Fenghou

Of course, not all of it is borne by the Kelei Ministry, but shared by the three tribes, with an average of 200 million sheep per family.

Husi Khan secretly admired his brother Tiemusi's foresight, which was very accurate. As expected, there were 200 million sheep.

"We don't need you to send troops, but we need you to send some people to help deal with grassland affairs, such as handling prisoners of war, but I want to make it clear that the prisoners of war and the population belong to you, but the cattle, sheep and big tents are our spoils of war."

There is no problem with this, Husi Khan also readily agreed, he hesitated and said: "Can we share part of the captured armor?"

"It's not a big problem, let's see the situation!"

The next step is the post-war arrangement, which is also the key. Zhang Zhe first proposed that the Kelie Ministry must submit to the Yong Dynasty and accept the canonization of the Yong Dynasty.

Si Khan responded vaguely to this request, "It is a custom in the Sui and Tang Dynasties to respect the Khan of Heaven, and the Kelei Department also has a heart of nostalgia."

The implication is that the Yong Dynasty had to show its true ability to shock the grassland just like the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Zhang Zhe smiled and didn't delve into this issue. This point needs to be discussed after the war.

Zhang Zhe then mentioned the second requirement, that the Yong Dynasty would control Kedun City and its surrounding grasslands just like the Liao and Jin Dynasties.

Husi Khan's expression changed. This was the thing he was most worried about. Once the Yong Dynasty followed the example of the Liao and Jin Dynasties and occupied Kedun City, it would be to substantially control the grassland.

Zhang Zhe saw the other party's worry, so he said lightly: "In fact, this should have nothing to do with the grassland ministries, but Duncheng and its surrounding two hundred miles have always been the territory of Liao and Jin. It should be inherited by the Yong Dynasty, I just explained to Khan."

Husi Khan asked helplessly: "Can Special Envoy Zhang please tell us clearly the scope of control of Ketun City?"

Of course, Liao and Jin's control of Kedun City is not just a city, but also the surrounding land. The land is slightly smaller.

Zhang Zhe said unhurriedly: "With Kedun City as the center, the surrounding area of ​​[-] miles belongs to the territory of the Yong Dynasty, and other pastures belong to your three departments."

The territory of the grassland occupied by the Yong Dynasty is about 12 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the area of ​​a province in later generations. Compared with the entire grassland, it is not large, but what the Yong Dynasty got is the cabbage core of the entire grassland, which is the most plump and richest. piece of land.

The Sui Dynasty built the Great Wall to defend the grassland, while the Tang Dynasty built three surrendered cities to control the grassland, but it was the Liao Kingdom that really controlled the grassland. Controls all ministries of the steppe.

The Yong Dynasty's imitation was the strategy of the Liao Kingdom, occupying Kedun City and the surrounding large grasslands, and the legal principles were very sufficient. It inherited the land of the Liao and Jin, and had nothing to do with the grassland ministries.

However, the grasslands have always believed that the strong are kings. Without strong military force, no amount of legal principles is useless.

On the contrary, as long as the force is strong enough, all grassland peoples will bow their heads and ears to you, and all peoples with wolves as their totems will respect the wolf king. Benevolence and righteousness are useless, only strength is the truth.

Of course, the Yong Dynasty believed in the kingly way rather than domineering. The difference between the two is that the domineering monopolizes and the kingly way wins.

While the Yong Dynasty occupied Ketun City, it would also turn Ketun City into a goods trading center on the grassland.

At the same time, it will not imitate the Liao and Jin Dynasties to impose taxes on the grasslands. The Yong Dynasty will not collect taxes, and it will obtain huge profits through commodity transactions.

This trick is in the Hexi Corridor.

Zhang Zhe then went north to Linhuang Mansion, where he still met with the leaders of the Tata and Mierqi tribes, and Kret's Husi Khan followed immediately. The three of them wanted to reach a common governance of the grassland with the Yong Dynasty. protocol.

Of course, it is already late October, and there is no possibility of another war. The Yong Dynasty army's conquest of the Naiman tribe will also be delayed after the beginning of spring next year.

Zhang Zhe will send the negotiation results to the capital in the form of Eagle Letter in Linhuang Mansion.

……

After entering November, even if it has entered the early winter season, the capital city and even the whole north have not yet snowed, but the weather is getting colder every day.

This morning, Chen Qing informed several prime ministers of Anxi's latest situation.

"After the Qilihe victory, Liu Qiong continued to lead the army westward, but this was a lonely army. Once the enemy cut off the food and grass for backup, the consequences would be very serious. Liu Qiong also knew this very well. He marched very slowly, more to create momentum , forcing Xiliao to withdraw from the grassland!"

"Has Xiliao withdrew its troops?" Zhou Kuan asked.

Chen Qing nodded, "It has already been withdrawn. According to the information we got, only 5000 people were left in Xiliao to garrison Ketun City, and the rest of the army was all withdrawn to Xiliao. The eagle sent a message that it began to snow in Anxi."

Lu Qingshan said: "In this case, the [-] troops will have to stay in Anxi for the winter. Do you have food and winter clothes?"

"There are a lot of them. Whether it's the seized materials or the Xizhou Huihe warehouse, there are enough grain and winter clothes. Don't worry, everyone. What we need to consider now is to take advantage of this winter to quickly select suitable officials. After the spring, we can go to Anxi to take office. .”

Jiang Yanxian asked: "Is Your Majesty sure to set up Yizhou, Xizhou, Tingzhou, Yanqi Prefecture, and Qiuci Prefecture first?"

Chen Qing nodded, "At present, these five prefectures are set up first, but they are all governor prefectures. At the prefecture level, there are governors and chief officials. The army is in charge at the county level, and the people are in charge at the county level, I hope everyone can make this point clear.”

Xu Xiantu smiled and said, "I've been reading the "Old Tang Book" recently. During the Kaiyuan Tianbao period, the imperial court recruited people from the Central Plains to settle in Anxi.

Chen Qing nodded, "There is indeed such a plan. I am considering moving millions of Han people to Anxi in 20 years, including the families of the garrison troops and ordinary farmers. I want Anxi to become the granary of the Yong Dynasty and the largest cotton producer."

At this time, someone outside suddenly exclaimed, "It's snowing!"

Everyone got up and walked to the window one after another, only to see heavy snow falling from the sky, and the first snow this year came very early.

The first thousand and 530 chapters nine firearms

The room was very warm, and Lu Wei sat aside, looking at Chen Qing nervously.

Chen Qing was fiddling with an iron pipe. Last year, the Firearms Supervision invented a burst gun, but it used a bamboo pipe. A bamboo pipe can only be used two or three times before it is damaged.

More than a month ago, Chen Qing gave the Ministry of Industry a firm order to find a way to make an iron pipe.

Of course, Chen Qing wanted to make guns, but in fact he was not very keen on making guns. The power of the Qin crossbow formation was too powerful. Skilled crossbowmen could string and load arrows within half a minute. Within 5 minutes, 5 Ten thousand people can shoot 50 heavy arrows, and any nomadic cavalry or small town in the Western Regions will be destroyed, and if the wind is favorable, the range can reach more than [-] steps.

But Chen Qing also knows that gunpowder weapons are inevitable in the development of history. If he does not make them himself, they will be preempted by the West hundreds of years later, and he will become a national sinner.

What's more, building artillery and firing iron fire mines is more convenient than trebuchets and has a longer range.

The iron pipe in his hand is very delicate, with smooth lines and dense texture. The key is that the thickness is consistent, the inner bore is polished very smooth, and no seams can be seen on the surface.

"Is it cast with a tubular mold?" Chen Qing asked with great interest.

"Actually, this was made in the Ironware Bureau under the Firearms Supervision. According to His Majesty's ideas, I invited the craftsmen who made the guns to cooperate. At first, they used pottery pipe molds to cast them, but the guns craftsmen said it was too rough. It’s easy to explode, and then replaced with the current method.”

"any solution?"

"It is forged from a red-hot wrought iron plate. It is actually not difficult. Hit the middle of the iron plate repeatedly with a round hammer, and the iron plate will roll up and form a cylinder. Then insert an iron rod in the middle. , repeated heating and forging, the joints will be melted into one, and an iron pipe will come out. At this time, it cannot be quenched in water, it must be cooled naturally, and then it will be polished, and finally this iron pipe in the hands of His Highness."

"Just this one?"

"There is also a copper pipe, which is given to the musket craftsmen. They go to study and make new muskets."

"When was it given to them?"

"About ten days ago."

"Go and see!"

Chen Qing got into the carriage, followed by Lu Wei in the carriage. Under the protection of more than a thousand cavalry, the team left the city from the wall and headed northwest of the city. The snow was not heavy yesterday, and the road was not covered with snow, but The truth has been frozen, and there are almost no pedestrians.

The team soon arrived at the Firearms Supervision twenty miles west of the city. The Firearms Supervision was originally the Firearms Department and was affiliated with the Military Weapons Supervision. The monitors are juxtaposed.

The former Firearms Administration Commander, Yang Bo, has been promoted to the Military Weapons Supervisory Order. The current Firearms Supervisory Order is held by Zhao Wenxin, the former Deputy Commander of the Armaments Administration. It has three departments: the Gunpowder Administration, the Firearms Administration, and the Iron Weapons Administration.

When the emperor and the minister of the Ministry of Industry arrived, Zhao Wenxin led the officials to welcome them out.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Dear dears, you have worked hard. I am very concerned about the situation of the guns, so I came to take a look!"

Zhao Wenxin hurriedly said: "The firearms supervisor also attaches great importance to the improvement of the firearms. We have set up a special research and development team, and Xie Shuling will be in charge!"

Chen Qing nodded, "I want to know more about it!"

Zhao Wenxin hurriedly led the way, "Your Majesty, please come with me!"

The musket was really not what Chen Qing thought of. The historical musket was invented in Shouchun in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was the inevitable result of the development of firearms in the Song Dynasty.

Last year, several firearms craftsmen from the Firearms Department came up with this idea when they were making gunpowder arrows, and immediately started to implement it. First, they used wooden and bamboo tubes to experiment and improve.

It was only a month ago that Chen Qing knew about it, and after a whole year of research and development, it has been upgraded to copper tubes, and the iron seeds made with copper tubes are 150 steps away.

It's just that the copper pipe is made of two half-pipe hoops, and there is a seam that is prone to air leakage. It is imminent to make a complete pipe.

"Your Majesty, this is the Musket Compound!" Zhao Wenxin pointed to a closed door.

Seeing that there were still soldiers standing guard at the door, Chen Qing smiled and said, "The security is tight!"

"Must, the musket is a huge breakthrough in firearms, even surpassing the iron fire mine, and we attach great importance to it from top to bottom."

"Do you think muskets will surpass bows and crossbows?" Chen Qingxiao asked.

"We have also discussed this issue internally. Everyone thinks that it will not happen for the time being, but it will definitely happen in the future."

……

Chen Qing walked into the gun compound, which covers an area of ​​ten acres. There are also warehouses, manufacturing rooms, and a special gun testing ground. The gun team consists of twenty best craftsmen, including gunpowder craftsmen, firearms craftsmen and blacksmiths. Xie Ying, ordered by the Firearms Administration, is in charge.

Hearing that the Son of Heaven was coming, Xie Ying hurriedly stepped forward to salute. Seeing that he had lost a lot of weight, Chen Qing asked with concern, "Have you been in poor health recently?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have been involved in the development of muskets for the past few months, and there are many difficulties. Everyone is trying to solve them. I worry more, so I lost weight."

Next to him, Zhao Wen said: "Xie Shuling lives and boards in the Musket Academy, and hasn't returned home for half a year."

Chen Qing nodded, he knew that Xie Ying was not an ordinary official, he was the best craftsman, Tie Huolei was successfully trial-produced in his hands, and the Burgundy Gun was also his whim.

"You may need this iron pipe!"

Chen Qing handed the iron pipe to Xie Ying, Xie Ying was overjoyed, this iron pipe came too timely.

"Thanks to Your Majesty, we can experiment with iron pipes."

"Show me your brass guns first."

"Your Majesty, this way please!"

Xie Ying brought Chen Qing to the gun testing ground. Chen Qing saw the musket on the table at a glance. The wooden butt was still drawn by him. It was a very long brass gun, which looked like a blunderbuss.

Chen Qing picked up the musket and examined it carefully. There was a hole in it, and a two-inch-long matchstick was inserted into it. That is to say, every time the matchlock had to be ignited, the gunpowder and iron pellets were inserted from the muzzle of the gun. Go in, and then remove the poking strip under the barrel, and poke the gunpowder or iron pellets tightly.

There are two kinds of gunpowder, one is propellant powder and the other is igniter powder. The igniter powder is filled from the upper face. After the igniter powder is ignited by the match, the propellant powder will be ignited immediately, thereby ejecting the iron pellets.

Chen Qing flicked the igniter, lit the match, and immediately took aim with his gun, but before he could aim, the flames flashed in front of his eyes, the gun barrel spewed out flames, and a huge recoil hit Chen Qing's shoulder Up, but he can bear it.

Looking at the target in the distance, it seemed that he missed it, Chen Qing shook his head, the burning was too fast.

Xie Ying next to him smiled wryly and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, we are going to change the matchlock to a longer length so that we can aim in time."

"Is it easy to light the fire?"

"It's very convenient. Now we use a good paint can to make a fire. When we open the lid, it will ignite as soon as it blows. When the lid is closed, the fire will go out. It is placed directly in the soldier's chest pocket, and the match can be lit dozens of times. "

Chen Qing originally wanted to talk about a matchlock gun, but he found that there was really no need to use a matchlock gun. The reason why he used a matchlock gun was because it was inconvenient to ignite. burn length.

"I can give you two suggestions!"

"Please give instructions, Your Majesty!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "My suggestion is three words, standardization!"

"standardization!"

Xie Ying muttered a few words, and then said, "Can you ask Your Majesty to clarify!"

"What is standardization, in fact, is to set a prescribed amount, such as how much gunpowder to put. If you rely on the experience of soldiers, it will not work. You can prepare many small bamboo tubes, which are filled with a certain amount of gunpowder. Just put one tube of gunpowder at a time. Soldiers need to consider how much to put.

Then the upper matchlock hole can be made into a square hole, which should protrude a little upwards. The shape of the matchlock is exactly the same as the hole. It should be hard and the bottom should be pointed. inside.

Soldiers can insert a matchlock each time, which is very convenient. You can even make it more standard, inserting the wrapped powder strip directly into the barrel. The black bottom is the ignition powder, and the upper red is the gunpowder. Wouldn't it be more convenient to shoot gunpowder and then insert iron pellets to poke it firmly? "

Xie Ying was like enlightened, the standardization of the world made it easy to solve the problems of uneven charging and inconvenient ignition that had plagued them for a long time.

Chapter 540 Old City

Xie Ying scratched her head and said, "Also, when shooting towards the city, the iron pellets will fall out!"

Chen Qing laughed, "Isn't this simple? Wrap the bullet with a piece of soft cloth and stuff it into the barrel, so the bullet won't slip out."

Xie Ying slapped his forehead, it was really that simple!

He asked expectantly, "Does Your Majesty have any other good suggestions?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "There are many suggestions. For example, you can install the fire folder on the stock of the gun. When you use it, just pull the cover and blow it to ignite. Then light the matchstick and insert it into the hole. Think about it carefully in the hole. Think of a way, such as making a metal square tube filled with gunpowder, inserting it directly into the hole, changing a square tube at a time, with a matching match at the top of each square tube, the design is a little more delicate, so that it is very convenient for soldiers to change gunpowder. "

"Weichen remember!"

"Then I will talk about another ignition method, which is called a flint ignition gun. There is no need for a fire switch. The principle is very simple. A flint is installed in the tunnel, and there is a firing device. There is a hanging knife below it like a crossbow. When you pull it Hanging the knife, the flint will be struck on it, and sparks will be generated, and the sparks will fall into the powder chamber, and the gunpowder will be ignited immediately."

Xie Ying nodded, "I understand the principle, but it's a bit complicated. I'm going to discuss it with the craftsmen."

"There is another suggestion, that is the three-eyed musket, which is three tubes. Its function is to fill the gunpowder and projectiles of the three tubes at one time, and then shoot three times in a row. This is very effective for shooting cavalry."

"Weichen remember!"

When Chen Qing came to the blacksmith shop, he saw several blacksmiths making iron pipes clangingly.

Chen Qing said to Zhao Wenxin and Xie Ying again: "Actually, what I care about most is the artillery, do you understand? It takes two or three miles to launch the iron fire thunder as a projectile, which is much farther than the trebuchet, and it is not so heavy. A camel can carry it, and if it is installed on a boat, it will be invincible."