The days pass quickly, and it’s the end of the year in a blink of an eye. The so-called New Year’s Eve is the traditional Chinese festival “Spring Festival”. In ancient times, it was called the “New Year’s Eve” because often at the end of the year, the landlords and the government called for taxes. , when the land is rented, it is also the time when the people are most distressed. In years with bad harvests, it is common for children to sell their sons and daughters and lose their entire family, so there is the saying of "New Year's Eve".
Liyang has had good weather this year, the harvest is pretty good, and the separation of wives and children is obviously better than in previous years. Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Perhaps due to my mood, the weather is still wet and cold on the street, but I feel uncomfortable walking on the street. I feel cold as usual. The sound of crackling firecrackers can be heard from far and near.
Cao Zhi had finished the training in the mountainous area ten days ago and led his troops back to Liyang. The officers and soldiers of the Western Camp who had been working hard for many months could finally take a few days off at the end of the year. Cao Zhi was relieved, and he had finished training after a few months. Cao Zhi is not satisfied with the results of the training, but the overall momentum of the Xiying sergeants, individual soldiers' personal abilities, and teamwork have been significantly improved.
Tomorrow will be the Chinese New Year, and Cao Zhi has been busy until very late. After finishing the official documents at hand, he explained some things clearly to Xu Chu, and then walked out of the military tent with Mi Heng.
Xu Chu is the officer on duty guarding the camp tonight. Xu Chu has returned to Liyang half a month ago. This boy was raised rough and his injuries healed quickly. He cannot bear the loneliness. If he continues to stay in Danyang, he will definitely cause trouble. .Cao Zhi also needed manpower, so he was asked to come back.
When Xu Chu came back, everyone was surprised that Xu Chu's beard was gone, which made people who knew Xu Chu stunned for a long time. When they asked the reason, they found out that in order to send Xu Chu out of Danyang City safely, shopkeeper Xiangji asked him no matter what. He had shaved his beard, otherwise it would be easy to attract the attention of the city gate guards. Although the Danyang defenders had obviously relaxed their guard some time ago and basically stopped the search operation, the old shopkeeper Xiangji still did not dare to take it lightly. Besides, Xu Chu’s appearance He looks like a robber, and anyone who looks at him will suspect that he is not a good person.
Xu Chu, who was anxious to return to Liyang, had no choice but to shave off his beard, leaving him with a dark and round face, giving him a somewhat peasant look.
Naturally, Xu Chu's weird appearance could not escape the sarcastic blow of his arch-enemy Mi Heng. Xu Chu, who could not play tricks on Mi Heng, was so angry that he was about to act rudely in anger several times, but Cao Zhi stopped him in time. Cao Zhi faced the pair of live treasures. I can only shake my head, but there is no doubt about one thing. Although the two of them often bicker, it is mostly playful, not like the real fighting when they first met. After all, they serve Cao Zhi together. And they have been together for a long time. After seeing each other, they naturally saw each other's strengths. Xu Chu's martial arts made Mi Heng admire him, and Mi Heng's erudition also made Xu Chu unattainable. Only when there was a gap would he re-examine the other party.
Mi Heng came back a few days later than Xu Chu. He had frostbite on his hands, feet and ears. This mission of collecting the raw materials for "gunpowder" really made Mi Heng suffer a lot. But the harvest was not small, and everything he was looking for was covered. All found.
The raw materials for gunpowder were found, which made Cao Zhi very happy. The next step was to make it. Cao Zhi locked himself, Mi Heng, Hua Tuo, and a stonemason invited by Uncle Fu in a military tent. Let Hua Tuo go first Use pharmaceutical equipment to grind various materials of gunpowder into powder. This small equipment for grinding medicine stones into powder is only available to doctors. Moreover, Hua Tuo is very good at mastering the proportion of mixing, and then stuffs the mixed gunpowder into the pot. In a cylinder made of thick yellow paper, both ends of the cylinder are tightly packed with sulfur and yellow mud. The fuse extends from here. The fuse is made of gunpowder wrapped in straw paper. It is easy to light. Next it’s time to try the effect.
A section of river on the outskirts of Liyang City became the first place for Cao Zhi and others to conduct experiments. They put the cylinder into a round mill carved by a stonemason. Xu Chu, who lit the fuse, turned around and ran away, hiding behind a large stone. , Cao Zhi and Mi Heng are both there.
A few seconds later, there was a muffled sound of "collapse". As soon as the sound died down, several people stuck their heads out and were immediately choked by the choking smell of smoke and coughed. Mi Heng was choked the most and coughed to tears. , there was a lot of snot in the nose. When the smoke cleared, the three of them were delighted to find that the stone mill had been blown into two halves.
Seeing the remarkable effect, Cao Zhi immediately led a few people to retreat and groped for three days, and finally developed a stone mine made of black powder. Three kilograms of black powder were stuffed into a stone shell filled with broken iron nails. , used the knotted fuse to drag the old man's tail.
This test was conducted in the valley behind the barracks, so as not to disturb the people. Several military guards watched Cao Zhi and others staggering into the valley. After a while, they heard a loud "coaxing" sound, and there were people on the ground where they stood. There was a slight vibration. Some sergeants ran out of each barracks, asking everywhere what happened. The officers on duty in the camp looked at each other and were shocked. They were so obedient. The dust and snow were flying! Could it be that the place where the smoke was rising was his own general? Wherever Captain Cao went, he quickly sent someone to notify the state capital. At the same time, a group of sergeants rushed towards the valley.
When the sergeant who rushed towards the accident arrived at the scene of the accident, he saw a big hole on the ground amidst the choking sulfur smell of smoke. Standing next to him were three men with gray faces. After a moment of identification, one of them was Captain Cao, wasn't he? This group of leading soldiers breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, a battalion captain died inexplicably, and they would have been punished.
Chen Wen, who arrived at Xiying an hour later, did not recognize for a moment that the dancing guy in front of him was his captain of Xiying. After completing the experiment, Cao Zhi was so excited that it was finally successful. After seeing the big pit, it was enough. To describe this explosion as "earth-shattering and earth-shattering", there's no time to put it on one's face.
After Cao Zhi explained for a long time, Chen Wen finally understood that Cao Zhi had developed a powerful new thing. After seeing the big pit in the valley, Chen Wen agreed to Cao Zhi's request without hesitation. Zhi asked Chen Wen to send more people to collect raw materials from the places mentioned by Mi Heng, and then gathered all the stonemasons in the city to make the stone shells Cao Zhi needed. In addition, he summoned some women to process and grind the raw materials and process them into After powdering, it was sent to Cao Zhi's military camp, where Hua Tuo and Mi Heng plus dozens of personal guards mixed it in proportion to make gunpowder.
This arrangement of the last process is not because Cao Zhi is being cautious. The main reason is that the last process of gunpowder is extremely important and has certain risks, so it can only be completed by professionals.
Cao Zhi thought about these things all the way and was quite happy. He actually did not let the horse run wildly, but let the horse walk slowly. Mi Heng's dozen personal guards behind him could only follow patiently and slowly.
In Cao Zhi's memory, when he came out of the military camp, it was already snowing. Today was a rare good day, with no wind at all. The snow fell quietly from the sky to the world, because it was dark and could not see its appearance. Cao Zhi felt his cheeks There was a slight dampness on his face and back of his hands. It was rare for Cao Zhi to feel the breath of nature, and he had entered the city gate tower unknowingly. Looking around, every household on the streets of Liyang had hung red lanterns at the door. Even though they usually People who are reluctant to give up such luxury have hung up lanterns and lit candles early today. It seems that no matter what the world is like, the Chinese New Year is still the most important festival for the Chinese people.
Just under this beautiful scene, it was suddenly interrupted by a few stupid young men. I saw several horses running out of a side alley, heading out of the city at a funeral speed. They were about to collide with Cao Zhi's horse.
The team, but they still didn't see any intention of stopping, but they remembered the more urgent sound of horse whips and the shouts urging the horses to speed up.
A group of personal guards behind Cao Zhi quickly stepped forward, guarding Cao Zhi and Mi Heng in the middle. At the same time, they shouted and cursed: "Stop, Captain Liyang is here, he is the one who doesn't open his eyes..."
Before the sergeant stopped shouting and scolding, the horses in front hurriedly pulled the reins and stopped the horses abruptly. The person at the front was too hasty, and the horse stood upright under him, neighing and screaming. Cao Zhi
When the experienced military guard here saw it, he hurriedly dismounted, stepped forward in a few strides, grabbed the reins, and kept shouting, finally stopped the horse.
As soon as the horse's front hooves hit the ground, the knight on top quickly turned over and dismounted, and walked towards Cao Zhixing, shouting: "Second Young Master, big things, big things..."