The rise of the prince

Chapter 236

"Your Majesty, it's getting late at night, and I'm worried about Luhan." The queen stepped forward and put on a fur coat for the emperor. The sky was full of stars, and this was the emperor's inner palace. There was silence everywhere, and the maids standing at the door in the distance bowed their heads and dared not speak , without the slightest sound.

The emperor looked at the sky, and said softly: "Today is the day of offering sacrifices to the imperial concubine, but I dare not go to worship her."

The queen was puzzled: "I wish my younger sister has always been respectful. She was favored by the emperor in her lifetime, and she has no faults. It is only right to worship her. Why is your majesty bothering?"

"Oh, worry?" The emperor shook his head: "I'm not worried, but I feel ashamed and don't know how to speak."

"Are you ashamed?"

The emperor looked at Xingye, frowned and said, "As for what the prince has done recently, how do you want me to tell her? If she knows, how can she feel at ease."

It's hard for the queen to say anything, the prince really can only stand beside him quietly.

"Last spring there was a rebellion in the South, and in the autumn Guanbei was defeated. Now Suzhou is going against the grain. Could it be?"

The queen was shocked, and quickly grabbed his arm and said: "What nonsense are you talking about, your majesty, my country is very good, the emperor's children and grandchildren are full, it is the time of prosperity, there is no danger, and how can I not be destined?"

The emperor smiled indifferently: "Don't worry, I have a sense of propriety, and you are the only one here, so I only talk about it, and naturally I won't talk about it with outsiders."

The queen felt relieved, and then said worriedly: "The current situation is indeed a bit difficult, but it is still far away from danger. At the beginning, Bai Yi rebelled and the king of Wu conspired against him. It is all over. Compared with those at the beginning, the current predicament is nothing but It’s just a small fight.”

"It's cold outside, let's go in." The emperor sighed, dragged the queen back to the main hall, screened away the maids on the left and right, and then sighed: "This matter seems small, but it is extraordinary."

The queen sat down and gently pressed his temples to relieve his fatigue.

"The situation in the south is somewhat unstable. After all, there was a rebellion in the spring. I wanted to cut the mess quickly, but I didn't expect that it would be my royal heir who did the bad thing." He shook his head and said, "Maybe this is the destiny." , Now that Suzhou is in rebellion, Luzhou is isolated and helpless, and it is about to move, if both places are in chaos, my Jing Dynasty will immediately go to one of the four."

As he said that, he closed his eyes: "Why is it my royal family who made the mistake, what should I do?"

In the Battle of Anxiakou, the imperial army had thousands of dead, countless injured, and countless escapees. Although most of them were conscripted corvee boatmen, there must always be an explanation.The most terrible thing was the more than 200 warships, but only a dozen of them were finally withdrawn to Guazhou, and the rest were buried in Anxiakou.

These ships are what Jing Chao has accumulated over the past few years, especially those large ships that can carry hundreds of people at a time. Now that there are no large ships, it will become extremely difficult to march. , From Guazhou to Suzhou, there are mountains in the middle, and it is very difficult to travel.

Once the big ship is destroyed, it is almost tantamount to ruining the south, because at least within a year, before the new ship is built, the army will no longer be able to go south, and sending a small number of troops there is tantamount to death.
So the emperor has been suffering from headaches for the past few days. Anxia's defeat, which seemed like a small defeat, actually hurt the country's constitution and ruined the imperial court's control of the south.Will the South in a few years be the same as before?
"Your majesty can think of more comforting things. Anyway, things have come to this point. Don't be in a hurry. Your majesty can go out for a while and rest." The queen said while squeezing his shoulders for him: "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. I’m old, how can I manage so much.”

The emperor did not speak, and closed his eyes with a sigh.

In the backyard of the palace, Li Xingzhou found a standard walking armor and put it on a wooden pole in the distance. Qiu'er was also helping, and Yue'er was busy making tea for the two old people sitting on the stone table.

Shiyu glanced at him while fastening the armor bag, and said in a low voice, "What do you want to pretend to be?" Today Zhong Daoyu and De Gong are both here, so she restrained herself a lot.

Li Xingzhou smiled mysteriously: "I'll tell you tonight."

Shiyu didn't realize the deep meaning of these words at once, but when he did, he looked panicked and wanted to step on him, but because someone was present, he had no choice but to cover it up quietly, and then pretended to help.

The infantry armor is an excellent piece of equipment that can only be worn by the elite troops of the Jing Dynasty. The outer armor alone weighs more than 40 kilograms, and the full suit weighs [-] to [-] kilograms. After ordinary people wear it, it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to even walk.

It is made of more than 2000 iron armor pieces, and the cost is very high. The infantry armor is worn by only one in a hundred warriors in the army. These heavy infantry have always been the main force of the frontline troops of Jing Dynasty.

However, due to the law expressly prohibiting private storage of weapons, although there are armors, knives and guns left by King Xiao in the palace, there has never been a complete standard infantry armor. It is used to test the power of a sudden fire gun!

In fact, Li Xingzhou didn't want to hide anything about this matter, after all, sooner or later, it will be known to the world.

The military industry has always been at the forefront of science and technology of the times. Many cutting-edge technologies have gradually changed from military use to civilian use, and many civilian commands can also become the key point of technological progress.

At the beginning, Li Xingzhou didn't think about engaging in any secret production. Sooner or later, everyone will know about it. What he has to do is to maintain the leading position in technology.

Firearms like Suifa have no rifling, and the airtightness of the barrel is not good enough. Compared with crossbows, there is no huge advantage in accuracy, but why Suifa has dominated the European battlefield for more than 200 years, and it was rampant in Asia in the [-]th century. bogey?

The root of the pursuit lies in the powerful kinetic energy of this firearm.

Ordinary black powder is fired, and the initial velocity of the bullet can reach more than 400 meters per second, which has exceeded the speed of sound. This kind of kinetic energy is not comparable to that of a crossbow.Afterwards, the smokeless gunpowder speeds up again, allowing the initial velocity of the bullet to reach about 800 meters per second, which is more than twice the speed of sound.

The powerful kinetic energy brings a terrifying penetration effect. Some people have done experiments. Even the most primitive black powder gun can penetrate a 5mm steel plate at a distance of ten meters, and it is still made of modern steel.

This means that any armor in this era has no reason to be able to defend against the shooting of a quick-fire gun.

Not to mention that there is no high-carbon steel at the moment, Li Xingzhou personally inspected the walking armor brought by Zhong Daoyu. The armor pieces are all ordinary iron pieces, because iron in this era contains too many impurities, so its toughness and strength are not good.

Li Xingzhou smiled confidently at Zhong Daoyu who was sitting behind him: "You should think about it, I think your family is poor, 500 taels is not a small number."

Zhong Daoyu waved his hand: "Don't say too much, the old man doesn't work with aggressive methods.

It's just a musket, although it looks a bit strange, I've seen it before in the army, don't say it's more than ten steps away, the musket can't penetrate infantry armor even within three steps, the 500 taels are you Give it. "

Zhong Daoyu was also very confident. Of course, the cloth armor he provided was not free. He asked to see for himself what it was used for. After all, it was a military weapon, and misusing it was a serious crime.

Degong was drinking tea while watching a play. He was the only one Li Xingzhou invited to watch. After all, Li Xingzhou can only talk to Degong about many things at present.

He is very shrewd and understands that he cannot bet with Li Xingzhou. This is a lesson from history.

Li Xingzhou is not going to engage in verbal disputes. He knows what the sudden musket that Zhong Daoyu is talking about is a fake and inferior firearm used by the Jingchao army. Strange.

"Are you okay?" Shiyu said in a low voice while wrapping the projectile with a small piece of greasy circular step as he said.

"Haha, do you know that you are worried about your husband?" Li Xingzhou laughed softly while checking the gun.

Shiyu was in a hurry and ignored him directly.

His gun was different.

Li Xingzhou took Shiyu and handed over the projectile wrapped in a piece of cloth at the back, put it in from the muzzle, and then stabbed it to the bottom with an iron rod, which was very smooth.

Before this method was available, when loading projectiles, it was necessary to put the projectiles into the muzzle, use a wooden hammer to drive the bullets, and push the bullets into the chamber. .

Later, the Pennsylvania gunsmith in the United States created a simple quick-loading method, using linen cloth or buckskin sheets soaked in grease to wrap the projectiles and load them into the muzzle to reduce friction.

This small change not only speeds up the loading speed, but also plays the role of holding the breath, which improves the accuracy of the firearm and increases the range.

Sometimes the world is so magical, small changes can determine the outcome of a war and the fate of a country.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Li Xingzhou can enjoy the blessings brought by these ancestors.

The structure of the Suifa gun is actually very simple. After loading the bullets, he opened the lock, opened the powder tank cover, poured black powder into the powder tank, then closed the powder tank cover, pulled the lock back again, and raised the gun. Aim at the infantry armor ten steps away.

Seeing his series of unfamiliar and incomprehensible operations, Zhong Daoyu frowned slightly.

Li Xingzhou smiled and asked Qiu'er to report the distance. Qiu'er estimated the distance and said, "15 meters."

He nodded, adjusted the rear sight so that Qiu'er and Shiyu backed up, aimed at the cloth human armor propped up by a piece of wood in front, and pulled the trigger.
"Crack!" There was a clear and ear-splitting explosion, and then blue smoke rose from the barrel of the gun, and the infantry armor in the distance just shook for a while, and there was a soft "poof".

Because of the distance, no one could see clearly.The bullet is too fast, exceeding the speed of sound, how can people whose eyes are used to arrows catch it.

Zhong Daoyu said: "That's it, is it gone?"

Obviously he didn't see clearly, Li Xingzhou waved his hand: "Don't worry, you still don't believe me if you say you are old and dim."

As he spoke, he walked over and lifted the heavy infantry armor on the wooden pole in front of him.

The old man just took a look, put down his teacup and stood up, lowered his head against the armor, stroked the armor with his bony palms, his eyes widened, his mouth couldn't close, and he muttered to himself: "How could that be?" ,this."

Where his palm touched was a neat hole the size of a little finger, directly piercing through the iron armor, running through the front and back!He could still see the dirt on the ground. He was afraid that his eyes would be dazzled, so he lifted the armor up to the sun with great effort. A ray of sunlight shone through the thick armor, leaving a bright spot on the shadow of the table.

"This is more than 2000 pieces, an invulnerable infantry armor!" Zhong Daoyu's voice was slightly high, almost changing his tone.

"What! Su Banchuan is dead." Qifang said loudly in disbelief.

Qidong looked at his daughter and two sons, handed them the letter in his hand, and the three began to circulate it.

Tomorrow is the warm spring season when flowers are blooming, but there are more than twenty braziers in the main hall. The charcoal fire inside is red and burning vigorously.Qidong's upper body was bare, and although his skin was flushed, he didn't sweat a bit.

This is the result of his many years of seeking longevity. Obviously, he is very proud of his cultivation results.

Qifang wiped the sweat from his forehead, but still couldn't believe it, he shook his head and said, "How is this possible? Mr. Su was actually killed by some small bandits!"

The eldest brother recalled that Yongdong was dressed as a scribe, and nodded in agreement: "I also think this matter is strange."

The second elder brother raised his arms angrily, and Jia did not leave his body, standing there like a hill, a head taller than elder brother Qi Yongdong and younger sister Qi Fang, he stood aside and did not interrupt.

Qidong coughed and said: "Whether there is something wrong or not, it is beyond our control, the problem is that Su Ban'an is coming!"

The letter clearly stated that in order to protect the safety of Luzhou, the deceased Xu Gong's younger brother, Su Ban'an and Yi'an Gong, would lead [-] soldiers to garrison the north of Mishan Mountain in Luzhou. rights and shall not be obstructed.

"This is a threat, forcing us to express our position." Qi Yongdong wiped the sweat from his face and said.

Qi Fang didn't speak anymore. She persuaded her father to take big things with Suzhou because she thought that Su Banchuan was strong, courageous, and a real man, but now Su Banchuan is dead.

"They won the battle at Anxiakou." Qidong sighed helplessly: "If he is really allowed to come over, can my position as the leader be secure?"

"Last night, there were people gathering a crowd to make trouble. Thousands of people gathered outside Nancheng. If the second brother hadn't punched one of them to death to scare off those troublemakers, something might have happened." Qifang also said helplessly: "If this continues, Luzhou Sooner or later it’s going to be too messy to clean up.”

"Who is the leader! Capture him and kill him." Qidong patted the handrail angrily.

Qi Fang shook his head: "Who else is it? It's the one who shouted "Kill the official, share the land equally". It's just that there are thousands of people present, and there are countless people secretly defending it. How to catch it?"

Qi Dong blushed with anger, but there was nothing he could do about it, those thieves who incited people would really seize their time.

"Besides letting Su Banchuan come, we have no other choice." Qi Yongdong brought back the topic: "By the way, we can also leave the matter of law and order to him.

Ansu Mansion can defeat even the imperial army. Our Huaihua is a small mansion, and there are only thousands of troops in one prefecture. How can we resist?

Besides, he said in his letter that he would only bring a thousand soldiers, which is also to save us face.He couldn't resist, and he gave him face again, so it's better to take the opportunity to be soft, I heard that Ansu Mansion now has [-] troops! "

"If the imperial court asks for the crime in the future, what should we do?" Qidong is still afraid of the imperial court. After all, he worked in Jiannan Road when he was young, and he has seen how Zhong Daoyu beat Bai Yi. Zhong Daoyu is still alive now. Angry, let him fight the south.
"That's a matter of the future. The imperial court is thousands of miles away, but now there are hundreds of thousands of troops hundreds of miles away. Which side should we take care of first?" Qi Yongdong spread his hands.

Indeed, Luzhou is currently in trouble, resistance?Impossible to be Suzhou's opponent; no resistance?I am afraid that the court will blame me in the future
"What will happen in the future will be discussed. This matter was originally caused by the imperial court's inability to cause it. What can we do?"

"It would be great if the imperial court could reason." Qidong shook his head worriedly.But in the end, he still felt that he would compromise with Ansu Mansion, release all the messengers before Suzhou, and write a letter to Su Banan, he can enter the Luzhou garrison, and Luzhou will not stop him, and he will hand over the Xiangjun soldier amulet.

(End of this chapter)