Under the leadership of Hou Yuangao, Su Hao came to a shack, in a corner of the shack, a three-meter-long cannon was extremely conspicuous, in addition to more than a dozen small cannons such as bowl mouth cannons and tiger squat cannons, but judging from the rusty stains, the age of these things is estimated to be not small, at least not younger than his grandfather, whether they can be used is one thing.

"Qianhu, this is the Hongyi Cannon."

Hou Yuan said in a deep voice: "The power of this kind of artillery is not small, if it falls into the crowd, it can kill at least dozens of people, but this kind of artillery is also easy to blow up."

Hearing the explosion, Su Hao said with a serious expression: "The manufacture of any Hongyi cannon must be strictly supervised, no corners are allowed, every cannon must be signed, and if something goes wrong, it will be investigated to the end."

After being in Jinyiwei for so long, he also has a deep understanding of the Ming army, in fact, the Ming Dynasty popularized firearms in the Yongle years, and the powerful firearms army made the men on the grassland become good at singing and dancing.

It's a pity that no matter how good firearms are, they can't help but be greedy, since Yongle, the world is peaceful, there is no war, the manufacture of firearms has become a fragrant gluttony in the eyes of countless people, and the manufacture of a qualified firearm costs at least two taels of silver, and a shoddy one only needs half a tael of silver, not to mention artillery, the profits are so large that many people are tempted.

The result of the shoddy work is that the probability of a successful shot is greater than that of a shot, and every shot fired is a walk before the ghost gate closes.

It's just that before the civil fort, the military generals have not lost their position, and as a military general, they also know that the role of fire guns and artillery is very great, and the rule of officials has not been completely corrupted, and the shoddy firearms are still limited.

However, after the civil fort, the civilian officials took power, and the rule of officials had collapsed, and those civilians did not understand the military, so they would not care about the role of firearms and artillery, and those who could cut corners were all reduced and reduced, directly turning the powerful firearms army back to the era of cold weapons.

If it weren't for that, Nurhachi's dance moves would definitely be very skillful and moving, but unfortunately there is no if in the world.

"The lower officials must be strictly controlled."

Hearing Su Hao's words, Hou Yuangao hurriedly responded.

"Hmm."

After nodding, Su Hao then asked, "How much reserve of gunpowder materials are there?"

Hou Yuangao replied, "There are 8,000 catties."

"Remember to store them separately so there are no accidents."

Su Hao nodded, in the past two or three years, he has already asked people to buy raw materials for gunpowder everywhere, just to not attract attention, he has always only let people buy them secretly, otherwise it will be pediatrics if he gets 350,000 catties.

However, these 8,000 catties of gunpowder are enough to defend the city, he is not going to make firebolts now, in defending the city, bows and arrows are more suitable than firebolts, and now all the craftsmen who can make firebolts have been transferred by him to make artillery, and they have no time to make firebolts, they are simply used to fire artillery and make primitive grenades, and 8,000 catties of gunpowder can be used for a long time.

Besides, the people he arranged outside are still continuing to buy raw materials for gunpowder, and it should be okay to hold on for a few years.

It's a pity that the power of gunpowder is still too small now, even if it is a hundred catties of gunpowder, the explosion is only a large range, and the power is not as good as a thunderbolt fire bomb, which is still a little useful for third-rate warriors. ….

If you deal with a second-rate martial artist, the opponent can completely escape from the explosion range before the explosion, at the speed of a second-rate martial artist, not to mention one step of ten meters, four or five meters can still be done, only like a thunderbolt fire bomb, it will explode instantly when it is touched, and a second-rate martial artist can be killed without any delay.

However, it is not bad to clean up ordinary soldiers on the battlefield, with the power of the armored paper man, carrying one or two hundred pounds of bombs, the speed is also much faster than that of ordinary people, and it can cause a lot of killing.

It's just that this can only be done on the battlefield, after all, he can't go anywhere with hundreds of kilograms of gunpowder, and he doesn't have space spells and magic weapons such as Sumeru Na Jie Zi or Qiankun bag, and he rarely has time to deal with a large number of ordinary people, and now he still has forty or fifty thunderbolts on his body, and when it's really time to use them, these thunderbolts are more effective than gunpowder.

Zichuan, Huanshan.

In the middle of the mountain forest at night, a lively street suddenly appeared, and countless red and white lanterns were high

Hanging, it illuminates the whole street and fills the street with an eerie atmosphere.

There are people coming and going on the streets, there are men and women, old and young, nuns and monks, and Taoist priests and aunts, but more of them are dressed strangely, the only thing that is the same is that these people have a kind of atmosphere that people are not close to, and most of them have bad faces.

On both sides of the street, there are stalls one by one, but they are different from the stalls in ordinary markets, and the goods on these stalls are strange, including blood-stained copper coins, blackened wood, gloomy iron nails, and strange insects......

What's more, there is a red coffin!

Two Taoist priests, one old and one young, wearing Taoist robes, walked slowly down the street, and the young Taoist priest was next to the old Taoist priest, looking at the stalls on both sides of the street, the young Taoist priest couldn't help but mutter, "Master, why do these people make the street so gloomy, it looks like an evil sect is crooked."

Although the voice of the young Taoist priest was very low, but there were no ordinary people who could come to this kind of place, and the next moment, hundreds of people around looked at the young Taoist priest at the same time, and the atmosphere instantly froze, and there was an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest frowned, took a step forward directly, and the momentum emanated, and a golden pattern appeared on the Taoist robe.

Seeing this pattern, everyone's faces changed, and then they retracted their gaze dissatisfied.

Heavenly Master's Mansion!

Although they were dissatisfied with the words of the young Taoist priest, the golden lines represented that the two of them were from the Heavenly Master's Mansion, not a life-and-death feud, and they didn't want to provoke the people of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.

Seeing that everyone had withdrawn their gaze, the old Taoist priest turned around and scolded angrily, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, don't think about going out with me again in the future!"

"Master, don't dare!"

The young Taoist priest hurriedly said, his face still had a look of heart, just now he really felt the breath of death, if it wasn't for his master's premonition, his fate would definitely not be much better.

In an attic not far away, two middle-aged men in robes and coats looked at the two from afar.

If there is a circle of Left Dao warlocks, they will definitely be able to recognize the identities of the two, Dong Shichang, the leader of the Meishan lineage, and Xie Bing, the leader of the Yinshan faction.

"Heavenly Master's Mansion!" ….

Seeing that the old Taoist priest had scared away hundreds of people with just a flash, Dong Shichang snorted coldly, "What a big name!"

"There's no way about this, who made them orthodox recognized by the imperial court."

Xie Bing shook his head, the strength of these small sects and small sects was completely not enough in front of Longhu Mountain.

Hearing Xie Bing's words, Dong Shichang could only sigh, although the Meishan lineage does have a bit of a reputation in the Meishan area, but compared to Taoism, a sect recognized by the imperial court and with followers all over the Ming Dynasty, the Meishan lineage is not on the stage at all.

After a moment of silence, Dong Shichang spoke: "Brother Xie, I heard that the Jinyi Wei Qianhu in Jinan Mansion rebelled and took Jinan Mansion, have you heard?"

"Naturally, I won't be ignorant of such a big thing."

Xie Bing was puzzled, "It's just that this matter has nothing to do with us, right?"

The Zuo Dao Warlock has always stayed away from the court, and no matter how big the trouble in the court is, it can't implicate them.

Dong Shichang said calmly: "That Qianhu learned the inheritance of the lineage of paper-making craftsmen."

"Brother Dong, is this intentional participation?"

Hearing this, Xie Bing's eyes showed a different color, although Dong Shichang did not say it explicitly, but the meaning in his words was obvious.

"The Left Dao Warlock is not recognized by the people of the world, and now that someone is in trouble, if I can use this to make my Meishan lineage become orthodox from the dragon's skill, it is not impossible to make a move."

Dong Shichang said calmly, "Brother Xie, your Yinshan Sect is not treated well by the world."

Hearing Dong Shichang's words, Xie Bing was also silent, the ancestor of the Yinshan lineage was Xie Wuyan, a Taoist family, and their Xie family was inherited by Xie Wuyan.

Their ancestor Xie Wuyan combined Maoshan method and witchcraft, and fused some spells of Lushan, Pu'an and other schools to form the Yinshan method, but although Xie Wuyan has a bit of a reputation among Taoists, known as Liuhu Sanxian, but the Yinshan line is not accepted by Taoism, and can only become one of the side doors.

Because

Worship the master of Yinshan, the king of ghost power, the emperor of Pangu is the main, the law is heavy on yin, and the commander is good at adjusting the soul, exorcising the soul, locking the soul and other techniques, and cultivating the ghost art, and there are often people in the Yinshan line who fall into the evil way, harming the people, so they are not treated well by the orthodox Taoists.

"Although the dragon's skill is good, the probability of that Qianhu's failure is too great."

After pondering for a moment, Xie Bing sighed, "And he is still under the banner of the White Lotus Sect, even if we join, we may not be taken seriously."

In the past few hundred years, the White Lotus Sect has risen countless times, and these leftist sects have never participated in it, the main reason is because the White Lotus Sect has its own lineage, even if they really change the world, they will not be canonized to become orthodox, and the most likely thing is to merge into the White Lotus Sect and become a branch of the White Lotus Sect.

"I've inquired, that Qianhu just borrowed the name of the White Lotus Sect."

Dong Shichang said calmly, "His Guardians only worship him as their master, and do not believe in other gods, nor do they let other White Lotus Sect people preach under him."

"So, we have a chance?"

Hearing this, Xie Bing was also a little moved, the imperial court included all the methods of Taoism, including the method of building the foundation of Taoism, although the ancestor of their Xie family, Xie Wuyan, was also a member of the Taoist family, but Xie Wuyan did not know the method of building the foundation of Taoism, so the inheritance of the Xie family was also flawed. ….

If you can really have a chance to achieve the work of the dragon, even if you can't be canonized to become orthodox, but if you want to get the foundation building method of Taoism, it is possible to fill the inheritance of the Xie family, and even be recognized by Taoism, it is not impossible to become a branch of Taoism, after all, the Yinshan lineage and Taoism have long been related.

"I'm going to let a few of my disciples join that Senhu first."

Dong Shichang said calmly: "If he really has the possibility of success, I will persuade Meishan to completely join him."

Hearing Dong Shichang's words, Xie Bing raised his eyebrows, although the Meishan lineage is only inherited in the Meishan area, but it has been inherited for thousands of years, and now the Meishan lineage is said to have a martial arts master realm of the left way warlock in charge, if all of them join, the absolute power of the thousand households will rise sharply.

More importantly, with the influence of the Meishan First Pulse in the Meishan area, even if the Qianhu can't stay in Jinan, as long as he arrives in Meishan, he can use the influence of the Meishan First Pulse to raise an army again.

"Since that's the case, then I'll accompany Brother Dong to gamble on this."

After a long time, Xie Bing made a decision in his heart, the Left Dao Warlock has always been rejected by the court, and most of the Left Dao Warlocks live a wealthy life, and there are always very few people who dare to cause trouble, Su Hao, as the heir of the paper maker, is more likely to accept them, and it is worth their bet.

"Then let's wish our hearts come true."

Dong Shichang picked up the wine glass on the table, Xie Bing also picked up the wine glass, the two clinked glasses, everything was silent.

………

Cangzhou.

As the transportation was cut off, the merchants left the dock one after another, and the entire transportation dock was deserted at once.

The state government, Wang Congyi, the governor of Shandong, and Yang Guodong, the general soldier of Shandong, surrounded a huge topographic map.

"General Yang, now that the rebels have captured Dongchang Mansion and cut off the Cao Yun, Your Majesty is very angry, and has ordered us to open up the Cao Yun as soon as possible and restore the Cao Yun to normal, what do you think should be done?"

On the map, there is a small flag on the location of Dongchang Mansion and Jinan Mansion, and Wang Congyi is frowning.

"It's hard."

Yang Guodong sighed: "Governor Wang also served as the prefect of Dongchang Mansion before, and he also knows the terrain of Dongchang Mansion, and those rebels also took away the grain from Dezhou and Linqing Prefecture, and there is no shortage of food and water, and it is definitely not a matter of time and a half to capture it."

Although the two of them have rushed over, the soldiers and horses from all over the country are still on the way, and now there are not many soldiers and horses in Cangzhou at all, and there is no way to stop the rebels from transporting grain, and forcibly sending troops is just an egg hitting a stone.

Hearing Yang Guodong's words, Wang Congyi could only sigh, he had been in Dongchang Mansion for several years, and he knew better than anyone how difficult Dongchang Mansion was to attack, even if the city wall was high, more importantly, the city was surrounded by Dongchang Lake, only arch bridges were passable, there was no place to launch an army, and even the siege could not be done.

The inability to besiege the city means

There is no way to prevent the other party from going out of the city, and the canal is not far from the capital city, and the troops guarding the canal are less, and the other party can easily swallow it, and there is no place to station, which is a complete dead end.

"If you can't do it, you have to do it!"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Congyi gritted his teeth and said: "No matter what, we have to restore the passage of Cao Yun, if Cao Yun is interrupted, the imperial court will not be able to afford the border army and the Beijing camp and our grain and grass here, if we can't resume Cao Yun for a long time, the court will definitely blame us!"

Since the imperial court appointed them to quell the rebellion, then they have only two ways to go, succeed, get promoted and get rich, fail, demote and lose their officials, as for telling the court that it is difficult to attack the city, the court will not care about this, if you can't do it, you have no ability, or you are derelict in your duties.

If you can't do it, then change to someone who can do it, the attitude of the imperial court is so simple.

Hearing this, Yang Guodong didn't say anything, just stared at the map, frowning and pondering.

bq.

This Ganges beaver