The light four-wheeled carriage stopped at the entrance of an official office, and Kyung Zhao Yin Lian Xixian got out of the carriage provided by the government and looked up at the plaque on it, which read in Mongolian, which translates into Chinese as 'Firearms Bureau'.

Jing Zhaoyin came, and the person in charge of the Firearms Bureau hurriedly greeted him. Without waiting for politeness, I heard Lian Xixian say: "I came this time to see the best musket in Dayuan, as well as the musket of the Song Kingdom." ”

The person in charge looked at Lian Xixian's gloomy expression and asked cautiously: "Lian Jingzhao, but I don't know what you mean by these two things?" ”

Lian Xixian said angrily: "The envoy of the Song State opened his mouth, seeing that he has a fearless appearance, I want to see what is good about the musket of the Song State." ”

Knowing such a reasonable reason, the person in charge of the Firearms Bureau did not dare to shirk it. Hurriedly sent someone to take three of the Mongolian-made muskets and the Great Song musket first, and then asked Lian Xixian to wait at the test firing range next to him.

The test range was a large courtyard with a lot of targets and broken earthen walls. It wasn't yet February, and it was cold inside. Lian Xixian was angry, but he didn't care about the temperature here. It didn't take long for some soldiers to come over carrying and carrying some guys. Putting these things down on the earthen platform in front of Lian Xixian, the person in charge of the musket opened the sack, pointed to the contents and said to Lian Xixian, "Jingzhao, please take a look." ”

Lian Xixian looked left and right, his eyes widened. I can see that the three rifles on the left are slender and have thin barrels. When I picked it up, it felt like about ten catties, although it was heavy, it was not difficult to operate. Without the official of the Firearms Bureau to speak, Lian Xixian could judge that this musket must have been made by the Song Kingdom.

The things of the Song Kingdom have always been ingenious and durable, just like the four-wheeled carriage issued by the imperial court that Lian Xixian rode in, which was completely imitated by the captured spoils of war that Hao Ren Wanhu rode in. The wood part of the body is made of 100% Dayuan, and the level is quite high. Glass, wheels, frames, and enamel ornaments were all imported from the Song Kingdom. Dayuan also tried to imitate, but was never successful.

Dayuan's manufacture of muskets on Lian Xixian's right hand is a typical case of this kind of forced imitation due to unsuccessful success. With the same shape and the same structure, the barrel of the Dayuan musket was several times thicker than that of the Song State musket. Because the barrel became thicker, the butt underneath also had to be thickened and enlarged. If the production of the Song Kingdom can be called a musket, the one produced by Dayuan can probably be called a 'fire pile'.

Picking up a Dayuan musket, Lian Xixian felt that there were twenty catties, and it was very heavy to pick up. After picking it up, I looked left and right for a while, and then I began to get used to the weight a little. Putting down the Dayuan musket and picking up the Song State musket again, Lian Xixian felt that the Song State musket was simply light and weightless at this time.

Lian Xixian is not a military attaché and has no concept of firearms, but he has an idea of horse-drawn carriages outside. Whether it is a Mongolian cart or a Han horse-drawn carriage, it can be described as stupid and black. Because the structure is made of wood, it must be enlarged and thickened to ensure that it is strong and durable.

The structure of the Song carriage is made of steel, and the wood is only used to make the carriage, and the whole vehicle is extremely slender. Because it is slender, it is lightweight. Because of its light weight, a Mongolian horse pulls a carriage and runs fast. If it is a two-horse Mongolian horse-drawn cart, it can even run.

Lian Xixian was also unconvinced, feeling that Song Guo's thin carriage was not well insulated. This is also the only process that Dayuan can compare with the Song Kingdom. After getting the carriage issued by the imperial court, Lian Xixian found that the Song Kingdom used an inner lining insulation layer and a small charcoal stove under his feet, which solved the problem of thermal insulation and heating very effectively. Because the small charcoal stove is designed outside the carriage, there is no smoke and smoke in the carriage. The heat naturally came from under a kind of burlap mat that had never been seen before, and it was very comfortable to bake the feet.

Thinking of such a huge gap between Dayuan goods and Song Guo's goods, Lian Xixian felt a wave of anger in his heart. He put down his musket, left the inexplicable firearms officer behind him, and left the firearms bureau without saying a word.

On the way straight to the palace, Lian Xixian's anger in his heart was difficult to contain. He really didn't expect the gap between the Great Yuan and the Song State to be so big that it could fully explain why the invincible Mongol army suffered an unprecedented defeat in the Battle of the Yellow River.

Entering the palace and seeing Kublai Khan, Lian Xixian introduced the attitude of the extremely hard-nosed representative of the Song State, and then said, "Your Majesty, the Song State obviously has no intention of exchanging prisoners, but wants to disturb the Great Yuan by exchanging prisoners. The minister went to see the musket made by the Firearms Bureau, which was only slightly heavier than the Song State musket. But it can also be used. There is no need to change the Song State musket. ”

Kublai Khan knew that Lian Xixian was a loyal minister, and his heart was a little shaken after hearing these words. However, after only a moment of wavering, Kublai Khan reverted to his original opinion, and he said: "We have 50,000 people who have been taken prisoner, and these 50,000 people must be ransomed." I exchanged the craftsmen and craftsmen of the capital, as well as my slave households, the southerners of the Song Kingdom. ”

"Your Majesty, why bother?" Lian Xixian hurriedly objected, "Your Majesty, doing this is just to increase the momentum of the Southern Barbarians. ”

Kublai Khan shook his head slightly after hearing this. This is not to oppose Lian Xixian's words, but to be dissatisfied with Lian Xixian's performance. Emotionally, Kublai Khan was often angry and rash about killing, and after so many years as Great Khan, Kublai Khan himself was gradually able to control this urge. However, Lian Xixian still looked like he was happy and hateful, and Kublai Khan disagreed with it very much. This is why Kublai Khan never appointed Lian Xixian as prime minister.

But you can't say anything like that, because it's useless to say it. Kublai Khan began to feel that Hao Ren was becoming more and more cunning. Although this guy does have important official duties to do, he does not have to completely abandon the errand of negotiation. If Hao Ren had the soft means he had now, he would definitely not have gotten to such a point of indiscretion. Of course, Hao Ren probably understood that if he was in charge of negotiations, he would be attacked by guys like Lian Xixian.

"You just need to negotiate this matter with Song Guo. I want to redeem those who they have taken them. Kublai Khan directly stated his thoughts.

“…… Compliance. Lian Xixian reluctantly accepted the order of Emperor Dayuan.

In the days that followed, the two sides negotiated the numbers. Because of the negative face, the result of the negotiation is very simple and rude. The ratio of the one-to-one exchange between the Han army in the north and the captured Song people was that as long as the Great Song could send these captives to Zhigu Village, the two sides could exchange prisoners in Zhigu Village.

Half a month after the negotiation was reached, it was February 2nd Dragon raised its head. The captured northern Han soldiers were told that they would not be killed, and that as long as the road was completed, they would be sent north to exchange prisoners.

"As soon as you complete the earthwork workload, you can be sent to the north for exchange, so I hope everyone can step up their work and complete the workload seriously. When you work, it's not a little more leisurely, one day earlier and one day late, if you use too much force to fall into the root of the disease, how can you live after you go back! The guards told the captives about the demands of the job.

The captives listened a little inexplicably. Since you can ask these people to pay attention to their bodies, why not just let them go more benevolently? But when he had doubts in his heart, he did not dare to speak. If the guards are angered, the captives will have no good fruit to eat.

The captives were then divided into teams of fifty and taken to various sections. Zhao Taiwei ordered the construction of the southern section of the Yellow River of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, as well as the Tongji Canal to dredge the old Grand Canal.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was actually a project started in the Yuan Dynasty, and part of it made use of the Grand Canal of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. Different from the Grand Canal of Emperor Yang of Sui, the south part of the Huai River of Emperor Yang of Sui was inherited by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the north road of the Grand Canal of Emperor Yang of Sui is called 'Tongji Canal', which is from Sizhou to Suzhou in northern Anhui Province into Henan, take Shangqiu to Bianliang, and then take Luoshui from Bianliang to Luoyang.

Not to mention the section from Luoyang to Chang'an, Zhao Taiwei hopes to restore the Tongji Canal from Bianliang to the Huai River. The major reason for the destruction of the Tongji Canal was that Du Chong dug up the Yellow River, and after the Yellow River went south, the canal was destroyed due to silting. At this time, Zhao Taiwei let the Yellow River return to the north, and it became necessary to re-communicate with the Tongji Canal.

As for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Taiwei Zhao also felt that it was very necessary. Not to mention anything else, Zaozhuang has iron and coal, which is suitable as an iron-smelting center, and a canal is needed from Xuzhou to Zaozhuang. If you want to effectively rule Shandong, and in the future, you want to effectively rule Hebei and even the territory further north, and the importance of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal cannot be overstated.

No one objected to Taiwei Zhao's approach for the time being. Although Sima Kao was uneasy about the Grand Canal, he felt that Emperor Yang of Sui was the precursor of the king, and he finally died. But Taiwei Zhao is now in power, and the influence of the little emperor himself is minimal. It is indeed a great thing to build a canal, and there is no reason to refuse. And so it passed.

After February 2, the final Song rape trial entered its final stage. Various legal efforts have also come to an end. In most cases, all the evidence that both parties can produce has been listed, and the defense of the evidence has been completed. The first-instance verdict of these people is coming out soon.

On the tenth day of the second month of the fifth year of the Great Song Dynasty, Lu Dingchuan's first-instance verdict was about to be announced. The Great Song Dynasty Rite Department Shangshu Xiongshang changed into ordinary people's clothes and went to the court in person to listen to the verdict. Lu Dingchuan is a very representative figure in this group of Song traitors. He did not neglect his duties, did not abandon the city and flee. When the Mongol army besieged the city, an agreement was reached with the Mongols not to massacre the inhabitants and to surrender Kaesong, and then Kaesong surrendered.

After surrendering, Lu Dingchuan did not defect to the Mongols, but returned to his hometown. So even Taiwei Zhao said that Lu Dingchuan is not a capital crime. After Lu Dingchuan was arrested, he not only did not admit his guilt, but also insisted that he was not guilty. He said that from any point of view, he was loyal and patriotic.

Watching my cousin stand straight in the dock. Xiong Sheng was quite emotional in his heart, and a large part of it was still admired. Xiong Shang asked himself, if he was in the situation of his cousin, he would definitely admit his mistake by going with the flow, hoping to settle the matter with a small crime. In fact, most of the Song traitors who were tried in this wave adopted the same method. There are only a few people like Lu Dingchuan who insist.

Seeing that the presiding judge asked the last few questions, he continued: "Preparing to announce the verdict soon, do the two sides have anything else to say?" ”

Xiong Shang became nervous immediately, and he stared at the presiding judge with bated breath, waiting for the verdict to be announced.