Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 481: The Punishment of Cannonball
"Your Majesty, Shang Fang has made great achievements. I shouldn't talk too much."

"It's just that Chen Tao seems to have gone crazy. Why don't you go and have a look?"

More than ten days have passed since the emperor showed Shang Fang's prestige. During this period of time, the officials had a new impression of Shang Fang. It used to be disdain, but now it gradually turned into fear.It may be that the power of gunpowder is too great. Anyway, these ministers no longer dare to say anything about Shang Fang's waste of money, and they are even more polite to Chen Tao, with smiles all over their faces.

In the past, when the emperor said that he wanted to control the mighty power of heaven and earth, all the officials would just nod their heads and curse: Jie.

After all, from ancient times to the present, there seems to be only Xia Jie who compared himself to the sun with such arrogance, and Shang Zhou who was barely comparable to him. In Zhou Dynasty, no matter how stupid the king was, he still had awe of the natural world. I dare not say such arrogant words.

But Liu Chang said so now, but the officials understood that this guy was serious!

No wonder Shang Fang is admired so much. It really has the power of ghosts and gods. They don't understand at all how Shang Fang created such a thing, which is like thunder and lightning, makes such a sound, and can cause such damage. What do you think of such power? It's not like what mortals can have.

Many veterans who have participated in the war are thinking, if they had this thing when they fought Xiang Yu and threw it on Xiang Yu, would the war not end so slowly? ?

This thing can even change the form of today's wars. Those who lead troops to fight are very interested in gunpowder. They can't help but ask Chen Tao, but there are many things that Chen Tao can't explain clearly, because the power is huge. Therefore, the confidentiality level of this thing is also the highest in Shangfang. If it falls into the wrong hands, the consequences will be disastrous.

The rest of the ministers are also thinking about various uses, Shang Fang's status has increased sharply, and even those craftsmen have become a kind of unpredictable people in the eyes of the ministers, no longer the original low status It's ridiculous to say that mediocre people, the officials look down on medicine practitioners, but attach great importance to witch dancers, look down on businessmen, but attach great importance to fortune-telling, look down on ordinary craftsmen, but attach great importance to alchemists who make alchemy.

Perhaps only those professions with mysterious and unpredictable abilities are worthy of their respect.

In the eyes of these people, Shangfang's craftsmen are probably the same. After all, there are indeed many alchemists in Shangfang.

Shang Fang has established his majesty, and Liu Chang has convinced the officials. At least, if Liu Chang is going to do some nonsensical things in the future, the officials must think about it. Is there really something that I can't understand? For this purpose, I dare not accuse the emperor of not doing his job at will, otherwise, when it comes to this kind of display, his face will be slapped a little bit.

On this day, Wang Tianqi hurried to the Hall of Houde, sat in front of Liu Chang with a bitter expression, and said the first words.

"Um???"

Liu Chang looked suspiciously at Wang Tianqi in front of him, "What did you say?"

"Your Majesty doesn't know something."

"These people probably suffered some kind of injury. Not long ago, some soldiers reported to me that there were constant explosions in Shangfang recently. I thought they were just experimenting and ignored them. But I didn't expect that more and more soldiers came to report. The more I saw them, the more I went to watch them. It was almost crazy. I saw them using gunpowder to blow up dirt, houses, stones, and iron tools, and even wanted to blow up water and cultivated land.”

Wang Tianqi's face was pale, he was really afraid that these people would blow up the whole Shang Fang.

Liu Chang also couldn't help laughing. Ever since Shang Fang used gunpowder to prove himself, they began to be crazy about gunpowder experiments. They used various methods to increase the power of this thing, and wanted to use it as a motivation to use it in Including farming, transportation and other fields.

Then, the explosion became Shang Fang's art. Those group of craftsmen were studying the explosion every day, even the idea of ​​using the power generated by the explosion to shoot arrows had already taken shape. Liu Chang didn't know about them. Which step has been achieved, anyway, this is a huge torture for the soldiers guarding Shangfang. They have to endure the explosion every day, and they have to be on guard at all times to see if anyone is injured or if there is a fire.

Liu Chang could understand Wang Tianqi's pain. After all, the soldiers who went to guard Shangfang were recruited from him.

Moreover, if something happened to Shangfang, he should be held accountable in the end.

Wang Tianqi has always been a low-key person in the temple, and he is not willing to participate in the affairs of the temple, every time he plays the role of a fool, even this time, if it is not because of those craftsmen messing around, he is not willing to come to His Majesty , He came to the emperor with a very clear purpose, which was to give the emperor a vaccination, so that if something happened to Shang Fang, he would have to bear the guilt.

"You don't have to worry, Chen Tao still has a sense of propriety, but you must set a good time for the rotation of the soldiers, and don't make them too tired, otherwise, if something happens, it will really be too late."

"only!!"

"My lord, you seldom come to see me recently, and you don't speak much during court meetings, and you haven't written a letter of remonstrance in half a year. Do you think that I am the king of Jie and Zhou, and you can't listen to remonstrance, so you use this kind of advice?" Do you have a way to express your dissatisfaction?"

Wang Tianqi turned pale, and shook his head quickly, "That's not the case, Your Majesty, it's really because of the Holy Son of Heaven, Shengming, that the great man under your rule is prosperous and prosperous, and there is absolutely no place to advise, so I can't find anything to persuade you." The reason is that the current rule of the world is unprecedented."

Hearing Wang Tianqi's bragging, Liu Chang was overjoyed, with a smile on his face.

"Hahaha, well said! Lu! Reward ten gold!!"

At this moment, a soldier reported: Zhang Xiang asked to see him.

Liu Chang hurriedly agreed, and Zhang Cang walked into the hall unhurriedly. A few days ago, Zhang Cang was not in Chang'an. As soon as he returned to Chang'an this time, many ministers came to complain, with snot and tears , Speaking of the emperor's recent immoral behavior, Zhang Cang's scalp felt a little numb when he heard it, and he came to His Majesty the Emperor immediately.

Wang Tianqi hurriedly got up and stood aside.

"Hahahaha, the teacher is here!"

Liu Daxi was overjoyed, hurried forward to greet him, and then pulled Zhang Cang to sit down.

Zhang Cang sat down and let out a long sigh.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you used gunpowder to frighten the courtiers for fun. Is this true?"

"Ah, I didn't scare you. I just let the officials see the power of gunpowder. Teacher, don't listen to Zhang Shizhi's nonsense!"

"Oh, it turns out that it was Zhang Shizhi that His Majesty frightened."

Zhang Cang nodded, and asked again: "I also heard that His Majesty used the officials as dogs, led them to hunt, let them chase the prey for you in front, and shot and killed the officials instead of the prey, is this true? ? ?”

Liu Chang cleared his throat and said seriously: "Teacher, those officials are from Changling. When I returned, I went to Changling. These guys actually drove out all the refugees in the city and sent knights to drive them out violently. Many poor refugees were forced to death. After they were discovered, they said that they were afraid that I would see them. Poor marksmanship, just missed the shot"

Zhang Cang took a deep breath and asked again: "Then I heard that His Majesty used gunpowder to blow up a mansion of the Marquis of Chaoyang, why is that?"

"Oh, I bombed my Chidao, but I didn't expect that this guy's mansion was built too close to my Chidao, so I just bombed it by mistake."

"Then why did you strip the Marquis of Chaoyang and drag him back to Chang'an with his horse?"

"This guy is afraid of the heat, so he deliberately arranged for his tenants and officials to secretly build a mansion on the side of Chidao during the cold winter, and cut down the trees in Chidao to make materials. I just let him refresh himself."

Zhang Cang only left for more than ten days, and there were almost hundreds of "evil deeds" committed by Liu Chang during this period.

Zhang Cang didn't know what to say.

"Your Majesty, I know that Shangfang is important, but you shouldn't just throw gunpowder at the ministers and scare them like this. Several veteran ministers were almost scared to death by you on the spot."

"There are also officials in Changling, they forced to kill the people, and they should be executed by Tingwei. Why do you humiliate them so much and shoot them yourself?"

"This is especially true for the Marquis of Chaoyang. His mansion was built in a place where it should not be built, and he stole things that are easy to use. Zhang Shizhi can punish him. Why do you blow up his mansion with gunpowder? Besides, the Marquis of Chaoyang Qi He is also a person who followed Emperor Gao and made great military exploits, it is really inappropriate for you to humiliate his heirs like this."

"If that old thing is still alive, I'll strip him off too. This guy's grandson has a lot of evil deeds. It's not just as simple as grabbing the road. Greed and shameless are really a big harm. Near my Chang'an, They are all such traitors, why am I not angry?!"

"If it was just executed, the rest of the officials would not be afraid. Only after being humiliated and killed can everyone know about it quickly. Such a thing will not happen again!"

"I've been thinking about a new punishment recently, which is to tie up the criminal first and blow him up with gunpowder!!!"

Zhang Cang shook his head again, "In the past, Zhou of Yin used cannon fire, and the common people were afraid of it. Now His Majesty is conducting cannon execution, and all the officials are terrified of His Majesty. How can you act like Zhou of Shang?"

"Okay, teacher, I'm just talking, let's ignore these things, you can talk about the local situation first."

Liu Chang changed the topic forcefully, and Zhang Cang had no choice but to talk about his investigation results, "The land of three rivers will definitely become the most important grain production area for the Han Dynasty in the future. I went to investigate this time and found two One of the bigger problems is the river water, which cannot be solved at present, and the other problem, which is also the most important, is the problem of storing grain. These people like to store grain in their own granaries, and the price of grain is getting higher and higher. The higher it is, the temple can’t go down even after being pressed several times.”

"So there's a situation where there's enough food produced and people go hungry."

"It's not a problem at all, why don't you leave it to Liu Jing to handle it?"

"Your Majesty, you can't simply relocate by force. If Sanhe is to be rich, the big clan is also indispensable. These people have merchant ships in their hands, and they usually transport and sell them to places that lack food. Although it is for profit, it can also play a role. They also open Many establishments were established to revitalize the economy, set up workshops under the encouragement of temples, and hired Yu Ding to do things."

"It's okay, let them go to build the Anling Mausoleum. Wouldn't it be good to hand over their boats and shipyards to the officials to take care of them?"

"No, there are already too many officials in the temple, and the annual expenditure is constantly increasing. I am trying to change the official system, reduce those useless official positions, or combine them. After all, the officials in the temple will not be responsible for too much. It is also necessary to let the localities develop on their own, and the effect will not be so great if the temples alone do it.”

"Then the teacher has to come up with a good way."

Liu Chang grinned.

Zhang Cang said again: "This year's autumn harvest is not far away, and we must start making preparations now. It just so happens that now with the help of gunpowder, I will strive to complete the promotion as soon as possible and have a large amount of iron. By the way, Your Majesty, since Shang Fang can explode Opening iron mines, I wonder if we can also make some improvements in smelting?"

"The northern country is fine. There are still many areas in the southern country that lack this kind of farming tools. It would be better if the smelting technology is better."

"No problem, I will discuss it with Shangfang Mansion."

The two began to discuss. Zhang Cang seemed to be a little worried about this year's harvest, but Liu Chang didn't care much. Zhang Cang also persuaded Liu Chang again to stop doing things that would hurt his reputation before leaving. After leaving Houde Hall, Wang Tianqi watched Zhang Cang leave, and got up to say goodbye.

"My lord, you'd better prepare some armor."

"Why??"

"Isn't the autumn harvest coming soon? Some people are looking forward to the autumn harvest and want to build a prosperous world, while others are waiting to see Zhang Xiang fail. At that time, these armors will be of great use."

"Weiwei!!"

"Meet the king."

With a straight face, Feng Jing saluted Liu Qi, as if he had met him.

But Liu Qi did not dare to be rude to Feng Jing, so he hurriedly got up, smiled back, looked at the two plainly dressed and ordinary-looking people beside Feng Jing, and asked curiously: "I have heard many times that the pedestrian army The prestige of this is the Pedestrian Army?"

This time Feng Jing came to the Western Regions according to the edict of Liu Chang. He did not come alone. When he entered the Xiting Kingdom, he brought hundreds of people with him. A large number of people can do everything. This scale is difficult to be found in other places. In Xiting Kingdom, it is a bit too noticeable. After all, their population is only so small, even if there are more dogs, they can be easily found.

The Pedestrian Army is multifunctional. It is an official and is responsible for sending out missions. In fact, they are similar to embroidered clothes, mainly because embroidered clothes are for the inside, while they are for the outside.

Therefore, Liu Qi did not pay too much attention to those people.

When Feng Jing arrived, Liu Qi also knew in his heart that Xiting Kingdom's opportunity had come.

Feng Jing didn't answer, but sat on Liu Qi's left, while Liu Qi's ministers sat on his right.

Feng Jing said seriously: "I am here this time mainly to send people to Shendu to conduct investigations, draw maps, and get in touch with their kings... Xiting Kingdom is the closest to Shendu. From now on, I will be in Shendu It is His Majesty's edict to do business here, I hope the king will not embarrass you."

Feng Jing didn't speak very politely, but Liu Qi just smiled, "Naturally, what Father Zhong ordered, how can I make it difficult for you? Don't worry, you can go anywhere in Xiting Kingdom as you like. Summon any ministers, this is the widow's saber, please hold it, if anyone dares not cooperate, you can execute it directly!"

With Liu Qi's attitude, Feng Jing couldn't help but change his tone.

"Thank you, King."

"When I came here, His Majesty ordered that the Xiting Kingdom be allowed to participate in this matter. In the future, if there is any business, the Xiting Kingdom will take the lead, and hopes to station troops here."

Liu Qi's eyes brightened, "Okay, okay, this is the best!"

"I was supposed to go on an envoy in person, but I have to be in charge of many pedestrian troops sent abroad, which will cause a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, I hope that the king can lend me three people to use."

"You say."

"I hope that your Prime Minister Ji Tong can lead the rest of the people to go to the poison as an angel of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Qi looked at the Prime Minister, Ji Tong nodded and accepted the order.

"In addition, I hope that your Taiwei Xia Houzao can lead a team of knights to deliver letters and messages back and forth. The pedestrian army will pass the news to the Northern Army stationed outside the Western Regions. General Xiahouzao will be responsible for sending it back to Xiting Kingdom. "

"Hahaha, good! I agree!"

Xia Houzao spoke first.

"Then there is your censor Zhidu, I hope he can assist me in handling important matters."

Liu Qi very generously lent his Sangong. If the big man can establish a stable trade relationship with Shendu, then Xiting Kingdom, which is sandwiched between the two parties, will get unimaginable benefits in the future, and it is very likely that Become the richest and most powerful country in the Western Regions, and even after a long time, it still has the ability to rival the vassal states of the Central Plains.

Just when Feng Jing was proudly telling Liu Qi the national policy of poisoning himself, there was a sudden commotion outside the door, and everyone looked at the door in surprise. Xia Houzao stood up angrily and turned towards the door. Walking outside the door, "Which dog entered?"

"Father??"

It was Xia Houying who walked in. Xia Houying glared at Xia Houzao, did not speak, and stood aside respectfully.

And the person who walked in behind him was Han Xin.

Feng Jing trembled, stood up hastily, and lowered his head.

Han Xin looked at the crowd indifferently.

"Feng Jing. It's been a long time. You've become more courageous. You didn't come to see me first."

Feng Jing panicked immediately.

"That's not the case...the minister is just."

"I ask you, where is the gunpowder? Have you brought it?!"

"Ah?? What gunpowder?!"

Han Xin's face suddenly became ugly.

"Great Captain, Your Majesty didn't ask me to bring gunpowder. I'm just here to take care of the poison. General, why don't I write to Your Majesty right now?? What do you need?"

Xia Houzao stood beside Father suspiciously, and asked, "Father, why is Feng Jing so afraid of the Taiwei?"

Xia Houying pursed her lips, "Feng Jing was the general of the King of Wei at the beginning, but was defeated and captured, and has since become a Han minister."

"Who beat him?"

"That's right, it was the Taiwei who captured him back then."

"No wonder, he was beaten badly, right?"

The corners of Xia Houying's eyes twitched.

"The Battle of Anyi was really brutal."

ps: When I was looking for information recently, I found that most of the surrendered generals of the Han Dynasty were captured by Han Xin alone. And looking at the battles he fought, it doesn’t make sense at all. Those who lose without knowing how to lose are simply cold weapons The ceiling of the ceiling of the era.

(End of this chapter)