Zhao Xingde mustered up his courage and suggested to Wang Yan to use a firecracker. His enthusiasm was almost extinguished by the two inferior products that blew up the barrel.

"Since Lord Tong escaped, everyone was almost completely discouraged and almost in despair," Su Wenyu said with an admiring tone, "but now that Wang Zongzhi has been replaced, we feel more comfortable to risk everything."

"Courage is like the money in your wallet. You have to take it out to gamble." Han Shizhong looked out the window at the dark night sky. Occasionally, there was a flash of fire, followed by the roar of Liao cannons. Now many soldiers in the city can be heard from time to time.

He fell asleep amidst the sound of shelling, "You lose and you lose, and suddenly everything comes out." He paused and smiled at Zhao Xingde, "At this time, the real courage comes out."

"Brother Han said it well, it's all obvious!" Zhao Xingde said with a smile. Su Wenyu also became interested when he heard the two of them talk about gambling. He said that he still had a few gambling tickets from Fuhai Casino in his arms.

Do you know if you hit the number?

The three of them just drank light wine one cup after another. Zhao Xingde's mind was in confusion, "This won't work, that won't work either. You are useless as a scholar. The Khitans only broke through the city in ten days, and some people took their lives."

Fight, what can I do?" He pondered again and again, and said to Han Shizhong: "Brother Han, can you lend me a thousand soldiers?"

Han Shizhong was stunned, put down his cup, and asked curiously: "What are you going to do?" Looking at Zhao Xingde's behavior, it seemed that he had suffered some setbacks and was going to attack the camp at night and die.

"Brothers, think about it, although the fire cannons made in the workshop are crude, there are more than 20,000 fire cannons in the Hejian arsenal. After sorting and testing, there may be thousands more that can be used." Zhao Xingde pondered.

After waiting for a long time, the only thing he could do to help defend the city was his belief that fire guns could kill the enemy.

A sharp tool. It's like mining. Maybe the place where you go down is a little far away from the veins. Some people give up after digging for dozens of meters. But you really know that as long as you keep digging down, you will definitely get a big harvest. So forget it.

In order to save his life, he had to use the firecrackers himself. Anyway, if the Liao people destroyed the city, everyone would die in the end.

"I have no problem borrowing troops, but I can't give them to each other privately. I need the approval of the commander." Han Shizhong looked at him strangely, stretched out his five fingers and waved them in front of Zhao Xingde's eyes, "Are you drunk? Or have you been fascinated by the fire gun?

Heart aperture?"

When Zhao Xingde went to control the Yamen and reported that he wanted to test the 20,000 fire guns one by one and select the suitable ones, Wang Yan also looked at him with the same look. In the afternoon, because he was a little angry because of the disappointment, Xingde said nothing, but he thought that Zhao Xingde was also in Beijing.

I don't know if I listened to someone's boast about the fire gun. I just believed it to be true and no longer cared about it. Young people, if they are not familiar with the world, will inevitably lose their composure.

Who would have expected that Zhao Xingde would be so stubborn that he found him overnight and offered to borrow a thousand soldiers to select the fire blunderbuss in the warehouse one by one. Wang Yan became really angry. This scholar seemed to be gentle, but how could he be so stubborn? Is it because of this?

What happened in the afternoon was a loss of face. Can you make up for it?

Wang Yan's face was as dark as water, and he stared at Zhao Xingde coldly, as if he wanted to see all his internal organs. He had been in charge of Jinyan Mansion in Hebei Province for a long time, and was able to intimidate arrogant soldiers and powerful bandits. At this time, he really moved

Angry, Zhao Xingde felt like a knife was placed on his neck, as if there was a heavy weight of a thousand pounds, and cold sweat like fine hairs fell down his back.

"The soldiers did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives to protect the territory and the people and expel the Tartars." He forced himself to calm down and said slowly, "As I have seen in my life, the fire blunderbuss is indeed a weapon to defeat the enemy." Zhao Xingde raised his head and looked directly at the king.

Yan looked at him coldly and said with sincerity: "As long as there are more than a thousand fire blunderbuss out of the 20,000 fire guns that can be used, I am willing to issue a military order to defeat the Liao people's Iron Wall Camp!"

The roar of Liao artillery outside continued. In order to avoid becoming a conspicuous target, the windows of the room in the tower where the commander was located had been sealed with bricks. Only a few small candles were lit in the room, and the light was very dark. Zhao Xingde

But there seemed to be burning fire in his eyes, and he continued: "Please give your approval, Lord Commander, I am willing to issue a military order!"

After Wang Yan was silent for a moment, he sat down, wrote a note, signed the monogram, handed it to Zhao Xingde and said: "Go to the Second Army of Zhenbei to mobilize two thousand soldiers to pick out fire guns. We are just starting out, and the military order is hanging on the

Words of mouth, be careful not to miss your own life!"

Zhao Xingde was overjoyed and said loudly: "Thank you, Lord Commander!" He took the note to mobilize troops and turned around. Without further ado, he prepared to test all 20,000 firecrackers with double gunpowder in one day.

With the help of two thousand soldiers, it probably can be completed in less than a day.

Scholars, especially those who claim to be honest, have a special stubbornness. From this point of view, Zhao Xingde is similar to the deceased Zhao Shizhi, father and son, and like his master and father-in-law, birds of a feather flock together. The so-called selection

Kind and stubborn, the scholar-bureaucrats of this dynasty want to have as many people as possible.

Wang Yan stroked his beard, looked at Zhao Xingde's hurried back in a strange way, and said to himself: "Try it all again. Those scraps can be refurbished to make some arrows, gun heads, or thunderbolts. However, Yuan Zhi's stubborn temper cannot be ignored."

It's good to polish it. Good jade still needs to be polished, otherwise, it will be a waste product."

At dawn the next day, Zhao Xingde took two thousand soldiers to the shooting range to pick out fire cannons one by one. In Hejian City, the bangs and bangs were dense and continuous, one after another, and they actually faintly drowned out the sound of artillery outside the city. There was a widespread rumor among the people in the city that this was

It was to use firecrackers to ward off evil spirits and suppress the arrogance of the Hu people, and everyone felt relieved.

Because fire guns are really dangerous things, and one needs to be careful when selecting them, Han Shizhong specially sent Su Wenyu, Ouyang Shan, Wang Jian and other smart and capable people to Zhao Xingde to assist him.

Two thousand soldiers were divided into teams of five hundred each. One team transported the firecrackers and powdered bullets to the shooting range, one team was responsible for loading, and the other team was responsible for placing the firecrackers. Because the firecrackers exploded too much, they were tied to a tree.

After the forks and stone piers were put on, they were ignited with fire sticks. Another team was responsible for cleaning up the site after the launch. The fragments of the blast chamber were made into scrap metal. After being washed intact, they were stored with detailed numbers and numbers.

Cai Yang, who transferred from the Xuanwei Army to the Zhenbei Army, would try his gun every time. As soon as the medicine primer was lit, he would cover his ears and run away like a rabbit hit by an arrow. Several times, even before the medicine primer was lit, he would

Then he ran away from a distance, looking around,

While explaining to Dutou with a playful smile: "It was warm in the past few days, but it suddenly turned cold in the past few days. My hands are numb from the cold. Otherwise, I need to change someone." Dutou was beaten and scolded before he was willing to step forward.

Check the situation, tremble and start the fire again.

Even so, at the end of the morning, a few soldiers were still injured as they ran to other guns in a daze. The soldiers below complained. "Everyone is not afraid of death, but if you die in vain, that's another story."

This thing is almost one point

Exploding one by one, it is better to treat them as thunder envoys and throw them down the city to bomb the Khitans." Even the officers who did not have to do it themselves looked at the firecrackers waiting to be tested with fear in their eyes and did not light the fire.

The gun tube is also willing to touch it.

Zhao Xingde was sweating profusely while arranging the traffic in the shooting range. Except for Su Wenyu and several other archers and Han Shizhong's confidant officers, the other officers were vaguely resistant to him. Zhao Xingde had to order that every hour, the fire muskets should be tested every hour.

Thousands of people were commanded, and the officers had to personally light and test the remaining muskets, which forced the officers to start desperately urging the soldiers.

After the inspection speed increased, Zhao Xingde paid close attention to the cleaning, numbering and cataloging of qualified firecrackers for a while. Regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, he strictly ordered that the firecrackers that had been fired must be wiped clean, and the inside and outside of the barrel should be coated with lard.

After the gun is greased, the craftsman can engrave the number and the name of the inspector on the mouth of the gun, and make a book and place it.

He estimated that in a short period of time, it would be impossible to train firecrackers who could calmly reload and fire in front of the enemy. The only way was to use the bayonet-mounted firecracker as a cold weapon after firing.

Use. "The gun tube is made of pure iron. When two armies fight, the enemy

It's not easy to break even if you use a heavy ax to chop it." Zhao Xingde recalled the style of the bayonet while gesturing to the foreman of the workshop, "Can you put the iron spearhead at the mouth of the blunderbuss? When setting off the blunderbuss, take off the spearhead. After firing,

Then put the iron spear head back and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy."

The leader of the craftsmen, Han Tietang, nodded repeatedly: "No problem, no problem."

Zhao Xingde was stunned. He didn't expect that his understanding was so high, and he said: "Hurry! Take out the samples tonight, and within five days, we will match the heads of three thousand firecrackers." At this time, five firecrackers had been tested.

There are more than a thousand rods, including more than 700 that have not exploded. The number of three thousand was estimated by Zhao Xingde based on the 15% sample pass rate.

Seeing Han Tietang nodding again, he smiled flatteringly and said: "No problem, no problem." Zhao Xingde couldn't help but frowned. Just as he was about to recall the structure of the bayonet in detail and explain it to Han Tietang in detail, he saw someone

There was an argument somewhere where the fire was being lit, so Zhao Xingde went over to see what was going on.

"Mr. Zhao, according to the military order, if the commander cannot fire a thousand fire blunderbuss within an hour, it is up to the commander to light the fire and fire the blunderbuss himself. However, this Zhu Dutou actually refused and even cursed.

Disobeying military orders." Su Wenyu replied, pointing to an officer wearing a brocade flower cap, with a prominent chest and a protruding belly, and wide-eyed eyes.

"What's going on?" Zhao Xingde's face darkened and he shouted. Everyone knew that these soldiers were vaguely resistant to him, but they dared to blatantly violate military orders, which was a big deal.

The officer cursed in a Bianjing accent: "What bullshit military order? I, Zhu Houwu, am the head of the capital, and I am not a whale soldier. Why should I take the risk and fire the blunderbuss myself?" He still didn't finish his meaning, pointing at Zhao Xingde and said viciously: "

You are too small

Confucian scholars who are studying are just pretending to be powerful. My uncle is the dignified military commander of the Wuchang Army, Zhu Bernard. How can you show off your power in front of me?" After saying this arrogantly, he looked around, and the soldiers who were watching the excitement seemed to be even more encouraging.

lost his arrogance.

Zhao Xingde was so angry at what he pointed out that he flinched. The Fire Gun Army no longer needed to practice. He didn't say much to this gangster. He only turned to ask Su Wenyu coldly: "Since this Zhu Du

If you violate the military law, how should you punish it?"

Su Wenyu was stunned, didn't he just let the officer personally take the risk and use the gun? However, with a slight change of mind, he understood that Zhao Xingde meant to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. He was a young man with a strong temper, and no matter how old Bernard Zhu was, he sneered in his heart.

, shouted loudly: "Four of the seven rules of fifty-four are to be beheaded: if he complains too much, he will be angry with his general, he will not obey the restraints, and he will be even more difficult to control. This is called building an army, and those who offend him will be beheaded."

As soon as these words came out, all the troops were in an uproar. Zhao Xingde was stunned, but he didn't expect Su Wenyu to be more ruthless than him. Zhu Houwu was even more stunned. He laughed angrily, pointed at Su Wenyu and said: "Su Hou'er, you have the guts, don't use it."

When you return to Bianjing, your uncle will be able to deal with you!" Turn your head and look up.

He turned to Zhao Xingde and said: "Zhao, if you have the guts, kill me!" He originally had no business in the industry and was living in the capital. The elders of the Zhu family also looked down upon him, so they made him a Yin official and sent him to Hebei. They couldn't see the heart.

Don't be annoyed. At this time, he started to act vigorously and looked more like a rogue.

Zhao Xingde felt a little hesitant. It was not that he didn't know who Zhu Bernard was, the governor of the Wukang Army. Zhu Bernard's son Zhu Sen was also a figure in the Neo-Confucian Society and could be called a close friend. If his family members were killed, there would be no future.

Nice to meet you.

While he was thinking, he gently stroked the handle of the sword on his waist, and approached Zhu Houwu step by step. When he was in front of him, suddenly, with a bang, the sword was drawn out. Zhu Houwu's face turned pale, and his hands immediately touched his waist.

Go, Zhao Xingde shouted sternly: "Do you dare to beat up your boss and assassinate me?" Zhu Houwu's heart trembled, and everyone was watching.

Next, the swords of Shangguan were facing each other. No matter what, there was no way to escape punishment. Just after a slight hesitation, the steel sword swiped, the blade was as fast as white practice, and a strong wind rushed towards the face. All the soldiers on the side burst out with a cry.

Exclaiming, Zhu Houwu's legs suddenly started to tremble, and a line of cold sweat slid down his forehead, just stagnating between the steel knife and the tip of his nose.
Chapter completed!