Iron Dynasty

King of Shu?

Xiao Ming said lightly.

What followed was the memory of the predecessor Xiao Ming about this king of Shu. Among the princes, he, the fifth prince, had the worst relationship.

The two, who were both rebellious and rebellious, clashed constantly when they were in Chang'an.

Xiao Ming and the King of Shu fought many times because of jealousy and jealousy, so they were also scolded by Xiao Wenxuan.

The fifth prince is now the vassal of Shu, but he hasn't thought of him for a long time.

In Xiao Ming's memory, the land of Shu was remote and mountainous, and the location was equally remote. However, since ancient times, the land of Shu has been called the Land of Abundance, and there has never been a lot of food.

The only shortcoming is that the Nanman in the south of Shu and the Tubo in the west often disturb the border.

But in general, the situation of the King of Shu is slightly better than his, but not much better.

In addition, the land of Shu is inland and the mountain road is rugged, which seems to make the fifth prince even more uncomfortable.

That's right, Your Highness, think about it, Qingzhou originally purchased a large amount of saltpeter, and the merchants from Shu were very happy and wanted to earn the money, but suddenly the merchants couldn't get saltpeter, except that the king of Shu could have this kind of money. Who else can do it? Lu Tong complained, If this is the case, the King of Shu is really hurting His Highness. This barbarian race is pressed for time, and he also stumbles upon His Highness. This is not to show that he wants to see His Highness. It's a joke.

If it was someone else, Xiao Ming might still think about it, but if it was the King of Shu, he really believed that the King of Shu had such thoughts.

Shu Road is difficult, and it is difficult to ascend to the sky.

It is precisely because of this that the land of Shu is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and now the vassal kings in the south and the vassal kings in the north are two different minds.

The king of Shu naturally belongs to the vassal kings in the south. If the north falls, he can be happy just guarding a land of Shu.

Moreover, the king of Shu also knew that the throne of the Great Yu Kingdom was not related to him, but with the chaos, it would not be the same.

After pondering for a while, Xiao Ming said: Is it the work of the King of Shu? It is not known yet. How much gunpowder can be produced from the remaining materials?

Up to five hundred catties of gunpowder. Lu Tong said.

Xiao Ming felt agitated for a while, five hundred catties of gunpowder was not enough for the barbarians.

Today's artillery shoots solid shells, and the power is only equivalent to a trebuchet that can shoot directly, but the range is longer, and the damage caused is not very large. If the shell does not directly hit the body, it cannot kill people, unlike flowering The bullet can also kill enemies with shrapnel and shock waves.

This gunpowder is sufficient, and it is still difficult to fight. If this gunpowder is not enough, then I am afraid that Cangzhou City will only be reduced to a battle of hand-to-hand combat.

I'll figure out a way to deal with the material. You should produce it as soon as possible. Xiao Ming said, his expression a little gloomy.

In front are iron and coal, because this matter was discussed in the court, but the other vassal kings did not deliberately make things difficult for him.

Moreover, the coal mines and iron mines had been flooded with water, but the local area could barely provide some, not to mention that there was no shortage of water, and King Wei was willing to do his best to make Xiao Ming a meat shield for him.

Therefore, coal and iron have not been a problem.

But now this saltpeter is really killing him. Dayu Kingdom is already using gunpowder, but the use of gunpowder has not yet reached a large-scale level, so the demand for gunpowder is not very large.

The saltpeter for the production of gunpowder also came from the land of Shu, but because it was used by the Chang'an Equipment Division, the king of Shu naturally did not dare to make a fuss about it.

After leaving the workshop area, Xiao Ming returned directly to the palace, and now he can only send a letter to Chang'an and ask Xiao Wenxuan to solve the matter.

At the same time, he was going to ask King Wei for some saltpeter and gunpowder, but it is estimated that the gunpowder and saltpeter that he could get from King Wei would not be much.

Because King Wei also did not pay attention to firearms.

After writing the letter, Xiao Ming asked Ziwan to go to the inn, and let her go to Chang'an quickly.

This country of Great Yu is not modern. If there is a problem, a phone call can solve the problem. The fastest way to send letters between the cities is the post station, but it takes at least nine days to go back and forth for a distance of 800 miles.

And if there are any forks after that, they have to send letters back and forth to transmit information.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming became more and more annoyed. What he was most afraid of at the moment was that the King of Shu did it on purpose. If so, the King of Shu only needed a trick to make him overwhelmed.

When Cangzhou City was over, saltpeter arrived late. At that time, it was useless. If Cangzhou City was breached, he would not need to send saltpeter. Instead, Xiao Wenxuan would rely on him in the future.

King of Shu, if you do it on purpose, this king will peel your skin sooner or later. Xiao Ming hated his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

Shudi and Qingzhou were thousands of miles away, and he was beyond his reach.

While asking Chang'an for help, Xiao Ming felt that he couldn't sit still, so he sent a letter to King Wei.

At the same time, the police notified Qian Dafu to come back.

In the evening of the next day, Qian Dafu arrived at the palace after receiving the news.

Your Highness, when are you so anxious?

Qian Dafu was also tired of sleeping in the open air. He had suffered a lot in these days when he was hunting for mines, and he had lost a lot of weight.

Don't look for other minerals for the time being. From now on, you should try your best to find saltpeter and sulfur, and the rest will be postponed for the time being. Xiao Ming said.

The upgrading of industry can be postponed, but it is urgent to deal with the barbarians.

And once he uses artillery to defeat the barbarians, the Great Yu Kingdom will definitely pay attention to gunpowder. At that time, saltpeter will probably become a trump card for all forces to restrain themselves.

This is the same as modern oil. It is very sad for an oil-poor country. If oil is blocked, the economy will collapse soon.

His Royal Highness, what happened? Qian Dafu asked in confusion.

Xiao Ming then talked about the saltpeter, and Qian Dafu's expression suddenly became solemn.

This saltpeter is related to the life of this king. Let's do this, I will assign another 5,000 young and strong slaves to you. In the area of ​​the saltpeter mine, even if you dig with a net, you must find the saltpeter. Xiao Ming's voice was loud.

Qian Dafu realized the seriousness of this problem, and said with a bow, This old slave will withdraw the mining teams from all over the world and try to find saltpeter.

After all, Qian Dafu turned around and left the palace. As soon as he arrived at the door, he met Pang Yukun who was walking over.

Butler Qian looks anxious, what happened? Pang Yukun, who has always been good at observing words and expressions, couldn't help asking.

Hey, there is a problem with the saltpeter. Your Highness is getting angry. You have to be careful when you go in. Qian Dafu said.

Pang Yukun frowned, It's really good luck and misfortune never come singly, I'm afraid Your Highness will be angry again.

Qian Dafu was in a hurry to find mines and had no time to inquire about other things, so he just handed over his hands and got on his horse and galloped away.

Looking at the back of Qian Dafu's departure, Pang Yukun smiled bitterly, hesitated and entered the palace.