In the courtyard, Wang Yunxiu was dancing with a knife.
Xue Bai once saw Gongsun Auntie and Li Twelve Niang dancing with swords. They were strong and soft, calm and sharp, and quite capable of fighting. Wang Yunxiu's sword technique is stronger and more powerful.
"sieve--"
Amidst the sound of breaking wind, the long knife struck down and was deeply embedded in the wooden pile on the side.
Wang Yunxiu then sheathed the knife, turned around and saw Xue Bai standing in the corridor with his hands behind his back. He couldn't help but said in surprise: "Xue Lang is here? I didn't go to greet him. It would be too rude."
"I heard that General Wang was ill, so I came here to visit him."
"Ah?" Wang Yunxiu was slightly startled and said, "Yes, my grandfather has a gangrene attack on his back. I have been taking care of him recently."
She usually looked demure, but today she looked a little stronger in her military robe. She was sweating profusely, her face and neck had a healthy rosiness, and her body was still steaming. She was not afraid of the wind and cold, so she took the cloak. He had to lead Xue Bai in personally.
After the screen retreated, she said: "I usually pay attention to it, but I didn't expect that I have to pretend in front of Xue Lang."
"Although people from Nanzhao will not sneak into the mansion to inquire, they still have to put on a show, including catching medicine and cooking for General Wang every day. The loss of appetite during the illness led to the reduction of food ingredients."
"Yes, Yuan Lang said the same thing." Wang Yunxiu said, "He said that I would not act on occasion and only let me stay in the inner courtyard. He was arranging these details."
"That's good." Xue Bai felt confident about Yuan Zai's work.
"By the way, I heard about it too," Wang Yunxiu said, "Eating made Yao Siyi frame you. I didn't expect that you have a reputation for being romantic, but in fact you are a gentleman."
"You can't be called a gentleman. He's just obsessed with fame and fortune and not good at socializing with women." Xue Bai responded casually.
"The same is true for Yuan Lang." Wang Yunxiu said, "He is really dedicated to progress and is arrogant."
"Really?" Xue Bai touched his nose.
"It turns out that you and the princess and the prime minister's wife are really good friends." Wang Yunxiu looked cheerful, but in fact he was very interested in these scandals and anecdotes, and asked: "Then those romantic affairs about you reported in Chang'an City are also fake?"
"..."
While they were talking, the two of them had already reached the end of the corridor, where they saw two tough-tempered servants standing guard. They clasped their fists and said, "Commander Xue has given the order. Mr. Xue can go in."
It looks like a simple guard, but in fact there are only a few people in the world who can enter this room.
In the main room, the smell of medicine filled the air. Wang Zhongsi was sitting on the couch covered with a thin blanket and looking at the map. When he heard the noise, he turned around and glanced with sharp eyes. He saw that Wang Yunxiu was leading Xue Bai, and then he stopped his attention.
"General Wang, how are you feeling?"
"Urgent." Wang Zhongsi said: "If you don't go to Jiannan and only talk about war on paper in Chang'an City, how can you be sure?"
"I don't think there is any need to rush." Xue Bai said: "The scorching heat in the south is not something northerners can endure. This battle must avoid summer. No matter how urgent it is, we have to wait patiently until autumn, and it is only April now."
Wang Zhongsi understands these principles better than Xue Bai. It's just that they have different mentality.
"Have you made arrangements? Let's go see the weapons you mentioned."
"Yes." Xue Bai said: "I brought a few doctors here today in the name of visiting patients. General Wang will dress up as a doctor and go out with me."
"Let's go now."
Wang Zhongsi took the clothes handed over by Xue Bai and started to put them on.
"My daughter will go too," Wang Yunxiu said, "I will wait for my daughter to change her clothes..."
"If you go, there is no need to change. You can leave the house in the name of seeing Xue Lang." Wang Zhongsi acted swiftly and resolutely. He was not used to the woman's temperament as a mother-in-law, but felt that his daughter's marriage to Yuan Zai had become pretentious over the years.
Wang Yunxiu was not because of anything else, but because she had just practiced martial arts and her whole body smelled of sweat. Thinking of going to the military camp outside the city like this for a whole day, I'm afraid everyone will go sour.
Of course, the general's daughter won't care too much about this, just go ahead and do it.
On the contrary, Xue Bai could tell from the two conversations between their father and daughter why Wang Yunxiu was able to run away with Yuan Zai back then. Yuan Zai's delicate mind and willingness to coax were exactly what Wang Yunxiu lacked the most.
Thinking of this, he reminded himself that now he is a dull person who is not good at dealing with women, so it is better not to think about these things.
"I've also heard about you."
When Wang Zhongsi talked about recent events, he had a completely different attitude. He said in a calm tone: "Instead of scheming with the traitors, it is better to focus on doing practical things."
"yes."
"But it's not a bad thing." Wang Zhongsi patted Xue Bai and said with a smile: "As time goes by, you can see people's hearts, and now the saint also understands that you have a good character. This is a good thing."
It can be seen that Wang Zhongsi really doesn't like intrigues.
~~
Although Wang Zhongsi was ill, the appointment of civil and military officials and the mobilization of troops, money and food were all in progress, and everything was in order.
In the eyes of outsiders, the imperial court was waiting for Wang Zhongsi's condition to improve, or it might change his commander depending on the situation.
The main force of soldiers and horses who want to conquer Nanzhao is still under the command of Xianyu Zhongtong, the deputy envoy of Jiannan Festival. In the military camp outside Chang'an City, there are soldiers dispatched by Wang Zhongsi and are currently undergoing training.
On that day, Yuan Zai was allocating money and food as a member of the school inspection department. When he got a message that someone was coming to see him, he hurried out of the camp to greet him.
"Mr. Lang." Wang Yunxiu, wearing a warrior robe, rode his horse forward and said, "I will bring Xue Lang to see you."
Compared with his wife, Yuan Zai seemed much weaker. He rushed to Xue Bai's horse and saluted: "Xue Lang is here. I will show you the progress of military affairs."
Xue Bai dismounted and asked, "Have all the weapons and weapons sent by the generals I recommended arrived?"
"They're here. I'll place them over here, Zhou Cao."
Yuan Zai raised his hand and glanced over the faces of the guards behind Xue Bai. He had already seen Wang Zhongsi in disguise, but he didn't care and just talked and laughed with Xue Bai.
"When we attacked Shibao City, it was Xue Lang who built the huge stone cannon. Now we are attacking Nanzhao. If we can see Xue Lang take action again, it must be a successful battle."
"They are just icing on the cake. Winning the war ultimately depends on the national strength of the Tang Dynasty and the concerted efforts of the soldiers."
"Xue Lang is too modest." Yuan Zai smiled broadly, chatting and laughing with Xue Bai along the way, and seemed very humane and sophisticated.
But compared with more than two years ago, Yuan Zai is now more sleek and utilitarian. No matter how well he hides it, Xue Bai can still feel it.
There are Cang Cao, Zhou Cao, Bing Cao, and Qi Cao in the military camp, who are in charge of food, equipment, soldiers, and horses. They soon arrived at Zhou Cao, and soldiers came to stop them. Yuan Zai took out his command talisman, but did not enter immediately. Instead, he waited for Gao Shi, the Secretary of the Army Zhongdian, to greet them.
Gao Shi recognized Wang Zhongsi at a glance, and quietly led everyone into Zhoucao.
"The carriage arrived three days ago. We are still testing the weapon. If it is usable, we must start forging it as soon as possible..."
The Prefect was heavily guarded. After entering, Wang Zhongsi no longer had to hide his identity. He walked around with his hands behind his back and listened. Then he asked, "How is the newly appointed Prefect?"
"He does things neatly," Gao Shi said, "He is a great talent."
"Everyone recommended by Mr. Xue is good." Wang Zhongsi said, "Just like you, who is thirty-five years taller."
Gao Shi responded hurriedly: "I feel ashamed that my talent is far inferior to that of Yan Wu."
The new chief minister they said was Yan Wu.
Xue Bai always knew that Yan Wu had general talents, so he transferred him to Jingzhao Prefecture and quickly recommended him to the army, hoping that he could make contributions in the battle of Nanzhao. In fact, Wang Zhongsi was not used by everyone. He personally tested Yan Wu and confirmed his talents before entrusting him with important tasks.
"I've seen you all, I've made arrangements, please."
Yan Wu looked serious. After meeting, he just cupped his fists and invited everyone into the camp. His attitude was completely different from that of Yuan Zai. He was unflattering and rude, but it was in line with his name, which was serious and heroic.
Several barracks have been set up here, and there is an observation tower next to the barracks.
Xue Bai and Wang Zhongsi climbed to the observation deck, where a man was standing there, holding a copper cylinder in his hand.
"This is Xue Lang's servant, Qiao Erwa." Yan Wu said, "It was he who found craftsmen to make a batch of weapons based on Xue Lang's drawings and escorted them here."
"Meet the Generalissimo."
Qiao Erwa quickly handed the object in her hand to Wang Zhongsi and gave a silly gesture.
Wang Zhongsi took it and took a closer look. He saw that it was a hollow copper tube, with one side larger and the other smaller. He accidentally peeked through the tube and could see that the wooden board under his feet had been pulled closer.
It seemed that the copper tube was inlaid with crystal, which looked like colored glaze, but was more transparent than ordinary colored glaze.
"We named this object 'Telescope'. General, you can try to see it like this."
Wang Zhongsi then put the telescope in front of his eyes and closed the other eye. His vision was slightly blurry, but the distant Qinling Mountains had been brought much closer.
Turning his sight again, he could clearly see some ant-like figures in the distance, and even their movements were clear.
"When discussing Nanzhao, if you climb high and look far, you can use this object to explore the terrain faster and seize the opportunity." Xue Bai roughly explained.
Wang Zhongsi didn't speak, he just looked at the different scenery in all directions, his thick eyebrows always knitted.
"OK!"
After a long time, Wang Zhongsi praised him and said with a smile: "Xue Bai, how did you grow your brain?"
He put down the telescope, rubbed it in his hand, and responded to the word "can't put it down". Such a majestic general was like a child who just got a novel toy.
"With this thing, even if Nanzhao has steep terrain, high mountains and deep waters, I won't be afraid anymore."
"The general is overrated. When marching and fighting, the most important thing is command. These are just small items that add some help."
"Why don't you dedicate it to the saint? Make a great contribution to yourself?"
Xue Bai said: "Before Nanzhao is pacified, it is better to keep it secret. General, don't tell others, just use it in the army."
Wang Zhongsi was convinced and nodded.
"General, let's look at the second weapon." Yan Wu first pointed to the direction, which were several huge stone cannons placed on the edge of the military camp. Then, he pointed again, pointing further away, and said: "We need to throw The general is interested in something."
The order was first given here, and the order flag was waving on the messenger platform. After that, those giant cannons threw projectiles one after another.
Wang Zhongsi raised his telescope and followed the projectiles with his eyes, only to see them sliding nearly a mile in the air and landing at the foot of the mountain in the distance.
Afterwards, there was a muffled thunderous sound.
Yuan Zai subconsciously raised his head and looked at the sky, thinking it was going to rain.
However, Wang Zhongsi was in the Thousand Miles Realm scene and could clearly see where the projectiles exploded, dust and smoke rising, and trees falling down...
Xue Bai was distracted.
He actually thought that maybe on Li Longji's next trip to Huaqing Palace, he could try to place a huge stone cannon on Lishan Mountain for assassination. However, he finally decided to give the explosive to Wang Zhongsi to pacify Nanzhao.
The situation was different from when he was in Huashan. At that time, Geluofeng had not yet rebelled, but now he had mobilized many soldiers, horses and food. The preparations for the battle of Nanzhao could not be in vain.
"This is it?" Wang Zhongsi asked.
"gunpowder."
Xue Bai came back to his senses and said: "It was a Taoist priest who blew up the furnace when he was learning Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, to make alchemy with sulfur embedded in the Alchemy Sutra. I bought his prescription from him and made it. This gunpowder.”
"I wonder which Taoist priest it is?" Wang Zhongsi picked up his telescope again and looked around, wanting to have a chat with the Taoist priest.
It happened that the Taoist priest was Li Yazhou who presented the Xingyang Centipede bag to the saint, so it was not appropriate to show up. Xue Bai then said: "People from outside the world don't want to be disturbed, so although he gave me the recipe for gunpowder, he never revealed his name."
Wang Zhongsi turned around and glanced at Xue Bai. Because the distance was too close, he leaned back in fright, looking a little childish.
"Let's go! Let's go over and take a look at this gunpowder."
…
With his mind on military affairs, Wang Zhongsi could not help but show the aura of a commander.
He first rushed to the vicinity of the huge stone cannons, and the soldiers were still busy re-weighting the huge stone cannons.
In front, a big man was leading people to move things. Gao Shi led Wang Zhongsi and others over and said, "This is also Xue Lang's subordinate who came to offer weapons, Zhao Yuliang."
Wang Zhongsi took a look at Zhao Yuliang and quickly saw that this man, like Qiao Erwa, was an ordinary farmer. He just worked for Xue Bai. With experience, he appeared to be much more capable than ordinary people.
"You will be my attendants first, and when Nanzhao is pacified, I will recommend officials for you."
Qiao Erwa, Zhao Yuliang and others were stunned and looked at Xue Bai.
Xue Bai said: "I still don't want to thank Wang Jieshuai for his great kindness."
"Yes, thank you so much for your kindness."
Attendants are equivalent to personal soldiers. Because they are close to the commander, they are easy to perform meritorious service and less dangerous in the army. For example, Feng Changqing, who fell into poverty in his early years, started as an attendant of Gao Xianzhi and gradually became famous and accumulated military merits.
Looking at it from another perspective, brothers Diao Bing and Diao Geng are still Xue Bai's attendants, but Qiao Erwa, Zhao Yuliang and others have become Wang Zhongsi's attendants by donating weapons, like many famous generals in the world.
"Look at the pellets."
Zhao Yuliang was still in a daze, but Wang Zhongsi raised his hand and pointed at the irregular-shaped iron ball in his hand.
Xue Bai stepped forward to take it, helped hand it over, and said: "We call it cannonballs. This is the first batch, so it is called Zhentianlei. It is either a thin iron shell or mud wrapped around the gunpowder, and the gunpowder is sealed. It explodes with great power."
Wang Zhongsi took the cannonball and turned it around in his hand. He saw a fuse on it. He tried to look inside, but he couldn't see anything at all.
Xue Bai then signaled Zhao Yuliang to bring a pack of gunpowder and said: "General, please look, this is gunpowder."
Wang Zhongsi looked around and saw that the powder in the paper bag was dark, more like carbon powder. He smelled it first, then smeared a little with his finger and put it into his mouth to taste. It had a sour and bitter taste.
"What recipe is this?"
"The general didn't taste it."
Wang Zhongsi shook his head and said, "I can't taste it."
"The Taoist leader said that this thing is a great murder weapon. He didn't want to cause too many murders, so he refused to tell the formula. He could only help me prepare the gunpowder to support the Nanzhao battle." Xue Bai said, " Of course, if you want to make artillery shells in the army, you only need to make the shell and fill it with gunpowder."
Wang Zhongsi obviously didn't believe Xue Bai's rhetoric, but the formula was in Xue Bai's hands, and he had no other choice for the moment. He had no choice but to ask: "The amount required by the army is huge, can this Taoist master make it?"
"It can be made."
"Do you have to hide this from others first?"
"Yes, at least wait until the general pacifies Nanzhao."
Wang Zhongsi had no choice but to ask Xue Bai no more. He lit the gunpowder in a paper bag and watched it burn violently. Afterwards, he personally wrapped some gunpowder with paper and soil and ignited it with a fuse.
"Stand back."
"I'm not afraid."
Xue Bai and the others quickly pulled Wang Zhongsi aside and covered his ears.
Looking back, the fuse burned out.
"Bang!"
Mud flew everywhere, and the power of gunpowder exploded the surrounding sand and rocks, causing pain.
Wang Zhongsi laughed heartily. In Xue Bai's eyes, this man in his forties looked more and more like a naughty boy who lit firecrackers during the Chinese New Year.
"It's really different when it's wrapped in mud, so what's the reason?"
Xue Bai didn't care whether he understood or not, pretending to be profound, and said: "The burning of gunpowder will generate a lot of heat, which will gather in a closed space and create a huge air pressure with the outside, so it will explode."
Unexpectedly, Wang Zhongsi actually understood, nodded and said: "It's like a fart, it can kill someone if it is released at once."
"That's probably it."
"What is that?" Wang Zhongsi pointed to a strange stick in the box.
Zhao Yuliang then picked it up and stopped talking.
Xue Bai then said: "This is his weapon. It is difficult to make. The craftsmen also spent a lot of effort to polish a few rods. It is difficult to measure and use at the same time. The general ignores it for the time being and just treats him as a special case." "
Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Wang Zhongsi smiled and didn't ask any further questions. Anyway, they were all in his army and they would see him sooner or later, so it didn't matter if he let Xue Bai get away with it.
"Let's go and see the power of the cannonball after it is thrown."
…
At present, the military camp has not been cleared. Every day, there are large and small transshippers from various parties delivering supplies. There is a mixture of fish and dragons. Even if there is no careful work from Tubo and Nanzhao, there may be hostile forces in the DPRK and China trying to spy on the reality.
Wang Zhongsi was still pretending to be ill. He originally came quietly to take a look at the progress of military affairs, but he was having fun and was too conspicuous. Some people in the army had noticed this.
"Hush!"
Riding his horse to reach a shallow pit, Wang Zhongsi looked at the branches destroyed by the shells and nodded with satisfaction.
The next moment, Guan Chongsi rode over and whispered a few words.
"The general has already conducted an investigation, and the only suspicious people in the army are those few. Sure enough, as soon as the general left, someone wanted to report the news..."
"Take it."
"Here."
Xue Bai was close and could vaguely understand what was going on. He was amused in his heart. Wang Zhongsi looked like a child who had lost his temper, but in fact he had his own methods for running the army. After today, all those who inquire about the truth will be wiped out. He will show his face clearly. To recuperate, he will probably go to the military camp for training secretly.
The group of people rushed back to the camp again, this time riding horses at a gallop.
As soon as the horse speeds up, the level of riding skills is revealed.
Wang Zhongsi, Wang Yunxiu and others rushed to the front; Xue Bai practiced his riding skills hard and could barely follow them; Yuan Zai was born in a poor family and had never ridden a horse before. He usually did not show off, but now he was slow; Qiao Erwa and Zhao You Liang only started riding horses in recent years and fell at the end...
After running for a while, before reaching the camp, I saw smoke and dust flying in front of me, and a group of soldiers were chasing a knight.
"Don't let him escape!"
However, it was Guan Chongsi who led people to clean up the army's fine work. Unexpectedly, one of them escaped. This man had superb riding skills and strong agility, and actually broke out of the siege.
The two sides met head-on and passed each other before Guan Chongsi's shout came over.
Wang Zhongsi quickly reined in the reins and shouted: "Twelve mothers, shoot!"
"Here!"
Wang Yunxiu brought a bow and arrow, and immediately ran in a small circle on horseback, chasing the fleeing Xizuo again, and passed by Xue Bai in an instant.
At this time, Yuan Zai came over and was face to face with Xizuo.
"Yuan Lang!" Wang Yunxiu wanted Yuan Zai to avoid getting hurt, but when the words came to her lips, the maid's quick wit made her shout: "Stop him!"
She was afraid of showing weakness to her enemy, so she reminded him that Yuan Zai had been hijacked.
The couple had a tacit understanding. When she shouted, Yuan Zai ducked away, allowing the knight to run away quickly.
Wang Yunxiu stood on his horse, bow and arrow, squinting and aiming.
…
Zhao Yuliang was following Qiao Erwa, driving his horse with all his strength, and it was difficult to even catch up with Yuan Zai.
Suddenly, Qiao Erwa said: "Why are you back?"
Neither of them had been on the battlefield, so they were stunned when they saw the dust and smoke in front of them.
The next moment, a vigorous knight emerged from the dust smoke and appeared in front of them. Wang Yunxiu shouted "Yuanlang, stop him" to remind them that the knight was an enemy.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow shot at the knight, but he lowered his head and dodged it.
Then, I heard Xue Bai shout.
"Zhao Yuliang, shoot him!"
Zhao Yuliang then reined in the reins, awkwardly turned over and dismounted, and took off the musket hanging on his body.
He was actually very nervous and sweat broke out on his forehead. But because I have practiced a lot, all the movements are done subconsciously.
He set up the blunderbuss, held the blunderbuss in his left hand, filled the gunpowder package, took out the tinderbox, opened it with one hand, blew a few times, and lit the fuse. Fortunately, the wind was not strong. He put the fuselage on the snake pole clip and opened it. Lid of the medical pot, change the gun in your right hand and aim.
He moves very quickly and has rough hands that are steady.
But in this short time, the knight had already run more than thirty steps. And the beautiful daughter of General Wang also rode up to catch up with her bow and arrow again.
Zhao Yuliang took a few deep breaths, not thinking about it, and just stared at the figure in the distance.
The lead rope is still burning.
"I didn't expect that besides farming, you also have this talent."
"Zhao Yuliang, you are so accurate."
In fact, he was really lucky when he made the first shot, but when his companions praised him, he was too happy, so he gathered enough energy to use the fire blunderbuss well. In addition to practicing together, he secretly I'm still practicing secretly.
In order to practice his eyesight, he stared at flying insects all afternoon; in order to practice his hand stability, he used needle and thread to embroider a toad-eating swan bellyband for his mother-in-law.
He knew he could do this well.
"Whoosh."
An arrow made the sound of breaking the wind, and the voice in front was still galloping.
Zhao Yuliang glanced at the lead rope and adjusted the gun slightly.
He pulled the wrench, the snake rod clamp pulled the lead rope into the cauldron, and ignited the gunpowder.
"boom--"
There was a sound in the countryside of Chang'an.
Xue Bai reined in the reins and looked into the distance, thinking that few people would know what happened today, but some changes had always occurred.
As the wheel of history rolled forward, the carriage of the Tang Dynasty ran rampantly, crashed into pieces, and fell apart... He finally fired a shot at the wheel.
~~
The next day, a secret memorial was presented to Xingqing Palace.
It did not go through the provincial desk, but was delivered directly to the saint's imperial case from the chamberlain.
This was the privilege Wang Zhongsi had when he was ordered to lead the expedition against Nanzhao.
The memorial mainly talked about his current training situation, and finally praised Xue Bai in a few words, saying that the weapons he presented were all very useful and the people he recommended were all talents.
Li Longji read it, twirling his beard and thinking deeply.
Yang Yuhuan, who was rehearsing an opera, came to his senses and asked, "Sage, what are you thinking about?"
The thoughts in Li Longji's eyes flashed, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Xue Bai has donated something again. As long as he is willing to do things, he will definitely do well."
Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but wonder: "The saint has always praised my sworn brother recently."
"He has merit." Li Longji put down the memorial, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "If he has merit, he will be rewarded. After Nanzhao is pacified, I should reward him well..."
(End of chapter)
