Follow General Cao to mix the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 107 Nepotism is promoted again

It's time to come!
After three days of "repenting behind closed doors" at home, Wang Hou was taken to the prime minister's mansion again. It was still the three-step conference hall, but this time there were only Wang Hou and his father-in-law Cao Cao.

It seems that Mr. Cao's headaches in history cannot be faked. These days, on the one hand, he has come from the military pressure from the north, and on the other hand, he has the troubles Wang Hou found for him. There is also a white silk scarf soaked in cold water, and the old face with a beautiful beard and a beautiful chin is full of exhaustion.

But in front of his case, the barrel of Wang Hou's old gun barrel was placed there upright, and there were a few more holes on the top of Wang Hou's head, and a few rays of sunlight shone divinely obliquely on it. In the lobby.

Watching this scene, Wang Hou roughly knew what the main topic of the day was.

But there are mistakes, and you must have a good attitude when you admit your mistakes. Before Cao Cao turned over the old score, Wang Hou had already come to a rice cake party all of a sudden, and gave the old man a new year greeting.

"This minister is lawless, violated the night ban without authorization, and even attempted to hijack the royal family's escort team. The crime deserves death. Please, the prime minister, depose the subordinate official and send him to prison to atone for his sins!"

He didn't pay attention to Wang Hou's nonsense at all, and rubbed his temples twice again in exhaustion. Cao Cao then sat up straight and tapped his fingers on the table a few times.

"If you want to apologize, you can go to the palace and talk to Hong Xian! Honghua is still young, and now she is the only one who should bear the responsibility that Hongjie should share with her. The old man cried out, in this old man's heart..., alas!"

Hearing this, Wang Hou couldn't help trembling slightly, but he was speechless. He is not a saint. If he was allowed to choose again, he would still go to grab Cao Hongjie without hesitation, even if Cao Cao was not there to release him!Although he felt guilty about this sister-in-law, Wang Hou could only say sorry.

But Cao Cao is Cao Cao after all, a unique hero in the history of 2000. After only being sentimental for a moment, he walked out again, stretched out his hand, and lifted Wang Hou's old cannon barrel.

"How much food does it cost to make a handle of this thing? How long does it take?"

After all, he is an old military strategist. At a glance, he can see the advantages of this firearm compared to the traditional long-range cold weapon bow and arrow. Indeed, if the bow and arrow are projected, the farthest can be fired 150 meters, and even the British longbow can be projected 220 meters. There is also an old saying in China, at the end of the crossbow, it is impossible to wear Lu Jin!A crossbow that shoots more than 100 meters can't pierce the light and fluffy Lu Guosi onyx, let alone a bow and arrow. The real effective range of the bow and arrow is only 30 meters.

Tens of thousands of people fight and shoot hundreds of thousands of arrows. It is normal for only a hundred people to be shot to death in one battle.

And don't think that archery is easy to shoot. A qualified archer needs at least several years of training. In British burials, cases of deformed spines caused by archery and joint diseases abound.

As for the crossbow, it is indeed much easier than a bow and arrow, but the value of a good crossbow is several times that of a bow and arrow. Otherwise, if Ju Yi entered the camp first, why would there be only a few hundred people in the camp for Gao Shun?

Moreover, carrying the weight of bows and arrows is also a problem. In the Battle of Crecy, where the British longbowmen in the West beat the French heavy cavalry, the average archer carried 36 bows and arrows per person. Ten or so, that is, a battle, archers can only shoot twenty arrows.

But muskets are different. The gourd gunpowder that Wang Hou gave Cao Cao was about three catties, 48 ​​taels. One shot used one tael, and it could be shot 48 times. The pointed cone bullet, which was much smaller than the normal arrowhead, was only one catty. A little more, if the weight of the archers is 100 catties, they can fire more than [-] guns in a war.

So the only question now is the cost!
Now that he is the son-in-law of Cao Cao, Wang Hou also hopes that Cao Jun can equip muskets and rule the country as soon as possible, and then he will also be a relative of the emperor and a hero who founded the country. However, at the end of the Han Dynasty, at least now, it is extremely difficult to achieve!

"Prime Minister, the musket is not expensive to make. This fine steel made by the minister is about the same as the manpower and material resources required to practice swords and swords. It is rougher. It is directly made of cast iron, and then drilled with a water wheel. A musket can be used for ten years. It can be made in a few days, but the difficulty lies in the supply of ammunition!"

"Sulphur, the land of volcanoes, the only source I know of now is Huaqing Lake in Huashan Mountain. The other one is more difficult to use saltpeter. The only place that produces brine is produced. The only place I know now is Bingzhou Salt Pond!"

"There is another source of nitrate, which is accumulated nitrate. Mobilize all the people in the territory to urinate and piss together. Over time, it will become nitrate soil. It can be boiled with fire to get fire nitrate, but the output is average! It takes a year to refine it. , enough for [-] sergeants to fight for half a day..."

Before time travel, I read novels, and the master of time travel couldn’t move millions of tons of gunpowder, ping pong pong pong, how they made nitrate, Wang Hou didn’t know, at least he was stuck in the nitrate production.

In order to grab the Cao Hong Festival, he spent hundreds of bolts of silk, and all kinds of connections only got about two hundred catties of black powder, which consumed more than 50 catties to blow up the corridors of Xun's house, and now he stuffed it into the corner of the escape route About 80 catties, and the rest was filial to Cao Cao, the old father-in-law, who was sent to the mansion one after another by him. Wang Hou himself only had a stock of about ten catties left.

It is even said that before obtaining the saltpeter mines in Morocco, the Queen of England sent people to scrape toilets in London every day. Among the resources that Britain plundered in India, saltpeter accounted for a large part, which shows the preciousness of saltpeter in ancient times.

Cao Cao, who listened to this answer, couldn't help but feel tired for a while, good guy, as expected of Yexiang Cangcao, the methods he came up with are all tasteful!But he also understood what Wang Hou meant, that is, this thing cannot equip troops on a large scale.

Seeing Cao Cao's disappointed look, in order to show his worth, don't let the old guy take back the girl Cao Hongjie again, Wang Hou hastily bowed again.

"Prime Minister, although it is not possible on a large scale, it is still possible on a small scale. The Jinyang Wang family still has some connections in Bingzhou. If the Prime Minister is willing to allocate money and buy medicines from Yanchi to Xudu in the name of buying medicines, it will last a year. After walking a few times, thousands of catties of gunpowder can still be produced. When the battle comes, wrap it in a large pottery urn, fill it with gunpowder and barbed wire, and use a return cannon to hit the opponent's army town. Not small!"

Seeing Wang Hou slapping his hands, Cao Cao's dark eyes lit up, recalling the power of blowing up the gate of Xun's house that day, he couldn't help but nodded his head on the table in excitement, and then nodded heavily.

"The truth is that the palace envoys will go to Mount Hua and Yanchi to ask for it in the name of medicine used in the palace. In addition, the prime minister's government will also increase the amount of purchases. Your recommender will lead the way and buy them in Bingzhou! After that, I will leave it to you! "

"Subordinate to obey!"

Here Wang Hou is relieved, since he helped Cao Cao, the matter of robbing the imperial concubine should be over, and he doesn't have to be punished by the old guy anymore.

But before Wang Hou could relax much, Cao Cao's next sentence made him tense again.

"After you return to the mansion today, pack up and tidy up. After more than ten days, the truth will have important tasks for you!"

"Prime Minister, the snow and ice melt in March, and spring plowing is coming soon!"

Da Sinonong Yang Feng went home to retire. Wang Hou is Da Sinonong, equivalent to the Minister of Agriculture of the Han Empire. In order to prepare for spring plowing, he wrote a lot of plans. At this juncture, Cao Cao wants to transfer him. Wang Hou almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

But it was rare that Cao Cao didn't reprimand, but sighed helplessly.

"Tu begs you to be talented. I know the truth. If you were a great farmer in peaceful times, you would be a great Changqiu. However, in today's turbulent times, Yuan Shao in the north is ready to move! Gongsun Zan was defeated, and the black mountain bandits were terrified. Now Yuan Benchu ​​dispatched troops and sent troops from the four prefectures of Hebei to the north bank of the Yellow River, and Yanzhou has few soldiers, so this battle may last for a long time!"

"Tuqiu, the truth needs a frontline that can support it!"

This was the first time that Wang Hou could show such a tired expression when he saw Cao Cao, and in his tone, it was no longer a boss treating his subordinates, but a kind of intimate entrustment between relatives. This entrustment was seen by Wang Hou His eyes couldn't help but jump a few times, but he didn't make a sound, and bowed heavily.

…………

In March of Yangchun, when the ice and snow melt and everything recovers, Wang Hou has been promoted again!This year, he directly made a triple jump. First, he was in charge of the one thousand stone transfer envoy with the real four hundred stone position, then he was promoted to the one thousand stone long envoy, and now he skipped the real one thousand stone and the medium one thousand stone two A level, directly promoted to the position of Bi Erqianshi prefect, even at the end of the Han Dynasty, it is enough to be a small prince.

But this time Wang Hou entered the title, but there was no noise in the court and the opposition. First of all, the talkative Dong Cheng and Wang Zifu were all dead. Secondly, although Wang Hou took Cao Hongjie back to the mansion, he did not dare to engage in any wedding ceremony. Robbing women, and then beating gongs and drums to make it known to the whole world, what is the face of the emperor?But Cao Cao personally handed over Cao Hongjie to Wang Hou. This son-in-law of the Cao family was basically acquiesced by prominent figures from various families in Xudu.

Don't look down on the mention of nepotism in later generations, but in this era, nepotism is really the fastest promotion, as it should be!Just like the former great general He Jin, a butcher who entered the palace with his own sister, unexpectedly became the great general of the imperial court. Didn't Dong Cheng rely on his daughter Dong Guiren's relationship to pull a side of power? The prime minister's son-in-law, a prefect of two thousand stones, is really not extraordinary, even according to Cao Cao's own thinking, it is a bit low.

And the third point, Wang Hou went to an unenviable place. The prefect he took office was the prefect of Dongjun.

If Dongjun is unfamiliar, let’s talk about the Battle of Guandu, the three major battles in the late Han Dynasty! In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the battle of Guan Erye beheading Yan Liang and Wen Chou was in Baima City, which is located in the west of the central part of Dongjun. Now Guan Erye is still working for Liu Bei, and the north bank of the Yellow River opposite Baima City is real. Facing Yan Liang's more than 3 Hebei elite soldiers, this number is almost the same as Xudu's elite soldiers!
Then the main battlefield of the Battle of Guandu, the ferry Yanjin where Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's 10,000+ army confront each other, is still in the west of Dongjun!
Even Puyang City, where the county government of Dongjun is located, and even a large and a half of Dongjun's territory are on the north bank of the Yellow River. After Wang Hou took office, he couldn't even borrow the natural barrier of the Yellow River.Facing Yan Liang's army, Cao Cao is now under the pressure of the northern military, and he can't sleep or eat. After Wang Hou took office, he would have to sleep with several guns under his pillow every day!
It's too late to shirk this powder keg!Wang Hou went to cover this bullet hole, who would dare to say no?What if I let him go!

Letting Wang Hou go to Dongjun was also after Cao Cao's deliberation. In Cao Cao's view, Wang Hou's greatest talent is that this kid can cultivate land, manage the place, and store food. The upcoming battle with Yuan Shao will definitely be protracted. Fighting is not only about the blood and courage of soldiers, but also food and a solid economic foundation. If 3 people can't beat your Yuan Benchu's 10,000+ people, then I will bully you and come from afar, eat you to death, and wait for you When the food is exhausted, retreat and follow up to explode your chrysanthemums.

In this way, it is very important to have a battlefield with abundant grain reserves and excellent strategic resources!
Putting Wang Hou in Xudu as the Chief Secretary of Agriculture, with his talent, he can indeed coordinate the agricultural production of the entire Cao Cao's jurisdiction, but it is too slow to take effect. Prime Minister Cao is a utilitarian, so he decided to put Wang Hou To "realize" his talents, let him directly use dung to produce food in Dongjun, at least before the war, stock up hundreds of thousands of shi of food for him!

However, under Yan Liang's military pressure, whether Wang Hou can create another miracle and get him tons of grain is not what Cao Cao considered.

With an order from Prime Minister Cao, Wang Hou, who had only been at home for three months, had to pack his bags again, and this time, he almost moved!

Early in the morning, at the foot of Funiu Mountain outside Xudu City, the long motorcade started to get busy. The first ones who followed Wang Hou were him and Zhao Yun who had performed more than 400 plays, and then Wang Yuan had to bid farewell to him for one and a half years of hard work. Many, love the blacksmith's shop, these five big and three thick men tearfully commanded the blacksmith apprentices under his hands and those servants of his own tenants who were transferred by Wang Houzheng to carry the blacksmith stove, all kinds of hammers, cutting boards, hair dryers.

Along with the miscellaneous things from the blacksmith shop, seven to eight hundred pairs of curved shaft steel plows for plowing produced by Wang's blacksmith shop this winter were also carried on the cart.

This time I went to Dongjun to open up wasteland. Wang Hou wanted to go there by himself. Without tools, even if he had a million people under his command, he would not be able to open up a few acres of land. Cao Cao didn't approve the purchase money, so he was embarrassed and didn't dare to go to the prime minister's mansion to ask for it, so he could only grit his teeth and treat it as a gift to Cao Cao.

It was only now that Wang Hou really realized what it was like to be a big family. He was just a false patriarch, but there were still dozens of Wang family clan members who followed him northward after a call. Don't underestimate the dozens of people in this area. They are all scholars, and if they go to Dongjun, they will be able to be alone for Wang Hou!

Moreover, Wang Hou's children's school finally had a decent teacher. In the shed, a young man who was also from the Wang family's side house in Taiyuan was sweating profusely while looking at the comparison table of traditional and simplified characters left by Wang Hou. The poor one was teaching the text in simplified Chinese on the blackboard, while the more than 200 primary school students below were shaking their heads and reading along. Wang Hou watched this scene, and for some reason, he always had a special feeling of peace of mind.

"I send Patriarch a congratulations! This old man wishes Patriarch prosperity in literature and martial arts!"

Just when Wang Houkan was in a trance, an old voice suddenly sounded beside him. Turning around, he looked at the old Wang Fu who seemed to be a little older, with a complex and reluctant heart, and said goodbye to himself with his fists together. Hou Xin also had mixed feelings, and he also clenched his fists heavily.

"Uncle Fu, this end of the house, I'll leave it to you!"

Without answering, Wang Fu just bowed heavily again.

On the other side, Zhao Yun was already circling there with the reins of the Dawan horse. He finally looked back at the place he had called home for more than a year, turned around abruptly, and Wang Hou got into the carriage with difficulty.

But as soon as he sat down, a pair of soft little hands grabbed his arm again, and he turned his head to look at Cao Hongjie, who was supposed to be the last empress of filial piety in the Eastern Han Dynasty, with a small face full of excitement about going on a trip , Wang Hou couldn't help but nodded in relief after seeing it.

There are mountains of swords and seas of fire, and we will fight!
(End of this chapter)