Chai Rong's heart was moved by the suggestion of the minister surnamed Zhang, but he was still a little undecided about whether to give an order to Wang Kunjun's brothers - in essence, those people did not belong to the people of the Great Zhou, and he Chai Rong actually had no authority to give orders to the other party.

The suggestion of the minister surnamed Zhang affected Chai Rong at the same time, but also made Zhao Kuangyin next to him feel moved. If Zhao Kuangyin's previous focus was on the gifts given by the "delegation", now his focus has shifted to the members of the "delegation".

In Zhao Kuangyin's view, although Wang Kunjun and others in front of him had the intention of serving the imperial court and sent a generous gift to show their sincerity, in the final analysis, they were not the people of the Great Zhou in the real sense. Regardless of whether the Great Zhou court acknowledged or did Shi Jingjiao's cession at the beginning, the place where these people were based—Youzhou—was under the actual jurisdiction of the Khitans.

What's more, until more than two years ago, these people still belonged to an overseas island country that was far more prosperous and developed than the countries of Middle-earth, and it was probably still a matter of whether they were closer to the Great Zhou court or to the Khitans. In a sense, the reason why they came to Kaifeng this time to meet the driver was not so much to follow the will of the official family, but to follow the will of their master. In this way, these people may not only worship the holy decree of the Great Zhou Emperor, but also treat it as a piece of waste paper.

In addition, with Zhao Kuangyin's shrewdness, it is not difficult to see that these people should come to Kaifeng this time with the meaning of throwing stones to ask for directions, which can be seen from the composition of their personnel. Muskets and artillery can be called the most important gifts of these people in Beijing this time, but according to what they said, none of the more than ten of them are proficient in this way. Moreover, through his own observation and analysis, Zhao Kuangyin also believes that Wang Kunjun is telling the truth.

- Although Zeng Zhilin, Xu Shaoan, and Wang Feng can cooperate with the demonstration of "three-stage shooting", they should all be characters who can only use and cannot be created. Because judging from the behavior of these three people, it is indeed as they say, they were soldiers before returning to Middle-earth. In Zhao Kuangyin's mode of thinking, the duty of a soldier is to fight and fight, and the creation of weapons must have nothing to do with them.

-- Wang Kunjun is the leader of these returnees from overseas -- at least that's what Daoist Fuyao said, and he also came forward to answer the three monarchs and ministers on his side in the main hall today, and his position among these people should not be a problem--this time when he enters Beijing to face the saints, otherwise it will not be enough to show their determination to serve the imperial court. And the person who is usually the leader is good at knowing people and being under the command of his subordinates, and he basically knows nothing about the way of strange skills and tricks.

As for the others, although they haven't spoken until now, from Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, except for the true Taoist priest Yu Xuzi and a female child disguised as a man - Lin Xiaoyu entered the palace this time wearing a man's clothes - the remaining five people are either scholars or merchants, and none of them seem to be craftsmen who are skilled in ingenuity.

Of course, Zhao Kuangyin's judgments are based on the ideological concepts and thinking patterns that he is familiar with, and there are inevitably limitations. Therefore, it was impossible for him to think that among the five people who he thought were either scholars or businessmen, only Zhang Weixin and Xie Tian had basically guessed the identities of two people. Among the other three people, Huang Shan and Lu Yue are fake Jishu talents, but the majors of these two cannot fully play a role under the existing conditions of the team, so they were selected to Kaifeng. Although Zheng Zhiwei looks like a scholar, his talent lies in studying people's psychology. He observes and communicates to get to know each individual and provide the necessary professional support for the safety of his own team.

At the same time, the limitations of his thinking also made him wrong in judging Lin Xiaoyu's identity. Zhao Kuangyin never imagined that this girl dressed as a man would be a doctor, and she was also a surgeon who was skilled in the treatment of firearm injuries.

However, regardless of whether or not Zhao Kuangyin's judgment on the membership of the "delegation" is biased, one thing is correct -- Wang Kunjun and others are indeed asking for directions when they come here. It was this judgment that led him to disapprove of his colleague's suggestion that the brothers who had stayed in Youzhou go to Beijing by sending an edict to the official family, believing that this would only stiffen the relationship between the two sides.

Therefore, while Chai Rong had not yet made a decision, Zhao Kuangyin said Xiang Dao for Wang Kunjun and others; "Bixia, the minister thinks that although what Lord Zhang said has a certain truth, as Lord Zhang just said, this time to enter Beijing to face the saint is definitely a great thing for ordinary people. In the face of such a good thing, Wang Kunjun's brothers who can make guns and cast cannons failed to come together, and the only explanation is that they do have more important things to do than entering the Beijing Saint. If Bixia issued an order to announce their entry into Beijing, these people would naturally not dare to disobey, and they would come in the starry night. Not to mention that it is now approaching the New Year, it is incompatible to announce his entry into Beijing at this time. Let's just say that it will take nearly two months to go back and forth from Youzhou to Kaifeng, and I am afraid that this will also have a greater impact on the big things they are doing. ”,

"They are just ordinary people, what can be bigger than entering Beijing to see the driver," the minister surnamed Zhang obviously thought that Zhao Kuangyin's argument was untenable, "In the eyes of a certain family, they are just relying on their ability to make a few new weapons, and they want to ask for more rewards and benefits from the officials and the imperial court." Or maybe I want to buy treasure to my Great Zhou court here, and flatter the Khitan people there, so that I can fight for a two-sided result and leave an extra way for myself. ”

This accusation of the minister surnamed Zhang is not trivial, especially the second half of what he said, which has basically characterized the crossing team as a treacherous villain with two ends of the head and two boats. Although this is indeed the current policy of the crossing team, it cannot be recognized at this time. Therefore, the voice of the minister surnamed Zhang fell, and Zhang Weixin, who had not spoken, hurriedly saluted Chai Rong and said: "Bixia Mingjian, Caomin and others are wholeheartedly serving the imperial court this time, and there is absolutely no intention that Lord Zhang just said, and the loyalty of Caomin and others to the imperial court and Bixia can be shown every day." The brothers who can make guns and cannons of the grass people are indeed because they have important tasks and cannot come to the capital to see them. ”

At this time, everyone had already returned to the door of the side hall, so after listening to Zhang Weixin's defense, Chai Rong did not immediately express his position, but walked into the main hall, returned to his throne and sat down, and then asked, "What is your name?" Since you say that your brothers have to stay in Youzhou because of important business, then you will tell me what they are busy with that they cannot come to the capital to see me. ”

Seeing that Chai Rong was noncommittal to the minister's proposal surnamed Zhang, and Zhao Kuangyin was obviously speaking for his side, Zhang Wei was a little relieved in confidence, he organized the language and said: "Qiyu Bixia, the grass people's surname is Zhang Weixin, and he ranks seventh among the brothers. As for the brothers who can make guns, they are now busy making guns and cannons in Youzhou, and they are doing their best to modify these guns so that they can exert more power. ”

"Your brothers are stepping up to build guns?" Chai Rong asked a little puzzled, "As far as I know, your identity in Youzhou is just a squire, although you have little wealth, but you don't want to build so many guns to protect it?" ”

"Bixia is right, the reason why the grass people and others built so many guns and cannons is indeed not to protect their own assets," Zhang Weixin replied, "The purpose of the grass people and others to build guns and cannons is to call on the local people to respond one day, when Bixia waved his army to the Northern Expedition and recovered the clouds, and relied on these guns and weapons to help the king's division." ”

"My Great Zhou soldiers are strong and strong, although it is not easy to recover the clouds, but I don't need to borrow the power of others, Mo Feier and others think that the dignified Great Zhou Forbidden Army is not as strong as the township soldiers and people?" The minister surnamed Zhang said disdainfully.

"The Great Zhou Forbidden Army is naturally the world's first-class strong army, and the grass people have no intention of belittling the forbidden army," Zhang Weixin defended, "The grass people just expressed to Bixia and the two adults the eagerness of the people of Youyun looking forward to the Northern Expedition of the King Division." Moreover, the people of Youyun are familiar with the local mountains and rivers, and with their help, the Northern Expedition of the Great Army will definitely be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort. ”

"Hmph, since you said that you are preparing for the Northern Expedition of the King Division one day, why do you start making guns and cannons so urgently now. Mo Feier and others have the ability to predict the future, and they can calculate that the king will go on a northern expedition in a few days, and if you don't build guns and cannons, you will miss the opportunity? The minister surnamed Zhang continued to question.

At this time, Zhang Weixin wanted to shout at this Zhang Daren, who had been very bad with the "delegation" since they met: You kid is right, buddy can pinch and calculate. The buddy not only knew that Chai Rong had driven north at the end of the third month of the lunar calendar in the sixth year of Xiande, but also knew that he would have to withdraw from the army due to illness in early May, and his wings would be braided by the end of June. And in January of the following year, his son was usurped by the boss Zhao next to you.

However, Zhang Weixin's words are just thinking about it in his heart, so he naturally doesn't dare to say it. Regarding the question of the minister surnamed Zhang, he could only use other words instead: "My lord said that he laughed, although the grass people worshiped under the door of the old fairy of Fuyaozi, they have only learned fist and foot kung fu all the time, but they don't know anything about divination." The reason why the grass people and others began to build guns and cannons in full swing now is because the scale of the grass people's gun workshops is limited, and the speed of making guns is slow. ,

After all, although the flintlock pistol is not weak, it is more cumbersome to use after all, and if the flintlock pistols do not reach a certain size, their role in the war will be greatly limited. In addition, in view of the shortcomings of the flintlock pistol, the brothers of the grass people are also working hard to study and try to improve. It's just that the difficulties involved in improving such a special weapon can be imagined, so they have nothing to do but work day and night.

Second, the grass people had been living overseas before, and they knew little about the statecraft of the countries in Middle-earth, so after returning to Middle-earth, they spent a lot of time reading various articles and classics and consulting local famous teachers and Confucians, so as to have a more comprehensive understanding of this homeland. Through more than two years of study, on the one hand, the grass people are familiar with the customs of Middle-earth, and on the other hand, they also have this experience of today's general trend. What's more, without the barrier of the Land of Clouds, there will be no danger to defend in the land of Hebei, and the Khitan iron cavalry can harass the south at any time, and the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty will never be peaceful. With Bixia's eloquence, he will not let this situation exist for a long time.

Therefore, the grass people dared to speculate that within three or four years, Bixia would definitely go on the Northern Expedition. With the ability to build the grass people's gun workshop, it can make up to 100 flintlock guns and 6 artillery pieces per month. In this way, if it were a four-year period, the artillery might be able to meet the needs of the operation, but the flintlock pistol would still be insufficient after the spare part was removed.

It is precisely because of these reasons that the brothers of the grass people had to give up this great opportunity to enter the capital to face the saint. ”

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