The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 169 Artillery, Golden Armor Army

Chapter 169 Artillery, Golden Armor Army
The sun was rising, and soft light filtered through the gaps in the golden tent and fell on the soft blanket.

At this moment, Xiao Yanyan was in a deep sleep, looking extremely miserable after going crazy.

Her originally neat hair was now scattered messily on the pillow. Her eyes were closed tightly, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she was still savoring the passion of last night in her sleep.

There were a few ambiguous red marks faintly visible on the neck. The quilt had slipped to the waist, revealing the round shoulders. The skin still had a flush that had not faded, and it was gleaming in the morning light.

Looking at this beautiful appearance, Li Xiao couldn't help but smile. Recalling the madness of last night in his mind, he shook his head helplessly.

During this period of time, I was constantly being pestered by Xiao Yanyan, and I had no chance to share my love with her.

"Hey!"

Li Xiao sighed softly. Where did the man who aspired to become Aquaman go?
How did he become a loyal and good man?
Then, he stood up quietly, put on a simple golden cloak, exposed his chest, and walked to the entrance of the tent.

When you open the tent curtain, the grassland in the early morning unfolds before your eyes like a tranquil painting. Crystal dewdrops hang on the green grass, sparkling with tiny lights in the morning light.

The soldiers in the tent had already gotten up, put on their armor, and were eating breakfast.

Li Xiao took a deep breath of fresh air, turned around and went back into the tent to put on his clothes.

Soon, the skinny monkey came forward and reported in a low voice, "The old man is ready and waiting for you to come over."

"So early?" Li Xiao was surprised.

The skinny monkey smiled lightly and said nothing. In fact, it was already late. It was just that Li Xiao had gone crazy several times last night and got up a little late.

Afterwards, he hurriedly ate a few bites of the pancake, gave some instructions to Xiao Yanyan's guards, and led his men towards a meadow in the distance.

This is Jinshan, not far from Tanggu, the steel base of Jinzhou.

Li Xiao arrived several days in advance just to supervise the casting progress of a powerful weapon.

Li Xiao led a large group of personal soldiers and appeared on the grassland. He pulled the reins, dismounted, and walked forward.

"Grandpa, Third Grandpa, Third Uncle~"

Li Xiao greeted everyone in front of him one by one.

The old man glanced at him calmly and said indifferently, "Although you are young, you must exercise moderation and not overindulge yourself."

Li Xiao smiled awkwardly, nodded slightly, and secretly felt wronged.

It's not that he is unrestrained, but Xiao Yanyan's demands are insatiable and he has to give them to her.

"Okay, Grandpa~"

"After I give you a great-grandson, I will exercise moderation."

Hearing what Li Xiao said, the old man pursed his lips and stopped talking.

If he could see his great-grandson as soon as possible, he would be able to accept Li Xiao continuing to suffer for two years.

"Cough cough~"

The old man coughed lightly and said seriously, "That's it, let's get down to business first."

"The cannon has been cast and can be tested."

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, looking like a hermit, looking at a cannon barrel in the distance, and he didn't feel very confident.

It was the cannon cast according to Li Xiao's requirements.

The muzzle diameter is about ten centimeters, the length is about two meters, and the weight is two thousand kilograms. It is almost the same as the ancient cannon that Li Xiao remembered.

Moreover, compared with the cannons of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the cannon in front of Li Xiao is made entirely of Hexi steel, which is more solid and durable.

The method of forging the gun barrel is also very simple, the casting method.

It is to use clay to make a mold, then pour molten iron into it, and after cooling it will become a seamless gun barrel.

Although this method has many shortcomings, it is the best way in this era.

After many failures, he finally succeeded in making a gun barrel.

Li Xiao was also slightly excited, and said in a deep voice: "Light the fire and test the gun."

Several soldiers came out. They were all artillery officer seeds carefully selected by Li Xiao.

Although it was their first time to come into contact with this kind of large chimney, they followed Li Xiao's instructions.

First, they loaded the gunpowder, then compacted it with a push rod, and the three of them worked together to place a large iron ball inside the barrel.

Then the barrel was adjusted to a forty-five-degree angle, and with Li Xiao's order, the soldiers lit the fuse.

"boom!"

There was a deafening bang, as if thunder exploded in the sky, and thick smoke instantly poured out of the muzzle.

The big iron ball was like a meteor shot out of a gun, carrying huge force and rushing into the distance.

A huge rock in the distance was hit and shattered into pieces in an instant, with rocks flying everywhere, as if the earth was shaking.

"what?"

"This~"

"Is this really caused by the chimney?"

The old man and others were so shocked by the scene that they stood there in shock.

They knew that Li Xiao had produced a lot of powerful gunpowder.

But no one expected that when the artillery was equipped with this big chimney, it could unleash such power.

"cannon?"

"Amazing!"

"With this thing, won't the enemy be beaten to a pulp by us?"

"Such a large rock, even from such a distance, was shattered. Is there any city wall in the world that can withstand this cannon?"

Li Sanzhi and others were surprised and talked about it.

Li Xiao looked at the power displayed by the artillery, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and his eyes were full of satisfaction.

He then had someone measure the range of the cannon.

One thousand five hundred meters.

Compared with the red cannon of the late Ming Dynasty, this cannon has greater power and range.

The main reason is that the quality of the gun barrel is better, and it uses Hexi steel.

The gunpowder ratio is more precise and the power is greater.

After the initial excitement, the old man came over and said, "Although this cannon is powerful, it is difficult to move and takes a long time to load the gunpowder. It must be properly arranged on the battlefield."

Li Xiao nodded, having already prepared for this: "Grandpa is absolutely right."

"We need Grandpa to bring people to install two larger wheels for this cannon so that it can be moved more easily."

"My Jinzhou Army has no shortage of cattle and horses, and we will eventually be able to move this artillery to the front line."

With artillery, the Jinzhou Army's way of fighting will undergo fundamental changes.

In the past, heavy cavalry would break through the enemy's formation, followed by light cavalry.

From now on, they would first bombard the enemy with artillery to completely disrupt their formation, and then light and heavy cavalry would attack in succession to decide the outcome.

After the cannon fire, the cavalry charged.

In the future, the Hexi Military Academy will have an additional compulsory course: artillery and cavalry coordination.

Afterwards, Li Xiao, in high spirits, asked people to continue testing the cannon.

Based on the results, the future artillery casting data was adjusted, and Li Xiao ordered that at least twenty cannons be produced in the first batch.

It was not until noon that Li Xiao received the report from his personal soldiers.

"Grand Commander, Captain Zhao Erdao has sent someone to report that several households were attacked by savages early yesterday morning."

"Five dead and wounded!"

Hearing this, Li Xiao's excitement faded a little.

Looking at the letter, I could barely make out the meaning from the crooked handwriting of Zhao Erdao.

Then, he slowly stopped smiling and said softly, "This is the eighth savage attack this month, right?"

"It's the eighth time." The skinny monkey nodded heavily.

More than 10,000 households flocked to Jinzhou. Li Xiao settled them on the northern grasslands and lent them cattle and sheep for grazing.

However, survival resources are fixed and there is only so much grassland.

The influx of these people inevitably squeezed the living space of the northern savages.

As conflicts intensified, incidents of attacks by savages began to occur one after another.

Li Xiao was mentally prepared for this and nodded gently, saying, "If Jinzhou wants to expand northward, it seems we have to get rid of these savages first."

These wild people live in the northern part of Jinshan and are good at hunting and herding.

In later generations, there was a special name for them called Altai people.

But now, they are just a group of uncivilized savages. "Send the message."

"Appoint Li Erjiang as the Wanhu of Jinshan, commanding the thousands of households in the north to suppress the rebellion of the barbarians." Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

The number of savages is not large, and they are still an ordinary nomadic tribe. Moreover, they are not united internally and are divided into many small tribes.

For Jinzhou, it was just a minor issue and not worth Li Xiao's personal intervention.

The only trouble is that the savages have their backs to the Golden Mountain and are familiar with the terrain of the forest. If they are defeated, they will simply dive into the mountains and forests, and no one will be able to do anything about it.

But there are ways to deal with it. It's nothing more than dividing and winning over the enemies, provoking internal strife, and defeating them one by one.

Li Xiao sent Li Erjiang to suppress the rebellion in order to increase his qualifications and facilitate his further promotion.

"As ordered!"

Then, the skinny monkey left to deliver the message.

Two days later, Li Erjiang set out for the north to lead many thousand households and suppress the barbarian tribes.

Two months later, Li Erjiang returned victorious.

At the same time, Li Dashan and some other thousand households who remained in the desert also received imperial edicts to return to Jinzhou.

"Damn, I'm finally back."

"The desert is not a place for human beings to stay."

Li Dashan felt the cool air of Jinzhou, and thought of the dry and hot climate of the desert, and couldn't help complaining.

There's no place like home.

I grew up in Jinzhou and have adapted to the dry and cold climate here. I really don’t like staying in the desert for a long time.

Especially in summer, it's too hot.

"I'd rather go to the north and fight the barbarians than stay in the desert, bored to death, and just tend to the fields with my men all day long."

Captain Zhu Dachang said that he was also from Hexi Fort and had a good relationship with Li Dashan. He was appointed as a captain because of his accumulated military merits.

As for Li Dashan's other buddy Chen Erqiang, he stayed in the desert this time.

A total of six thousand soldiers, including Erhu, stayed in the desert to guard the garrison this time.

"The battle in the north is almost over. Those barbarians have either been killed or surrendered. In short, it would be a waste of time for you to go there."

Li Dashan laughed and said.

Regarding the war in the north, Li Xiao would order someone to write a report and send it to the generals every once in a while.

"Brother Erjiang usually looks inconspicuous, but I didn't expect him to be so powerful."

"Like father, like son. They were all taught by the old man. Brother Dahai is great, and Brother Erjiang is not bad either."

As they chatted and laughed, they arrived at the Dragon City Wasteland.

"In just a few months, Longcheng has grown so tall." Li Dashan stopped on his horse, looked at Longcheng in the distance, and said in surprise.

When we set out to conquer the desert, Dragon City had only laid its foundation.

Now, in just a few months, a city wall more than two meters high has been built.

And houses in the city began to be built.

In another year or two, Dragon City will be truly completed.

"With the addition of those savages, the construction speed of Dragon City will only be faster in the future." Dahu looked at the slaves building the city in the distance and said lightly.

The slaves who built Longcheng mainly included some Uighurs and Karluks who were plundered from Husiwoerduo during the Western Expedition.

The second was the savages captured by his father Li Erjiang from the northern part of Jinshan.

Under the urging of the supervisor's whip, they carried stones back and forth, built the city walls, and made great contributions to the construction of Dragon City.

"Those savages are very strong. It would be a waste to build a city wall with them. It would be great if they could fight for us." Zhu Dachang said.

Li Dashan nodded slightly and decided to first smooth out the wildness of those savages and recruit them into the army when they were easy to manage.

Then, Li Dashan turned to look at the convoy behind him, called the person in charge, and gave instructions.

"Fourth Uncle, you guys go back to Hexi Fort first, we are going to the main camp."

This time, it was not only Li Dashan and others who came to Jinzhou, but also a convoy from the Hexi Trading Company, escorting a lot of grain and cotton.

Since it was on the way, Li Dashan decided to go with him, which could be considered as an escort.

"Okay, Dashan, you go first. Dalong must have something important to tell you."

The person who spoke was an elder from the side branch of the Li family. He was not young anymore, so Li Xiao asked him to help Li Ergunzi manage the Hexi Trading Company.

Afterwards, the two groups separated. Without the burden of the caravan, Li Dashan and others rode at full speed and soon arrived at a grassland east of Longcheng.

The grassland was dotted with endless tents, and golden sun and moon battle flags were planted around it, fluttering in the breeze.

Countless war horses were leisurely eating grass, and many soldiers wearing yellow cotton armor were patrolling around.

This is the temporary seat of the Jinzhou Governor's Office.

However, Da Hu was surprised and pointed at the patrolling soldiers and said, "Hey, their armor?"

As we all know, the personal guards around Li Xiao are known as the White Armor Army, and are famous for wearing white cotton armor.

But now it seems that although there are some new faces in the White Armor Army, the officers and generals are still familiar.

But why did the color of their clothes change?

"You idiot!"

Zhu Dachang stopped a patrolling captain of white-armored soldiers, who was also an old brother from the Four Forts of Hexi.

"Hey, Dachang, you're finally back."

"Everyone else is here, we're just waiting for you." said Erlangzi.

This time, Li Xiao summoned many thousand-household officers to a meeting. Only Li Dashan and others were in the desert and arrived late.

Zhu Dachang shook his head: "We were delayed on the road for two days."

Then he pointed at the cotton armor and asked, "What's wrong with the armor on you?"

"Where are those white armors?"

"The previous cotton armors have been taken back, and these are new ones." Erlangzi explained.

He seemed very happy when talking about this.

Because this batch of cotton armor is of better quality than the previous ones.

With the emergence of Hexi Steel and the increasing maturity of Hexi forging level.

The quality of the armor plates needed to make cotton armor is much better than the previous batch.

The cotton armor they wear now is made of double layers of thick cotton cloth with a whole piece of armor forged from Hexi steel sandwiched in the middle.

The defensive capabilities are almost as good as those of heavy iron armor.

"Newly made? Then why did it turn yellow?" Da Hu asked in confusion.

Because of the white cotton armor, the White Armor Army was called the "White Devils"!

Erlangzi rubbed his head and whispered, "The Grand Commander said that the Hexi Arms Shop has already produced a lot of cotton armor, which will be distributed to each of you thousand households soon."

"These cotton armors are all different colors."

"From now on, our Wuwei Army will wear yellow cotton armor."

Hearing this, Dahu, Zhu Dachang and others were all surprised.

"Can you all wear cotton armor?"

"Great!"

They knew very well the performance of cotton armor.

The defensive power is not much worse than that of iron armor, but the weight is much lighter.

The most important thing is that cotton armor keeps warmer, which is very important.

In the past, due to the limited production of cotton armor, it could only be provided to the White Armor Army first.

In other troops, only a few officers can wear it.

Now, with the increase in cotton armor production capacity, it is finally going to be popularized on a large scale throughout the army.

"If this is true, the combat effectiveness of our Jinzhou Army will be more than doubled."