The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 163 Luxurious Explosive Team

Zhu Xiu said that he would help break Zheng County City and kill the traitor Zhao Siwan, but Wang Shou'en snorted and didn't take it to heart, he said a few perfunctory words, let them go to the camp to rest, and then returned to his camp with his generals.

Zhu Xiu didn't explain much. He only said that the next night, the two armies cooperated to break the city and kill the thieves.

Zhao Kuangyin said: "You also saw it outside the city of Zheng County today. The city wall is more than four feet high and is made of rammed earth and masonry. Are you sure your 'shaking thunder' can really explode?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Of course one thunderbolt alone won't work. Multiple blasts together should not be a problem. There are still two days left. Let's take a look around the city and try to find a place with the weakest defense."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and said nothing more.

The Sky Thunder is one of the newly developed firearms that Zhu Xiu has developed over the past half a year. It can be regarded as an enhanced and upgraded version of the Black Fire Thunder.

Zhentian Lei was originally improved by the Jin people on the basis of the "Thunderbolt Cannon" of the Song Army during the later Song and Jin Dynasties. It was made of iron cans, and the ratio and intensity of the gunpowder were further developed.

After more than half a year of development, and thanks to the fact that Wu Dachuan brought back several old craftsmen from Sichuan who knew the techniques for purifying saltpeter and sulfur, through the efforts of many parties, the explosiveness of gunpowder was improved, and Zhentian Lei was initially successfully developed.

Unfortunately, a stable and reliable production process has not yet been formed. After more than half a year of hard work, a total of twelve were built. Two were damaged by moisture during transportation and were discarded. Zhu Xiu brought five with him during his trip to Guanzhong and left the rest in Jingzhou. Leave it to Guan Tieshi for safekeeping.

Firearms are one of the top secrets of the Chang Yi Army. Except for Zhu Xiu, no one has access to the complete production and manufacturing links. Even Shi Kuangwei only knows a rough idea.

However, Lao Shi is not interested in the manufacturing process. He only cares about whether it can be used and whether it is easy to use.

When testing new firearms, Zhao Kuangyin had the honor to observe and became one of the witnesses of the leap-forward development of weapons and equipment in this era.

Zhao Kuangyin had seen Black Fire Thunder in Tianxiong Army, and also knew that Black Fire Thunder was created by Zhu Xiu.

I thought that Zhentian Lei had just changed its name, and its functions would be similar.

Who would have thought that the power would be completely incomparable!

If Black Fire Thunder is a small firecracker, then Zhentian Lei is a "land mine" that bundles a thousand small firecrackers together!
At the Kongtong Mountain Firearms Workshop in Pingliang, Zhao Kuangyin witnessed with his own eyes the tremendous power of thunder that could crack mountains and crack rocks.

He was so frightened that the Taoist priests in several Taoist temples on the mountain moved collectively. Zhu Xiu sent people to send some money and silk as compensation to help them set up temples and preach in other mountains.

During the more than half a year of recuperating in Jingzhou, Zhao Kuangyin felt that he had gained a lot of new insights.

He visited the busy but orderly Yangjinchuan Salt Factory and saw with his own eyes the formation of villages and the rise of new towns in the immigration development zone.

Four main canals and fifteen auxiliary canals have turned tens of thousands of acres of wasteland into paddy fields. Hundreds of rollover trucks operate simultaneously to transport water from Yangjinchuan to any field that needs irrigation.

Because Zhu Xiu led the officials of Jiedu Prefecture to vigorously promote the fertile land law and advocate the intercropping system, Jingzhou's population surged last year, its land increased, and its grain production also surged.

Zhao Kuangyin was entrusted by Zhu Xiu and personally participated in the inventory work at the end of the year.

As of December of the first year of Qianyou, the cultivated land area in Jingzhou reached 28 acres, with a total harvest of nearly 40 shi of millet, wheat, rice, beans, summer and autumn grains!

The average yield per mu is as high as nearly 1.4 shi!
Although Zhao Kuangyin is not involved in production, he still knows basic farming work.

These days, the yield of upper fields in the north ranges from one to two stones per mu, the yields of middle fields range from one to one stone and five per mu, and the yields of lower fields are less than one stone.

Land in the south is usually half a stone or even a stone higher than in the north.

Last year, Jingzhou benefited from water conservancy repairs and the reclamation of cultivated land. The government organized large-scale agricultural reclamation activities and guided the people to carry out fertilization and intercropping. Various measures were taken in parallel to achieve this result.

Due to time constraints, the fertilizer land law has not yet been fully popularized, and the construction of water conservancy facilities is far from reaching the level of benefiting the whole people. Therefore, Zhu Xiu asserted that there is still a lot of room for improvement in Jingzhou's agricultural production.

But the results achieved so far have shocked Zhao Kuangyin.

Kaifeng's agriculture officials should really organize a group to come to Jingzhou to inspect and learn from the experience.

Zhao Kuangyin realized that under the strong unified organization and dispatch of the government, coupled with scientific farming methods, agricultural production could burst out with amazing vitality.

The word "science" was often on Zhu Xiu's lips, and Zhao Kuangyin kept it in mind and often had new insights and understandings of this word.

The imperial court often emphasized that local governments should persuade farmers to teach mulberry, but what should be done and how to form a set of effective methods, Zhao Kuangyin seems to have found the answer in Jingzhou.

No wonder Chai Rong was brooding over Zhu Xiu's departure, and no wonder he had to rush all the way to Jingzhou to bring Zhu Xiu back.

Chai Rong's evaluation of Zhu Xiu was "the most talented person in the world", and Zhao Kuangyin deeply agreed with this.

It's a pity that whenever Zhu Xiu is asked when he will return, this guy always talks about him, using the excuse that his career in Jingzhou is not finished.

Zhu Xiu didn't want to leave, and Zhao Kuangyin was helpless. He couldn't follow Shi Kuangwei's example and take him away by force.

If nothing else, the ultimate bodyguard Shi Xiangwen is a mountain that is difficult to climb.

In front of Shi Xiangwen, Zhao Kuangyin always felt as weak as a little lady.

Originally, Zhao Kuangyin planned to rush back to Kaifeng to return to Chai Rong after he recovered from his injuries.

Later, Li Shouzhen's rebellion broke out and the Guanzhong passage was blocked, making it impossible to go anywhere.

Zhao Kuangyin simply stayed with peace of mind and followed Zhu Xiu around Jingzhou to gain experience and become a tool man. Whenever there was a need, Zhu Xiu would let him take over.

Zhao Kuangyin has a flexible mind, works hard, is willing to learn, and has strong mobility. He is a good material for a tool maker, and Zhu Xiu is very easy to use.

The Beihu Camp was formed by Zhu Xiuxin. It is an independent unit from the Ya Army of the Changyi Army. The soldiers are selected from the best in the Ya Army, and the quality of the individual soldiers is extremely high.

虓, means the roar of a fierce tiger.

The goal of the Weihu Camp was to create an iron army that could specialize in tough tasks and serve as personal bodyguards.

Zhu Xiu invited Zhao Kuangyin to serve as the first commander of the Tiger Camp, and Lao Zhao readily agreed.

Pan Mei and Shi Xiangwen served as deputies.

Zhao Kuangyin also witnessed a set of devil training methods at Weihu Camp, which was also a set of military training methods created by Zhu Xiu.

With Pan Mei and Shi Xiangwen as his martial arts opponents, Zhao Kuangyin felt that his martial arts skills had been greatly improved after half a year.

In short, during his time in Jingzhou, Zhao Kuangyin felt that he had improved and changed from the inside out.

Pan Mei was responsible for the transportation and storage of firearms. After finishing her work, she returned to the tent.

"Is it safe?" Zhu Xiu stood in front of the march map, turned around and said with a smile.

"It's done, don't worry!" Pan Mei picked up the water bag and drank a few sips, wiping her mouth.

Zhu Xiu nodded and asked no more questions.

Pan Mei usually looks carefree, but when doing serious things, he is cautious and attentive. Zhu Xiu is very relieved about him.

Zhu Xiu patted the location of Zheng County on the map: "Zhao Siwan, you are the witness to the first battle of Zhentian Lei!"

Zhao Siwan is not a good person. He is a ruthless person who dares to stab himself in the face with a knife. He is also a villain who eats people's hearts and hearts at every turn.

According to historical records of the Five Dynasties, when Zhao Siwan defeated Yongxing City and was besieged for a year, the city ran out of food, so he ordered the people to be slaughtered for food, starting with the common people.

Zhao Siwan likes to drink with the heart, liver and gallbladder of living people. He firmly believes that as long as he eats the heart, liver and gallbladder of a thousand people, he can become invulnerable and invincible on the battlefield.

When Zhao Siwan was captured and tortured, the people in Guanzhong and even his former subordinates wept with joy and scrambled for his body, taking it back and mincing it into mincemeat to pay homage to the deceased relatives and friends.

For such a vicious person, Zhu Xiu didn't mind tying him with Zhen Tianlei to practice what it meant to be wiped out.

It's just that Zhentian Lei is too precious, and I feel a little reluctant to part with it when I think about it.

Two nights later, at around three o'clock in the morning at the beginning of Yinshi, on a hill near the Wei River in the west of Zheng County, Zhu Xiulun, wearing a large cloak and holding a chicken feather fan, stood with Wang Shou'en, looking at Zheng half a mile away. county seat.Wang Shouen's four thousand soldiers and horses were waiting at the foot of the mountain, ready to raid the county town at any time.

"The section of the Cao River that enters the county town was blocked by Zhao Siwan with dozens of boats, knife nets were set up underwater, and water ghosts were closely monitoring it. You want to send people to sneak into the county town from the Cao River, which is a wishful thinking."

Wang Shouen was wearing a military uniform, and a long-handled machete stood beside him, pouring cold water on him unceremoniously.

Zhu Xiu shook his chicken feather fan lightly and said with a smile: "The king has misunderstood. I didn't say that I wanted to dive into the county."

"Hmph, if you want to sneak attack on this city, what other way is there but the Caohe waterway?" Wang Shouen sneered.

Zhu Xiu glanced at him and pointed his hair fan directly at the city: "Of course we are taking the right path."

Wang Shouen clenched his fists and shouted angrily: "Fart! The city wall is more than four feet high and more than one foot thick. How to cross it? You kid with a yellow mouth, how dare you amuse me here!"

Zhu Xiu curled his lips and said, "Please be patient, Mr. Wang. I have inspected the city for two days. The city wall is indeed tall and thick, making it difficult to attack by force. However, not every section of the city wall is intact. On the side near the West River Bank, there are A ten-foot-long section of the city wall showed obvious signs of repair.

The terrain there is low-lying, close to the river, and when the river floods, the river overflows and pours back, soaking the roots of the walls, and it is very easy to collapse during heavy rain in summer.

As long as this weak point is broken, it is not difficult to enter the county seat. "

Wang Shou'en said: "Even so, how can you destroy this wall?"

Zhu Xiu smiled mysteriously and said slowly: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, just listen."

"Listen to what?"

"Firecrackers!"

"Firecrackers?!" Wang Shouen's face trembled, and he wanted to crush this mysterious brat to death.

Under the darkness, a team of three people avoided the guards on the city, quietly reached the bottom of the city, and quickly arrived at the predetermined location along the base of the wall.

Zhao Kuangyin, Pan Mei, and Shi Xiangwen each carried a thunderbolt, short-handled shovels and fire starters to form the first blasting team in history with extremely high equipment.

After determining the location, the three of them used short-handled shovels to dig blasting points on the city wall, and they were able to insert the Thunderbolt into it.

Zhao Kuangyin and Pan Mei were on the left and right sides, and Shi Xiangwen was tall and in the middle. The three of them excavated in a triangular position.

Shi Xiangwen dug loudly and worked very hard. Pan Mei was startled and whispered: "Keep your voice down, slow down, there is too much noise!"

When Zhu Xiuqian came, he was told to listen to what the two of them said, but Shi Xiangwen said "oh" and slowed down his movements.

Less than half an hour later, the three chisels were dug, and it was almost enough for Zhentian Lei to be stuffed in.

Zhao Kuangyin followed the method taught by Zhu Xiu, first confirming that the length of the fuse was consistent, connecting it to the center and knotting it to ensure that after ignition, the burning speed of each iron can was consistent.

Just to make several fuses with the same burning rate, Zhu Xiu lost a lot of hair.

At night, the wind was a little stronger on the river bank. Shi Xiangwen used his body as a wall to block the wind. Pan Mei took a candle to make a fire and fiddled with it for a long time before lighting it.

Pan Mei was worried that her hands were shaking, so she handed over the responsibility of lighting the fire to Zhao Kuangyin: "Zhao Da'er, come here!"

Since Zhao Kuangyin left the transformation field, Zhao Daer's nickname has also spread.

Pan Mei often teased him about this.

Zhao Kuangyin took the candle and looked towards the dark Caohe River: "Run there later."

Pan Mei and Shi Xiangwen nodded heavily.

Zhao Kuangyin took a deep breath, brought the black smoking candle close to him, and lit the fuse with a crackle.

"Run!" Pan Mei wanted to escape.

Zhao Kuangyin stared closely at the rapidly burning fuse and shouted: "Wait a minute! We must make sure that the thunder can be ignited!"

Shi Xiangwen yawned boredly, his eyelids drooped, his big head kept moving, and he seemed to be dozing off.

Seeing the three fuses burning to the mouth of the iron can almost at the same time, Zhao Kuangyin jumped up and shouted: "Run!"

Pan Mei turned around and ran away, her face turned pale with fright. He was a person who had completely witnessed the birth process of Black Fire Thunder and Zhentian Thunder, and knew how terrifying this kind of magical weapon was.

Shi Xiangwen reacted a little slowly, and it wasn't until Pan Mei turned around and yelled in fear that he ran to follow her.

However, his legs were long enough and his steps were wide enough. He spread his legs and ran, easily jumping to first place.

Seeing that she was lagging behind, Pan Mei's face turned a little pale, and she followed her with all her might.

"Boom!~~"

As soon as I ran to the bank of the Cao River, I heard a loud noise behind me. The ground rumbled and trembled to the soles of my feet. A section of the rammed earth wall five to six feet long collapsed instantly, and dust rose into the sky.

Many rocks and soil were blasted into the sky and scattered to a radius of tens of meters.

Fires lit up one after another in the city, and noises of panic and fear came from all directions. A large number of rebels were swarming in.

Several flat-bottomed cargo ships arrived just in time along the Cao River, and the soldiers of the Leihu Camp quickly landed ashore.

Zhao Kuangyin and three others put on armor and weapons, led their men into the city through the collapsed earth wall, and started fighting around the gap.

On the hill half a mile away, Wang Shouen was stunned by the loud noise, and soon saw the fire gathering in the city, and the shouts of killing came from far away.

Zhu Xiu's palms were filled with sweat as she squeezed the chicken feather fan tightly, and a big stone fell to her heart. It seemed that the demolition team's first mission was successfully completed.

"Your Majesty, if you don't lead your army to break into the city and kill the thieves now, how can we wait?" Zhu Xiu reminded with a smile.

Wang Shouen swallowed in disbelief: "Is he yours?"

Zhu Xiu nodded and said with a smile: "If you have anything to say, it's better to wait until Zhao Siwan is captured."

Wang Shouen took a breath, looked at him deeply, pulled out his sword and roared: "Send my military order, the whole army will attack, and enter the county! Whoever captures Zhao Siwan will receive a reward of one hundred taels!"

After a while, all the soldiers and horses came out from the foot of the mountain, and the rumble of iron hooves went straight towards the county seat.

Zhu Xiu yawned, stretched his waist, returned to the tent and fell asleep peacefully.

Physical work like fighting and killing is not suitable for him, so he might as well recharge his batteries and go to the city tomorrow to check and accept the results.

After a night of melee, Zhao Siwan was defeated. His legs were broken off by Shi Xiangwen with a stick and he was thrown into a prison car.

They also found property worth more than [-] guan from his residence, and Zhu Xiu divided half of it away without ceremony.

Of course Wang Shou'en, who had always been greedy for money, was dissatisfied, but he also knew that the successful annihilation of the Yongxing Army and the capture of the traitor Zhao Siwan was all due to Zhu Xiu's contribution. He had no choice but to endure the heartache like cutting flesh and let Zhu Xiu take away half of the goods.

Zhu Xiu also prepared the military report to be presented to Privy Council Guo. He smiled and showed it to Wang Shouen, asking him to sign and seal it.

Wang Shou'en was not stupid. He knew that Jingzhou had a good harvest last year and had suddenly risen from a poor peasant with no food to eat to a wealthy landlord. He asked Zhu Xiu to sell [-] shi of grain to Chang'an at a fair price before agreeing to sign the military newspaper.

After some bargaining, both sides got what they needed, and everyone was happy. Zhu Xiu divided his troops into half and sent the captured loot back to Chang'an, and asked Yan Ping to escort him back to Jingzhou as soon as possible so that Wang Shou'en would not worry about it.

He and Zhao Kuangyin led the Weihu camp and set off from Zheng County to Puzhou.

(End of this chapter)