Regardless of whether the grassland is comfortable or not, they have to stay here. How long they want to stay is not something they can decide.
In daily drills, grazing, guarding and other tasks, these boys never failed. It can be said that in addition to actual combat, they have experienced the harsh military life on the grassland.
Occasionally, these boys would lose their loneliness and secretly follow the army out. After Qin Qiong learned the news, he paused for a moment and asked the deputy general, "How long have we been in the grassland?"
"It's been three months."
"It's been a long time, it's time to let them go back."
"The governor is right, we are about to attack other tribes, and we don't have time to take care of them."
"Um."
Instruct people to go see a group of second-generation ancestors and call them to the camp.
Qin Qiong stood with his hands behind his hands and waited until the boys stood up straight before he spoke.
"You have been here for a while, and it is time to return to Chang'an. I hope to see you next time when I return to Chang'an, not as you were before, but as soldiers of the Tang Dynasty with excellent style. Now, answer me, can you do it?"
"Yes!" the boys shouted.
"You haven't eaten yet? Louder!"
"Yes!" the boys shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Okay." Qin Qiong said: "On the last day, I make the decision and allow you to go to the stable to pick a horse. Tomorrow, I will arrange for someone to take you back to Chang'an."
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!" the boys beamed.
War horse!
They had been salivating for a long time, and they resisted being greedy when washing those war horses.
Now that I learned that Governor Qin was willing to give them a war horse, I was already happy.
"Go." Qin Qiong waved her hand.
"yes!"
The little guys dispersed quickly.
Chai Shao walked out from behind the screen and said helplessly: "Did you give too much?"
"Is that much?" Qin Qiong said with a smile, "It's just about twenty war horses."
"It's up to you." Chai Shao's expression turned serious and he said solemnly: "Xue Yantuo has something to do, and we need to discuss it."
"Xue Yantuo, can't you bear it anymore?" Qin Qiong sneered.
The next day, the second-generation ancestors mounted their beloved war horses and embarked on their return journey. They were escorted by a team of three hundred Tang cavalry.
Because their physiques have been improved during exercise, their speed will be much faster when they return.
Chang'an.
Recently, Li Zhiyun probably has nothing to do. After all, since the fourth year of Zhenguan, the only thing he has to do is to stabilize people's hearts, encourage people to farm, and resume agricultural production. In addition, he keeps an eye on the development of the war in the grassland and waits until enough people have gathered.
If there are too many grassland soldiers and horses, Xue Yantuo and the Uighurs will be suppressed.
No, it's elimination.
It was reported that the Western Regions were very uneasy. In order for the Silk Road to develop smoothly, he would start to eradicate Tuyuhun starting next year at the latest and give the countries in the Western Regions a shock.
If the Tang Dynasty could destroy Jieli, it could destroy Tuyuhun. If it could destroy Tuyuhun, it could destroy all the countries in the entire Western Region.
Weihe Workshop.
It's been a long time since he came to inspect the workshop.
As more and more workshops were established, craftsmen became more and more skilled in the use of waterwheels.
The emergence of new looms has also led to the addition of many large factories outside the workshops. Many of the busy figures inside are female slaves from the grasslands. Some of them were married to Tang men, while others were official slaves.
He was sent here to learn how to weave woolen cloth.
For them, the workshop is actually a paradise.
Yes, that's right, even though they are very humble slaves, they still feel that Chang'an is paradise.
There is no harm if there is no comparison. They weave here day and night. Although they have no personal property, their life safety can be adequately guaranteed. The climate here is warm, they can eat well and wear warm clothes. If they are lucky, they will be valued by nobles.
Concubines, or married to Tang men, then they would have someone to rely on for the rest of their lives.
Think about life on the grassland?
Precarious life is a good wish. On the grassland, they are reproductive tools, they are the trophies of the strong, they are herdsmen, but they are not individuals who can have a stable life.
In the Tang Dynasty, although their status was low, they were very stable. As long as they weaved seriously according to the instructions of the court, they could not only have enough food and clothing, but also get a considerable amount of income for their own use.
These benefits were something they never dared to think about on the grassland. Because on the grassland, their lives did not belong to themselves, but to the strong.
Although they are slaves here, at least the Tang people follow the rules and will not kill people easily.
If you get married and work harder, you won't be abused. If you give birth to a son, you will still be loved and cared for by your family.
Those who are not married still have palace status and are emperors. Most people would not dare to kill people casually.
For these prairie women who have endured all kinds of hardships, the workshop is a paradise.
As Li Zhiyun arrived, the person in charge of the workshop brought all the female workers to visit. Most of them were grassland women, and a small number were weaver girls from the Tang Dynasty.
These weaver girls from the Tang Dynasty, due to their outstanding skills here, belong to the management and are responsible for teaching these grassland women to weave.
The woven cloth was handed over to the court and sold to the grassland people.
For some cloths, the imperial court would also give them to consignors at cost prices and take them to play with them, while others would organize their own factories.
Generally speaking, from the outside, it looks like we have entered an industrial area.
After leaving the weaving factory, Li Zhiyun looked up and could see the black smoke rising from the large chimney in the distance, which was the product of coal burning.
Suddenly, Li Zhiyun felt that he had seen the Tang Dynasty fifty years later.
After visiting different factories one after another, he finally came to a top-secret factory. The person in charge here was Yuwen Rutong, the factory supervisor.
"His Majesty."
"What happened to the gun barrel you made?"
Yu Wen, a scholar, looked ashamed, "I am incompetent. I still missed the point and couldn't cast the cannon barrel that Your Majesty wanted."
"Let's take a look first."
"yes."
Walking deeper, I saw a dozen thick cannon barrels placed on the stove. They were all black and emitted a faint dark light.
Li Zhen asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, what is this?"
He had really never seen anything like this.
Li Zhiyun said calmly: "Something that changes siege warfare."
Most of the small countries in the Western Region have fortified cities. If they want to destroy them, they must use sharp weapons.
Ordinary bows, crossbows and sharp arrows can do no damage to fortified cities. Only indestructible firepower and artillery can completely destroy those fortresses.
Unfortunately, gun barrels are not easy to forge.
There is no way to test the strength of the barrel!
Because the ammunition workshop has not yet developed the correct ratio of gunpowder.
Of course, this did not prevent Yuwen, a scholar, from feeling ashamed, because the emperor had given him the drawings, and he had already been informed of all the materials for casting the gun barrel.
After looking at the artillery for a while, Li Zhiyun turned and went to the ammunition workshop.
The person currently in charge of the ammunition workshop is none other than Sun Simiao's third disciple, Sun Changzhen.
Taoist priests who study gunpowder and like to refine alchemy have inherent advantages, and they also like to study the art of gunpowder the most.
Sun Changzhen's medical studies were mediocre, but he was good at alchemy, so Li Zhiyun took him from Sun Simiao and put him in the ammunition workshop to study gunpowder.
This is a top-secret existence, surrounded by layers of guards. Without the emperor's order, anyone approaching the ammunition workshop will be shot into pieces by the guards' crossbows.
This is not a threat, but a fact.
The guards guarding the ammunition workshop were from Li Zhiyun's Guards, and they were all extremely loyal to the emperor.
Except for outsiders, no one could enter. Those inside who wanted to come out must obtain the emperor's permission. Otherwise, they would be punished for treason by escaping from the ammunition workshop privately, and the guards had the right to kill them on the spot.