Chapter 500: Flashy Iron Lump
Zhu Qingyan said very seriously:
"I absolutely believe in Princess Ningyue. I am only 70% sure because... I am worried that it might not be that easy to meet her."
Yan Xiuyun asked: "Why?"
Zhu Qingyan's delicate brows showed a trace of worry as he said:
“Now that the King of Zhenbei has completely torn his relationship with the imperial court, I can no longer hide it from Princess Ningyue.
Princess Ningyue is loyal to the court and would never help King Zhenbei to massacre the people on the border.
I am worried that... the King of Zhenbei will be angry and embarrassed when he finds out that the princess cannot be used by him, which will be detrimental to the princess. "
Yes, this was what she had always been most worried about.
Ah Jing did not assist the King of Zhenbei in sending troops, and no one on the border had seen her.
The only possibility was that she was trapped in the military camp.
After all, the King of Zhenbei is not a fool, so how could he give the court a chance to win her over?
Therefore, the most difficult thing in this trip to the northwest is not persuading surrender, but meeting Ajing.
Yan Xiuyun was silent for a moment, walked to the table and sat down, and suddenly said in a deep voice:
"Not only do you need to transport military pay and food to the northwest to relieve the siege of Danzhou, you also need to bring another thing."
A hint of confusion flashed across Zhu Qingyan's eyes.
Yan Xiuyun said:
"Do you know why the imperial court has been in a stalemate with the King of Zhenbei over the years and has not taken the initiative to attack?"
Zhu Qingyan shook her head slightly. As she was in the Hanlin Academy, she did not have a deep understanding of the border wars.
Yan Xiuyun pulled out a blueprint from under the pile of memorials on the desk and pushed it in front of Zhu Qingyan.
Zhu Qingyan stepped forward to take it and unfold it, his eyes suddenly widened slightly.
"This is what I have been waiting for."
Yan Xiuyun stood up and walked out.
"Come on, I'll take you to see it with your own eyes."
…
Twenty miles north of the capital, there is a mysterious open area with no human habitation nearby.
The long wooden fence seemed to have no end in sight. There was a guard every few steps to prevent anyone from approaching.
At the entrance to the mysterious area, there was an inconspicuous plaque:
A military stronghold.
In the fenced area, there are many low bungalows, some of which are used to store raw materials such as copper and iron, while others provide homes for craftsmen.
This is an area specially approved by the Military Equipment Supervisor under the order of Yan Xiuyun himself, and the confidentiality level here is also the highest in the entire Daliang.
Zhou Da is now the director of the Military Equipment Inspectorate. He simply moved his residence here and devoted all his energy to studying his "project".
The room he was in was filled with models and drawings on the walls and floor.
Zhou Da was not tall, and had a green stubble on his chin, making him look a little sloppy. However, he was unaware of it and was squatting on the ground, thinking hard about something.
Someone pushed the door open and said:
"Master Zhou, these are the latest test results."
Zhou Da immediately stood up, took the thick stack of papers from the visitor, put them on the table and began to study them with an extremely focused expression.
The Sixth Prince had transferred him to the Military Equipment Bureau in order to have him study the "big firecrackers" that he had mentioned before.
Although the prototype has been completed long ago, some technical difficulties have not yet been overcome.
The most important point is that the casting process of the beam cannot accurately control the temperature of the metal, the cooling rate and other factors. Even though the plan has been improved several times, every time-consuming and laborious attempt will still result in tiny pores and impurities in the final cast barrel.
Such defects will greatly reduce the durability of the gun barrel. If the number of times the shells are fired exceeds a certain limit, there will be a risk of barrel explosion.
As Zhou Da was reading the inspection report that had just been delivered, his fingers involuntarily tightened slightly, causing wrinkles on the edge of the paper.
"Or can it only be used ten times..." he muttered.
At this moment, the subordinate who had just left came back again, speaking in a nervous tone:
"Master Supervisor, His Majesty is here!"
…
Yan Xiuyun's procession stopped outside the test site.
He got off the carriage, asked everyone to wait there, and walked in with Zhu Qingyan alone.
Zhou Da walked quickly towards him from a distance and was about to salute, but Yan Xiuyun raised his hand to stop him.
"No need." Yan Xiuyun glanced at the stubble on Zhou Da's face and softened his tone.
"The war in the northern border has begun. How is the progress here?"
Zhou Da replied:
"The range and firepower have both met the standards, but..."
Seeing that Zhou Da seemed to be hesitant to speak, Yan Xiuyun raised his chin slightly and said directly:
"Let's go check it out first."
Zhu Qingyan came here for the first time and couldn't help but feel curious.
She followed Yan Xiuyun and Zhou Da for quite a distance and finally came to a place with a wide view.
Soon, her attention was attracted by three "iron barrels" not far away.
I saw the three "iron cylinders" placed on a mobile rack made of wood and iron, with one end tilted upwards, and the whole thing was a deep and primitive black.
She had even more doubts in her mind. Could this be the thing His Majesty asked her to take to the Northern Border?
Three movable iron cylinders look quite bulky. What use are they for?
Why go through so much trouble to transport it to such a far place in the northwest?
Zhou Da handed a stack of test records to Yan Xiuyun and said:
“Your Majesty, based on the results of the current tests, these three cannons have met the requirements for use on the battlefield.
However, due to technical limitations, the number of times the artillery can be used is very limited. According to the latest material calculations, each artillery can only be safely fired ten times at most. "
Zhu Qingyan listened carefully and roughly understood that these three iron tube-like things were called "cannons" and could be used in war.
But it is troublesome to transport such a heavy thing to the northwest, and it can only be used ten times, which is a bit of a loss.
Yan Xiuyun seemed to have similar concerns.
He thought for a moment and said in a slow voice:
"The war is imminent. There is no time. Show me."
After saying that, he went straight up to the nearby observation tower, and Zhu Qingyan followed behind him.
Zhou Da called the person who was responsible for lighting the firecrackers and gave him detailed instructions.
These three cannons are the latest batch cast. Although all parameters have reached the standards, they have not been ignited yet. Today is the first time.
However, he is very confident in his research results over the years and is not worried about anything going wrong.
After Zhou Da finished his arrangements, he also came to the observation tower.
Zhu Qingyan stood behind Yan Xiuyun, looking down with some curiosity, and saw that the three cannons were pushed to specific positions by three soldiers, placed in a row, and were being filled with something.
Zhu Qingyan saw Zhou Da coming up and asked in a low voice:
"Zhou Jianzheng, what exactly is this so-called 'cannon'?"
Zhou Da smiled at her and kept her in suspense:
"Aiming at an arrowhead from a hundred paces, destroying a city or a stronghold."
Zhu Qingyan felt a little disappointed after hearing this.
Hit the target from a hundred paces away? There were many skilled archers in the army, and archery on horseback was much more convenient and flexible than this piece of iron.
As for destroying cities and strongholds, that sounds even more ridiculous.
Can you use this thing to force open the city gate?
It is because Your Majesty has never been on the battlefield that you would believe these things...
Zhu Qingyan looked at Yan Xiuyun's back several times, wanting to say something but stopping himself, struggling for a long time about how to start.
Time was tight for the trip to the northwest, and Ajing's situation was unclear, so she wished she could pack up light and set off immediately.
But if we were to take these three pieces of iron with us, it would definitely delay our journey greatly, so it is really unnecessary.
Forget it, let them finish their performance first.
Even if I offend the Military Equipment Supervisor this time, I must speak out and tell His Majesty—
We cannot rely on these flashy and unorthodox methods to fight a war; strength and strategy are the real truth!
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