Chapter 686 Thinking of all the people in the world
Yang Shu's face was full of curiosity: "What is a blooming bomb?"
Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment: "It's Feilei!"
Several people in the building all heard the word "flying thunder" like thunder: Li Songyu defeated the Du Lun tribe in Daqi, Li Chengzhi defeated Dou Ling in Woye, Qingshui defeated Yuanji, and Chencang defeated Nanliang. They all relied on this thing
.
Therefore, if you only hear the word "flying thunder", you will think that Li Chengzhi is repeating the same old tune.
But both Liu Fang, Yuan Yuan, and Yang Shu all know that this is the case. In the past, only stone cannons were used to project the West Sea, which was only about a hundred feet at most. But now when shotguns are replaced with cannons, how can it be measured in miles?
Having just seen an incendiary bomb thrown three miles away, Yang Shu couldn't help but feel in his heart: "How far can this thing be thrown?"
"If you use a barbarian-suppressing cannon, you can shoot a six-inch shell to about four miles..."
This is not an exaggeration by Li Chengzhi, but a lot of conservatism. Just because the cannonball is hollow, the outer layer is about one minute (one-tenth of an inch, 3.3 mm) of pig iron, and most of the inside is gunpowder, and the less is iron.
Ding and iron beads.
Therefore, compared with solid iron bullets, although the radius has doubled and the volume is seven to eight times larger, the weight of the blooming bullet is only two-thirds of the solid bullet.
With its light weight, it can naturally shoot farther. It only shoots one mile more than the three-mile range of solid bullets. It's easy...
Four miles?
Even if a horse is as fast as a meteor, it will take about one word (five minutes) to get there, and in this time, the artillerymen downstairs will have fired at least six or seven rounds...
Even though they were shocked to the point of numbness, the three of them could not stop their faces turning dark...
The so-called blooming bullets are actually the prototype of later artillery shells.
The operation is also very simple: first place a primer in the barrel of the gun, then enlarge the mine, which is a gunpowder can made of pig iron. Then when igniting, ignite the primer and the fuse of the mine together.
Because the fuse of the mine is much longer, there is a delay. As long as the artillery range is sufficient, it can shoot as far as you want, and it can explode in a few minutes.
According to historical records, this thing has been used in large-scale wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Chang Yuchun repeatedly defeated the Yuan army, and Lan Yu repeatedly conquered Mobei. The biggest reliance was on this thing.
In later generations, blooming bombs weighing fifteen kilograms were unearthed from the old sites of Yuan Dadu (Beijing) and Yuan Dongshengzhou (today's Tuoketuo County, Inner Mongolia, where Chang Yuchun and Yuan Prime Minister also had a decisive battle).
The six-inch shell made by Li Chengzhi was only about seven kilograms and twice as heavy as this. So how thick should the barrel of the Ming Dynasty artillery be and how powerful should it be?
It is a pity that such an important weapon was regarded as a ruin by the Qing Dynasty. All the drawings were burned and all the craftsmen were killed.
It was not until Zuo Zongtang regained Xinjiang and passed through Hexi that more than a hundred of them were excavated from the fort ruins of the Ming Dynasty, and this object was rediscovered. Zuo Zongtang even looked up to the sky and sighed: This object existed in China three hundred years ago.
Now it has been lost and even bullied by the big powers?
It's a pity that there is no what if...
Several booms of cannons interrupted Li Chengzhi's thoughts. He sighed leisurely, raised his binoculars, and looked into the distance.
This time the shot was farther, reaching the foot of the mountain. It was at least four miles away from the fake city.
When the smoke and dust cleared, rows of wooden piles and stone piers were visible. If you look closely, it looks like a honeycomb, with holes all over the wooden piles. And like the stone piers, they are also filled with iron nails and iron beads.
This is true even for wood and stone objects, let alone living people?
Liu Fang felt as heavy as a mountain, and her heart seemed to be pressed by a huge boulder weighing a thousand kilograms, and she felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
I think Tuyuhun came to Nanmenguan and Cui Yanbo came to Shanshan Town, but they were all defeated by this thing. Otherwise, why would the powerful enemy be still several miles away, and thunder from the sky suddenly fell in the camp and the city?
Ordinary soldiers are like fools. Whenever they see such magical objects, they will naturally collapse at the touch.
No wonder Yuan Yi said in his memorial: Xihai's firearms are unparalleled in the world and cannot be resisted by manpower. The court can only use wisdom, but cannot defeat them...
For this reason, the imperial military strength was still many times assigned to Xihai, and famous generals such as Xi Kangsheng, Xing Luan, Cui Yanbo, Yuan Yao, etc. were gathered to lead the army. However, they all huddled behind the mountains and in the city, fearing Xihai like a vicious tiger and did not dare to attack.
One step beyond the thunder pool!
No wonder Yuan Cheng, who had been brilliant for half his life, suddenly lost his wits and fled in panic like a bereaved dog. After arriving in the capital, he even kept silent about the defeats of Murong Xiao and Cui Yanbo?
He must have suddenly realized at that time: With such an important weapon in hand, the imperial court has no way to save the day...
When the imperial court sent envoys for peace talks this time, they thought that the West Sea was short of troops and food, and that Li Chengzhi had defeated the Three Kingdoms and was now regarded as the enemy of the whole world. At this time, they must be panic-stricken and suspected that Tuyuhun and Rouran would send troops to take revenge.
The Queen Mother relied on this and wanted to make a big fuss.
But looking at it today, it was like a stick in the pocket. Liu Fang and Yuan Yuan were hit with stars in their eyes, and they had no hope of luck: Compared with the Han army, the Hu people are even more ignorant and only believe in common people and ghosts and gods. See
If a divine punishment rains down from the sky, it is natural to think that it offends the gods, so how can it not be defeated?
Therefore, not to mention that the combined army of Tuyuhun and Rouran only had 300,000 troops, even if they had 3 million, they would still be defeated.
Although Hu Bing was stupid, Fu Lianchou and Chou Nu were not stupid people. Otherwise, how could they be called a wise king?
The defeat was so strange and so fast. These two people were eager for revenge and they were determined to find out the reality of the West Sea.
If we know that each other has also been defeated, and the front foot is touching the back foot, how can we not act cautiously?
If we know that the Yuan and Wei Dynasties were also defeated, and the hundreds of thousands of troops were actually no match for the tens of thousands of troops in the West Sea, it would make the two sides walk on thin ice and fight in fear.
Not to mention sending troops to invade again, it is a blessing to be able to pray to heaven and earth to pray to the West China Sea not to take revenge on them.
At most, you can just sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, wait for Xihai and the imperial court to fight each other, and then see if there is any bargain.
Gao Ying is ridiculous, thinking that with the pearl of wisdom in hand, he will be able to drive away tigers and devour wolves again, and even wants to drag Nanliang into the water.
Do you think that these few people are as shallow and ignorant as you, and they actually want to make Li Chengzhi give in and give up the land of Longxi?
Anyone who can ask him to temporarily suspend his troops this time and give the court a chance to breathe will be lucky.
And you can guess with your toes that Li Chengzhi will definitely open his mouth. Not to mention Gao Ying has already been persecuted by Yuan Ying, Gao Zhao and Yuan Cheng and others. He is more suspicious of ministers than thieves. When he came, he had already been worried about Liu.
Fang'er gave a warning and strictly ordered him not to make any independent opinions.
It is Liu Fang who is eager to save the country and is willing to bear the crime of resisting the imperial decree. If he dares to comply, he will be like Yuan Cheng and become Gao Ying's second scapegoat...
Thinking about it like this, Liu Fang became even more disheartened and stared at the fake city, brick sheds, wooden piles, and stone piers in a daze.
He didn't know how long he had been stunned, but when he heard Li Chengzhi calling him, he was suddenly startled, as if he had lived in another world.
"Sir, it's already night, and the mosquitoes here are so dense that they're really annoying. Why don't we talk about it after we return to the city?"
Looking at the numb sky, Liu Fang felt disappointed and whispered: "That's okay!"
After that, he was like a walking corpse, doing whatever others told him. If no one reminded him, he would stop moving forward, not raising his head, saying nothing, not urging his horse. It was as if he had lost his soul.
Seeing him like this, Yuan Yuan felt even more anxious and anxious.
Looking at Yang Shu again, although he lowered his head and remained silent like Liu Fang, there was a glint in his eyes, and he would shiver from time to time, revealing a silent but weird smile...
When they arrived at Zhenya, Li Shiliang had already prepared a banquet, which was even more sumptuous than the one in the morning. The wine was also replaced by fine shochu, so that he would not return until he was drunk.
The hall was filled with fragrance, but after the few people sat down and raised their chopsticks, they felt as if they were chewing wax. Their expressions were as if their souls were wandering in the sky, and their spirits were not attached to their bodies.
"But it doesn't suit your taste?"
Li Chengzhi held up the wine cup and said with a smile, "Why don't you quit and do it again?"
"It's not necessary for the Duke of Guo!"
Liu Fang stretched out her hand to block the table, looked at the tables that were filled with things, and sighed sadly, "Birds and animals, game and mountain delicacies, steaming, stewing, stewing, frying, roasting... Even the Chinese banquet in the palace is not as rich as this time.
.Liu is just preoccupied and worried, so he doesn’t even have the slightest desire to eat..."
After a pause, Liu Fang simply put down her chopsticks, stood up and bowed deeply to Li Chengzhi: "Today's observation really opened Bowen's eyes, and he also realized that Liu has been doing nothing for decades, like a frog at the bottom of a well. However,
The feeling of this is hard to explain to outsiders. Liu only knows that he is deeply indebted to the country and has nothing to repay except his own death..."
Being deeply favored by the country...shouldn't it be deeply favored by the emperor?
It seems that Liu Fang, like Cui Guang, is already the boss and dislikes Gao Ying...
Li Chengzhi thought to himself, straightened his expression, stood up and returned the greeting: "The minister's words are serious, if you have any difficulties, just tell me!"
If I ask you to retreat, will you be able to retreat?
Thoughts arose spontaneously, but only for a moment, Liu Fang pressed them down. He pondered for a moment, and then said sadly: "I guess the Duke also knows that Liu gave the Queen Mother and Your Majesty's decree, and came here only to ask the two sides to stop fighting.
Harmony, reconciliation... No matter it is a lord or a reward, whenever the Duke of State opens his mouth, the Queen Mother will respond to everything and rely on everything..."
"Lord, reward?"
Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely, "What benefit can such fictitious things be to me at this time? I am not afraid that the minister will laugh at me, Li will be arrogant when he succeeds, and say something disrespectful to the Queen Mother and Your Majesty: I, Li, will set up another university."
Flag, I will be king in Hexi, what can the court do to me? So with such unrealistic and cheap words, the temple minister should not say any more..."
Without waiting for Liu Fang to change his face, he changed his words again, "Of course, the minister is loyal to Geng Tiguo and knows the way of being a minister. He will not make decisions in secret or in secret. This trip is nothing more than conveying the decree. I think he must be like the Lord.
Rewards and the like must come from the mouth of the Queen Mother. If this is all, then please ask the temple minister to convey it to the Queen Mother: No need to talk more, just show the real seal to the battle formation...
The Queen Mother's intention is nothing more than to make me remember our old friendship and leave some room. However, the temple minister also knows that now I am like a boat against the current in the Western Sea. If I don't advance, I will retreat. And if I am not careful, there will be corpses everywhere.
Death without a burial place.
The safety of millions of soldiers and civilians is concentrated on Li. So how can such a major military and national event be discussed based on personal feelings? Therefore, I also ask the temple minister Haihan...
If the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty have other requests, the Minister of the Temple can just come and answer the question, but I will be able to make a decision at this time, so that the Minister of the Temple can get the confidence and return to Beijing as soon as possible to deliver the order...
…”
It was just a preliminary, asking you to withdraw the troops, but you refused so thoroughly. If you go further and say something like "the army of the West China Sea withdraws from the land of Longxi, and the two sides use the river as the boundary", are you afraid that you will fall out on the spot?
Thinking of the sentence "How can we care about personal friendships when it comes to military and national affairs?" Liu Fang felt even more sad and miserable, as if a yellow lotus was stuffed in her heart.
This peace negotiation was based on personal friendship and the thought that Li Chengzhi was not a heartless person, so he was appointed as the envoy, and Yuan Yuan and Yang Shu were appointed as deputy. But as soon as he opened his mouth, Li Chengzhi looked like he didn't recognize his relatives.
How else to talk about it and what to talk about?
Feeling sad, Liu Fang turned around again and looked at the expressions of the two deputy envoys.
Yuan Yuan has a simple and honest nature. In the past, he was sheltered under Yuan Jia's wings and had little experience. When did he go through such a situation?
Coupled with today's repeated frights, Li Chengzhi was afraid that he would offend Li Chengzhi, so he attacked Longshan and pointed his troops at Luo Jing. Therefore, his face turned pale and he did not dare to speak.
Looking at Yang Shu again, he also had a frown on his face. He looked more like a stuffy gourd. He kept his mouth tightly closed, and it was clear that he didn't dare to say more than a word.
It is reasonable for the two of them to be like this, because not everyone can bear the charge of "poor negotiation, which caused the imperial court to break up in the West Sea".
It's also to blame that Gao Ying was too ruthless and lacked any sense of responsibility. Yuan Cheng had learned from the past and had been accused of "ineffective recruitment" for no reason. How could Yuan Yuan and Yang Shu make the same mistake again?
So, how can we talk about it?
Liu Fang felt even more desolate in her heart. She thought for a long time and sighed sadly: "Even if the Queen Mother and Your Majesty blame her afterwards, Liu will not care. Otherwise, she will be in vain to read the righteousness of the saints and ignore the people of the world..."
As he spoke, he knelt down beside the desk and rested his forehead on the ground: "I beg you, Lord, to think of the common people in the world, to put your armies on armour, to withdraw your troops, to roll up your armours, and to fight..."
"We have already talked about military and state affairs, how can we discuss them based on personal feelings? Why should the minister of the temple bother to do this?"
Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely, stood up and went down the steps again, and lifted Liu Fang up forcefully, "Okay, even if I accept the request of the temple minister, how should I rest this soldier?"
A flash of light suddenly appeared in Liu Fang's eyes, and she gritted her teeth: "I only ask the Duke to retreat to the west of Hexi, and the two sides will use this as a boundary to be reconciled forever. If the Duke agrees, but I have something to ask for..."
"Liu Bowen, are you crazy?"
Before he could say the words "everything", Yang Shu shouted loudly.
It would be fine if Li Chengzhi did not agree, but if he agreed, no matter whether he would ask for more or less, whether he could satisfy the court, the Queen Mother would go along with the situation and kill him to apologize to the world.
With the dignity of a country, begging for peace from the rebels is a blame that Gao Ying dare not take, and the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty dare not take it.
Liu Fang was worried about how to blame others afterwards, so Liu Fang hurriedly posted it?
It's not that Liu Fang is not afraid of death, but it's just what he said earlier: Liu was so deeply favored by his country that he had no choice but to die for his country, and also for the people of the world.
Even though he didn't have a close relationship with Liu Fang, Yang Shu was shocked to the point of burning with tears in his eyes. Thinking again of Si Chen, Gao Ying was so cruel that the generals were ruined and the people were deprived of life, and Yang Shu was even more unsatisfied.
May such people become Gao Ying's scapegoat...
I haven’t drank for a long time. I drank two bottles of Qingdao yesterday and I was so drunk that I passed out. That’s why I forgot to ask for leave. I’m really sorry!