After the New Year, everything in the capital gradually got back on track. Soldiers preparing for conscription began to gather outside the city, and the docks and roads began to get busy. Every day, more people and materials gather here to prepare for the whole training.

Outside the city, several new camps were added, and a group of Beiya elites were also transferred here, planning to participate in the next battle.

The nearly 200 soldiers were transferred from Timur Salevanhu, and most of them were local Kipchak and Caucasian nomads, and the Mamluks of Egypt were considered homesick. Therefore, the Khan's court specially transferred them to form three squadrons, which were ready to be used as political demonstrations at that time.

This time, in addition to Guo Kang and Dehuan, Theodora also squeezed out time and rushed over, saying that he wanted to take a look. A few people stood beside the flat meadow, watching the crowd practice horse archery.

At this time, the soldiers of Beiya had already finished running and were carrying out various after-shows. In front of them, Li Anning was riding a horse, firing his bow left and right, and shooting down the targets on both sides cleanly, showing off his skills to everyone. The crowd erupted in cheers.

"It's a familiar scene. But in the blink of an eye, so many things have happened. Tuhuan sighed.

"No matter how accurate is the shooting of an arrow ...... me", Guo Kang paid attention to other things.

"It's okay, Hulu doesn't spend as well as your archery." Tu Huan said bluntly: "Grandma has taught so many girls, but she is the least serious about learning weapons. I haven't seen her practice archery a few times. ”

Theodora seemed to be a little dissatisfied, but probably had long been used to losing her pleasure and didn't care. She just glared at the other party, looked back and forth, and said, "What about Li Xuanying?" His little lover asked me to help deliver the letter again. ”

Of course, none of this is the main thing. He and Zhu Wenkui's main job now is to try to produce more firearms, and this time they brought them to see it, and they also talked about these things.

Moreover, the military song is also in a situation that is not embarrassing or embarrassing in traditional military thought. Sometimes it is degraded as an unpopular profession, and sometimes the official collects and composes military songs. Of course, judging from the results, soldiers do have the need to sing some songs, and no one cares about them and will create them on their own, and since the pre-Qin period, there have been songs that have been handed down.

The soldiers still prefer these simple lyrics, but some people don't understand them.

Even in the 20th century, the songs of the Red Horde, which shared the same beliefs, were somewhat lyrical and melancholy characteristic of the Slavs. And the new batch of military songs in the Central Plains, on the contrary, most of them are another emotion, which is relatively rare. What he gave Li Xuanying as a reference is already some relatively soothing songs, otherwise everyone will probably think that this person has a mental problem, how can he be so positive and happy in a fight......

"Write something in the big tent." Guo Kang said.

"Something new?" Theodora was clearly interested.

"Let's go to the workshop." Guo Kang hurried up and said.

During the chat, the drill ended quickly, and Tuhuan ran to chat with those soldiers and comfort them. Guo Kang learned that this time, the leading officer arranged by Wanhu Mansion was Li Anning's cousin, so she came to play. It is estimated that it is the newcomer recommended by his family after Yelu Xinzhishi.

After training every day, he returned to the camp, squatted in the barracks to ponder the lyrics, and did not pester others, but after writing every day, he sang to Shi Huizhen and Nurhachi. When I was almost done, I went to Guo Kang to submit the manuscript.

Like the drum music of the Han Dynasty, except for a few songs dedicated to the emperor's merits and virtues, almost all of them are soldiers' complaints about the war, and there are even classic songs such as "Zhan Cheng Nan". Many of the lyrics are full of complaints about the hardships of the war, as well as straightforward descriptions of the bloody and brutal battles, not to mention encouraging morale after listening to them, and it would be good if they didn't scare people away. And this is already the official repertoire of Yuefu after the government collects and screens, and I don't know what the others look like.

Zhu Wenkui himself told Guo Kang that in his grandfather's military order that year, there was an entry prohibiting sergeants from learning to sing, because after all, the army could not always ask for rice balls, and if it was regularized, the bishop would definitely put an end to these behaviors that delayed training and undermined the atmosphere. I don't know if it's good to open an opening like this now, he doesn't know how to train himself, I hope Guo Kang will think about it more.

Guo Kang hadn't seen anyone a few times, so he said hello. Tuhuan knew everyone well, so he asked the attendant to bring two good bows and gave one to each of their sisters and brothers; He also told the soldiers that he had invited everyone to drink good wine today, and that it had been transported to the camp gate, and that he would be brought in later. Because there was something else to do after that, he didn't linger long, but left first amid the cheers of the crowd.

However, Guo Kang copied the military songs of his time, and the style is actually quite special. Unlike many people's impressions, whether it is ancient China or other countries, there are very few military songs with a "high-spirited" atmosphere. There are cases where soldiers encourage each other, or officers encourage soldiers, but only a few.

Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, Taizu who was a beggar was long gone, and Taizu's beggars were still defending the Ming Dynasty, which was too loyal......

And this is not uncommon. In other words, this kind of complaining song is the mainstream of singing among soldiers. In Europe at this time, the songs sung by those mercenaries were mainly lamentation and sarcasm.

As for Zhu Yuanzhang's regulation, he didn't know the situation at the time, and it was hard to say. And when the Ming army went to the back, the state was no different from asking for food. The only thing that is commendable is probably the willpower of the military households. They were able to persist in fighting despite the lack of military pay all year round, and even went hungry to fight in King Qin. The loyalty to the imperial court is so high that the Song, Yuan, and Qing dynasties are envious to death.

Guo Kang explained that this is a special method for special circumstances. These Rus' people have a poor foundation, and if they are asked to memorize military law and various training requirements, they will definitely not be able to remember, so they can only find other ways. All religions like to chant scriptures, because chanting is a common means of aiding memory, and it is used all over the world. From this point of view, this technique will be useful when recruiting new recruits in the future.

During this time, Li Xuanying exploded with great enthusiasm for creation. After the previous incident was over, Theodora took Odosia away and asked the Queen Mother to help take care of it. Later, the imperial court began to reorganize the army, and they were not allowed to meet again. may be because he couldn't see his little lover, Li Xuanying vented his excess energy to writing songs, and Guo Kang was also happy to save trouble and didn't care about him.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Central Plains people in the classical era are estimated to be quite fine, although they make war-weariness remarks every day, but they do not see a shortage of people in the army, but a bunch of people crowd their heads to join the army to grab the first rank......

"It's not new, it's just that the previous design has been finalized, I hope you can do a favor and let most of the ordnance stations around the capital produce these weapons." Guo Kang replied.

"Are we still in time?" Tuohuan asked.

"Take as much as you want." Guo Kang said: "There is no need to stop in the follow-up, this kind of artillery, the advantage is still quite big." ”

"Oh, that's it, it's the 'Eight Eight Cannons', right?" Dehuan remembered.

"Shhhh Guo Kang hurriedly reminded.

As a few people walked, he introduced them.

He told the people that in his opinion, the king of a hundred soldiers in this year was not a spear or a bow and arrow, but a cannon. Moreover, this seat should not change for a long time to come.

However, today's artillery is very chaotic, and the process technology is uneven. This can be a problem all over the world, and the Purple Horde is no exception. Therefore, he has been trying to find the best artillery under the existing technical conditions and standardize it.

Before, he, Zhu Wenkui and others made several alternative products. Although some of them have been damaged in the offensive and defensive battles of Wu Wangfu, fortunately, everyone has experience and can still build new ones.

In many parts of Europe, old-fashioned stone guns were still being used. Large stone guns were difficult to move and had little value in the field. There are many kinds of small catapults, and their power and hit rate are generally very worrying. Relatively speaking, their newly designed guns have found a good balance in terms of lightness and power.

In Guo Kang's expectation, this kind of artillery should be equipped by brigades and warbands, and can be towed with animal power that the warbands can maintain themselves. On the one hand, it was necessary to be able to suppress the enemy's ballistas and other artillery, and on the other hand, it was necessary to be able to destroy the enemy's barricades, as well as the women's walls and war tents at the head of the city, out of range of muskets and bows. At present, this requirement can be met.

Based on this shape, they cast a batch of artillery guns of various sizes, divided into several classes. Among them, the large ones are more than 800 catties and need animal traction; The small one is only more than 100 catties, and it can be carried directly by the infantry. However, the specific levels of installation need to be further tested, and even tested in actual combat.

In the open space next to the workshop, the craftsmen have already installed all the cannons ready for display, lined up in a row, waiting for them to see.

"This shelf is kind of interesting." At a glance, Tuohuan saw the gun carriage with a significantly different shape under the largest artillery.

"Oh, it's a new design." Guo Kang said: "The previous gun carriage was too bulky and the structure was not reasonable enough. I told the Ministry of War before, but the people in the Ministry of War are very conservative in terms of weapons, and they think that these are no problem now, so they ignore me. But this time, since even the cannon has been replaced, and good materials have been obtained, it happens to be updated together. ”

"Is that so?" Tuohuan stepped forward and knocked on the wood.

"yes, it's good wood. When we were vetting the rebels in the city, we caught a few Rus' smugglers with ties to the gangs, and seized a batch of fine timber from their warehouses, and that's it. Guo Kang told him: "The merchant confessed that this wood was produced in the cold forest in the northeast of Novgorod, which stretched endlessly, and was very strong and durable, and was originally used to build a big mansion for the lord of the Wang family." Now that the man is finished, we have taken the wood and used it to make things. ”

"Well, I can only say that these people are really good at enjoying it." He shook his head: "I got some carpenters, and they all said that this is indeed the best material that was picked out, the material is very strong, and the previous treatment is also good." After we made the shelf, we tested it a few times, and the bracket was stable and there were no problems. ”

"That's good, it's not wasted." Tuohuan nodded.

"For ease of movement, I deliberately designed these big wheels. Then, in order to adjust it more quickly when aiming, a bracket for easy pitching was added. Guo Kang continued: "In addition, the position of the gun body is also calculated. I specifically studied the lower center of gravity, which makes the gun more stable. When the cannon is fired, it will be one behind, but it will not overturn, so it is very safe. ”

"And then, there's this thing." He pulled a two-wheeled cart from the side, only to see that there was a large cargo box on the cart with a hook: "This trolley is matched with the gun car, and if you put the gun tail on this iron hook, you can turn it into four wheels, which can reduce the pressure on livestock during long-distance transportation." It can save animal power and facilitate transportation. ”

"Although the gun body and gun carriage are very heavy, they must add up to a thousand catties. But because the weight of the body is relatively close to the wheel, with the help of the effect of the lever, the gun carriage can be pried up by manpower. He pointed to the long tail of the gun carriage: "When the gun crew temporarily moves over a short distance, as long as the two of them work together to lift the tail of the support, they can directly push it away." ”

"Really?" Theodora said, stepping forward, "I'll try." ”

"You don't understand this, do you......" Before Guo Kang could finish speaking, she pulled down her long skirt and bent down. There is a bracket at the end of the gun carriage that can hold against the ground, and on the wooden beams on both sides of the support, each is equipped with an iron handle for the gunners to hold. Theodora grabbed the handles with both hands, inhaled his strength, lifted them slightly, and sure enough, he picked them up.

"It seems to be really light." She said happily: "It's worthy of Konstantin's design, it's really exquisite." ”

"Don't move, they're all important weapons." Tuohuan hurriedly tried to stop her. But Theodora seemed to be in good spirits, and instead pushed the gun cart and walked back and forth.

After a few tries, she dragged the tail of the cannon again, put it on the cart, and put it on the hook. Then he pulled the rope in front of the trolley, pulled hard, and walked.

“……”

Guo Kang and Tuohuan were speechless, watching her pull the cannon and walk around there. After another turn, she breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her sweat.

"It's been a long time since I've been so active, and it's fun." Seeing that everyone else was looking at her, she quickly explained.

Guo Kang didn't know where it was fun to pull a cannon, but she was happy anyway. He thought about it for a while, and decided to leave Theodora here to have fun, and get down to business first.

"Let's take a look at the guns in the back. I think there are conditions for the popularization of the craftsmanship here. He went straight to the top.

(End of chapter)