Iron Dynasty

Five thousand muskets?

Xiao Ming was a little disappointed by this number, but he understood the expressions of Xiao Wenxuan and the ministers.

After all, they still have doubts about the effect of the musket installation, or they are more distressed for silver.

When he was in Qingzhou, he heard more than once that the courtiers complained about the price of the artillery, and some ministers even asked the court to allocate funds to their clan's workshops to imitate the Qingzhou artillery.

These ministers in the court are not loyal and patriotic, but these ministers in the artillery trade do not get any benefit, and they naturally can't stand the flow of white money.

Therefore, in Xiao Ming's view, the Great Yu Kingdom has gone into complete corruption just like the end of every dynasty.

Party strife, extreme corruption, a large number of profiteers who betrayed the country to seek glory, the people only know the clan and don't know what the country is, and so on.

And what impressed Xiao Ming the most was Jinwuwei. This forbidden army, known as the most elite of the Great Yu Kingdom, was also in arrears several times, and the army's equipment had not been updated for many years.

All these things Luo Quan told him personally.

Because of this, the failure of the Great Yu Kingdom to defeat the barbarians was not only a matter of horses, but also the oppression of military officers by civilian officials.

And Xiao Wenxuan has always been wary of the army because it was a mutiny to seize the throne. Speaking of which, it is more about civility than martial arts.

Thinking of all these things, Xiao Ming can only sneer to himself. The reason why he wants to sell arms to the imperial court is not only to make money, but also for the future of the royal family.

Because if he really handed over the technology of muskets and artillery, he could be sure that the money of the artillery and muskets he made would suffer from layer upon layer of deduction, and in the end it would only lead to the banned army holding a batch of garbage firearms that either exploded or misfired. , In the end, the cheapest is still other vassal kings.

After all, they can sharpen their knives at any time.

After thinking about this, Xiao Ming no longer cares about the quantity. This trade agreement is the key point. How much can be sold for arms sales?

Anyway, he was going to return to Qingzhou after the wedding, and he would stand still regardless of the ups and downs of Chang'an. He only needed to manage his own fief to maintain his own safety.

No longer talking about the musket issue, Xiao Ming said to Xiao Wenxuan: Father, let's take a look at the hot air balloon. This will definitely surprise the father.

Yes, yes, this is good.

Xiao Wenxuan looked excited, he was really interested in this hot air balloon that was said to be able to go to the sky.

At this time, Liang Yubin and He Cheng instructed the soldiers to unload the hot air balloon from the car, and then the two spread the hot air balloon and began to use the bellows to inflate it.

It was a long process, and it took half an hour for the hot air balloon to stand up.

At this point, the duo began heating the air beneath the balloon.

As the air inside the hot air balloon gets hotter, the hot air balloon that was originally on the ground gradually rises.

It's flying, it's flying. The ministers said excitedly one by one.

Fiji has always been calm, but when he saw such a big thing flying into the sky, he opened his mouth wide in surprise.

Xiao Wenxuan tried his best to maintain his majesty, but everyone could see how shocked he was at this time.

The next thing that shocked them even more happened. Liang Yubin and He Cheng boarded the hot air balloon. After the soldiers loosened the rope, the hot air balloon began to lift off.

Ming'er, this hot air balloon is really amazing, can I also take a hot air balloon? Xiao Wenxuan said excitedly.

This can't be done, Royal Father, this hot air balloon may fall off. Without safety preparations, my son would not dare to let Royal Father take this risk. Xiao Ming hurriedly explained.

The reason why Liang Yubin and He Cheng contributed so much is because they dared to take risks in a hot air balloon. Others didn't know the risks of this hot air balloon, but he and the students of the Bowen blood students knew it well.

Fall off! Before Xiao Wenxuan could speak, Luo Quan suddenly exclaimed, he was on the hot air balloon, and when he heard the words, he couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.

Xiao Wenxuan's face was very exciting. The two things that Xiao Ming showed today were terrible. One was that the criterion was not enough, and the other was going to explode.

Although the degree of surprise is enough, the actual use is unknown.

Glancing at the shocked Luo Quan, Xiao Ming smiled and said to Xiao Wenxuan: Father, do you want to buy a hot air balloon to play with? In fact, as long as you operate it properly, the hot air balloon will still not explode, and it's good to observe the enemy's situation before the battle. of.

That's right, Your Majesty, there was a lot of grass under the hot air balloon. It should be fine when it falls. After all, only 30 steps is enough. Although Luo Quan was frightened, he thought of the heat. The battlefield observation effect of balloons is still heart-warming.

After hesitating for a while, Xiao Wenxuan looked at Xiao Ming who looked like a profiteer and asked, How much money do you want to sell this hot air balloon to me?

Father, this is not expensive, just 100,000 taels, and my son can also help father to train hot air balloon pilots, how about it?

The structure of the hot air balloon is very simple, and the cost is less than 3,000 taels of silver. Xiao Ming is also a lion.

He has now figured out that instead of being pocketed by these corrupt officials, the money of the imperial court should be pocketed by himself.

One hundred thousand taels? Xiao Wenxuan hesitated.

Seeing this, Xiao Ming continued: Father, please wait for the sons and ministers to ask the soldiers to prepare safety measures, and let Father personally wait for the hot air balloon to feel whether the 100,000 taels are worth it.

After that, Xiao Ming said to Luo Xin, Prepare the spring pads properly.

Yes, Your Highness. Luo Xin responded, and took out several small spring pads from the carriage and combined them together.

Now that Qingzhou can produce spring steel, the production of springs is naturally not a problem. So for safety, he asked the workshop to produce spring cushions similar to sofas. The wooden blocks press the springs, and the cotton cushions are installed on the spring cushions.

When Luo Xin asked people to assemble it, Xiao Ming stood on the spring pad and jumped up. When he fell, he was bounced by the spring pad and flew up again.

This... what kind of spell is this! The ministers immediately exploded.

In their eyes, Xiao Ming just jumped, and then he miraculously flew up by himself, like a ghost.

Xiao Wenxuan's expression changed greatly when he saw this.

Xiao Ming saw that everyone was so surprised, so he said, Don't be surprised, it's just a spring.

As he said that, Xiao Ming came down and opened the contents to the ministers.

At this time, Liang Yubin and He Cheng also controlled the hot air balloon to come down, Xiao Ming no longer explained the spring, but let Xiao Wenxuan board the hot air balloon.

This time, he boarded the hot air balloon with Xiao Wenxuan, the two continued to rise, and the scenery of Chang'an City gradually poured into his eyes.

Xiao Wenxuan was a little scared and a little excited at the same time, but when he glanced at Chang'an City, he gradually calmed down.

Seeing the opportunity, Xiao Ming asked, How about the royal father? This hot air balloon is worth buying.

It's worth it, buy it! Xiao Wenxuan laughed.