As usual, the Xuanhui envoys led the Southern and Northern Xuanhui Courtyards to prepare for official trips, such as suburban sacrifices, etc. However, this time due to the impromptu decision of the officials and the fact that the gunpowder bombs were relatively secretive, the officials did not notify them. Xuanhuiyuan led the ministers to travel in a low-key manner.
Although the trip was low-key and no jade chariots and honor guards were prepared, for the sake of safety, several princes from the official family and the political hall still notified the Kaifeng Mansion and the Palace Secretary, and went straight out of Xihua Gate with the Kanyi Heavenly Warriors and other squads. , joined the Imperial Army under the Qiandianqian command led by Cao Yi, and then walked through the streets with fewer people and left the city through Guzimen, the gate to the northwest of the outer city.
As for the Kaifeng Prefecture Army led by Zhang Yaozuo, they blocked those streets in advance to facilitate the travel of officials and accompanying sergeants.
At this time, Fan Chunren, Shen Yu and others were waiting beside a small slope outside the city with the gunpowder cabinet craftsman from the Technical Department. They were protected by more than 250 sergeants led by Kaifeng Prefecture Army Inspector Sun Chengsuo. This is the testing site for officials to inspect various gunpowder bombs today.
Not long after, when the officials and his entourage arrived, Cao Ji led thousands of Imperial Guards to take over the security of the testing site. Since he did not want too many people to witness it, the officials specifically asked Cao Wei to ask the Imperial Guards to guard at a farther distance to stop the intruders. etc., even the honor guard sergeants such as Kuanyi Tianwu and all the Banzhi were sent out, leaving only the Inner Palace Banzhi led by Yuan Zheng, Guan Yan, and Li Ju.
When the arrangements were complete, the officials and the prime ministers and ministers all got off the carriage, and were led by Zhao Yang to the testing point, with Cao Yi and Zhang Yaozuo guarding them.
After arriving at the testing point, Zhao Yang first introduced Fan Chunren, Shen Yu, Qian Gongfu, Lu Bufang, and Wen Tong to the officials. The officials knew Fan Chunren, but the others only knew about each other and Zhao. Yang came quite close but had never seen him. After Zhao Yang introduced him, the officials were happy to chat with these Jinshi talents. As for Zhao Yang at this time, he quickly directed Song Yang and other craftsmen to arrange the venue as soon as possible.
After about a cup of tea, the test site was arranged. Zhao Yang personally led the officials, several ministers, Cao Yi, and Zhang Yaozuo to the test site, pointing to the gunpowder bombs placed in the box and making a speech to everyone. Introduction: "According to the three types of gunpowder formulas listed in the Firearms Chapter of "The General Strategy of Martial Arts" compiled by two bachelors, Zeng Gongliang and Ding Du, our technical department's gunpowder bullets have improved three types of ammunition, namely incendiary bombs, explosive bombs and smoke bombs. Each bomb has its own emphasis..."
With that said, Zhao Yang picked up an incendiary bomb from the box and handed it to Zhao Zhen.
"Guan family, Mr. Zhao, this thing..." Wang Shougui seemed to know about this thing and looked a little worried.
But Zhao Zhen waved Wang Shougui to retreat and took the incendiary bomb from Zhao Yang's hand without hesitation.
It is undeniable that the two are still in a cold war, but even so, Zhao Zhen believes that Zhao Yang will not harm him.
Taking the incendiary bomb and weighing it in his hand, Zhao Zhen said in surprise: "It's lighter than I expected, like a fresh melon of the same size."
From the side, Chen Zhizhong, Song Xiang and other ministers also took over the incendiary bombs handed by Zhao Yang and weighed them one after another. Pang Ji even made a throwing motion. Of course, he was just testing his strength and not actually throwing them. .
"What is the use of this thing?" Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Yang.
"Why don't you explain it to the officials and all the gentlemen to witness it with your own eyes?" Zhao Yang picked up an incendiary bomb again and walked towards a carriage not far away that was prepared for testing. Next to the carriage stood Wang Zhongzheng holding a torch.
Zhao Yang lit the fuse of the incendiary bomb and threw it into the carriage carriage with the curtain removed. The two turned around and walked away.
Just when Zhao Zhen and others were confused, they suddenly heard a bang, a sudden light inside the carriage, and then the carriage burst into flames.
Chen Zhi was so shocked that he almost dropped the incendiary bomb in his hand.
Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji and others also frowned and looked at the incendiary bombs in their hands solemnly.
How could this small gunpowder bomb ignite such a fire quickly?
"Guan Jia, this thing needs to be controlled and not allowed to circulate among the public." Pang Ji turned to the officials and said.
The official nodded thoughtfully, but before he spoke, Zhao Yang had already walked back from a distance. When he heard Pang Ji's words, he said: "Mr. Pang is referring to the fireworks in the market, right? Don't worry, everyone is here." Our technical department has tested the rack fireworks in the city. Although the gunpowder compositions of the two are similar, they do not contain additional auxiliary materials to ignite or support combustion. As long as they are not fired at people, thatch, etc., they will not cause harm. Is there any hidden danger?"
"Zhao Zhengyan is saying that the gunpowder bombs developed by your company are different from those on the market?" Pang Ji asked.
Zhao Yang nodded and said: "First of all, our company has slightly purified the purity of the gunpowder. Secondly, the ignition aids equipped with the two are also very different."
Pang Jishun asked curiously: "I don't know how to purify it? What is the igniting auxiliary substance that your company ingested?"
Zhao Yang glanced at Pang Ji and reminded without leaving any trace: "This is the secret of my driver. You can only know it if Mr. Pang is willing to submit to the position of our company's envoy."
"Oh." Pang Ji suddenly realized, weighed the incendiary bomb in his hand, and said politely: "Just for this thing, it's not a bad idea."
Immediately, Zhao Yang started a second test, throwing incendiary bombs into an array of five rows and five rows of wooden dummies wearing the old-style armor of the Forbidden Army. After a bang, the incendiary bomb exploded into a firework that spread about two feet in radius. The wooden stake dummies within the left and right range were densely arranged, only three feet apart, so that one incendiary bomb ignited a total of nine wooden stake dummies.
Not to mention Chen Zhizhong, Wen Yanbo, Gao Ruona, and Ye Qingchen, they could all guess the purpose of Zhao Yang's demonstration. Song Xiang and Pang Ji's eyes lit up.
"Okay!" Pang Ji happily said to Zhao Zhen: "Guan family, if this thing can be used in the army, especially to defend the city..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Zhen nodded repeatedly with surprise on his face.
The calmest person was Ye Qingchen. After Zhao Yang came back again, he asked seriously: "Zhao Zhengyan, I wonder how much this thing costs?"
The monarch and his ministers were stunned, and looked at Zhao Yang one after another, only to see the latter make a rough estimate and then said: "The current cost does not include labor, only gunpowder, sulfur, saltpeter and auxiliary materials. It is about the same. If the court can do it in the future, By opening an official workshop and making large quantities of gunpowder, sulfur and other materials, I think the cost of materials can be reduced to more than half, or even 70%..."
Ye Qingchen estimated for a moment, frowned and said: "Even so, including the labor cost, I am afraid it will not be less than 500 yuan a piece. If it is transported to Shaanxi Fourth Road for use, it is estimated to cost a thousand yuan. If a guard If two hundred are used in city warfare, that’s two hundred thousand... This is enough to reward the army."
Zhao Yang frowned and said, "As I said before, I want to win the war but don't want to spend too much money. How can anything be so cheap in this world?"
Seeing that Zhao Yang was a little annoyed, Ye Qingchen hurriedly said: "Zhao Zhengyan calms down, Ye is just doing his job and discussing the matter..."
Only then did Zhao Yang remember that Ye Qingchen was the third envoy in charge of national financial expenditures. He cupped his hands and apologized and explained: "Ye Xianggong only thought about rewarding the army, but did not think about the pension. If it can be used by the army, especially during the battle to defend the city, With this item, our army's sergeants will definitely be able to reduce casualties, the casualties will be reduced, and the cost of wound medicine and pension will naturally be reduced. Can this balance the accounts?"
"Well, this is... you can give it a try." Ye Qingchen nodded slightly, and even he was convinced, let alone the officials and several other husbands.
At this time, Zhao Yang picked up an explosive bomb from the second box and handed it to Zhao Zhen, and continued to explain: "This gunpowder bomb is made from a different formula from the previous incendiary bomb. Let's tentatively name it. It is an explosive bomb, which focuses on the damage caused at the moment of explosion, rather than setting the enemy on fire..."
After taking it, Zhao Zhen weighed it and asked curiously: "Are we going to demonstrate this kind of gunpowder ammunition next?"
"That's not true." Zhao Yang shook his head and said: "These are just prototypes of explosive bombs, made for the convenience of explanations by officials and gentlemen. The type of explosive bombs we will demonstrate today have increased power. As for this bomb, …It’s fine if the officials want to take a look, but to be honest, it’s not very powerful, even though I ordered iron pills, caltrops, etc. to be added.”
With that said, he turned around and was about to go for the test. Wang Zhongzheng stopped him and said, "Yuan Wai Lang, let me do it."
Seeing this move, Zhao Zhen immediately thought that this explosive bomb was more dangerous than the previous incendiary bomb, and said without any trace: "Let Wang Zhongzheng do it for me, Zhao Yang, please explain it to me and all of you."
Everyone present was discerning and would not tell Zhao Zhen's intentions even if they saw it. Wang Zhongzheng had no idea about this either. After all, he was the bodyguard responsible for Zhao Yang's safety.
After a while, Wang Zhongzheng successfully detonated the explosive bomb among the five rows and five rows of wooden stake dummies, but the power was really mediocre. Except for a few wooden stake dummies that were overturned by the air waves, no damage could be seen. The incendiary bombs, which were far inferior to those before, were still fresh in everyone's memory.
However, when the officials and ministers observed closely, they were surprised to find the power of the explosion. Of course, it did not refer to the damage caused by the gunpowder explosion, but the power of the iron pellets, iron sheets and iron caltrops.
Especially those iron sheets and iron thorns were firmly nailed to the wooden dummy, and even nailed to the armor. It took a lot of effort for Pang Ji to pull them out.
But that's all. Iron pellets, iron sheets, and iron caltrops could not completely penetrate those old-style armors. If it were a living person, it would only injure him at best.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhen was a little disappointed, but then he remembered that what Zhao Yang was going to demonstrate was not this kind of explosive bomb, and asked: "It is indeed as you said, the power is mediocre... Where is the kind of explosive bomb you want to demonstrate?"
Zhao Yang waved to the side and said, "Bring me here."
Immediately, Song Yang, the head craftsman, personally pushed a small cart carrying an explosive bomb about the size of a millstone to the official's house and in front of all the gentlemen.
I saw Zhao Yang gently patting the explosive bomb and saying to Zhao Zhen and others: "The gunpowder contained in this explosive bomb is at least dozens of times that of the one just now. The name of our company's gunpowder case is Zhentian." thunder……"
He pointed to Shen Yu, who was not far away, and introduced the officials and all the gentlemen.
"Dozens of times?" The officials and other ministers looked at each other, unable to estimate the power.
So, Zhao Yang asked Song Yang and others to test the detonation, and said to the officials: "This bomb is too powerful, and it also contains iron pellets, iron sheets and iron caltrops. For safety reasons, we should retreat." It’s better to take a hundred steps back.”
Zhao Zhen naturally believed in Zhao Yang's judgment. When Wang Shougui repeatedly agreed, he led everyone back a hundred steps and waited to watch from a distance of fifty or sixty feet.
With everyone watching from a distance, Carpenter Song led several craftsmen to move the sky-shattering thunder to the center of the five rows and five columns of wooden pile dummy array. While shouting "ignite", he lit it enough for them to run away. As a result, several people turned around and ran away without looking back.
After they ran out of a safe distance, there was a deafening loud noise in the array of wooden stake dummies. Even though they were fifty or sixty feet away, Zhao Zhen and Zhu Xianggong could hear it clearly. What's more, the sky-shaking The air wave generated when the thunder exploded blew up all twenty-five wooden stake dummies in five rows and five rows by several feet. Even the middle one was blown up more than three feet high.
"Officials be careful."
When the air wave hit, Wang Shougui loyally protected Zhao Zhen, but he was pushed away by Zhao Zhen who looked excited and turned to look at Zhao Yang.
Zhao Yang understood, and led the officials and other ministers to get closer and take a look at the wooden stake dummies.
As Zhao Yang said before, the power of this sky-shaking thunder is at least dozens of times that of ordinary explosive bombs. The intuitive feeling of the explosion has been seen by the officials and all the gentlemen. At this time, I took a closer look at the fake wooden stakes. People were even more shocked to find that these wooden stake dummies were filled with iron pieces and iron needles. What's more, they penetrated the armor and penetrated directly into the wooden stakes inside.
"Good! Good!" Zhao Zhen clapped his hands and praised: "It's worthy of being called a thundering thunder. It really has the sound and power of thunder!"
The other ministers also praised it one after another, but Ye Qingchen asked calmly: "How much did it cost?"
"Excluding labor and cost... about fifty guan."
"..."
There was silence for a moment, and the official who looked excited just now seemed to have been poured cold water on his face, shaking his head repeatedly: "It's too expensive, it's too expensive."
However, to everyone's surprise, Ye Qingchen nodded at this time and said: "It is indeed expensive... But as Zhao Zhengyan said, if this thing can reduce the casualties of our soldiers of the Song Dynasty, and then reduce the cost of pensions and medicine, I think it is still worth it."
As he spoke, he raised his hands and said to the officials: "I asked the officials to set up a gunpowder supervisor to be responsible for supervising the manufacture of gunpowder and other items to reduce costs..."
The official nodded and said: "As you said, we will set up a gunpowder supervisor, with one chief officer and two deputy officers. The number of managers and officers will be decided by you."
Song Xiang and Pang Ji frowned. After looking at each other, Pang Ji came forward and said: "Guan family, this thing is very fierce, and it is for military use. I think it should be under the jurisdiction of our Privy Council..."
Zhao Zhen was quite hesitant after hearing this. After weighing for a long time, he finally adopted the old method of mutual checks and balances: supervision by the Sansi Yamen and supervision by the Privy Council to supervise each other to avoid mistakes.
Pang Ji and Ye Qingchen looked at each other and acquiesced.
Zhao Yang was not interested in watching the power struggle between the Third Si Yamen and the Privy Council. He said to Zhao Zhen: "Before reviewing the last smoke bomb, I also prepared an even more amazing show for the officials and all the princes. Please invite the officials and you to Sir, please move."
Zhao Zhen and other ministers didn't know what was going on, so they followed Zhao Yang to a small mound not far away, and then shouted into the distance: "Song Jiangtou?"
"clear!"
Carpenter Song, who was standing next to the mound, shouted in response, and then he didn't know what he did. More than a dozen craftsmen quickly ran away from the small mound.
"What to do?" Zhao Zhen in the distance asked Zhao Yang doubtfully.
Zhao Yang grabbed Zhao Zhen's arm and reminded everyone: "It's coming, everyone must stand firm..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shougui quickly held Guan Jia's other arm.
Immediately, there was a loud rumbling sound from the mound dozens of feet away. For a moment, Zhao Zhen and his party felt as if the ground was shaking. When they barely stood firm, they were shocked to see that the mound seemed to "fly out of thin air". "It stood up, and a large amount of mud and rocks fell to all sides like a goddess scattering flowers.
After the huge movement, everyone looked at the mound again and gasped in shock, only to see that the small mound had been razed to the ground.
"This...is this also a thunderbolt?" Zhao Zhen asked in horror.
"Yes." Zhao Yang nodded and said: "Ten sky-shaking thunders, half buried in the soil, are ignited together. The power is as powerful as the officials have seen. It's not a big deal to blow up a mound. I think it can also withstand the city wall of Bianjing." If it doesn't hold back, it will be enough to blow it up..."
"Why don't you use the palace city wall as an example? It's not as strong as the Bianjing city wall!" Zhao Zhen cursed angrily, and then said with a look of pain: "I know the power of thunder, so why waste it like this? One piece is fifty guan, ten pieces is 500 guan, and the prime minister’s monthly salary is only this amount..."
"Are the officials shocked?" Zhao Yang asked to himself.
Zhao Zhen said angrily: "I was shocked. With a bang, five hundred strings were gone. How could I not be shocked? What on earth do you want to do?"
Zhao Yang rolled his eyes and had no choice but to explain: "Didn't I hear that an envoy from the Liao State was about to visit Bianjing, so he thought, if the envoy from the Liao State used the diversion of the Yellow River to threaten the Song Dynasty, he wanted to force the Song Dynasty to increase the annual coins. , you might as well lend him the opportunity to review the army and show him the power of the Song Dynasty's firearms..."
Zhao Zhen was suddenly stunned. He was about to say a few words of praise when he suddenly frowned and asked, "How did you know that the Khitan sent envoys to the Song Dynasty?"
He looked at the ministers in the political affairs hall, and they all shook their heads.
Immediately, the eyes of the officials and other ministers fell on Zhang Yaozuo. The reason was that the reception of envoys from other countries was generally the responsibility of the Kaifeng Prefecture's Envoy Yuan, the Shangshu and the Ministry of Rites and other official offices.
Zhang Yaozuo said quickly: "I have never mentioned this to Zhao Zhengyan..."
"I've mentioned it before. It's not a big deal. What are you doing in a hurry?" Zhao Zhen scolded lightly, and then when Cao Yi was relieved, he asked again: "Where is the Khitan envoy?"
Zhang Yaozuo's new appointment Quan had not long known the affairs of the Kaifeng Mansion. He only knew that an envoy from the Liao Kingdom would visit him in the near future, but he did not know where he was currently. He hesitated and couldn't tell.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhen showed displeasure and turned to ask his ministers, "Do you know?"
Ye Qingchen, the envoy of the Third Division, cupped his hands and replied: "We are still in the Daming Mansion area."
"Still in Daming Mansion?" Zhao Zhen frowned and said, "Didn't you arrive at Daming Mansion ten days ago?"
"Yes." Chen Zhizhong also replied: "According to the recent report by Xia Changgong, who stayed at Daming Mansion, the Khitan envoys stopped after arriving at Daming Mansion. With Song and Liao as allies, they learned that we, the Song Dynasty, were flooded on the Hebei Road and had to go to visit us. On the grounds of the disaster and condolences to the local people, I wanted to take the opportunity to investigate the diversion of the Yellow River. Although Mr. Xia set up obstacles many times, he probably couldn't hide it..."
After hearing this, Zhao Zhen was silent for a moment and then asked Zhao Yang: "If I agree with you, can you ensure that the Khitan envoys are frightened?"
Zhao Yang spread his hands and said, "Then it depends on how much the official Yun Chen spent. Hundreds of sky-shaking thunders detonated at the same time. Is it shocking enough?"
"Five thousand guans..." Zhao Zhen swallowed, and after a few hesitations, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "You ask someone to prepare it first. If the Khitan envoy really has that intention, then... I allow you to make your own decision. As long as it can extinguish his arrogance."
Zhao Yanggong cupped his hands and said, "If this is the case, I would like to ask for a deputy envoy to receive the Liao envoys."
Zhao Zhen was slightly stunned and said suspiciously: "What are you going to do?"
Seeing the officials looking at him suspiciously, Zhao Yang rolled his eyes in a subtle way: "Are the officials still afraid that I will take the opportunity to escape?"
Seeing all the ministers looking at him with confusion, Zhao Zhen laughed dryly and pretended to be angry: "You have always been lawless, how do I know what you are going to do? Forget it, I will allow you to receive the Khitan envoys as a deputy envoy. During this period, you will be allowed to It's easy to do things, but if you want to use firearms, you need to inform me in advance, you know? That's five thousand guan!"
"Yes." Zhao Yang cupped his hands rather speechlessly, and then started to make some calculations in his mind.
At present, the Song Dynasty's external currency is 500,000 silver silk, and the Liao Dynasty is 250,000 silver silk. There is no doubt that these are two quite huge expenditures.
If there was a way to reduce or reduce the amount, he would naturally have enough confidence to take the opportunity to propose improving the treatment of the forbidden troops without being hindered by the Third Division.
