Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 69 Learning the Sword and Turning Itself (3)

Zhao Xingde plucked up his courage, and suggested to Wang Yan to use firecrackers, his enthusiasm was almost extinguished by two inferior products that exploded.

"Since Mr. Tong escaped, everyone was almost completely discouraged and almost desperate," Su Wenyu said in an admiring tone, "but now that the king's rule has been changed, it feels refreshing to go all out."

"Usual courage is like money in a purse. You have to take it out to gamble," Han Shizhong looked at the dark night sky outside the window. Occasionally, there was a flash of fire, followed by the roar of Liao people's cannons. Falling asleep amid the sound of shelling, "You lose and lose, and suddenly you lose everything." He paused, and smiled at Zhao Xingde, "At this time, the real courage came out."

"Brother Han is well said, it should be clear!" Zhao Xingde said with a smile, and Su Wenyu became interested when he heard the two of them talk about gambling, saying that he still had a few gambling coupons from Fuhai Casino in his arms, and he didn't Know if you hit the point or not.

The three of them just drank light wine one cup at a time, Zhao Xingde's mind was in a mess, "This doesn't work, that doesn't work, you're a scholar for nothing, the Khitan people only break the city in ten days, someone takes it What can I do to fight with my life?" He pondered over and over again, and said to Han Shizhong: "Brother Han, can you lend me a thousand soldiers."

Han Shizhong was taken aback, put down his cup, and wondered: "What are you going to do?" Looking at Zhao Xingde like this, he seemed to have suffered some setbacks, and was going to attack the camp at night to die.

"Brothers think about it, although the firecrackers made in the workshop are crude, there are more than [-] firecrackers in Hejian's arsenal. If you pick and test, there may be thousands of usable ones." Zhao Xingde murmured. .He thought about it for a long time, and the only thing he could do to help defend the city was his conviction that the firecracker was a sharp weapon to kill the enemy.It's like digging a mine. Maybe the place where you go down the shaft is a little far away from the veins. Some people dig tens of meters and then give up. But I really know that as long as I keep digging down, I will definitely get a big harvest.So even if you were desperate, you had to push the firecrackers yourself. Anyway, the Liao people broke through the city, and in the end, both left and right died.

"I don't have a problem with borrowing soldiers, but I can't give or receive them privately. It needs to be approved by the commander." Han Shizhong looked at him strangely, and waved his five fingers in front of Zhao Xingde's eyes. "Are you drunk? Or are you fascinated by the firecracker?" 'Have a heart?"

When Zhao Xingde went to control the yamen and announced that he would try out the [-] guns in the warehouse one by one to pick out the suitable ones, Wang Yan also looked at him with the same eyes.In the afternoon because he was a little annoyed because of his disappointment, Xingde kept his mouth open, but thinking that Zhao Xingde also listened to someone's bragging about the firecracker in Beijing, and believed it to be true, so he didn't mind anymore.As young people, if you don't know the world, you will inevitably lose your composure.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xingde would not give up, and found him overnight, and proposed to borrow a thousand soldiers to pick out the firecrackers in the warehouse one by one, Wang Yan became really angry.This scholar seems gentle, why is he so stubborn?Could it be that because of what happened in the afternoon, I lost face, and I can't get it back?

Wang Yan's face sank like water, he stared at Zhao Xingde coldly, as if he wanted to see his internal organs thoroughly.He has been in charge of the Jinyan Mansion in Hebei for a long time, able to overwhelm arrogant soldiers and powerful bandits and bandits, at this moment he was really angry, Zhao Xingde only felt like a knife was placed on his neck, like a heavy weight of a thousand catties, like the fine hair on his back The cold sweat came down.

"In order to protect the environment and the people, the soldiers expelled the Tartars, and they spared their lives." He forced himself to calm down, and said slowly, "From what I saw in my late life, the firecracker is indeed a sharp weapon to defeat the enemy." Zhao Xingde raised his head, straight Looking at Wang Yan's cold gaze, he said with sincerity: "Out of the [-] firecrackers, as long as there are more than a thousand sticks to use together, I am willing to issue a military order to break the Liao people's iron wall camp!"

The roar of artillery from the Liao people outside was still going on. In order to avoid becoming a conspicuous target, the windows of the room in the city tower where the commander was located had been sealed with bricks and stones. Only a few small candles were lit in the room, and the light was very dark. Zhao Xingde However, there seemed to be a scorching fire in his eyes, and he continued: "Please approve the Lord Commander, I am willing to issue a military order!"

After Wang Yan was silent for a while, he sat down, took a pen and wrote a note, signed the monogram, and handed it to Zhao Xingde, saying, "Go to the Second Army of Zhenbei and transfer two thousand soldiers to pick firecrackers. You are just a fledgling, and the military order is hung on the Oral, be careful to miss your own life!"

Zhao Xingde was overjoyed, and said in a loud voice: "Thank you, Mr. Zhi!" He took the note to transfer troops and turned around to go out without further ado. He prepared and spent a day testing all the [-] guns with double gunpowder. Once, with the assistance of two thousand soldiers, it will probably take less than a day to complete.

These scholars, especially those who claim to be Qingliu, all have a special stubbornness. From this point of view, Zhao Xingde is similar to the deceased Zhao Shizhi, father and son, and his master and father-in-law. They can be said to flock together.The so-called choosing the good and being stubborn, the noble scholar-bureaucrats of this dynasty just want as many people like this as possible.

Wang Yan stroked his beard, looked at Zhao Xingde's hastily back in a strange way, and thought to himself: "Try them all, those waste products can be reworked to make some arrowheads, gun heads, and thunderbolts. It's just that Yuan Zhi is a stubborn person. 'Sex' has to be sharpened. Good jade still needs to be polished, otherwise, it is also a waste product."

At dawn the next day, Zhao Xingde led two thousand soldiers to the shooting range to pick out the guns one by one.In Hejian City, bang bang bang bang bang continuously, one after another, it actually faintly overwhelmed the sound of artillery outside the city.The people in the city widely rumored that this was a firecracker battle to ward off evil spirits and suppress the arrogance of the barbarians, and everyone felt very relieved.

Because firecrackers are really dangerous things, and you need to be more careful when picking them, Han Shizhong specially sent Su Wenyu, Ouyang Shan, Wang Jian and other smart and capable people to Zhao Xingde's command to assist him.

Two thousand soldiers form a team of 500 people. One team transports the firecrackers and "drug" powder bullets to the shooting range, one team is responsible for loading them, and the other team is responsible for placing the firecrackers. Because the firecrackers explode too much, they are bound After the tree branch and the stone pier are put on the fire, the other team is responsible for cleaning up the scene after the launch, and the fragments of the bombed chamber are used as scrap iron.

Cai Yang, who was transferred from the Xuanwei Army to the Zhenbei Army, tried every time the "medicine" primer was ignited, and he ran away covering his ears like a rabbit hit by an arrow. He didn't light it up, so he ran away from a distance, looked around, and explained to Dutou with a playful smile: "It was warm a few days ago, but it suddenly turned cold these few days, and my hands were numb from the cold, why don't you replace me?" . ” Must be beaten and scolded before going forward to check the situation, trembling and lighting the fire again.

Even so, after one morning, a few soldiers who ran to the side of other firecrackers in a daze were injured.The soldiers below complained. "Everyone is not afraid of death, but it's another matter if you die uselessly. This thing is almost like blowing up one by one. It's better to be a thunderbolt and leave the city to blow up the Khitan people." Even the officer who didn't have to do it himself , When he looked at the guns to be tested, he also had fear in his eyes, and he was willing to touch the barrels that were not on fire.

Zhao Xingde was sweating profusely in the shooting range. Except for Su Wenyu and a few horse archers and Han Shizhong's confidant officers, the other officers were vaguely resistant to him.Zhao Xingde had no choice but to order that every hour, the commanders who inspected the number of firecrackers less than [-] must personally go to light the fire and try to shoot the remaining firecrackers, which forced the officers to desperately urge the soldiers.

After the speed of the inspection increased, Zhao Xingde stared closely at the cleaning, numbering, and cataloging of qualified firecrackers for a while. Regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, he strictly ordered that the fired firecrackers must be wiped clean, and the inside and outside of the gun barrels should be coated with lard. After oiling, the craftsman can engrave the number and the name of the inspector on the muzzle, and place it in a book.

He estimated that in such a short period of time, he would never be able to train firecrackers who can calmly reload in front of the enemy and shoot in circles. The only way is to use the firecracker with the bayonet installed as a Use cold weapons. "The gun barrel is made of pure iron. When the two armies clash, even if the enemy hits with a heavy axe, it is not easy to break." Zhao Xingde recalled the style of the bayonet while gesturing to the foreman of the workshop. Take off the tip of the gun when firing the gun, and put the tip of the iron gun back after it is fired, and fight hand-to-hand with the enemy."

Han Tiedan, the head craftsman, nodded again and again: "No problem, no problem."

Zhao Xingde was taken aback, he didn't expect him to be so enlightened, and said again: "Hurry up! Take out the samples tonight, and within five days, match the heads for 5000 firecrackers." At this time, the firearms that had been tested There are more than 700 guns, of which more than 15.00 have not exploded.The number of three thousand was estimated by Zhao Xingde based on a [-]% sample passing rate.

Seeing Han Tiedan nodding again and again, he smiled flatteringly and said, "No problem, no problem." Zhao Xingde couldn't help frowning.He was about to recall the structure of the bayonet in detail, and then explain it to Han Tiedan in detail, but he saw someone arguing in a place where the ignition was going off, so Zhao Xingde went to check the situation first.

"Mr. Zhao, according to the military order, if the commander fails to fire a thousand firecrackers within an hour, the commander, Dutou, should ignite and fire the cannons himself. However, this Zhu Dutou refused, and even cursed. Disobedient to the military order." Su Wenyu replied while pointing to an officer wearing a brocade hat, with a chest and belly, and staring eyes.

"What's going on?" Zhao Xingde's expression darkened, and he shouted.Everyone knows that these soldiers have vague resistance to him, but it is no small matter to dare to openly violate military orders.

The officer cursed in Bianjing accent: "What nonsense military order, I, Zhuhou Wu, is the capital and I am not a whale pawn, why should I take the risk to fire the gun myself?" He was still not finished, pointing at Zhao Xingde and said viciously: " You are a little Confucian student of Taixue, you are just pretending to be a tiger, and my uncle is Zhu Bona, the military governor of Wuchang, and you are showing off your power in front of me?" After finishing talking, looking around, those soldiers who watched the excitement The pawn seemed to fuel his arrogance even more.

Zhao Xingde's heart was aroused by his point, but at this time he flinched, the firecrackers didn't need to practice, and he didn't talk too much with this bastard, he just turned his head and asked Su Wenyu coldly: "Since this Zhu Du The head of the army violated the military law, and the military law is like a mountain, how should I be punished?"

Su Wenyu was taken aback, didn't he just let the officer take the risk of firing the gun himself?But after a slight change in his mind, he understood Zhao Xingde's intention of killing chickens and monkeys. He was a young man with a vigorous blood, and no matter how old this Zhu Bernard was, he sneered twice in his heart and said loudly: "Seven Laws 54 Cutting Four: More If you complain, you will be angry with the general, and if you don't listen to restraint, it will be even more difficult to teach, this is called building an army, and the offender will be killed."

As soon as this remark came out, the army was in an uproar.Zhao Xingde was stunned, he didn't expect Su Wenyu to be more ruthless than him.Zhu Houwu was even more taken aback, he smiled back in anger, pointed at Su Wenyu and said, "Su Hou'er, you have the guts, you don't need to go back to Bianjing, your uncle can take care of you!" He turned his face up and said to Zhao Xingde "The surname is Zhao, you will kill me if you have the guts!" He was not involved in the industry, but he was in the middle of the capital, and the elders of the Zhu family didn't care about him.At this time, he started to vigorously, more like a rascal.

Zhao Xingde felt a bit hesitant, he didn't know who Zhu Bona, the governor of the Wukang Army, was. Nice to meet you.

While thinking, he stroked the handle of the saber at his waist, and approached Zhu Houwu step by step.When he arrived in front of him, suddenly, with a bang, the saber was drawn out.Zhuhou Wu's face turned pale, and his hands immediately touched his waist, Zhao Xingde sternly shouted: "Do you dare to beat up your boss and assassinate this official?" Shangguan's sword is facing each other, and no matter what, he cannot escape punishment.After a moment of hesitation, there was a sound of the steel knife brushing, and the blade was as quick as a slap in the face, and a gust of wind rushed towards his face.All the soldiers on the side let out an exclamation, and Zhu Houwu's legs trembled suddenly, and a line of cold sweat slid down from his forehead, just stagnating between the steel knife and his nose.

Zhao Xingde slowly retracted the waist knife, shook off the drop of sweat, put the knife back into its sheath, and said coldly: "Thinking of your first crime, you can avoid capital crimes, live crimes are inevitable, and you will be punished heavily with the Thirty Army Sticks."