Chapter 196
Except for Hou Xun, there were really few outsiders who could come to participate in the equipment exhibition. They could easily find that the equipment displayed by Cheng Shijie was completely different from that of the Imperial Staff Bureau.
For example, this sword is not the Ming Dynasty standard waist sword, nor the Yanling sword, nor the Miao sword, nor the Qi family sword, but the Tang straight sword that has been lost for a long time. It can also be said to be Tang Hengdao.
It can be said that the Tang Hengdao is the king of knives and the pinnacle of knives. It is well-made, a perfect combination of hardness and toughness, and is a masterpiece of a generation of weapons.
However, such a good weapon disappeared after the Song Dynasty?
The answer is multifaceted and very complicated. First of all, the Tang Dynasty was a dynasty that advocated offense. The Tang army was the most powerful army in the world at that time, and it was mainly cavalry. It was only the official horses kept in captivity by the court. There are as many as 700,000 horses in the Hehuang area, and there are also a large number of war horses among the people. Under such circumstances, the Tang army is almost a pure cavalry force.
Although there are also units such as Mo Dao, Tiaodang soldiers, sword and shield soldiers, and crossbow soldiers, the problem is that most of these units ride on war horses, arrive at the battlefield, and dismount to fight on foot. The individual combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty is not weak. . In addition to the reasons for martial arts, the strict training of soldiers is also one of the reasons. The Tang Dao has a long and narrow blade, and only well-trained warriors can make full use of its light and cunning power. Just like the sword in China today, the user cannot use it at all without a certain foundation in martial arts.
In addition, military equipment is not paid enough attention to. This is due to cost considerations. The production of one Tang Hengdao can produce ten Song Dynasty knives. Even if the craftsmanship is quite different, the huge quantity advantage makes up for the shortcomings. Therefore, after the Song Dynasty, Tang knives slowly disappeared, and later even the craftsmanship was lost.
Although Cheng Shijie restored the Hengdao, he actually used the blessing of modern metallurgical technology instead of the original Tang Hengdao.
Talking about this gun again, the gun equipped by Ning Haijun should be regarded as a gun, not a spear, from a simple classification of gun, spear, and spear. The biggest difference between a spear and a spear is the length. A spear is much longer than a spear, and it is heavier. , the length of the sharp edge of the sword is much longer than the length of the gun blade.
A gun is composed of a gun blade, a gun shaft, a gun tassel and a gun braid. Each part has its own use. The most prominent feature is that the gun blade is short and sharp.
The spear can be used by cavalry to charge with the spear, or it can be used to sweep with the spear. Its main techniques include splitting, blocking, intercepting, blocking, teasing, rushing, belting, and picking, etc.
Whether it is Ning Haijun's so-called gun, the actual gun, or the so-called sword, the actual Tang Hengdao, they all have a common characteristic, that is, in order to exert the power of these weapons and equipment, one must have strong physical fitness.
Although Cheng Shijie also knows that arms trade can make money, the problem is that this time the arms trade is mainly to cultivate the other party, so Cheng Shijie will naturally not trade away his real wealth.
Zuo Liangyu asked Cheng Shijie for a spear. As a typical Shandong man with a height of over 1.8 meters, when he grabbed the spear, he felt that the spear was a little heavy. In fact, it was very heavy. The spears of the Tang Dynasty weighed about eight kilograms, generally no more than ten kilograms, while the spears of the Ming Dynasty only weighed three kilograms, and the spearheads only weighed two taels.
But Ning Haijun's spear weighed more than twenty kilograms. Even Zuo Liangyu felt it was a bit difficult. He played a set of marksmanship and then reported to Hou Xun: "Master Hou, this spear is very evil and not sharp, but It is extremely sharp and can penetrate even the skull! Once stabbed by it, the wound will not be big, but it will not heal. Blood will keep gushing out. Even if it is stabbed on the arm or thigh, the blood will be covered in a meal. It will be drained within a short period of time and cannot be cured!"
Hou Xun's eyelids twitched slightly: "Is he really that powerful?"
"Absolutely true!"
Zuo Liangyu said: "The last general tried it on a heavy shield. The three-inch-thick iron-clad heavy shield can be pierced with one shot. If it pierces the human body, no matter how hard the bone is, it can easily pierce it!"
While talking, Lu Xiangsheng touched a Mo Dao.
The Mo Dao is partially similar to Lu Xiangsheng's personal weapon Pu Dao, which is probably the difference between a spear and a spear.
Lu Xiangsheng exerted a little force on his hand, and a cold light came out of its sheath, stinging everyone's eyes and making their hearts tremble!
When the entire knife was pulled out, they were all dumbfounded. They stared straight at the Mo Dao in Lu Xiangsheng's hand without blinking.
The blade of this knife is three feet three inches long and about three fingers wide. It has a not very obvious but extremely graceful arc. The back of the knife is thick and blunt, like a heavy steel plate, but the blade is thinner than paper. The blade is dark, even under the scorching sun. It won't reflect light, but the blade is like snow, and a stream of cold light flows slowly, glowing with an icy cold light.
When Lu Xiangsheng held the one-foot-long hilt with both hands and raised the blade, a cold blood-eating breath spurted out, making people shudder: "What a knife! What a knife!"
Since it is a good knife, I naturally want to try it.
Lu Xiangsheng aimed his knife at a wooden stake as thick as a bowl, and with a flash of cold light, a piece of wood flew out along the blade.
Everyone was stunned.
This is a hard wooden pile, not sugar cane!
Even if a strong soldier cuts it with an ax, it will take a while to cut it off, right? This guy actually gave it a clean cut! With such terrifying arm strength and this extremely sharp sword, no armor can stop him from striking!
Lu Xiangsheng was immediately overjoyed. He held the Mo Dao with both hands and began to dance. As the light of the knife flashed, the wind of the knife roared. Everyone praised: "Master Lu is indeed both civilized and military!"
Zuo Liangyu said: "I admire you!"
Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes, looked at Cheng Shijie and said, "Even the Mo Dao of the Tang Dynasty is nothing more than this, right?"
"Master Hong is right!"
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "This kind of knife is imitated from the Mo Dao!"
Lu Xiangsheng laughed loudly while waving Mo Dao: "Okay, Mo Dao is the king of swords. It inherits the heroism and boldness of the Han and Tang Dynasties and created unparalleled brilliance. "Wearing heavy armor, it advances like a wall; Under this, both men and horses were shattered! "Short sixteen words, the terrifying lethality of the Mo Dao is vividly reflected. The heavy infantry of the Tang Dynasty holding the Mo Dao became a nightmare for the northern cavalry. The Turks, Tubo, Tuyuhun, Khitan, Dashi...how many brilliance The empire of that time, the extremely fierce knights, all wailed in despair under the cold light of Mo Dao. Its ferocity, its bloodthirsty, and its boldness made countless people admire and fear it! What a pity..."
"It's a pity that the Mo Dao has been lost since the Song Dynasty and was replaced by a simple and cheap axe. This is a great regret. I didn't expect that he would see it reappear in the world!"
Hou Xun's eyes widened: "Whose grave did you dig up and steal this Mo Dao?"
At this time, Lu Xiangsheng slashed at an upright shield with his sword, and the thick shield was cut in half.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "Master Lu is really born with supernatural power!"
"Master Cheng, how did you hit this knife?"
"Sorry about the trade secrets!"
Cheng Shijie did not tell the truth to Lu Xiangsheng. Cheng Shijie's Mo Dao was actually not a Mo Dao in the true sense. Instead, he poured molten steel directly into the mold, cooled it, took it out for heat treatment, and then polished it. It was very trouble-free.
Cheng Shijie said: "Steel is very particular. It needs good steel that is impact-resistant and wear-resistant. Ordinary steel is not suitable."
"As expected, what a pity!"
Lu Xiangsheng reached out and stroked the Mo Dao's blade. He couldn't put it down, but when he heard that it had to be made of good steel, he couldn't help but show a trace of regret and helplessness. He returned the Mo Dao to Cheng Shijie with some gloominess, and sighed: "Okay. The knife, unfortunately, is too expensive, alas..."
"expensive?"
Cheng Shijie immediately realized that it was too difficult for Lu Xiangsheng to raise military expenses. In history, the total strength of the Tianxiong Army had never exceeded 20,000 troops. It was not that Lu Xiangsheng was unwilling to expand the army, but that he had no money. As long as there were more troops, it would be enough to feed him. Huge problem.
Ning Haijun's spear, Tang Hengdao and Mo Dao are all very good, but they are a bit expensive. Even if he wants to equip a large number of them, he is unable to do so.
Cheng Shijie thought of this and smiled lightly: "Master Lu, actually, if you want it, I can sell it to you."
Lu Xiangsheng was overjoyed: "Seriously? I wonder how much it costs?"
The question Lu Xiangsheng wants to ask is also a question that everyone is concerned about.
Cheng Shijie pointed at the spear and Hengdao and said: "These spears are only fifteen taels of silver, no bargaining!"
The casting methods of Tang Hengdao and Mo Dao are the same. They are first made into molten steel in a blast furnace, purified by an open-hearth furnace, smelted into high-carbon steel, then passed through a cooling tank, injected into a mold, cast, and then subjected to a heat treatment process. Grind to shape.
For example, the actual cost of a horizontal sword is less than three taels of silver, and the long gun is slightly more expensive, a little more than four taels of silver. Cheng Shijie earned more than a dozen taels of silver with tears in his eyes.
Lu Xiangsheng had forged knives and spears himself, and knew that making an ordinary waist knife would cost eight or nine taels of silver. He suddenly asked with some confusion: "Isn't this guy suffering a big loss?"
"It's not a loss!"
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "These horizontal knives, spears, and Mo Dao are mostly made of the scrap weapons of the Jiannu slaves. They use old iron materials. The cost is the craftsman's wages, so it is not a loss!"
When Cheng Shijie said this, everyone realized that Ning Haijun had a great victory in Haizhou before and a great victory in Baliwan later, and countless weapons of Jiannu were captured.
Zuo Liangyu took Hou Xun's hand and said nervously: "Yes, yes, yes..."
Lu Xiangsheng thought for a moment and said, "I want six thousand swords and six thousand spears!"
Lu Xiangsheng was really able to get 180,000 taels of silver. Part of this money was rewarded by Emperor Chongzhen, and part of it was seized from Gao Yingxiang.
Lu Xiangsheng asked again: "How to sell Mo Dao?"
"This one is more expensive!"
"How heavy it is, tell me and make Lu give up!"
"This Mo Dao is made of three horizontal swords, so it requires at least fifty taels of silver!"
Fifty taels of silver is not too bad. In fact, the actual cost of this Mo Dao is only nine taels of silver, and one can earn forty taels of silver.
"Lu wants six hundred handles!"
Cheng Shijie has now officially entered the role, selling weapons to everyone.
In fact, everyone has been led astray by Cheng Shijie. No one cares about firearms, but instead cares about these powerful cold weapons.
Zuo Liangyu asked for two thousand sets of armor worth thirty-five taels of silver, as well as five thousand spears and six thousand horizontal knives.
There are two thousand crossbows worth fifteen taels of silver, and one hundred thousand arrows.
Hong Chengchou was also wealthy and ordered 7,000 spears and 5,000 spare gun heads from Cheng Shijie. Six thousand swords and three thousand sets of armor.
Even Zhu Dadian, the governor of water transport, was not under any pressure to fight, but in order to equip his governor with pro-army equipment, he still purchased a thousand horizontal knives, a thousand spears, six hundred crossbows, and two Thousands of armors.
Cheng Shijie finally realized what it means to be rich without windfall.
During this three-day weapons and equipment exhibition, Cheng Shijie sold a total of more than 2.8 million taels of equipment. In fact, he only received a deposit of 180,000 taels.
That night, Wen Tiren received the news. In fact, he was not worried about Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng. Instead, he was worried about Xu Guangqi. Now Xu Guangqi has Cheng Shijie in charge of the army, and a power structure has been formed in which internal ministers and external commanders support each other, thus achieving the goal of ruling the dynasty. The political purpose of staying in the center for a long time and standing firm.
Such a power structure is very unfavorable to Wen Tiren, but Hou Xun actually wanted to imitate Xu Guangqi. He strongly supported Zuo Liangyu and invested 350,000 taels of silver for Zuo Liangyu at one time. This made Wen Tiren really I was nervous for a while.
As for Xu Guangqi, Wen Tiren is not worried. Although he has formed a structure of internal ministers and external commanders who support each other and deserve power, Xu Guangqi is more resourceful and less flexible. What's more, the Western French Party only has two or three kittens, so it is difficult to form a climate.
But Hou Xun is different. He is a member of the Donglin Party and has huge influence. Once the Donglin Party comes back, Wen Tiren will not be the only one to step down. Wen Tiren knows the Donglin Party very well. Once the Donglin Party gains power, they will be like mad dogs. , whoever is caught will be bitten.
The powerful Wei Zhongxian, Eunuch Wei, the world-famous Sun Chengzong, or the emperor, as long as they were not members of the Donglin Party, they would bite them all.
But, how to deal with Hou Xun?
Wen Tiren immediately had an idea.
You must know that Hou Xun is now Hou Bancheng. Of course, he is not in Bancheng of the capital, but in his hometown of Guide Prefecture. Hou Xun's ancestral home is located in the northeast corner south of Suiyang Posthouse, in the yamen of Guide Prefecture. In the north, the area of Hou Mansion is actually three times larger than that of Guide Mansion.
The government office area of Guide Mansion is about fifty acres, which is equivalent to one-sixtieth of the size of Guide Mansion. Hou Bancheng's home occupies more than 100 acres. His son Hou Fangyu also built a Zhuangmei Hall in the south of the city. This Zhuangmei Hall has three rockeries, 32 courtyards, 16 resting places, a high platform, and strange flowers. There are countless exotic plants (the current Plum Garden is a restored antique building, covering an area of 50 acres)
If it is said that it was not easy to deal with Hou Xun in the past, now Emperor Chongzhen has tasted the benefits of raiding his house. If Emperor Chongzhen knew that his Minister of Household Affairs was Hou Bancheng, occupying nearly one-sixth of the area of Guide Prefecture, in Guide Prefecture With more than 700,000 acres of land, what would Emperor Chongzhen do?
Wen Tiren did not impeach Hou Xun directly, but adopted a method, which was to take advantage of the reputation of the four young masters of Fushe. First, he asked You Ziying, a Jiangnan official who was familiar with Chen Zhenhui, one of the four young masters, to go there. Chen Zhenhui’s hometown visited Chen Zhenhui in the name of visiting her.
Chen Zhenhui's hometown is in Yixing, where she built a mansion called Chen Garden. This Chenyuan is a courtyard in the middle of the mountain. It is built near the mountain, with mountains and water, covering an area of several hundred acres.
After You Ziying went to Chen Yuan, she wrote an article with parallel four and six characters. This article was called "Chen Yuan Fu". You Ziying submitted this article to Wen Tiren's disciple. After Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet, read it, He greatly appreciated it and claimed that You Ziying's article could rank first in Jiangnan parallel prose, and would definitely rank first in high school if he were to take the imperial examination.
Of course, this is Wen Tiren using his identity and influence to build momentum for You Ziying. As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in military power. Wen Tiren’s evaluation made You Ziying, a little transparent person, instantly become a Jiangnan Internet celebrity. Little fanboys don’t know how many fans there are. Chen Yuan, along with Chen Zhenhui, has also become an internet celebrity in Jiangnan.
Therefore, Jiangnan talked about Chen Garden and Chen Garden Fu, which made Hou Fangyu, one of the four young masters of Fushe, feel very uncomfortable. Although Chen Garden covers an area of five to six hundred acres, Chen Zhenhui did not live in it. The interior was dilapidated and had long since changed. of luxury.
In order to make a name for himself, Hou Fangyu invited Gu Hengbo, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. At this time, Gu Hengbo was not married to Gong Dingzi, but he was the most talented in Jiangnan and was known as the best in Nanqu.
In addition to Gu Hengbo, Hou Fangyu also invited a large number of scholars from the south of the Yangtze River and celebrities from Guide Prefecture, gathering hundreds of scholars for a so-called "Thousand Scholars Tour of the Plum Garden".
This time Hou Fangyu succeeded. After seeing the luxury of Meiyuan, everyone praised Meiyuan. For a time, the name of Meiyuan was resounding all over the country. Even Cheng Shijie, who usually didn't care about such trivial matters, heard about it. .
During dinner in the evening, Zhu Weiti asked: "Husband, have you ever heard of Guide Mansion?"
Cheng Shijie smiled faintly and said: "Of course I have heard that Guide Mansion is located in the northeast of Henan, bordering Shandong and Beizhili. It is at the junction of the three provinces and is also commonly known as the "Three No Matters Zone". The folk customs are relatively strong and there has been a "Jianghuai Barrier" since ancient times. "The reputation of "a battleground for military strategists and a place where merchants gather" is just like during the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion in the Han Dynasty, Liang King Liu Wu used Liang's weak troops to resist the Seven Kingdoms in Liang County, which is now Guide Prefecture. There were more than 200,000 Chinese rebels fighting for nearly a year, and only then did Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty win the war!"
Zhu Weiti smiled naively. She now realized that Cheng Shijie and her concerns were not on the same line.
Cheng Shijie continued: "Secondly, there is the Battle of Suiyang. Suiyang is also the old name of Guide City. In the Tang Dynasty, this place was called Suiyang! The Battle of Suiyang was a famous battle during the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. It took place in In the first year of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty (756 AD) when Li Heng came to Germany, Zhang Xun, then deputy envoy of Henan Province, led 7,000 Tang troops to defend Suiyang Gucheng, resisting more than 200,000 rebels and holding on for more than ten months... …”
Only then did Cheng Shijie realize that Zhu Weiti was a little absent-minded. He smiled and said, "The princess is not interested in this?"
"No, I just want to know about Guide Mansion Plum Garden!"
Zhu Weiti told Cheng Shijie about Hou's Plum Garden in Guide Prefecture, which had recently become famous. Cheng Shijie immediately realized that it was a game.
This is like some second-generation officials or second-generation rich people in later generations showing off their wealth. As long as they show off their wealth online, there will definitely be problems. Now that Meiyuan's reputation is so great, isn't this a rush to send knives to the enemy?
It's not that Hou Fangyu is stupid, he is obsessed with the authorities, just like the second generation people in later generations who show off their wealth. They are either stupid, or they are obsessed with the authorities. When nothing happens, it is easy to say anything, but once something happens, no one can protect it. It’s the power of public opinion.
Cheng Shijie smiled lightly and said, "Hou Xun is going to be in trouble!"
Zhu Weiti let out a long sigh. She and Cheng Shijie were never on the same page.
When Cheng Shijie knew about this, Hou Xun also knew about it, and Hou Xun also realized that something was wrong. He hurriedly sent people back to Guide Mansion and asked Hou Fangyu to study behind closed doors.
But it's already too late.
Now Emperor Chongzhen is crazy about money. Even if Cheng Shijie sells equipment and is very popular, the problem is that Emperor Chongzhen also wants to buy it. It is best to replace the 200,000 troops in the Beijing camp.
The problem is, this requires money.
Cheng Shijie's equipment was not brought by the strong wind. Even if he wanted it, Cheng Shijie would not be able to conjure it up for him. At this time, there was news about Hou Fangyu showing off his wealth in Meiyuan.
"Gao Banban!"
"The slave is here!"
"Have you heard about Guide Mansion Plum Garden?"
"My slave has heard that this is the largest mansion in Guide Mansion, and it was built with millions of taels of silver!"
"Millions of taels?"
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes straightened instantly.
He did not dare to directly force Cheng Shijie to hand over his equipment. This was because Ning Haijun was the strongest army in the Ming Dynasty. Just like the original Guan Ning army, once they were offended and a mutiny broke out, it was no joke.
However, Hou Xun is different. He is a civil servant.
Although the Ming Dynasty was aristocratic and military, in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, civil servants had no resistance and could be killed, but military generals could not...
This was the logic of Emperor Chongzhen. Chongzhen killed a total of eighteen officials, including seven governors and eleven governors. These were all civil servants...
At the end of February of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to Duke Hai Guo to set off for Liaonan. However, the imperial edict ordered Cheng Shijie to return to Liaonan from Dengzhou. This strange edict made Cheng Shijie want to laugh.
This is simply three hundred taels of silver.
It was clear that they wanted to deal with Hou Xun. Although Dengzhou was not close to Guide Mansion, the problem was that the army could go upstream and reach Guide Mansion directly through the Yellow River.
On the sixth day of March in the sixth year of Chongzhen, Cheng Shijie officially set off for Liaonan. Of course, Princess Zhu Weiti of Le'an would also follow him to Liaonan.
Emperor Chongzhen went twenty miles out of the city to see him off, which was considered as giving Cheng Shijie enough face.
When he was approaching, Emperor Chongzhen said: "Cheng Qing, if someone disobeys me, what will you do?"
Cheng Shijie solemnly said: "Whatever your Majesty points out, I will fight for your Majesty with a three-foot green sword!"
On the day Cheng Shijie arrived in Dengzhou, which was March 17, the sixth year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen was impeached by Song Zhipu, and Hou Xun was demoted and imprisoned in the name of wasting money and ruining the country.
PS: I got off work too late yesterday, after twelve o'clock, and ended up writing until after two o'clock, when I fell asleep. This chapter is from yesterday, and there will be more at night.
(End of chapter)
