When Yang Zhen heard that King Yan was coming, he hurriedly led his subordinates out to greet him. Seeing King Yan and Jiang Li, he hurriedly bowed: "I've seen King Yan, I've seen Niangniang!" Yang Peng and the others turned over and dismounted, and Yang Peng smiled: "No need to be polite!" The crowd straightened up.

Yang Peng walked into the gate of the armory field surrounded by everyone, and a busy scene in full swing came into view. The sound of striking iron ping-pong is deafening, countless blacksmiths are naked and swinging hammers, sweating like rain, bellows are constantly agitating flames, whirring, and green and red flames rise from the furnace from time to time, where is the scene here like a harsh winter, it is clearly midsummer! Yang Peng said: "It's almost the holiday, you also have a few days off." ”

Yang Zhen said with a sad face: "There are too many characters, there is no time to delay!" The subordinates are also worried that they will not be able to build all kinds of equipment needed for the army before the beginning of spring! Yang Peng glanced at the blacksmiths who were striking iron and asked, "Are the blacksmiths and workers here all regular employees of the armory?" Yang Zhen nodded, "Yes, they are all regular workers of our armory yard." ”

Yang Peng said: "Since you can't be busy, why don't you invite people in the society?" Yang Zhen was stunned for a moment and said, "This, is this appropriate?" Yang Peng said: "As long as it is conducive to solving the problem, it is appropriate!" Then he thought about it: "I don't blame you for this matter, I formulated the rules and regulations of your ordnance department, because the principle of secrecy cannot invite outsiders!" Yang Zhen nodded and said, "That's right!" ”

Yang Peng said: "This system is also necessary, and it cannot be modified in order to meet the needs of the moment. In this way, you can contract out the tasks in the armory that do not involve military secrets to the outside people, and you can only pay a price and finally receive the goods according to the quality. Yang Zhen's eyes lit up and said, "This method is good!" It will not leak secrets, and it solves the problem of lack of manpower! ”

Yang Peng smiled, thought for a moment, and said: "Your Ordnance Department should not do this specifically, just list a directory of outsourcing tasks and hand it over to the cabinet, which will arrange it." "Yes." Yang Zhen hugged his fists and promised.

Yang Peng glanced at Yang Zhen and asked, "How much of that long-barreled thread cannon has been produced?" Since the long-barreled thread cannon was developed in the ordnance field, Yang Peng ordered the ordnance field to stop manufacturing ordinary artillery and make every effort to produce this kind of long-barreled thread gun. Ling Zhen hugged his fists and said: "Back to King Yan, according to King Yan's orders, all the ordnance fields are making every effort to produce long-barreled thread guns, and more than a hundred have been produced so far!" ”

Yang Peng frowned, "For such a long time, with all the strength to produce, only a hundred were produced?" Yang Zhen hurriedly explained: "It's really because this kind of artillery is much more complex than the previous artillery!" The body tube is longer, and the casting is more difficult, especially the threads on the inner wall, which is very laborious! Therefore, only a hundred or so were produced in such a long time! ”

Yang Peng nodded, he could also understand, because as far as he knew, rifling did not normally appear until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and it was not until the nineteenth century that it really began to be used on a large scale, and the long-barreled cannon did not appear until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the West.

A group of people came to the artillery processing area, the scene immediately quieted down, only to see hundreds of mechanics assembling artillery under the guidance of technicians, some are using a primitive machinery to process rifling for the barrel, that is a kind of human grinding wheel device, the grinding wheel into the barrel, and then the two people kept turning the handle, and they heard the grinding wheel in the barrel of the gun clattering and rubbing,

Yang Zhen said beside him: "To make this kind of artillery, everything else is easy to say, but the process of processing rifling is very time-consuming and laborious, and if you don't pay attention to it, the rifling will not meet the requirements, and the entire barrel will have to be reheated!" Because of this, the cost of this artillery is already far beyond previous estimates! ”

Yang Peng thought for a moment, glanced at Yang Zhen, and said with a smile: "You say so much, do you have any suggestions?" Yang Zhen hugged his fists and said: "King Yan, my subordinates have specially done experiments, this kind of long-barreled artillery, if it is not rifled, its power and range are not much smaller than those that are rifled!" Therefore, the subordinates think that it is better to cancel the rifling! ”

Yang Peng said: "Let's be specific. Yang Zhen responded and said: "If the rifling is processed, the range can be three and a half miles, and the rifling is not processed for a little more than three miles." As for the power, the unprocessed rifling, although the power is also smaller, but it is much more than the previous artillery, and the bombardment of the city wall within two miles is like destroying the withering and decaying! After the abolition of processing rifling, the production efficiency will be greatly improved, and the cost will be greatly reduced, and the original production of 100 long-barreled spiral guns can produce 2560 ordinary long-barreled cannons! ”

Yang Peng carefully considered the data that Yang Zhen said, and felt that the production of ordinary long-barreled cannons was indeed much more cost-effective than the production of long-barreled spiral cannons, and nodded: "Yes." Just adjust the previous plan, make a new plan as soon as possible, and submit it to the cabinet for approval! Yang Zhen hugged his fists and promised.

As they spoke, everyone came to the front of the factory. Yang Zhen ordered someone to open the factory, and then led everyone in. Everyone saw that under the wall facing the gate, something was covered with a blue tarpaulin, and a whole column was arranged. Yang Zhen hurriedly ordered someone to remove the tarpaulin, and a row of more than thirty new long-barreled spiral guns appeared in front of everyone's eyes, which was breathtaking! The muzzle of the cannon of Hesse, the cannon body that flashed with the cold light of black iron, was chilling!

Yang Zhen looked at these cannons as if he was looking at his own children, and said, "These are all produced by the Tianjing New City Armory!" Yang Peng nodded happily, and Jiang Li next to him couldn't help but say, "It's really breathtaking!" Yang Peng looked at Jiang Li and said with a smile: "In the future, hundreds of thousands of cannons will be lined up on the battlefield, and that will be truly breathtaking!" Jiang Li couldn't help but imagine that kind of scene, and couldn't help but change color slightly, and said: "That kind of scene scares people to death, and there is no need to fight!" Yang Peng smiled: "Wouldn't it be great if this was the case!" This is called a soldier who surrenders without a fight! Jiang Li pursed her lips and smiled.

Yang Zhen hugged his fists at Yang Peng and said: "King Yan, this cannon has no name yet, please name it King Yan!" Yang Peng saw that the barrels of these cannons were raised high, just like a giant python with its head raised, and his heart moved, so he said: "These cannons, I think they are called giant python cannons!" Yang Zhenxi said: "Thank you King Yan for the name!" ”

Yang Peng glanced at Yang Zhen and said with a smile: "After such a long time, is there anything new?" Yang Zhen's face immediately radiated a red light, and he said excitedly: "This is about to report to King Yan!" Recently, three new things have been developed, one is a giant cannon, with a range of more than five miles, and it is extremely powerful! “

Yang Peng became interested when he heard this, and asked, "Is it more powerful than this giant python cannon?" Yang Zhen nodded vigorously and said, "It's a lot!" Mostly! Bombarding our experimental city wall at a distance of three miles, one shot passed, and as long as it hit, the city wall collapsed like rotten tofu! It's shocking! ”

Yang Peng's eyes showed a look of surprise, "There is such a great power?" Yang Zhen nodded vigorously, "Extremely powerful!" Powerful! Yang Peng was itchy and said, "Take me to see!" Yang Zhen promised, and immediately led Yang Peng and the others to another independent warehouse. When the group walked into the warehouse, they saw a hill-like object covered with black tarpaulin. Knowing that this was the giant cannon in Yang Zhen's mouth, he didn't expect it to be bigger than he imagined, so he couldn't help but be very curious, eager to see its true face.

Yang Zhen hurriedly asked people to uncover the tarpaulin, and everyone, including Yang Peng, couldn't help but widen their eyes with a shocked look. The giant python cannon I saw before can be regarded as a big cannon, but compared with the giant cannon in front of me, it is a small thing, like the difference between a child and a strong man, it is really like a small mountain, everyone stands in front of it, only to feel a huge pressure rushing to their faces, and their hearts are awe-inspiring.

Yang Zhen said excitedly: "This is definitely the most powerful weapon in the world, not to mention the city wall, even the stone mountain can't resist its bombardment!" It can destroy all the cities in the world! Yang Peng nodded and thought: "The power of this giant cannon is naturally beyond doubt!" It's just," he glanced at the cannon and frowned slightly. When Yang Zhen saw Yang Peng's expression, he became nervous and asked, "King Yan, is there anything wrong with this cannon?" ”

Yang Peng pointed to the giant cannon and said, "Have you thought about it, how to transport such a giant cannon?" Yang Zhen was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help frowning. Yang Peng said: "Although this giant cannon is extremely powerful, the weight is also terrifying!" It is simply impossible to transport on land! How do I get on board the ship by water? Even if you can get on the ship, there is no big ship that can bear this weight! ”

Jiang Li suddenly realized, "That's right! Such a huge cannon can't be transported at all! To transport such a huge cannon to the battlefield, this, this is terrible! ”

Yang Zhen said frustratedly: "My subordinates are stupid, and they didn't even think of this simplest question. Yang Peng patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't be depressed! If you dare to think and dare to do it, that's a good thing! Yang Zhen looked at Yang Peng gratefully. Yang Peng glanced at the giant cannon and said, "Although this giant cannon can't be transported to the battlefield, it is also useful. It can be placed in Yanjing City as a weapon to defend the city, and at the same time, it can also be visited by military and civilian people and foreign envoys! ”

Jiang Li smiled: "I don't know if the foreign envoys will be scared to pee their pants when they see such a cannon!" ”

Yang Peng laughed. Yang Zhen and the others also laughed. Yang Peng looked at Yang Zhen and said, "Didn't you say that three new things have been developed?" What are the other two? Yang Zhen hurriedly said: "The second one is what we developed in the past two days, I call it rocket artillery!" ”

When Yang Peng heard the name 'rocket artillery', he couldn't help but be very cordial, when he first started fighting the Khitan, he had never seen rocket artillery! Then he wondered: 'Can rocket artillery be built in this era?' As soon as he thought of this, he couldn't wait a little in his heart, and said to Yang Zhen: "Take me to see it!" ”

The group came to another warehouse, where a tarpaulin was lifted to reveal three large wooden shelves. This kind of wooden frame is basically a cube, and the front of the wooden frame is like a beehive full of kneeling holes, each hole is as thick as a fist, and the overall appearance is really very similar to the rocket launchers of later generations. Yang Peng's face showed a look of surprise, and he hurriedly asked, "What about the ammunition it uses?" ”

Yang Zhen hurriedly gave an order to one of his subordinates, who answered the promise and ran down, and returned with another person carrying a huge arrow a moment later. Yang Peng walked in front of the arrow and found that the arrow was what an ordinary arrow looked like after being magnified a hundred times, with a hole in the tail and a lead falling out of the air. Yang Peng bent down to look at the hole, got up and asked Yang Zhendao, "The hole behind this is the gunpowder spray hole, right?" ”

Yang Zhen nodded and said, "The entire arrow shaft is made of birch, and the inside has been hollowed out, filled with gunpowder, and the lead is drawn out at the end. Just like the old rockets that preceded it, the fuse was ignited, and the fuse ignited the gunpowder inside the shaft, and the gunpowder burned to propel the rocket out. Then he walked to the arrow, stretched out his hands to hold the arrow, and with a slight twist, he removed the arrow and showed it to Yang Peng. Yang Peng saw that in the arrow was a fist-sized round crockpot, with holes at the bottom, and a lead hanging down from the crockpot and connecting to the shaft of the arrow. Yang Peng immediately understood, and said with a smile: "This is actually a thunderbolt, which is connected to the gunpowder in the arrow shaft, once the gunpowder in the arrow shaft ignites to the bottom, it will ignite the poison trigger, and the medicine will then detonate the thunder!" ”

Yang Zhen nodded with a smile and said, "Yan Wang Yingming, that's exactly the case!" Then he put the arrow back in. Yang Peng saw that although the rocket artillery was relatively simple, compared with the rocket artillery of later generations, the basic principles in all aspects were the same, and he couldn't help but sigh, and said to Ling Zhen: "You are really a genius, you can actually make this kind of weapon!" I really didn't expect it! ”

Ling Zhen and the others were overjoyed, and then Ling Zhen asked cautiously, "King Yan, you don't see any problems with this kind of rocket artillery, right?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "This can be said to be a very perfect weapon, whether it is a field battle or a siege, it will exert great power!" Then his heart moved, and he asked, "How far is this weapon?" Ling Zhen said with some frustration: "I can only fly less than three hundred steps,"

Yang Peng was very surprised, because in his memory, the range of rocket artillery is much farther than that of ordinary artillery, and the range of the country's new rocket artillery is more than 300 kilometers, but it is amazing that ordinary artillery can hit 40 kilometers! Yang Peng asked, "Why is the range so close?" ”

Yang Zhen picked his head and frowned: "The main problem is the flying gunpowder, the gunpowder in the arrow shaft cannot be filled very much, as long as it exceeds a certain amount, the gunpowder in the arrow shaft is easy to explode; Another problem is the weight of the rocket, after the rocket is enlarged, the weight increases a hundred times, and it is much more difficult to fly. ”

Yang Peng nodded thoughtfully, thinking about how to solve these problems, but he couldn't think of a solution, and said to Ling Zhen with a smile: "Solve the problem slowly, don't worry." Ling Zhen clenched his fists and promised. Yang Peng pondered: "Although the distance of three hundred steps is closer, it can still play a huge role in the field!" After thinking about it, he muttered: "This rocket artillery car, I want to discuss it with the cabinet to see how much is suitable to build first!" Then he asked: "How much does this weapon cost?" Ling Zhen said: "The gun truck is very cheap, but it is just a wooden shelf, the main reason is that the rocket is very expensive, and it is also very troublesome to make. ”

Yang Peng and the others couldn't help but be speechless, Yang Peng laughed and said: "This is really a cannon sound, and the gold is ten thousand taels!" Yang Zhen smiled embarrassedly.

Yang Peng asked, "What else?" Yang Zhen hurriedly led Yang Peng and the others to his usual office. It was a small room, with a desk in the middle with a few large drawings, and a huge bookshelf with many books on the shelves against the wall.

Yang Peng smiled: "Is this third thing a gadget?" How in your office? Yang Zhen said: "It's not a gadget, it's a big thing." Then he bowed down and said, "King Yan will sit down for a while, and his subordinates will go down and get that kind of thing." Yang Peng nodded. Yang Zhen immediately ran to a bookshelf and rummaged through it.

Yang Peng walked to the desk and looked at the drawings on the desk, and saw that it was a schematic diagram of the expansion of the Tianjing New Town Factory. Due to the needs of development, the Tianjing New Town factory needs to be expanded, and Yang Zhen has been planning this matter on the drawings in the past few days. Jiang Li walked to Yang Peng's side and whispered, "Can a big thing be hidden in a bookshelf?" Yang Peng smiled.

Yang Zhen came over with a long cloth bag, unwrapped the hemp rope tied without a mouth, and took out a large roll of paper. Jiang Li couldn't help but ask, "Is the big thing you said is this roll of paper?" ”

Yang Zhen nodded and said, "If you go back to your mother, this is it." Jiang Li was very surprised. Yang Peng smiled: "It must be a drawing of something, right?" Yang Zhen bowed and said, "Yan Wang Yingming, it is the drawing." Then he unfolded the drawing on his desk. When Jiang Li saw it, she certainly showed surprise, and even Yang Peng couldn't help but be moved, "It's so big!" Yang Zhen said with a smile: "This was sent from the Huainan shipyard only a few days ago, and this new type of warship has made great progress compared to the previous cruisers!" ”

It turned out that Yang Zhen showed a blueprint of a new type of warship, and the battleship was also a kind of pointed sailing battleship, which was very similar to the kind of cruiser equipped with twenty-four guns built by Yan Yun before, but it gave people a thicker and more solid feeling, as if it was indestructible, and at the same time it was much larger, and there were as many as twenty-four gun doors on one side, which means that the entire battleship could be equipped with forty-eight guns, which was twice as powerful as the previous cruiser.

Yang Peng laughed and said, "Okay, good!" Forty-eight guns! This is already on par with the main battleships of the XVI century in the West! When Yang Zhen heard this, he was very surprised and asked, "What kind of country is the 'sixteenth century', and can they also build this kind of warship?" ”

Yang Peng snorted, waved his hand and smiled: "Irrelevant and irrelevant!" Yang Zhen saw that Yang Peng didn't explain, so he didn't ask anymore. Thinking of something, he said: "King Yan, my subordinates carefully looked at the county data of this new type of warship, and found that its width was much wider than that of the previous cruisers, and the kind of artillery before it seemed to have a feeling of good horses and inferior saddles, isn't it, are you simply equipping these giant python cannons that have just been produced?" ”

Yang Peng thought for a while, nodded and said: "Okay, you can just equip two warships, ask them to produce two warships to see, if it is really easy to use, and then mass production." "Yes. He also asked King Yan to name this new type of warship. Yang Peng thought for a while and said: "The appearance of this kind of warship is almost the same as that of a cruiser, but the size and power are not the same, so let's call it a heavy cruiser!" Yang Zhen silently read the name again, and said excitedly: "This name is really imposing, it feels like a heavy cavalry!" ”

Yang Peng and others came out of Yang Zhen's office, Yang Peng looked at the hot production scene in front of him, and said to Yang Zhen: "No matter how busy you are, you can't miss the Spring Festival!" In any case, the Spring Festival also has to be closed! You can organize some activities, such as dinners, small gifts, etc. Yang Zhen clasped his fists gratefully and said, "Thank you King Yan for your grace!" ”

Yang Peng smiled and waved his hand, "This is not a grace either. ”

At ten o'clock in the evening, Yang Peng and his party returned to the city. At this time, the sky is dark, the lights are on, and the entire Tianjing New City is as if it is dressed in a gorgeous costume under the reflection of the lights, which is beautiful. The atmosphere on the street is more enthusiastic than before, many big families are acting in front of the door, everywhere is the singing of the palace businessman, everywhere is a crowd of people, from time to time burst out of the tsunami-like cheers; On the lakeside and riverside, countless lantern riddles are hung, and talented and beautiful women walk in them and linger; The children seemed to never run out of energy, chasing and playing everywhere with lanterns and windmills; Although it is very late, all the shops are still open, everywhere is full of people, everywhere is noisy, and the people who have not yet purchased the New Year are busy buying New Year's goods.

Yang Peng and his entourage walked through the happy crowd, and Jiang Li couldn't help but say: "Everyone is living happily, this is all a gift from the eldest brother!" Yang Peng smiled and shook his head, "I can't say it's giving!" But it was not in vain! Jiang Li smiled and looked at Yang Peng, her beautiful eyes revealing infinite admiration. In her heart, the eldest brother is God.

"Huh? It's the King of Swallows! King Yan is here! Someone suddenly shouted. As he shouted, the people looked in this direction, and the originally noisy street suddenly became quiet. Immediately, people knelt on the ground and shouted: "Meet the ...... King Yan, long live King Yan, long live Long live!" ...... "In an instant, the whole street was full of people, and it was black.

Yang Peng muttered: "I didn't expect to be recognized in civilian clothes!" Jiang Li pursed her lips and smiled. Chen Xiao raised his voice and said: "You don't have to be polite, let's get up!" The people shouted again: "King Xie Yan! Then they all stood up. An old man came to Yang Peng with a large bag of candied fruit with the support of his son and daughter-in-law, raised the bag of candied fruit high with both hands, and said excitedly: "King Yan is the great benefactor of our family!" The little old man has nothing to repay, only the candied fruit he just bought is dedicated to King Yan! ”

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.