After the affairs of Jingzhou were dealt with, Li Shan returned to Chang'an with his family. Long Xueling's matter made Li Shan uneasy these days, and Liu Ruyan and Su Jinxi were always by his side to comfort him.

Finally, Li Shan still accepted this reality, no matter where Long Xueling is now, whether he is alive or dead, Li Shan knows that it is useless for him to be decadent like this, if he has anything to do, it is to let more people help him find her.

Li Shan has already contacted all the people who can help him as soon as possible, Luoyang assassinated Shi Lu Jiuyuan, at least he can ensure that as soon as there is news of Long Xueling in Luoyang, Li Shan can know that General Li Jingxuan of Liangzhou, the Yangtze River area will be handed over to Zhang Yanzhao and Zhuo Cheng.

As for himself, he can only find a way in Chang'an, and waiting is often the most difficult thing, especially waiting without a time limit.

However, Li Shan didn't have much time to be sad, after all, he had a lot of things to do.

After the Chinese New Year, Li Shan, as a major general, began to work on the large-scale production of gunpowder. And Song Jing, as the prime minister and concurrently the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, is Li Shan's top boss.

"Lord Song, this is the formula for the development of gunpowder that I have sorted out, as well as the manufacturing method of related equipment."

This is what Li Shan began to sort out when he was in Liangzhou, and now of course it will be transferred to the Ministry of Industry, and from this moment on, the Tang Dynasty will really have gunpowder.

The emergence of this cross-era breed was destined to change the current situation, and the military power brought about by powerful firearms made the Tang Dynasty even more powerful.

Regardless, Lee Sun has changed the times.

Song Jing looked at the materials sorted out by Li Shan, and said cautiously: "The emperor ordered me to supervise all matters related to gunpowder, this matter is very important, it is related to the lifeblood of my Tang Dynasty in the next hundred years, the emperor is also very appreciative of your achievements, you must also concentrate on doing things, and the future is immeasurable." ”

Li Shan is not in Beijing these days, but he has also heard some rumors. asked: "Lord Song, does the emperor want to use troops abroad?" ”

There were not many wars in the Tang Dynasty in history, especially during the Kaiyuan period. The strength of the Tang Dynasty made the surrounding countries very jealous, so the Tang Dynasty also took advantage of the Hexi Corridor and the Xinjiang region. However, because of the complex local politics and the large number of ethnic groups, the Tang Dynasty could not completely control it for a while, so it did not rush to send troops.

However, after the first battle in Liangzhou, there has been a chain reaction after this period of fermentation.

Silla, Tibet, Turkic, Dashi, and Liuzhao are all preparing to send envoys to meet the emperor to worship him, and this time the envoys from various countries came very closely, or deliberately came very close. In order to probe each other's rumors. I'm afraid there will be big events in the next year.

Song Jing said: "It is expected that the envoys of various countries will come to Chang'an in April this year, and the emperor wants you to develop the Shenwu General Cannon before this, and all other firearms must also be prepared." More importantly, these things must be kept strictly secret, which is a top military secret and cannot be stolen by other countries. ”

Li Shan naturally knew the seriousness of this matter, so at the beginning of the development of gunpowder, he did a lot of secrecy measures, set up a lot of tricks, and mixed a lot of extra details in the production process. In the end, it was he who made the gunpowder himself.

It can be said that so far, only Li Shan knows how to make gunpowder in the real sense. Others blindly steal what they learn will only add to the problem, and what they have learned is also wrong.

"Your Excellency, rest assured, the confidentiality measures I have taken are very complete. There will be no loss. Li Shan is quite confident.

"I'm relieved that it won't work, the emperor can rest assured. In the future, the place where you work is in the Artillery Workshop, which is the official residence specially ordered by the emperor to be built for the production of gunpowder. The emperor's attention can be seen, if you have any other needs, just mention it to me. If there's nothing to do, let's go to the Artillery Workshop. ”

Li Shan was brought to the artillery workshop by the steward of the artillery workshop. This artillery workshop is really worthy of its reputation, the courtyard of the deep mansion is guarded by special guards, and it is as heavily guarded as a modern military research institute. The Liangzhou reinforcements led by Xue Wei who were responsible for the production of gunpowder were naturally all in place.

Now their identities are completely different and have become secrets, and everyone has to make sure that the secrets are not leaked out. Of course, Li Shan is also one of them.

And Li Shan also met an old friend, the soul chaser.

The broken arm didn't seem to affect his future, and the Soul Chaser was already wearing a flying fish suit, followed by a large number of Lijingmen. The use of Lijing Gate shows how much the emperor attaches importance to gunpowder, and now every move here will be completely monitored.

Li Shan is still a free man, firstly, Li Shan's responsibilities are heavy, and secondly, Li Shan is still the prince's attendant. But the most important reason is because Li Shan has an extra bodyguard, or a monitor. However, Li Shan preferred to call his name, Dongyang Dao Chief.

After half a year, the Taoist of Dongyang also put on a flying fish suit, as if he was already a member of Lijingmen. However, this is not surprising, because his master Yuan Tiangang is a member of the Tianzi generation of Lijingmen, and he is the first generation of Lijingmen's masters.

With the protection of Dongyang Dao Chief, Li Shan's personal safety is no longer a problem, not to mention that he is still an official of the imperial court. According to Li Shan's recipe, saltpeter and sulfur are now being vigorously mined throughout the country.

These two things have become forbidden, and all saltpeter and sulfur are mined and sold by the state.

As for General Shenwu's cannon, this is Li Shan's proposal, gunpowder is used in war, one is muskets, and the other is artillery. Li Shan knew the principles of muskets and artillery, but Li Shan had no clue about the specific production process.

However, Li Shan never counted on the person who could handle everything by himself, and at the same time, Li Shan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a good note, he couldn't wait to see the emperor.

"Minister Li Shan, see the emperor." In the upper study, Li Shan met the emperor.

Tang Xuanzong is reviewing official documents, and for a diligent ruler, the most important thing in his life should be to review official documents. Day after day, year after year, it's really boring to think about.

"What's the matter with Li Aiqing?"

"The minister was ordered by the emperor to make firearms, although the previous thunder was invented by the minister, but the minister thought that the thunder could not fully exert the power of gunpowder, so he had the idea of the Shenwu general cannon. But the actual production process was extremely difficult. The minister thought that it was too difficult to make a Shenwu general cannon with the power of the minister, so the minister wanted to implore the emperor to release the official document of the audition, so that people with lofty ideals in the world could do their part. ”

"Oh, that's a good idea, what kind of person does Li Aiqing think can take on this important task?"

"I think that craftsmen who are proficient in ironware and woodwork are the first choices. In addition, when the minister invented gunpowder, there was a person who was the most important, but the minister could not find this person now, so the minister wanted the emperor to issue an edict to help the minister find this person. ”

"Oh, there is such a person in the world, and the person who makes Li Aiqing fancy must have something extraordinary. In this way, I authorize you, you and Prime Minister Song will handle the audition together, and you must find someone who can make the Shenwu General Cannon. ”

"The minister will definitely live up to the emperor's grace, and he will definitely deliver the Shenwu General Cannon as scheduled."

Getting the emperor's approval, Li Shan was very excited, although he was faking the public and private, but at the moment this was the best way he could think of.

Song Jing looked at the audition document and character portrait written by Li Shan, and said with some questions: "Are you sure that this woman named Long Xueling can make a Shenwu General Cannon?" ”

Li Shan nodded solemnly and said, "Lord Song, don't judge people by their appearance, Li doesn't look like a person who can invent gunpowder." If you want to make the Shenwu General Cannon, you must find this person. ”

"Okay, then I'll do it." (To be continued.) )