warring states careerist

Chapter 281

Harvest wheat in May, sow in summer in June.

In the past two months, they have to be busy collecting food taxes, organizing farming, etc., and the time for the Mo family gathering was postponed to August.

It's not just a matter of being busy, the senior officials within the Mohist School are also arguing about the way forward, and try to clarify the problem as much as possible.

When July came, the situation in the world had begun to become clear, and the cloud of war finally dropped the first raindrop on the Central Plains.

In the fifth month, the men of Zheng besieged Yuguan, and Lord Yangcheng defended Yuguan to the death. When the reinforcements from Chu arrived, they fought against the men of Zheng, but were defeated.

Lord Yangcheng escaped by bicycle, and the Chu people were defeated. Jing Jia and Shu, two important officials of Chu, died in battle among the rebellious army, and were cut off by the Zheng people. Yang's defenses were completely disintegrated.

At the same time, Si Ziyang, who is in charge of Zheng State, announced that he would not recognize the legitimacy of Chu King Xiongyi at this time, believing that Prince Dingcai really has the right to inherit.

That month, Wei and South Korea also came forward to say that they did not recognize the legitimacy of the King of Chu, and that Wei, Han, and Zheng would unite and become princes.

Zhao Guo expressed verbal support, but did not send troops. Wei Guo had no choice but to stop pursuing Zhao people to send troops due to time constraints: Zhao Guo did not get any benefits after the alignment war, and Chu State could not threaten Zhao State at all. The difficulty of sending troops to Chu is already infinite.

The next month, King Qin visited Chongquan in person, mobilized the soldiers of Qin, vowed to take back Xihe, and at the same time expressed his support for the rationality of King Chu's throne.

Wei Xihe guarded Wu Qi and was ready to fight the Qin people.

While the Tian family in charge of the state of Qi expressed neutrality, they immediately sent envoys to the state of Chu to express their support for the succession of the king of Chu, Xiong Yi, to the throne. For other reasons, troops cannot be dispatched.

The State of Song stated that this incident had nothing to do with the State of Song. The Inquiry Council ordered Yin Huangfu Zang to declare the State of Song neutral, and refused to send troops to help the Wei, Han and Zheng coalition forces, and also refused to help the people of Chu, and strictly prohibited the warring countries from borrowing roads from the land of the State of Song. ...Of course, it is impossible for the warring countries to borrow roads from Song State, because the main battlefield has only two directions: Wuyang Daliang, and Luguan Fangcheng.

The interior of Chu State seems to be relatively stable for the time being, but in fact, there are undercurrents surging.

The prince must dare to go to Zheng, which means that there are enough supporters in the country, and Chu Wang Xiongyi is also very clear, and understands that those nobles who oppose his accession to the throne are still dormant. As long as the Chu master is defeated, they will immediately rebel.

The few important lords who really supported his ascension to the throne included Duke Luyang, Lord Pingye, Lord Yangcheng, and Lord Shaoliang. The king of Chu could only appease but dare not use the remaining lords.

On the one hand, he sent people to Sanjin to explain the rule of "wearing mourning without cutting down", on the other hand, he organized the defense of Fangcheng Luyang and other Chu Great Walls. As long as they are stuck here, the essence of Chu is still there.

In the direction of Chen Cai, the county magistrate there did not support his ascension to the throne at all. They have always been on good terms with the prince, and this time the assassination of the king of Chu also has an unclear relationship with them.

In the direction of Wuyang and Daliang, the king of Chu has decided to hand over the overall defense to Lord Yangcheng and others for the time being. As long as the defense line of the Luguan Great Wall is not lost, Chu still has strength, and Daliang and other places are sandwiched between Han and Zheng, so they can defend If you can't keep it, there is nothing you can do - it is impossible for Chen Cai's division to go to support.

In addition to these things, the King of Chu also knew some details of the Battle of Shangqiu, and was also full of desire for gunpowder, a weapon with excellent defensive effects.

Zhao Zhi'ai was sent to Pei County with gifts, intending to buy a batch of gunpowder and machinery for defending the city from the Mohists at a high price.

Of course, in fact, he can't do it if he doesn't abide by it, because Chu State is now in a comprehensive crisis and has no power to fight against injustice.

Duke Luyang, Lord Yangcheng and others supported Xiong Yi's ascension to the throne, and they had good relations with the Mohists. Even though they objected to some principles of the Mohists, they did not object to the fact that the King of Chu formed a friendship with the Mohists.

As the last defense, the King of Chu even hoped that the Mohists would come forward to help improve the city defense of Yingdu as the last battlefield.

Undercurrents surged in the country of Chu, and the king of Chu couldn't hold on any longer. All the connections he could use were used, and all the reinforcements he could invite were called in. But in the end, it was the defense line of Luguan Fangcheng that decided the victory. The throne can still sit securely.

It can only be said that the luck of the misfortune is that the Song State had a coup in the Battle of Shangqiu before and reached a neutral agreement with the Chu State, and it was not reached by the monarchy and aristocrats, but after "asking the public". There are many precedents of team betrayals in China, and this time it may not be impossible to send troops.

Qi State, the most reliable ally, is still breathing. The hope brought by the outside world is that Qin State will regain Hexi this time, defeat Wu Qi's military pawns, and allow Wei State to fully return to defend...

This is too remote. Wu Qi is guarding Xihe, and the king of Chu knows that the Qin people may not have a chance this time. If they can take away a few cities from the Wei people, it will be considered a victory.

It can be said that the world is already in chaos at this time, and the chaos is even worse than before the Mohists called on the Central Plains to eliminate soldiers.

However, when the world was in such chaos, the Mohists, who had been trying to get the Central Plains to eliminate soldiers before, suddenly disappeared and hid in Pengcheng, Peixian County. After expressing their absolutely neutral attitude this time, the Mohists seemed to no longer care about the affairs of the world.

It's not that the Mohists don't care about it, but they are still discussing how to manage it.

In July, the top Mohists gathered in Daze outside Peixian County, which was the place where gunpowder was displayed a few years ago.

Since we want to manage the stability and disputes in the world, we must have means, reason is means, and weapons are also means.

Mohists who support this faction recognize the sword of Yue Tianxia, ​​and this time Shi invited the high-level Mohists to gather together to show off the weapons that can make this sword of Yue Tianxia sharper.

Next to Shi, standing at Gongzao Zhu, there is a year-round carriage behind it, with some boxes on it, and Mozi only roughly knows the contents inside.

Before iron smelting began, Shi had been talking to the Mohists about how to use gunpowder.

It is a good weapon to defend the city and throw gunpowder mines, but the changes brought about by gunpowder do not stop there.

A few years ago, a bamboo tube had already shown a possibility, a possibility to replace the crossbow.

Bronze smelting technology was fully qualified at this time, and even exceeded the requirements for the manufacture of primitive tubular gunpowder weapons.The smelting technology of pig iron and wrought iron also guaranteed the possibility of large-scale application of primitive gunpowder weapons.

A few years ago, Gongzao was thinking about the kind of tubular weapon Shi said.

Before smelting iron, blacksmiths hired from various places to forge sponge iron were also asked about some forging techniques from the very beginning.

All of this was done in secret, the public casting was fully responsible, and it was kept strictly confidential to the outside world. Inside, everyone just wanted to see the real thing that Shi said.

Shi Shi walked to the wooden box of the carriage, opened the wooden box, and took out a heavy long tubular weapon weighing about fifteen or six kilograms.

The workmanship is very beautiful, except for the most difficult iron pipes, the carpenters of the Mo family are very skilled, and the accessories such as the gun stock handguard are perfect.

It's a simple... arquebus, not even an arquebus with a hook.

The caliber is huge, more than half an inch, and the projectile weighs about one or two.

I have tried it before, and the rate of fire of this shit can be described as extremely slow. From loading to shooting, it takes at least one and a half minutes, that is, it can shoot up to 34 times in an hour.

However, this is a gun.

Just like a newly born baby, now it looks much shorter than the brothers and sisters named Gongnu, but it has the most potential.

The big gun that is as tall as a person looks extremely bulky. The wooden fork used as a support is inserted into the ground, and the gunpowder is taken out to reload it, and the bullets are put in to pound it firmly.

About thirty steps ahead, there is a thick wooden plank, which is thick enough to replace most of the armor at this time.

The distance of thirty steps is also the limit that Shi Zhi thinks he can shoot. The iron pipes that many craftsmen spend time making are hammered out by the most primitive craftsmanship, and it is impossible for them to be too smooth.

Mozi pointed to the gun and asked, "Is this the weapon you said can replace the bow and crossbow?"

Shi nodded and said: "I've tried it a few times, this time I'll show you all."

Everyone was already familiar with gunpowder and knew that there would be movement, so they all backed away.

Shi took out a burning firewood from the nearby fire, lit the lead wire left by the fire door, held the heavy musket with both hands, and aimed it at the wooden board in front.

boom……

A cloud of white smoke rose up, and after a loud noise, one or two lead bullets directly smashed the wooden board thirty steps away, making a trembling sound.

Shi Shi's shoulders were also in severe pain from the shock, and he couldn't see the situation in front of him clearly under the thick smoke. He put down the gun weighing fifteen to six catties with both hands.

Gong Zaoye and others stepped forward to check, they had heard about this kind of thing long ago, so they were not surprised by the thing itself, but by its power.

Based on the experience of these battle-tested people, they gave a sufficiently accurate judgment.

Gong Zaoye said: "It can be used by one person, and its power is not as good as that of a revolving arrow, but it is not bad compared to an ordinary crossbow. However, it is slower to shoot than a crossbow, let alone a curved bow."

Shi smiled and stretched out five fingers.

"Firstly, how long does it take to practice bowing before you can master the skill of archery? Even if you don't have it, can a peasant soldier draw a bow in three months? With this thing, a peasant soldier can shoot in three months. The peasant soldier bends his bow, It takes a long time to train, and it is unrealistic to practice martial arts in winter with the changes in farming. Who dares to say that an archer can be trained in three months?"

"Secondly, a strong crossbow requires strong arms, waist and abdomen. If you are weak, you can't shoot. As long as you have hands, you can shoot this thing."

"Third, feathered arrows are expensive and not easy to make. They need rubber diaphragms, feathers, wood, and arrowheads. The 'arrows' of this thing only need lead, a pile of fire, and an iron spoon. You can make them yourself."

"Fourth, this thing can directly kill the charging four-horse chariot, causing the horses to quickly lose their impact power. The Mohists are good at foot combat, but not chariot combat. This thing is better than a crossbow in defense."

"Fifth, the future. It is just a child now, but it will grow up one day. I have seen real sharp weapons from my two wives, and the shooting speed is several times faster than this. The limit of the archer is just raising Yuji, how many arrows can he shoot in a day without exhaustion? A newly grown pine seedling and a mature corn, can't it be inferred who will be taller in the future?"

(End of this chapter)