His arms trembled violently, Lu Changqing gritted his teeth and tried his best to support his body.

"Ninety-eight!" The soldier's tone was filled with admiration.

As soon as the words fell, Lu Changqing's arms lost his strength, and his unsupported body slapped the ground with his head and face.

"Are you alright?" The soldiers were a little worried, but because of the rules of the test, they did not come forward to help.

Lu Changqing struggled, and only after moving his head did he tilt his head so that his mouth and nose no longer touched the ground, and then gasped.

He didn't know how many times it was, and his face was covered in mud from sweat and dust, and he couldn't fully cover the bruises and scrapes everywhere.

As for the head and body, it is also covered with mud, and the whole person looks like a terracotta figurine, and the Lan shirt that has always been cherished by him seems to be inferior to a beggar's suit now.

Seeing that he could still breathe, the soldier was a little relieved, "Brother, this time you can rest a little longer, don't worry, it's just two......

At this time, Zhao Mengqi accompanied Wu Qianma Guangzu around the camp, and was about to send them out of the camp, just passing by here.

What an axis scholar.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Mengqi was surprised again, but he admired Lu Changqing a little.

"Gong Wu, Ma Xiang, please wait a while, I'll go over and take a look."

He stepped forward alone, squatted down and helped Lu Changqing to sit up, only to find that the ground under Lu Changqing was soaked with sweat.

Immediately, Zhao Mengqi supported Lu Changqing with one hand and sat on the ground with one butt, "Okay, brother, you have a heart!"

Lu Changqing was in a daze, and only then did he realize that it was King Yan who helped him up and sat side by side in the mud with him, "Palace... Your Highness, students are ashamed...... Shame on ......"

"Don't talk, take a deep breath, sniff in and out, slow down, suck in and spit out, yes, that's it."

Helping Lu Changqing adjust his breathing, Zhao Mengqi turned his head and shouted, "Geng Zhi, add salt to my kettle, and then bring it."

After taking the silver kettle, he shook it vigorously, wiped the mouth of the bottle with his hand, and handed it to Lu Changqing, "Here, it will be better to drink some salt water, don't worry, I'm not sick......

Lu Changqing was stunned for a moment, and then raised his hand to take it tremblingly.

Zhao Mengqi saw that this water pot weighed three catties, where could he hold it in this state, so he simply said, "Open your mouth, I'll feed you."

The cold water trickled into his throat, obviously salty, but Lu Changqing felt an indescribable sweetness, and his heart was filled with inexplicable emotion.

After feeding for a while, Zhao Mengqi realized that this scene was somewhat "base", and he couldn't help but feel numb, took the kettle, and put it in Lu Changqing's arms.

"You can't drink too much at a time, you drink slowly, this kettle is given to you, it should be a greeting gift."

Then, Zhao Mengqi patted him on the shoulder, "Come on, little comrade, I'm very optimistic about you."

Wu Qian and Ma Guangzu, who were not far away, couldn't help but smile at each other, with appreciation in their eyes.

"A small gesture, but the kindness and righteousness are deep, and Your Highness's way of being a royal is also perfect, and it is easy to come."

"The art of recognizing people is also very good, this student has a stubborn personality, but he is good at gathering people's hearts, if he doesn't use it well, it's a big trouble, and if he uses it well, it's a great help."

Zhao Mengqi left a word of encouragement, then got up and left, and continued to send the two old ministers to the camp gate.

Before getting into the car at the door, Zhao Mengqi thought of something, and said, "Ma Xiang, Xiao Wang has made several new weapons developed, if you are interested, you might as well go and see it together tomorrow."

Jiankang Mansion is not only stationed in the army, but also one of the weapons production bases at this time, and supervising the construction of armaments is also one of Ma Guangzu's most important responsibilities.

So he was quite interested, "Your Highness, this new weapon is probably very unusual, and the old minister must want to see it."

After the agreement, the two old ministers left in an ox cart, and Zhao Mengqi continued to return to the camp to be "busy".

In fact, everything has been arranged, Qu Moxuan and other generals have fulfilled their responsibilities, and the sergeants of Dongwei are well-trained, and the recruitment has been carried out smoothly, and there is basically nothing that Zhao Mengqi needs to ask.

At the end of the day, more than 4,000 recruits were recruited, and there were still many people outside the camp who were looking forward to it

Come back one day.

This time, Zhao Mengqi plans to recruit 30,000 people, plus more than 5,000 people at the earliest, and more than 1,000 people who will be recruited one after another, which is enough to form three divisions, and after training, Dongwei can become an army.

Thanks to the tens of millions of money and food in his hands that he can use freely, he has the confidence to recruit so many people.

The army is really a gold-swallowing beast, and it is still a bottomless pit.

A rough calculation shows that the military salaries of more than 30,000 people alone cost three to four million yuan a year, and the annual expenses for food, clothing and miscellaneous expenses are not less than one million yuan, that is, nearly five million yuan a year.

The cost of purchasing ordnance and armament is even more terrifying, a foot soldier needs 38 guan at the beginning, at this time about 70 guan, plus various weapons, the average equipment on each soldier is worth more than 100 guan, and this is only infantry.

In later generations, the equipment of an army soldier in the beautiful country cost about hundreds of thousands of soft coins, and in terms of cost, the Song army was also similar.

To put it simply, Zhao Mengqi will spend about 10 million yuan for this army within a year, and this is still without fighting.

Moreover, I am afraid that for a long time, do not expect the imperial court to pay for this army, in essence, Dongwei is the private army of King Yan.

Therefore, in addition to military training, making money is still Zhao Mengqi's top priority at present.

……

In the early morning of the next day, Zhao Mengqi waited for Wu Qian and Ma Guangzu outside the Panmen, and after picking up the boat, he sailed to Taihu Lake and arrived at his destination at noon.

Hengshan Island, located in the north of Dongting Xishan Island, is more than one mile, the area is not large, about three miles long from north to south, and a little more than one mile wide from east to west.

The island is basically mountainous, and there were originally more than a dozen families living along the lake in the east of the island, but they have been relocated.

Today, the island is Zhao Mengqi's Ordnance Research Institute, with more than 300 craftsmen and a battalion of Eastern Guard soldiers.

When they were still far away, they could see thick smoke billowing above the island, and they could hear several thunders, which made Wu Qian and Ma Guangzu more and more curious.

When the official ship approached the pier, it was heavily guarded, and along the lake, there was a lookout at a distance, and there were patrolling soldiers everywhere.

When he got off the boat, he was greeted by the officers and men of the defenders who had been waiting for him.

The leading officer clenched his fist and hammered his breastplate hard, "Shi Cheng, the commander of the 13th Battalion of the Eastern Guard, under his subordinates, meet His Highness, Great Song Wansheng!"

Shi Cheng is the first phase of Dongwei, but to become a battalion commander, he must be the most elite talent, after all, Dongwei's largest establishment is now a battalion, with a total of less than twenty battalions.

Zhao Mengqi flattened his palm downward and touched his chest to show his return salute, "Camp Commander Shi, hard work, Huaxia Yongchang."

This is Dongwei's new military salute, Wu Qian and Ma Guangzu have seen it in the camp, and when they look at it at this time, they still feel a little complicated.

Wu Qian shook his head, "Although it is not in line with the etiquette system, it is suitable to be placed in the army, strong and crisp, simple and neat."

Ma Guangzu smiled and didn't make a sound, what he was more concerned about now was what big treasure King Yan was going to take him to see.

Shi Cheng asked, "Your Highness, the canteen has already prepared the meal, do you see?"

"No, we've eaten on the boat." Zhao Mengqi waved his hand, "The sound I heard just now, but I was testing the gun?"

"Back to His Highness, it was Chen Dagong who was testing the gun, and he was busy all morning, saying that he was making sure that there would be no leaks in front of His Highness." Shi Cheng replied bluntly.

Zhao Mengqi went straight to the point, "Then take us straight over."

Immediately, Shi Cheng opened the way and led everyone to the center of the island and entered a mountain col.

Along the way, in addition to the patrol, there were also many sentry posts, perhaps, hidden sentry posts, all of which showed that King Yan attached great importance to the weapons being developed on the island.

As he was walking, Ma Guangzu realized that something was wrong with the road under his feet, and he couldn't help but stop and stomped on the road with his heels.

"Strange, why is this road so smooth, hard as stone, but without any traces of masonry?"

Zhao Mengqi turned around, "Oh, in order to facilitate the transportation of new weapons, this road is paved with cement."

"Cement? And what?" Ma Guangzu looked confused and kept up with the team.

"To put it simply, it is a powdery material, which is mixed with sand and gravel in a row by comparison, watered and mixed well......

Zhao Mengqi explained as he walked, "It's best to use steel as the backbone, but at the moment, it's too extravagant, so use bamboo strips instead, and you can barely use it."

Hardening after water immersion?

Steel as a backbone?

Ma Guangzu was a little dizzy, and he couldn't figure out the truth for a while, but Octavia discovered the important use of cement.

"If a fortress is built with this thing, will it not be made in ten days, and it will be as strong as a rock?"

Zhao Mengqi nodded, "This cement has many uses, for example, if it is used to bond masonry, it is not much worse than glutinous rice, mainly because this thing is cheap, and it can be fired with clay and slag."

How it was produced, Zhao Mengqi would definitely not say too much.

Ma Guangzu said excitedly, "With this magical thing, then my Great Song City will be impregnable."

"It's not that exaggerated, even if the city is strong, the defenders will be breached if they are weak, not to mention, in this world, with a strong shield, there will be sharper spears."

As they spoke, they came to an open field between the two mountains.

Zhao Mengqi pointed to the busy place of a group of people, "Next, we can see if the newly created spear is sharp enough."

A moment later, there were two spears, two bronze cannons to be exact.

One of them was a stout, short, sturdy door that resembled a stone mortar, resting on a trough-like hardwood base.

Of course, the wood used for this base is much thicker and stronger than the trough, and many parts are reinforced with iron.

Zhao Mengqi touched the body of the cannon, "Chen Dagong, let me introduce it to you."

The so-called Chen Dagong is a craftsman in his forties, named Chen Jinshan, Dagong is the title of Tiangong Institute, he used to work in Qian Jian, and later went to the Ministry of Industry, responsible for casting large ceremonial vessels such as copper tripods and bells.

He smiled, wiped his hands on his clothes, and walked to the cannon, "This is a mortar cannon, weighing three hundred and seventeen catties, one foot six inches long, five inches in diameter, with five catties of gunpowder, it can shoot twenty catties of stone bullets to a distance of one hundred and fifty zhang, that is, it is not accurate."

Although Zhao Mengqi was not satisfied with this data, he could only start like this, "Just say that you don't practice fake tricks, shoot a shot and take a look."

Chen Jinshan immediately called a few assistants and began to do the launch work.

Seeing them stuff a cylindrical cloth bag into the muzzle of the leaning gun, Ma Guangzu couldn't help but be curious, "Is that silk satin?" What's in it? Gunpowder?"

"Yes, it is more convenient to use for firing, and it is also more dosed, and the gunpowder is also tighter, and the raw silk remains less after burning, so it is easy to clean the chamber."

When Zhao Mengqi answered, Chen Jinshan put the gunpowder bag in place with a push rod and asked his assistant to fill it with a smooth-polished spherical stone projectile.

Subsequently, a thin bamboo drill was pierced into a hole at the end of the gun, and the fire rope was installed.

After everything was ready, Chen Jinshan came over to greet him, "Your Highness, let's go behind the wall and observe."

Zhao Mengqi nodded, this is still his own regulation, that is, to prevent damage caused by the explosion.

Everyone moved behind the thick concrete wall and used the viewing holes in the wall to see where the mortars were.

A craftsman stood by the gun mount, and after hearing Chen Jinshan shouting "light the fire", he lit the fire rope with a thick incense stick, and then ran away.

The fire rope was long enough, and it took a while for the spark to crawl into the ignition hole.

Then, thunder shook the sky, and everyone saw a shadow fly out of the cannon, rise diagonally into the air, and then fall in an arc, smashing on the dirt slope less than a mile away, splashing a cloud of smoke and dust.

In Zhao Mengqi's opinion, the speed of this cannonball was too slow, but Wu Qian and Ma Guangzu were already so shocked that they couldn't keep their mouths together.

"This, this is more ...... than a stone cannon."