Fenghou

A thousand soldiers followed Yang Zaixing and rushed towards the moat. Thousands of soldiers on the top of the city were waiting with strong crossbows in their hands. At this moment, a "Dang!"when!when!when! 'The sound of Ming Jin withdrawing troops.

Yang Zaixing stopped, looked at the moat feeling lost, and sighed, "Retreat!"

The whole army retreated quickly. On the top of the city, dozens of soldiers climbed the ladder to go down the city. After a while, they fished out the big winter melon in the moat, put it in a basket and hung it on the top of the city.

At the same time, Yang Zaixing knelt down in front of the big tent of the Chinese army to plead guilty. Soon, some soldiers came out and read the order of King Yong. Liu Cui was replaced.

Yang Zaixing cried bitterly. He didn't feel sorry for the relegation, but because he lost the chance to become the main general of the Eastern Expedition, and the soldiers persuaded him to leave.

Chen Qing then summoned all the generals above command to give lectures in the big tent of the Chinese army.

The big tent was brightly lit, dozens of generals gathered together, Chen Qing sternly said to everyone: "Everyone has seen that General Yang Zaixing has lost three battles and three defeats tonight, is our opponent too strong? Yes, he has rich experience and a clear mind, but he is still far from the word "powerful". If he is good, he should have rebuilt Xin'an County into a strong city. If he is good, we can't kill him from Mengjin Pass. It is even more impossible to capture Hulao Pass so easily, we lost three times in three battles, where did we lose? We lost here!"

Chen Qing pointed to his own mind, "We lost to ourselves, we underestimated the enemy, General Yang Zaixing is a typical example, when I lost the second time, I said that it is possible to have careful thinking, rich experience, and impeccable defense. It is so clear to send surprise soldiers to seize the city. General Yang just doesn’t believe it, but he still wants to try it? Now the result? Five brothers were shot and killed, and the most powerful iron fire thunder fell into the hands of the enemy. They imitated it What to do? What a serious incident this is.

Where are the roots?Why is General Yang unwilling to give it a try?The root lies in the word 'underestimating the enemy'. He looks down on the enemy army from the bottom of his heart. We were too smooth before, and we can succeed in everything. The enemy army is like an idiot, and the golden soldiers are vulnerable, so our sneak attack will definitely succeed.

So I didn't stop him and let him try. Now that I know how powerful I am, I finally know that I have underestimated the enemy. If I lose Tiehuolei, I must take responsibility. Demotion and dismissal are still the lightest punishment. If there is another time, then press Military regulations should be cut! "

Chen Qing glanced at the crowd again, and said slowly: "I did not summon you to denounce Yang Zaixing, but to tell you through his lessons. From today on, no one is allowed to underestimate the enemy. If you are defeated, you will be demoted and dismissed from office, and you will be beaten with a hundred army sticks, everyone hears that!"

Everyone bowed and saluted together, "Follow King Yong's order!"

Chen Qing said again: "I will announce another rule. I will not use the iron fire mine lightly any more. If I want to use the iron fire mine, I must get my consent."

"Follow the order!"

"Let's all go back! Liu Cui and Li Mu please stay."

Everyone dispersed, at this moment, Li Muqing brought Yu Hongwu up, Li Muqing said: "Your Highness, General Yu Hongwu wants to show His Highness something."

"What are you looking at?" Chen Qing turned his gaze to Hong Wu.

Yu Hongwu spread out his palm, on which was a wooden cover in the shape of a teacup.

Chen Qing recognized it at a glance. At this time, the wooden shell on the Tiehuolei mouth was made of jujube wood, which was hard and strong. It was usually inlaid on the matchlock mouth, and the bottom was waxed. The waterproof effect was very good. When using it, it must be hammered first. drop it.

"This is... the shell cover on that iron rhinoceros? You unscrewed it!"

Yu Hongwu nodded, "It takes strength to unscrew the cover, and I was worried that when the situation was critical, they would not have time to unscrew it, so I unscrewed it for them in advance."

Chen Qing was overjoyed. Even if the enemy picked up the iron fire mine, it was still filled with water. The gunpowder and the matchlock were useless, and there was only one shell left. Even if they imitated the shell, it was useless.

Chen Qing heaved a long sigh of relief. What he is worried about now is that the other party will find a way to send the shell away if they find that they cannot imitate it.

Chen Qing made a decisive decision and sent [-] scouts to block all the exits from Luoyang City. No one was allowed to leave Luoyang City.

Chapter 974

In the lobby of the Shuai Mansion, Zhe Keqiu looked up and down the huge Tie Huolei and praised him. He is a seasoned veteran and is very familiar with all kinds of firearms in the Song Dynasty. He knows exactly what Tie Huolei means. ?

If he can imitate successfully, Luoyang will be fine. At this time, a middle-aged man came hurriedly. This person is Wang Fuyuan, who is the firearms supervisor of Luoyang Military Supervision. The result is better than the gunpowder barrels made by Bianliang, mainly in that they are powerful and the poisonous nails shoot farther. This is related to the materials they choose to make wooden barrels. They use beech wood, ash wood or jujube. Wood.

"Meet the commander in humble rank!"

"Steward Wang, come and see this!"

Zhe Keqiu pointed to Tie Huolei on the table and smiled, "Guess what it is?"

Wang Fuyuan looked around and said in surprise: "Could this be the Tie Huolei that the commander mentioned yesterday?"

"Exactly this thing!"

Wang Fuyuan was surprised and delighted at once, and stepped forward to hug it excitedly. The iron fire thunder is the sacred object of all firearms craftsmen and their ultimate dream, but no one knows how to make it?

"How did the master get it?"

Zhe Keqiu stroked his beard proudly and said: "They wanted to blow up the city gate at night, but they were ambushed by me. This iron fire thunder rolled into the moat and was picked up by me."

When Wang Fuyuan heard that he had fallen into the moat, he was startled, and hurriedly stepped forward to take a closer look, his expression gradually becoming ugly.

Zhe Keqiu saw that his expression was not right, and hurriedly asked: "Is there something wrong?"

Wang Fuyuan smiled bitterly and said: "Firearms are most afraid of water, and Tie Huo Lei is no exception!"

Pointing to a circular groove around the matchlock, he said: "This is supposed to hold something like a wooden shell. It's very tight. If you seal a circle of wax around it, you won't be afraid of falling into the river. Now the waterproof shell No more, the matchlock has turned into pulp, and if I'm not mistaken, the Iron Fire Thunder has been filled with water, and the gunpowder has also dissolved."

"Can it be imitated?" Zhe Keqiu was concerned about this issue.

Wang Fuyuan shook his head, "I don't know, I have to saw it open, I want to see what's inside."

Zhe Keqiu flocked around, "Saw it open immediately!"

He also wanted to see the situation inside with his own eyes. It was like opening a blind box. Every general present wanted to see it, and no one wanted to walk away.

Two personal soldiers found a pair of fine steel big saws, and sawed them with all their might, only to see rustling iron slag falling.

A general covered his mouth and laughed in a low voice: "Even the hoes made by blacksmiths in the country are ten times stronger than it. The Western Army is really advanced!"

Wang Fuyuan slapped his forehead suddenly. He understood that Tie Huo Lei must be made of the poorest rough iron for gunpowder to explode. If refined iron is used, how can it explode?

"Boss Wang, what's the matter?" Zhe Keqiu looked at him strangely and asked.

Wang Fuyuan resisted the discovery, and said with a casual smile: "It's nothing, I guess this is their biggest iron fire thunder!"

Zhe Keqiu said with a smile: "That's for sure, this thing weighs more than 100 catties, of course you have to use the biggest one to blow up the city gate."

At this time, the saw was halfway through, and the water inside began to gurgle out from the gap, and it was full of yellow muddy water, dripping all over the table.

Wang Fuyuan sighed in his heart, it's over, all the gunpowder has been dissolved in the water, he doesn't know the other party's gunpowder formula, what a fart it is to imitate!

Tie Huolei was sawn into two pieces by the middle, and the surrounding generals sighed, only half of the muddy water was left inside, and only some undissolved scum remained of the gunpowder.

Zhe Keqiu also knew that it was difficult to imitate, so he laughed dryly and said to Wang Fuyuan: "Boss Wang, do your best!"

Wang Fuyuan smiled wryly, "Let's try it in a humble position! Try it with our current gunpowder."

Wang Fuyuan took two of his men and carried the two halves of the tin can back to the Firearms Camp.

……

After the war started, Luoyang City imposed a curfew at night. People were not allowed to go out, but they were allowed to go out during the day, but even if they were allowed to go out, the streets were still deserted. There was no one pedestrian, and all the shops were closed. Knock open the store hard and enter the store to trade.

In Jirenfang in the south of Luoyang City, there is an alley called Xueshi Lane. There are not many people living in it, only four or five households. At the end is a rather large courtyard. In the morning, a man in a green shirt came hurriedly. , rhythmically tapped the door knocker three times in a row, the door opened a crack, and he dodged in.

The man in the green shirt was none other than Zhang Lu, the head of Luoyang's intelligence service. This three-and-a-half-acre courtyard was their hiding place. They bought it for five hundred guan, and more than twenty intelligence officers lived here.

The main reason for choosing this place is that the terrain in this area is very complicated, and there are all cobweb-like alleys, so it is easy to escape after being discovered.

But now Zhe Keqiu did not investigate the intelligence spies of the Song Army again, because the shopkeeper He set up the illusion of renting a car, making Zhe Keqiu think that the intelligence spies of the Song Army were no longer in Luoyang City.

Zhang Lu came backstage and asked Yu Shouzhong to be called.

Not long after, Yu Shouzhong came quickly, walked up the hall and asked, "Is there anything important?"

Zhang Lu nodded, motioned Yu Shouzhong to sit down, and he said slowly: "Just now I went to shopkeeper He to inquire about the situation, and he told me something, his brother-in-law had a drink with some friends last night, and one of them said that signing the army I got an Iron Fire Thunder from the Song Army, weighing more than 100 catties, I wonder if it is an Iron Rhinoceros?"

Yu Shouzhong was also taken aback. Tiehuolei is the top secret of the Western Army, and it would be great if the army got one and paid it back. If it was imitated, the consequences would be unimaginable. All the gate towers collapsed.

Yu Shouzhong said anxiously: "This iron fire thunder cannot fall into the enemy's hands, we have to destroy it!"

Zhang Lu pondered for a while and said: "I'm actually thinking about two things, one is to destroy Tiehuolei, and the other is to kill their pigeon letters to prevent him from spreading the secrets of Tiehuolei's production, neither of which is good. Do it!"

Yu Shouzhong thought for a while and said, "It seems difficult, but it's not impossible."

"How to say?"

"Both the carrier pigeons and the carrier pigeons are on the Eagle Tower, touch the Eagle Tower at night, and kill all the carrier pigeons and carrier pigeons."

"What's so easy to do?" Zhang Lu laughed.

"The Eagle Tower is in the Dingchan Temple. It shouldn't be difficult for a brother to pretend to be a monk to sneak in, find out the situation, and then cooperate with the outside. I think the key is that the situation in front of me is too complicated. I can't think of the Eagle Tower. Maybe they are more concerned about the safety of the grain warehouse.”

Zhang Lu said happily: "You are right, let's split into two groups, I will find a way to destroy Tiehuolei, and you will deal with Yingta."

"How does the commander plan to destroy the iron fire mine?"

Zhang Lu smiled slightly and said, "The wool comes from the sheep, and whoever the information comes from, I will go to whom?"

"You mean, the friend who drank with?"

Zhang Lu nodded, "It can only be this person!"

……

With the help of Shopkeeper He, Zhang Lu quickly found out that the leaker was a craftsman of the Military Weapons Supervision. He saw with his own eyes the Tie Huo Lei shell that had been cut in half, leaving only the shell. There is no gunpowder, it is said that water has entered, and the gunpowder has been soaked into soup.

In the evening, shopkeeper He came back in a hurry, handed a note to Zhang Lu, and said with a smile, "Twenty cents to buy an address, this may be the most expensive address."

Zhang Lu opened the note, only to see that it said, "Wang Fuyuan, Chief of Arms Supervision and Firearms, his home address is at the end of Baicha Lane in Zhengpingfang." '

Shopkeeper He smiled and said: "I also sent some free news. There are five members of Wang Fuyuan's family, the old mother, the husband and wife, and two sons. The eldest son is 14 years old and the second son is 11 years old. They are all studying at present."

Shopkeeper He paused for a moment and continued: "Also, this Wang Fuyuan's father is Wang Yan, the most famous swordsmith in Tokyo's Bianliang Arms Supervision. His swords are all collected by the imperial palace and the royal relatives."

"The father made swords, but the son made firearms. Is this inheritance interesting?"

"No! No! Wang Fuyuan is the number one swordsmith of the Luoyang Armament Supervision. He can be promoted to be the firearms supervisor. He has more than 100 people under him."

Zhang Lu nodded, "I see, I will visit him tonight!"

Chapter 975 Coercion

At night, when Wang Fuyuan returned home exhausted, his wife, Jia Shi, quickly supported him, "Why are you so tired?"

"There was a big burden on the top, and I was busy all day and all night."

"Is it done?"

Wang Fuyuan smiled wryly, "It's easier said than done. I was really tired, so I went home and had a rest."

"Then go to the study to rest, I'll make tea for you!"

Jia turned around and called out, "Erlang, help your father go to the study to rest."

"Hey!"

A young man agreed, and quickly stepped forward to support his father, "Daddy, go slowly!"

Wang Fuyuan patted the youngest son's head affectionately, "Go and open the door and light the lamp for Daddy, Daddy can go by himself."

The boy ran to the front to open the door for his father.

"Officer, someone came to visit you this evening, saying they are from your hometown." Jia said with a smile from the kitchen.

"My countryman?"

Wang Fuyuan was stunned for a moment, he is from Bianliang, there are too many Bianliang people in Luoyang, and the streets are full of fellow villagers.

"What is your name?"

"I didn't say anything, I just sent some local products from Bianliang. I said you were too busy and might not come back at night. He said he would come to visit another day."

Wang Fuyuan nodded, and went to the study full of doubts.

At the same moment when Wang Fuyuan came home, the people watching outside Wang's house immediately ran to inform Zhang Lu.

Soon, Zhang Lu arrived with a few subordinates. Zhang Lu's mother was from Bianliang, so she could be regarded as half of her hometown.

Zhang Lu knocked on the door, and the door creaked open, Jia was stunned, her husband just came back, he came, what a coincidence!

"Sister-in-law, brother is back!"

Jia Shi hesitated and said: "He just came back, but he didn't sleep all night and just rested, or... you guys come back tomorrow!"

"We have a very urgent matter, which is related to your property and life, you should call him up!"

Zhang Lu's subordinates pushed open the door forcibly, and everyone went straight into the courtyard. Jia Shi said angrily, "Why... are you so rude!"

"Lady, what's the matter?" Wang Fuyuan asked after hearing the commotion.

Zhang Lu glanced at him and asked with a smile, "Are you Director Wang of the Military Weapons Supervision?" "I'm Wang Fuyuan, who are you?"

"My surname is Zhang. I'm in the scrap iron business, and I came here just for the two iron shells you just got."

Wang Fuyuan's face changed, and he said coldly: "I don't have any iron shell, please please! You are not welcome in my family."

Zhang Lu smiled, and her tone turned cold, "Actually, you know who I am and why I came here. Even if you don't think about yourself, don't you think about the fate of your two sons?"

Wang Fuyuan was stunned for a moment, his tone began to soften, "What do you want to do?"

"This is not a place to talk, let's go to the inner room!"

"Go to my study and talk!"