Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 39 Military Camp Gossip
  "In fact, our Ming Dynasty still has a great advantage against the Japanese army. In addition to cavalry, it is artillery. The artillery of the Japanese country is called big tube, and the quantity is far from enough. After all, the Japanese country's artillery casting technology is not good, and the Japanese country has a lot of copper coins. Using my copper coins from the Ming Dynasty, the emblem of the Oda family is Yongle Tongbao. However, North Korea is mountainous and artillery is not good luck." Zhang Xiao said.

"It must be transported even if it is difficult to transport it. Use horses to transport it, use people to drag it, use ships to transport it, no matter what. If there are no artillery and the Japanese's pile of firecrackers, I don't know how many people will die when attacking the city." Li Rusong said.

"Yes, artillery is the god of war." Zhang Xiao said.

"The God of War? Zhang Shi, your statement is interesting. In fact, I still think that cavalry, especially iron cavalry, is king." Li Rusong said.

"Cavalry is certainly important, but the development of cavalry has reached its peak now, and the role of cavalry will only gradually decline in the future. The power of artillery can still be greatly exploited. The cannon can be made bigger, the cannonballs can be made bigger, and the cannonballs can be made bigger. With more types, the rate of fire of the artillery can be increased, and the accuracy of the artillery can also be further improved." Zhang Xiao explained.

Everyone listened carefully and looked thoughtful.

"Everyone, is there anything wrong with what I said? After all, I am just a layman." Zhang Xiao said.

"Zhang Shidu, although sometimes what you say sounds half-understanding, but if you think about it carefully, you will understand. It's just that we have never heard anyone say what you said before, and we don't know if it is convenient to ask. Where did you inherit your master?" Li Rumei asked.

"I have several masters. They are all from overseas, even outsiders, and they don't want people to know their names. I also made an oath when I was studying, so I'm really sorry." Zhang Xiao had to pretend. He looked like he missed his teacher. But I really miss the teachers. If I stay there for a few more years, I will doubt that everything in modern society is just a dream.

"I understand, I, Li Rumei, was the one who was abrupt." Li Rumei apologized.

"Have Zhang Shidu ever thought of sorting out these words and turning them into a memorial to report to His Majesty? I am also really dissatisfied with the artillery and muskets currently being built." Li Rusong asked.

"Submitting a memorial directly would be suspected of interfering in the affairs of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works. However, when I write a book, I will write down the usage of various types of foreign guns and artillery. For example, the Ottoman Kingdom, also known as the Rumi Kingdom, attacked When Constantinople, the former capital of the Qin Dynasty, the city walls of Constantinople were extremely strong, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire paid a lot of money to hire gunners and craftsmen to build the Urban cannon, which could destroy a city wall several meters deep with one shot. Create a big gap." Zhang Xiao said.

"Oh? Can we build this Urban cannon?" Li Rusong asked curiously.

"It can be made if it can be made, but this cannon was more than a hundred years old, and the technology has lagged behind. This cannon is too heavy, and it is difficult to build, and it is even more difficult to pull it to the front line. And although the cannon shells are very effective, it is difficult to load It is very slow and easy to explode, and Urban, the old master who made the cannon, was killed by the explosion," Zhang Xiao said.

"Oh, forget it, the Ottoman Sultan is quite militaristic, and he doesn't care about human life just to use cannons. But for now, let's talk about the Fuso Kingdom. Zhang Shidu, you said before that Oda Nobunaga could The reason why he can afford to raise an elite army is because the coastal area of ​​Owari Province where he is located has developed trade and a lot of income. Is this also the case where Takeda Shingen is? He can actually afford to raise a reliable cavalry at this cost. But it's too big." Li Rusong asked.

"No, the Kai Country where Takeda Shingen is located is a mountain valley, but there is a golden mountain on it. He also has an ally, Imagawa Yoshimoto. Imagawa Yoshimoto's daughter is still Takeda Shingen's daughter-in-law. However, after Imagawa Yoshimoto's death, Takeda Shingen still Together with Tokugawa Ieyasu, we assassinated my old relatives in the back," Zhang Xiao said.

"Do all these so-called princes in Japan have this kind of virtue?" Li Rusong shook his head.

"By the way, Zhang Shidu, you said before that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was nicknamed monkey. Is it because he looks similar?" Li Rubai asked.

"Yes, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is indeed not very good-looking, and he is also relatively short." Zhang Xiao said.

"How talented and lucky Toyotomi Hideyoshi must be. He came from an ordinary background and was ugly, but he was able to accomplish such a big undertaking." Li Rubai said with emotion. “What does Oda Nobun look like?” Li Rusong asked.

"He looks pretty good. His sister is considered a great beauty in the Japanese country. He is naturally not bad in appearance, and he is quite tall. The Japanese are short, so he is even taller among the Japanese." Zhang Xiao said.

"Then it's probably not bad to be Oda Nobunaga's brother-in-law." Li Rumei joked.

"Brother, when I saw that you were Zhang Shi, you didn't pay attention when he was reading the dictation book. Isn't Oda Nobunaga's brother-in-law the Asai Nagamasa? That person is dead, and the skull was taken by Oda Nobunaga. It’s better to make a cup or a bowl.” Li Rubai reminded.

"Yes, even being Oda Nobunaga's son-in-law is not reliable. Tokugawa Ieyasu's son married Oda Nobunaga's daughter. The couple had a quarrel, and Oda Nobunaga's daughter complained, and then Oda Nobunaga directly ordered Tokugawa Ieyasu's son committed suicide," Zhang Xiao said.

"Hey, no wonder his subordinates would rebel against him. Who can stand it?" Li Rusong said with emotion.

"Hey, then it seems that Takeda Shingen is not that abnormal." Kuai Chengen said from the side.

"No, Takeda Shingen also launched a coup to oust his father. Later, his eldest son, the son who married the daughter of the Imagawa family, also wanted to launch a coup to oust his father, but was suppressed by Takeda Shingen, and he also He died inexplicably," Zhang Xiao said.

Zhang Xiao thought to himself, in fact, although Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga did these strange things, they were all doing it to consolidate their power. The current Toyotomi Hideyoshi will be able to do even bigger things in a few years. If you knew this, you would be shocked.

After another chat, Zhang Xiao rode home under the escort of two servants of the Li family.

The old servant had been preparing at home for a long time. When he heard Zhang Xiao knocking on the door, he immediately opened the door.

"Old Wangtou, please feed Black Pearl some food. He is tired after a day. This house is too small. It is too small for several people to live in now, and now we have added this horse." Zhang Xiao said with emotion.

At this time, in the palace, Chen Ju and Eunuch Chen, who had a low eyebrow in front of the emperor, stood in front of several eunuchs with great momentum.

"What's the matter? Everyone who is going to issue the edict for promotion and title, and the edict that is close to them, is rushing towards me. Now I am going to Liaodong to remove others from their official positions. Everyone says that they are so busy that it doesn't hurt. Is it because our family is so talkative that you don't want to listen to me anymore? You are all old men in the palace and you don't understand these rules?" Chen Ju looked at several eunuchs who had their own thoughts.

"Master Chen, I am willing to go to Liaodong." Gao Huai looked around, gritted his teeth and stood up and said.

"Oh, Xiao Gaozi, are you willing to go to Liaodong? Okay, okay, okay. Look at it for yourselves. Xiao Gao is willing to go to the bitter cold frontiers and do errands that offend people even though it's his first time out of Beijing. Look at you, are you ashamed? Xiao Gao, pack up and leave tomorrow. I will prepare everything on the way." Chen Ju said.

(End of this chapter)