"You are right. Such a court is not worthy of allegiance. Chongzhen, son, besides killing Zhongliang unjustly and giving random orders, what else can you expect him to do? He is half responsible for the Ming Dynasty being so corrupt!" Gao Heng just finished speaking, and saw the three brothers. Sun Hejing, the youngest among them, said angrily.
"Third brother! Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!" Sun Heding slammed the table and said angrily. Then he stood up and pointed at Sun Hejing and said: "Have you forgotten that my father's last words were to tell us three brothers not to hate the court, not to hate the monarch, and to concentrate on studying knowledge and writing books and establishing opinions? Have you forgotten these words? ?”
"No! I haven't forgotten! But the hatred of killing my father is irreconcilable. What mistake did my father make? Kong Youde launched a rebellion. What does it have to do with his father? My father resisted desperately, but the court did not hold Kong Youde accountable, and actually accused Kong Youde of being the leader of the trouble. How ridiculous it is to put it on your father." Sun Hejing said.
"During the Tianqi period and the early years of Chongzhen, my father made great achievements in Liaodong. The defense of Liaodong was tight. The two strategies of preparing for Beijing and defending the border that my father delivered to the court are still cited as classics by the court. He cooperated with Sun Chengzong and Sun Ge to guard Liaodong and made many meritorious deeds. The great victory of Ningyuan was achieved. It can be seen that building a city, constructing forts, and encircling the city with iron walls is the best strategy to resist the Qing Dynasty. But as for the imperial court, killing his father just because a villain rebelled is simply an injustice through the ages." Sun Hejing added.
"Enough! Enough! Shut up!" Sun He stood up and shouted.
"No! I haven't finished speaking yet. If you, eldest brother and second brother, don't feel wronged for your father, why do you write a record of the injustices of the country and the family? This shows that in your hearts, you also know your father's injustice. In this case, why You dare not speak out. It is rare for someone to tell the truth in front of us. I don’t know this General Gao, but based on his few words, I dare to believe that he is a sensible person." Sun Hejing shouted at his elder brother. road.
"This, this." Sun Heding and Sun Hedou didn't know what to say. The two brothers had been responsible for compiling the record of grievances between the country and the family that Sun Hejing mentioned. It mainly wrote about Sun Yuanhua's life achievements, including reasonable suggestions to the court. opinions, military strategies for Jianlu, etc. The most important thing is to write down the causes and consequences of Sun Yuanhua's unjust death in the book.
It turns out that the two brothers did not want their youngest brother to know about it because the younger brother was young and easily impulsive when things happened. They were afraid that Sun and Jing would do something uncontrollable after seeing the details of their father's unjust death.
They were exiled to Qiongzhou. Although the ending was tragic, at least they left a way to survive. If the court found out that their brother was doing some impulsive things, it might cause irreparable consequences, so Sun Heding and Sun Hedou kept it secret from him. Unexpectedly, he was still discovered.
"Alas!" Sun Heding stamped his feet and sighed heavily, "Third brother, the eldest brother is not feeling bitter, but my father told me before he died that elder brothers are like fathers, and my responsibility is to take good care of you. Do you think I don't do that?" Are you angry about your father's death? But what's the use of anger? It will also bring unnecessary disasters. When my father was in prison, I went to visit him. My father said that no matter what, the three brothers must live, and this responsibility falls on them. On my shoulders, that’s why I.”
Sun Heding covered his face and cried, unable to speak any more. This atmosphere infected everyone. The three brothers hugged each other and cried. Even the family members in the courtyard came out of the room, each with a sad expression.
"Mr. Sun, in this case, why don't you help me? There are tens of thousands of people in Lang Son Province waiting for food. They are also Chinese people. Mr. Sun's last wish is to let you live, but I don't want the people to live. In troubled times, Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. Tens of thousands of people are here. Do you have the heart to stand by and watch? What's more, leaving aside the court, there are hundreds of millions of people in the Central Plains. If I, Gaoheng, have the strength one day, I will definitely send troops to the Northern Expedition. Destroy the bandits and Jianlu, and return China to a prosperous world. If Lord Sun Yuanhua is here, he will never want to see the lives of people in ruins!" Gao Heng said firmly.
"Yes, if my father were here, he would never stand by and watch!" Sun Hejing said, wiping away his tears.
Gao Heng clasped his fists heavily and said: "I know very well that these gentlemen have done everything possible to inherit Master Sun's true legacy, and I would like to invite you to help revitalize the Chinese army and revitalize China!"
"But we are in Qiongzhou and we are prisoners of the imperial court. How can we escape?" Sun Heding shook his head.
"It's simple. Yazhou has been controlled by the Xinghua Army. The ships are parked at the dock. You gentlemen can pack up and set off now. You don't have to worry about money and food. I have them all there. I will definitely not treat you badly. They mainly include academic works and All the mechanical blueprints must be taken away. In the future, they will be the cornerstone of our Xinghua Army and strengthen it," Gao Heng said.
Sun and Ding looked back at the two brothers, "Are you leaving?"
Sun Hejing waved his fist and said, "Let's go!"
"Second brother, what about you?"
"Brother, you are talented and learned, and you have inherited everything from your father. How can you waste time here? If you give it a try, you will always have a chance. I also agree to leave."
"Okay, General Gao, we are willing to leave Yazhou, but we have agreed in advance that what the general said is best true. We also believe that the general is a man who cares about the world. But after Ruruo went, we found that the general's words and deeds were inconsistent. , then we will never serve." Sun Heding said with his hands in hand.
Gao Heng cupped his fists and said, "Gentlemen, please believe me, we are committed!"
The sea breeze was blowing. It had been two days since Pudman's fleet withdrew from Yazhou. Yazhou City was controlled by the Xinghua Army. Chang Hong and others had no idea why Gao Heng was looking for Sun Heding and others.
To complete the whole show, Gao Heng directly made several puppets out of wood and put them on the stretcher, then covered them with black cloth. On the way back, he deliberately walked past Chang Hong and others. Gao Heng told Chang Hong that his family I have a grudge against Sun Yuanhua, and today I am here to seek revenge from Sun Yuanhua’s descendants. Sun and Ding and others have been killed. If you want to report it, just go ahead and they will leave first.
It was impossible for Chang Hong and others to stop Sun and Ding from leaving. When the fleet was far away, Chang Hong fell down on the tower and ordered his men: "Quick, quick, report to Qiongzhou Mansion that there are pirates here. He sought revenge and killed Sun Heding, Sun Hedou and others who were prisoners of the imperial court."
The three Sun brothers are standing on the deck of the Hope, blowing the sea breeze. Freedom is a luxury for them, and they have not enjoyed this taste for a long time. Sun Yuanhua's family originally numbered twenty or thirty people. After being exiled to Hainan, conditions were harsh and many people died. Now, except for the three brothers, there are only seven or eight people left. This time Gao Heng rescued them all.
"This sea breeze smells so good. Although it smells fishy, it is the smell of freedom." Sun Hejing waved the sea breeze with his hand and wiped it on his face.
"Yeah, once I leave, I don't know what my future will be." Sun Heding said thoughtfully.
"Hahaha, gentlemen, please relax. Your identities have been erased. In this world, there are no more Sun Heding, Sun Hejing, and Sun Hedou." I don't know when Gao Heng appeared behind them.
Sun Heding quickly raised his hands and said, "Thank you so much, General." In any case, Gao Heng rescued them from the exile and erased their identities. Whether Chang Hong believed it or not, at least the entire Yazhou people As a witness, they saw Gao Heng carrying several corpses through the market. In addition, Sun He Ding and others also disappeared, and there was no evidence of their deaths. Even if Chang Hong wanted to investigate, there was no way to investigate. In troubled times, it is so normal for a few people to die, and the imperial court in the capital has no time to care.
"Mr. Sun, let me be blunt. In fact, I am eager to find a few of them because our Xinghua Army has just been established. There are many things waiting to be done. The first priority is military affairs. Before that, I have already found a group of Western missionaries. They I am willing to develop new firecrackers for us and integrate the most advanced Western technology into them, but this is not enough. I also need artillery, advanced artillery, and related production technology or production machinery, which all require the support of a large number of talents. , this is my purpose of finding Mr. Sun’s descendants.” Gao Heng said.
Sun Heding nodded, "Actually, I have also guessed that the general should need talents in this field. My three brothers are not talented, but they are also willing to contribute to the cause mentioned by the general. The usage of geometry and the theory of geometric solids left by my father , Taixi Suanyao, Western Fa Shenji, etc. I have all the works here, and we have been exiled in Yazhou these years, and I have also done a lot of research. Only after reading my father's works did I know how many abilities my father still had not had time to display. "
Sun Hedou said: "For example, the method of casting cannons mentioned by the adults was introduced by my father in various manuscripts left behind. After we sorted it out, we found that my father creatively invented a new method."
Gao Heng's eyes lit up, "Sir, could you please expand on this?"
Sun Hedou pondered for a while and said: "The general should know that the Ming Dynasty's cannon casting technology generally uses the clay mold method. The essence of the clay mold method is to first make a cylindrical core and then make an outer mold. After the core and outer mold are combined, After casting, and finally through flushing, polishing, and drilling the fire door, a cannon is completed.”
"The clay mold casting method has been used for hundreds of years and can be called a mature cannon casting technology, but its shortcomings are also obvious. First, the outer mold and core are made of clay, which has low air permeability and is difficult to dry out. After being baked by charcoal fire It is often dry on the outside and moist on the inside. Moisture is generated during casting, which often causes honeycomb-like holes in the cannons cast. Therefore, mud-mold cannons often have defective products. In my father's "The Magic Machine of Western France", there is even a hundred and one cast, which is a national expert. Such an exaggeration.”
"Second, after the artillery casting is completed, the clay mold needs to be broken into pieces to take out the artillery. Therefore, a special mold must be made for each artillery cast. It is recorded in "Hai Guo Tu Zhi" that the clay mold "cannot be completely dried for more than a month. If it is rainy, snowy, and cold in winter, with few sunny days, it will take three or two months to dry out completely. "This is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it is difficult to standardize artillery manufacturing."
"Third, when molten iron is poured into the mold, the shape core is often disturbed, causing the cast artillery bore to be not on the central axis of the gun body. In addition, the subsequent boring and grinding process of the artillery is rough, and the shooting accuracy of the artillery will be very poor. Various factors As a result, the clay mold cannon is not only bulky, but also has many casting defects and a rough surface."
Sun Heding echoed: "General Gao, my second brother is right. These are the shortcomings of the clay mold method for casting artillery. Although this method has been used for hundreds of years, it is definitely not advanced. On this basis, my father imagined another method. This method is called the iron mold method."
"Oh? Iron mold method?" Gao Heng rubbed his hands.
"Yes, the so-called iron mold method is similar to the clay mold method. The first step of the iron mold method is to make molds. Clay cannons and segmented outer molds are made from clay, and then the iron molds are cast in segments. Each segment of the iron mold is divided into two parts. Cannons weighing more than 4,000 kilograms must be divided into three parts. When casting artillery, first use fine rice husk ash mixed with fine sand and mud to mix water, paint the inner wall of the iron mold, and then use fine ultra-fine kiln ash mixed with water to paint. The two sections of the iron mold are joined together like a tile shape, and they are tightened with iron hoops and heated, and then each section of the iron mold is spliced together one after another.”
"After that, it is cast with molten iron just like the clay mold cannon. After the cannon is made, the iron mold can be peeled off in order, like a bamboo shoot. At this time, the cannon has not yet cooled down and is in a red-hot state. If the cannon body If there are any uneven spots, you can use tools to flatten them directly. And after taking out the core and removing the mud embryo in the barrel, the inside of the barrel will be naturally smooth and there is no need for boring or polishing," Sun Heding said.
Gao Heng's head was buzzing. This really opened up a whole new way of thinking. Although Bomige and others came from the West, the method of casting artillery they mentioned was still at the stage of clay molding. What Gao Heng didn't know was that the large-scale application of the iron mold method actually occurred in the 18th century. It is now the middle of the seventeenth century, far from that time, but the sages of China had already thought of the iron mold method. , but before it could be applied in practice, the leader of Western learning was unjustly killed.
After the Manchu Qing Dynasty occupied the Central Plains, they regarded these things as miraculous skills and vigorously suppressed them, which resulted in China becoming poor and weak, and falling behind the West for hundreds of years. If you fall behind, you will be beaten. From this moment on, China's future has been doomed to a tragic fate. But Gao Heng came, and he vowed to change this outcome.
Sun Hedou said with some pride: "We have roughly calculated that a cannon cast by the iron mold method can be fired thirty times in a row without dissipating heat before exploding, while the general limit of a cannon cast by the clay mold method is ten consecutive rounds. This is achieved on the battlefield. It has an unparalleled advantage. And due to the improved air tightness, the range is much longer than that of ordinary cannons. As for this quantity, it is controlled manually. The better the quality, the farther the range."
Sun Heding added: "My father's posthumous work contains detailed records of artillery shooting, distance measurement, and the calibration methods of Zhuyuan. As long as they can be applied systematically, the application of some simple compasses, squares, and squares and how to calibrate Zhuyuan on drawings Once it is taught to soldiers, artillery will become a complete technical arm, and its combat effectiveness will increase by leaps and bounds. Just imagine what kind of combat effectiveness such a unit will have on the battlefield."
