"Sell newspapers~sell newspapers~, there has been a drastic change overseas. The coastal areas of Champa were invaded by the Rakshasa Army and a large amount of territory was lost. The leader of the Rakshasa Army then requested to be attached to the Song Dynasty..." The newspaper boy was shaking the newspaper in his hand while yelling. Whenever pedestrians on the road waved to them, these newspaper boys would immediately stop and hand over the newspaper in their hand, and by the way they took the few pennies handed over by the other party, and then said a few auspicious words before leaving.

Zhao Yan in the carriage held a bun in one hand and a newspaper in the other, quite like an office worker in later generations. However, he only went out so early today and didn't even have breakfast. It was because the news came from the military weapon surveillance that the musket he had created finally succeeded, so he went out so anxiously.

While eating the buns I bought on the roadside, I looked at the newspaper in my hand. The newspaper introduced in detail the strength of the Rakshasa Army and their sudden large-scale attack on the city of Chameng and occupied most of the coastal areas of Chameng. The attack was launched very suddenly, and even the officials of the Song Dynasty in the deep water port in Jiaozhi were not aware of it in advance. It was not until the news spread that everyone's attention was noticed.

Zhao Yan looked at the newspaper's reports and showed a satisfied smile on his face. He originally founded the newspaper just to give the court a tool to control public opinion, but he did not expect that the newspaper's functions were much more than he expected in advance. For example, when the Rakshasa Army attacked Champa, Zhao Yan could use the newspaper to help him spread some news. For example, the Rakshasa Army already has the strength of the sea overlord, which can be seen from the fact that they fought Champa in a very short period of time.

The reason why Zhao Yan spread the strength of the Rakshasa Army was naturally to let the Song Dynasty court know that the Rakshasa Army had the strength to be the king of land, so as to attract their attention. In addition, at the end of this report, the Rakshasa Army fleet appeared in Guangzhou and asked the court for the attached news. This news was only known by Zhao Yan from Princess Dening's letter.

It was a coincidence that Lekong led the fleet of the Rakshasa Army to appear in Guangzhou. On the one hand, he showed his strength to Dasong, and on the other hand, he formally made an inclusive request to Dasong according to his plan with Zhao Yan. However, he did not expect that Princess Dening happened to be on the dock at that time. As a result, he witnessed the whole process and even met Lekshasa Army afterwards. Speaking of which, the Maritime Trade Bank and the Rakshasa Army were also commercial competitors. Princess Dening and Lekshasa Army also admired each other for a long time, but they had never met each other, and they did not know about Princess Dasong and Princess Bao'an.

Lekong has completed the plan he and Zhao Yan three years ago. The next step depends on the court's reaction. According to Zhao Yan's analysis, the court will most likely agree to Kong's request. And he will also give Kong a noble title. At that time, Kong can take this opportunity to ask Zhao Shu to marry Princess Bao'an. Zhao Yan and Princess Bao'an will also cooperate with Kong at this time. It can be said that the entire plan is very likely to be successful.

Thinking of the above, Zhao Yan couldn't help but show a proud expression. The whole plan took three years. Although there were some twists and turns, he finally achieved the originally expected goal very smoothly. This is not an easy task for anyone, but they finally did it. The next thing is to see how he convinced Zhao Shu.

The Gunpowder Department is still in the western suburbs of Tokyo. It was already noon when Zhao Yan came here. The craftsmen in the bureau also began to be busy and busy. Zhao Yan was very familiar with this place, so he went directly to Qi Yu when he entered the bureau. Last time, Qi Yu and the others had developed artillery. Although the current artillery cannons can only fire solid bullets and have a limited range, Zhao Yan believes that after frequent improvements, one day the artillery cannons can reach the power of later generations.

Because the iron quality of the Song Dynasty was not very good, Zhao Yan pointed out that the cannons that Qi Yu and the others were studying were mother-child cannons. The so-called mother-child cannons were actually similar to the principle of muskets. So after the successful development of mother-child cannons, Qi Yu and the others immediately began to study muskets and achieved success in such a short time, which made Zhao Yan very excited. Especially when the Song soldiers on the battlefield were holding a musket and then lined up to shoot forward, and the enemy fell down like mowing grass, Zhao Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited. However, he also knew that before the bullets appeared, the use of muskets was greatly restricted, and coupled with the cost issue, the picture he imagined was probably impossible to appear in a short period of time.

Zhao Yan hurried to the yard where Qi Yu was studying. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Cao Chong, who was in charge of the Gunpowder Department, was also here. It was because of Zhao Yan's suggestions that Cao Chong was able to take charge of the Gunpowder Department. He was Cao Ying's cousin, so he was very enthusiastic when he saw Zhao Yan and immediately stepped forward to salute. Zhao Yan also smiled and chatted with him for a few words.

"Cousin, are you here to see the muskets?" Zhao Yan asked again at this time. Cao Chong was in charge of the entire Gunpowder Office. His daily affairs were no less than Su Song and Su Shi. Zhao Yan rarely saw him when he came to the Gunpowder Office. Today he appeared in Qi Yu, so Zhao Yan asked this.

"The prince guessed it well. I really couldn't take time when the gun was tested last time, so I missed the opportunity. I don't want to miss it again when the musket was developed successfully." Cao Chong also smiled at this time. Qi Yu is now a very famous firearm master in the Gunpowder Department, so he has a new invention, and Cao Chong also wants to come and have a look.

"Haha, muskets and cannons are the two most promising weapons for firearms. You must remember this!" Zhao Yan smiled again at this time. Although Cao Chong did not say it clearly before, Zhao Yan could also feel that he did not attach much importance to the research on cannons and muskets. If Zhao Yan had not insisted on supporting Qi Yu, it would have been difficult to study cannons. However, after Cao Chong saw the power of cannons, although there were still various shortcomings in artillery, he could already see the potential of it. Therefore, he attached importance to Qi Yu, and this time he came in person. This shows how important he attached it.

"Thank you for your concern, so I will remember it in the future!" Cao Chong also said solemnly, and at the same time he was even more convinced of Zhao Yan. Of course, it was Zhao Yan who gave him the correct gunpowder formula that greatly increased the power of gunpowder. Later, he invented the crossbow, and even the invention of the cannon had the shadow of Zhao Yan. This made Cao Chong already regarded Zhao Yan as an authority in gunpowder, and he did not dare to have any doubts about his words.

Just as Zhao Yan and Cao Chong were talking, Qi Yu also walked out of the room and saw Zhao Yan and Cao Chong hurriedly saluting, then he introduced excitedly: "Prince, the musket has been successfully studied, and is now sent to the test site to prepare for the test shot. Should we go to the test site to take a look now?"

"Of course, let's go and take a look, I can't wait." Zhao Yan said loudly excitedly. He was eager to see with his own eyes what the first musket in history looked like and how it performed?

When Zhao Yan and the other two rushed to the test site, they saw a group of craftsmen who had already started preparing there. When they saw Zhao Yan and the others, the craftsmen immediately saluted. At this time, Zhao Yan saw that one of the craftsmen was holding a musket. The musket was about three feet long and looked similar to the musket Zhao Yan saw in historical pictures. It was just that there were some decorative patterns on the gun, which looked very beautiful. It seemed that Qi Yu and the others cherished this cannon very much, otherwise they would not have spent time making the musket so beautiful.

"Prince, this cannon is designed according to your requirements. When using it, you need to hold a fuse on the gun, then load gunpowder and bullets from the front, add gunpowder to the ignition pool, pull the trigger and use the fuse to trigger the gunpowder, and then fire the bullets out." Qi Yu picked up the musket at this time, and then gave a brief introduction to Zhao Yan and Cao Chong. In fact, these Zhao Yan are more clear than the craftsmen present, so his words are mainly said to Cao Chong.

Zhao Yan nodded with satisfaction when he heard this, then reached out to take the musket, but he didn't expect that the musket would sink. He didn't expect that the musket would really have weight and it was really hard to get without some strength. However, for an adult man, it could be withstood. Zhao Yan looked up and down several times and found that the workmanship was very good everywhere, and there were traces of gunpowder firing on the musket. In fact, Qi Yu and the others would definitely test the firing after the manufacturing was completed. Only when it was successful would they take it out for Zhao Yan to see.

"Yes, this gun is very well-made. The only disadvantage is that it is too heavy. Of course, this is not a big disadvantage. In the future, I will find a way to improve the iron quality of our Song Dynasty. As long as you have good steel, you can make the barrel thinner to reduce the weight." Zhao Yan praised it immediately, and then raised another disadvantage.

The quality of steel in the Song Dynasty has always been a heart-wrenching problem of Zhao Yan. In the past, it was because of the failure of steel that he could only make mother-child cannons. In addition, the quality of weapons in the Song Dynasty was not as good as Dali. Zhao Yan felt a little embarrassed to say it. It seemed that he would have to focus on improving the quality of steel in the Song Dynasty in the future.

"What the prince said is that we did thicken the barrel because of steel!" Qi Yu immediately spoke when he heard this. Now, whether it is the research on artillery or muskets, they are in trouble because of the quality of steel, so he hopes to improve the problem of poor steel quality earlier than anyone else.

"Well, there will be good steel in the future. Let's try the power of the musket first!" Zhao Yan said solemnly. Hearing Zhao Yan's orders, Qi Yu immediately took action, while Cao Chong looked at the weapon in front of him with curiosity, guessing what kind of power it has, which can actually make Zhao Yan pay so much attention? (To be continued...) i1292
Chapter completed!