Chapter 45: The Cost of War
While Emperor Zhao Hao of the Song Dynasty was full of resentment towards Gu Wen and worked hard to invent Haoyi to make money, Emperor Xiang Yan in the Great Chu Palace was also talking about Gu Wen.
Xiang Yan is sixty years old this year, and among the top heroes with a life span of 300, he can only be regarded as an older youth.
After hundreds of generations of continuous absorption of the excellent genes of aristocratic beauties who coexist with wisdom and beauty, Xiang Yan is definitely a handsome guy.
Xiang Yan is two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thin waist, and a tall figure. The skin is fair and smooth without a trace of wrinkles, which is enough to kill a group of age girls in seconds.
Under his chin, he has a black and shiny mustache, and his roots are not messy. Wise and bright eyes loom in the eyes.
Xiang Yan was standing in front of a huge object covered by a white veil in the Changle Palace, his eyes were deep, and he whispered:
"I'll get out of my car, and I'll be in the pasture. Since the Son of Heaven, it is said that I have come.
Summoning his servant is called a load. The king's affairs are difficult, and the maintenance is thorny.
I got out of my car and was in the suburbs. Set this and build the other.
He was worried quietly, and the servant was in a bad condition.
In the past, I went back, and I was in the past. Now I think about it, rain and snow.
The king's affairs are difficult, let alone start living. Don't you want to be nostalgic?
When I see a gentleman, my heart falls. Hehe Nanzhong, Bovar Xijon. ”
At this time, Xiang Yan's eyes flashed, and he heard the slight sound of his clothes mopping the floor behind him.
Xiang Yan smiled slightly: "Yue'er, did you sneak out of class again?"
The pink dress flickered, and the seventh princess Xiang Mingyue jumped over and hugged Xiang Yan's arm, shook her lips vigorously and said:
"Father, Old Master Cen's lecture is too boring. 'All the people are water, and the king is like a boat'. I understood these things when I was five years old. ”
Xiang Yan doted on this youngest daughter the most, and rubbed Xiang Mingyue's hair with her big hand and said:
"Of course, our family Yue'er is the smartest. Cen Lao is very knowledgeable, but he always chooses these seemingly simple truths to talk about, and he has his own deep meaning. You see that Zhang Er is not fascinated by listening, and has never been distracted, let alone skipping class. ”
Xiang Mingyue shook her head and shook Xiang Yan's hand away, wrinkled her little nose and said:
"Sixth brother is old-fashioned, I can't learn it. I don't want to lead the county to govern the state, why do you learn so much?"
Xiang Yan smiled and shook her head, helpless against this elf's eccentric daughter.
Xiang Mingyue interrupted: "Father, since the big victory on the front line, you often come to this Changle Palace alone, why?"
With a roll of her eyes, Xiang Mingyue continued:
"This great victory on the Western Front is all due to the magic fire spider silk cutting machine invented by Gu Wen. Could it be that my father wants to learn from the great-grandfather of the emperor, and he also wants to invent something?"
The high great-ancestor mentioned by Xiang Mingyue, named Xiang Youjian, is a wonderful flower of the Great Chu royal family. After this emperor ascended the throne, he did not love power and devoted himself to some strange inventions.
Nowadays, most of the furniture, utensils, and mechanisms in the Great Chu Palace are from the hands of Xiang Youjian.
Xiang Youjian also invented a lot of strange things, most of which no one knew what they were used for, and they were all sealed in Changle Palace by him.
Xiang Yan's face was a little strange: "Yue'er, since you came down from the Western Front, you have to mention this strange guy almost every day. The princess of our royal family can only be married to a family above the earl. You don't want to be bought off by a few meals. ”
Xiang Mingyue's face was flushed: "Father, what are you talking nonsense? I'm only 13 years old, so I didn't think about those messes."
"Gu Wen is just a delicious cook, well, and he will invent something, by the way, there are poems that are still well written, and there seems to be songs that are also sung well... Hey, looks like he's going to have a lot of money?"
Xiang Yan covered his forehead: "It's over, and you still said that you didn't think about it? I'm going to ask Dongchang to arrest Gu Wen and cut him into a eunuch, and see if he dares to seduce my baby daughter." ”
Xiang Mingyue was so angry that she beat Xiang Yan's arm with her small fist:
"How can there be such a thing? Father, you are so bad! Gu Wen has invented a spider silk reeling machine and made great contributions, how can there be meritorious service and no reward to cut people into pieces... Cut into..."
Xiang Yan smiled weirdly: "Hmph, do you really think that the Demon Fire Spider Silk Reeling Machine was invented by Gu Wen?"
"Isn't it him?" Xiang Mingyue said in surprise.
Xiang Yan suddenly waved the sleeves of his robe, and a strong wind rolled up the white yarn in front of him, revealing the things below.
Xiang Mingyue's eyes widened: "Why is there a silk reeling machine hidden here? Huh? It seems to be a little different from the sample I saw in the Shenji Camp? Where did this silk reeling machine come from?"
Xiang Mingyue suddenly woke up: "Could it be that this is made by the grandfather of the Great Ancestor Gao?"
Xiang Yan nodded and said, "You guessed right." This silk reeling machine was indeed made by the great ancestor of the first Taishang. ”
Xiang Mingyue was surprised: "Didn't we have this kind of weapon two hundred years ago? Why didn't we go to the battlefield at that time?"
"Every year, there are not a few elite warriors who die because of the corpse demons who rush to the city wall through the spider silk bridge, and they are even breached many times. ”
Xiang Yan looked at Xiang Mingyue and said solemnly: "Mingyue, what I said today is all family secrets, and you can't tell anyone when you go out of this door."
"According to the records of the internal history of the imperial family, after the great ancestor of the first Taishang invented the magic fire spider silk reeling machine, he was ready to put large-scale production into the front line of Trapped Tiger Mountain. ”
"But after discussion, the royal elders froze this sharp weapon and sealed it until now. ”
Xiang Mingyue was puzzled: "Why? Is it because I am afraid that the army will not lose the tail and deliberately consume it? Or is it to use the spider silk bridge to train troops to maintain martial arts? Or is it to use corpse demons to eliminate dissidents?"
Xiang Yan smiled with satisfaction: "Yes, Yue'er, you are indeed the excellent bloodline of our royal family." There is no woman's kindness. I have learned to think from many sides. ”
But the real reasons aren't what you're talking about, at least not the main ones. ”
"Yue'er, you have also inspected the battlefield of Trapped Tiger Mountain, and you have seen the corpse demon army with your own eyes on the city wall. What is your impression of the corpse army?"
Xiang Mingyue thought for a while and replied: "Like a gray torrent, the waves of the sea, fortunately, there is a dangerous pass to block it, otherwise the human race is very dangerous." ”
Xiang Yan touched his beard and said: "That's true, that's why it's called the tide of corpse demons." Since you are talking about torrents, you still remember the story I told you when I was a child about the ancient Yu Sheng's water control. ”
Xiang Mingyue raised her chin and said proudly: "Of course I remember, it's better to be sparse." Oh! I see, it's better to be blocked than to be sparse!"
Xiang Yan nodded and said, "That's right, this group of corpse demons from the necromantic plane, as long as someone dies, the number of corpse demons may increase, and as long as there is corpse qi, they can continue to be reborn." ”
"So the number of corpses far outnumbered the Terrans. No one of them can stand tall without the onslaught of corpse demons. ”
"The existence of the spider silk bridge actually allows the corpse demon tide to have a flood valve. Waves of corpse demons are attacked, but they are actually a tactic to add oil, and they will always be eliminated by the Terran warriors who have the advantage on the wall. ”
"And the corpse demon has such a way to vent, so naturally he will not focus all his attention on attacking the city wall. ”
Xiang Mingyue said suddenly: "So to retain such a passage, the cost of the sacrifice of the warriors is far less than the cost of the destruction of the Guancheng and the cost of the human race fighting the corpse demons in an equal environment." ”
Xiang Yan approvingly: "Correct, war is an extension of commerce, and everything is cost-oriented. Lower costs in exchange for higher returns is the true meaning of war. ”
Xiang Mingyue asked suspiciously: "Then why did Gu Wen build a silk reeling machine this time, and we used it again?"
Xiang Yan said: "There are two reasons, first, Gu Wen put forward the proposal of the silk reeling machine, and many people already know such a thing. If we forcibly stop this project, the royal family will become the target of public criticism for disregarding the lives of the people. ”
"Second, according to the tip, Grand Wizard Blanc is ready to abandon the Demon Fire Spider of limited value and start using new tactics. At this point in time, use the surplus value of the Demon Fire Spider to build the belief that our army will win. It's a two-way thing. ”
Speaking of this, Xiang Yan suddenly stretched out his palm and slapped it towards the silk reeling machine. He didn't make a quick move, and he didn't make much noise.
However, the silk reeling machine made of fine iron was crushed in an instant like a piece of tofu.
Xiang Yan said: "I have obtained the consent of the Council of Elders to erase all the information about the silk reeling machine from all internal histories and court histories. ”
Xiang Mingyue said with a smile: "Father, you actually dare to revise the history books, you are cheating." I don't believe in the ancient history told by Old Master Cen now. ”
"History is written by the victors. Every new victor has the right to revise and rephrase history. This is what history really is. Got it? ”