Tibet.

Chapter 1319: Sharpening the Weapon First
In the imperial study, Li Ye stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window in silence. Although Zheng Hui was a high-ranking official in Nanzhao, he used his nephew's mouth to say what the Tang Dynasty needed to do: where you fall, you must get up there, this is the essence of the problem.

Why was Nanzhao afraid of Tubo? They didn't dare to touch any Tubo people, but dared to kill Han people at will, even officials of the Tang Dynasty. Why?
Just because Tubo dared to beat it to death.

Human nature is to bully the weak and fear the strong, and isn’t the national nature the same?

Nanzhao tried to return the northern part of Shizhou to the Guanlong Army because they were afraid that the Guanlong Army would move south. Once they found that the Tang Army did not take any action against them, they would take the northern part of Shizhou back. This was the nature of Nanzhao: they bully the weak and fear the strong.

Historically, Nanzhao finally submitted to the Tang Dynasty again because the Tang army was afraid of killing Nanzhao.

"Without the use of force, how can we talk about peace?"

Wei Jiansu whispered, "Your Majesty is now sending troops to Liaodong. If you send troops to Nanzhao at the same time, will you be short of manpower? If Tubo invades Longyou again at this time, Your Majesty must be careful!"

Li Ye nodded and said to Wei Jiansu: "Prime Minister Wei, rest assured, I will consider it carefully. I will not send troops lightly if I am not sure!"

After a pause, Li Ye continued, "The Political Affairs Hall should send an envoy to Nanzhao as soon as possible to demand that they release the arrested officials immediately!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Wei Jiansu left in a hurry.

Li Ye hesitated for a moment, then said to Du You, "Go and inform the Military Equipment Bureau that I will inspect the Firearms and Gunpowder Bureau tomorrow morning!"

There are ways to win three wars at the same time. The generation gap in weapons is the most effective way, just like the massacre of infantry by heavy cavalry and the massacre of cavalry by the Maxim machine gun.

Li Ye had long been aware that gunpowder and firearms would be his magic weapon for victory. He did not necessarily have to rely on them to fight a war, but he could use them at the critical moment that determined victory or defeat.

The next morning, Li Ye, accompanied by Li Cang, the Inspector of Military Equipment, came to the Firearms and Gunpowder Bureau south of Chang'an. The bureau chief was still Hu Jiuling, who was currently the Junior Inspector of Military Equipment, in charge of the four major departments of firearms, gunpowder, kerosene, and alum production.

Hu Jiuling led Li Ye into the Military Equipment Bureau with great fear and trepidation. Li Ye saw that Hu Jiuling's hair and beard were all white, and he was only in his forties!
Li Ye advised kindly: "Hu Shaojian should pay attention to rest and health, train new people, don't do everything by yourself, let the young people do it, and especially establish a strict system, then there won't be too many problems."

Hu Jiuling was touched and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am much more relaxed now than in previous years. Now basically new people are in charge. My main task now is to maintain this system and prevent loopholes from appearing."

"Please briefly explain the system! I want to hear it."

"Your Majesty, the system actually consists of three parts: confidentiality system, reward and punishment system, and innovation system."

"Let's talk about the confidentiality system!" Li Ye interrupted him with a smile.

"We are divided into special-grade craftsmen, first-grade craftsmen, second-grade craftsmen and third-grade craftsmen. There are currently three special-grade craftsmen who know all the formulas. These three are under strict protection by the Internal Security Bureau. Their names, addresses and family situations are all confidential.

A first-level craftsman knows a certain formula, such as the formula for gunpowder, the formula for explosives, the production of green vitriol oil, etc. There are currently forty-eight first-level craftsmen. They are also strictly protected by the Internal Security Bureau, and all their information is also confidential. Except that the subsidy is slightly lower than that of special-level craftsmen, there is no other difference.

The second-level craftsmen are more detailed and know the technical essentials of a specific link, such as saltpeter purification technology, nitroglycerin packaging technology, etc. There are a total of 197 people. They live and protect together, and their salaries and benefits are higher than those of the low-level positions.

The third-level craftsmen are mainly auxiliary craftsmen, responsible for grinding, grouting, testing, casting, mold making, etc. They are the largest in number, with more than 740 people. They are all well paid and have strict confidentiality.

In addition, all the craftsmen here are called by code names and do not know each other's real names and addresses."

Li Ye said happily: "Let's go and see if there are any new firearms!"

"There are indeed a few new things. Please come this way, Your Majesty!"

Hu Jiuling brought Li Ye to the new product showroom. He pointed to an explosive arrow on the shelf and said, "This is an improved explosive arrow. It is installed directly on the arrow shaft after it is made. Soldiers don't have to install it themselves. The reason is that we have improved the previous explosive head. In the past, we were afraid that the soldiers would fall on the rocks and shatter and explode. Now it needs a certain impact force to explode. For example, the soldier throws the explosive head hard on the rock, or deliberately hits it with a rock, and it will explode. If it accidentally falls on the rock, there is no problem at all."

Li Ye nodded, "Is there any distance limit?"

"It's still the same as before. Crossbow arrows will explode if they hit hard objects within 200 steps, and bow arrows will explode if they hit hard objects within 100 steps. There is also an improvement. The validity period was only half a year before, but now it is valid for two years. We will engrave the production time on each arrow shaft to let all soldiers know. It cannot be used after two years."

Li Ye said with some regret: "It's a pity that there are no explosive arrows that explode when shot at people!"

Hu Jiuling smiled and said, "It can be done, but it's too dangerous. The protection level will be reduced and it will explode if you are not careful. It must be used by professional firearms soldiers, but it is meaningless. It is better to use a projectile fuse fire mine!" "Are you talking about the thunder mine?"

"No, it's an arrow mine, only the size of a goose egg, mounted on an arrow shaft, shot out with a ten-stone crossbow, and exploded a hundred and fifty steps away, injuring people through the iron sheet and the iron nails inside, but it requires an extra step of ignition."

Li Ye was overjoyed. This was even more convenient than a catapult. The ten-stone crossbow was originally intended to be used by two soldiers.

"Your Majesty, please look this way!"

They walked to a small table where an arrow mine was displayed. The arrow head was an iron fire mine the size of a goose egg with a fuse on the side.

Li Ye's mind moved. If there is no arrow shaft, wouldn't it be a grenade?

“You can just throw it with your hands!”

Hu Jiuling nodded and smiled, "Your Majesty, there are special hand-thrown mines, which are slightly larger than arrow mines. They are equipped with a wooden handle and can be thrown after the fuse is lit. We have tested it and found that ordinary soldiers can throw it thirty steps away. It can replace throwing spears."

Li Ye was completely relieved. With such a powerful army, why should he be afraid of fighting on two fronts?

He asked Hu Jiuling again: "How much inventory do you have now?"

"Your Majesty, approximately 3,000 of each!"

"Too little!"

Li Ye shook his head, "I need to equip 10,000 troops now, and equip the troops in the shortest possible time. Tell me, how can I do it?"

Hu Jiuling and Li Cang looked at each other, and Li Cang smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, we need to increase the annual expenditure of the Military Equipment Bureau. We can buy more raw materials, recruit more craftsmen, and build more workshops!"

Li Ye nodded, "I will first allocate 200,000 strings of money from the inner treasury to the Firearms and Gunpowder Bureau for emergency expansion of production. I want to see the quantity within two months. If you want to increase the quota, you can apply according to the court regulations, and I will approve it!"

'Two months!'

Hu Jiuling felt a lot of pressure, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that two hundred thousand strings of cash should still be achievable, and he had to spend the money to get it.

"I will definitely do it!"

Li Ye returned to Daming Palace. Just as he sat down, Du You came in and reported, "General Li Sheng has arrived. We have been waiting for half an hour!"

Li Ye nodded, "Please ask him to come to the staff room!"

Li Sheng returned to Chang'an to report on his work and to report to the emperor and the court about the war last autumn. Although hundreds of thousands of Indian prisoners of war had been sent to the court, he still needed to report the specific battle situation to the emperor. At the same time, he came to meet the emperor as he ascended the throne!
Li Ye stood up and went to the staff room. Li Sheng was standing in front of the Jiannan sand table in a daze. Li Ye coughed lightly.

Li Sheng reacted and quickly knelt on one knee to salute, "Your humble servant Li Sheng pays respect to Your Majesty!"

"No need to be polite, Governor Li. Please stand up!"

Li Sheng stood up, and Li Ye pointed at the sand table and said, "Something happened in Nanzhao these two days. A prospecting team sent by the court was attacked by the Nanzhao and Tubo coalition forces in Shizhou. All 300 guards were killed, and five officials from the Ministry of Works and more than a dozen miners were captured. It was a great shame!"

"Your Majesty, have you decided to send troops?"

Li Ye said slowly: "If I want to send troops, it is not to solve the problem of a prospecting team, but to settle all the old and new accounts since Tianbao. Moreover, I only plan to send 50,000 troops. Do you think it can be done, Governor Li?"

Li Sheng pondered for a long time, then shook his head, "To be honest, I don't know!"

Li Ye handed him a gold medal and said calmly: "You go to the Firearms and Gunpowder Bureau tomorrow and stay there for a day. With this gold medal, you can see the most advanced firearms. After you have seen them, you can come back and answer my questions!"

(End of this chapter)