Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

But in the end Shi Congyun told them: "I don't care what you think about this matter, it is a big deal for someone, so don't talk about today's matter, and we can discuss other matters. If the matter is leaked, there is no room for negotiation.”

Shi Congyun arrived in an unprecedentedly severe tone.

A few people nodded quickly. Shi Congyun had always been unassuming in his work, and often had a playful smile on his face. Seeing him like this now, everyone knew that it was a big deal, so they nodded quickly and agreed firmly.

Afterwards, Shi Congyun asked Feng Jisheng, "According to the final ratio, [-]% of fire nitrate, [-]% of sulfur, and half of charcoal powder, how much can we produce from now until the beginning of June?"

Feng Jisheng was a little embarrassed: "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, I will tell you the truth. In fact, I can't give birth to much, at most three to five hundred catties."

Shi Congyun was curious, "You mean you can produce one hundred catties a month? The formula has been reduced from a dozen to three, which is much easier. Would you like me to send you more people?"

Feng Jisheng hastily said: "The commander-in-chief misunderstood, the money and manpower that the commander-in-chief gave me is already enough, the key is not about the people, but the lack of supply of saltpeter.

There were originally two large production areas of fire nitrate, Hebei and Hanzhong. The production in Hebei was not much, and the gunpowder was not very useful before, and the court did not pay attention to it. How much nitrate.

Hanzhong has a big mine, but in the hands of Shu, the supply of fire nitrate is not enough, and no matter how many people there are, it will be useless. "

Only then did Shi Congyun understand, "Is the mine that digs Huoyan over there also under the control of the Ministry of War?"

"The mines all over the world are under the management of Yantie, so the handover is more troublesome."

"I'll think of a way. The Fire Nitrate Mine should be handled on a special basis. It will be handed over directly to the Ministry of War. This will be more efficient. This is a matter of war, so there should be no delay." Shi Congyun said.

The gunpowder was not strong before, and the imperial court didn't pay much attention to it, so it was still in accordance with the process to let the Yantie Division and the Ministry of War hand over, which was actually very time-consuming and laborious, and it was also inefficient.

He will think of a way in the future, so he said: "Then you can produce as much as you can, and try to produce more before June. This ratio must not be leaked. The workers can let them work separately. It is the same as if one person is in charge. The final dispensing is up to you."

Feng Jisheng said repeatedly: "The next official will never disappoint the commander in chief!"

Shi Congyun nodded, and drew a big cake for him, "Work hard, I can count on you for the battle in June, if you can win a big victory, I will give you a big credit."

Feng Jisheng became even more excited...

......

After that, Shi Congyun began to think about how to find someone to make the shell of the iron cannon. There is no doubt that the iron shell will definitely be more powerful than the gunpowder in the clay pot.

The power of gunpowder weapons lies in the instant boosting, and the accumulated terrifying energy bursts out, while the iron shell can withstand pressure better and exert the power of gunpowder.

It is not too difficult to manufacture this kind of shell, because the strength requirement is not high, and the gunpowder will eventually be broken, and the metal of the shell is used as the killing fragments, unlike the gun barrel and gun barrel, if the workmanship is not up to standard, the chamber will be blown up before it hurts anyone. .

But the key point is that the military supervisor with the most blacksmiths is currently busy making weapons and armor for recruits, so it is impossible to spare his hand to help him.

Almost all the remaining blacksmiths in Daliang City were conscripted, because the Forbidden Army Controlling Crane Army and Yulang Army expanded their troops by more than 6 at once, and they were completely overwhelmed.

But Shi Congyun thought of a way the next day, if he can't do it for nothing, he should pay for it...

There are many folk blacksmiths near Daliang, such as Zhengzhou. These people usually help villagers and neighbors with farm tools and the like. They are far from the level of professional military supervisor blacksmiths forging weapons and armor, but they are enough.

These things don't need any technology at all, and they can be directly molded. If it is used as a gun barrel, it will definitely not work, because there will be impurities, air bubbles, and the strength is not enough, which is more than enough to make a mine shell.

So Shi Congyun paid out of his own pocket to let Luqiu Zhongqing and Guo Tingwei go halfway. It happened that he had just received a large sum of gold from the Southern Tang Dynasty and was very rich.

When Luqiu Zhongqing went to Zhengzhou, Guo Ting said that around Daliang, he hired those blacksmiths from the people to do things on his behalf, including food, lodging and wages. Such a good job is hard to find these days with a lantern.

Find dozens of blacksmiths in no time...

Chapter 188, Shi Congyun opened his mouth

Time flies, and before you know it, it's early summer and April.

Shi Congyun paid money to build two other workshops outside the north wall of the city, together with thirty blacksmiths recruited from the surrounding area, he began to get busy.

However, he knew in his heart that three to five hundred catties of gunpowder could not decide anything. The purpose of this time was just an experiment, to see how effective the gunpowder could be and how it could be used in actual combat.

If you want to win the war, you still have to rely on many soldiers of the imperial army, and you still need to be fully prepared.

Wuping and Nanping should not be underestimated either. He was still nervous in his heart. Although the two places were not big, there were only twelve prefectures in total, which was about the same size as the fourteen prefectures in Jiangbei he conquered before.

Wuping and Nanping definitely couldn't have more than [-] troops like the Southern Tang Dynasty, many naval forces, sufficient supplies, and a steady stream of troops.

In the entire Southern Tang Dynasty, there were at least 20 troops, most of which were defeated by him in Huainan.

However, Nanping and Wuping are not like Huainan in the past. They are a complete and huge country. It is conservatively estimated that the two places add up to [-] to [-] troops.

But it should not be underestimated, there are definitely a lot of three or five people, not a cat or a dog who can be bullied by anyone.

On the night of the third day of April, when Shi Congyun was about to wash Zhou Xian and go to bed, an eunuch came to the palace and invited him into the palace.

Shi Congyun didn't dare to delay, so he went directly to Wende Hall and found that Wang Pu was talking to the officials there. The eunuch next to him told him in a low voice that Wang Pu had been talking to the officials since the afternoon when he was begging for the holy face. up.

Seeing that the official was still talking to Wang Pu, Shi Congyun ignored him, so he chatted with Wei Renpu and Li Gu next to him for a while. Li Gu spoke concisely and quickly let Shi Congyun know what was going on. thing.

It turned out that because of the submissive attitude of Nanping and Wuping, the officials did not make up their minds to attack Nanping and Wuping. Wang Pu was impatient and ran to Li Gu several times, hoping that he would support and persuade the officials to make up their minds, because Nanping and Wuping had to be eliminated. , Only with these two places can we use troops against the southern countries.

Li Gu didn't want to stand out at first, but couldn't stand Wang Pu's repeated pleadings. Wang Pu was impatient and liked to argue with others. There were not many friends in the whole court, Li Gu was one, and Shi Congyun was one.

In the end, Li Gu had no choice but to accompany him into the palace and persuade the officials. He happened to meet Wei Renpu who came to report to the Privy Council. Afterwards, the officials ordered someone to come to him because he was the general who was going to be in charge of attacking Nanping and Wuping. .

Shi Congyun was a little flattered. In the past, the fight against Shu and Huainan had already been decided by the high-level officials of the imperial court. These generals only had to obey orders and set out to win the war.

Now that there is a major event, the officials have called him to come to discuss it immediately, which shows that after four years of hard work, he has entered the top decision-making level of the Great Zhou.

"Officials, the lands of Nanping and Wuping must be taken. Without these places, the south cannot be pacified. This place is accessible in all directions. It is the crossroads of love in the world. Without Jingzhou, the south cannot be pacified. The south is not peaceful. I have worries about the future in Dazhou, so I can't let go. ..." Wang Pu was still talking over there.

Wang Pu's strategic thinking is actually very clear, which is to integrate the south first, strengthen the country, wait for the time to mature, and then launch an attack on the north and compete with the Liao Kingdom.

Guo Rong did not continue to implement this strategy in the end, which may have something to do with Wang Pu's early death and no one around to remind him not to forget the grand strategy.

Based on this strategic assumption, Nanping and Wuping must be won. The sum of these two places is probably Jingzhou in the Three Kingdoms period. Whether it is to attack Jiangnan in the east, recover Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, or attack Shu in the west, All troops can be dispatched from here.

Therefore, when the Three Kingdoms were at the same time, Wei, Shu and Wu all fought fiercely here. After the Battle of Chibi in Jingzhou, Cao Cao occupied one, Sun Quan occupied one, and Liu Bei occupied one. The three families faced each other here, and staged many power struggles. .

And Shu, which was the first to completely lose the territory of Jingzhou, was also the first to lose the capital to compete for the world, which shows the importance of this place.

That's why Wang Pu repeatedly emphasized.

However, Shi Congyun felt that Wang Pu's greatness belonged to his greatness, and his strategic vision belonged to his strategic vision. He was still too straightforward and didn't understand people's minds.

An old fritter like him has already seen it, why didn't the officials let go?Is it because the officials don't understand the importance of these two places?

Certainly not, the officials are not fools, and Wang Pu has already made it very clear that the officials can't make up their minds because of face problems. The two kings of Wuping and Nanping are too obedient, respectful and filial to Da Zhou He worked very hard, especially after Shi Congyun took Huainan, he was so respectful that he almost called the official family his father.

Moreover, both countries have sent a large amount of tribute, wishing to empty their own family.

In this way, the officials have two dilemmas. One is the moral dilemma. After all, they are so filial, and it is not good to send troops to fight.

The second is the balance of interests. It may be a good thing if there are two local emperors who are obedient to orders, and a large amount of protection fees can be collected every year.

So what the officials are hesitant about is these, not the issue of whether these two places are important or not.

After listening to Wang Pu talking for a while, the official frowned, raised his hand to signal him not to speak, and then looked at Shi Congyun. "Shi Aiqing is here, tell me your opinion. If you have the same opinion as Wang Pu, you don't need to open your mouth. I already understand."

Shi Congyun stepped forward, cupped his hands and said: "The official is a wise man, regarding these two places, I thought of historical events."

Everyone looked at him one after another, and the officials also looked over curiously, "Tell me about it." "At the beginning when Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, the most powerful enemy was Zhao. To unify the six countries, what he most wanted to destroy was the country of Zhao, which had fought with Qin for the longest time, but there was still South Korea in front of Zhao, so whether to destroy South Korea first became a big question.

It also became the key to the dispute between Li Si and Han Fei. "Shi Congyun thought of this allusion temporarily, and began to speak.

When he said this, he really attracted the attention of the officials. Telling the truth with stories is the basic skill of the people's teachers.

"Han Fei and Li Si are classmates, and Han Fei is originally the son of South Korea, so he said that Qin cannot destroy South Korea first, for three reasons.

First, South Korea has always been respectful to Qin State. When Qin State sends troops, South Korea will follow.

Second, Zhao State is the main opponent of Qin State. If King Qin wants to unify the world, he must distinguish between primary and secondary, and use South Korea to destroy Zhao instead of destroying South Korea to weaken his own strength.

Third, everyone in the world is watching. If South Korea is loyal to Qin but is destroyed by Qin first, people in the world will think that Qin is not faithful and will boycott Qin, which is not good for Qin. "

After Shi Congyun finished speaking, Li Gu, who had read a lot of poetry and books in the hall, already understood the continuation of the story, but he didn't say anything. Wei Renpu didn't come from the imperial examinations, and he didn't have that many books. He said, "Han Fei's words seem to make sense."

The official didn't speak, just looked at him and waited for the next article.

Shi Congyun continued, "Li Si only said one thing, South Korea is unreliable.

The reason why South Korea bowed its knees was because Qin was strong, so they only temporarily surrendered to Qin for self-protection.

But once there is a change in the state of Qin, they are likely to jump back and take advantage of the fire.And facing the strongest enemy Zhao Guoshi is the biggest variable. Will South Korea still be on their side?To deal with a strong enemy, you must clear away the worries around you and put yourself in a situation where you have no worries before you can go all out.

The first emperor agreed with Li Si's opinion, killed Han Fei, and decided to fight steadily. First, he destroyed South Korea, which was neighboring Qin and was weak, so as to relieve his worries. "

When Shi Congyun said this, everyone felt something.

Wei Renpu came back to his senses, "General Shi said that Nanping and Wuping are South Korea, right?" Unreliable, just like Li Si said that South Korea is unreliable for a reason.

If the officials want to sweep Liuhe and level the world like the first emperor did, they should first make up their minds to relieve the worries of such vacillations, and then they can gradually plan for it in the future. "

After he finished speaking, Wang Pu was so excited that he hesitated to speak several times, but he looked at the officials who were silent, and dared not speak again, but it could be seen that he very much agreed with Shi Congyun's opinion.

The official paced slowly, stepping on the white jade bricks, the footsteps were very clear and loud in the quiet hall, after a while, the official looked at him, "Your words made me suddenly realize that the land of Nanping, Wuping, I have to take it, they are indeed respectful to me, but they don't care so much at this time."

"The officials are wise!" Li Gu, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu bowed to each other, and Shi Congyun followed suit.

But he was in a trance and a little excited. The officials were determined to take Jingzhou, which showed that he had changed a major historical trajectory. In history, Guo Rong did not go to fight Jingzhou, because the two local emperors of Nanping and Wuping were too filial, and he was careless. Ready to fight Khitan.

As a result, now that he said so, the officials want to solve the Jingzhou problem first!

Shi Congyun suddenly had a huge sense of accomplishment, grass!Laozi opened his mouth and changed history again!

Chapter 189, Point General

After the officials made up their minds, there was no need to hide the news so much.

The reason why the officials asked him not to disclose it before was mainly because they had not yet made a final decision. If the news leaked on a large scale, the officials might be coerced by public opinion.

Now that the determination has been made, there is no need to sneak around anymore. Shi Congyun summoned all the commanders and above officers in the army and ordered them to step up training and prepare for battle, especially the newly formed third and fourth hatchbacks of Control Crane.

Because if he were to arrange this battle, he would prefer the veterans to play the main force and bring the newly formed hatchback to follow training.

Generally speaking, the southern army is easier to deal with, it is better than letting them face Liao directly.

However, the specific arrangement is not something he can decide alone. In the end, it still needs to be discussed and decided by the Privy Council, and the officials nod.

In mid-April, when the first batch of iron artillery was produced, Shi Congyun went to the river to test the explosion, and named it Huolei himself.

The final effect was much better than he had imagined. The force of the explosion tore apart the sheep placed within one or two meters. Everyone was stunned, and even though the iron armor hit by the fragments more than a dozen steps away was not penetrated, it was also dented.

Zhao Shijian, Feng Jisheng, Guo Tingwei, Luqiu Zhongqing, Si Chao, Pan Mei, Wang Zhong, Shao Ji and other lieutenant generals who were present were stunned, and then exclaimed with joy.

Shi Congyun was not that excited, because it was expected.

The Song, Xia, Liao, and Jin dynasties were the peak era of heavy armor in China. The stepper armor of the Song Dynasty, the iron kite of Xixia, and the iron Buddha of the Jin Dynasty were all famous for their thick armor armed to the teeth.

But in the Southern Song Dynasty and after that, heavy armor began to decline, why?Because of the rise of gunpowder, the Song Dynasty’s iron fire thunder clearly recorded that the iron pieces after detonation could penetrate the heavy armor of the Jin army, and it was also an important means for the Southern Song Dynasty to fight against the Jin army.

With the rise of gunpowder weapons, the status of heavy armor has been declining.

In the past, wearing tens of catties of heavy armor on the body can really make the elite charge into the battle without fear of arrows and ordinary swords, sacrificing mobility for abnormal defense.

As a result, once the gunpowder is released, no high defense is useless in front of the powerful kinetic energy. If the super-heavy armor cannot provide effective defense, it will become a huge burden.Therefore, in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, heavy armor was gradually eliminated, and cotton armor with reduced defense but lighter weight gradually rose.

The gunpowder formula with the addition of messy things in the Song Dynasty can penetrate heavy armor, let alone his improved one.

At present, what Shi Congyun is most worried about is not the power of gunpowder, but the production of gunpowder and weather restrictions. The production of this kind of thing is too small, and it is very afraid of water.

If the output doesn't increase, it's useless no matter how powerful it is. It's impossible for him to use a few hundred fire mines to defeat tens of thousands of other troops. It's not enough to give a few thousand mines. If there are tens of thousands, that's fine... .

But that was daydreaming.

Feng Jisheng made it clear that by June, at most three to five hundred catties of gunpowder could be produced. Each bowl of Huolei is as big as a catty of gunpowder, and it can hold a little more than one catty of gunpowder. That is to say, it may eventually produce five hundred catties. or so.

Five hundred, that is, to test the waters.

On the other side, Shi Congyun also began to specially select [-] veterans who controlled the catapult from the crane control army, and let them train the use of fire mines.

At present, it is still the most primitive tactic, ignite the fuse, and then use a small trebuchet to throw it out, in order to kill the enemy.

.......

At the end of April, the officials ordered Shi Congyun to be summoned to the palace to discuss the final arrangement of dispatching troops with officials of the Privy Council.

This matter has been discussed for two full days. Everyone has repeatedly scrutinized the details. In the end, it was decided that the battle should be handed over to the Crane Control Army. After considering the local military strength, whether the treasury can support it, and training recruits and other factors, the final discussion finally came to a conclusion. A plan came up, and the officials agreed.

The troop dispatch plan formulated by the Privy Council generally still uses Shi Congyun as the recruitment envoy of the Southwest Capital, leading the whole army to crusade against the twelve prefectures of Wuping and Nanping.

They asked to enter the territory of the two countries in the name of using the road to attack Shu. If they agreed, they would quickly occupy the two places and important passes after entering the country. If they did not agree, they would directly threaten them with force to surrender.

As for how to fight and whether to fight, Shi Congyun, the commander-in-chief, can make a temporary decision on his own.

The military configuration is 4 people in the Crane Army, 1 people in the Yulang Army, and a total of [-] soldiers. The township soldiers along the way are recruited, and the civilian husbands provide logistical support for the army.

The food will be mobilized by Daliang and transported through the line of Zhengzhou, Xuchang, Nanyang, and Xiangyang, and the route of dispatching troops is roughly the same.

Of the 4 Crane-Controlling Army, 1 will be dispatched from each of the four quarters. This guarantees that the [-] Crane-Controlling Army will have [-] veterans and [-] recruits. The veterans are the backbone, and the recruits will learn as they fight.