I can't straighten my waist when I'm tired, and it has nothing to do with myself, it's your concubine who is uncomfortable.

Under Li Kui's contemptuous eyes, Zheng Qi had to lower his unwilling head, and could only say euphemistically: "Renjie, you also know, I don't dare to guarantee ......"

"A hundred new guns."

Li Kui would not be used to Zheng Qi, and seeing that Zheng Qi was still chirping, he immediately put pressure on this guy.

Zheng Qi's eyes widened, and after his pupils contracted rapidly for a while, he arched his hand and said to Li Kui: "Go slowly, don't send it!" ”

How could there be such a discussion, he clearly said that his iron supervisor could not achieve the output required by Li Kui. Li Kui didn't say that he lowered the requirements, but added more output, is this the style of doing things?

It's too bullying.

This is bullying!

Bullying him, Zheng Qi has no backstage in the court.

If it weren't for Li Kui's flintlock pistol, the emperor wouldn't even know that there was such a person as Zheng Qi.

If it weren't for the fact that the official rank was one level lower than Li Kui, he would still be the kind of marginal bureaucrat who didn't love his uncle and didn't love him, facing a favored minister like Li Kui who could talk to the emperor and prime minister. If the two are equal, Zheng Qi will inevitably clench his back molars, rise his lips to Li Kui with the breath of dantian, and say the last word with a smile: "Get out!" ”

It's a pity that Zheng Qi doesn't have the courage to do so.

Of course, the consequences of doing so are also serious. As long as Li Kui goes to the emperor or Zhang Dian to slander him, saying that he Zheng Qi is not, he doesn't want to be promoted to be systematic, that is, whether the official position of this iron supervisor can be kept is two words.

After leaving the iron prison, Li Kui went to the Military Command Bureau non-stop, and Cai Jing, who got the news, hurried over: "Bureau, something is wrong?" ”

"You don't know?"

Cai Jing was stunned, he had been away from the circle of power center for a long time, and national affairs seemed to be insulated from him. was really stumped by Li Kui's question.

Li Kui explained: "The king humiliated the ministers to death, and now the Liao State is aggressive, and if I take a step back, the national prestige will be damaged." In addition, the official family is young, and they will inevitably refuse to swallow their anger, and under the stalemate, the outcome is unpredictable. ”

"Going to war?" Cai Jing said to himself, of course he didn't mean to fight with Western Xia. Since Li Yuanhao became emperor, the fig leaf of Western Xia and the Great Song Dynasty has been completely torn. In the next fifty or sixty years, the Great Song Dynasty and the Western Xia fought hundreds of small wars, and fought wars almost every year. Fighting with Western Xia is the daily routine of the Great Song Dynasty, and Cai Jing will not care. And what he cares about must be an opponent that is more difficult to deal with than Western Xia, and this opponent has only one for the Great Song Dynasty, the Liao State.

It is not easy to say which of the Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State is stronger or weaker.

After all, on the surface, both sides say that they are stronger, but the strange two sides are very jealous of each other, and neither dares to start a war lightly.

If it really starts, this war will inevitably involve the Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State in a catastrophe. But it's not necessarily all bad. What if the battle is won?

Cai Jing didn't think about the result of losing, the main thing was that he lost, there was nothing, and it was useless to think about it. What if you win?

Especially Li Kui's brilliant resume on the battlefield, which has never been defeated, is simply the hardest thigh in his Cai Jing's life, if he doesn't hold it tightly, he can't say it on his conscience!

"The bureau, the lower officials are willing to be the pawns of the bureau and serve the dogs and horses for the bureau!"

"Hey, wait, what did you say, you want to go with the army ......?"

Cai Jing's performance made Li Kui a little unable to react, did this old boy take the wrong medicine? It's just that he can get promoted and get rich, but he also wants to come over when he goes to the battlefield, could it be that Cai Jing still has lofty ideals such as national righteousness in his heart, which have not been developed, and he will not be reformed until he follows Li Kui?

That's weird, isn't it?

Of course Li Kui didn't believe it, he didn't believe that Cai Jing had such a high consciousness, something must have gone wrong. Li Kui looked Cai Jing up and down for a while, how to see that this old boy is not loyal to the country.

Cai Jingxu was uncomfortable by Li Kui, raised his elbow and sneered at Li Kui: "Bureau, don't look at the thin officials, there is meat in the bones, and the muscles and bones are good!" ”

Li Kuixin didn't believe this, Cai Jing would not be bad according to his lifespan. But the problem is that this muscle and bone are not the same concept as the muscles and bones of the army and fighting.

Li Kui just said in a deep voice: "I'll think about it!" ”

From the bottom of his heart, he refused Cai Jing to join the army, the reason was very simple, Cai Jing couldn't endure the hardships of war. As for Cai Jing's loyalty, Li Kui can probably guess some of it, for military merit.

Cai Jing Nengwen, this is needless to say. The Cai brothers' literary name is still a bit influential, if this guy still adds a label of martial arts, he will have a chance to be reinstated again. In terms of ability, it must be the second chapter.

Of course, there is no hope of being a prime minister, but there is still a chance to enter the Privy Council.

If An Tao is replaced by Cai Jing's gang, won't he have to ride on the head of the master?

Can't let this old boy be complacent!

Li Kui thought to himself, this is not that he is jealous, but that he is patriotic if he does not give traitors the opportunity to make meritorious contributions.

Thinking of this, Li Kui nodded with satisfaction, and then he met with the leader of the craftsmen of the Military Command Bureau, Han Jing. There is also Han Gonglian, who makes machines. He asked, "How many craftsmen in the bureau can help make bullets today?" ”

"There are more than 200 people, the bureau seat, and after receiving the order, my workshop has cut the output of glass mirrors and other industries, and made every effort to create bullets."

"Han Gonglian, how is the machine doing?"

"Back to the bureau, the machine has been tried, there is no problem at all, as long as the mold is built, it can start production."

Compared with Han Jing, Li Kui attaches more importance to Han Gonglian, after all, this is the only talent in the Military Unification Bureau who can serve as the chief engineer, and it is also Li Kui's hope for realizing the mechanization of the military industry. Although the current Great Song Dynasty relied on craftsmen, it was able to complete a large number of military production. The flintlock pistol, in particular, has been able to meet the needs of the army's equipment.

It can be said that in time, as long as it takes a few years, the Great Song Dynasty will be able to form a firearms force of 20,000 horses.

But for Li Kui, this is not enough.

Although it is possible to adopt a standardized concept for manual manufacturing, the ideal manufacturing method for industrial products is machines. In particular, the improvement in precision has led to a more sophisticated approach to weapon manufacturing.

Only in this way can the Great Song Dynasty solve the threat of the northern grasslands once and for all.

It doesn't matter if it's a Khitan, a Jurchen, or a Mongol. In essence, they are still cavalry and cavalry shooting routines, and if they really face a large-scale firearms army, they will not necessarily destroy the country after a crushing defeat. But the inability to go south is certain.

Han Gonglian is different from Han Jing, he is a professional with positive facial features and eight classics in the Taishi Bureau.

He brought the drawings of the machine for Li Kui to see: "Bureau, you see that this is a machine designed by Xia Guan, and the machine can be rotated by using the turbine traction from the culvert below. This machine can grind the inner wall of the gun chamber, and the grinding time of the gun chamber has been shortened from the original ten days to two days today. In addition, Xia Guan also designed a stamping machine, which used water power to stamp out large pieces of copper and used them to make ammunition, increasing the original ammunition manufacturing speed by ten times. ”

"Okay, great." Li Kui patted Han Gonglian's shoulder and said with his eyebrows flying: "Old Han, if this official wants to promote you, he has to reward you greatly!" ”

"Liang Shijie, go to the treasury to give Lao Han 5,000 yuan and reward the machine workshop."

Han Gonglian immediately bowed down and thanked: "Thank you for the reward!" ”

If you want to say that the eyes are hot, that's for sure. Han Jing's eyes were a little strange when he looked at Han Gonglian. But there is no way, he has a hard time being literate, let alone thinking about understanding the machine designed and manufactured by Han Gonglian. Even if he put the machine drawings designed by Han Gonglian in front of Han Jing, he couldn't understand it, and this kind of IQ crushing made him jealous. In fact, as far as the parts of the machine are concerned, some parts are a little rough in Li Kui's opinion. If he had enough time, he would be interested in discussing with Han Gonglian how to improve.

It's a pity that the time is too rushed, and after Li Kui instructed the inside of the Military Command Bureau, he immediately rushed to the palace.

Dushitang, Zhang Dian pointed to the northern defense line and said to Li Kui: "Renjie, you came just in time." If you are allowed to lead troops, you will be able to resist the southward movement of 100,000 Liao countries? ”

"Unstoppable!"

Li Kui didn't even think about it, and directly said an answer that disappointed Zhang Dan, which once again shattered the hope that Zhang Dian had just mentioned.

Zhang Dian said unwillingly: "Zhending Mansion, there are 70,000 troops on the front line of Hejian Mansion, all of which are under your command?" ”

Li Kui said helplessly: "Zhang Xiang, what is the forbidden army on the northern front like, don't you know it yet?" With an army of 70,000, it is already burning incense to have an army of 30,000 to fight. Even if I command these 30,000 infantry troops, how can I stop the cavalry that can march more than 200 miles in one day? ”

That's a hard question to answer.

Zhang Dian also knew that if the Liao army was determined to go south, the northern defense line of the Great Song Dynasty would be almost useless. And Li Kui's words just broke a basin of cold water for him.

The reason why Zhang Dian was in a hurry to attack Western Xia was, on the one hand, his trust in his own brother. Zhang Ji, a scholar of Longtu Pavilion, has been in charge of the Western Army for more than ten years, and the Western Xia has never gained any advantage in the battle against the Great Song Dynasty. The only time the crisis was because Zhang Dian had just come to power, and he was afraid of being gossiped about, so he transferred Zhang Qi out of the Western Army, which caused the crisis.

Of course, this crisis was snuffed out by Li Kui under Li Kui's birth.

It can be said that Li Kui and Zhang Qi are already the largest cards that Zhang Dian can handle. Now it is unknown whether Zhang Qi can destroy Western Xia. But Li Kui told him that he couldn't stop the Liao army from moving south, which was the situation that worried him the most.

If you can't defend yourself from the enemy, you can only hold on.

Li Kui pointed to the city on the map and said to Zhang Dan: "On the east and west roads of Hebei, there are two important towns, Zhending Mansion and Hejian Mansion, plus the Daimyo Mansion behind him, which can form a relatively stable defensive line. As long as these three big cities are firmly held, even if the Liao people go south, as long as one of these three important towns is retained, the Liao army will be in danger of being attacked by the enemy. They did not dare to cross the river. ”

The big river is the Yellow River, and after crossing the big river, according to the speed of the cavalry, it can reach Kaifeng Mansion within a few days.

This is not a hit to the door, but a beat to the heart.

At that time, regardless of the victory or defeat of the Great Song Dynasty, the richest prefecture and county in the Great Song Mansion will encounter an unprecedented military disaster. I don't want to take this risk, and I can't afford it.

Let me ask, because of Zhang Dan's insistence, the people in the hinterland of the Great Song Dynasty suffered heavy casualties and immeasurable losses, can he, the prime minister, continue to do it at that time?

I'm afraid that after the war, the snowflakes of impeachment will fly to the emperor's dragon book case.

Even if Zhang Dian has three heads and six arms, I am afraid he will not be able to argue.

Li Kui felt that Zhang Dian was a little worried, and said to himself: "Zhang Xiang is too worried, although my Great Song Dynasty has not fought with the Liao State for a hundred years, but the war in the northwest has lasted for decades, and the army is not necessarily much worse than the Liao State. Don't dare to say anything else, the city should still be able to hold on. Warn the local government in advance and let it take precautions, and the Liao people may not have a chance to take advantage of it. ”

"Besides, the Liao people are greedy, and everyone can see that the Liao people are just trying to covet the richness of the silver. Even if the lion of the Liao country opened his mouth, in order to temporarily stabilize the Liao people, it was not impossible to promise the next year's silver. Waiting for Zhang Longtu's victory in the Hetao, it is not impossible to reject the Liao State again. ”

Although the signing of the treaty between the Great Song Dynasty and the Liao State is a bit humiliating and humiliating, for Li Kui, I can't beat you, admit it, and don't be ashamed.

But when the master comes to his senses and has the strength, let's do it again.

Aren't treaties signed just to be torn up?

It stands to reason that Li Kuidi's suggestion has a lot of room for manipulation, but after hearing this, Zhang Dian turned strange and hesitated for a long time before he spoke: "Renjie, this idea may no longer be able to operate." ”

Zhang Dian can say that he was impulsive two days ago and completely broke off negotiations with Liao in the court. Of course, there was a reason why he did this, and the emperor did not accept the blackmail of the Liao. I don't want to follow the old path of his father, Emperor Shenzong.

The breakdown of the negotiations directly led to the increasingly strong smell of gunpowder between Song and Liao, and a major war was about to break out.

Li Kui hesitated: "You won't drive away the envoys of the Liao State, right?" ”

Zhang Dian said embarrassedly: "Almost." ”

"It's over!" Li Kuixin said: Originally, it was just a means to stabilize the Liao people, but now it can't be used. And the Great Song Dynasty can't mobilize enough troops to block the Liao State's troops now. If a major war really broke out, the Great Song Dynasty might even face a two-front battle, or even an alliance between the Liao State and the Western Xia.

In this way, there is nothing to do if the gods come, right?

Zhang Dian sneered: "The old man has already transferred the Lian army to the east, crossing the river from Lanzhou to raid the hinterland of Western Xia. As long as we can destroy the Western Xia, and the battle is quickly resolved, my Great Song Dynasty will inevitably discourage the Liao people with the power of victory. ”

"It's not a matter of discouragement, and the war of annihilation can never end anytime soon. Now my Great Song Dynasty needs to make a surprise move, and if I can make a move, the Liao Kingdom will be hurt. ”

Li Kui asked people to get the map of Song Liao, as well as the map of Tokyo Road in Liaoguo. These are the achievements of the spies of the Great Song Dynasty over the years.

Li Kui pointed to the Tokyo Road of the Liao State and said to Zhang Dan: "If you want the Liao people to really be afraid of my Great Song Dynasty, you have to start quickly and ruthlessly." Please see here for the chapter. ”

"This is the Tokyo of Liao, and there is Suzhou."

The Liao people are very lazy in choosing names, and many places are named according to the place names of the Great Song Dynasty. The Tokyo Road of the Liao Kingdom on the map is actually the Liaoyang Mansion, also known as Tokyo, one of the five capitals of the Liao Kingdom, and the Kaifeng Mansion of the Great Song Dynasty are two different things. And Suzhou of the Liao State is not the Suzhou of the Great Song Dynasty, this place was called Dalian in later generations.

Li Kui pointed to Yutu and said: "If our army can quickly arrive here from the sea and control Laisuguan, the Liao people will definitely be shaken." ”

Zhang Dian looked at the Tokyo Road of the Liao Kingdom on the map, and asked tentatively: "You mean that the Liaoyang Mansion of the Liao State was conquered by surprise soldiers?" ”

"If you don't fight, you just tell the Liao people that my Great Song can smash his fist on their heads anytime and anywhere." As Li Kui spoke, he smashed his bowl-sized fist on the location of Liaoyang Mansion on the map.

Zhang Dian asked: "I'm afraid it's not easy to go by boat, right?" ”

"Navy, Zhang Xiang, only the navy is still the future of my Great Song Dynasty. If my Great Song army can appear in the Liao people's Tokyo Road, why can't it appear near the Liao people's Zhongjing? ”

Zhang Dan's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "The old man really didn't misunderstand you, how can the navy be formed, tell me quickly?" ”

"It can't be formed, gunboats are needed, and it's very troublesome to build." Li Kui said helplessly.

Zhang Dian seemed to have been fed a mouthful of feed, and said with shame on his face: "There is no way to form it, are you here to entertain the old man?" Give the old man a method that can be used immediately, and it will be able to stop the Liao army from going south. ”

"Transfer the Feilian Army to me, and arrange it on Hedong Road to go on behalf of you, as long as the Liao army goes south, I will lead the troops out of Nanshan Pass, and the troops will come to Zhuozhou." Li Kui replied, this is an orthodox method of warfare, and of course, it is not that any general dares to say such a wild talk as defeating Zhuozhou.

But Li Kui said, Zhang Dian believed.

After Li Kui finished speaking, Zhang Dian really regained his former self-confidence and said, "Prepare to prepare, face the saint with the old man!" ”