The "Rising Sun" giant ballista battleship is Li Shengza's ship, and it is also the largest No. 1 battleship in Li Sheng's Neijiang Naval Army at present. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Li Sheng named this type of warship "Rising Sun class" according to the nomenclature of later generations. Of course, as the first ship of the first batch of warships like the "Xingba" three years ago, the "Rising Sun" is also a battleship with an obvious experimental style: the propulsion mode of the single water wheel in the middle of the hull of the "Xingba" has been cancelled, and it has been replaced by double water wheel propulsion on both sides of the hull; For the first time, a large elongated hull was used, which stretched the entire side of the battleship to a slender length; Instead of using a tower-like shipbuilding, the shipbuilding and hull were mixed into two floors, and a command platform about three feet high was added to the front and rear parts of the ship.

"This is a ballista battleship in the style of a battleship of the Ocean Age." This is what Li Sheng said when he gave the sketches of the ship's size to the shipbuilders and ordered them to design and build this type of warship. Of course, no one except Li Sheng himself could understand this, and they only knew to use their own eyes and understanding of the battleship to evaluate the merits of the battleship depicted on the drawings given by Li Sheng.

"Twin water wheels are propulsing. Although the diameter of the vessel was reduced, the overall speed of the ship was increased compared to that of the Xingba. However, the semi-buried water wheel is used, and the water entry of this wheel is deep, and the ordinary diving river cannot be driven. Moreover, using such a paddle wheel and directly exposing the paddle wheel, it is easy to be attacked by the enemy. A shipbuilder looked at the drawings and said, he asked Li Sheng: "Is there any way to deal with this problem?" ”

"I'm going to add an iron shell to the outside of the paddle wheel to surround it. If I want to use an iron shell to protect the paddle wheel, this paddle wheel should be very safe. Li Sheng said with a smile: "As for the issue of increasing the weight of the battleship because of this, you don't have to think about it." Because such a ship I intend to use only on rivers and seas. A small amount of the vast and unfathomable river should still be able to accommodate it. ”

"Then why make the building almost as wide as the hull? Well, it's not quite a simple thing, it's just the elevation of the hull itself. I wonder where the weapons of the warship are put in this way? Another craftsman raised his doubts.

"Do you see the dense little squares on both sides of the ship? That's the firing port, just like we did in Changsha New Town. The battleship is generally divided into four tiers: the top deck, which houses sixteen trebuchets on both sides, eight fire ballaps, and four sailor entrances; The third floor leads to a long shipbuilding, with 34 bed crossbows on both sides; The second floor is a long shipbuilding, and because the middle part is covered by paddle wheels, only twelve bed crossbows can be placed on both sides; The first deck has a long deck, with 28 slurry seats on the front and rear sides, which can be used for emergency use when the warship's water ship is damaged. Li Sheng has a deep understanding of his own sketches, and naturally can quickly explain them clearly in the face of other people's doubts.

"That is to say, this 'Rising Sun-class' can guarantee that there are thirty-five fire strikes on each side, eight catapult strike points, four fire crossbow strike points, and twenty-three bed crossbow strike points, which is indeed thirty-five. What a whimsical idea! Just looking at the shape of this battleship, it is only one and a half times larger than the 'Xingba', but its firepower is twice as strong as that of the 'Xingba', which is really unimaginable. Hearing Li Sheng say this, everyone thought about it for a while, and couldn't help but be convinced.

So, they were convinced, and they all began the construction of new ships with their hearts. Although Li Sheng only gave them a sketch, the craftsmen who had already participated in the development of the 'Xingba' type of ballista warship had turned the "Rising Sun" into a reality with just this sketch.

The "Rising Sun" is a large ship with a full crew of 350 people: 20 sailmen, 2 helmsmen, 28 wheelmen, 30 pulp soldiers, 94 bed crossbowmen, 80 slingers, 24 fire crossbowmen, and 72 sailors.

Of course, this battleship is still an out-and-out new ship, except for a series of navigation tests during the period when the battleship was built, this battleship has been staying in Li Shengjun's specially built military port and has never set sail. For Li Sheng, this is one of their Li Shengjun's secret weapons, and since it is a secret weapon, it can't be let people know at will. Even the last time he went to Jiangdong to marry, Li Sheng never showed this ship. First, he was afraid of giving the Jiangdong people a fierce stimulus and making them think that he had an attempt against them. Second, this battleship has not yet appeared with a warship of the same class, and it has not yet completed the fleet formation training, so it can be said that it has not yet possessed the ability of fleet warfare, and premature exposure can only allow the enemy to understand his weaknesses and quickly come up with a way to deal with him. If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to meet Zhang Song right now and needed to show his strong military strength, Li Sheng would really be reluctant to show such good equipment. Because Li Sheng knew that in terms of the structure of the battleship, this "Rising Sun" was a battleship that would not seem outdated even after more than a thousand years. As long as the artillery comes out in the future, after proper modification, the "Rising Sun" can also become a battleship equipped with artillery.

"But the lord wants to demonstrate to Zhang Song?" Pang Tong, who was standing on the "Rising Sun", was full of excitement like Zhuge Liang, and they were also moved by the enormity of this battleship, so they naturally knew why Li Sheng dispatched such a big guy.

"Hmm." Li Sheng nodded, "Zhang Song went to look for Liu Bei before coming to our side. Although he was forcibly left behind by Zhao Yun, he must have thought about it later after seeing our situation. This is an opportunity for us. But for Zhang Song himself, we are the only choice after Liu Bei. To put it simply, Zhang Song doesn't know our strength and doesn't look down on us. In that case, we need to show our strength in front of him and let him know that we are his best choice. And to do this......" Li Sheng said here with a slight pause, stretched out his hand and patted the railing in front of him, stepped on the command platform under his feet, and asked Kong Ming and Shiyuan with a smile: "Don't you think that the 'Rising Sun' is the thing that best reflects our strength?" ”

"It's true." Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong didn't know much about the warships of the navy, but even to laymen like them, they could see how powerful the "Rising Sun" was under their feet. Although the "Rising Sun" is not the largest ship in the world, in history there seems to be a ship in Kunming Lake in Luoyang that can carry more than 1,000 people and become the largest ship, but it is just an ordinary passenger ship and the "Rising Sun" is different, the "Rising Sun" is a battleship, it is the kind of warship that can be offshore for ten days and a half months without supplies. The conjoined shipbuilding, and the tall hull formed by it, made him look like a huge and thick city wall, giving people a heavy pressure. Of course, this pressure is for outsiders, but for those who ride it, it is not a pressure, but a sense of security.

"A terrible battleship for the enemy, but a reassuring presence for us." This is Li Sheng's evaluation of the "Rising Sun".

"Whether it is a demonstration or a woo, even if we go to greet him with great fanfare, in fact, it is all for one goal, that is, to win Zhang Song's hearts." Zhuge Liang said and laughed: "This time can be regarded as an action to buy people's hearts." ”

"The act of buying people's hearts? Hey, that's apt. It's just that I don't know how Zhang Song will react to such a high price when we offer such a high price. Pang Tong stood on the command platform in the wind and looked at the rolling river in front of him and said, "To be honest, I really can't understand people like Zhang Song, just like I can't understand Sima Yi, it is said that whether it is the Zhang family to Liu Zhang, or the Sima family to Cao Cao, their lords are good to their families, how can they ...... Will he turn away from his lord like this? ”

"The king regards the minister as a sibling, and the minister regards the king as the heart. The monarch regards the minister as a dog and a horse, and the minister regards the monarch as a countryman. The king regards his ministers as mustard, and the ministers regard him as an enemy. Li Sheng was silent for a while, and only after a long time did he say a passage from Mencius, "Everyone is an independent individual, and everyone has their own thoughts. Although the family is placed there, the family cannot guarantee that everyone thinks the same as the family. Cao Cao and Liu Zhang benefited the Sima family and the Zhang family. But for Sima Yi and Zhang Song, there was no favor for them, and even because of Sima Yi's sympathy for the Han family and the ugliness of Zhang Song's face, he showed a look of disgust to Sima Yi and Zhang Song. 'The king regards his ministers as mustard, and the ministers regard him as enemies. This can explain why Sima Yi and Zhang Song turned their backs on their lords. ”

"Hey, there's some truth to that. Either way, none of this has anything to do with us. Our current task is to go to Jiangling, meet Zhang Song, and let him completely pull him to our side, so that he can do the internal response for us. Pang Tong smiled indifferently and said, "Isn't this a very simple task!" ”

"Simple? You can still tell! What is Zhang Song's personality, what hobbies he has, and what he dislikes, we don't know these things. The road to Xichuan was so difficult that our 'white clothes' couldn't get there. In this lack of necessary information, how can we convince Zhang Song and talk to him about this matter? Zhuge Liang was not as optimistic as Pang Tong, but frowned tightly.

"Wouldn't we be able to do things without these things? Kong Ming, you're still too cautious. Pang Tong shook his head and said Kong Ming.

"It's a big deal, so it's better to be cautious. If you don't have a proper plan, you'll miss it. Who are we going to cry to? Zhuge Liangfeng smiled lightly and shook his head and retorted.

"Lord...... What do you see? Seeing that Kong Ming was like he didn't eat again, Pang Tong knew that no matter what he said, he would not listen, so he no longer wanted to persuade him, but turned his head to ask Li Sheng. Obviously, he wanted support from Li Sheng.

"Well, Kong Ming is not wrong to say to be cautious. After all, the purchase of Zhang Song is a major plan related to our future strategy, so naturally we can't act casually. Li Sheng first agreed with Zhuge Liang's statement, but quickly turned the end of his words: "However, the problems that Kong Ming said are not unsolvable. Although our 'white clothes' cannot penetrate into Liu Zhang's territory to obtain information about Liu Zhang and his officials, this does not mean that we are blind to Zhang Song. In fact, we can compare Zhang Song's heaviness from other aspects to roughly infer that he is good or something. ”

"How can it be inferred?" Hearing Li Sheng say this, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were both interested in this, and couldn't help but ask Li Sheng again and again.

"As for Zhang Song's appearance, I think you all already know. Zhang Song is an ugly ghost, but he is still very talented. Although I'm sure he's not as good as Shiyuan, there are many similarities between the two. Then ask Shi Yuan to think carefully now, if you stand in Zhang Song's perspective to do things, what will you think in the face of our invitation? Especially when there is a big deal to be sold in hand. Li Sheng smiled and guided Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang to analyze this matter from another angle.

"If I were Zhang Song and I had such a big deal in my hands, then when I met anyone who was good to me, I would first consider whether he was sincere or false, and whether he had heard about my sale and purchase to be good to me. After all, although I have a sell and buy in my hands, I don't just want to do this sell and buy once, I definitely want to do it for a longer time. In other words, selling and buying is just a stepping stone, and my real purpose is to use this stepping stone to find the right lord for me. Pang Tong heard what Li Sheng said, really used his brain to think about it, and came to such a conclusion.

"Then how do you tell if a person can be your lord?" Li Sheng asked again.

"Since I'm a talented person, I'm sure I'm positive about my own judgment. I will listen to the words and deeds of those who accept me, and if he does show that he values me and does not judge me by his appearance, I will think that he is a man who can be my lord. Pang Tong thought for a while and said.

"If I met you and only showed that I wanted to be nice to you, that is, I didn't say that I wanted you to take refuge, nor did I say that I wanted to seize Xichuan, then how would you feel?" Li Sheng asked again with a smile.

"That'...... I will definitely be moved to recognize you as Lord. Pang Tong thought for a moment and replied, this is the judgment he made from Zhang Song's point of view, and it is also the true thought in his own heart.

Hearing this, Li Sheng laughed loudly, and he turned his head to look at Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, so what doubts do you have?" ”

"No, only admiration." Zhuge Liang replied.

The "Rising Sun" sailed very fast, and in less than a day's effort, it had entered the Yangtze River from Hunan and directly landed under the Gong'an Port. Although it was certainly faster to go from Ulin Port to Jiangling, Ulin was too close to Jiangxia, and Li Sheng was afraid that the "Rising Sun" would be seen by the Jiangdong army, so he ordered someone to come to Ulin. At this moment, it was half a year at night, and Li Sheng, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tongtong planned to spend the night in the public security, and then go to Jiangling tomorrow to meet Zhang Song.

It has been a year since Gangneung fell into the hands of Li Sheng. Li Sheng, who picked up a big bargain in the Battle of Chibi, not only obtained big cities such as Jiangling and Xiangyang, but also captured most of the people in Jingzhou, which was originally occupied by Cao Cao. Although in the later talks between the three parties to divide Jingzhou, Xiangyang was ceded to Liu Bei, but Li Sheng only left a small number of people in Xiangyang City, and most of the remaining population was placed by Li Sheng in his own territory, of which Li Sheng also settled nearly 100,000 people in Jiangling City. The sudden arrival of so many people in a city will inevitably have an impact on the lives of the original people in the city. This influence is often many bad influences, so it has always been hated by the magistrates. However, Li Sheng forced Zhao Yun of Jiangling to accept such a group of people. Because Li Sheng wanted to march into Xichuan, he wanted to use these people to establish an advance base in Yiling, which was not far from Jiangling City, and these people he ordered Zhao Yun to accept were used to expand Yiling City.

"Don't be afraid of having a lot of people under you, as long as you can find something to do for these people, they won't be able to mess up." When handing over the people to Zhao Yun, Li Sheng said to him.

"And what do you give them to do?" Zhao Yun asked puzzledly: "It's the middle of winter, these people have lost their homes and have no income, it is the most difficult time. I'm afraid there's no way for them to survive except that we spend money to feed them. Even if they are allowed to go to Yiling to open up the wasteland, I'm afraid they will have to wait until after the beginning of spring. ”

"Hehe, your vision is still a little short, and you can't see it comprehensively after all. How can these people say that they have nothing to do here? Li Sheng shook his head slightly, with a look of regret on his face, and it could be seen that he had high expectations for Zhao Yun: "Yiling City needs to be expanded, and the official roads of Jiangling and public security, Huarong, Wulin and other important places need to be expanded. 'Cash-for-work', these people I give you are carefully selected young and strong, and some have the strength to let them do these things. Li Sheng said with a smile, "Don't underestimate these corners. In fact, once we connect Gangneung with the surrounding ports, Gangneung will no longer be an enclave far from our military roots. Although the naval division of our army is temporarily inferior to Jiangdong, it is not a force that others can casually ignore. We also have ships, so we can naturally transport your needs from Gangneung directly to you through these ports. Building roads is a very important thing. ”

"Building roads, it's a very important thing!" Zhao Yun heard Li Sheng say this, although he didn't quite understand why his lord valued this so much, he still did it wholeheartedly. More than 100,000 young people were arranged in Yiling, Zhao Yun learned from the establishment of his own army to roughly divide them into belonging, and after selecting their respective leaders, he set rules for them: demarcate land and tuntian, give them land, and do not levy their field tax for three consecutive years, in exchange, they must obey Zhao Yun's instructions to build the official roads of Jiangling and the counties under it and the expansion of Yiling City during the agricultural slack.

Of course, this all-encompassing idea was not Zhao Yun's own idea, but the credit of his staff. But Li Shengcai doesn't care so much, whether it's Zhao Yun's own idea or his subordinates' thoughts. Seeing that Zhao Yun had handled this matter well, he was also relieved.

More than a year later, when Li Sheng set foot on the road to Jiangling again, the spacious road had appeared in front of Li Sheng and others. This is a road compacted with loess, and the road surface is slightly inclined from the central axis to both sides, the middle high and the side is low, and two ditches about half a foot deep have been dug on both sides, but for the purpose of channeling rainwater.

Li Sheng led Kong Ming and Shi Yuan to gallop on the spacious official road, followed by Li Sheng's personal guard team of more than 500 people. Because after the road was completed, Zhao Yun also organized people to take care of it, and after a period of time, he sprinkled fine sand on the road to suppress the flying dust, although Li Sheng's group ran fast, but the smoke and dust behind the team did not appear to be public. It only took less than a day's work to go from the county seat of Gong'an to the city of Jiangling.

At this moment, Gangneung City is not as depressed as it was when the Battle of Chibi was taken. With the gradual convenience of transportation between the city itself and various avenues, commerce is an important force supported by Li Sheng, and gradually has a large proportion in the revival of Gangneung City, gradually replacing the status of Xiangyang in the north, and showing more and more the appearance of a metropolis.

Riding a horse into the city of Gangneung, he arrived outside the gate of Taishoufu. At this moment, Zhao Yun and others, who had already been informed, went out of the house to greet Li Sheng and the others.

"Is the lord going to meet Mr. Zhang Song now, or is it ......" Zhao Yun saw Li Sheng saluting him, and asked such a question very quickly.

"What do you see?" Li Sheng didn't answer, but instead asked Kong Ming and Shi Yuanlai who got up.

"Seeing it now, although it seems that the lord loves his ardent enthusiasm, it is a little undignified for Zhang Song." Kong Ming thought about it and replied.

"Zhang Song's own face is not good, I think he will be like me, and he will value the appearance of others more than ordinary people." Pang Tong said from himself to others.

"That being the case. Then please trouble Zilong to arrange it, and then meet with Mr. Zhang Song after I take a shower and change clothes. With the advice of Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, Li Sheng thought about it and made such a decision.

"Okay." Zhao Yun nodded, and then ordered the matter to continue. Soon, the subordinates in the Taishou Mansion greeted General Li Sheng and them, and arranged a bath room for them to bathe and change their clothes. And Zhao Yun himself went to find Zhang Song and informed him of the news that his lord had arrived. An hour passed from this. When Li Sheng, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong had already bathed and appeared in the hall of the Taishou Mansion in new clothes that were neatly fitting and exuding incense, Zhao Yun had already been waiting in the hall with a middle-aged man dressed in a gray Shu brocade robe with a strange face, but there was a fine light in his eyes from time to time. No one introduced him, but Li Sheng and the three of them understood that this was the Mr. Zhang Song they wanted to see on this trip.

"This comparison is Zhang Beijia! General Zhennan led the state pastor Li Sheng to see His Excellency. As soon as he saw Zhang Song, Li Sheng rushed forward a few steps very quickly, facing Zhang Song to the end.

This is a very grand benefit, although it is not as good as bowing, but it is not something that a person like Zhang Song can bear. After all, his official rank is not as good as Li Sheng, and his reputation in the world is not as good as Li Sheng. Faced with Li Sheng giving himself such a big gift, he couldn't help but stand up, and he was at a loss for a while. Originally, he wanted to give him some dismount when he saw Li Sheng, but he didn't want Li Sheng to be like this, but it made his plans full of people disrupted. He didn't know what to say, so he waved his hand again and again: "Don't dare, don't dare, how can a lowly person be such a great gift?" ”

"What about the humble position, I've heard of Zhang Beijia's name for a long time. If it weren't for my current situation, I would definitely go to Xichuan like an ordinary scholar and study with others. Li Sheng said with a smile.

The meaning of this sentence is no different from what Yuan Shao said to Liu Bei when Liu Bei and Yuan Shao first met. "I don't respect your name, but your talent!" This clear meaning came in Li Sheng's tactful words, not only did it not cause Zhang Song's disgust as Yuan Shao said to Liu Bei, but it was like the most ardent compliment, which made Zhang Song rejoice from the bottom of his heart. His sycophant-if what Li Sheng said was also a sycophant, it happened to be slapped on Zhang Song's itch. After all, in front of Li Sheng, Zhang Song is inferior to Li Sheng in all aspects, and the only thing he thinks can compete with Li Sheng is his own talent. At this moment, he actually heard Li Sheng recognize his talent so clearly, where would he still maintain that reserved and arrogant appearance?

"Don't dare, don't dare." Zhang Song was humble again. It's just that he has humble words in his mouth, but his face shows a very genuine happy smile. Li Sheng, Kong Ming, and Shi Yuan could all see that Zhang Song's "don't dare" was only on the surface, and deep in his heart, he still thought that he could deserve such a title.

After another polite gesture, everyone sat down, divided the guests and hosts, picked up the fragrant tea on the table, and began the conversation while tasting it. There was nothing important in the conversation at the beginning, just to ask Zhang Song's family situation, the scenery and characters in Shuzhong, and Li Sheng, Kong Ming, and Shiyuan took turns to express their admiration for Zhang Song without a trace. Although none of them asked the point, they slowly made the relationship between several people intimate, and little by little activated the atmosphere of the talks between several people.

After a long time like this, Li Sheng asked a little inadvertently: "I heard that Yongnian went to Xuchang to meet Cao Gong on the order of Liu Yizhou, I don't know what the result of this meeting will be?" ”

"Cao Gong? He can't ......" Zhang Song shook his head and said, "I admit that Cao Gong is a strong lord with amazing wisdom and perseverance, but his weaknesses in character are also obvious. Although he has always shown that kind of humble appearance, this is only the surface of him. I think that in fact, he is no different from those who are from big families, he likes to be sought after, he has the same problem of judging people by his appearance, he is the same lustful, and he can't listen to other people's criticism of the failures he has experienced. ”

"Huh......? Cao Gong's evaluation shouldn't be so low. If his evaluation is so low, then what are the princes who were defeated by him one by one? Li Sheng looked incredulous, he looked at Zhang Song, and asked again: "I don't know how Mr. Yongnian came to this conclusion?" ”

"It's simple, it's just a personal experience." Zhang Song echoed the various injustices he had suffered from Cao Cao, and his face was astringent, but the bitter water in his heart poured out: "I arrived in Xuchang two years ago, when Cao Chengcheng was busy preparing for the war to go south to Jingzhou. Cao Gong was very proud, probably thinking that he could calm the world in a war, he was not in a hurry to see me, but politely left me in the north, and entertained me with good food and accommodation. Until, when he returned from defeat, Fang Shi remembered my existence from my friend Yang Xiu. But my Xichuan is still too weak, he looks down on my lord, and even more down on me as a messenger. He received me with pride, and though it was very solemn, I saw in him and his men a clear contempt. I think this contempt is just their superficial toughness, and deep down in their hearts, it may not be without fear. They just want to cover up their fiasco with their contempt for the weak. In Chibi, he was badly wounded. My appearance is not good, compared to my eldest brother's demeanor, it is simply a heaven and an earth. Cao Cao is very good to my eldest brother, which can be seen from what my eldest brother said to me when he came, but Cao Cao is really bad for me. He spoke to me almost through his nostrils. I'm a person with a bit of a temper, so naturally I can't stand Cao Cao's treatment like this. When Cao Cao talked about his martial arts, I talked about Cao Cao's previous fiascos, which made Cao Cao a little unable to get off the stage. But that's not what I intended. As far as I am concerned, I am very optimistic about Cao Cao, and my friends also admire Cao Cao. He also recommended me like Cao Cao. So Cao Cao gave me a book of soldiers that he had written. Speaking of which, this military book is still not under "Sun Tzu". I was about to show off my talent, so I joked that this book was already there, and I could memorize it. Cao Cao didn't believe it, so he asked me to recite it on the spot. There is no difficulty for me. After the end, I thought that this would make Cao Cao value me more, but I didn't want Cao Cao to lose confidence in himself, so he didn't hesitate to burn his military book, and said that I was a dissolute and uninhibited person, and drove me out of Xuchang. Alas, I had the intention of taking refuge in Him, but I did not want to, and he treated me like this. Hmph, everyone in the world says that Cao Gong is wise, but in my opinion, he is just a hypocrite who hides his true heart very deeply. Zhang Song seemed to hate Cao Cao very much, and finally involuntarily spat to the north, as if Cao Cao was standing there.

"I see, Cao Gong is too much. Mr. Yongnian's great talent is known to everyone in the world, how can you evaluate Mr. Yongnian like this! It's too much, it's too much. After listening to Zhang Song's explanation, Li Sheng seemed to empathize, and shook his head again and again to count Cao Cao's no. He watched Zhang Song's face while counting a little, and after seeing that his application had gradually improved and became less excited, he took the opportunity to put forward his invitation: "Okay, Mr. Yongnian doesn't have to, I feel annoyed by the contempt of others anymore." It's June now, and it's really the most wonderful season of the year in Changsha, so why don't you take this opportunity to go to Changsha with me? Since I have come to my territory, it is natural for me to do my best to be a landlord. Li Sheng enthusiastically took Zhang Song's hand and said.

"So...... Thank you very much. "To be honest, the reason why Zhang Song stayed in Jiangling for so long and didn't leave was actually to see how Li Sheng was. For Li Sheng's invitation, he naturally would not refuse.

It's really June, and it's the hot season in Changsha, and the weather isn't as wonderful as Li Sheng advocates.