Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 404 Long Halberd 30 (3)

After resigning from the teacher, Jia Yuanzhen said in a gloomy way: "If you can't do it, you can't do it. It's really shameful."

All the Tai students looked ashamed. In the silence, Ma Yuan suddenly sighed: "It is better to be a centurion than a scholar. It seems that Mr. Yuan Zhi is the director of military affairs, but it is a pity that he has no chance to ask him." Ask for advice." Deng Su paid more attention to classics, although he was kind to his students, he didn't want them to be distracted.These imperial students are all in their early twenties. In order to seek fame and fame, they had to self-imprison themselves in the small world of Bianliang Imperial Academy.The exotic customs and customs, and the life of gold and iron horses are all very fascinating.

Yu Chicheng nodded and said: "Every time I read Mr. Zhao's words, I wish I could give up my life for righteousness, but Liaodong killed all the barbarians." Wu Jinxian pushed his shoulder and laughed: "Stupid, the Liao army has already drunk the Yellow River, Why go to Liaodong to kill Hulu. Let’s go to the shooting range to practice arrows. It’s a pity that we can’t find horses to practice riding.” He turned to Liu Wengu and Jia Yuanzhen and said, “Jingshan, Shiju, can you spoil the fun?”

The two waved their hands almost at the same time, Liu Wengu shied away and said: "Mr. Zhu Damu's new article has not been read thoroughly, you go first." Jia Yuanzhen also shook his head, thinking in his heart, civil and military have different ways, and fighting is a matter for the forbidden army. If it goes on like this, Xiadu Qiuwei will lose his name again.

In Li's residence, Mrs. Wang packed his son's luggage in tears.Li Ruoxu, the number one scholar in the new department, was awarded the editorship of the eight-rank Hanlin Academy, but he was sent to the Daming Mansion with Qin Hui, the political adviser, to supervise and coordinate the generals in Hebei to defend against the enemy.Mrs. Wang didn't say anything, but she felt a little sad in her heart.He both complained about his son's generous invitation, and blamed the master for not being able to dissuade him.Everyone knows that the army in Hebei is in chaos, and there are rumors in the capital that Wang Yan and the Liao army secretly colluded to lure the enemy into the invaders. Wouldn't Li Ruoxu's going be like a sheep in the mouth of a tiger?

In the flower hall in the backyard, Li Ruoxu stood at the bottom. He was 27 years old this year, and his demeanor was much calmer than when Zhao Xingde left Bianliang, but compared with Li Ruobing, he still retained a strong bookish air.The youngest brother was about to go to Hebei, so Li Ruobing gave him a treasured short fire blunderbuss for self-defense.This was specially entrusted by Li Sihai, who had befriended Qiongzhou, as a gift.

"Brother Wei has tried it myself. Although this short gun is small, it is quick to see the opportunity. The trigger can fire instantly, and its power can penetrate leather armor. It is a sharp weapon for self-defense." Li Ruobing glanced into the distance and sighed, " It's a pity that automatic firearms are not easy to manufacture, and the price is extremely expensive. If everyone in my court can be equipped with automatic firearms and fire instantly, the barbarian cavalry will be even less fearful." Back to Bianliang Afterwards, Li Ruobing specifically inquired that the price of this kind of automatic fire blunderbuss was astonishingly high. The price of a single blunderbuss was enough to buy a few good horses, so he gave up and asked to change clothes for the Forbidden Army blunderbuss hand. The idea of ​​​​from the firearms.

Now that Hebei is in ruins, and the Liao army is drinking horses in the Yellow River. Hearing that this weapon is so sharp, Li Gefei also became interested. He picked up the firecracker, inspected it repeatedly, and even put his eyes on the barrel to see the mechanism inside.Even though he knew that the barrel of the gun was empty, Li Ruobing's hairs suddenly rose from fright.

"Brother Wen," Chao Buzhi said with a smile, "automatic firecrackers are very easy to go off, and the muzzle of the cannon must not be pointed at people casually, let alone at yourself." He has been throwing idle in the Imperial Academy for the past ten years. Slightly aged, with star frost on the temples.When he saw Li Ruobing taking out the short-fired blunderbuss, he was amazed and wondered to himself which son from a noble family in Kansai would give such a precious gift to him.Although he was puzzled, he didn't show it on his face, and planned to find an opportunity to ask Li Ruobing.

"Brother Wujiu has seen this thing before?" Li Gefei didn't think it was wrong, he handed the short gun to Chao Buzhi to look at it naturally, and said with a frown: "This fire gun is so short, even if we use more refined iron, it will still be fine." It shouldn't cost much money, right?" According to his thinking, now that the Liao army is overwhelming the border, if this short gun is useful, it should be imitated to help expel the Hulu.

Chao Buzhi didn't answer. He looked at the structure of the firecracker skillfully. It seemed that the pattern was more exquisite than what he saw in Xia Kingdom before, but the main structure remained unchanged. He handed the firecracker to Li Ruoxu before he sighed: "Uncle Wen, the cost of this short gun is extremely expensive, not because of the materials, but because the craftsman is rare. The wages of a good craftsman are worth hundreds of craftsmen. Self-operated muskets require the careful manufacture of high-level craftsmen, and Among the ten finished products, not one may be really reliable. As I said, those unreliable bolts either cannot be fired, or are too easy to go off, so they are unusable. When I first entered the Imperial Academy At that time, I also wanted to imitate this object, but after many failures, I also made a handle, and the money spent was more expensive than buying it in Kansai."

"So that's how it is," Li Gefei nodded, "In this case, it's not as good as a crossbow." He handed the gun to Li Ruoxu, and said, "This self-defense thing should be put away carefully, and it will not be used when there is nothing to do." Take it out to show off." If it can't be mass-produced, it's nothing more than a treasure.

"Brother Wen's words are wrong," Chao Buzhi said, shaking his head. "The crossbow machine has been in the world for at least 2000 years. It has been improved by generations of skilled craftsmen, and its potential has been tapped to exhaustion. The self-operated musket machine has only been born for a few decades. Compared with the crossbow, this gun is like a baby compared to a strong man. Although the strength of this baby is not as strong as a strong man, but as long as it is carefully cultivated, it can continue to grow. Maybe one day, it will far surpass this strong man But no matter what, the strength of a strong man is impossible to increase much." He sighed with some regrets, when he tried to imitate the self-loading short gun in the workshop of the Imperial Academy, Du Zhilang claimed that it was extravagant For impeachment, the court is not allowed to do it early, and it cannot be done by itself, so the matter has to be abandoned halfway.

"Well, the truth is good," Li Gefei shook his head and said, "but far away water can't quench the near thirst. Ruobing has been sent to the Northern Dynasty, can he have a winning strategy?"

Li Ruobing murmured: "Northern Dynasty's policies for governing the country are all eager for quick success and quick benefit. Although it is inevitable that it will be a disaster for future generations, it has squeezed out the strength of the army and the people in the shortest possible time. In my opinion, as long as our dynasty and Xia Guo Shut up and cut off trade with the Liao Kingdom. Within a few years, if there is a slight natural disaster, the Liao Kingdom will be in chaos. However, the Liao Kingdom destroyed the Jurchens last year. Although Yelu Dashi is aggressive, his morale is now high, and he will go south immediately Invading me is extremely difficult to deal with." He recalled that when he was an envoy to the Jurchen country in the past, he saw elite soldiers and generals, all of them were extremely sturdy, and he did not expect that Yelu Dashi could be wiped out with one blow, and it was shocking to think about it. "Although Yelu Dashi is a hero, there are few people in Khitan, and there is a shortage of food and wages. As long as the court does not "disturb" the situation, the Liao army will not last long. Wang Yan and other generals in Hebei will disturb their rear. At that time, Wang Shi will be able to take advantage of the situation and make a northern expedition. , Li Ting to sweep the 'caves', and regain Youyan." Li Ruobing paused, as if he felt that the words were too full, and then said, "I am also talking about wars on paper. Yuan Zhi fought against the Liao army many times, and Nanshan City even fought thousands of times. With all the forces defeating a hundred thousand Liao troops, if we say that we can defeat the enemy and win the battle, he has ten times the strategy in his chest."

When Zhao Xingde was mentioned, everyone fell silent.Li Ruobing ran into Zhao Xingde in Liaodong, and secretly reported it to his father, and Li Gefei also told Chao Buzhi.Zhao De's name is well-known in Liaodong, but it is rarely known in Song Dynasty.Li Ruoxu asked: "Besides Hejian City, has my brother-in-law fought against the Liao army?" He said excitedly, "His archery skills are superb, so he must be a brave general like Li Guang. Why don't I know?" Li Gefei glanced at him, did not answer, and said solemnly: "This matter must not be spread." Li Ruoxu nodded in agreement, but looked at Li Ruobing with curiosity in his eyes.Li Ruobing sighed inwardly, since the revelation of the big case and the escape of his sister and brother-in-law, this little brother seems to have suddenly enlightened, knowing how to study hard, but his personality is getting duller and duller, it is rare to see him as curious as a young man side.

However, Zhao Xingde's identity is secret, and dry cleaning is not trivial.No matter how Li Ruoxu pleaded, Li Ruobing also hardened his heart and did not say the word 'reveal', only saying that he will know when the time comes.Li Ruoxu went back to the study unhappily. Although Zhao Xingde's time in Bianliang was short, the two got along very well, which left a deep impression on Li Ruoxu.After this brother-in-law escaped from Bianliang, he became a mysterious figure, arousing curiosity.Every time his article comes out, Li Ruoxu will read it immediately.Although Li Ruobing didn't reveal it, but thinking of Li Ruobing's original errands and the contents of the article, Li Ruoxu also guessed some of the truth.He forced himself to suppress the excitement in his heart, returned to the study, and just now couldn't help shouting: "A man should throw his pen into the army. The ancients will not deceive me!"

He walked around the room excitedly, then stopped suddenly, looked at the corner of the room in surprise, and said in embarrassment: "Brother Zhu, why are you here?" Not realizing it was funny, he put a bundle on the table and said with a smile: "The treasured sword is given to the hero. Brother Li followed Qin Xianggong to the Daming Mansion, and he didn't have to go into battle. It's just that the battle is fierce and the sword has no eyes. Armor." After speaking, he untied the burden, and it turned out to be an extremely rare pair of wire chain mail.

Zhu Zhennai is the fourth son of Zhu Bona, the military governor of Wuchang, and the younger brother of Empress Zhu at the time. Back then, Li Ruobing and Zhu Ying often met each other during the Shangyuan and Qingming Festivals. The marriage of the two was not harmonious, but the friendship between the two partners did not fade.Although Zhu Bona is a military general, he respects literary affairs very much. He not only invites famous teachers, but also raises his son Zhu Sen to become a famous Confucian scholar. As a running dog, make friends with young talents like Li Ruoxu more often.

"Brother Zhu, this gift of yours is too precious." Li Ruoxu stroked the chain mail and sighed. He was fortunate to have seen a lot of armor with Chao Buzhi and Li Ruobing, and he was not ignorant of treasures. This kind of chain mail is very expensive, and it is usually worn by generals under their robes to prevent assassins in the army.

"If I tell you, I'll give it to you. Why are you shivering?" Zhu Zhenhun said indifferently, "Since this chain mail was in the hands of my grandfather, it has never been on the battlefield again. If it is passed on for a few generations, it will probably rust. It's gone." After speaking, there was a hint of loneliness in his words.Emperor Taizu Taizong collected the elites from all over the world to form the Imperial Army, and selected the elites of the Imperial Army to form the Imperial Squad. Each generation specially selected tall and tall women to match them, so that they could defend the royal family from generation to generation.However, after these fierce generals and elite soldiers, they are like soft steel armor hidden deep in the palace. It is rare to go to the battlefield, and it gradually wears away and rusts.