wei's instructions, otherwise there would definitely be an accident.

Explode! This is what Xu Wei is most worried about, if the weapon is not safe, and the enemy is not injured and he is killed first, how dare the soldiers use it? How can you use it? Is the inner wall too thin? Or is it too much gunpowder? Or is it fundamentally that the raw materials are not up to standard? There are many problems, and we can only grope forward in the experiment.

Putting down the report, looking up, and finding that Xu Cheng was still standing upright in the hall, Xu Wei asked, "Didn't you let you sit?" ”

"In front of the handsome, don't dare to sit!" Xu Cheng said with a serious face.

Xu Wei waved his hand: "There is a lot of nonsense, sit down, I have an errand for you." ”

Xu Cheng sat down at this time, and then couldn't wait to ask: "Dashuai, I don't know what errand to assign to the lowly position?" ”

"It's a little late today, you lead the first command of part of the troops early tomorrow morning, with the newly incorporated regular army, bring one, bring four thousand people, and go to Dunzhou. After arriving, send your subordinates, raise the banner, and station in Danzhou and Fangzhou respectively to take over the defense. Xu Wei said.

Xu Cheng's eyes straightened when he heard this, Uncle Jiu, you didn't laugh, did you? Four thousand people took over the defense of the three states? This, this, this is the rebirth of the old breed, and he doesn't have the confidence! 4,000 people are too few in one state, how can they be able to control the land of three states? You're too much of a nephew, aren't you?

"Oh, also, I heard that there are currently rebels stationed in these three states, you can inquire about the situation by the way and come back to report to me." Xu Wei said again.