Located in Lizhou, on the east bank of the Jialing River in the north of Sichuan, the mountains and rivers are intertwined, the terrain is steep, it is the throat road to enter Sichuan in the north, and it has always been a place where soldiers must fight.

At the end of the Song Dynasty for more than 300 years, Sichuan provided one-third of the taxes of the Southern Song Dynasty because of its "danger" and "distance", which was valued by successive Song Dynasty emperors. In order to ensure the safety of Shu, the Great Song Dynasty court set up three passes and five states in the north of Lizhou, and set up elite soldiers here to defend against foreign enemies.

In the west of Lizhou City, by the Jialing River, in the newly renovated military camp, it was in full swing, and the 30,000 "recruits" under the command of Lizhou Rongsi were training.

said that they were recruits, but in fact, they were all athletes in the original armies, as well as the elite of the local army and militia. All of these people were newly incorporated into the army and enjoyed the same salary.

The terrain of Shukou is complex, and life is difficult, so the folk customs are fierce, whether it is a queue drill, or a spear stabbing technique, as well as grenade training, artillery drills, are all orderly, step by step.

"Thorn!"

Lu Yuanting, a graduate of Jinling Lecture and a general of Lizhou West Road, held a spear, shouted loudly, and personally led the team to practice.

Only a year ago, he was still a student of Jinling Lecture Martial Arts Hall, practicing and studying in Lecture Martial Arts Hall, and now, he is already a general of Lizhou West Road and an instructor of Lizhou Rongsi.

"Brothers! Spearmanship is the first important skill in the army, although it is not as powerful as firearms to kill the enemy, but the spear technique can best reflect the courage of soldiers. If you don't dare to stab the gun, don't be a soldier at all. Whether cavalry or artillery charges, it is always the infantry who will clean up the mess in the end. Only after practicing the spear stabbing technique can you defeat the opponent and kill the enemy to serve the country! ”

After yelling, Lu Yuanting turned his head and walked into the team, carefully observing and correcting the training of the "recruits".

"Remember, the three-word mantra, "steady, accurate, ruthless", stab! ”

Lu Yuanting shouted as he walked, and his heart was also excited.

The bayonet is red!

If the trained recruits could see death as if they were at home and crush each other through "bayonet charges", it would be a desirable scene.

"Thorn!"

The recruits were attentive and stabbed their spears in their hands.

The art of stabbing and spearing, like the art of throwing bombs, is a must-learn skill in the Great Song Army, and it is also the foundation of a sergeant. Not only must the martial arts hall be practiced, the Jinling school must be practiced, and the army is even more indispensable.

The emperor wants to train 30,000 new troops in the Lizhou battalion, and as instructors in the army and graduates of the martial arts hall, they naturally have to take the lead.

"One-two-one, one-two-one, one-two-three-four......"

The cold wind was bitter, the officers shouted loudly, the recruits shouted loudly, the pace was in unison, the ranks were neat, and they ran on the teaching field.

Walking in line, walking in unison, and running in unison is also a compulsory course for all "recruits" in the army, and the foundation of training in the army.

Those frozen red-faced soldiers held spears, did not move in the cold wind, and their feet were numb from the cold, but they did not dare to move. Those black-faced instructors had serious faces, and they all had black faces, which made the recruits' hearts tremble, and everyone stayed energetic.

On another training field, the grenadiers threw out one by one the practice bullets and fell into the white and ash circle in the distance.

Bomb throwing, another basic skill in the army, is a must-have for all soldiers. However, for these "recruits" on the training ground, they have only heard of the earth-shaking thunder and seen the practice ammunition, but this is the first time that they have trained with live ammunition.

Due to the purification of molten iron and the granulation of gunpowder, the earth-shaking thunder can produce twenty or thirty pieces of broken iron, and the power is greatly increased.

"Show me everything, this is the basic action of bomb throwing! Beware, it's going to die! ”

Cao Youwan carefully told all the soldiers to be serious.

Under the gaze of the army, Cao Youwan wiped the fire twist in his hand, ignited the fuse of the sky-shaking thunder warhead, strode forward, and struggled to throw out the "Xuan" burning earth-shaking thunder in his hand.

The burning sky-shaking thunder drew an arc in the air and landed far around the target, and in just a few seconds, with a bang, the sky-shaking thunder exploded violently. The dust was flying, the wooden targets were torn apart, and all the soldiers were pale.

"General, you are really powerful!"

"General, this is really heart-pounding!"

The soldiers were amazed.

The average soldier in the army can only throw fifteen or sixteen zhang, and the far one is only in his twenties, like Cao Youwan, who is twenty-seven or eight zhang strongmen at every turn, there are really few in the army.

"See, this is the earth-shattering thunder, created by the emperor himself! It's the same with artillery! ”

Cao Youwan looked at his bomb distance and felt a little regretful.

When Jinling lectured on martial arts, his bomb throwing distance could reach about 30 zhang, which was much higher than most students. Now it's only about 25 zhang, and the lack of training has really led to a drop in level.

"I'll do another demonstration. After the second time, you're going to have a live-fire training! ”

After Cao Youwan finished speaking, he picked up another earth-shattering thunder, explained it carefully, then lit it, ran away, and threw it out suddenly.

"General, 27 zhang!"

"General, what a divine power!"

The soldiers applauded, and there was another cheer.

"The following is live-fire training, listen to it, you must be cautious, you must not be sloppy!"

Cao Youwan was proud in his heart, and his face was silent.

The explosions of "Tongtong" came and went, and the training ground was filled with gunsmoke, and the muscles on Cao Youwan's face twitched, and his flesh ached secretly.

After this training, I don't know how much manpower and material resources will be wasted. For training alone, there are more than 100,000 sky-shaking thunderbolts.

And the artillery, in order to train a qualified gunner, it must be trained with live ammunition one at a time, and it must be hard-fed with ammunition.

Fortunately, the shattered iron sheet and the solid iron ball of the artillery can be recycled and recast, otherwise the loss would have been even greater.

As far as the eye could see, a soldier was too nervous, and the "Heaven-shattering" burning thunder fell to the ground, and the instructor rushed forward, picked up the earth-shattering thunder, and threw it out suddenly.

The officer shouted angrily, and the soldier resigned, picked up the earth-shaking thunder for the second time, and finally successfully threw it.

Cao You shook his head in shock.

The instructors who graduated from the Jinling Lecture and Martial Arts Hall ran through all the training subjects in the army, such as platoon walking, stabbing guns, grenadiers, artillery, including horsemanship, explosives, etc., forming a complete officer system in the army, thus ensuring the establishment of an army that transcended the times.

Five miles south of Lizhou Daying, west of Lizhou City, on the bank of the Jialing River, the location of the Lizhou Ordnance Manufacturing Division.

The wind blows outside and the willows are cold, and the weapons manufacturing branch is in full swing, especially in the assembly workshop, where craftsmen shuttle back and forth, guiding the workers to assemble the earth-shaking thunder.

The poured shells and the wooden handle and gunpowder of the earth-shaking thunder are sent here, and the bullet shells, charges, and heads are installed and fastened in turn, and they are inspected one by one, which is a finished sky-shaking thunder.

"Zheng Jian Zao, how many sky-shaking thunders can be made in a day now?"

At the door of the assembly workshop, Zheng Tu frowned and asked a white-bearded craftsman.

"Tiha, since the beginning of the spring, it can assemble about 5,000 pieces a day, and after a month, it can cast about 150,000 pieces."

Zheng Tu's name is Zheng Xing, in fact, Zheng Tu's uncle, Zheng Tu was ordered to bring a large number of craftsmen to Lizhou to build a factory last autumn, and set up a Lizhou weapons manufacturing branch, Zheng Xing and other capable craftsmen of course followed.

"Don't rush craftsmen and workers, be sure to ensure the quality of firearms. If there is an accident on the battlefield at that time, you and I will not be able to escape the blame. But it's going to be a head-to-head! ”

Zheng Tu's face softened a little, and he gave a serious advice.

More than 200 workers, 25 pills per person per day, it seems to be less, but the quality comes first, and it must not go wrong.

150,000 thunderbolts a month, and before the hot weather, you can make about 500,000 earth-shattering thunderbolts. Excluding the hundreds of thousands of pills used for training, it should be enough to support the current war.

"Don't worry, I'll be watching. After the earth-shaking thunder is assembled, it will be inspected three times, and there will never be any problems! ”

Zheng Xing accompanied the smiling face, nodded and said to his nephew.

Although he is his nephew, there is still a difference between respect and inferiority in officialdom.

"The emperor must not slack off in the use of foreign troops and the manufacture of firearms. In short, we can't take it lightly, otherwise no one will be able to save us at that time! ”

At the mention of the emperor, Zheng Tu's brows condensed into a pimple again.

became a young man and soared, thinking that he could reach the pinnacle of life. Now I know that being an official is not so easy, and I am born to work hard.

"Your Majesty is really a mortal immortal in the sky, he can do anything, there is nothing he doesn't understand. I really look forward to seeing his old man! ”

Zheng Xing shook his head and said enviously.

"Calculate the time, Your Majesty is probably coming. Your Majesty will definitely come to the Lizhou Weapons Manufacturing Division. When the time comes, you will naturally see. ”

Zheng Tu's eyes also showed envy.

It's already mid-March, and at the end of April, the imperial court will still have to take the imperial examination, and if Zhao Hong doesn't come at this time, I'm afraid it will be May and June.

"Tian Xianggong's side, there is no delay in the supply of gunpowder, right?"

Although Tian Yi is in charge of the Lizhou Ordnance Manufacturing Division, he is only in charge of gunpowder production. The entire production of firearms is in charge of Zheng Tu.

The reason why Tian Yi is called Tian Xianggong is also because although Tian Yi is only an official raised by the weapon, he is the confidant of Emperor Zhao Hong, and it is only a matter of time before he is crowned a marquis and worships the duke.

A little father-in-law, Tian Yi still deserves it.

"Back to Tihar, there is no problem with the supply of gunpowder. Tian Xianggong often went to the artillery casting workshop to check these days. He was very satisfied with the production of artillery. ”

Zheng Xing smiled and relieved Zheng Tu's pressure.

"Zheng Jianzao, you go to the artillery casting workshop to take a look, and let them be careful about the quality of the artillery. If something happens, no one can escape the blame! ”

Zhao Hong was coming, and Zheng Tu's heart was tight.

Artillery casting, the inscriptions on the gun body are engraved with the name of the craftsman and the date of casting, also to ensure the quality of the artillery and traceability responsibility.

The casting progress of the artillery does not need to be bothered by Zheng Tu. When it comes to hot weather, the Lizhou Ordnance Manufacturing Division can cast thousands of artillery, which should be able to keep up with the use in the army.

A Lizhou ordnance manufacturing branch has to undertake the supply of weapons and firearms to the entire northwest border, and the pressure on his shoulders can be imagined.

"Uncle, you find some reliable craftsmen, the emperor may have to go to Biansai to produce firearms. We have to prepare in advance! ”

Thinking of danger in times of peace, Zheng Tu said it in his heart.

Lizhou and Lizhou West Road, it sounds like they are close at hand, but in fact, Lizhou City is still four or five hundred miles away from the three passes and five states of Lizhou West Road, and the distance is still too far.

With the emperor's temperament, after some inspection, I am afraid that another weapon manufacturing branch will be built on Lizhou West Road.

Zheng Xing hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Casting another armor-making division, such a thing, the ambitious emperor can do.

"Tiha, hurry up to the door to greet you, the emperor has arrived!"

The guards hurriedly came in to report, Zheng Tu was taken aback, and hurriedly led a group of officials out of the workshop and went straight to the door.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived. I didn't expect the emperor to arrive so soon.