Everyone turned to look at the door and saw Zhang Yangquan, wearing a blue brocade robe, striding in surrounded by his guards.
Hu Guangcao and others all bowed: "Greetings to the king!"
Han Shan and others also hurriedly followed suit.
Zhang Yangquan waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite." Chao Hanshan and others smiled and said: "You all came from Dadu. The journey is long and the journey is tiring! You must be very tired. Let's sit down and talk."
He led everyone to the reception hall of the Ordnance Bureau. After everyone was seated, he asked Hu Guangcao to introduce Han Shan and others for him.
When everyone saw that Zhang Yangquan had an easy-going and gentle temperament, and was different from the bandit leader they imagined, the resistance in their hearts was reduced a lot. When they introduced themselves, they would all bow respectfully.
After everyone was introduced, Zhang Yangquan said with a smile: "You must be very surprised that I came all the way to invite you here, what exactly do you want!"
Han Shan said hurriedly: "I am about to ask the king for advice!"
Zhang Yangquan's face straightened and he said slowly: "To be honest, my purpose is very simple. I hope you can assist Mr. Hu in making a new kind of gun!"
Han Shan was stunned and said: "Hand gun?"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said solemnly: "This kind of hand gun is called a bird gun. The drawings are already available, but there are still some difficulties that need to be overcome before it can be transformed into a physical object!"
Han Shan and other Ministry of Industry officials looked at each other, both in disbelief and in sudden realization.
It's incredible because even Yuan Ting himself doesn't pay much attention to handguns, but a rebel army with a bandit background actually went to great lengths to invite them to develop handguns!
But then I thought about it, they were all officials in the Ministry of Industry responsible for producing handguns, so it was no wonder that the ten of them were selected by the King of Chu!
Han Shan hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, although the sound of the hand gun is very loud, it is actually useless. It has low power and is difficult to operate. It is far inferior to the fire gun!"
He hoped to persuade Zhang Yangquan to focus on the firecrackers, and maybe they would be exchanged for ten more officials in charge of the firecrackers!
Zhang Yangquan said: "We will naturally continue to study artillery, but hand guns are also indispensable, and the power of this novice gun is far beyond your imagination!"
Han Shan just shook his head in his heart and said to himself: "You, a leader of the rebel army, actually said such things in front of me, an expert in handguns, I am really laughing to death!"
Zhang Yangquan saw that these craftsmen did not believe it, so he said to Hu Guangcao: "Mr. Hu, take out the blueprint of the gun and show it to the masters!"
Hu Guangcao agreed, took out the drawing from his sleeve and handed it to Han Shan.
Han Shan took a look and found that the blueprint was even more complicated than the Yuan Army's latest handgun, and the length was also astonishing.
"Your Majesty, the soldier needs to hold the gun with one hand. If it is too heavy, the soldier may not be able to carry it!" He frowned.
Other craftsmen also came behind him to take a look. A craftsman in his fifties said: "Even if I can hold it, I can't aim accurately!"
Zhang Yangquan laughed and said: "Who said the aim is inaccurate? The gun I want to improve is a two-handed gun!"
Han Shan secretly thought: "He is indeed an amateur!" He raised his chin and said, "Have you ever thought about how to light a fire if you hold a blunderbuss in both hands?"
Zhang Yangquan pointed to the top of the gun and said: "You only need to set up a fire door here, install a hammer, put a piece of flint on it, and press it with a reed."
Then he pointed to the bottom of the gun: "Install a trigger here. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer will hit the fire door with the flint, and sparks will be generated!"
After listening to this, the craftsmen had very interesting expressions. They were all dumbfounded and seemed to be shocked by Zhang Yangquan's remarks.
Han Shan is the person who knows the opponent gun best among everyone, and his level is one level higher than Hu Guangcao, so he was the first to realize that Zhang Yangquan’s design could be successful!
He was a pragmatic person, so he no longer struggled with how Zhang Yangquan came up with this design, but silently stared at the drawings for a while.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, why do you want to make the gun barrel so long?" he asked.
Zhang Yangquan said: "Of course it is to enhance the accuracy of shooting!"
Han Shan nodded and said: "Although it can increase the accuracy, it will reduce the range!"
Jia Ban raised his head and said: "Han Gong does not need to consider the issue of range. Our army's gunpowder is several times stronger than Yuan Ting's, and the iron bullets fired will only go further!"
Han Shan was far away in Dadu, and he was an official of the Ministry of Industry who was immersed in his work. Apart from knowing that the Yuan army was defeated in Yangzhou, he didn't know many details, and he immediately showed an expression of disbelief.
"Did Jia Jiancheng exaggerate?"
Hu Guangcao said coldly: "That kind of gunpowder was developed by my king himself. He has defeated the Tatars many times. You have to believe it!"
Han Shan was startled, looked at Zhang Yangquan and said, "Your Majesty, is what he said true?"
Zhang Yangquan nodded.
Han Shan thought that it would be easy to verify this matter. There was really no need for the other party to brag, so he stopped worrying and asked, "Why is the end of the gun curved?"
Zhang Yangquan laughed and said: "If you hold the gun with both hands, the curved tail end makes it easier to hold it steadily!"
Han Shan began to admire Zhang Yangquan a little. The various strange designs of this gun seemed unreasonable at first, but after understanding the key, he realized that this thing was mysterious and extraordinary.
Holding the blunderbuss with both hands will greatly improve the accuracy. Coupled with the long blunderbuss body and more powerful gunpowder, if it is really tinkered with, it may be an incredible weapon!
After a conversation, everyone's resistance to Jiangdu's army slowly disappeared, and they no longer mentioned the matter of returning to Dadu.
Zhang Yangquan did not appoint Han Shan and others to official positions, but asked ten people to set up a bird gun expert group to assist Hu Guangcao in researching bird guns.
The salary is calculated according to the seventh-grade officials, and each person is assigned a house with a second courtyard.
Qian Yongren also stayed in the Ordnance Bureau and worked specifically to solve the life problems of Han Shan and others. He stayed in Jiangdu for several months and knew that Zhang Yangquan valued the Ordnance Bureau, so he didn't think this job was bad.<
/p>
This is all Zhang Yangquan can do, and he can only wait for these professionals to come up with results.
After returning to the palace, Yang Sanqiang came forward to report that the people sent to Changshu had returned.
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Zhang Yangquan met the guard in the study, and the guard detailed the meeting with Li Desun.
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "In other words, Fang Guozhen wants to disembark from Lu Sichang and launch a sneak attack on Tongzhou?"
The guard said: "In that case, Li Desun should not lie. I think this information is credible!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Let the people from the Military Intelligence Agency bring Li Desun's son to Jiangdu. Then send someone to invite Liu Yushi here."
Yang Sanqiang promised.
More than half an hour later, Liu Bowen came to the study. Zhang Yangquan ordered someone to move a chair for him and told him about Li Desun's situation.
"Mr. Liu, of the three armies currently, only the Tongzhou route is not going well. I want to use Li Desun as an insider to defeat Fang Guozhen in one fell swoop. Do you think it's feasible?"
Liu Bowen twisted his beard and pondered for a while, then said: "If Fang Guozhen really wants to use Lu Si's sneak attack, it will not be difficult for us to use the plan to win the battle. How to defeat Fang Guozhen's main force is rare!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "That's what I think. When Fang Guozhen sneaks into Jiangdu through Lusi Field, he will definitely have the army support him. How about we set up an ambush and attack their support troops?"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the sea is not as good as the land. Unless there are many islands, it will be difficult to raid!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and frowned: "I know that too, but if we can't make a sneak attack, even if our army knows Fang Guozhen's plan, it will be difficult to defeat their main force!"
Liu Bowen thought for a long time and said: "With Tongzhou's current military strength, it is difficult to win a frontal battle on the sea, but it is more than enough to defend the city. It is better to lure them to attack the city!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned and said: "How to seduce?"
Liu Bowen said: "Deliberately let Fang Guozhen's men attack Tongzhou, and then show the chaos in the city. The enemy will definitely take the opportunity to attack!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "What a good idea. Let's ambush a naval force outside in advance. When their attack on the city is in full swing, surprise them from behind!"
Liu Bowen smiled and said: "The king draws inferences from one instance and I admire you."
Zhang Yangquan said happily: "I will send someone to notify Li Desun and ask him to encourage Fang Guozhen to take action as soon as possible, so that we can deal with them as soon as possible!"
After discussing with Liu Bowen, Zhang Yangquan sent two groups of people. One group went to Tongzhou to tell Shanzhu the plan and let him prepare. The other group went to Changshu to contact Li Desun and asked him to encourage Fang Guozhen to take action.
A few days later, the personal guards sent by Zhang Yangquan came to Changshu, found Li Desun in a brothel, and told him Zhang Yangquan's order.
After Li Desun got the mission, he was no longer interested in playing with women and returned to the dock where the Taizhou Army was stationed.
Fang Guozhen came out in full force this time. A total of 50,000 sailors were docked at the pier, and the ships were connected with wooden planks, like a huge floating city.
Fang Guozhen's seven-masted warship is located in the center of this floating city.
With a calm face, Li Desun walked on the planks between the ships. Any pirates he met along the way would be kicked into the water by him, as long as they were not in positions of more than 1,000 households.
Everyone is afraid of him and dare not speak out when he is angry.
Not long after, he came outside Fang Guozhen's boat. Although his face still looked fierce, he was actually very nervous.
He took a deep breath and strode into Fang Guozhen's ship, all the way to the main cabin.