The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 387 Han Shizhong's Cannons
With Qin Hui's "central idea" in mind, Zhao Gou found it much easier to make decisions. He immediately issued an edict to Yue Fei, who was busy suppressing bandits and fighting fires, appointing him as the acting prefect of Tanzhou, acting pacification commissioner of Jinghu East Circuit, and commander-in-chief of the cavalry and infantry. He was instructed to seize this opportunity and quell the bandits as quickly as possible.

Another imperial edict was issued to Han Shizhong, ordering him to expedite the suppression of the Jianzhou rebellion...

Yue Fei and Han Shizhong accepted the order and each went to suppress the bandits.

Yue Fei fought against the notorious bandit Cao Cheng in Guangxi. Unexpectedly, Cao Cheng sent a fierce general named Yang Zaixing, who killed Han Shunfu, a general of Yue Fei's army, in one fell swoop. Then, Yang Zaixing defeated three generals of Yue Fei's army, including Wang Jing and Zhang Xian, and killed Yue Fei's younger brother Yue Fan.

Yue Fei was also taken aback and couldn't bring himself to subdue Yang Zaixing for a while.

This battle lasted for several months, until June 1132, when Yue Fei finally defeated Cao Cheng and captured Yang Zaixing alive... The specific details are omitted here.

Han Shizhong went to Jianzhou at this time.

At this time, Jianzhou was in the hands of Fan Ruwei, a salt smuggler.

Last October, Fan Ruwei launched an uprising, leading his army to occupy Jianzhou. He claimed to have 100,000 men under his command, but in reality, they were all ordinary people who had been recruited into the ranks to make up the numbers.

Han Shizhong launched a rapid attack using sky bridges, towers, ladders, and cannons for six days, which gradually lulled the enemy into a false sense of security. At night, the government troops scaled the city walls, and the city fell. More than 10,000 enemy soldiers were killed, and more than 500, including their general Zhang Xiong, were captured alive. Fan Ruwei fled back to Yuan Cave and burned himself to death.

Han Shizhong was a fool who believed everyone in the city was a thief and should be killed. Fortunately, Li Gang, a Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall, was nearby and quickly persuaded him that those people were just civilians who had been coerced into joining the bandits and should not be killed. Only then did Han Shizhong avoid making a grave mistake.
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Haozhou!

The Northern Song army, led by Gong Erniangzi and Yue Wenxuan, was preparing to set off for Shouchun.

At this time, Shouchun had completely fallen into the hands of the puppet Qi state, and Zhang Jun had already packed up and left, as was his consistent principle of avoiding hard battles.

Yue Wenxuan held a message sent back to him by a spy stationed in Lin'an. The message said that Han Shizhong had already used firearms when he was suppressing the Jianzhou bandits. The firearms were called "cannons".

When this news arrived, it really startled many generals in the Northern Song Dynasty, and even Lady Gong Er was a little nervous.

But when Yue Wenxuan picked up the message and looked at it, he laughed. So this was what it was.

He had found this thing in historical records. Although it was called a cannon, it was not the same thing as the "cannon" in people's minds.

The cannons used by Han Shizhong were filled with a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and pine resin, and wrapped in oil-soaked linen. When ignited, they produced a violent burning and explosion. The cannon barrel was likely made of materials such as bamboo or wood, and had an ignition hole at the rear of the barrel through which soldiers ignited the gunpowder inside.

This type of artillery mainly uses the high temperature, flames, and explosions generated by gunpowder combustion to attack the enemy. During sieges, it can damage wooden structures such as city walls, thus deterring and killing the enemy.

This thing is basically the prerequisite technology for the "fire lance".

Of course, it was still several hundred years before the firearms used by Yue Wenxuan.

While Yue Wenxuan was looking at the "artillery" materials, there was another person who also became interested in Han Shizhong's artillery. This person was Qin Hui.

Upon hearing that Han Shizhong had acquired cannons, Qin Hui was overjoyed, secretly thinking: So our Great Song Dynasty also has firearms now? Perhaps we can arm an army like the Northern Song Dynasty, then I won't have to fear the Northern Song and the Jin Dynasty anymore.

Thinking of this, Qin Hui had no reason not to go and take a look. He made up a reason and went to Han Shizhong's barracks while Han Shizhong was returning from Jianzhou to receive his reward.

Because Qin Hui's behavior differed from that in real history—he did not join the peace faction upon returning to the country but was still in the process of forming cliques and secretly plotting to "unify the two Song dynasties and overthrow Zhao Gou to replace Zhao Shi"—Han Shizhong was unaware at this time how utterly despicable the Minister of Rites before him truly was.

However, Han Shizhong knew that Fu Songqing, a member of the pro-war faction, had been murdered by Qin Hui.

It was that treacherous Qin Hui who came up with the terrible idea, which led the Emperor to send Fu Songqing to the Northern Song Dynasty. Now Fu Songqing's fate is unknown, and who knows how he will be tortured by the people of the Northern Song...

Therefore, Han Shizhong's attitude towards him will not be very good.

He didn't come out to greet him, but sent a few of his subordinates to bring Qin Hui into the barracks. He put on a rough and uncouth appearance, didn't say a word of politeness, and just grinned and said, "Lord Qin, you're such a busy man, what brings you here today?"

Qin Hui carefully examined the middle-aged man in front of him. He was a little confused by the greasy look of the man. He had heard of General Han Shizhong many times, but this was the first time he had met him. He looked like a greasy soldier.

He wasn't wrong; Han Shizhong really was a seasoned soldier. Although he possessed various virtues, such as loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, daring to fight, and outstanding strategic skills, he was indeed a seasoned soldier, and these two qualities weren't contradictory. Who told you that heroes must be great, glorious, and righteous? There are also rogue heroes, and Han Shizhong was a living example.

Han Shizhong gave a greasy, sly smile: "Lord Qin, the barracks is not a place for strolling around town."

Qin Hui had no time for his witty remarks and quickly said, "General Han, I heard that you used a special firearm called a cannon when you were suppressing bandits in Jianzhou. I admire it very much and came to see it for myself."

Although Han Shizhong disliked Qin Hui, he became smug when he heard him mention this, and chuckled, "Lord Qin, you've come to the right place. This is a new contraption invented by the craftsmen in my army. When it's time for battle, just take it out, light it, and throw it at the enemy's city gates and towers. With a bang, it'll send them to their west."

Qin Hui was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Such a powerful weapon, I would like to see it with my own eyes."

Han Shizhong glanced at him sideways: "Why are you looking at this?"

Qin Hui: "If this thing is powerful, I will definitely petition the Emperor to give the general more money and food to produce cannons in large quantities."

Hearing this, Han Shizhong's resolve wavered. Qin Hui didn't seem to be lying; he seemed genuinely interested. "Let's see what he can do," he thought. "If this treacherous man can help me persuade the emperor to allocate more funds for manufacturing cannons, then future battles will be easier."

"Let's go take a look." Han Shizhong casually led Qin Hui to the training ground and had someone bring out a cannon.

Qin Hui thought he would see something similar to the "cannons" of the Northern Song Dynasty, but what he saw was a long bamboo tube.

He thought he was seeing things, so he quickly rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was still a bamboo tube.

"This...this is artillery?"

Han Shizhong chuckled, stuffed the cannon under a wooden bench, had the soldiers light the fuse, and then pulled Qin Hui backward.

Qin Hui instinctively covered his ears.

(End of this chapter)