Fenghou

……

It was almost noon when we returned to the official room, and Chao Qing was the only one left in the official room. He had to wait for Chen Qing to come back before he could go to eat. For fifteen minutes, Wang said he would come back in the afternoon!"

Chen Qing's face was really uneasy. During working hours, the leader went to handle private affairs. The newspaper was Chen Qing's private property and had nothing to do with the government.

He went to do some private business, and Zhang Miao waited for him for a quarter of an hour.

"You go to lunch! I'll go and see."

Chen Qing walked towards the Supervision Department in a calm manner. Zhang Miao held two positions. His main job was the Superintendent of the Supervision Department, and at the same time he was also the Chief Superintendent of the Intelligence Department. The imperial court's political adviser is actually the prime minister.

The Intelligence Department is quite special, it should belong to the military department, but Chen Qing made it independent, which can be regarded as a check and balance on the military department. , There is a staff room and an intelligence battalion under the Intelligence Agency, which are clearly led by Yang Jin and Hu Yanlei.

There is a small question here. Why should there be an intelligence agency in the middle if the intelligence department directly leads the staff room and the intelligence battalion?

This is because the chief inspector of the intelligence department also serves as the commissioner of the intelligence department. Whenever Chen Qing doesn't want the superintendent of the intelligence department to intervene in intelligence, he directly appoints a commissioner of the intelligence department and empties the intelligence department.

Chen Qing's official room was very close to the monitoring room, and happened to meet Zhang Miao coming out of the official room.

"Hey! Why is the county king here?"

"Please go drink a glass of water and wine, and bribe you, the supervisor."

Zhang Miao laughed, "I don't dare to be humble, but I have to drink wine, go to Anxi Restaurant to drink wine."

……

The two came to Anxi Restaurant diagonally opposite, sat down in the elegant room in the small courtyard that Chen Qing had reserved for himself, and told the bartender, "It's still the same old four, two servings!"

"Sit down, I'll be here soon!"

The bartender ran off to fetch food, and a maid brought them in tea.

Chen Qing took a sip of hot tea and asked, "What's the rush for me this morning?"

Zhang Miao hesitated, "Let's talk about it in the afternoon! The letter is not with me."

"It's okay, is it news about Liangzhou?"

Chen Qing is very concerned about the situation in Liangzhou now, and he guessed that Zhang Miao was looking for him for this.

Zhang Miao nodded, "It's indeed a matter of Liangzhou. This morning, the Intelligence Agency received an express letter from Wang Lun."

"What did the letter say?"

"There are gains and losses. I lost Liangzhou City, but I seized Dadou Bagu."

Chen Qing frowned, "How could Liangzhou City be lost?"

"When Wang Lun heard that Zhangye had been captured, he immediately led an army of [-] to Dadouba Valley and seized the pass. General Zhang Qu led [-] troops to defend Liangzhou City. Just at this time, a snowstorm came and a large number of herdsmen rushed A flock of sheep came to the city to hide, but Zhang Qu let them enter the city."

"The ones who came in were not herdsmen, right?"

Zhang Miao nodded, "The soldiers found it wrong. The herdsmen who took refuge should be old and young, men and women. It turned out that all the herdsmen who came were young. It was too late to find out that thousands of herdsmen had already poured into the city."

"and then?"

Chen Qing asked with a livid face, "How many brothers escaped?"

"Halfway escaped, guard Zhang Qu was unfortunately killed, and the 1000 people who escaped also went to Dadou Bagu."

Chen Qing didn't say a word for a while. At this time, the bartender brought the food and drinks. Chen Qing poured himself a glass of wine, drank it down, and said heavily, "It's too deceitful!"

"How does the county king plan to deal with the change in Hexi?" Zhang Miao asked.

Chen Qing sighed softly, "At first I didn't intend to intervene. Xizhou Uighurs and Black Khan are two major barriers, preventing the Xiliao people from killing back to the east. If the Xiliao people come back, they will bear the brunt of Lingxia Road. Now we He didn't have the energy to attack the Western Regions. If he wanted to attack the Western Regions, it would be after the Kingdom of Jin was destroyed.

Therefore, if the Xizhou Uighurs do not touch Liangzhou, maybe I will acquiesce in the Xizhou Uighurs replacing the Yellow-headed Uyghurs, and sign a non-aggression treaty with them, but the Xizhou Uighurs are not greedy enough, and they want to occupy Ganzhou. In my Liangzhou, whether it is tolerable or unbearable, we must teach them a lesson. "

"When?"

Chen Qing said coldly: "Chuchun, I will do it after the hostage exchange, but I don't want to startle the enemy, so I won't send troops to Lanzhou for the time being."

Chapter 8 and five

In the afternoon, Chen Qing returned to the mansion and went directly to his study. They originally planned to move to the island, but it snowed and froze, and the island was too cold, so they had to wait until spring to move in.

As soon as Chen Qing sat down, he heard the sound of warblers and swallows.

"It's obviously unreasonable to write it like this. Since the Dinghai Shenzhen Needle, the Dragon King should hide it. How could anyone take the initiative to send it out?"

"That's what the officer told me."

"Ask, I must have misunderstood."

While talking, three women walked in, the front was naturally Chen Qingfa's wife Lu Xiu, next to Zhao Qiaoyun, and behind was Zhao Yingluo, she was purely watching the fun.

Since both Chen Qing and Lu Xiu made it clear that they would accept her into the house, her personality gradually became brighter, and she quietly began to dress herself up, with a sweet smile in front of Chen Qing.

She has a good personality and gets along well with the Yu sisters. It is because of her constant persuasion that the conflict between Yu Lian and Zhao Qiaoyun gradually shows signs of easing.

She is like a fresh fish, bringing vitality to this slightly dull family.

Chen Qing asked with a smile: "Are you arguing about Wukong taking the golden cudgel?"

Lu Xiu said bluntly: "Qiaoyun has just finished writing. I am her first reader. I always feel a little awkward and out of the world."

"What's awkward? Let's talk about it." Chen Qingxiao asked.

"That monkey grandson came to snatch weapons, he is a robber, according to the world, he should hide the good things at home, since the golden cudgel is called Dinghaishenzhen and Shenzhen iron, it must be the treasure of the Dragon King's Zhenhai. It's unreasonable to take Sun Monkey to take it away!"

Chen Qing asked Zhao Qiaoyun again, "Do you think there is a problem?"

Zhao Qiaoyun muttered: "The officials told me to write like this, so I will write like this!"

"You're worthless, you're the master of Qingyuan Pavilion, okay?" Lu Xiu gave her a dissatisfied look.

Seeing Zhao Yingluo pursing her lips and snickering, Chen Qing asked with a smile, "What do Yingluo think?"

"I?"

Zhao Yingluo said with panic in her eyes, "I think the same as Eldest Sister, and I also feel a little awkward."

This hasn't served tea yet!Changing her name to Big Sister, Chen Qing suddenly felt that the time was ripe to take her as a concubine.

"You guys! I just can't figure it out. The former owner of the golden cudgel is Dayu. What does Dayu do? Isn't it just water control? Water control is to deal with the Dragon King, so it is called Dinghaishenzhen. If you change the name, it is called Zhenhaishenzhen. How about it?"

Zhao Qiaoyun's eyes lit up, "I understand, the golden cudgel is actually a thorn on the back of the Dragon King of the East China Sea, and the Dragon King of the East China Sea pulled it out with the help of Monkey King."

"What's the meaning of those dragon kings coming here to make up a set of armor?" Lu Xiu asked in disbelief.

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "With the abundance of treasures in the Dragon Palace, can't you even get out a set of armor? The Dragon King of the East China Sea is looking for some witnesses to prove that the Dinghai Shenzhen Needle was forcibly taken away by Sun Houzi. In the future, the Jade Emperor will pursue this matter. It's easy for him to confess, this is the way of the world!"

"It's too obscure for you to write like this, and it will confuse readers, Yingluo, let's go!"

Lu Xiu turned around and took Zhao Yingluo away, Zhao Qiaoyun looked at Chen Qing helplessly, "Officer, do you think I should change it?"

Chen Qing waved his hand: "Don't change it, just write it like this, it's interesting to let readers guess."

……

At night, after two rounds of rain and clouds rested, Chen Qing and his wife, Lu Xiu, went to dismiss Duke Zhou. It was too cold outside, and they didn't want to get up and put on their pajamas, so they simply chatted under the thick quilt.

"Husband, can't someone else write the newspaper's novels? Let Qiao Yun write it. You see, she has been out of her mind during this time, dancing with chopsticks while eating, like swinging a golden cudgel."

"If someone else writes it, I'm afraid it will be ruined. I don't worry about it. Otherwise, Yingluo and Qiaoyun will write it together and share half of it."

"What reason do you have for letting Yingluo do things for you?"

"Reason? I took her as my concubine, she is my woman, I asked her to write, why doesn't she do it?"

"You are getting more and more domineering now, go to sleep!"

Lu Xiu turned away unhappily, while Chen Qing put his arms around his wife, coaxing her with good words and doing things up and down, and the two gradually got along with each other again.

Lu Xiu was exhausted by her husband, so she could only sigh, "In fact, I have already started preparations. It will be an auspicious day in five days, so let's set it on the tenth day! The same treatment as Qiaoyun."

Just then, I faintly heard 'Bang! There was a muffled sound, and the husband and wife could hear it clearly. Lu Xiu asked in surprise, "Husband, what is this sound?"

Chen Qing's complexion has changed. Of course he knows what the sound is. It is the sound of gunpowder exploding. It is midnight and there is gunpowder exploding. What happened?

Chen Qing said while putting on his clothes: "Maybe someone accidentally detonated the firearm, you go to sleep! I'll go and have a look."

"Maybe it's approaching the New Year, and the children set off firecrackers? It's so cold outside, let's see tomorrow!"

Chen Qing thought for a while, the sound didn't sound like a child setting off a firecracker.

"It is estimated that someone will come to report soon, I have to wear clothes too!"

Lu Xiu was right after thinking about it, so she said: "The husband should wear more clothes, be careful!"

"Do not worry!"

When Chen Qing got up, a little maid came in from the outside, put on Chen Qing's shoes, and briefly combed his hair.

Chen Qing walked out of the yard and waved to the opposite roof. A female warrior jumped down from the hiding place, bowed and said, "Please order from the king of the county!"

"Did you hear the explosion just now?" Chen Qing asked.

"Report to the county king, I heard it, it is very clear!"

"Where did you hear it from?"

"It's coming from the northeast, it should be outside the city, and I can faintly see a flash of fire."

Chen Qing nodded. He also felt that it was coming from outside the city. If it was in the northeast direction, it might be that the firearms station exploded, but Chen Qing thought it was unlikely. The firearms station was sixty miles away from Jingzhao City!Can you still hear the explosion sixty miles away?

"Get me a carriage, I'm going out!"

Not long after, Chen Qing got into the carriage and was about to leave the city under the escort of hundreds of cavalry.

At this moment, a soldier came to report, "Qi to the king of the county, the king of Neiwei has something urgent to report!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Bring him to see me!"

After a while, Wang Hao ran over in a hurry, knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Qijun Wang, I just got the news that something happened to the firearms station. There was a big explosion and there were heavy casualties."

"I see, let's take a look now, and General Wang will go with me!"

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Wang Hao had sent Han Zhengfu, the commander of the inner guard, to lead five hundred soldiers to the firearms station, and he himself followed Chen Qing's team and galloped northeast of the city.

……

The Western Army Firearms Office is located sixty miles northeast of Jingzhao City, close to the Weihe River, and is also convenient for water transportation. This firearms office was originally the Northwest Branch of the Firearms Administration under the Imperial Military Supervision Department. Simply put, it is the Western Army Firearms Office.

Covering an area of ​​about 200 mu, it has complete facilities. More than [-] firearms craftsmen research and make various firearms here, and the powder kegs in Chen Qingjun's works are made here.

There are high courtyard walls and sentries around the firearms factory, and the guards are tight, but the people around know that this is a place where firearms are made, and they have lived in peace for decades, and everyone is used to it.

But tonight was no small matter. A major event happened. A craftsman on night shift accidentally detonated a firearm, blowing up a stone house. Three craftsmen and a dozen soldiers were killed on the spot, and the surrounding people were all killed The huge explosion alarmed them, and they all ran out of their homes.

Five hundred inner guard soldiers have already arrived, and the firearms station is surrounded by martial law, and the people are not allowed to approach.

When Chen Qing arrived, it was already midnight, and the gate of the Firearms Institute was lit with flames. Hundreds of soldiers lit torches to illuminate the gate as if it were daylight.

Xie Ying, the manager of the firearms station, was pale, but there was an indescribable excitement in his eyes.

He stepped forward and bowed: "Improper management of the humble job, which led to the night explosion, is a dereliction of duty of the humble job, and I am willing to accept all punishments!"

Chen Qing's concern was not the responsibility for the explosion, but the power of the explosion. He asked, "Did a rhino explode?"

Explosive firearms have code names. Rhinoceros refers to a box-type gunpowder barrel weighing one thousand catties. It is the firearm with the greatest explosive power. When they attacked Guanzhong, the firearms that exploded Jinsuoguan were two rhinos.

But the rhino wasted too much, one thousand catties at a time was their monthly production of gunpowder, and it was really unaffordable, so the rhino only used that one time.

Chen Qing judged from his experience that only a rhinoceros could have such a powerful force when an explosion that could be heard for sixty miles knocked down a stone house.

Xie Ying shook his head, and said in a trembling voice, "It's not a rhinoceros, it's an iron hedgehog that was successfully developed just today."

"What?" Chen Qing's eyes widened suddenly.

Chapter 8 and Six of Iron Thunder

Because of the long-term war with Liao and Xixia in the Northern Song Dynasty, it attached great importance to the research of weapons, especially the research of firearms.

The earliest firearms were used to support combustion. After gradually discovering its explosive properties, the formula and gunpowder technology were constantly changed to enhance the explosive power. From this, various names of ferocious thunder were born, such as Thunderbolt Fire Thunder, Tribulus Thunder, Earthquake Thunder, etc. .

But in the early days, due to the limitation of craftsmanship, we could only make paper fire mines. The explosion power was too weak, even if it exploded around the enemy, it would not hurt the enemy. So various patches came out, mixed with iron nails, iron sheets, caltrops or poison, Fire oil and so on.

At that time, lighting a fire was also troublesome. Soldiers in the firearms battalion would bring a stove with coal burning in it, and put a few iron bars in it.

However, the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty were really powerful, and they continued to improve the formula of gunpowder. After paper fire mines, wooden shell fire mines and pottery shell fire mines were also developed one after another. The poisoned iron nail explodes in all directions to exert its power.