On the pier dedicated to the weapons inspection in the north of Lin'an City, thousands of civilians were loading large boxes onto the ship. The boxes were filled with various firearms and barrels of gunpowder.
Although the weapons inspector Liu Qiren was very reluctant, he still did not dare to disobey the holy will. The emperor approved Zhang Jun's request. Liu Qiren had no choice but to follow Zhang Jun's request and deliver the requested quantity of firearms and gunpowder to the designated place within the designated time.
place.
On the dock, Liu Qiren asked: "Why did the Xuanfu ambassador send the firearms and gunpowder to Dangtu County? Can't I just send them to Luzhou?"
Zhang Jun laughed dryly. This was Chen Qing's request. Of course he could only send it to Dangtu County. Chen Qing proposed to exchange 30,000 barrels of kerosene for 150,000 kilograms of gunpowder. Zhang Jun agreed immediately. He had no interest in firearms.
, but he attaches great importance to kerosene. If he hadn't used kerosene to defend Hefei City last year, he would have been unable to report his duties yesterday.'
Zhang Jun could only say vaguely: "Liu Supervisor does not know something. My military warehouse is undergoing a large-scale inventory to confirm the physical objects and complete the account books. Therefore, this batch of firearms and gunpowder cannot be sent to be mixed together. They can only be temporarily stored."
In Dangtu County, if the army needs it urgently, they can directly go through the formalities in Dangtu County and take it away."
"I remember that the original Dangtu County was very shabby, but since last year, I heard that there has been a lot of construction work there, and it has been built into a large river port with large warehouses. Business has become very prosperous, and Zhang Xuanfu is so generous!"
Zhang Jun laughed twice and said: "The main reason is that the strategic location of Wuhu Port is too important. Every time the enemy forces enter the hinterland of Jiangnan from Wuhukou, there are a large number of enemy spies there, and they basically use commerce as a cover, so I decided
Turn Wuhu Port into a military port, prohibiting civilian ships from docking, and then use Dangtu Port not far away as a docking place for civilian ships. This will not affect commercial transportation, but also protect the military security of Wuhu Port. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone."
"This idea is very good. No wonder the emperor also praised Xuanfu for being able to adapt."
Zhang Jun narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Thank you! Thank you!"
Liu Qiren knew very well that Dangtu spent so much money on dredging the port, building docks, building warehouses, and paving roads. Where did this money come from? It must have been Zhang Jun's own money. He built Dangtu County into his own private dock.
, and on the pretext of military security, they drove all the merchant ships from Wuhu to Dangtu County. Wouldn’t wealth just roll in?
In fact, Liu Qiren really did not accuse Zhang Jun unjustly. Although the money invested by Dangtu County came from Chen Qing's pocket, the Zhang family also received 30% of the land and warehouses, and also used the port of Dangtu County to make a lot of money.
This does not conflict with the interests of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Sichuan and Shaanxi use Dangtu County as a transit warehouse and continuously purchase supplies to Jiangling and Bashu. The Zhang family opens inns, restaurants, brothels, and shops, and then provides warehousing and supplies.
Supply, also provide fleet transportation, and make a fortune from port services. It can be said that both parties get what they need and develop together.
At this time, the steward stepped forward and saluted: "I have received the order from the supervisor, all firearms and gunpowder have been put on board!"
Liu Qiren nodded and said to Zhang Jun: "Since it is a ship arranged by the Xuanfu Envoy, it has nothing to do with me getting on the ship. Please sign!"
Zhang Jun picked up his pen to sign and seal, and Liu Qiren left with a group of officials.
Zhang Jun walked to the dock, handed a list to Dong Qun, and said calmly: "I will leave the rest to you. I hope you can transport kerosene as fast as me!"
"Please rest assured, Mr. Xuanfu. My Highness said that we have a long-term cooperation with Mr. Xuanfu. We will be mutually beneficial and we will definitely deliver the goods in time!"
Zhang Jun nodded, "One more free message for your highness. The imperial court is very interested in Jinghu South Road. Li Gang and Yue Fei have entered the capital according to the order!"
Zhang Jun and Yue Fei have been at odds for a long time. If the Sichuan-Shaanxi army can be used to attack Yue Fei's army, he would be happy to see it.
There is a military city in Ba, called Ba City, with a circumference of about ten miles. The city wall is tall and strong, surrounded by a moat. Various defensive weapons are installed on it, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
This Ba city is actually a training city, where soldiers are trained to attack and defend the city in a practical way. This is also a training that the soldiers are very excited about, but a little scared of, because this is a practical training, and it is normal for people to get injured or die.
For example, if you fall from a siege ladder or city wall, you must be flexible. If you fall into the moat, it will be fine. However, if you fall on the dirt ground, it is normal to break your arms and legs.
However, the overall casualty ratio is not high, about one in a thousand. If 10,000 people are training, there will be 10 casualties, mostly injured.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The drums were beating like thunder, and the Huben camp was training to attack and defend the city on the east wall. The city head was two miles long, and Lu Gui led 6,000 people to defend the city above.
The siege force was composed of ten thousand troops led by Yan Jun, carrying siege ladders and holding shields, and came like a tide.
From the beginning of the year, Yan Jun no longer served as Chen Qing's personal military commander, and was transferred to the Huben camp commander, commanding 10,000 troops.
The commander is also divided into three levels. The deputy commander can lead an army of 5,000, the commander can lead 10,000 troops, the commander of the superior army is qualified to lead an army of 15,000, and the next level up is the deputy commander, who can lead 20,000 troops.
But if you can lead an army of 30,000 people, the Shangjun Dutong can only lead 30,000 people, and 30,000 people is the upper limit.
But if he is both the commander of the military capital and the governor of Jiedushi, he can lead an army of 50,000.
Zheng Ping was the commander of the Shangjun Capital and served as the military commander of the Yongxing Army, so he was qualified to command an army of 50,000.
Yang Zaixing was also in charge of the military capital, but he did not have the title of Jiedushi, so he could only command an army of 30,000.
The subject of today's training was gunpowder barrel defense. After exchanging gunpowder from Zhang Jun, the Western Army used all the remaining kerosene in stock to make gunpowder barrels to strengthen defense training.
Ten thousand troops surged towards them, still two hundred steps away from the city wall, Lu Gui shouted: "Launch!"
Forty large trebuchets were launched at the same time, and forty burning gunpowder barrels were thrown at the crowd. "Take shelter!" the general shouted, and the soldiers fell down and covered their heads and bodies with their shields.
The gunpowder barrels fell to the ground and exploded one after another. The power of the wooden barrels and gunpowder barrels themselves is not great. Unless they fall right next to the body and explode, it will indeed kill and maim the person, but if they lie down, the shock wave will hardly hurt them.
people.
But the real lethality of the gunpowder barrel is the thousands of poisonous nails mixed in it. Once it is shot into the body, it will be poisoned, and at the very least it will lose combat effectiveness. But if it is serious, if treatment is not timely, it is almost impossible to escape death.
Of course, this is actual combat training now. Although iron nails will be mixed in, they will not be quenched. Even if they are shot through leather armor, they will still be flesh wounds, and the impact will be very small.
The key is to learn how to defend against it. The golden soldiers are welcome. They will definitely use poison-quenching iron nails. When the gunpowder barrel explodes, the poison nails will shoot upward at an angle. As long as you lie down in time, you can basically avoid the damage of the poison nails.
.
Chen Qing was watching the battle from the top of the city, and saw gunpowder barrels exploding in the crowd, but all the soldiers quickly got down. When the explosion was over, the soldiers got up one after another and continued to charge forward with their shields raised high.
"Are there any injured soldiers?" Guan Shigu asked from the side.
"There seem to be a few!"
Chen Qing saw a soldier lying on the battlefield unable to get up. He waved to the distance. Immediately, a medical soldier came running with a stretcher. It must be that a gunpowder barrel exploded next to him and he was injured.
At this time, the second round of gunpowder barrels was fired, and 10,000 soldiers quickly fell down again. Another 40 gunpowder barrels exploded in the crowd. This time, three more people were injured, but this time they were not injured by the explosion, but three people lay on the ground.
It was a little too early and I was trampled by the soldiers behind me.
After the second round of explosions, 10,000 soldiers got up again, shouted loudly, and rushed towards the moat. Planks were put up on the moat. The soldiers rushed over and put up siege ladders on the wall.
"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The bell rang, and the first explosion-proof training was over. Today we will not practice siege, but only train to defend against explosions. The soldiers retreated another 500 steps and started the second explosion-proof training again.
Not long after, Yan Jun came to report. He knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists and said: "A typical example, at the end of the first round of explosion-proof training, our army injured seven people, one of whom was seriously injured. He fell down too early, and his left leg bone was followed behind.
The incoming siege ladder was smashed, and the other six people suffered flesh and skin injuries. Preliminary statistics show that 21 people were shot by iron nails."
Chen Qing nodded, "Continue training!"
"Follow the order!"
Yan Jun went back and was about to start the second round of training. There will be a total of five rounds of training today.
Guan Shigu praised: "Two rounds of eighty gunpowder barrels exploded, and at least 80,000 iron nails flew out, but only 21 people were hit. The defense training was very successful!"
Chen Qing shook his head, "This is just the beginning. We don't have enough experience yet. I hope that after the final training, no more than five people will be hit by nails in each game."