Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 293 Opening the Sea

More than half a month has passed, and ceremonies are still being prepared privately. On the surface, work has begun on setting up the court.

Liu Ling planned to continue using the three provinces and six ministries for the time being. He did not set up a cabinet. After all, half of the role of the cabinet was to centralize power, and this role was meaningless to him now.

All the officials in the court, all the people in the world, and the fierce and fierce army will always obey Liu Ling's orders.

He is not old yet.

Maybe in the future I really don’t have the energy to deal with government affairs, but I can try this thing. After all, I heard about the word cabinet in the past from history books. How to operate and adapt to the current situation of the Han Dynasty, then It definitely needs to be studied slowly, there is no need to rush.

Liu Ling recovered his thoughts, nodded slightly to Qiu Sangou, the master craftsman from the Ministry of Industry next to him, and said, "It's time to start."

Dajiangzuo is a mid-level official position in the Ministry of Works, but it is also equivalent to the chief official of a yamen, and those who can hold such an official position must be a craftsman.

Craftsmen used to be from lowly positions, but now they can actually become officials?
After hearing the news, not only various craftsmen in the Han Dynasty, but also many craftsmen abroad also wanted to obtain the status of craftsmen granted by the Han Dynasty court for the name of "Guangzong Yaozu".

The great craftsman Qiu Sangou was responsible for gunpowder.

In the center of the huge school field in front of the two of them, there was a small iron cannon. Several craftsmen laboriously filled it with solid cannonballs, and then a scene that was somewhat familiar to Liu Ling was staged in front of Liu Ling:
ignition.

"Hurry up and do it." Liu Ling didn't say anything about taking your time and not being in a hurry. Instead, he replied simply and clearly: "When the cannonball hits five hundred steps away, you will be granted a title. When it hits seven hundred steps away, you will be granted the title of uncle." After arriving a thousand steps away, he was granted the title of Marquis.

"This Gunpowder Bureau is not some old hen."

"boom!"

"Play less every day and practice your calligraphy earlier. In the future, more people will see your handwriting, which is also your face."

"Go."

When he started running, the ground of the entire school ground trembled, and the two teams of shield soldiers standing in front of Liu Ling immediately put up their shields to protect him.

"My lord, in half a year at most, I can make the cannonball hit hundreds of steps away, and its power will definitely far exceed that of a catapult!"

"My lord, I will do my best!"

"Oh"

"what happened?"

Liu Ling was too lazy to explain to his son slowly and slowly. He patted his son on the head and asked, "What should I wear in the war?"

In fact, the war has never stopped, and he has fought for peace for the Yan region for several years. The children of the Yan region followed him to go out to fight, and the remaining Yan people farmed mulberry trees at home. At least they lived a stable life, and people were starving to death. Fewer and fewer.

When the iron cannon exploded, a ring of dust waves was visible to the naked eye under its body, and a solid cannonball flew out, but it only flew feebly for a distance in the air, and then hit the ground heavily.

"Oh"

After returning from his first trip south to the Song Dynasty, Liu Ling would allocate a large sum of money to craftsmen like Qiu Sangou every six months so that they could concentrate on the study of gunpowder.

After all, we already have a lot of things, so what else is there to fight for?
Gunpowder and artillery are all used in wars. In wars, many, many people will die, right?
Liu Cheng had heard others say before that his father once tried his best to fill Yanyun's population, so why is he now obsessed with building weapons to kill people?
There was a map hanging in the study. Liu Ling stood up and walked to it and looked at it silently.

"Then make your armor stronger and more durable than the enemy's armor, and make your sword sharper than the enemy's sword. Is this understandable?"

It has been about three years now. During this period, a huge amount of money and food have been spent. After all, we have to constantly test the materials for making artillery and the ingredients for making gunpowder.

Liu Cheng lowered his head and listened. Seeing that there was no anger on his father's face, he became a little bolder and asked, "Father, where have you been today?"

The gunpowder finally bore fruit, and Liu Ling was in a good mood today. When he returned to the study, his son Liu Cheng was practicing calligraphy noisily. Liu Ling sat down next to him and began to deal with the paperwork in silence.

But this test was extremely successful, at least there was no case of the barrel exploding or the shells getting stuck inside the gun body and not moving at all.

"weapon?"

"But, aren't our Han soldiers and horses already the best in the world? Why do we still spend so much money, food and people to make this gunpowder?"

Liu Ling waved his hand to the soldiers in front of him to get out of the way. Amidst the hurried admonishments of several ministers nearby, he walked into the school grounds. Qiu Sangou followed him hurriedly, and this time stopped him very firmly.

Liu Ling stopped and watched Qiu Sangou and several craftsmen gather around the iron cannon again, turning over and over to check its whole body. Then, Qiu Sangou showed a hint of joy and shouted: "Your Majesty, this cannon body and the ingredients are all good." It works, I have a solution!”

".Armor?"

Liu Cheng still didn't understand many concepts clearly in his mind. For example, he only knew that his father could win every time, and that the big man was now the strongest among the countries. Therefore, he didn't understand why his father continued to work so hard.

As for the rest of the craftsmen, as long as they have merit, I will not begrudge the title and reward, as you know. "

"What does the soldier want in his hand?"

Liu Ling showed a smile and replied: "If it is done, gunpowder can kill people more easily than swords, and it can shoot farther than a crossbow."

"My Lord has a body of thousands of gold. You must not take this risk. God knows whether the medicine inside has been burned out, but it is dangerous. Just go down to the official position."

"That's all."

Liu Ling can only provide a general idea. If we really want to study it carefully now, he is no longer as "professional" as Qiu Sangou.

Liu Cheng had become accustomed to his father's silence, and he felt at ease. However, when he was writing, he would glance at his father from time to time. It was inevitable that he would make a mistake occasionally.

Liu Ling looked at his son, reached out and took the copybook from his hand, and couldn't help but shake his head.

Liu Cheng thought for a while and replied: "I know that. My mother once told me that those people in the Gunpowder Bureau are paid to do nothing, and they waste money and food. What do you mean? All they eat is that they don't lay eggs."

"gunpowder?"

"Go see the gunpowder."

Not to mention the Song Dynasty in the south, which is currently in the midst of a civil war.

The Kingdom of Jin in the north was in disgrace, and there were serious domestic separatist forces. Many of them were privately supported by Liu Ling, causing civil strife among the Jin people. At the same time, in the Songtingguan area, the nine tribes of Yao Chaan composed of Xi people often Cooperating with the defenders at Songting Pass, they organized themselves to harass the border of the Kingdom of Jin.
To the west, the Xia Kingdom was in pieces. There were countless people who claimed to be members of the clan or claimed to be the emperor of the Xia Kingdom. They led soldiers and horses from various tribes to fight against each other. Xingqing Mansion, the capital of the Xia Kingdom, changed hands several times, and it had long since changed from its original state. The capital city became a land of ten rooms and nine empty spaces.

He looked back at his son, who was slowly practicing his calligraphy. Liu Ling could already see his son as an adult, wearing the same black uniform as himself, sitting in the court hall, listening to the ministers shouting "long live the mountain". scene.

Are you still young?

The wind gradually started to rise. Han Shizhong admired the scenery in the palace while waiting outside the palace. He had never been to the imperial city of the Song Dynasty in his life, let alone the palace. In addition, in the past few years, he had been in charge of the army of the Han Dynasty. , all thoughts about the motherland have long since disappeared with the wind.

Nothing to miss. After a while, Tong Guan walked to the door of the palace and said respectfully to Han Shizhong: "Your Majesty, please come in to discuss matters."

"Your Majesty, Han Shizhong, pays homage to the Lord!"

"Get up."

Liu Ling looked at him, and before he could speak, Han Shizhong took the initiative and said: "Zhang Wu of the Great Wall sent someone to report back. The Jin people have secretly accumulated troops and are preparing to completely quell the domestic rebellion."

Regardless of the current dog-gnawing situation, the territory of the Jin Kingdom is still very large. In addition, many people have died from famine in recent years. The Jin Kingdom can now breathe a sigh of relief and no longer has to bear the huge population pressure. .

Furthermore, even if there are a lot of rebels and civil unrest, after the Jin people crush them one by one, most people will at least be able to settle down in the short term and not dare to cause trouble again.

Attacking the Jin Kingdom first, then Xixia, and conquering the Song Dynasty in the south, Liu Ling hammered around in a circle. In the end, his eyes returned to the Jin Kingdom again.

"Also, Beian Prefecture Zhongshi Dao has a young son."

Hearing this, Liu Ling couldn't help but laugh and nodded slightly: "The Queen will send someone to send gifts."

The two talked for a while. Han Shizhong's words were obviously much more cautious than before. His questions and answers were precise, but he seemed a lot more unfamiliar. Liu Ling was not surprised by this. After talking for a while, he signaled Han Shizhong to leave.

"My minister retire."

Silence returned to the palace, and Tong Guan walked in slowly and reported to him: "The Korean envoy said that he hopes to see the Lord before dusk today."

The Koreans are probably very anxious. The domestic situation in their country is becoming unstable day by day. Now they can barely maintain the situation with their limited military strength and the influence of several victories. If Li Ziqian in the north gets the slightest advantage, Wang's Korea in the south will It's about to get cold.

Therefore, after getting Liu Ling's approval, the Korean envoys came to greet him almost every day.

"These Koreans, tsk."

Liu Ling said impatiently: "I've been given money, food, ships, everything, but I want to ask for troops in vain. I won't see them today. If they dare to come, let people throw them all out. It's best to let them go." The envoy from the Kingdom of Jin saw it.”

"I obey the order."

Everyone in the Jin Dynasty's court was probably aware of Liu Ling's tactics and knew that many rebellions and civil commotions in the country were instigated by Liu Ling's people, but they were helpless against such tactics like a stick in the ass.

If this were in a foreign land, the Jin cavalry would naturally be able to crush all discordant voices without restraint, but their country was as riddled with holes as the Song Dynasty. If they continued to suppress it, they would only continue to eliminate the Jin Dynasty's influence on the local area. of control.

When more than 70% to 80% of the civilians in a place refuse to obey you, what's the use of sending a few officials and hundreds of soldiers there?

At the same time, the phenomenon of refugees in the Kingdom of Jin is still serious, and they often flow south into the Great Wall. Now a large number of cavalry are stationed in Bei'an Prefecture and Songting Pass, and they often take the initiative to help refugees enter the customs.

In this regard, the Jin people naturally dared to be angry but dare not speak out.

Wanyan Wu Qimai couldn't find a way to deal with the Yan people. After all, the losses in the first few battles were really terrible. At that time, it was clearly a sure win situation, but he was defeated one after another, so much that it hurt his muscles. Bones, and now it is hard to recover.

This is where the Yan people's combination boxing is disgusting. When the two sides are evenly matched, they will not take the initiative to attack at all. They will definitely try their best to kill your morale and strength, and will not send troops immediately until they have an absolute advantage.

In August, the scorching summer wind has already weakened, replaced by the coolness of early autumn.

Crops undulating in the wind can be seen everywhere on the field ridges, and it seems that it is finally a peaceful harvest year.

On the official road, a small group of cavalry was galloping across a caravan and hurried toward the east.

Pingzhou seaport.

There was a huge flow of people here today. Zhang Dungu, the chief official of Pingzhou, wore a purple official robe, slowly walked up to the high platform that had been built, reached out to take the torch from the little official next to him, and lit a torch placed in front of him. What a tall candle.

This kind of candle is called a "peace candle". It is said that when lit, it can reach heaven and pray for peace.

As a seaport was built near Pingzhou, the custom of lighting a peace candle before going to sea gradually spread.

Ordinary people couldn't afford big candles, so they often used small ones instead. Many wealthy businessmen also saw opportunities and realized that the next policy of the imperial court must be to promote maritime commerce, so many people chose to invest their wealth in candles. Go in.

Therefore, in addition to the peace candles of the official government, you can also see many huge candles with more exquisite styles than those of the official government.

"Everyone."

It's a pity that microphones have not yet appeared in this world, otherwise the standard procedure is that Zhang Dungu pats the microphone in front of him, coughs, and a huge buzzing sound draws everyone's attention back to him.

"quiet!"

"Quiet! Zhizhou wants to speak!"

The soldiers had to follow the orders of their superiors to maintain order. Zhang Dungu shouted a few words at the top of his voice, and finally cursed helplessly and looked at the man standing next to him.

Yelu Dashi shook his head and said: "It doesn't matter."

"There must be a lot of fine work by Jin people here."

"This is just for them to see."

Yelu Dashi replied.

Zhang Dungu thought silently for a while. He looked up in the direction of the harbor. A large number of ships gathered in the harbor. The local wizard had already "predicted" the time of the storm in advance, although no one in the middle or high-level generals believed this. , but the soldiers at the bottom felt more at ease after hearing their words.

After all, the distance of this voyage is too far, and no one can completely confidently say that there will be no problems this time.

"After leaving Pingzhou, we will still go all the way north. When we reach the old Liao Zhongjing Road, we will replenish supplies along Laizhou, Jinzhou and other places. Finally, we will go all the way east and arrive in Korea. Someone will meet us there. "

"The sea is very rough and the waves are not as safe as the road."

Zhang Dungu shook his head: "I admire you for actually leading troops on this trip."

"The great man values ​​military merit above all else."

Yelu Dashi sighed.

"Han Shizhong was in the grassland town of Hebei, Liang Zhe and Li Liang were in charge of the Xia Dynasty, and Qu Duan and others led troops to attack the Song Dynasty. As for me, although I have made some contributions here and there, after all, none of them can be claimed by me alone. "

He paused and said: "After I go on this trip, the vast ocean before my eyes will definitely become part of the territory of the Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)