Chapter 185 Reform ideas

After the Battle of Huixibao, a strong sense of crisis was always suppressed by Zhang Huan's heart. It was not the real Tubo army that attacked Huixibao, but the vassals of the Tubo army. Most of them did not even have armor. Despite this, the fierce and fearless aura they showed when they attacked the city, what impressed Zhang Huan was that Tubo's sharp siege weapons were no less than the technical level of the Tang Dynasty.

A battle seemed to be a test of gold and stone, exposing all the weaknesses of the Xiliang Army. The army was insufficient in number, the strategic depth was too narrow, and there was no general who could stand alone, and his weapons had no advantage.

But through this battle, he also gained a lot of new inspiration, that is, the talents he urgently needed are actually around him. They are scholars, soldiers, or craftsmen, and they are all uncarved pieces of uncarved jade. Yes, as long as they carefully polish it, they will surely shine for a day.

All this takes time, but he has no time. The Tubo army in Zhangye County is like an iron block hanging above his head with a thin rope, which will fall off at any time.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary means must be used. The first thing Zhang Huan did when he returned to Wuwei was to decisively dismiss ten mediocre county magistrates, county magistrates and county magistrates of the six counties of Wuwei County. These people were the ones who temporarily let go when he killed Yan County Magistrate Yan in order not to cause chaos. Now that Wuwei County is completely controlled by him, there is no need to retain these people.

After dismissing ten major officials, Zhang Huan picked out the ten best performers from the more than 400 scholars serving in the army, took over the positions of these officials, and set rules. Since then, the selection of officials in Hexi has been selected from the army.

At the same time, Zhang Huan announced in the Xiliang Army that due to Li Hengqiu's poor performance in the Battle of Huixi Fort, he was dismissed as General of the Central Army, demoted him to General of the Lang, and appointed him as General of Liushahe Military and Horse Envoy. At the same time, he appointed Huixi County Magistrate Luo Len to serve as Huixi Defense Envoy, who was fully responsible for the military and political affairs of Huixi Fort.

These two things suddenly caused a sensation in Hexi. The reason for this was that it broke many taboos in the court. For example, the appointment of local officials was chosen by the court. Even in the territory controlled by several major families, although they had their own private troops, vast farmland and countless slaves, the appointment and removal power of local officials was always in the hands of the court. These families had at most priority recommendation and impeachment rights. They could recommend their own people to the Ministry of Personnel, or impeach incompetent officials to the Ministry of Personnel. Generally speaking, the Ministry of Personnel would accept it. This is the unspoken rule.

Therefore, when Zhang Huan killed Yan County Magistrate, he did not dare to challenge this red line, so he used the means of framed him as an internal supporter of Tubo, and then used public anger to kill him.

But the Battle of Xibao became a turning point for Zhang Huan to control Hexi. He kicked away the various rules of the court, completely grasped the personnel rights in his own hands, and acted according to his own wishes.

Among the ten new officials he appointed, half were scholars who failed the imperial examination, and even let a scholar replace the general who had experienced many battles. All of these subverted the tradition and strongly sent a signal to all scholars and soldiers that in Hexi, as long as you have the ability and talent, you have the opportunity to stand out.

It was already late at night, and Zhang Huan's study was still brightly lit. From the window paper, he could be seen walking and thinking. On his desk was a report by Song Qi, the Chief of the Ordnance Office, on the development of gunpowder weapons.

This is a very exciting news for Zhang Huan. The sharp siege weapons of the Hehuang people made him feel a strong crisis. Even the complex weapons of the mechanism were learned by Tubo. The crossbow arrows that the Tang Dynasty was proud of were naturally more difficult to keep confidential. If it weren't for the scarce resources of Tubo, he might one day see the Tubo people Modao team with full heavy armor!

He had realized that if he wanted the Tang army to maintain an advantage in the future battle against nomadic peoples, he could only use more advanced and lethal weapons.

Modao is one of them. Its powerful weapon against nomadic cavalry. Zhang Huan had also considered building his own Modao Army, but he gave up because of the special steel required and the scarce resources of Wuwei. However, the gunpowder weapon that Song Qi suddenly proposed made Zhang Huan's eyes lit up. In the description of Song Qi's report, a picture appeared in his mind. A huge black object exploded violently in the cavalry group, and countless tiny killing iron sheets or armor-transparent nails burst out from the object, and even hardened with poison.

This is a new and extremely lethal weapon. Gunpowder has been around for hundreds of years. Zhang Huan also heard someone tell me when he was in Taiyuan Academy. A craftsman who made gunpowder stored a new formula gunpowder in a stone pot, but he accidentally ignited it. The gunpowder that was originally just aiding ignition actually burst out with great power, razing the entire house to the ground. His people and the new formula were destroyed.

Of course this is just a rumor, but in Song Qi's report it was clearly stated that gunpowder would explode when burned in small containers. They had already done experiments. Although it was only successful once, it confirmed the authenticity of this legend. The only problem now is that there is no gunpowder in Hexi. To be precise, there are no craftsmen who can do gunpowder. The gunpowder of the Tang Dynasty is only used for pharmaceuticals and alchemy. No one would have thought of using it for military purposes. Song Qi searched all counties in Wuwei and finally found more than a dozen barrels of dry black gunpowder in the warehouse of a pharmacy in Tianbao County.

Although it was just a preliminary idea, Zhang Huan immediately made the decision and developed gunpowder weapons at all costs.

He wrote a note on Song Qi's report: Allocation of 100,000 jin, entrusting 500 soldiers to establish a firearms bureau, and ordered Song Qi to find a suitable bureau chief.

Just as Zhang Huan was writing quickly, a white hand placed a bowl of ginseng tea next to him, then a soft body leaned on his back, and his warm hands gently stroked his hair.

Zhang Huan finished writing the last word, put down his pen, leaned on the back of the chair, put one hand on his wife's waist, and carefully stroked her obviously bulging belly with the other hand, and smiled, "Why don't you stay in the room, but you ran to the front and carelessly flashed."

Pei Ying has been pregnant for six months, her body is getting heavier and has become quite inconvenient to walk. In addition, the weather is hot, so she stays at home and never goes out. However, the joy of becoming a mother fills the beautiful woman's heart, making her more gentle.

But today she changed her attitude toward her little daughter. She pouted and whispered in Zhang Huan's ear for a while, and said coquettishly: "You always stay in the study room, and you don't go back to your room every day at midnight, and ignore others. You don't even want to find someone to talk to."

"You can talk to Cui Ning! When I'm not here, isn't she always with you?" Zhang Huan said, lowering her head and pressing her ear against Pei Ying's belly and listening carefully. Suddenly, he said in surprise: "Ying'er, I seem to hear his heartbeat."

Pei Ying didn't say anything. She stroked her husband's face lovingly and suddenly asked in a low voice: "Get sick, are you deliberately coming back late, afraid that you can't help it and ruin the child in my belly?"

Zhang Huan smiled bitterly, there was a little reason for this, but not exactly it. He smiled and said, "You know that after the World War West Fort, it was my chance. No matter what I do, I can find various reasons based on this battle. I have to seize the time to complete the deployment, so I have a little neglected you these days, and I will spend more time with you in the future."

"I know, I have been inconvenient these days, and I have really made you suffer a little." Pei Ying sighed and said to Zhang Huan: "Or, you can take a few concubines and I will arrange it for you. I have a few good women, all of whom are wealthy in Wuwei County, with innocent wealth and good looks."

Cui Ning's lonely figure flashed quickly in Zhang Huan's mind. He shook his head and said, "Ying'er, it's not that I don't want to take a concubine, but there are many young generals in the army who can't get married. There are few Han women in Hexi. If I don't restrain myself, let everyone think about it. If you are interested, arrange a marriage for He Lou Wuji, Wang Siyu, Li Shuangyu and others for me. This is a good thing."

"Forget it, you don't appreciate my kindness. I'm a matchmaker for them. Let's talk about it after I give birth!" Pei Ying gave Zhang Huan a blank look and said lazily: "I'm a little tired. Should you continue to work in the official business or go back with me."

Zhang Huan quickly stood up and helped Pei Ying and smiled, "I'm really a stupid donkey when I'm doing business at this time."

Pei Ying was happy when she saw her husband being tactful. She pointed to the ginseng tea ceremony on the desk: "Drink it before leaving."

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The moonlight is bright and the night is gentle as water. Pei Ying takes Zhang Huan's hand and walks slowly. A breeze blows on her face, making people feel relaxed.

"Get sick, what name are you going to give our kids?"

"If it's a boy, it's called Zhang Qi."

"What if it's a girl?"

"Well! The girl is also called Zhang Qi."

"You're going to be lazy."

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"Get sick, do you wish I had a boy or a girl in my belly?

"Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's my heart and soul."

"I hope it's a boy, so that I will be the number one hero of the Xiliang Army."

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After passing through a moon gate, the two walked onto the short corridor. The corridor was narrow, and they let go and walked back and forth. As soon as they walked out of the short corridor, they saw Cui Ning coming hurriedly. As soon as she saw Pei Ying, she complained: "Where have you been running? I'm so worried."
Chapter completed!