"This thorn!" Zhang Dian cursed silently in his heart.

An Tao is insidious enough, he can easily solve his attack on him at the beginning, but this old thief actually endured it, and pitifully pretended to be a closed guest, as if he had really made a big mistake.

Just as Tai Ji was about to list the charges against An Tao, the ten Tusi of Qingtang who had just been enthroned actually sacrificed 20,000 war horses in one go. Emperor Zhao Xu was so happy that he almost promoted An Tao to a scholar of the Guanwen Palace, but if he hadn't argued for it, he would have given him a scholar of the Imperial Palace

。 This post is actually lower than An Tao's actual official position, after all, he is the Privy Councillor of Zheng Erpin's Tongzhi.

Except for the fact that you can give an extra amount of money and food, there is no benefit.

But this is an honor, in the eyes of the emperor, An Tao has no sins, and he has been washed away all of a sudden, and even with this goods he has become a good person in the eyes of the emperor?

Is An Tao a good person?

He is a good person, and there is one official above the second rank of the Great Song Dynasty, and this thing is the most insidious.

Compared with Wenchen like Li Qingchen who came out of the Secretary Province and the Hanlin Academy, An Tao, who was blackened from the Imperial Historical Observatory, is the confidant that Zhang Dian thinks is a big problem.

Today's An Tao, swept away the previous decadence, but the energetic dared to ridicule his military talents, is it tolerable or unbearable, Zhang Dian thought about going back, but he hesitated a little with a headache.

Will Li Kui, this kid, lie to himself?

The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, one is counted as one, and the officials below the fourth grade, who dare to stare at him and talk nonsense are Li Kui's guys.

Thinking of this, Zhang Dian also hesitated, is what Li Kui said true or false?

What's even worse is that he is a dignified prime minister, and he can't tell whether what Li Kui said is true or false, which is the most embarrassing part.

But the matter has come to this point, Zhang Dian can't let An Tao take care of it, and immediately said: "Renjie grew up with me, and he has a generous personality, I believe he will not deceive me and ignore the interests of the Great Song Dynasty." ”

When Zhang Dian said this, if he had good memories or admiration on his face, there would be no problem.

But the way you grit your teeth makes people very unconfident!

How can I meet you?

But Zhang Dian did not come without any preparation, he also came with a little result, that is, through Li Kui, he improved the iron smelting furnace of the Great Song Dynasty, and adopted the coking process of charcoal, and the pig iron smelted from the original iron sand was suddenly improved by several grades, and became refined iron with extremely high purity.

If it continues, Zhang Dian pondered, the changes in the army that Li Kui said were not completely hopeless.

Thinking of this, he smiled sadly, laughing at An Tao's shallowness, especially Li Qingchen's six gods without masters, completely obeying An Tao's appearance, which made him even more proud, two Muggles, not the old man's general.

"Before the old man came, Renjie improved the new iron-smelting technique, and through a month of exploration and improvement by the iron supervisor, the most inferior hemp iron smelted from the original iron sand has been improved to fine iron at once. Moreover, the output of four or five thousand catties can be reached at one time, which is several times that of the previous one. Especially after the fine iron can be mass-produced, the weapons of our Great Song Dynasty will be improved in the long run. ”

Zhang Dian said that these were the results of his staring, so he naturally talked about it eloquently.

Li Qingchen coughed, interrupting Zhang Dian's boasting. On the contrary, Zhang Dian commented that he didn't want to come to the stage: "Zihou, you can't say clearly, or let people come, right?" ”

Zhang Dun is a person who wants to save face!

Li Qingchen opened his mouth to slander people's innocence, saying that he didn't know how to pretend to understand, could he bear it?

"Li Qingchen, the old man is staring at the whole time, isn't it better for you to understand?"

Zhang Dan's fury with blowing his beard and glaring at him did not frighten Li Qingchen.

Everyone is a product in the morning, who is afraid of whom!

Besides, the artillery that Li Kui made before can still be understood, but what about snowflake salt and kerosene?

Especially in the salt pan method, why can the impurities in the sea salt be removed through crystallization at different temperatures? Why does Yantian need to constantly pump brine, pumping different concentrations of brine into different salt pans, and always changing places? In the end, the condensed salt actually reached the highest sea salt and better sea salt before?

Why do you use soy milk to remove impurities from salt at the end?

Not to mention Li Qingchen, even the salt prison can't say clearly. Not to mention the salt prison, even Li Kui can't say it clearly. Some of them can explain that the saturation of condensation is different for different hydrochlorides. But there are some things he can't say clearly, for example, why can soy milk adsorb impurities and turn into foam?

This is related to the characteristics of proteins, and it is strange that Li Kui can explain it clearly.

Therefore, all his secret recipes only have a method of preparation, and there is no principle. I don't know the principle, no one can explain it, why is that?

Zhang Dian did not believe in evil, and Li Qingchen would not give him face, so he immediately asked Zhang Dian a question: "Haiyan is a little bitter, after the salt field method has been confirmed to be feasible, my Great Song Dynasty has pushed this good method, and the effect is remarkable." But the official asks you, why do you have to constantly change the brine into a pool in the salt field method, and finally boil the snowflake salt, why do you add soy milk? What is the rationale for this? In the same way, why did Li Kui want to make coke, why did he change to a new furnace, and he could produce fine iron all at once, what is the reason? ”

Zhang Dian was stunned, he also knew the process of the Yantian Law, but it was indeed difficult for him to make a reason. Iron smelting is much more complicated than drying salt, how can he explain it clearly? After opening and closing his mouth for a while, Zhang Dian threw off his clothes and left, and left a sentence before leaving: "The old man will come when he goes." ”

Li Qingchen looked at Zhang Dan's back and said with a wicked smile: "He went to turn the book." ”

"Is it in the book?" An Tao giggled, if there was, why didn't Li Kui find out before?

Open books are beneficial, but not all learning can be found in open books.

Li Qingchen was actually half right, Zhang Dian went back to flip through the book, and at the same time sent someone to invite Li Kui.

As for why not in the Privy Council, etc.?

The main reason is that Zhang Dian can't stand Li Qingchen and An Tao being embarrassed and embarrassed, and the villain's face is triumphant.

If the official is small, there will be no human rights.

Obviously in the middle of the holiday, Li Kui just wanted to leave the capital and return to his hometown, but he was detained by Zhang Dan. Now I can't leave if I want to, and I have to be called to the iron prison often.

Finally, the matter of the iron supervisor came to an end. Today's iron supervisor, after mastering the charcoal coking method and blast furnace method, is still in the process of improving the process, digesting technology and increasing production capacity.

He pondered that he could finally prepare to return to his hometown.

No, Zhang Zhu personally ran to call him, so that his preparation was suspected of being wasted.

"Third Uncle Zhang, you have a black face, don't you have any money again?"

The third son of the prime minister's family, Zhang Zhu, came to invite people, and it stands to reason that he should greet him with a smile, but there is no way, before he came, he was scolded by Zhang Xuan, who was angry in the Privy Council, and he had to run errands non-stop, so it's strange that his face can be good?

Zhang Zhu sighed and said, "As long as your third uncle and I have an official, I will not be mixed with such a bird." ”

"You are a jinshi, it is not easy to choose an official?"

"When the prime minister of the court doesn't agree, who will give you the third uncle and my official position?"

Zhang Zhu wanted to leave the shadow of his father Zhang Dan, but unfortunately, he didn't have this ability at all.

Li Kui also smiled bitterly, he couldn't help. And his situation is not much better than that of Zhang Zhu, although he does not have a father who is the prime minister, but he is too good, he is stared at by too many people, and his life is sad.

Riding a horse casually, dismounted from the front of the Baokang Gate, then passed through the right gate, passed through the Changqing Gate, and walked all the way along the palace road, followed by Menxia Province, Metropolitan Hall, Zhongshu Province and Privy Council. It can be said that the Privy Council relied on the nearest official office of the Daqing Palace, and was once the most prominent yamen. Now that he has fallen under the capital, it is enough to be aggrieved.

Li Kui had just arrived at the Privy Council, and Zhang Dian followed. When he entered the door, he shouted: "Renjie, tell Li Qingchen and An Tao, what is science?" ”

"Science is not a thing!"

Li Kui came as soon as he opened his mouth.

Zhang Dian was in a hurry at that time, he pulled Li Kui and whispered: "You kid want to demolish my platform?" ”

"How dare I?" Li Kui immediately shouted aggrieved, and bullied him with a field that Zhang Dian couldn't understand, and he didn't understand it. But if Zhang Dian can't get off the stage in person, he really has to think about it. If Zhang Dian was in a hurry, Li Kui pondered that his father-in-law, Taishi Liu, would not be able to protect him.

Li Kui's mind spun quickly, and suddenly a word came to mind: "It's Gewu, Gewu Zhizhi." ”

Although the word 'Gewu Zhizhi' comes from the "Book of Rites", the great Confucian Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty also commented on it, and the subsequent Confucianism has always explained this word. The most acceptable thing is Li Ao of the Tang Dynasty: "Everything comes to feel, and the heart knows that it is not confused." This is the knowledge of things. ”

Zhang Duan raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "Boy, this is not what you told me before. ”

Li Kui was a little short of words, so he had to say innocently: "I didn't think about it at the time." ”

Zhang Dian stared at Li Kui thoughtfully, he felt that he had been trapped. Fortunately, Li Kui didn't explain too much, but began to explain the excerpt he wrote in the capital hall:

"Ladies and gentlemen, have you read what the lower officials said?"

"The main thing is to reform the military system, but even the weapons have changed, which is not very reasonable, right?"

Li Kui said with a smile: "It's not all new weapons, but to use infantry weapons with simpler training and stronger attack power to smooth out the field gap between the Great Song Dynasty and even the Central Plains army and the grassland cavalry." Specifically, artillery can disperse the dense charge of cavalry, which is easy to understand, and has been verified during the Jinmingzhai War. ”

Zhang Dun, Li Qingchen and An Tao nodded frequently, it is undeniable that artillery can indeed give a great blow to the cavalry charging densely in the field.

But what about muskets?

Wouldn't it be a disadvantage for a soldier not to carry a knife or a gun, but to use a musket that came close to him, no different from a burning stick?

Li Kui said: "As for muskets, there are many needs to cooperate with various tactics. After improving the glaive, he thought that using the cart as a pile and the fence as a wall could protect the safety of the musketeers. At the same time, it will have a good effect with artillery. But firearms also have a fatal flaw, they cannot fight in rain and snow. Therefore, once my Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State fought, cavalry was still needed, but not light cavalry, but heavy cavalry. ”

"Heavy cavalry...... It's a gold-eater. How much did the Western Xia and Liao use to build? The Iron Harriers of Western Xia have always had only 3,000 people, and the number of Tielin Army of Liao has not exceeded 10,000. ”

Li Qingchen was in the home of the Privy Council of the Great Song Dynasty, although the annual military expenditure of the Great Song Dynasty was an astronomical amount.

But if he really wanted to form a heavy cavalry, he also hesitated.

For heavy riding, one ride with three horses is a weak match, and one ride with five horses is the standard. And that's not even counting matching weapons, armor, harness, and more. Feed money alone is not a small amount. It can be said that in the past, the money spent on one heavy cavalry could raise a hundred spearmen, fifty crossbowmen, and twenty heavy infantry.

Moreover, the heavy cavalry on the horse of the Great Song Dynasty seemed to be a bit too big for Li Qingchen.

He didn't oppose it, he didn't support it, and obviously he had to think about it. Immediately changed the topic and said: "If the Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State go to war, will these alone ensure victory?" ”

"What nonsense? What is the combat power of the forbidden army, you will not know? "It's not been a day or two since Zhang Dian was scolded by Li Kui these days, and he finally seized the opportunity to let go of the opportunity to ridicule Li Qingchen?

Li Qingchen sneered and looked at Zhang Dian: "You dare to move the forbidden army?" ”

This is tantamount to kicking the ball to Zhangton, but Zhangdun can't help it. Mobilize the forbidden army, although most of the forbidden army in the Great Song Dynasty has rotted to the roots, but if the forbidden army is moved, this is shaking the country.

Even if Zhang Diangui was the prime minister, he didn't dare to change the law to the head of the forbidden army.

At the beginning, Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi changed the law, and they did not target the forbidden army. It's just that the peasant soldiers who don't feel pain, and they don't dare to talk about the recruitment system, so they can only secretly engage in the Western Army. This is still due to the fact that the Western Army was almost wiped out several times, and most of the people died, so they had to accept the recruitment system to replenish their troops.

If there is such a big move on Hedong Road and Hebei North Road, it must alarm the gates.

In this matter, even a person with such an iron head as Zhang Dun did not dare to boast about Haikou. can only bypass: "Let the officials decide this matter." Renjie, you continue. ”

Li Kui asked: "Is there a map of the Song-Liao border, and there are still sea charts?" ”

"What's the use of charts?" Zhang Dian asked a question that was stupid for Li Kui.

Li Kui couldn't imagine that there was no sailor in Liao at all, but the Great Song Dynasty had the most powerful sailor in the current world, and this force was not used, isn't it stupid?

"From Hedong Road and Hebei Road to attack Liao, although it is the main force. But for our purpose, it is to take the sixteen states of Yanyun, and if I can have an army in the Great Song Dynasty to go around to the rear of the Liao State and land in this place, first, we can threaten Zhongjing of the Liao State; Second, relying on geographical advantages, Liao cut off the reinforcements from Zhongjing and Tokyo, why not? (There is also Tokyo in Liaoguo, but it is only called Liaoyang Mansion...... In later generations, it is very close to the big city of Tieling)

Whether it's Li Qingchen or An Tao, I can't see why I'm staring at the map.

As for Zhang Dan, he wondered how big the ship should be, how to march into the army, and what if stealing chickens and rice would not fail?

Li Kui looked anxious, pointed to a finger-sized island on the map and said: "If the sailor takes Juehua Island, he can not only threaten the rear of the Liao State, but also attack the hinterland of the Liao State when necessary." is like a nail, stuck in the heart of the Liao people, so that they can't move. ”

Li Kui slapped a small island on the map, and his momentum was like a rainbow.

But Zhang Dian was very confused, and the Great Song Dynasty had no idea of naval warfare at all. It never even occurred to me to threaten the hinterland of Liao with a water division. When it was time in the Southern Song Dynasty, Dengzhou was controlled by the Jin people, and then they thought of attacking with water divisions. Nowadays, from the prime minister to the local commander, there is no idea of a sailor fighting.

Zhang Dian thought for a long time and looked at Li Qingchen, who didn't dare to make up his mind and looked at An Tao.

An Tao's old face suddenly looked ugly, and he said in his heart: "You don't understand, and I don't understand!" I had to wait for Ai Ai to say: "This will cost a lot of money, right?" ”

"It doesn't matter if you have money or not, three years of foot soldiers, ten years of cavalry, fifty years of navy, that is, the navy, as long as the navy is strong, why should my Great Song Dynasty look at the Liao State in his eyes?" Li Kui pointed to the map and swore that "At that time, wherever my Great Song Navy goes, it will be my country and my people." ”

Fifty years?

Zhang Dian snorted angrily: "Can the old man still see it? ”

Li Kui opened his mouth, he felt a little redundant. Fifty years of navy refers to the establishment of a first-class navy that can compete for world dominance. And now, Liao doesn't even have a few ships that can go to sea, so what kind of navy does it need to build? Today's Great Song Sailor can bully the Liao people to cry and call their mothers. It's just that the Great Song Navy of this era had a fatal weakness, the landing ability was too poor, and once the officers and soldiers of the naval division went ashore, they were like lambs to be slaughtered in the eyes of the Liao people. And Rewu is definitely the biggest savior of the navy.

Li Kui went from the sea and land joint operations that he was looking forward to, to the fact that he finally found that the prime minister and privy envoy of the dignified Song Dynasty had a confused look in their eyes, and he suddenly said angrily: "Forget it, let the officials decide!" ”