Iron Dynasty

Father sent you to Ben Gong for some reason.

Empress Zhao showed a smile. She looked at herself in the glass mirror. Now she is no longer as beautiful as she used to be, with crow's feet appearing at the corners of her eyes and a white strand in her hair.

At this moment, Wang Xi picked up a golden hairpin to hold Empress Zhao's head, and he said, Your Majesty has praised, this old slave is only a little clever, how can it be compared to the intelligence of the Empress, it's just the Empress, this King Qi is now guarding In Shanhaiguan, the troops under him can fight well, this is really a hidden danger, maybe King Qi will not dare to risk raising troops to rebel because of his name, but there is no guarantee that his sons will not rebel.

I am also thinking about this matter. The reason why King Qi defeated the barbarians twice was because of firearms. I think the court should focus on developing firearms now. If King Zhao's army and the Imperial Army were all equipped with firearms, Xiao Ming would still What capital do they have to fight with the imperial court, and what is the fear of this barbarian? Queen Zhao said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Wang Xi laughed twice, and he walked up to Queen Zhao and said as if asking for credit: Niangniang, this old slave brought the method of forging firearms to Niangniang today.

What! Queen Zhao exclaimed. She looked at Wang Xi and said, Now is not the time to talk nonsense.

Wang Xi said sternly: Niangniang, this old slave is not talking nonsense. As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under the heavy reward. During this time, the old slave has been asking the blacksmith to study the method of forging this arquebus, and it really allowed a craftsman to find a way to make it. The matchlock method.

Really. Queen Zhao looked shocked.

Now Xiao Ming has monopolized all the firearms trade in the Great Yu Kingdom. This huge profit has made everyone's eyes red, so since the appearance of firearms, the imitation has not stopped.

In fact, many feudal lords purchased weapons from Xiao Ming, not only for the purpose of equipping the army, but also for imitation.

Niangniang, this old slave dare not talk nonsense. This craftsman really forged a matchlock gun. Although the power is not as powerful as the matchlock gun in Qingzhou, it looks basically the same, and it can kill people after loading gunpowder. Wang Xi said.

Empress Zhao was excited, and she said, Does anyone else know about this?

No, only the old slave knows.

Very good, now you immediately hand over this method of forging arquebuses to Ben Gong's father and let him imitate it. Now there are many forces in Chang'an City, and in the end, I am afraid that only the father can lead the troops into Chang'an to secure the crown prince's throne. Queen Zhao said.

Yes, Niangniang. Wang Xi nodded. He had already seen the imitation matchlock gun with his own eyes. According to the craftsman, he used two pieces of rolled iron to forge the barrel. iron.

The coiled iron mouths are staggered to prevent the gunpowder from leaking. However, the production of this matchlock gun is very slow. One barrel needs to be forged repeatedly, and it takes a month to manufacture a matchlock gun.

It has been more than half a year since Xiao Ming sent the arquebus to Chang'an last time. Now that the imitation has been successful, Queen Zhao is very happy.

Although he didn't say it, now Xiao Ming is her confidant, and if Xiao Ming does not get rid of it, the prince's throne will be unstable.

There is no problem with the arquebus. If this cannon can also be imitated, we will no longer be afraid of Xiao Ming. After being excited, Empress Zhao suddenly sighed slightly.

As for artillery, this Wang Xi also had a headache. This time Xiao Wenxuan also sent someone to imitate the matchlock gun, but the final result ended in failure.

King Zhao also asked the craftsmen to imitate the artillery, but the cost of the artillery was even higher than the cost of the purchased artillery, and the imitation artillery was not as powerful as the Qingzhou artillery.

Therefore, all the vassal kings decided to buy Qingzhou artillery after weighing it. After all, it saves money and effort.

Niang Niang, this old artillery slave can't do anything, but if the firearms revenue is brought under the command, don't we have enough artillery? Wang Xi said.

Empress Zhao agreed, but she said: It's just that the current leader of the firearms battalion is Luo Hong, if Luo Hong is moved, wouldn't he offend Luo Quan and Luo Xin and his son, and Luo Quan and King Qi have always been on good terms, and they will meet again. Offend King Qi.

Niangniang, as long as you get the firearms camp and our arquebuses, what's so scary about King Qi? Before the crown prince ascends the throne, he wants to get rid of King Qi's influence in Chang'an, so that there are no hidden dangers. Wang Xi A hint of sin flashed in his eyes, Not only King Qi, the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince's powers have to be removed one by one. For the prince to be able to ascend the throne smoothly, Niangniang can't have too many concerns.

Empress Zhao was a little moved by Wang Xi's words, but after thinking a little, she immediately alerted: Other princes are nothing, but if King Qi condones the barbarians to enter the customs, wouldn't the world want the barbarians to go.

After saying this, Wang Xi smiled proudly, and he said, My lord is worrying too much, His Highness King Zhao has sent someone to bring news that he has already sent messengers to the barbarians, and the barbarian khans promised King Zhao that as long as His Royal Highness the crown prince ascends the throne, When the Sui Gong is restored, they will assist His Royal Highness to seize the world.

Barbarian! Is my father confused? Isn't this absurd to lead wolves into the room. Empress Zhao's face suddenly became extremely ugly.

Wang Xi said calmly, Niangniang is wrong, how did the emperor ascend to the throne back then, and how did he get rid of King Kang through the hands of the barbarians, since the emperor did it, why the crown prince couldn't do it, it's just that back then The King Kang has now become the current King of Qi, although people are different, but things are always the same.

No, after the emperor ascended the throne, he has always felt guilty at this time. If it wasn't for his single thought, he would not have allowed the barbarians to seize the land of Youzhou. Since then, he has been worried. I don't want the prince to bow to the barbarians like the emperor.

Niangniang, the most important thing in the world is the momentary face. What the barbarians only want is some land in the north, so what if we let them? The Dayu country has a lot of land and resources, this land is nothing, and when the prince's position is stable, we can also rely on firearms. I can take it back. Wang Xi advised that when King Zhao sent him into the palace, staying by Queen Zhao's side was to pass on news and at the same time make suggestions for Queen Zhao.

For him, his master is King Zhao, not Queen Zhao. Everything he does now is for the Zhao family to enter the Central Plains, and this is what the Zhao family has been planning for generations.

Now that King Zhao finally saw hope, how could he change because of Queen Zhao's thoughts.

So he continued: His Royal Highness Zhao Wang said, please niangniang must cooperate with his plan, so that the position of the prince can be stabilized, otherwise the niangniang and the prince will seek more blessings for themselves.

Wang Xi's voice fell, and Queen Zhao's face suddenly turned pale, and she said angrily, Are you coercing this palace?