Ping An Biography

In the afternoon, Zhang Ning specially asked Zhu Heng to accompany the artillery test in the school field outside the city.The scene was actually very boring, and it took half a day to fire a cannon. After the shooting, people from the Weapons Bureau had to check and record various conditions, mainly scrapping some artillery that had internal damage to the barrel wall after the filling test.So Zhang Ning and others looked at it for a while, and then went to the tower of Beicheng.

Cannons are still ringing occasionally, because this happens from time to time, the officials and people in Changde City seem to have gotten used to it, and the people on the street are still busy with their own things from the tower.Looking at the flow of people, you can imagine that when people meet and greet each other, they may say, "It's firing again." "Yeah, or is it thunder?"

The artillery currently being tested is neither a siege mortar nor a light blunderbuss, but a long-barreled field cannon weighing more than a thousand catties; Compared with the Tianzihao General who was supervised in the last period.

Field cannons mainly fire solid bullets, and can also be loaded with loose and explosive bullets. The weight of solid bullets is between three and a half to four kilograms; as the use time increases, the diameter of the shells must also increase, because the barrel It will expand and grow bigger and bigger.The current batch of artillery is the finished product after many experiments and modifications. At first, because of the consideration of the cost budget, the Weapons Bureau used iron casting according to Zhang Ning's intention. Unexpectedly, the scrap rate was extremely high. It is bulky and difficult to use, and the cost may not be reduced much; later, the iron body copper core casting method was improved, and the hollow cooling technology was used, which improved the performance of the first long-barreled gun equipped by the Suzaku Army.

Its maximum shooting range exceeds two miles, and its effective flat shooting range is about one and a half miles.This kind of heavy weapon mainly used in field battles is completely different from mortar projectiles. The length of the gun body is twenty times the caliber, and the shell has extremely high initial velocity and penetrating power.Its attack method is mainly to bounce on the hard ground, and there is no pressure to penetrate an infantry phalanx. It is not an exaggeration to write "one cannon destroys hundreds of steps" in official documents.

Zhang Ning believes that he owns the weapons with absolute advantages in this era. There is a difference between the long-barreled heavy artillery and the rough cast artillery used by the Ming army. The barrel casting and inner bore grinding technology is not something that other companies can possess in a short time.

What he wants now is a group of young military officers who can read, read, understand techniques and tactics, and are motivated. However, it is difficult to attract enough talents in the territory he currently occupies. Looking at the way of the imperial examination, there are very few people who are willing to follow him as a rebel; only those bankrupts and refugees are the easiest to get, but they are really unusable, most of them are malnourished and weak, even ordinary soldiers are not good qualified.

Zhang Ning watched the city under his feet silently. The buildings, courtyards, rivers, bridges and the people in between were all under his power.All of a sudden, he felt that he was a king, and he could do whatever he wanted in his territory, and he could change what he wanted, create what he wanted, and destroy what he wanted.

Zhu Heng, who was accompanying him, faintly sensed ambition from his eyes.

At this moment, Zhang Ning turned his head and asked Zhu Heng: "How do you judge the best time to attack the South Route Army as Zhu Butang said in the official office in the morning?"

The government's heavy troops assembled in various places in Huguang have made Zhang Ning like a man on his back. Those people want to destroy everything he has obtained, and Zhang Ning also wants to destroy it in his dreams.Now that he saw all the power of his army and artillery, he had long been looking forward to that day.

Zhu Heng replied: "The Changsha Prefecture is located east of the Xiangshui River. The wide surface of the Xiangshui River is not conducive to crossing the Xiangshui River. We must wait for the South Route Army of Changsha Prefecture to cross the Xiangshui River before making any moves. Before that, we must not reveal our intentions. And near the Xiangshui River The water network is interlaced and the terrain is complex, which affects the speed of the raid march. The best time is when the South Route Army has completely left the Xiangshui River Basin and is about to advance to Chenzhou. To destroy this army, as long as it is defeated so that it cannot enter the battlefield in a short period of time, our goal has been achieved."

Zhang Ning has not yet fully agreed with this plan, but the situation is compelling, and I am afraid that there is no better way.He couldn't help but see Yu Qian's face in his mind, it was like a few years ago, maybe it has changed a little now that he is a little older.What would Huguang Governor Yu Qian think?

In the thinking of the previous life, Yu Qian was a more famous figure than the current emperor, so Zhang Ning never had the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy... In the past, Zhang Ning hardly knew the Xuande emperor, only a Xuande furnace seemed to have heard of it However, perhaps it was because there were no major events in the Xuande dynasty in history, so that the emperor was not famous; it was only now that Zhang Ning realized that the ability of this unknown emperor seemed to be less than that of the famous Yu Qian.

It seems that Yu Qian is not yet 30 years old, and he has reached the level of minister and governor. He is not the second generation of royal relatives and nobles.

Zhang Ning pondered for a long time, and then said: "Perhaps the government can judge that we will not divide our troops to resist the enemy. If they want to take Chenzhou in vain, they will first let the North Route Army put enough pressure on us, restrain the main force, and then transfer the South Route Army. Go west."

Zhu Hengdao: "What the lord said is very true, but the attack from Changsha is more than 600 miles away, and the army must be deployed in advance, and the north and south will attack together. If we have to wait for the northern army to fight us, the southern route will start. Mobilization, that time is too late, it is equivalent to the North Route Army fighting us alone, the South Route Army has hardly played a role in this battle, it is like wasting troops. We don't need to wait for the South Route Army to enter Chenzhou before doing it, as long as they After leaving Changsha Mansion, we sent our troops south."

Zhang Ning nodded slightly: "For the time being, I will prepare this plan, and then I will observe the news from various scouts and make plans if the situation changes."

The two talked for a while in the city tower, and before the time was up, Zhang Ning had to go home early, because today was another good day for him to marry Wen Jun from the Xu family.There is a reason why he is still dealing with official business on such a day, because the custom is that there is no need to hold a ceremony in addition to the big wedding, and it is generally not allowed to entertain guests with great fanfare; Relatives and friends come for a happy event, and there are too few gifts, so how can everyone bear it?Therefore, everyone can only have a big wedding once in a lifetime. If there is already a wedding, even if it is a second marriage, you have to keep a low profile. At worst, you can call on your friends to congratulate you after you are married.

In fact, it is not a big deal for ordinary people to take concubines. The difference between concubines and maids is not very big. They can be bought and sold, and they have no legal status at all.However, since Zhang Ning is the king of Hunan officially conferred by Emperor Jianwen, there is a big difference between the second concubine and the concubine of ordinary people; Places are useful.

In the eyes of the world, nobles like emperors and princes seem to have three heads and six arms, which cannot be judged by common sense. It is very reasonable for a prince to have a main concubine and several secondary concubines.The concubines other than the main concubine have status and are respected, just like the noble concubines and various concubines in the palace are not as noble as the queen, so Lao Xu's status will be improved; otherwise, his granddaughter is just a dignitary. The words of the concubine are not good.

After Zhang Ning returned home, he remembered something. Not long ago, someone from the Demonic Sect mentioned to him that Lao Xu seemed to have contacts with women in the city.However, Zhang Ning feels at ease. When Zhang Ning was an official, Lao Xu once followed the leader who had been a secret agent, and now he is in charge of the newly established Guard Bureau, which is all secret agents. He is not so easy to be fooled. of.

Perhaps Lao Xu felt that now that he is developed, it is a pity that he has no descendants, and his granddaughter cannot inherit the incense of the Xu family, so what are his thoughts?I don't know if he still has that ability.

Zhang Ning doesn't have the heart to ask his subordinates about these stupid things now. People of Lao Xu's age have nothing to look forward to, and it's good to have a little wish.Once again, he felt that it was right to hand over the heavy power to Zhu Heng, as Old Xu simply couldn't take on such a heavy responsibility.

There was no atmosphere in the garden, but the servants and maids put on red festive clothes, showing that today is a special day.Zhang Ning went to Yao Ji's place first.

Yao Ji was drinking tea in a ventilated open pavilion. The tea she drank was not brewed from tea leaves. The water was white and clear with a fragrance.After meeting, she gently reminded her: "Don't see Er Niang today, she came to say hello in the morning, and I said something to her, it probably worked."

Zhang Ning said politely: "Fortunately, there is a concubine mother who takes care of the family affairs."

This place is very quiet, as if she is outside the world, Yao Ji's expression is also leisurely and calm, her movements to take the exquisite cup on the stone table are elegant and gentle, which is pleasing to the eye.Unexpectedly, at this moment, a rumble of cannons in the distance broke the atmosphere here. It was the sound of cannon tests on the school field outside the city, and it didn't stop completely all day long.

Zhang Ning said casually: "The weapon department is testing the cannon, I'm afraid it disturbed the mood of the mother and concubine."

Yao Ji smiled lightly, shook her head again, and said nothing.After a while, she put down the cup, only to see a trace of red lip marks on the edge of the white jade-like container. "There are 8 people who came back to attack us. Is there really a chance of winning?"

Zhang Ning said: "The sound of the cannon you heard just now, that kind of cannon is more powerful than the largest artillery made by the government and the army. In addition, we also have matchlock guns, mortars, and mother and child guns. Zhu Butang also In conclusion, the 1-man Suzaku army can face off against 3 officers and men in battle. We are planning this battle. The situation is not too pessimistic, and there is a chance. Mother and concubine, don’t worry, I will definitely try my best to win this battle important battle."

"Whether it's good or bad, I can only rely on you." Yao Ji sighed softly, and after a while she said, "But I just want to ask you one thing now, the captured Jin Yiwei said that our firearms may be learned from the sea. , but I am clear, apart from the crown prince, even you have no access on the sea road, how did you make it?"