The rise of the prince

Chapter 668 How to Use Cannons + Situation in Great Powers
"You go tomorrow night." Yang Hongzhao lowered his eyes and said slowly: "After we enter the Meridian Gate, you will report to the palace."

"General!"

"Listen to me." Yang Hongzhao supported his shoulders: "Don't go back after you report the letter, ride my horse out of the palace, go north, the north is now in chaos, there is always a way to survive.

If not, King Jin will also suffer.”

The old servant didn't speak, Yang Hongzhao said again: "Take away all the money and valuables in the house, it's useless to keep them."

The old servant nodded, "The old servant will not disappoint the general."

Yang Hongzhao nodded, with an unspeakable expression on his face, hesitated to speak, and finally remained silent.

"Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" In the imperial garden, the emperor accompanied the queen to admire a garden of autumn chrysanthemums, while Li Xingzhou followed behind them.

Zhuoxiu is late in the third autumn, and within ten steps of Kaifang.Divide the yellow and laugh at the day, and contain the emerald green to shake the wind.The broken shadows flow, and the floating fragrance passes across the bank.Jinqiao can be popular, but who is the same as jade.

The garden was full of autumn chrysanthemums, and of course Li Xingzhou had no intention of viewing them. In fact, neither did the emperor and empress. Although the autumn chrysanthemums were beautiful, they were carefully cared for by the court ladies and eunuchs throughout the year, and they were not cultivated by themselves.

What he proposed to the emperor was to strengthen his guard on tomorrow night, that is, the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the reason he only said was that there might be accidents due to the chaos of the people.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to say to the emperor that he suspected that Yang Hongzhao and the prince had different intentions, because this was just a guess, without evidence, and he would directly say that the emperor would suspect his intentions, and he might directly kill Yang Hongzhao, if he was wronged.

"I have lingering fears, remembering the assassins when the emperor patrolled the city last time." He made an excuse casually.

The queen smiled kindly: "This child is so filial, he still thinks of your grandpa at this time."

"Suzhou's rebellion has been put down by you a long time ago." The emperor also smiled and said, "If it wasn't for you, I really don't know what to do. The crown prince destroyed all the ships of the official family. If you don't fix it, the south will be over."

"The prince is also anxious to share the worries of the emperor." The queen said, although the prince was not her own, but the prince's biological mother passed away early, so for a long time, the prince served the queen as his biological mother, so he naturally had feelings. When he returned to Beijing, no one came to pick him up, and it was the queen who picked him up to go back to the palace.

Therefore, the queen has always been contradictory. She dotes on and favors his grandson, but she is also very protective of the prince.

"Sharing worries? It's obviously adding to the chaos." The emperor said dissatisfiedly, and then said with some emotion: "Speaking of it, thinking about it over the past few years, every time it was you, the rebellion in the south, the accident in Jiangzhou, and the battle against Liao. If you're not here, I really don't know what to do."

The emperor sighed, and then said: "Wang Yue, He Zhao, Tang Zhouwei and others in the court told me in private that you have Wei Huo's legacy, which is a blessing for the country, and I feel the same way.

He Zhao, Wang Yue, Xue Fang, Tang Zhouwei, and Meng Zhiye are people you can get close to.He Zhao has a stinking mouth, and if he doesn't speak nice words, he is still very capable in doing things, and he won't just say nice words and empty words like Tang Zhouwei.However, he is just conservative and has a bit of a hard temper.

Tang Zhouwei was the opposite of him, but the imperial court could not lack such and such people. If He Zhao was useful, so would Tang Zhouwei.

As for Wang Yue, he was the person I felt most at ease with. He has a lot of knowledge and experience, and he is not as stubborn as He Zhao. Unfortunately, he is too old to help you for a few years.Xue Fang, doing things is very beneficial, especially this Northern Expedition, if he hadn't figured out a way, the imperial treasury would have been empty.

However, although these people can use them, they are not for you to let them go. You need to explore the way of them yourself. Fortunately, you are still young and have plenty of time. "

"Yes, thank you for the emperor's teaching." Li Xingzhou agreed, but he was very helpless in his heart. The emperor obviously didn't listen to his words, but kept teaching him, telling him about the ministers of the court, and counting the merits of each important minister.

He understood that the emperor's move was to gradually familiarize him with the court situation, but it was difficult for him to listen at this time.

Wu De Division of the Imperial City has four gates in the outer city and four gates in the inner city. In addition, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they have to patrol around the imperial city to help Kaiyuan Mansion maintain order, because Kaiyuan Mansion usually does not have so many standing yamen servants.

Some of them will be transferred to the ferry. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the tribute given to the palace by the officials will also come, and this year Jingguo will destroy the Liao Dynasty. However, it was the Jing State army that captured the Liao Emperor Yelu Dun, and it was the Jing State Army that broke through the Yanshan Mansion and declared the Liao State's demise.

How could the officials let it go on the day of great rejoicing, and another group of people might have to be taken away at that time, so there really wasn't much defense force in the imperial city.

Li Xingzhou originally wanted to say to let the new army enter the city, but he held back in the middle of the sentence. Zhong Daoyu objected to the deduction of military pay and was relegated to civilians. If he said to let the new army enter the city to maintain law and order, the emperor probably immediately suspected that he was going to rebel.
He was also very helpless, the palace was far away from the palace, and there were indeed hundreds of new troops in the palace, and it was the forbidden army that the emperor personally authorized to enter the city. It could be said that it was the only one in the whole country, but he couldn't transfer it away no matter what.

Because the palace is more important than the palace, that's what he thinks, if anyone in the palace makes a mistake, he can't bear it, whether it's selfish or helpless, he must give priority to the palace.

If there is an emergency, then protect the palace first, and then urgently transfer new troops into the city. He and Wei Yubai know this. Wei Yubai has also been running between the military camps of the palace these days. Fortunately, his soldier talisman has not been returned yet. The new army is not a problem.

Just as he was thinking wildly, the emperor suddenly turned around: "Why are you distracted?"

Li Xingzhou quickly recovered his composure and said, "The flowers are so fragrant, it makes me dizzy."

The queen smiled kindly, but the emperor didn't pursue it, and continued: "There is also the forbidden army. The forbidden army has always been a double-edged sword. Don't let it go. You must learn to control it well."

Speaking of this, the emperor seemed a little proud, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and with his two fingers together, he pointed to the south of the city and said, "Do you know how I have controlled the imperial army all these years?"

Li Xingzhou shook his head in cooperation, saw the Queen's eyelids drooping, turned her head away, these subtle movements could not escape his eyes, and shook his head helplessly in his heart, the emperor thought it was his proud handwriting, even Zhong Daoyu's objection was met with tragic end.

But in fact, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. Most people in the court know it or not, even many people in the imperial army know that the emperor thought that his move was clever and ensured the stability of the imperial power, but he didn't know that it was precisely this move. Almost ruined Jingguo.

The reason for the failure of the Northern War, to put it bluntly, is that the soldiers of the Imperial Army were unwilling to fight for the imperial court.

"Haha." The emperor smiled complacently, and then said: "I started with Du Zhisi and withheld his military salary, and called it to the outside world as the work of the Sanya. After such a long time, the soldiers of the forbidden army all complained about the Sanya. If there is a gap over time, I am not afraid of them making trouble, and I can save a lot of money for the treasury."

"Your majesty is wise." Li Xingzhou said, and the emperor nodded: "You should learn these methods carefully, and you will use them in the future. The imperial army is a good country, but you should always be on guard. Although you serve in the imperial army mostly, the reason To understand."

Li Xingzhou could only nod his head. As for agreeing or disagreeing, it was another matter. With the lessons learned from Zhong Daoyu, he would not switch and intervene in this matter at will.

The time will soon be August [-]th, an auspicious day, and it coincides with great joy. It can be said that inside and outside the imperial city, the north and south of the river are full of joy. There is also a poetry meeting held at the Wangjiang Tower, and the Yongyue Pavilion is sold to the Wangfu. However, Li Xingzhou also ordered it to be opened on this day to buy people's hearts.

Even more so in the middle of the court, the emperor gave a big banquet to all the ministers, and the heroes of the Northern Expedition will be rewarded today for their meritorious deeds. It can be said that both inside and outside are happy.

Naturally, the palace is also their own way of celebrating. Apart from putting on lanterns and festoons, they also prepared delicious food and wine for everyone, and also distributed new clothes. The whole palace was full of joy.

Li Xingzhou went to feed Meixue early in the morning, and then took it to work in the army in person. The new army has only been formed in the past few years and has fought south and north, which is closely related to his success.

Of course, the soldiers were also very excited. He stayed in the barracks from morning to afternoon, slaughtering pigs and sheep. He stuttered meat and drank in big bowls. He didn't leave until the afternoon when many soldiers reluctantly saw him off.

However, he did not bring anyone with him when he went, but he brought 15 elite soldiers of the new army with him when he came back.

Soldiers are not allowed to bring weapons into the city, and the transfer of an army of more than 50 people requires an order from the court. The emperor wrote it himself, and Li Xingzhou got stuck on these two points.The palace has weapons, they are produced every day, there are piles in the warehouse, and he sent 15 people into the city, but the number is less than [-], without weapons, it can also be said that they are guarding the courtyard at home, and the city gate officials think it is reasonable. let go
After returning home, it was afternoon, and everyone hadn’t come yet. Originally, the palace had invited many people, including several senior officials, Zhao Si’s family, Zhu Rong’s family, Tieniu’s family, Guan Zhong’s family, etc., as well as poetry. family.

But it was still early, and the 15 people brought back by Li Xingzhou were all artillerymen. What he thought of was the only rifled gun in the Palace, which was produced by Zhao Sigang in the back mountain, and there were more than 20 experimental shells.

Behind the main hall of the Wangfu is the back hall, and behind it is the courtyard. There is a line in the middle. Once the wall of the main hall is broken, it is the courtyard courtyard. Usually, the distinguished guests are entertained in the main hall, and the banquet will also be held in the spacious courtyard of the main hall.

The main hall has six doors, it is very spacious, and the patio is also very wide. In the middle is a flower bed, and the flowers and plants in it are carefully taken care of by Gillian and Yue'er on weekdays.

The first time he returned to the palace, Li Xingzhou called Qi Fang, and took 15 people to the back mountain to clean up the use of the new artillery. After pulling to the patio behind the main hall, he ordered people to smash the flower beds to form a small high ground, and then ordered people to push up the only rear-loading rifled gun in the palace, which was also the first one.

The rifling of this cannon was pulled out with a steam machine tool. Before Zhao Si led people to pull it out by hand, the result was that several workers rotated their jobs. It took four months of non-stop pulling to barely pull out one. The quality was not good. close.

At that time, Zhao Si wrote to him and told him that the rifled gun was indeed powerful, but the cost was too high and the production speed was slow, so it was not worthwhile.

Unexpectedly, half a month later, Qiu'er's second-generation steam engine came out. Not only could it bore a new barrel, but it could also pull out regular and perfect rifling. The second-generation steam engine worked day and night, day and night, It was able to pull out the rifling of a cannon, which shocked Zhao Si's jaw.

Li Xingzhou asked several soldiers of the new army to adjust again and again, aiming the muzzle at the gate, because the courtyard and the gate looked far away, more than 100 meters away, but it was actually not that far for the artillery. The limit range of this new cannon could be Twenty miles!A mere [-] meters is nothing.

Secondly, there is only a wall between this place and the gate!It is still a wooden wall, which is the wall behind the main hall. Such a wall cannot stop the shells at all, or the shells will pass through immediately after being hit, and its blocking is not enough to detonate the shells, because these experimental shells use inertial fuses.

In other words, separated by a wall, the pitch-black muzzle was aimed at the gate more than 100 meters away, and people entering through the gate, even in the courtyard, could not see the people in the main hall.
Li Xingzhou called the fifteen artillerymen and Qifang to explain some things, and he finally felt relieved.

Wanyan Wugu lit incense, kowtowed three hundred and nine times to the tribute platform directly in front of him, and then inserted three sticks of incense respectfully, and the offering on the tribute platform was the "Xianjia" left by Jing Guo soldiers. treasure."

A group of spies sent by the royal family of the Kingdom of Jin has already set off to the south. Some of them are responsible for finding the hermit masters, the Taoist immortals of the Jing Kingdom, and some are responsible for inquiring about the intelligence of the Jing Kingdom's new army.

But Liu Xu said that whether Jingguo Taoism or Buddhism, they all pay attention to sincerity and sincerity, Wan Yan Wugu thinks it is right, so he enshrines this fairy treasure and sincerely worships it three times and nine times a day.

After he finished prostrating, his younger brother Wanyan Zongbi came in: "Brother, there are envoys from the Tatar Department."

Wanyan Wugu stood up: "What's wrong?"

The Tatar tribe is a nomadic tribe on the grassland. It is close to the west side of the Daxianbei Mountain (Daxing’an Mountains). It is the most powerful tribe in the east of the grassland. He expressed his willingness to submit to the Kingdom of Dajin and attack Liangma every year.

This happened a year or two ago. In fact, it wasn't just the Tatar tribe. After they captured Shangjing, many tribes on the grassland were frightened to show their surrender, as well as Goryeo in the east and Xiaguo in the west.

Before that, the Emperor Xia even came to ask for help, expressing his willingness to cede Tang Long's important town to the Dajin Kingdom, and also to offer the treasures in the treasury, only asking the invincible army to help him put down the rebellion.

He was going to agree. After all, Tang Long's important town was located in a dangerous place, and the garrison was there to deter Xia from the west and Jing from the east, but what he didn't expect was that Jing Guoping and King Nan fought an incredible battle in the north.

After this battle, the Kingdom of Jin had to reconsider the matter, because Tang Long Town was the territory of the Kingdom of Jing, and it was seized by the Kingdom of Xia when Jing State sent troops. If they accepted this hot potato, what would the Kingdom of Jing do?

They began to think about this issue, so in the end they still rejected Xia Guo's request, but promised that he would send a small group of troops, but Xia Guo would bear all the military supplies.

Back to the present, Wanyan Zongbi said: "The Tatar Ministry said that this year's horses were plagued by disease, and there were constant wars on the grasslands, so they would like to request that the number of tribute horses be halved."

After hearing this, Wanyan Wugunai frowned instantly: "What did he say!"

(End of this chapter)