Fenghou

This Yang Jingong is good at observing words and expressions, and he can say with his mouth that he has done well in the Kingdom of Jin, and even became an official, and was appointed by Wan Yanchang as the head of the firearms workshop.

"Refer to Marshal Du for your humble position!"

Wan Yanchang took a sip of tea and asked: "Director Yang, I want to know, how is the progress of Tiehuolei's imitation?"

Yang Jingong's heart skipped a beat, he was afraid of what would happen, he was afraid that Marshal Du would ask about Tie Huolei, but he had already asked, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and reply: "Report to Marshal Du, there has been progress."

"Has it been imitated?"

"Not yet, it will take time, and it will be quite difficult."

Wan Yanchang tried his best to restrain the dissatisfaction in his heart, and said in a slow tone: "I don't want to hold you accountable, but you have to tell me the truth, how far has the imitation reached? What is the difficulty now? What kind of help do you need from me? ? How long will it take to imitate it?"

Wan Yanchang asked several questions in a row, each question was on the key point.

Yang Jingong wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "Marshal Qi Du, the shell has been successfully imitated, but it is also very difficult. We have tried more than 300 times to succeed, and the materials are also very elegant. Exactly the same, now it's gunpowder."

"What's wrong with gunpowder?" Wan Yanchang asked.

"There are two main problems with gunpowder. The first is the fineness. The opponent's gunpowder is ground too finely, just like flour. I really don't know how it is ground. The second is the formula. The opponent's gunpowder formula is different from ours. "

"Then how do you solve it?"

"The only way to solve the fineness is to repeatedly purify and dry it in the sun. Then we ordered a pair of copper mills, which can be used to grind it to a fine powder. It is estimated that it will be solved in a few days."

Wan Yanchang nodded, he is quite satisfied with this answer, at least the other party is working hard to solve the problem, and can solve the problem.

"The formula problem can be solved?"

Yang Jingong's face turned red all of a sudden, and his face was covered with beads of sweat. Cui Jiu could also see it. Yang Jingong just said it was easy, and I'm afraid the real difficulty lies in the gunpowder formula.

"Why, is it difficult?"

Yang Jingong plopped down on his knees and cried, "Marshal Du, in order to test the formula of gunpowder, we have already killed three craftsmen. It is really too difficult."

Everyone looked at each other, Wan Yanchang hurriedly said: "Don't cry, why did the craftsman die, did it accidentally explode?"

"Two were burnt to death by gunpowder explosion, and an old craftsman died of exhaustion."

"Tell me, how difficult is the formula?"

Yang Jingong wiped away his tears and said: "Generally, the formulas are written on paper. We can understand the proportions of those materials, but without formulas, and the gunpowder is so fine, we can't see the proportions and materials at all. We can only use them again and again." One experiment, to compare the explosion effects, has been tested hundreds of times, and the ten catties of gunpowder taken out of the iron fire thunder has less than one catty left, and the violent explosion effect has not yet been tested, so I dare not try again Now, we suspect that there may be other materials mixed in, and this material is very important, or the quality of the fire nitrate is not the same."

"It means that you can't imitate it?" Wan Yanchang understood, and his face suddenly became very ugly.

"We didn't give up. What I mean is that iron fire thunder is not so easy to make. It takes years and years of various experiments. We have to test the formula at least thousands of times. It needs 10,000+ catties of gunpowder, but now the output of gunpowder is not enough. High, but also to ensure the use of powder kegs in combat, we need time."

"Just tell me, how long will it take?" Wan Yanchang could hardly restrain himself.

"Three or five years..."

"fart!"

Wan Yanchang slapped the table, and said furiously: "In three to five years, the grass on my grave will grow three feet high, how can I waste so much time for you, I will give you one year, one If it can’t be built within a year, it will be cut off!”

Yang Jingong was so frightened that he rolled and crawled away, Wan Yanchang was extremely resentful, he spent [-] pennies and worked so hard to get an iron fire thunder, but it fell into the hands of a bunch of fools, and the gunpowder was almost used up It's over, they haven't even made a fart, and it will take three to five years, why don't they die?

At this time, Wanyan Lisa persuaded: "Let Wang Shuang and the others think of a way to get the formula as much as possible. If the officials can't do it, then start with the gunsmith."

Cui Jiu also said: "Or let the Song Dynasty put pressure on them, they want Tie Huolei, the real thing and the formula, and we can just get it from the Song Dynasty."

Wan Yanchang nodded, "You are all right, you can give it a try, besides, I decided to attack Taiyuan Mansion, otherwise I will regret it if I lose this opportunity!"

Chapter 993 Good News

Wan Yanchang immediately ordered that the deputy capital marshal Wanyan Helisa be the main general, and lead [-] Jurchen troops and [-] Han signing troops to march towards Jingxing in an attempt to pass through Jingxing and enter Taiyuan Mansion.

Wanyan Chang's troops were not many, and without the [-] troops, he would no longer be able to support Wanyan Wushu, and the alliance between the two to fight against the Western Army would be completely shattered.

At present, Chen Qing is still sitting in Xiangcheng County. He is not in a hurry to expand the stall, but wants to take it step by step and erode the opponent's territory step by step.

This morning, Chen Qing received news from Hebei spies that about [-] enemy troops, led by Wanyan Helisa, were marching towards Jingxing in mighty force.

This news really made Chen Qing feel excited. It means that the alliance between Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Wushu has been substantially bankrupt. Wanyan Chang's army has already used [-] troops to attack Taiyuan Mansion. How can he have army support? Complete Yan Wushu.

Standing in front of the sand table, Chen Qing smiled at Gao Ding, Liu Qiong, Tang Qian and other generals: "Shao Long and Shao Jichun and his son have led [-] troops back to Taiyuan Mansion, but they will not enter Taiyuan City, but directly Going to Jingxing Pass, it is impossible for Wan Yanchang's army to enter Taiyuan Mansion, so let's train with them on Jingxing Road."

"Your Highness, will Wanyan Wushu send troops to support Yingchuan Mansion?"

"This is inevitable, either the Jurchen army in his hands, or the Huaixi army in Quduan, but now the time is ripe for us to attack Yingchang Mansion."

Speaking of this, Chen Qing came to another sand table, which is the sand table in the Central Plains. He said to everyone: "Now we have three dispatch points, one is Hulao Pass in the north, one is the current Xiangcheng County, and one is the In Tangzhou in the south, Li Cheng currently has about [-] troops, and they are basically concentrated on the front line of Xuchang. In this way, Caizhou, Chenzhou, and Yingzhou will be empty, so I consider sending [-] troops to attack Caizhou first. , to test Jin Bing's reaction."

Liu Qiong hesitated for a moment and said: "Now the humble officer is still a little confused about the strength of the two sides, please Your Highness clarify the confusion!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Needless to say our military strength, we dispatched 19 troops, the northernmost is Niu Gao's [-] navy troops, the Henan Prefecture Liu Cui and Yang Zaixing's [-] troops, and then my [-] troops here. I want to ask you, how is the conversion of Li Cheng's [-] surrendered troops?"

Gao Ding hurriedly said: "The 8000 soldiers who surrendered from the humble position transferred 2000 people, and another [-] people wanted to go home, so the humble position was released."

"What about you?" Chen Qing asked Liu Qiong again.

Liu Qiong bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, about 7000 people have been transferred from humble positions, and the rest want to go home, and the humble positions have also been released."

"That is the new force of 20 troops. Our army in the Central Plains has actually reached 3 troops, while Li Cheng and Zhang Zhongxiong alone have lost [-] troops. Luoyang can expect to lose [-] troops. The [-] army is gone.

But the opponent's strength is still good. Wanyan Wushu has [-] Jurchen troops stationed in the four prefectures of Bianliang, Yingtianfu, Yunzhou and Qizhou, of which [-] Jurchen troops are stationed in Bianliang.

Then there are probably more than [-] signing troops, Li Cheng's [-] troops and Li Qiong's [-] Huaixi troops. Li Cheng's army is in Xuchang, and Li Qiong's troops are distributed in Bozhou, Suzhou, Xuzhou, and Pizhou. I don't know exactly how they are distributed, but I know that Li Qiong's military office is in Fuli County, and there are [-] troops stationed there. General Liu understands now! "

Liu Qiong nodded, "I understand the humble position, so His Highness plans to send [-] troops to Caizhou. In fact, he is testing Li Qiong to see if he will come to support Li Cheng, or protect his own territory?"

"It's not wrong at all. If Li Qiong doesn't respond, we will capture Chenzhou and Yingzhou again. If Li Qiong's army comes to help, we will retreat to Caizhou, then storm Xuchang County, and besiege the city to help!"

Everyone understood Chen Qing's strategy, and Tang Qian immediately asked Ying to say, "I am willing to lead [-] cavalry to attack Caizhou!"

Chen Qing said happily: "You know how to use cavalry, which means you understand my intentions. Yes, I will give you [-] cavalry, and the logistics will be handled by General Hu Yanyun."

Tang Qian and the logistics controller Hu Yanyun bowed together and said: "Follow the order!"

……

The news of Wanyan Chang's army marching into Jingxing also reached Wanyan Wushu's ears through some internal channels. This news immediately made Wanyan Wushu furious. He waited impatiently for Wanyanchang's tens of thousands of troops to come to support him. Now that the support army has not been seen, Wan Yanchang has gone to attack Taiyuan Mansion, and he agreed to put aside the past and join forces to fight against the Western Army?

Wanyan Wushu didn't wait for Wanyan Wushu to write a letter to question, Wanyanchang's letter was delivered, and the letter was very polite, describing in detail the reasons why he decided to send troops to Taiyuan Mansion, and also mentioned that attacking Taiyuan Mansion was actually assisting the Central Plains war. Invading Taiyuan Mansion, Chen Qing will inevitably withdraw his troops from the Central Plains, especially when he mentioned that the Song army blocked the Yellow River, and his army could not go south. This is a very good reason.

"Look, how many people can talk!"

Wanyan Wushu handed the letter to Fan Gong with a full face of sarcasm: "He wants to attack Taiyuan Mansion, but instead of helping me indirectly, there is no compromise between favor and benefit."

Fan Gong shook his head and said: "My lord, I have been thinking about this matter, and now I feel more and more strongly that the emptiness of Taiyuan Mansion is a bureau made by Chen Qing. Niu Gao withdrew his troops, Taiyuan Mansion was empty, and Niu Gao's army returned. Blocking the Yellow River, do you need so many troops to block the Yellow River? [-] troops are enough, there is no need to make Taiyuan Mansion empty! From the humble point of view, this is clearly a trick to lure troops."

Wanyan Wushu pondered for a moment and said: "It is indeed very possible, but what is Chen Qing's intention in doing this?"

"Actually, the intention is very obvious. It is to destroy the alliance between the prince and Marshal Tarlandu. In fact, Chen Qing has already succeeded, and the alliance no longer exists."

Wanyan sighed for a long while, "If Talan is really sincere, why is it so easy to be alienated?"

Without Wanyanchang's assistance, Wanyan Wushu could only face the attack of Chen Qing's army alone. He immediately ordered the [-] Jurchen troops in Yingtianfu and Yunzhou to be transferred back to Bianliang, bringing the number of Jurchen troops in Bianliang to eight. Ten thousand.

Wanyan Wushu listened to Fan Gong's suggestion, and did not easily lead his army to leave Bianliang and go south to support, in order to prevent the Song army from Henan Province from directly killing Bianliang.

At the same time, Wanyan Wushu started a large-scale conscription across the Central Plains. He wanted to recruit the 20 puppet Qi army that he had disbanded before.

……

In Lin'an, the "Beijing News" released the latest news about the Sichuan-Shanxi Army on the front page headline, "The Western Army is full of enthusiasm, and Luoyang was captured in the First World War in the Central Plains", officially announcing the good news of the recovery of Luoyang.

The people of Lin'an were overwhelmed, and countless people took to the streets singing and dancing to celebrate the victory of recovering Xijing.

The four capitals of the Song Dynasty, Bianliang in Tokyo, Daming in Beijing, Yingtian in Nanjing, Luoyang in Xijing, and Luoyang in Xijing became the first deputy capital to be recovered, which of course made the people extremely excited.

Gongs and drums were beating in Lin'an City, and it was very lively, all the teahouses and restaurants were discussing this matter enthusiastically.

In the Liuweiju teahouse, Wang Mu was drinking tea while flipping through today's newspapers. There was a lively discussion in the teahouse, all discussing the next move of the Western Army.

"It is impossible for the Western Army to attack Henan Prefecture only. Troops will definitely be sent to the south of Henan Prefecture. From Shangzhou to Dengzhou along Danshui, troops will definitely be sent along this road. We can bet if we don't believe it."

"Actually, I'm worried that the Jin soldiers from Hebei are going south. I heard that Wanyan Wushu and Wanyanchang have formed an alliance. Two families will fight against one family. The Western Army's battle in the Central Plains will be very difficult."

"If the Hebei Jin soldiers dare to go south, then send a cavalry out of Jingxing and attack Hebei. This is called besieging Wei and saving Zhao. After watching Yan Chang's army, they will not come back!"

"Wan Yanchang can divide his troops, but he may not necessarily withdraw his troops!"

……

The teahouse was noisy, and Hu Yun, who was sitting opposite Wang Mu, smiled and said, "Brother Shaofu, let me give you a suggestion for the newspaper! Create a prediction column for the war in the Central Plains, and then invite a few celebrities to interview to ensure that the entire Lin'an City It’s all being discussed, every teahouse is discussing.”

"Okay! I'll tell Mr. Hou this afternoon, but you are the special envoy of King Yong, so you have to provide the latest news about the battle situation!"

Hu Yun smiled slightly and said: "There is an latest news. That person just now is right. Xiao Liudu led [-] troops to the south, captured Dengzhou and Tangzhou through Shangluo Road, and defeated Zhang Zhongxiong's army. Fight for Ruzhou with Li Cheng's army."

Wang Mu said happily, "Is the news reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable!"

"Okay! I'll go back and talk to Mr. Hou right away!"

Chapter 994 Relegation

Wang Mu hurried back to the newspaper office and found Hou Liang, the editor-in-chief. Hou Liang was a Jinshi of Zhenghe for eight years. He had been teaching in Taixue for a long time. , with a sharp style and profound insights.

After escaping to Lin'an, he has been working as a doctor of the library in Guozixue, and his job was very unsatisfactory. Therefore, when Zheng Tongquan came to hire him, he agreed without hesitation. The chief editor is also the editor-in-chief.

At this time, Hou Liang was receiving a guest in the guest hall, Zhang Jun, Minister of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar of Longtuge University.

When Wang Mu walked into the guest room, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment, why did Zhang Jun come?

"Brother Shaofu, we are waiting for you!" Zhang Jun quickly waved to him.

"Why are you here, sir?" Wang Mu asked with a smile.

Zhang Jun pulled him to sit down, and said with a smile, "I want to publish an article, and I'm discussing it with Lao Hou. Lao Hou said that I need you to decide."

Wang Mu knew that Hou Liang and Zhang Jun were Jinshi of the same discipline, and they had known each other for a long time. Hou Liang had never had a chance to be promoted because he criticized current politics and offended Cai Jing. He is a doctor of library, in the words of later generations, he is the director of the National Library.

Hou Liang handed an article to Wang Mu, Wang Mu looked at it, and frowned, "Xianggong plans to publish it under his real name?"

"Yes! Look at the content."

Wang Mu glanced at the title first, it was called 'The West Wind is Coming, the Court Should Work Hard', and then read the content again, it was to appeal to the court to take advantage of Chen Qing's opportunity to attack the Central Plains, and the court also sent troops to the Northern Expedition to occupy the eastern half of the Central Plains.

Wang Mu sighed in his heart. He knew that Zhang Jun had written to the Son of Heaven two days ago, demanding the Son of Heaven's Northern Expedition, but was rejected by the Son of Heaven. Why didn't he give up? He wanted to publish his letter in the newspaper and continue to put pressure on the Son of Heaven and the court. This would definitely anger him Son of Heaven, beware of being demoted again.

Wang Mu smiled wryly, "Sir, have you thought about the consequences of publishing this article?"

Zhang Jun sneered and said: "I know, at worst, Qin Hui will take the opportunity to slander me and dismiss me from office, but if I don't speak up and fight for it, the court is really hopeless, so just leave it alone, and I'll ask if you can published?"

"Of course it can be published. I agree, but I still want to remind Mr. that the imperial court's refusal to go north to the Central Plains is not because they are afraid of tearing up the armistice agreement, but because the finances cannot afford the huge expenses of the Central Plains."

Zhang Jun snorted and said, "This is nonsense and a coward's idea. How can Chen Qing bear it? In the final analysis, the emperor and court officials are reluctant to part with the gentle hometown of Jiangnan and don't want to go back to Bianliang."

At this time, Hou Liang said from the side: "As far as I know, the imperial court still has another mentality, and wants to take advantage of the Western Army. After the Western Army captures the Central Plains, pays money and food to restore the vitality of the Central Plains, and then Moving the capital back to Bianliang, there are not a few officials with this mentality, even Xu Xianggong thinks so."

Zhang Jun sneered and said: "It's taken for granted. Chen Qing was single-handedly picked up by me. I don't know what kind of character he is, and he won't give the court any chance."

Speaking of this, Zhang Jun stood up and said, "I'll leave this article to the two of you, either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I have something to do in the afternoon, so let's go first."

Wang Mu and Hou Liang sent Zhang Jun out of the newspaper office, and the two came back to discuss. Hou Liang smiled and said, "He called for the imperial court to attack the north. Do you think it can be published in the Beijing News?"

Wang Mu nodded, "It should be possible. He is an anti-money faction, and his articles are also anti-money, which is in line with our principles. It's just that this old gentleman may be demoted again."

Hou Liang frowned, "I can't!"

Wang Mu smiled and shook his head, "Didn't you feel the atmosphere of the court? Last month Li Guang was dismissed, and then Yue Fei was transferred back to Lin'an to hang out, Han Shizhong was reprimanded for writing a letter to the Northern Expedition, and now Zhang Jun jumped out without knowing his life. It's no wonder Qin Hui didn't take the opportunity to deal with him, as long as the article is published, he will definitely be demoted."

Hou Liang said in a tone of voice: "I don't understand why the Son of Heaven hates the Northern Expedition so much?"

Wang Mu curled his lips and said: "It's not that he dislikes the Northern Expedition. He just doesn't want the Northern Expedition. He just wants to stay in the rich and prosperous southeast and be his emperor of Pian'an quietly. Now! He is busy withdrawing his troops again. First Yue Fei, next It was Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun still clamored to take the opportunity to attack north. Once Han Shizhong's army went north, how would he take over his military power? If Han Shizhong broke up in Qingzi, the court would not be dumbfounded? So at this time, the emperor would never agree to take the opportunity to attack north. "

"How is Yue Fei's situation now?" Hou Liang asked again.

"I've heard some news now that the imperial court may want to demote Yue Fei to Lingnan."

"What charges?" Hou Liang asked.

"It seems that the western army was allowed to cross the border without authorization. Yushitai is still collecting details, and it may involve the crime of disrespect. The armistice agreement was signed the year before last. The emperor asked him to withdraw troops from Ruzhou and Caizhou several times, but he threw the emperor's handbook. If you step aside and ignore it, the censor is probably going to make an excuse to make him feel guilty of disrespect to the king."

At this moment, Ding Yong, the chief writer of current affairs, came in to ask for instructions on the manuscript. Wang Mu suddenly remembered the information provided by Hu Yun, and laughed quickly: "I forgot an important matter. Let's discuss it!"

……

At noon the next day, the front page of the "Beijing News" read, "Thousands of miles to attack Nanyang City, and the red dragon flags were planted overnight." After defeating the garrison of the golden general Zhang Zhongxiong, the two sides fought fiercely in Ruzhou.

At the same time, an interview column of famous generals was set up to interview Liu Ziyu, who was in command of the former Western Army. Because of his poor health, Liu Ziyu was transferred back to Lin'an to recuperate last year, and served as a waiter in Huiyou Pavilion. A few days ago, he was appointed as the governor of Zhenjiang. In time to take office.