Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1341 Rejection of Peace Talks
In order to facilitate loading, the muzzle of the bowl-mouth gun has a trumpet-shaped muzzle, but the muzzle of the mortar in front of me is narrower, obviously absorbing the experience of the West.With this structural change, when the gunpowder explodes, the thrust on the projectile will undoubtedly be greater.

After hearing Wang Yan's words, Xia Wenbin quickly called several people to load the gunpowder first, then moved a set of levers, put the huge iron ball at one end, and finally hoisted it into the barrel of the gun.

The loaded shells are cracked shells. The Ming Dynasty already had a lot of experience in the manufacture of wooden tube fuzes. The cracked shells had already demonstrated their prowess during the Central Plains War, and now the technology is even more proficient.

Mortars project projectiles. The speed of the projectile is slow and the range is short. Its function is similar to that of a trebuchet. The fuze of its projectile is better to control than the projectile with a fast exit speed.

"Jianguo, several cabinet ministers, please step back, we are going to test the cannon soon." Seeing that the loading was completed, Xia Wenbin bowed and saluted, reminding him.

Although the cannon has been tried several times, but in case something happens, if Wang Yan and other cabinet members are killed during the cannon test, it will be a big joke.

Wang Yan would not make fun of his own life. He saw that the gunner had a lot of gunpowder, and the shells were four or five times the size of the red cannon, so he quickly backed away from the big guy.

Wang Yan retreated as far as he could, until Xia Wenbin said it was ok, he stopped with the others, and then reached out to Lu Shikui for a binoculars to watch.

At this time, Xia Wenbin waved the flag, and the artillery testers got the order to ignite the fuze of the shell first, and then ignited the fuse of the artillery, and then squatted on the ground covering their ears.

Sparks flashed from the lead wire on the gun body, and it slid into the medicine chamber with a whistling sound. There was a deafening "boom" sound, and the mortar body shook suddenly, and a cloud of white smoke instantly covered the mortar.

Wang Yan only felt the ground tremble, and a huge black bomb rushed out from the flames and smoke, drew a parabola, and landed behind the city wall.

Immediately afterwards, there was a louder explosion sound than before. Wang Yan felt a sudden gust of air blowing over his head. Suddenly, he saw a flash of fire behind the city wall and thick smoke billowing, covering most of the sky.

Wang Yan was taken aback for a moment. This was similar to the Tiger Crouching Cannon, but it was too powerful. His telescope almost fell to the ground in shock.

At that moment, Wang Yan threw the binoculars in his hand to the guards, and walked to the back of the city wall. The surprised few pavilions hesitated, and walked to the back.

Behind the city wall, there are many straw men and wooden men as targets.

Wang Yan detoured behind the city wall, and saw a large crater in the center of the explosion. The straw figures in the middle were a mess, most of them were overturned, the straw figures were still burning with flames, and those on the edge were also blown upside down. There are also iron plates nailed to the target and the wooden man.

If this thing falls into the crowd, the effect will be terrible, it can be said to be cruel and inhumane.

Seeing this kind of power, the whole group felt a little fear, but Wang Yan was very happy. He found a new toy and said happily, "Okay!" Make a big deal!"

Tongguan is tall and strong, and it is difficult to break through it with giant artillery bombarding the front. If this kind of mortar bombards the city wall and the Jin army behind the city, Wang Yan's confidence in breaking Tongguan will be greatly increased.

After watching the test firing of the cannon, Wang Yan encouraged Xia Wenbin a few words, and praised the craftsmen who cast the cannon, and returned to Luoyang City not long after.

In the palace of King Chu Jianguo, just after Wang Yan returned to Luoyang, the academician Chen Zilong was sitting in the hall, drinking tea and waiting.

At this time, footsteps came from outside the hall, and Qian Bingdeng, who was next to him, reminded in a low voice: "Gemin, Jian Guo is here."

Chen Zilong hurriedly put down his teacup, and when he turned around, he saw Wang Yan walking in briskly with a happy face. He quickly stood up and bowed to salute, "See Jian Guo."

Wang Yan waved his hand, walked to the seat and sat down, let the two of them sit too, and then asked, "What conditions did Han Chaoxuan put forward, and how did the discussion go?"

Wang Yan did not take Chen Zilong with him during the inspection, and left him in Luoyang to handle some memorials from Nanjing, and then listen to Jin Guo's conditions.

"Reporting to Jian Guo, the conditions brought by Han Chaoxuan are professing ministers, ceding land, and paying tribute, in exchange for my dynasty's strike from northern Shaanxi!"

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows when he heard this, "Where are they going to cede?"

"Hanzhong. As long as our court retreats, the Han Dynasty declares that the Jin Kingdom is willing to cede Hanzhong, profess its vassal to our court, and pay tribute every year." Chen Zilong said.

Hanzhong is willing to cede it, but that is Wu Sangui's place, Hauge is really generous to others.

However, the strategic position of Hanzhong is extremely important. After the Ming army gets it, the threat of the Kingdom of Jin to Sichuan and Shu will be lifted, and the Ming army can endanger Guanzhong from the south.

Jin Guo even intended to give up Hanzhong, which is equivalent to fighting the fire with his salary, which shows that their desire for peace is very strong, and the more they want to seek peace, the more it shows that Jin Guo is weak and unprepared for the current war.

Seeing that Wang Yan didn't speak, Chen Zilong couldn't help asking: "Jianguo, how should I reply to Han Chaoxuan? Do you have any conditions?"

Wang Yan came back to his senses and shook his head, "No, I won't allow the Kingdom of Jin to segregate Guanzhong. The territory of the Ming Dynasty must not only be fully restored, but also developed. The scourge of the Kingdom of Jin must be eradicated. Annihilated in Guanzhong."

No matter from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty or from his own perspective, there is no need for the Kingdom of Jin to exist.

If Guanzhong is not taken back and a powerful Jin country is left behind, then Henan, Shanxi, and Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty will always be threatened.

Considering the safety of the Ming Dynasty, Guanzhong, Longyou, and the Hexi Corridor had to be conquered. Wang Yan could not tolerate a Xixia that threatened the safety of the Ming Dynasty's northwest frontier.

After Wang Yan inspected the front line again and saw the new-style artillery in Xin'an, he was already full of confidence, and the eagerness of Jin to seek peace further strengthened his belief in destroying Jin.

Wang Yan said before that Jin Guo couldn't give him the conditions he wanted.

The country is impermanently strong and impermanently weak. If we don’t take advantage of the Ming Dynasty’s strength and eliminate hidden dangers as much as possible, why don’t we wait until the Ming Dynasty weakens and let Jin Guo counterattack?
This is irresponsible to the Ming Dynasty and irresponsible to future generations.

Hearing what Wang Yan said, Chen Zilong knew that he was determined to destroy the gold, "The minister will inform Han Chaoxuan of the supervisor's attitude later, and drive him out of Luoyang."

"That's not necessary!" Wang Yan shook his head and said with a smile, "If the peace talks fail, you can talk about other things! Han Chaoxuan is still aware of current affairs. You should do more work for him so that he can see the current situation clearly, and don't go all the way to the dark. Well!"

Back then in Qingzhou, Zhao Yingyuan and Wang Yan were sold by Han Chaoxuan, and Wang Yan always kept this in mind.

Wang Yan used all kinds of tricks, trying to poach Hauge's corner, Chen Zilong heard the words, and saluted, "I understand!"

After talking about this matter, Wang Yan thought of another matter that he was more concerned about, and couldn't help asking: "During the days when I went to the front line to patrol alone, has there been any news from northern Shaanxi?"

After the weather turned cold and the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, the Ming army in Shanxi could no longer provide assistance to Li Laiheng in northern Shaanxi.Meng Qiaofang led an army of [-] to attack northern Shaanxi, Wang Yan was still a little worried.

"Liu Dudu has just sent news from Shanxi that the Jin army is attacking fiercely. Yulin has been captured by Jin general Sun Sike. Not long ago, Suiyan General Gao Youcai was defeated and killed. The remaining troops of Yulin Mansion have retreated to Suide Prefecture."

"Is Yulin lost so soon?" Wang Yan was a little surprised, and immediately went to the map hanging in the hall, and looked at how much land the Ming army still occupied in northern Shaanxi.

"Jianguo, we have few people in Yulin, that's why we were attacked by the Jin army." Seeing Wang Yan's expression, Chen Zilong hurriedly explained: "At present, Li Laiheng, Wang Guangtai, and Wang Yongqiang, more than 2 people guard Suide and The two places of Wubao are the horns of each other, and the concentration of troops makes it easier to defend. As long as they don't make mistakes, they should have no problem holding on until the beginning of spring."

Wang Yan was still a little worried after hearing this, and walked a few steps in front of the map, "It seems that the attack plan must be determined as soon as possible. Once the weather improves and the snow melts, we must attack immediately."

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(End of this chapter)