Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 631 People Are Different

In a courtyard of the Kaifeng Arts Academy, Ma Daifeng was leading a group of new instructors to watch Fang Chongyong's live demonstration.

Of course, Marshal Fang was just "giving instructions" on the side, and the real hands-on work was done by someone else, also a teacher from the academy. Several people were busy in the huge courtyard.

A man picked up shells from the river and put them into a stone oven to bake.

Someone put dry grass into another stone stove and burned it.

One man was cutting pork fat, another was grinding coarse salt granules.

Next, the shells are pounded into ashes, the wood ash is boiled and filtered in hot water, and finally the shell powder is poured into it, filtered twice and placed in a ceramic bowl.

It is said that this is called "making lye".

Heat the fat in a pan to release the oil, then remove the oil and let it cool.

"Take out the lye solution you made yesterday."

Ma Daifeng greeted him.

According to the "process" given by Fang Chongyong, the alkali solution cannot be used immediately and the impurities need to be fully precipitated.

Soon, a teacher from the academy brought the lye solution prepared yesterday, poured it into the cooled lard, and added the ground coarse salt. After stirring, he put it aside.

After solidification, the white mud-like object is placed into a cylindrical mold.

It needs to be cooled for three days for initial saponification.

Ma Daifeng diligently took out the semi-finished product that he had made three days ago and used today from another cylindrical mold, and cut it into two-finger-wide blocks in public.

"Look, Right Prime Minister, this is the soap you mentioned.

If you add fragrance to the raw materials later, it becomes soap. It is not difficult to make and the materials are easy to obtain. "

He pointed at the yellowish soap in the milky white color and explained to everyone.

This thing gives off an indescribable stench. Calling it soap is a bit like calling a horse a zebra. Calling it stinky soap is more appropriate.

There are many "weird geniuses" gathered in Kaifeng Academy of Arts. Although none of them is proficient in literature, they all have strong hands-on skills.

Fang Chongyong simply mentioned the method of making soap to Ma Daifeng, and the other party consulted with someone in the college and quickly worked out the process.

Semi-finished products are things that have just been made, but in order to become finished products, they need to be left for a month for "full saponification".

Of course, such crude products are not easy to use. If we want to make products that can be sold all over the country, the material ratio should be optimized. At the same time, in order to adapt to the needs of the times, it is also necessary to add Chinese medicine ingredients to some high-end products.

And form soap products for different groups of people.

The rich use expensive and fragrant ones, while those who can't afford it use cheap and smelly ones. If you want to treat diseases, you can also use those with medicinal materials added.

Different types of soap can be used for washing the body and washing clothes, but that’s another story.

But in general, the technical content of this thing is very low, and the difficulty of making it is not worth mentioning. Shells are used to save costs, and lime can also be used instead in mass production.

I'm afraid the only thing that limits production is pig fat, which cannot be replaced.

"The first research project of Kaifeng Arts Academy was this soap.

The basic production method is very simple, but there are many steps that can be improved.

This thing is very useful in the army, especially for cleaning wounds. It can also cure diseases and save lives.

Everyone, please cheer up. Anyone who contributes to this, whether it is the dean or the teacher, regardless of their background, will be rewarded handsomely.

Reward according to merit, no other questions asked!"

Fang Zhongyong shouted excitedly.

The audience burst into applause! For many years, no one present had been treated like this. It was good enough not to be ordered around by others.

Not only did Fang Chongyong open a martial arts academy, he also introduced the "project research and development" system, the "standardization and improvement" system, and the "project management" system.

The regulations clearly state why we need to carry out "research and development", what to develop, who will be responsible and how to be responsible, where the research and development funds will come from, how the money should be used, and how much benefits the participants will get after the project is completed.

In other words, the "college" is not just about teaching students, it also needs to carry out "project research and development", and the latter may even be its main business.

To put it simply, the current situation is that Fang Zhongyong proposed some ideas to Ma Daifeng, and the latter discussed with the teachers in the academy whether this thing could be done.

If it can be done, for example, something like soap that can be used directly, or something like "heat-resistant glass" that is possible to achieve but there is no way to do it yet, we can start the project.

Once soap is developed, it can be quickly turned into a commodity and sold, generating wealth to support the development of other projects.

Other projects can be launched according to actual conditions, and we can also recruit people with expertise in various states according to project requirements.

As to whether this is a waste of time or will benefit the country, that depends on one's own opinion.

Anyway, Fang Chongyong is the right prime minister. As long as he doesn't depose the emperor, no one will stop him from doing these things now, and no one can stop him.

After the unique performance show, Fang Zhongyong pulled Ma Daifeng aside, and the two went to Ma Daifeng's study to discuss important matters.

"To the north of Ye County, Ruzhou, and to the southwest of Xiangcheng, Xuzhou, there is a mountain called Pingding Mountain, also known as Qingyun Mountain.

There is coal in the mountains, and the people around can pick it up and use it to make fire, cook, and keep warm in winter.

After the affairs of the Art Academy are settled, send a few people who know how to look for minerals to go to Pingding Mountain to have a look."

Fang Zhongyong said with a serious expression.

"Coal?"

Ma Daifeng was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Although he didn't understand why Fang Chongyong was so eager to find coal, it was certain that coal was not a rare thing.

"Don't worry, as long as you work hard for me, you can change your name in the future."

Fang Zhongyong patted Ma Daifeng's shoulder meaningfully and said.

"change name?"

Ma Daifeng asked doubtfully, he had not yet followed Fang Zhongyong's train of thought.

"Ma Daifeng, I always feel that my ambitions are unfulfilled. When you become successful and famous, you should change your name to Ma Yaozu, right?"

Fang Zhongyong couldn't help but tease.

"Ah? Hahahaha, yes, yes, thank you, Right Prime Minister, for your kind words. If I can show my talents in the future, I will definitely change my name to Ma Yaozu."

Ma Daifeng laughed loudly, feeling as if he had eaten honey.

……

When the war broke out along the Huai River, the situation around Yecheng north of the Yellow River was also not peaceful.

Shi Siming personally led an army of 50,000 and stationed them in Yaocheng, east of Yecheng, and Tangyin, south of Yecheng. The two armies joined forces, like a pair of iron pliers, tightly clamping Yecheng!
Tangyin is the gateway to Weizhou. Shi Siming's intention is very clear. After killing Li Guiren, the defenders of Weizhou will surrender without a fight.

Moreover, stationing a troop in Tangyin could block the so-called "reinforcements" coming from the south.

Shi Siming's move showed his ability in commanding troops. He did not rush to send out all his troops to surround Yecheng. Instead, he first occupied the surrounding cities and then built camps to reduce the living space of Li Guiren's troops.

The beauty of this deployment lies in the fact that if others want to rescue, they cannot take advantage of it and still have to fight Shi Siming with real swords and guns.

Li Guiren had no way to deal with Shi Siming's rigorous fighting style. Several times, she took advantage of the night to send troops to attack the camps of Shi Siming's army around Yecheng, but she always won first and then lost, and finally retreated back to the city in disgrace.

After several attempts, Li Guiren also lay down.

Moreover, whether it was Li Baochen or Fang Chongyong, they didn't see any of their so-called "reinforcements".

That night, Shi Siming suddenly received a letter from Liu Longxian, a close confidant of Li Guiren. In the letter, Liu Longxian described the chaos in Yecheng to Shi Siming, saying that it was almost impossible to defend it for a day.

He also said that Li Guiren is now "in a state of constant fear and anxiety."

He doesn't want to follow this person into the end, he just wants to make progress! Please ask Shi Siming to take him in!

Liu Xianlong agreed that in the next few days, he was not sure which day it would be, but it would definitely be at night. He would set fire near the east gate of Yecheng and then open the city gate. Once the fire started, Shi Siming could send troops into the city and it would definitely work!

After receiving the letter, Shi Siming called General Ping Lie to discuss countermeasures.

"Liu Longxian, are you trying to deceive me?"

Shi Siming asked with some doubt.

In fact, he was already certain in his heart that Liu Longxian would not play any tricks, but he still hoped that someone could "persuade" him.

"Your Majesty, this matter is not difficult to decide. Why not agree to it first? When the time comes, send a brave general to test Liu Longxian's plan, right?

Yecheng is under siege, with no reinforcements from outside and no food from inside. Even if Liu Longxian comes up with some tricks, even if he succeeds, what good will it do? "

Ping Lie said something fair.

Although we cannot rule out the possibility that Liu Longxian played tricks, common sense says that the possibility is too small. Even if he played tricks, he was just courting death and would be hanged on the flagpole by Shi Siming in the future.

"It makes sense."

Shi Siming nodded. In fact, he thought so too. From Liu Longxian's perspective, even if he really won by tricking others, it would be like a wild dog biting Shi Siming. It couldn't kill him, so why bother struggling like this?
"Your Majesty, who do you think would be a better person to send?"

Ping Lie saluted Shi Siming and asked. In his opinion, this matter was just a small matter and he could just deal with it.

"I will lead the troops myself this time."

Shi Siming clenched his fists and said this with full confidence.

After hearing this, Ping Lie didn't know what to say for a moment.

If someone else did this, it would not matter to Shi Siming at all.

Anyway, even if there was an accident, he wouldn't be the one to die. Even if there were losses, it wouldn't be many soldiers and horses, two or three thousand at most.

But if Shi Siming personally led his troops to attack Yecheng at night, the result would be... hard to say.

"Your Majesty, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. It is too risky for you to lead the troops to attack at night."

Ping Lie quickly dissuaded him.

"I have ascended the throne and proclaimed myself emperor. Some of my people may not be convinced and their hearts may not be in harmony. If I hide behind every battle, people will look down on me.

How can I not go for such a good opportunity now? "

Shi Siming stated his reasons.

In his opinion, not going would be a sure thing.

The situation of Shi Siming, Fang Chongyong, and Li Baochen was different. Although they supported puppets to take the throne, they were also "legitimate", and ordinary people could not say anything wrong, because after all, the emperor was still a member of the Li Tang royal family.

The country's name remained "Tang".

But Shi Siming proclaimed himself emperor and founded the "Great Yan"
He himself had to use military exploits to establish his legitimacy. In Youzhou and other places, there were many people who privately disobeyed Shi Siming.

If key battles are left in the hands of others, there is a high probability that control of the army will be gradually lost.

No one outside knew about Liu Longxian's surrender. If Shi Siming took advantage of this opportunity to defeat Li Guiren, he could greatly increase the cohesion of his army!
And establish your own prestige.

Since ancient times, an emperor who is able to fight and knows how to fight a war can quickly consolidate his base even if he takes over halfway.

The most obvious example is Guo Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty in the Five Dynasties. He was the nephew of Guo Wei's wife. He came to power suddenly and had few confidants, causing internal turmoil.

Then, Guo Rong defeated the Northern Han and Khitan coalition forces with his command in the Battle of Gaoping, and quickly wiped out the dissatisfaction in the army! He established his prestige.

Until his death.

Although Shi Siming could not have known what would happen a hundred years later, nor could he have known Guo Rong, the situation he faced was the same.

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. I don't know how to persuade you."

Ping Lie sighed and said.

In this situation, if he continues to persuade her, it would seem that he has ulterior motives.

Shi Siming was like this. If he trusted someone, he would trust him very much until something happened that made him suspicious.

From then on, he would never trust that person again.

"Don't worry. If Liu Longxian dares to play tricks, I will chop him into eight pieces!"

Shi Siming sneered.

Ping Lie then said many good things to the person who delivered the letter, and asked him to go back and inform Liu Longxian that he would be rewarded handsomely after the task was accomplished.

After that, the battle was calm. It was unknown whether Liu Longxian had not found an opportunity. For three or four days, there was no movement in Yecheng. This made Shi Siming believe that the other party just could not find an opportunity to take action temporarily and should still want to surrender.

His confidence grew.

It was not until the fifth night that scouts came to report that the east gate of Yecheng was on fire!

So Shi Siming led three thousand elite cavalry, took advantage of the night, lowered his flags and drums, and quietly arrived at the east gate of Yecheng without lighting torches.

Sure enough, as Liu Xianlong agreed, the city gates were wide open, there were shouts and screams in the city, and flames shot up into the sky!

If this is also acting, then isn't the investment Li Guiren made a bit too big?

Shi Siming felt confused.

Because of such a large fire, it is easy to burn down all the houses in the east of the city. If the fire cannot be controlled, it is even possible to burn down the city gate. In such a chaotic situation, a false surrender may turn into a real destruction of the city.

If this is really a trick, how will Li Guiren defend the city in the future? This situation is a bit like cutting off one's own arm when killing the enemy.

A strange thought flashed through his mind, and Shi Siming shouted:

"kill!"

He rushed into the east gate of Yecheng first, followed closely by his personal guards, like a black whirlwind, sweeping away everything.

Shi Siming was well versed in the art of surprise attack and did not even give the order to light torches.

Anyway, we just need to rush to where there is fire. As long as we tear open a hole, the army behind us can rush in. As for the agreement with Liu Longxian, hehe, Liu just needs to pray that he will not die in the chaos, and we can talk about everything after dawn.

Only when you are alive can you negotiate. If you are dead, just lie down on the ground and don't move.

Shi Siming sneered in his heart.

He did promise Liu Longxian wealth, glory and high official position with generous salary.

However, he did not guarantee to the other party that he would not die in the chaos of the battle.

Swords and knives have no eyes. If you are not careful, you will suffer more than just "regret".

Shi Siming killed the guards at the city gate, without caring whether these people were Liu Longxian's confidants.

Just as he led his troops to rush towards the government office in the city, he saw elite soldiers in armor with torches and long and short spears in hand on all sides.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Shi Siming's survival instinct, which he had honed on the battlefield, erupted at this moment.

There seemed to be a voice in his head saying: Run, run!
He immediately turned his horse around, only to find that there were also enemy infantrymen with torches behind the team! They were so densely packed that there was no end in sight!
I only brought three thousand soldiers with me, and some of them were still outside the city and hadn't come in!
My life is over!

Shi Siming sighed inwardly.

At this critical moment, a soldier beside him pointed at the city wall not far away and shouted, "General, quickly climb the city wall! Go up to the city wall first and hold it! There are soldiers outside the city!"

A word to wake up the dreamer!

When they say there is no road, they only mean there is no road back to the city gate. But there are still ways to get up to the city wall, and there are quite a few of them!

"Follow me to the wall!"

Shi Siming shouted, dismounted, and headed straight for a path. Between the gaps in the houses, he seemed to see the stairs leading to the top of the city wall!
(End of this chapter)