Youyan, the Governor's Mansion of Yijing.
Zhao Fuqu was carefully looking at the drawings in his hands. Although he was already a little bit paunchy at the age of nearly sixty, he could still vaguely see the majesty and majesty of his tall stature in the past, and his majestic figure galloping on the battlefield... ·····
Although Zhao Fuqu looked at it carefully at this time, the content on the drawing was very obscure to him. Since he couldn't understand one, two, three, Zhao Fuqu simply stopped looking at it, and looked at Hu Jian who was bowing in front of him and asked very respectfully. road:
"Is this a blueprint for Liaoyang firearms?"
Upon hearing Zhao Fuqu's inquiry, Hu Jian nodded quickly and said:
"Yes, sir, this is the drawing of a firearm called the Polu Gun in Liaoyang. I have personally seen this Polu Gun in Liaoyang. This firearm is much larger and more powerful than the bird guns equipped by our army. There are many, one shot at close range is enough to penetrate iron armor, and it is enough to penetrate wooden boards from a hundred paces away..."
Zhao Fuqu, who was born in the military and made his fortune with guns, immediately realized the importance of this firearm when he heard Hu Jian's description, and his two muddy old eyes couldn't help but let out a ray of light.
However, he still seemed a little unconvinced that the Polu gun was so powerful, so he continued to ask Hu Jian:
"Have you seen the power of this rogue gun with your own eyes?"
"My lord, I don't dare to neglect what you have told me. I have seen it with my own eyes and used it. I have personally inspected even the armor and wooden boards that the gun has penetrated. There is nothing wrong with it. The Polu gun is indeed extremely powerful!" Hu firmly said with confidence:
Seeing Hu Jian patting his chest and confirming his promise, Zhao Fuqu was still a little hesitant, but he felt that with Hu Jian's courage, he would not dare to lie to himself, so this ruthless gun was probably really powerful!
At this moment, Hu Jian seemed to have remembered something, and suddenly raised his head and reported to Zhao Fuqu:
"Sir, look at my bad memory. When I left Liaoyang, Ye Mingsheng sent someone to deliver a Polu gun and some bullets, asking me to hand it over to you, Sir. I will ask someone to bring the Polu gun now. , show it to your lord..."
Zhao Fuqu, who was already looking forward to the Polu Gun when he heard that there was something real, immediately said:
"What are you doing here? Why don't you get the things quickly?"
"Yes! Yes! I'm going right now!"
After burning incense, in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, Zhao Fuqu was sitting in the pavilion, and beside him was a middle-aged scribe and a sturdy man. The three of them were waiting quietly together to learn about the results of the Polu gun test. out of the oven
At this time, Hu Jian, who had retrieved the Polu gun, carefully handed the Polu gun and bullets to the guard commander Liu Chuanbiao beside Zhao Fuqu.
As the guard commander of Zhao Fuqu, Liu Chuanbiao not only has excellent boxing and kicking skills, but is also a master of firearms. In his hand, the blunderbuss can be said to be hit anywhere within a hundred steps. This time it is the task of testing this new firearm. , Liu Chuanbiao naturally did his part.
Liu Chuanbiao looked at the Polu gun in his hand with some curiosity, which was similar in shape to the bird gun, but was much heavier and longer than the bird gun. He also stroked the cold body of the Polu gun with his rough big hand, and briefly inspected the broken gun. Liu Chuanbiao knew the structure of the gunpowder well. He skillfully loaded the gunpowder and bullets, and then looked at Zhao Fuqu in the pavilion.
Feeling Wang Chuanbiao's gaze, Zhao Fuqu nodded without hesitation. After receiving the permission, Liu Chuanbiao directly aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet fired at the armor that was already prepared within a hundred steps. Under the gaze of everyone, he just listened: " With a bang, the bullet penetrated the armor without any suspense...
Seeing this scene of Zhao Yong, a tall man in the pavilion, he immediately slapped the stone table and couldn't help shouting excitedly:
"good!"
Zhao Yong is Zhao Fuqu's nephew, and he is also Zhao Fuqu's most trusted general in the Yan army. Youyan is the northern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Like Liaoyang, it needs to face the threat of the Luobi people, and compared with the poor Liaoyang , the Luobi people prefer to plunder the relatively wealthy Youyan.
Therefore, Youyan has to fight the Luobei people almost every year. In the battle with the Luobei people, the Luobei people's armored heavy cavalry is the most troublesome existence for the Yan army. In the past, every time they faced these people, they were beaten from head to toe. The monsters wrapped in iron armor would cause the Yan army to suffer heavy casualties.
It is precisely because of this that Zhao Yong was so excited when he saw this firearm called Polu Gun, which could penetrate armor so easily. With this thing, the heavy armored cavalry of the Luobi people might no longer be their nightmare. , the Yan army was able to kill many fewer people.
Zhao Fuqu, who also saw the power of the Polu gun, did not care about his nephew's gaffe. He cast his approving gaze at Hu Jian aside and said:
"The power of this gun is truly extraordinary. Hu Jian, you have done a rare good deed!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Jian immediately burst into laughter, nodded and bowed and said: "The young man is here today because of his promotion!" The things you have told me, my lord, even if I risk my life, I will do it well to your satisfaction...'
As soon as Hu Jian finished speaking, Liu Chuanbiao over there opened his mouth and reported:
"I'm telling you, Lord Governor, although this gun is powerful and has a far enough range, its operation is very complicated and its rate of fire is not very fast, and its recoil is strong. You must find something to hold it on to use it!"
Hearing Liu Chuanbiao talk about this, Zhao Fuqu's excited expression suddenly became a little hazy, and he asked with some reluctance:
"Is there any way to improve it?"
Liu Chuanbiao said honestly:
"I don't know about this problem. Firearms craftsmen should have some understanding of it, but I think it would be very difficult to improve it!"
Zhao Fuqu flashed a trace of regret when he heard this, then turned to look at Hu Jian and asked:
"How much money did you give Ye Mingsheng to buy the technology of breaking the gun?"
Hu Jian said respectfully:
"Sir, I paid 50,000 taels of silver for the technical humble job of buying this Polu gun. I paid 20,000 taels of silver first. Ye Mingsheng gave me the blueprints and this Polu gun. I will pay the remaining balance later. Send it over, and Liaoyang will send craftsmen to guide the production..."
"Fifty thousand taels of silver? Why is it so expensive?" Zhao Fuqu frowned and said with dissatisfaction:
In his opinion, it was just a blueprint, a firecracker, and someone sent over for guidance. This thing only cost him fifty thousand taels of silver. Doesn't this mean that he, Zhao, was taken advantage of?
After listening to Zhao Fuqu's words, Hu Jian lowered his head and said aggrievedly:
"The 50,000 taels of silver that I have to report to you, Lord Qi, I was just talking about it with so much effort. The people from Liaoyang asked for 100,000 taels of silver at the very beginning!"
Zhao Fuqu was still dissatisfied when he heard this, and he said in a deep voice:
"Now that we have the blueprints and the finished Polu gun, we Youyan can also make this Polu gun, right?"
Hu Jian's expression suddenly froze when he heard this, and he became nervous. Although Zhao Fuqu wanted to purchase the technology of Liaoyang firearms, he didn't allocate a penny. Even the 20,000 taels of silver paid in advance was all done by him. I paid for it out of my own pocket
And now looking at Zhao Fuqu's intention, why did he want to break the contract and not pay Liaoyang the remaining 30,000 taels of silver...
It didn't matter that he broke the contract, but this would implicate him, Hu Jian. He was planning to bring back ginseng, deer antlers and mink skins from Liaoyang to sell them. As long as Zhao Fuqu broke the contract and refused to give him any money, how would he face Liaoyang?
Realizing this risk, Hu Jian suddenly became a little anxious, but as he was not well educated, he could only scratch his head anxiously, but he did not know how to talk to Zhao Fuqu like this.
Just when Hu Jian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot and didn't know what to do, the middle-aged scribe who had never spoken in the pavilion spoke.
"Sir, I think the remaining money should be given to Liaoyang!"
As soon as these words came out, a look of hope suddenly appeared in Hu Jian's eyes, and Zhao Fuqu also turned his gaze to him and said in a gentle tone:
"What do you mean by Mr. Huang's words?"
After hearing Zhao Fuqu's question, the middle-aged scribe Huang Wenze did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at Hu Jian who was standing aside. Zhao Fuqu immediately understood what he meant and said directly:
"Hu Jian, go down! I will come back to you if something happens!"
Hu Jian wanted to say something after hearing this, but before he could speak, he was kicked out by Liu Chuanbiao, the commander of the guards.
After Hu Jian left, Huang Wenze said without any worries:
"Sir, the reason why Ye Mingsheng, a young boy in his early twenties, was able to drive away the Zhenwu Army, besides having the Cui family helping him behind the scenes, was because of his skill with firearms. This time he is willing to use his He took out his trump card and sold it to us. Sir, Ye Mingsheng’s intention is worth pondering..."
Huang Wenze's words immediately whetted Zhao Fuqu's appetite, but before he could ask, his nephew Zhao Yong said directly:
"Master Military Advisor, can we please stop beating around the bush and just say what you have to say?"
"Zhao Yong, don't be rude to the military advisor!" Zhao Fuqu frowned and reprimanded,
Zhao Fuqu, who had not studied for a few days, relied on his bravery and bravery in his youth to become the commander-in-chief of Yuyang. He also unified the Youyan region step by step and became the governor of Youyan.
But what really made him secure this position was that although he himself had no education and had not studied for a few days, he only knew how to fight and kill, but he was willing to respect scholars and was very understanding and responsible. He used Huang Wenze as the leader. With the help of a series of talented people, Zhao Fuqu managed his power step by step and became one of the most powerful vassal towns in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
In response to Zhao Fuqu's rebuke, Zhao Yong lowered his head angrily, while Huang Wenze waved his hands indifferently and said:
"Sir, General Zhao speaks quickly, it doesn't matter..."
"From what I see below, the reason why Ye Mingsheng is willing to sell his firearms technology to us is because he is trying to show his favor to you, sir!"
"Although Ye Mingsheng is a little younger, he is very shrewd. It is not a secret that you want to send troops to expand, and Liaoyang is close to us Youyan. If we talk about Song Wenhui before, Liaoyang If it can still pose some threat to us, Youyan, from behind."
"Then now that he, Ye Mingsheng, is in charge, he, a young boy in his twenties, cannot control the situation in Liaoyang at all. Things in Liaoyang are already enough to make him anxious, so what he fears most now is worry. My lord, you invaded Liaoyang in a big way and drove him out of power!"
"That's why he took the initiative to show his kindness to you, Your Majesty, and hoped that you would not attack Liaoyang. In response, he not only wanted to sell his firearms technology to you, but I also said that he planned to reduce the number of people in Guangning Mansion. Garrison and prepare to cut half of the current Liaoyang army’s troops!”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fuqu seemed to have heard something unbelievable, and asked in confusion:
"Is Ye Mingsheng crazy? Why does he want to lay off so many troops?"
In Zhao Fuqu's view, the world is now in chaos. As a prince, you naturally have to recruit troops to compete in the Central Plains. Even if you don't want to fight for hegemony, you should recruit troops to protect yourself, strengthen your own strength, and prevent troops from being stationed by other princes. Therefore, disarmament is important. In Zhao Fuqu's eyes, the simply unreasonable behavior was no different from suicide...
Faced with Zhao Fuqu's doubts, Huang Wenze explained with a smile:
"Sir, of course Ye Mingsheng is not crazy. Of course he wants to recruit troops, but Liaoyang is a poor place, and now it has been fighting a civil war for such a long time. Liaoyang's finances are simply not enough to support Ye Mingsheng in raising so many people! "
"If Ye Mingsheng insists on not disarmament, then there will be a famine in Liaoyang, at least tens of thousands of people will starve to death, so Ye Mingsheng's disarmament is also a helpless choice!"
"Hmph! This boy named Ye is really kind to a woman. The most valuable thing in this troubled world is human life. He actually took the initiative to disarm a few poor people in order not to starve to death. This is really compassionate. In my opinion It seems that a waste like him will be kicked out in a few years!" Zhao Yong, who was standing aside and heard Huang Wenze's explanation, said disdainfully:
Huang Wenze ignored him and continued:
"Sir, there are two reasons why I suggest you give the money to Ye Mingsheng. The first reason is that as far as I know, the good firearms in Ye Mingsheng's hands include more than one Polu gun, Weiyuan gun and so on. Sky-shaking thunder!”
"The Polu gun is so extraordinary, the Weiyuan gun and Zhentianlei are probably not much different. If Ye Mingsheng can sell us the Polu gun, the Weiyuan gun and Zhentianlei will not be stingy. We have to take a long-term view. When fishing for big fish, you can’t give up other firearms just for the small profit you have in front of you.”
"Besides that, my lord, you have decided to send troops to invade Jinyang. Then we have to stabilize the rear. Although Ye Mingsheng does not have the courage to take the initiative to attack, it is not bad to spend 50,000 taels of silver to buy a peace of mind in the rear..." ···············”
