There was trouble when she went to bed at night, and Xiaoyu had to sleep with her brother in her arms. No matter how Sister Qiao persuaded her, the eldest girl couldn't sleep with her brother, Xiaoyu just hugged Li Xiao and didn't let go. Counting, she will be seven years old in two months, and she is actually not a big girl.

Any threat and intimidation pales in front of the big watery eyes. Sister Qiao raised her slap several times to scare, and when she saw those pitiful eyes, the slap couldn't fall.

"Let her sleep here!" Li Xiao reluctantly picked up Xiaoyu and walked into the bedroom, and Tokugawa Chihime's little daughter-in-law followed behind. I wanted to take Xiaoyu from Li Xiao's arms several times, but Xiaoyu just refused.

Li Xiao remembered that one night four years ago. I was also hugging Xiaoyu like this, and there was a fire burning in the dilapidated house, but it was still very cold. At that time, Li Xiao was still thinking about how to survive in this troubled era. Looking back now, it was so innocent back then. fled to Guanli with his younger brothers and sisters, and even fled to Jiangnan.

According to the historical trend in his mind, the Ming Dynasty can at least last for more than ten years.

How ridiculous the idea is, like an ostrich with its head stuck in a hole in the dirt. After more than ten years, the Tartars will not herd horses south? In more than ten years, there will be no Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong?

What to do when that time comes? Running all the way south, to Hainan Island, to Southeast Asia? Thinking about the suffering of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, Li Xiao knew how naïve his thoughts were at that time.

Taizu said that fighting with the sky, fighting with the earth, and fighting with people is endless.

Although he doesn't like struggle, Li Xiao also admits that only struggle can break out of the world for himself.

After four years of fierce fighting in Liaodong, he now has his own small foundation. Although the population under his rule was only 200,000, it was not as large as the population ruled by the Later Jin. However, it is also a vassal who can stand on his own. At least, at this time, Li Zicheng was still begging for a life in the northwest, and Zhang Xianzhong was still a small catcher.

"Big brother, Xiaoyu wants to listen to joy." Xiao Yu pulled Li Xiao's pajamas and muttered quietly.

"Okay, let's talk about joy. Speaking of the green grassland, ......! "The story is a bit long, and Li Xiao, who broke it off, doesn't know. Anyway, the coaxed people fell asleep, and the coaxed Xiaoyu didn't fall asleep, I don't know!

When I woke up in the morning, Xiaoyu was gone. Tokugawa Chihime stayed by Li Xiao's side and saw Li Xiao open his eyes. immediately found slippers for Li Xiao, and Li Xiao ran into the bathroom wearing slippers. After a burst of flooding, I shivered comfortably.

The curtains were opened, and the harsh sunlight shone in. There was a large ship unloading on the wharf, which looked like a tobacco ship coming from Yizhou. A cigarette factory was built on Changxing Island, from which Daqianmen cigarettes were rolled out and then loaded into cigarette boxes and transported to the capital. This thing is now a scarce material, and everyone in the capital, from the emperor to the cabinet members, now likes to take two bites.

When the emperor summoned the cabinet elders, such a mysterious thing as an ashtray quietly appeared on the table.

At present, the price of a box of cigarettes is fifty taels of silver, and it is still in a state of long-term shortage. Those who can afford to draw the big front door in the capital are considered successful people. On the black market, I heard that there was already a high price of a box of one hundred taels of silver, but I don't know if it was real or fake. Li Xiao feels that the degree of credibility is very high.

There were also several medium-sized cargo ships that were also unloading, and Li Xiao knew that they were gunpowder ships from Phi Dao.

Almost all of the facilities in Phi Dao were moved, except for the gunpowder factory. The secret of nitrocellulose is now Li Xiao's top secret. In order to keep it secret, the factory was located on Phi Dao. The people inside were not allowed to enter or leave, and the old fisherman left his apprentice, the sledgehammer, there as the head of the gunpowder workshop.

That's a rammed thing, a guy with a big waist and a round waist, who doesn't like to be busy, only quiet. This kind of place like Phi Dao is the most suitable for him, but according to him, he is upset when he sees a place with a lot of people.

In addition, there are cotton and cloth from Shandong. Li Xiao actually wanted to set up a weaving factory for a long time, but he had to give up due to limited manpower.

There are now more than 300 female workers in the quilt factory, and there is still a lot of pressure to support nearly 20,000 quilts.

On the other side of the wharf, all kinds of goods are being loaded and shipped away. There are cigarettes, quilts, and all kinds of weapons and ammunition. Yuan Chonghuan is mostly recruits who have enlisted this year, although the shelves are set up. But the equipment hasn't had time to be distributed, and the production speed of the arsenal's guns is still too slow.

At the current rate, it is estimated that it will be ten months to reach one gun per person.

The most disturbing thing is the production of nitrocellulose, and the number of troops has increased. The production volume of nitrocellulose is hindered by manpower and pyrite quality, and there is no qualitative improvement.

What Li Xiao's army urgently needed was not firearms, but grenades and mortar shells, and copper cannon shells used by Li Xiu.

Li Xiao, who had no choice, had already asked Zu Dashou to set up a gunpowder workshop in Jinzhou. Makes traditional gunpowder, but Li Xiao adds diatomaceous earth to the traditional gunpowder in a ratio of five to one. This thing can significantly increase the power of gunpowder, and diatomaceous earth is not difficult to get by. There are many in North Korea, and there are even some places where this diatomaceous earth can be mined by digging into the mountains without going deep. It's even a little easier than coal mining!

Of course, Li Xiao will not tell the North Koreans what diatomaceous earth is used for. These diatomaceous earth were sent to Jinzhou after being crushed on Changxing Island, and of course Li Xiao would not tell Zu Dashou where these things that could increase the power of gunpowder came from.

It was necessary to stock up on enough shells and grenades before winter, and the turbulent Northeast Asian theater due to the arrival of Li Xiao had actually entered the era of hot weapons.

The battlefield is littered with explosives, from landmines to grenade shells. Although the Eight Banners of Houjin were brave, they could not stop the power of chemical explosives. Nurhachi's failures these times are not so much a defeat to Li Xiao, but a defeat to science and technology.

After looking at the busy dock for a while, Tokugawa Chihime walked in with her ironed clothes.

It is really not said that the women of the Japanese country serve men, and the most significant feature is that they are careful. Snow white socks, snow white vest. The clothes are crisp yellow-green half-sleeved military uniforms, and Li Xiao always feels that there is something missing in this military uniform. Now that I think about it, maybe there is no rank marking.

Wait for the matter of military rank, the old fisherman must go. Yesterday, because I just arrived, there was such a talisman as Xiaoyu. The old guy didn't bother himself, it is estimated that the old guy has now become 100,000 whys, and there are many questions waiting to be answered.

This is a real craftsman, the kind of person who can't sleep when he doesn't understand something.

After getting dressed, Li Xiao found that Li Hu was already waiting in the hall. His small building is in the courtyard next to it, and it is estimated that this guy didn't do a good job last night. Seeing that Li Xiao just called out to his eldest brother, he chased and killed the xiaolongbao on the table one by one.

Tokugawa Chihime brought rice porridge to Li Xiao, and Li Xiao sat down and took a bite of xiaolongbao. It's actually stuffed with prawns, and then eat it in another cage drawer, filled with mackerel.

The helpless Li Xiao pouted, Xiaolongbao didn't do this. But now there is no way, food is a luxury. The broad masses of the people are also fed to the extent that they are full, and if anyone feeds the pigs with grain, it is estimated that they will drown in saliva.

Pigweed can actually raise pigs, but the growth rate and fat of pigs are far comparable to pigs that eat grain. Even in the army, you can only eat a meal of pork dumplings on the few days of the Chinese New Year. Everyone eats more sheep, and there are many people in Liaodong who raise this thing.

In addition, Li Xiao also bought some from the Mongols, and those people in Mangui also contributed some. Guarding the Bohai Bay, people eat the most fish on weekdays.

In a few days, a boatload of freshly harvested potatoes will be transported over, and Li Xiao wonders if he should let Lushun plant them first. When harvesting in the fall, you can not only add one vegetable to everyone. The incredible yield of potatoes can not only be made into vermicelli, but also can be used to build large-scale pig farms.

It's the New Year, so you have to let everyone have pork stewed vermicelli to eat.

"Dig your lips again, and I'll have someone stew you." I really can't stand Li Hu's chirp, and I still don't change it after saying it a few times. Li Xiao knocked Li Hu's head with chopsticks, and this thing can be regarded as a little stopped. I chewed xiaolongbao a few times with my mouth closed, and then began to drink porridge like a bank.

After breakfast and lunch, Li Xiao took Li Hu out of the house and went straight to the old fisherman's weapon test site.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Xiao Yu, the grandson of the old fisherman, wandering at the door with a food box and not daring to go in.

"What's the matter, you haven't eaten yet?" Li Xiao looked at the bright sun above his head, the vast majority of the people in Changxing Island were eating, why did this kid dare not go in at the door with a food box?

"The big boss, grandpa doesn't let people disturb when he tinkers with things, and it's common to skip meals or two. I've been scolded several times, and you see the door plugged in again. When Xiao Yu saw Li Xiao coming, he immediately vomited bitterness. In order to deliver food, I have been reprimanded several times by my grandfather. People look the same when they get old, thieves are stubborn and stubborn.

"Oh!" Li Xiao stepped forward and pushed the door, and sure enough, the door was inserted from the inside. I wanted to shout, but I was afraid to disturb the old guy inside. God knows what the old guy is experimenting with, if it's explosives. The hand trembled, and it didn't really blow up.

"Big brother, I'll come." Li Hu frowned when he saw Li Xiao, and immediately volunteered.

I saw Li Hu pull out a bayonet from behind his buttocks, reach into the crack in the door and start gesturing. The gap between the cracks in the door is relatively large, and this guy slides back and forth, and really picks the door open.

"If you learn the means of stealing chickens and touching dogs, it's better not to learn some." opened the door and was about to show his merit to Li Xiao, when Li Hu was kicked twice in the ass.

"Who let you in, get out!" It's sunny outside, but it's a little dark inside. Before Li Xiao could adjust to the light in the room, he heard the angry roar of the old fisherman.

"Why are you always angry, you still have to eat this meal." Entering the house, Li Xiao saw Yu Lao and Inafu Youzhi tinkering on a machine model.

Seeing that it was Li Xiao who entered the house, the old fisherman was still saving face, put down the work in his hand and pulled Inafu Youzhi to sit at the table together. Xiao Yu immediately put down the food box and took out a few side dishes from it, a small pot of wine and two large bowls of rice.

Stewed mackerel, fried leeks with eggs and shrimp, brine shrimp, and a shredded roast chicken.

Four dishes, three aquatic products. It is estimated that the roast chicken is still a special supply to take care of the fisherman.

"Big boss, you will run away after you explain the matter, and we will have to tinker here all day long." The old fisherman sat down on the dinner table with his buttocks, and put his chopsticks flying around. "Missy!"

It seems that these two old guys have become good friends.

Dao Fuyou nodded directly at Li Xiao and poured himself a glass of wine. "Ziyu" took a bite, then held his mouth for a long time before opening "ah". It's so fucking similar to the devil in the movie.

The two old guys were eating, and Li Xiao was not interested in participating. He was interested in the model on the table!

The model is a teapot-like thing, with an artificially narrow spout. It seems that he is testing a steam engine, and he is not familiar with this thing. My little knowledge of the steam engine has been taught to the two old guys. Now, he knows no more than Yulao and Inatomi Yunao.

Walking around the lab with his hands behind his back, he stumbled upon something. It has a pointed head, a cylindrical body, and four tail fins.

I rub! Li Xiao rubbed his eyes, for fear that he had misunderstood. Did these two guys come up with missiles?

What appeared in front of Li Xiao was like a missile. Especially the four rear wings in the back prove that this thing is definitely flying.

"This ......! Did you get it? Li Xiao is now extremely suspicious that this fisherman and Daofu Youzhi are not the people who have crossed over.

"The last time you tinkered it out, it burned very violently. You also said that if you put this thing in a bamboo tube and light it, the bamboo tube will fly out.

We experimented with it, and although it can fly, the bamboo tube is not heat-resistant. It's easy to deform in the air, and as a result, the thing scurries around. Fortunately, there was no gunpowder during the test, otherwise we two old guys would have died without knowing how.

This thing is made of pine wood with iron sheets, the inside is iron, the outside is wood, and the inside is iron, and the weight is reduced to the lightest. It is pulled by an ox cart, and when it is used, it can fly out as long as it is lit. I don't know how far I can fly, so I'm going to test it in the next few days. Now that the big boss is here, let's try it tomorrow. ”

Li Xiao remembered the last time he left Phi Dao. handed over the recipe for making the incendiary agent to the old fisherman, thinking that he was helping him tinker with the steam engine. Unexpectedly, the old guy actually thought of military use because of his own words to explain the gas pressure.

This thing is the most primitive missile, or a real rocket.

The sharpened head helps to reduce air resistance, and the four tail fins help to maintain a stable flight attitude. If a large warhead is added, the explosion will be very powerful.

What excites Li Xiao the most is that if this thing shrinks a little more. Bundled on an ox cart with a slide, isn't this the fucking Katyusha?

For this kind of thing that can cover and kill on a large scale in an instant, Li Xiao has been looking forward to it for a long time.