Chapter 539 Testing the Cannon and Testing the Gun
The final conclusion is that the merits outweigh the faults. This is my final evaluation of Lu Wende. As for whether it is objective or not, that is a matter for later generations of historians. What I want to say is actually for the living Lu family members.
According to the historical records, I said: "Gongsun Xiaochen passed on my will and named Lu Wende the 'Prince of Heyi County'. He was also given the posthumous title of 'Wuzhong'."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
Being able to be crowned king after death is a great honor for ancient officials. After hearing this, Lu Wenhuan, together with Lu Shikui, Lu Shimeng, Lu Wenxin and other members of the Lu family, hurriedly knelt down and thanked him: "I will thank the emperor for his grace."
"Generals, Pingshen."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The titles of the Song Dynasty were divided into twelve levels. The king was the most respected, and the founder of the country was the last. The prince belonged to the third level. Although he was the last level among "kings", his status was far higher than that of the fourth level. The so-called posthumous title is a title given to the deceased that contains a kind evaluation and has a judgmental nature. The formation of the posthumous title system first originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was later used by all dynasties until the end of the Qing Dynasty. As later generations Everyone knows that Yue Fei's posthumous name was "Wu Mu". After his death, he was often called Yue Wu Mu.
Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, it is the end of the fifth year of Xianchun (1269 AD). Throughout December, there were basically no major disturbances in the wars in various places.
After receiving support from the Yunnan Military Region, the army on the West Route, led by General Gao Da personally, successively conquered several important towns in western Sichuan, creating favorable conditions for the full recovery of western Sichuan in the future; Li Tingzhi and Xia Gui on the East Route repulsed the Yuan army. After several attacks, they firmly defended the important town of Xuzhou in the north of the Yangtze River. The navy led by Li Beiyang did not rush to land for operations after defeating Liu Zheng's main ships. Instead, they rested on the coast near Lianyungang at the junction of Jiangsu and Shandong.
Relatively speaking, the only major result achieved was the battle in the southern part of Bianliang City. Bianliang's general Jiang Wanzai and Xuchang's Yin Yinglei jointly sent troops to launch a surprise attack in the early morning of December 22. With artillery With the cooperation of the battalion, the 20,000 Yuan army surrounding the south gate of Bianliang City was defeated in one fell swoop. Faced with the disadvantages of numbers, morale, and weapons, the Yuan army only persisted for half an hour before completely collapsing. Even the vanguard general of the Yuan army, Alibo, He also died under gunfire. General Bruhuan had to lead the remnants to retreat to the east of Bianliang. The victory of this battle made all the roads between Bianliang and Xuchang connected.
On the last day of December, the Song Dynasty Royal Newspaper in Lin'an City issued a supplement. The content of this supplement was all about the current war situation between the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The full text of my response to Xian Dynasty was published in the main position on the front page of the newspaper. A congratulatory message for the sixth year of Chun.
In my New Year's message, I first told all the subjects of the Song Dynasty that I personally led the army in the Northern Expedition this time. After several months of continuous battles, our Song Dynasty army annihilated more than 100,000 Mongolian troops. We achieved a strategic defense to a strategic counterattack. Purpose. Our soldiers not only recovered the entire Yunnan, Dengzhou, and Xuchang, but also successfully recovered Bianliang, our former capital of the Song Dynasty. And established our army's first military region in the north - Bianliang Military Region; secondly In the five years of Xianchun, all walks of life in our country have made great progress. The people can live and work in peace and contentment. The officialdom has gradually moved toward the Qingming Dynasty. Agriculture, handicrafts, import and export trade, and commerce have all completed the goals set by the court this year ahead of schedule. Great achievements have also been made in other areas such as culture, education, science and technology. Finally, I mentioned that next year, the sixth year of Xianchun, will be the decisive stage of the Song and Yuan wars. All the subjects of the Song Dynasty, even in enemy-occupied areas All the people of the Song Dynasty should have the money and strength to contribute their efforts to jointly complete the basic goal of regaining the Central Plains and realizing the great unification of our country.
Due to the war and my absence from the court, the New Year celebration in the palace was also spent in simplicity and joy.
Since I came to the Song Dynasty, this is the first time I have celebrated the New Year outside the palace in Lin'an.
On New Year's Eve, the first day of the first lunar month, I ordered a two-day holiday. Except for the troops serving as guards and the scout battalion, the other armies did not need to conduct daily intensive training. The chefs in the army showed off their skills, slaughtering pigs and sheep. The soldiers prepared sumptuous food for two days. Because of the successive victories, the soldiers were in a good mood. Although they still could not drink alcohol, the atmosphere was quite warm.
However, despite the holiday, many soldiers did not stop training. In particular, all the officers and soldiers who were selected to form the Fourth Division of the Royal Guards spontaneously continued training during the two-day holiday.
On the night of the 30th, each army organized a variety of entertainment activities in companies or divisions. According to my instructions, the main generals in the army also went down to the grassroots level to have fun with the officers and soldiers. It was night. I was in the big tent. We invited Fan Zhishang, Wang Qian and other celebrities from Dengzhou City to a banquet. Although the food in the army was simple, under my easy-going guidance, we had a quite harmonious conversation.
Bursts of firecrackers and fireworks went off at the right time. The sixth year of Xianchun arrived.
It’s a new year. New hope.
It was rare to have two days of free time. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, under the protection of Yuan Ji, Fang Ling and Zhang Quanyi, I changed into casual clothes and visited the Fusheng Temple built in the Northern Song Dynasty. The Black Dragon Temple is located outside Dengzhou City. As well as the hometown of Zhang Xun, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty, and other famous places in Dengzhou.
After the New Year, more and more arms and ammunition were sent from Lin'an, not to mention grain and grass military supplies.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, twenty-one brand-new artillery pieces arrived in Dengzhou, pulled by horse-drawn carriages. The extra artillery piece was obviously much larger than the others. This artillery piece was the latest one developed by the Gunpowder Supervisor. Its caliber was almost It was twice the size of the original cannon. The Queen Mother Xie Daoqing personally named it the Polu Red Cannon. As soon as this huge cannon was delivered, Wanyan Tianlei and Crete, who rushed back from Xuchang, couldn't wait to drag the Polu Cannon. When I got outside the camp, I tried my best.
Surrounded by a group of generals, I also watched the cannon test process.
The deputy commander of the artillery battalion, Crete, personally controlled the Polu cannon. With the help of the gunner, he adjusted the angle, aimed at the target, loaded the ammunition, and ignited the fire. All in one go. Following my order, the Polu cannon fired. A roar that shook the sky.
There was only a loud noise. The artillery shell burst out of the air with a whistling sound. In an instant, it hit the target 350 meters away.
Judging from the damage caused after the bombardment, the power of the Polu Cannon is indeed powerful. It is three times more powerful than the combined power of two ordinary artillery pieces. Its range is also much farther.
Wanyan Tianlei said: "Your Majesty, use such artillery to bombard the gates of ordinary cities. The effect will be huge. It's a pity that it's just this one."
I smiled and said, "Wanyan loves Qing. Don't be impatient. It will get better over time."
"The general knows this. I just feel itchy in my heart. I wish all the artillery battalion's artillery pieces could be turned into giant Polu cannons."
The fourteenth day of the first lunar month of the sixth year of Xianchun. Dadu Imperial Palace.
Kublai Khan had just walked out of the hall after attending his morning court when he saw Master Fajue, who was sitting under Yin Tianya, coming in a hurry.
"Your Majesty, the prototype of our first musket has been built. Your Majesty, please come and have a look."
"Really? It's much earlier than expected." Kublai Khan said happily. "I will go to Fa Jue right away to lead the way."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
After leaving the west gate of the palace and walking forward for about a hundred meters, you saw an independent and quiet courtyard. This courtyard is unremarkable. Outsiders would not know it. This is the new main altar of Tianya.
Under the leadership of Fa Jue, Kublai Khan bypassed the maze-like corridor and went straight to the secret room of the courtyard. As soon as he entered, he saw Cienjiya, Yin Tianya, Alaowading and a dozen other people in the palace. The master craftsman was talking. Two identical muskets were placed on a long table in the middle. Everyone saw Kublai Khan coming in. Except for Cai Enjiya and Yin Tianya, they all knelt down and saluted: "See your Majesty. "
Kublai Khan waved his left hand to indicate that everyone should not be too polite. Then he walked to the table, picked up two muskets and looked at them. The two muskets looked exactly the same, but one of them was obviously new.
"Has it been tested?"
Cai Enjia said: "Your Majesty, I tried it with the ammunition brought back by General Shi. It can be fired. But there are still deviations in speed, accuracy and range."
"Well, just take your time with this. Your Majesty, can you try again? I really want to see the musket I made myself."
"Okay." Cai Enjiya called out. "Ah Er, go to the backyard to test the gun."
The crowd gathered around Kublai Khan and walked out of the secret room to the backyard.
Ah Er's movements are extremely skillful. The musket weighing more than 20 kilograms is invisible in his hands. It is three points stronger than the well-trained soldiers of the Royal Forest Army. In just a moment, Ah Er has completed the preparations. If Li Long, the sharpshooter in the Royal Forest Army, is here. He must have some thoughts about A Eryi.
Kublai Khan said: "Shoot."
Just a "bang" sound was heard. The ammunition flew straight out and hit the lower end of the target fifty meters away.
"Yes. Not bad." Kublai Khan praised. "Sir, how long will it take if the power of the muskets of the Southern Dynasty is exactly the same as that of the Southern Dynasty muskets."
Ah Er was about to answer when he heard Ah Lao Wading say: "Your Majesty, it's hard to say. It could take a few days at the earliest, or three or five months at the worst."
Kublai Khan knew that this kind of thing could not be done urgently. Although he was very urgent, he still said: "Your Majesty, my dear friends, try to speed up the process as much as possible. This is an urgent matter."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
Kublai Khan stared at the target in the distance and said, "What if the target is moved a hundred steps away."
Cai Enjiya said: "The effect is much worse. Er, move the target back and try again."
Ah Er said: "Master, Your Majesty, there is only one ammunition left."
"Ammunition." Kublai Khan said. "The muskets have been made. The ammunition should be very simple."
"Back to the Emperor." A'er shook his head and said. "Although the ammunition is very simple, the composition of the gunpowder inside is very particular. Different formulas naturally have different powers. My subordinates and several gunpowder craftsmen have been studying the Southern Dynasties recently. The composition of gunpowder. But the proportions have never been known."