The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 716
The young man listens to Yuge upstairs, and the red candle dims the tent.The middle-aged man listens to the rain in the boat, the river is wide and the clouds are low, and the broken wild goose is called the west wind.

Now listening to the rain under the monk's hut, there are already stars on the temples.The joys and sorrows are always ruthless, and every step of the term will last till dawn.

——"Poppy Listening to the Rain" Jiang Jie (Song)
……

Unlike the emperors of the past dynasties who regarded craftsman skills as "exotic skills and obscene skills", Bai Fu believed that craftsman skills were related to the national strength of the Tang Dynasty, no less than farming, salt and iron, and trade.

Bai Fu raised the craftsmen to the height of Tang scholars, valued and respected them.

Under Bai Fu's operation, as soon as Ma Daifeng arrived in Chang'an, he received the imperial decree and was granted the title of Shaofu Shaojian under the fourth rank; another skilled craftsman recommended by Ma Daifeng—Cui Yiling and Li Jin was awarded the title He is the doctor of the Ministry of War from the fifth rank;
The disciples of Ma Daifeng's sect were conferred positions according to their ability, such as the sixth-rank military member Wailang, the first-class foreign officer and military commander, and the second-class foreign officer and military secretary.

Although many important court officials scoffed at this, because Bai Fu did not expand his military power and did not interfere with financial power, there was no direct conflict of interest with the important court officials.Therefore, all the officials have nothing to do with themselves, and they are happy to see Bai Fu's jokes.Even Yushitai, who used to be the favorite to make troubles, died down, and there was no impeachment memorial.

……

As the saying goes, if you are thirsty for talents, you can buy bones with thousands of dollars.

Bai Fu's respect for the craftsmen caused a large number of skilled craftsmen who were living among the people to travel thousands of miles to Chang'an, and they all asked to join the Ministry of War and defected to Bai Fu's command.

A woodcarving craftsman named Han Zhi can not only make wooden luans, wooden cranes, wooden crows, and wooden magpies, but also install mechanical springs on the bodies of birds to make them peck and sing, just like real birds.

What's even more amazing is that after pressing the mechanism in the belly of the bird, these birds can fly in the air with flapping wings, the flying height can reach more than 100 feet, and the flying distance is one or two hundred steps.

The wooden cats carved by Han Zhi can even catch birds and mice, such miraculous skills are simply unbelievable.

In Wu Zhao's reign, Yang Suo, a descendant of the master craftsman Yang Wulian, also came to apply for the job.After Yang Wulian's death, the Yang family fell into decline, and Yang Suo could only make a living by relying on family handicrafts.

The first bucket of money Yang Suo earned was a begging puppet: he made a life-sized puppet, dressed it up as a monk, shaved a striking bald head, wore black straw sandals, and held a begging bowl in his hand.The monk puppet can beg for money along the street by itself, and will also bow to the donor.

This fresh monk puppet attracted people in Chang'an to watch it, and they threw money into the alms bowl and watched the puppet show.

The puppet monk made Yang Suo earn thousands of dollars every day, earn a lot of money, and revive his family business.

Today's Yang Suo is not short of money, what he lacks is the ability to be recognized by the court, to be promoted to rank, and to shine on his family.

……

While recruiting skilled craftsmen on a large scale, Bai Fuming, Xiong Badou, Huang Zhen and others secretly checked the identities of these craftsmen to prevent secret spies and spies from the enemy country from infiltrating the Ordnance Supervision.

After passing the examination, Bai Fu awarded these skilled craftsmen official positions according to their abilities, and incorporated them into the Armor Department, Bow and Crossbow Department and other departments.

……

Ma Daifeng, Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and others were full of enthusiasm and soon devoted themselves to the research and development of weapons.

However, Bai Fu was not very satisfied with the answers they handed over.None of the weapon prototypes produced met the requirements of actual combat and failed the tests of the Ministry of War.

All the craftsmen were discouraged and quite depressed.I don't know the taste of food, and I don't sleep at night.Bai Fu saw it in his eyes and thought about it.

Early this morning, Bai Fu brought Zi Che Li to the Ordnance Supervision Department of the Ministry of War.

Bai Fu summoned all the craftsmen to discuss in the inner hall.

Bai Fu said to all the craftsmen: "You are all craftsmen of a generation, who can make exquisite artifacts, why can't develop sharp weapons, can you discuss the reason?"

Ma Daifeng, Li Jin and others nodded, regretfully said: "Because we have never been on the battlefield, we only heard about the war, and we don't know the details of the battle between the two armies."

Bai Fu said: "Yes, in order to let everyone have an intuitive experience, today we will go to the battlefield in person and watch the battle at close range."

"Come to the battlefield in person?" All the craftsmen looked at each other, both surprised and confused.

Bai Fu said to Zi Che: "Please also ask Brother Zi Che to bless and protect me."

Zi Che Li arranged the formation according to the position of the stars, and asked everyone to sit according to the position he set.

After the big formation was set up, Bai Fu sat cross-legged on the floor, pinched the seal of the military strategist, and said: "Everyone, follow my method to guide the inner breath and enter the state of fetal breath. I will take you to break the void and go to Suiyang City for a walk trip."

Guided by the law, everyone quickly entered a state of meditation.

Under the auspices of Ziche Li's formation, Bai Fu brought all the craftsmen into the secret realm of the military domain, allowing them to experience the cruel battle of the Siege of Suiyang.

In a trance, all the craftsmen and masters fell through the clouds and descended to the head of Suiyang city.

……

"Boom boom boom", the war drums are rumbling, and the horns are loud and clear.

The Yan army dispatched a large-scale siege tool-ladders.The ladder is huge, as high as the city wall, invincible.The middle layer of the ladder is the siege tower, which can accommodate [-] elite soldiers.At the top is an archery tower and a springboard.

There are wooden wheels at the bottom of the ladder, and soldiers can hide behind the bunker of the ladder and push the ladder to the city wall.

When the ladder was about to approach the city wall, Tang Jun stretched out a wooden pillar from the first hole, with an iron hook tied to the head of the pillar, and the iron hook hooked the ladder so that it could not retreat; The steel fork is firmly against the ladder so that it cannot get close to the city wall; a long wooden stick protrudes from the third hole, and an iron cage is tied to the end, and a torch is placed in the cage.The iron cage torch burned the middle of the ladder, and the raging flames instantly ignited the ladder.

The middle part of the ladder was burned, and the two hundred elites hidden at the top were like roasting pigs in a furnace, their bodies were on fire and their hair was on fire.Many soldiers would rather jump off the ladder and fall to their deaths than be burned alive.

The mighty ladder suddenly became a nightmare for the Yan army, and the city of Suiyang screamed again and again, and the scorched smell filled the air.

……

The Yan army dispatched "hook carts" to attack the city, and hooked the buildings and sheds of the city.Wherever the hook reaches, the sheds and pavilions will collapse.

Zhang Xun, the chief general of the Tang army, was not to be outdone, and the craftsmen of the military camp rushed to make a batch of "leather carts" overnight, using wood, chains, and iron rings to form the "long arm of the leather carts".

Once the Yanjun hook cart appeared, immediately use the iron ring at the end of the long arm of the leather cart to cover the iron hook on the hook cart, and drag the hook and cart to the top of the city together.

If the soldiers of the Yan army refused to let go and the two sides tug of war, and the stalemate could not be resolved, the soldiers of the Tang army cut off the iron hook with a sharp ax and a long knife, and then let the hook car go back.

……

The ladders and hook cars were all scrapped under the defense method of Zhang Xun, the chief general of the Tang army, so the Yan army had to dispatch another new type of siege equipment-'wooden donkey'.

The soldiers of the Yan Army hid in groups of five under a shield made of wood.The shield is shaped like a donkey, covered with wet cowhide. Soldiers hide in the belly of the 'wooden donkey' and carry it forward.With the 'wooden donkey' as a cover, soldiers of the Yan army are not afraid of arrows, including arrows with fire.

After several rounds of fighting, Zhang Xun, the chief general of the Tang army, found a way to crack the 'wooden donkey'.

Zhang Xun ordered the soldiers to melt the metal into juice. When the Yan army's wooden donkey mountain rushed to the city with a tsunami, Tang Jun poured copper juice and molten iron on his head, and the boiling soup instantly turned the "wooden donkey" into burning coals.

The soldiers of the Yan Army rolled out from the belly of the 'wooden donkey', covered in flames, and rolled on the sand, trying to extinguish the flames.The sharp archers of the Tang army at the head of the city shot and killed the Yan soldiers one by one with one arrow.

Zhang Xun is resourceful and resourceful, and his soldiers are united as one, like the Great Wall of Steel.All the siege weapons brought by the Yan army from Luoyang were destroyed by the Tang army, and the generals of the Yan army had nothing to do.

……

Several hours later, Bai Fu ended the guidance, and everyone returned to normal from the meditative state.

In the Battle of Suiyang, the ingenuity of the guards impressed all the craftsmen and admired them endlessly.The scene of the soldiers of the Tang army serving the country loyally and sacrificing their lives for the country made all the craftsmen burst into tears and their blood boiled.

Ma Daifeng took the lead in calling for the battle.He straightened his body, clasped his fists with both hands, and said in a loud voice: "Lord Bai, Ma has issued a military order here. If he cannot develop a sharp weapon to defend the city and destroy the enemy within three months, Ma is willing to do it by military law!"

"We are willing to issue a military order! If you can't develop a weapon to kill thieves, you will eventually be willing to use military law!"

……

After Bai Fu left, all the craftsmen retreated together for two days and two nights, brainstorming and pooling their efforts.

After leaving the customs, Ma Daifeng paid a visit to Bai Fu, and begged to invite Zheng Liang Lingzan, the supervisor of Qin Tianjian, and Sun Taichong, the Taoist priest of Songyang Guan, two master-level craftsmen to assist the ordnance supervisor in developing weapons.

Bai Fu was quite surprised. For some reason, he asked curiously: "What does designing weapons have to do with Qin Tianjian?".

Ma Daifeng said: "Xiaguan and Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and other craftsmen are proficient in the method of gear movement, but to manufacture long-distance attack weapons, you need craftsmen who can calculate the trajectory of arrows.

I am the best candidate for Zen Master Nhat Hanh, who is proficient in calendar, yin and yang, five elements, and numerology.It is a pity that he died young.His close friend Liang Lingzan, who is proficient in astronomy, stars and numerology, worked out a new calendar - the Dayan Calendar together with Yi Han, and created the Armillary Bronze Instrument.His talent and learning are as high as that of a Zen master. "

Bai Fu nodded in agreement, and asked, "What do you mean by needing alchemy priests?"

Ma Daifeng said: "To develop more lethal firearms, we also need alchemy priests who are proficient in the 'fire sulfur method'.

Ordinary firearms, the flame intensity is not enough.Take rockets as an example. The arrows are tied with flammable substances such as grease, rosin, and sulfur. After being ignited, they are shot out with a bow and crossbow to burn down enemy positions.

Ordinary flammables often extinguish themselves during flight, greatly reducing the rocket's effectiveness.However, the gunpowder refined by the 'Voltage Fire Sulfur Method' can avoid such problems.

The arrow is tied with gunpowder, and the flame of the arrow will not be extinguished during flight, but will also explode when it hits, producing amazing power.

Regarding gunpowder, Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, recorded a secret method in "The Method of Neifu Sulfur in the Alchemy": "Burning it with sulfur, realgar, saltpeter, and charcoal, the flames will burn, burn the hands, and burn the house."

Sun Taichong, a Taoist priest of Songyang Temple, once refined the Nine-turn Golden Elixir for the Supreme Emperor, and was proficient in the "submerged fire and sulfur method".With Daoist Sun's assistance, the Ordnance Supervisor can develop sharper firearms. "

……

You must know that craftsmen also have a circle of craftsmen, who cherish each other and admire each other.

Since ancient times, the imperial court did not pay much attention to craftsman skills, which caused the talents of these craftsmen to be buried and unknown.These craftsmen can only use their strengths as hobbies, research and explore privately, and exchange ideas with like-minded people.

Bai Fu readily agreed, and went out in person. Together with Ma Daifeng and other craftsmen, he sincerely invited two master-level craftsmen to work for the Ordnance Superintendent.

The two masters of the world did not want to get involved in the manufacture of weapons, so they politely declined.

Bai Fu understood it with reason and moved it with emotion: "One day the rebellion is not settled, the Tang Dynasty is not peaceful, and the people are not at peace... The people's lives are in dire straits, and they need to have children to eat. You two ask yourself, how can you bear it? "

Under the sincere invitation of Ma Daifeng, Li Jin, Han Zhi, Yang Suo and other craftsmen, Zheng Liang Lingzan, the supervisor of Qin Tianjian, and Taoist priest Sun Taichong, Songyang Guan, looked at each other and reluctantly agreed.

……

So far, with the full support of Bai Fu, the minister of the Ministry of War, the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War has gathered all the well-known craftsmen of Datang.

(End of this chapter)