Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

There is no rush for gunpowder, we have to test the recipe bit by bit, and Ping An plans to do it himself.So just ask Youtai to buy all the sulfur and saltpeter in Qinzhou. If you have time, you can go to nearby counties or even other states to buy them. In short, the more the better.

As for himself, he should concentrate on solving the Liu family's affairs first.

There was a problem at the mine, it was just a warning.If you don't deal with it in time, maybe other mines will have problems.Besides, maybe you can catch the tail of the person behind the scenes, Ping An will not waste such a good opportunity.

So Ping An quickly passed Qian Cheng's side and met Liu Qingyu, the head of the Liu family.

This man was unexpectedly young.Because I heard that the daughter of the Liu family is the concubine of the fifth prince, Ping An thought she should be a middle-aged man in his 50s or [-]s.As a result, Liu Qingyu looked less than thirty.It seems that the one in the Fifth Prince's Mansion should be his younger sister.

"I've heard about the eunuch Qi's name for a long time, and I just got to see him today. I'm really lucky!" Liu Qingyu is tall and tall, with an extraordinary appearance, but there is no youthful arrogance on his face, and his speech is even more mellow .Like an old fox who has been in the mall for a long time.

Such people are difficult to fool, but Ping An is not here to do business, but to discuss cooperation.The business of folding fans is entrusted to him, so I think he should be at ease.

Therefore, Ping An's attitude is also very good, "I planned to visit the door a long time ago, but there was no reason for it, and I was afraid of being abrupt, so I dragged it until today. Please don't blame Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu can manage such a family business at a young age. That’s just astonishing.”

"Not as many as Eunuch Qi!"

The two flattered each other, Liu Qingyu took the initiative to ask, "I don't know why eunuch Qi came to the door today, why?"

"It's because of the blast furnace accident that happened on the iron mine a few days ago." Ping An said, "That place is heavily guarded, and it's really shocking that someone can quietly mix saltpeter and sulfur into the ore."

"There is such a thing?" Liu Qingyu looked shocked, "I have never heard of it."

"Mr. Liu was joking. Although your family is no longer in charge of the iron mine, those people are old people left behind by the Liu family. Have you really heard nothing?" Pingan smiled and asked.

Liu Qingyu hesitated, as if considering the purpose of safety.

If Ping An has the evidence, there is no need to visit the door at all, just deal with it directly.But if there is no evidence, what is he talking about this call for?

Ping An said, "I know Liu Yuanwai has a lot of doubts about me. But the iron ore belongs to the bow and arrow factory. After all, it is turned into weapons and used to equip the army. This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people, right?"

"It's natural." Liu Qingyu replied vaguely.

"I also know that this matter is a great loss to the Liu family. So I came here today with sincerity." Ping An said as he took out a folding fan and handed it to Liu Qingyu, "Mr. Liu, please take a look. I Seeing the extraordinary heroic appearance of the member, he also likes poetry and books, do you think this thing is good?"

Liu Qingyu took the folding fan, not knowing how to use it.Ping An raised his hand to help, "It can be unfolded in this way."

After unfolding the folding fan, Liu Qingyu saw the inscription on it, and read in a low voice: "The cool wind has faith, and the wind and moon are boundless? Eunuch Qi, this is..."

"This is a folding fan." Ping An said, "It's very convenient for scholars to hold the fan in their hands to cool off in summer. Of course, the most important thing is that they can write poems and draw pictures on the fan, display their works, and ask for help. Someone else's calligraphy is very convenient. Member Liu thought, can this thing be sold?"

Following his description, Liu Qingyu's eyes lit up.The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the eight words "the cool wind has faith, the wind and the moon are boundless" are really appropriate, and they have exhausted the benefits of this folding fan.

So when he heard Ping An's question, Liu Qingyu looked at him with certainty and said, "Of course it can. If you think about it, it will make people flock to it. You don't even need to speak during the literary meeting, just unfold the folding fan, and you can express your ambition with poetry, calligraphy and painting, isn't it? Wonderful?"

Hearing this, Pingan knew that he had scratched his itch, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "Jiangnan's style of writing is even better. If this business can be done there, it must be very profitable."

"It's natural." Speaking of doing business, Liu Qingyu calmed down. Although he was still playing with the folding fan, the joy on his face had all subsided. "What does Eunuch Qi mean?"

"I mean, I want to give this business to the Liu family."

As expected, Liu Qingyu was worthy of being a businessman. He didn't ask whether the matter was true or not, and didn't say anything else. He just asked, "What's your condition?"

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Liu Qingyu, who is in charge of the family at a young age, naturally understands this truth better.Ping An delivered such a huge benefit to him, so he would naturally ask for it.Mostly it has something to do with the iron mine, but just like this, I am afraid there is no way to make him bleed like this.

It's easy to talk to cheerful people.

Pingan was also very satisfied with Liu Qingyu's attitude, nodded and said, "There are indeed a few requirements. First, I hope that this kind of 'accident' will never happen again in the mine. Second, I need to know who is behind this time. Finally, Yuanwai Liu also knows that there are many craftsmen in my factory. I have promised to bring their families here. It’s just that there are so many mouths, and they can’t eat for free. If this business can be done, Yuanwai Liu must also need it. Manpower, I hope you will give priority to these family members."

There is no question of who "his backer" is the most embarrassing for Liu Qingyu. After a little deliberation, Liu Qingyu feels that these three words are very appropriate, and the most important thing is not to embarrass him.So he nodded readily and agreed, "I can agree. But if eunuch Qi's people don't meet the requirements, I have the right to refuse them."

"It's natural. Mr. Liu is doing business, not running a charitable hall, so it won't make it difficult for you." Ping An said, "What about the second question?"

"Cao Supervisor from your factory once visited my house." Liu Qingyu sold Cao Wuwei unceremoniously.

Hearing that it was him, Ping An was a little surprised.Because among those four people, this Cao Wuwei was the one he couldn't see through the most, but he didn't expect that this thing was actually done by him.Pingan thought for a while and asked, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for Yuanwai Liu to be swayed by his one-sided words alone?"

The Bow and Arrow Factory belongs to the Bingzhan Bureau, so it is naturally the emperor's private property, and the relationship with the government is even closer. If there is no benefit, Liu Qingyu doesn't seem like someone who would be foolish enough to provoke Ping An.

Liu Qingyu had no choice but to say, "Naturally, he claims to have connections in Beijing and he came from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As long as eunuch Qi can be driven away, then he will have a way to return the iron ore to me."

In fact, Liu Qingyu's life is not easy.The iron ore is said to be in his hands, but everyone knows that it is in the hands of his backer in Beijing.Now that he lost the iron ore himself, he may have also implicated the person in Jingli. Obviously, not only will he not be able to get support anymore, he may also be punished.Even if the sky is high and the earth is far away, the Liu family might not be able to withstand the thunderous anger of a prince.

So if there is a chance to recapture the iron mine, how could Liu Qingyu not be tempted?

Ministry of Internal Affairs?Ping An was really surprised this time.But after thinking about it, Cao Wuwei's appearance is indeed somewhat similar to that of Zhu Cheng, and it is not surprising that he is one of his subordinates.However, isn't the Ministry of Internal Affairs Zhao Xuan's territory?

But in Zhao Xuan's eyes, Ping'an was still his. Because he was afraid of being unreliable, he sent Xiaoquan to supervise him. If he was so sure that he would not miss me, why did he use people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?And if it was Zhao Xuan's person, why did he rashly attack him when he didn't listen to Zhao Xuan's words?

In this way, there is only one explanation: framing.

Those who can mobilize the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ping An only know Zhao Xuan and the Queen Mother.It is also unlikely to be someone sent by the Queen Mother.She doesn't need the benefits of the bow and arrow factory, so she sent people here from a long distance to deal with Ping An?

Or did Zhu Cheng make his own claim?Or is there someone else behind it?

Ping An felt a little headache.Obviously found the culprit, but fell into more puzzles.

Now is not the time to think, and Ping An himself couldn't think of a clue, so he simply put aside these thoughts.Discussed with Liu Qingyu about the business of folding fans and the placement of the family members, and then left safely.

On the way back, Ping An couldn't help but sigh with emotion, the Minister of Internal Affairs is really haunted, even after he left the capital, someone still came here with him.Shouldn't they have stayed in the palace and fought against the inspector of ceremonies in an attempt to restore the grand occasion?

When Zhang Dongyuan talked about this, Ping An still felt that this matter was far away from him.The last time was clearly an innocent disaster, and I had suffered it for the Supervisor of Rituals, so I just need to stay away from now on.In the end...could it be that these people refused to give up because they hadn't calculated themselves once?

Ping An doesn't feel that he is that important.

It's not that Ping'an is underestimating itself, but according to most people, going to Qinzhou to set up a bow and arrow factory is probably no different from being assigned.That being the case, safety is naturally not so important.

In any case, things in the capital are still far away.But Cao Wuwei's nail can be pulled out first.

Unlike Wang Shunzi, although Wang Shunzi had close contacts with the Liu family at that time, in the final analysis, he did not do anything out of the ordinary.So when something happened to the Liu family, he was sent back to the capital safely.As for what you will encounter after you go back, it will no longer be within the jurisdiction of Ping An.

But here in Cao Wuwei, Liu Qingyu is not someone who can be controlled by him, and has already left evidence.He secretly attacked the iron ore, that is, hindered the development of the bow and arrow factory, and Ping An could deal with people directly.

In the end, Ping An decided to hand over the man to Kai Yang for interrogation.

Kai Yang glanced at Ping An with a black line on his face, and left with him.But I was worried, he is excellent in martial arts, but it doesn't mean he will interrogate!Isn't that his job description?

But since Ping An entrusted the matter to him, it seemed impossible not to do it.In the end, Kai Yang turned his head and threw the person to Xu Wenmei, letting him deal with it.

Ping An didn't know this, and was trying his best to recall the formula of gunpowder.

Sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal.High school chemistry seems to have memorized relevant formulas, but now Ping An is racking his brains, and all he can think of is the raw materials. As for the usage and dosage, he has to experiment by himself.

These three things are not rare, and Ping An has already asked Youtai to buy a lot.But what is the exact ratio?

平安隐隐记得硝石要更多一点。所以犹豫了一下，分别弄了个1:2:1,1:3:1和1:4:1的对照组。除此之外，还有陶瓷坛子，大竹筒和小铁盒的对照组。

After finishing, Ping An took these things to find an open place and buried them.Then there was no rush to ignite it, but Youtai, Qian Cheng, Xu Wenmei and Kaiyang were called over, and then Shi Shiran ignited the fuse.

The result is that the fuzes of this era are not very powerful, and some of them did not explode at all.The blasted part of the gravel was flying, and the sound was loud, and it seemed that the effect was quite good.Especially seeing the terrified expressions on other people's faces, their complexions were a little pale, and Ping An couldn't stop laughing inwardly.

Xu Wenmei was well-informed and quickly realized, "Is this gunpowder?"

When he mentioned it, everyone else understood.After all, there is a gunpowder bureau under the Bingzhan Bureau, and everyone has been in the capital and even the palace, so how could they not know about it?It's just that the Gunpowder Bureau can't produce any decent things that can equip the army, so over time, few people mention it.

Seeing Ping An nodding, Xu Wenmei said, "You have been working on this for the past few days?" He walked over to check it, "It looks good, but I'm afraid it can't kill the enemy. And if it is used on the battlefield, the enemy is unlucky. People can't please."

"Storage and transportation are also problematic." Qian Cheng said, "The gunpowder bureau outside the city has been bombed three times since the founding of the country."

If this thing is not good, it will hurt yourself instead. This kind of thing is shocking and frightening, so naturally I would rather not use it.So the people standing here actually all support Ping An's research.

Ping An didn't expect to be able to change anything immediately, but said, "The iron smelting furnace exploded a few times, which might affect the production of bows and arrows. I'm thinking of making something like this just in case. It should be fine to use it when the army is at war.”

Since he knew it well, the others didn't say anything, they just told Ping An to take care. ——It’s not like I blow myself up when I didn’t study.

Ping An couldn't laugh or cry at this.

Some people stay away from what they don't understand, while others want to conquer it.It is precisely because of the latter type of people that society will continue to progress and develop. Otherwise, everyone will stay where they are.This step is very difficult, but since he has seen the scenery ahead, how can he allow everyone to stop here?

In fact, there are very few people in Da Chu who know about firearms, and even rarer are those who have seen the use and power of them.If no one pushes this thing to everyone's eyes, how can it be valued?

If there is an opportunity, Ping An will definitely use it, so that everyone can see the benefits, and naturally no one will object.

Danger?Swords have no eyes on the battlefield, so is it safe to use firearms?

So no matter what other people think, every time Ping An creates a new variety, it will enthusiastically pull everyone to try it.Among them, Kaiyang is the calmest, but he never expresses his opinion.Qian Cheng is the most courageous, but also very suspicious.On the contrary, Youtai, seeing that Ping An was too busy, offered to help.The others were driven by him and slowly joined in.

……

After four or five functions of Ping An's "self-made improvised bomb" were improved, Feng Yutang hurried back from Xinzhou.

He brought a definite message that no one wanted to hear.The Rong people were really so small that they stopped the Qizhou army at the place called Sun Ridge!As soon as the two sides met, there was a real fight, but because Xirong occupied a favorable location, the Qizhou Army couldn't win at all.

Before Feng Yutang rushed back, the Qizhou Army had already sent manpower to the Xinzhou Army for help.Now I'm afraid the news has arrived.If the Shinshu Army really went to help.Then the Zhuozhou Army is likely to be isolated.

Fears have become reality.

Everyone gathered together and looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Is it really that evil?" Qian Cheng rubbed his forehead, repeatedly looking at the road map brought back by Feng Yutang.Because he was the one who spoke first last time, he secretly felt a little guilty, thinking that if he hadn't opened his mouth, he might not have encountered such trouble.

Xu Wenmei saw what he was thinking, and sneered, "Don't think too much. The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. Originally, the three armies were sent to deal with such a situation. But unexpectedly, their cooperation with each other seemed to have gone wrong. question."

If the Zhuozhou army hadn't walked so fast, they would have gotten the news soon and then stopped.In this way, everyone keeps a relatively close distance and supports each other. Even if the Xirong people come, they will not be able to please.

But obviously something went wrong in the middle, and the Zhuozhou Army broke away from the main force and rushed ahead.

Feng Yutang nodded with a sullen face. In this situation, everyone can see that something is wrong.Because the goal of the three-way army is not to enter the grassland to be finished, but to build a fortress and city wall before Xirong arrives, and then defend it according to the danger, so that Xirong cannot take this place back.By the spring of next year, these sites will all belong to Dachu.

But now Xirong has arrived one step ahead of schedule, and the armies of the three parties have not yet arrived at their destination.One of the roads was stopped by them, and the other road was held in the footsteps.Even if everything goes well for the Zhuozhou army, they will still be alone. Xi Rong only needs to cut off the supply route, and they will be trapped on the grassland to death!

"Let's pass the news back to the capital first." Ping An said, "Send a copy to the governor of the Northwest Road in Xinzhou."

Feng Yutang said, "I have already delivered it."

He handled his affairs properly, and when he found out that there was such a sign, he had already sent someone to deliver the letter.But now, even the governor may not have a good solution. This time, Da Chu has brought out all the best, leaving only a small number of soldiers defending the city.If you don't have any troops to dispatch, so what if you know the news?

"You can't do nothing and just wait like this?" Qian Cheng expressed everyone's aspirations in one sentence.

War sounds bloody, but bloodshed and sacrifice can also be seen.No one wants this kind of thing to happen in front of their own eyes.

Pingan thought for a while and asked him, "How many people are there in the Imperial City Division on the Northwest Road?"

"More than 100." Qian Chengdao, "Most of them were recruited in the past two years, so I'm afraid they won't be able to accomplish much."

"What civilian husbands can do, they can't be worse, right?" Ping An said.

Feng Yutang asked, "My lord, do you want people from the Imperial City Division to send supplies to the Zhuozhou Army?" He immediately stood up, "This subordinate is willing to take people there!"

"This is my business, what are you meddling with?" Qian Cheng immediately pulled him away, "Of course I will go." Those people are all his subordinates, if you don't go to control them, you really can't rest assured.But... "How much supplies can more than 100 people transport?" I'm afraid it's just a drop in the bucket, right?

"I have to ask Yutang about that." Ping An looked at Feng Yutang seriously, "Your hibernation for the past two years is all for today, are you really ready?"

"Yes!" Feng Yutang replied loudly.

Ping An said, "Then you two go together."

"What kind of riddle?" Qian Cheng scratched his head, "Could it be that Yutang has been hiding things for the past two years?"

A smile appeared on Feng Yutang's face, "About ten thousand stones of food and grass are hidden along the entire border."

In fact, this number is not too much, but if it supports the exhausted Zhuozhou army, it should be enough to allow them to retreat with strength.Besides, the governor of the Northwest will definitely send supplies there.

But what Ping An asked them to send was mainly bows and arrows.With bows and arrows, soldiers have the power to fight.Otherwise, if you run out of things in your hand, you can only fight the enemy close to you.

Now that a decision has been made, the sooner the better, Ping An contacted the Liu family, "requisitioned" a batch of cars, loaded them up and set off.Before leaving, Ping An carefully carried a box into the car, and said to Feng Yutang and Qian Chengdao, "Be careful with this thing, don't blow it up next to you."

"Did you load the bomb?" Qian Cheng almost jumped up.

Ping An smiled, "The road is not smooth, maybe it will be useful if you bring this with you?"

Qian Cheng frowned and thought about it, and felt that this thing is really good for emergency, so he agreed with a sigh.Feng Yutang didn't have time to see the test site, so he didn't know what the two were talking about.However, the things given by Ping An must be carefully put away.

He looked at Ping An, and said that sentence again, "Then we will leave now, and we will live up to your entrustment."