Don't be a prince

A craftsman with a black beard also knelt on one knee and said: "Don't worry, Your Highness, we have already arranged the family affairs, and we are willing to sacrifice our lives for these artifacts."

With the two of them taking the lead, the rest of the craftsmen knelt on one knee and expressed their willingness.

Li Chengqian nodded: "Very good, since you have such an awareness, I will teach you. Remember, the formula of gunpowder is actually very simple, which is charcoal, sulfur, and the most important saltpetre. Mix them with two The ratio of one to seven is mixed, then egg white is added, sieved into granules, and dried in the sun to become a finished product. However, the fuze, which is the gunpowder used for the burning rope, is different from this recipe, so I will try it alone It has been done a few times, but you have to figure it out on your own to actually get the finished product.

In the gunpowder production workshop, the source of fire must be cut off, and no open flames can appear, nor can ironware and other items that are prone to sparks.Do not expose the storage warehouse to sunlight.If you don't want to die before you leave school, treat it like a newborn child in your family.Gu has told you now that if something goes wrong in the future and kills himself, don't blame Gu. "

Ouyang Shuo and others naturally nodded repeatedly, they could write, and even wrote down one by one.After seeing the power of gunpowder, they didn't want to try it with their bodies.

"That's all I need to tell you. About the usage of gunpowder, I just thought so much. How to develop in the future depends on whether your brains are bright. In addition, when purchasing goods, remember to buy some messy things. It's deceptive. Moreover, after a while, I will find suitable people to make these three main materials by myself."

Ouyang Shuo nodded, he also felt that this kind of artifact should not be leaked out.

"Your Highness, since we already know the formula, we will be under the control of Baiqisi from today. As for the relatives at home, please send someone to take care of them."

Li Chengqian naturally agreed. Compared with what they paid, this request is really not too much.

Pointing to the finished products and materials made by himself on the table, Li Chengqian said: "Before you move to the new place, stay in Yiqiu Palace for two days. After you build the workshop, immediately start producing some weapons in large quantities. It is necessary to equip the crown prince to lead and do a great thing."

After giving up the venue to the eager people rubbing their hands, Li Chengqian got up and left Yiqiu Palace, and ordered Zhang Yun who was waiting outside to prepare some meals, bedding, and mosquito nets for them.

Duan Yunzhi went quickly and came back quickly.Li Chengqian was having lunch when he came back to report.

"Eat?"

Duan Yunzhi shook his head: "I don't dare, Your Highness, I have allocated a secret base of Baiqisi to these craftsmen. Although it is remote, after the rectification of Baiqisi, the traffic is very convenient. The spies want to spy on the address. It will definitely be discovered by the police posts on the periphery."

Li Chengqian nodded: "This arrangement is really good. After they move in, they can start production. Duan, have you reported this matter to the emperor?"

Duan Yunzhi was stunned by the title of "Old Duan", and then confessed: "Such a major event, the humble official will definitely inform His Majesty, I don't know if His Highness intends to hide it from His Majesty, what is your intention?"

Li Chengqian smiled embarrassedly, and could only cover up his embarrassment by stuffing rice into his mouth.

Some things can only be done when the emperor is not around.If the emperor came back because of this incident, tsk tsk, if he thought about it again, he would probably be crippled.

Chapter 257 Lu Dongzan's Mess

Probably Li Chengqian's prayer had an effect. Now the emperor who has left Chang'an County, after receiving the urgent letter from Baiqisi, although his heart was itchy like a cat's paw scratching, he finally chose not to go back.

He knew that coming out this time was already the result of using the majesty of the emperor himself.It's a bit funny to say this, he is a majestic emperor, if he wants to do something, it depends on the faces of the courtiers.However, this is the case.

The relationship between the emperor and the ministers is more like helping each other and checking and balancing each other. The emperor needs to preside over the battles in the court and limit the appearance of people with power in the court, while the ministers must limit the imperial power and prevent the emperor from doing too much.In fact, when many stupid and tyrants appeared in history, apart from the poor self-cultivation of the emperor, there was also the expansion of imperial power, and there was no reason for people like Wei Zheng to resist.However, the imperial power fell sideways, and the power of the ministers swelled to the limit, and it was not long before the end of a dynasty.

How to grasp this speed is a headache for both the emperor and the ministers.

The tour of Qizhou was just a foreground for future trips, and Li Shimin really gave up hope for his future travel plans.It seems that Wei Zheng, an old bastard, really doesn't intend to make himself feel better.

Seeing the emperor sighing, the eldest grandson came over to help him massage, and asked while doing the massage, "But what happened to Chang'an?"

Pointing to the memorial, Li Shimin said: "It's not an accident. Chengqian discovered another weapon. According to Baiqisi, it's no exaggeration to call it a divine thunder. Not as good, now Chengqian has found some craftsmen from the Military Weapons Supervision, and began to try large-scale production. Moreover, this kid is very aware of how dangerous the things he tinkered with, so he asked those craftsmen to sign a contract of sale, and was ordered by Baiqi Division The spies are monitoring around the clock. At this level, there will be no mistakes. Empress, how did Cheng Qian grow his head? The Taoist used sulfur and other things to make alchemy, and he finally developed a weapon from it. "

The eldest grandson laughed and said: "Isn't it better to be smart? Chengqian presided over the government during this time. Although there are some troubles in the Tang Dynasty except for the diversion of the Yellow River, there are no major issues in other places, but Fang Xuanling and others can't find fault. , It’s already very good. In addition, this child is also self-motivated, and he is certain to be a successful king. It can be expected to inherit your career and carry forward!”

Li Shimin smiled, tore up the secret letter, closed his eyes and began to enjoy the queen's massage.

Now that he has become the emperor, who the crown prince is is not his business alone.What he was most worried about at the beginning was that the prince made a mistake and was not suitable to inherit the throne. In this case, he would have to pass the throne to Li Tai or even Li Ke.The eldest son is not the prince, it is fine for this kind of thing to happen to him, but it must not happen to his children.

The emperor's trip was pleasant. For a moment, he was free from the entanglement of government affairs, and his whole heart wanted to fly.

Over the years, light corvee and thin taxes have achieved results. The common people did not boycott the imperial court, but praised the imperial court and the emperor.

The emperor was traveling, but Li Chengqian had to go to work.

After the emperor left, he had to hold a grand court meeting every day. After returning to the East Palace, he still had a lot of memorials to review. After reviewing the memorials, he had to read the replies from Li Tai and Ouyang Shuo.

The emergence of the hydraulic giant hammer has greatly promoted the forging industry, not only the arrows, but also the iron grenade shells made by the craftsmen led by Li Tai, which are also very good.

After looking at the samples, Li Chengqian decided to make an iron grenade and try it out.

Although the performance of black powder is not as good as TNT and other high explosives, it is still very lethal when produced according to the strictest process.It is not a problem for the ceramic grenade to reach a damage radius of three or four meters. The iron grenade is probably stronger.More importantly, there are bows and arrows and eight-ox crossbows. Filling the center of the arrow shaft with gunpowder can also shoot the gunpowder out, which directly solves the problem that the artillery cannot be made.

"Your Highness, the thing you want can't be made at all. Such a large device can only be made by casting. However, as long as it is cast, cracks and bubbles will inevitably appear. If you want these two things to be completely impossible, no Reality."

Holding the possibility of the eventuality, Li Chengqian took out the design drawing of the artillery and asked Yan Liben, and Li Chengqian got such a reply.

"Forget it, then don't think about it, Yan Qing, how is the planting truck going?"

Speaking of this, Yan Liben laughed: "You want those students to travel around the Tang Dynasty to promote planting vehicles. They were quite excited, especially the children of Xungui's family. They have been bound by the family for too long, so they just think about something It’s time to go back to the wild. As a result, when they first went out, they were still very excited, but after working hard for a while, many people became discouraged. It’s not one or two who left the caravan and craftsmen and returned to Beijing.”

Li Chengqian nodded. The reason why he didn't give too much advice on the study tour this time was because he hoped to see the character of the students through this incident.Especially the children of civilian families, they are not like the noble children, no matter how useless they are, they have their own father to support them, and when they reach middle age, their father will be able to become a prince after belching farts.

If the children of ordinary people do not have the spirit of enduring hardships and standing hard work, even if they become officials in the future, they will be quickly eliminated by the officialdom.Li Chengqian was unwilling to export unqualified students to the court.Students who are officials in the academy have to be decent no matter what.

Therefore, what those students didn't know was that among the artisans who followed them around, at least one could read and write a letter of their performance and send it back to Chang'an.

"Among the students this time is Qiu Haiqing. When he promoted the planting vehicle, he also discovered the difference between the plow and the impact on farming. He improved the planting vehicle, which is very good. I like this kind of seedlings very much. I really hope that he can work in the Institute of Engineering or as a general supervisor. There is also a bastard named Wang Xuance, with his sharp tongue, he said that a stubborn family in the countryside accepted the new type of planter. Such a person, It is very suitable to go to Honglu Temple."

Seeing that Yan Liben was undermining the wall, Li Chengqian said displeasedly: "Get out, I have already designated Qiu Haiqing as the person of the East Palace. As for Wang Xuance, this person will achieve great achievements. Don't think that you are just the branch dean of the engineering college. You are one of the few people in the academy who can perform. Since you think he is suitable for going to Honglu Temple, you can recommend it to Tang Jian, and Tang Jian probably likes this bad boy very much."

Yan Liben smiled, drank the tea in the cup and left.

Now, he, the young supervisor who is the general supervisor, is selling dog meat. Except for the general supervisor and key craftsmen, he hardly cares about the affairs, and his elder brother Yan Lide is the one who actually operates.However, the status of the dean of the Engineering College is much more prestigious than that of the general prison.At least, sitting in this position, the servants of the Ministry of Industry and the like would no longer dare to show embarrassment to him, but had to accompany him to communicate carefully.

Moreover, you don't need to be entangled in mundane affairs, you only need to delve into craftsmanship and research some things, and don't be too leisurely.

After Yan Liben left, Li Chengqian sighed helplessly, tore up the blueprint of the artillery, and threw it into the trash can.

Datang's casting ability is still too poor. If the quality of the gun's barrel cannot be guaranteed, it will be more powerful to blow up one's own people than to blow up the enemy.

If you can't make it, just ignore it. Now that there are grenades and arrows that can explode, it is enough to raise the combat capability of Datang's army to a higher level.

Outside the study door, Yu Tai pushed open the door and walked in, kneeling on one knee.

"Gu knows that the task that I have issued to you this time is very difficult, but you still have to do it. After a while, you and Gu will go to the banquet. Gu believes that those military generals will not be stingy. After all, the prince will personally lead the dispatch , apart from being unhappy in Gu's heart, it's for them to let out a sigh of relief."

Yu Tai smiled and said: "Your Highness, don't say such things. Since we are His Royal Highness's personal soldiers, and the Lord humiliated his ministers to death, we will lead a total of 130 people, and we are all willing to die for you! No one will be timid or have any complaints! "

Hearing Yu Tai's impassioned words, Li Chengqian was quite moved.

This is an era when you treat him well and he will repay you.None of the leading soldiers feel at ease about enjoying their own welfare.In the Battle of the Grassland, more than 500 people were killed in total under the personal leadership, but none of the family members had a bad heart and resentment. Now in the personal leadership team, there is no shortage of elder brothers who died, and the younger brothers took the place of the older brothers and continued to serve the prince.

"Then get ready, go to court and leave the palace."

Yu Tai took the order to leave, and Li Chengqian went to Taiji Hall after packing up.

After being reprimanded by him, those who had nothing to do to go to the court went home and continued to work as homeboys behind closed doors. Now the court is not known how clean it is.

After accepting the salute of the officials, Li Chengqian saw Lu Dongzan sitting next to Fang Xuanling. Apart from his strange appearance, this guy even looked like an official sitting in the hall.

As usual, Fang Xuanling stood up and said, "Your Highness, there are four matters that need to be discussed today. The first is the promotion of planting vehicles. I feel that it is very necessary for the Ministry of Households to make statistics on the situation of various agricultural industries, so as to facilitate the discussion. Assess the ability of the planting truck. Second, some areas that have no worries about food and clothing should resume taxation. The third is the dispatch of the wind watcher. The fourth is the Koryo incident. Your Highness has been thinking for a long time. I wonder if there is a charter? "

Speaking of this matter, Fang Xuanling was puzzled. Logically speaking, it was related to Goryeo. No matter how smart the crown prince was, he still needed to discuss it with him. However, since the crown prince made the promise until now, he has never looked for himself.He felt that it was time to remind the prince.No matter how smart a person is, it is impossible to cover everything. Some things still need to be discussed.

Li Chengqian thought for a while before saying: "The matter of the planting truck is related to the increase of grain production, so it should be taken seriously. However, it is a bit embarrassing to hand it over to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Now the idle officials of Sinong Temple follow the college's promotion team to wander in Datang Everywhere, just ask them to study and evaluate. The Ministry of Households will send their salaries to them through post envoys, and because of the extended time outside, they will increase their salaries by [-]% to reward their hard work."

Dugu Fu, the left servant of the household department, stood up and bowed to accept the order.

Such an arrangement is indeed appropriate.Although the [-]% increase in salary is not much, it is already considered a good reward for officials, and it is estimated that they will be willing to accept it.

"As for the resumption of taxes in some places, let's do it together with the third thing. Zheng Gong, you choose some censors from Yushitai, and appoint Guanfeng to go to Beijing to inspect. If there are tax-free areas that are no longer poor, then First restore half of the normal taxation, and if there are places that are still poor, extend the tax exemption period. This investigation must be serious, and there must be no wrong judgments, otherwise there will be severe punishments!"

Wei Zheng stood up, cupped his hands and said, "This humble minister takes orders!"

After straightening up, Wei Zheng returned to his seat in admiration.The prince's arrangement is indeed impeccable. Although it may not be appropriate to say so, the censor is much more reliable than other officials when he goes to Beijing as a watcher.Moreover, the resumption of taxation is only half of the resumption. If something unexpected happens, it can avoid too much impact on the people to the greatest extent. Although he is cautious, he appreciates it very much.

"As for Goryeo..."

Seeing that Lu Dongzan's eyes immediately became energetic, Li Chengqian stood up without hesitation and said: "Since Goryeo maintains a submissive appearance on the surface, it can also be seen from this incident that, as a country of subjects, they are not If you know what humility is, you need to beat it! Where is Zhao Zian? I will send out the crown prince to lead him personally, and go to the border of Korea to ask for an explanation!"

Hearing these words, Zhao Zian's legs went limp.

He came out in a few steps, and before he could hand in his hand, the words came out: "His Royal Highness, there are only more than 2000 people personally, and it is enough to clear the beasts in the Qinling Mountains. How can the war between the two countries be achieved? You must know that the Koryo border is fully arranged. One hundred thousand elite soldiers, Zhang Jian has not been able to advance an inch for so many years, which shows the strength of his army. Two thousand soldiers led by himself, if they go, they will be nothing more than hitting a stone with an egg, which is death!"

Not only Zhao Zian was in a hurry, but Fang Xuanling also stepped out anxiously and said, "Your Highness, it is absolutely impossible. More than 2000 lives have been lost, how can you ruin it like this?"

Fang Xuanling stood up, and the courtiers in the hall today hurriedly stood up to dissuade the prince from going his own way.

Standing behind the table, Li Chengqian almost laughed angrily, idiot!If you don't know how to cooperate at all, don't you know that the prince's pro rate is not dominant in terms of numbers?But since Gu said it, he must be sure!

Well, let Lu Dongzan laugh again.

"Don't say too much, I'm sure that the prince's personal injury rate will not exceed [-]%, but it can teach the Koreans an extremely profound lesson. Since you don't believe it, how about making a bet with Gu? If Gu's calculation is wrong, Then give up the crown prince!"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone in the court was shocked.

Bet on the crown prince's position?How can this be accepted?Besides, besides you, who else can take the position of prince?

After thinking about the choice of the crown prince after a long time, the courtiers realized that the crown prince's position is now so indestructible.Not to mention that the king of Wei had stated more than once that he would only support his elder brother as the prince, and he had no idea about the position of the prince. Even the prestige of the prince in the hearts of the people is unparalleled.

Wei Zheng didn't express his opinion in a hurry, he was thinking about the feasibility of the prince's decision, but no matter what he thought, he couldn't think of 2000 people, how could he teach the Koreans a lesson.What can produce a "lesson" effect on a country is not to bring people to the borders of other countries to swear a few bad words.

However, considering that the prince can always be unexpected and do things that ordinary people can't do, he can only stand up and say: "Since your highness wants to bet, it's better to bet a little less. It's too much to bet on the position of the prince." How about this, if His Highness wins, Wei Chen and others will go out of the city ten miles to welcome the prince's triumphant return; if His Highness loses, how about handing over the crown prince's personal lead and returning to the Ministry of War?"

As soon as Wei Zheng said this, all the officials naturally agreed.It couldn't be more appropriate to bet on the ownership of the relatives.Nowadays, the power of the army is concentrated in the hands of the emperor, and they are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, with one exception, that is, the crown prince personally leads.With such a large army in the hands of the prince, it is very likely that the same thing will happen in the ninth year of Wude.

Fang Xuanling sighed, and said: "Since Your Highness is determined to go his own way, it's not impossible for the officials and others to give His Highness a chance, but His Highness must agree to this old man and not strictly order you to go forward bravely. If there is any disharmony, you should retreat immediately!"

What Fang Xuanling was most afraid of was that the prince ordered the prince to personally lead them to kill them. You must know that the army of the Tang Dynasty was not the army in the troubled times.As long as Datang's army gives an order, they will die without hesitation.

For this, Li Chengqian naturally agreed.

Zhao Zian, the left servant of the Ministry of War, saw that the prime minister agreed, so he could only agree to issue a certificate from the Ministry of War to his own leader.Although the personal command is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, 2000 people in full armor appeared outside Chang'an without the documents of the Ministry of War, the emperor's imperial decree, and the fuze. The local governor can most directly lead troops to destroy them.If you make a mistake, no one will blame you.

After discussing the matter of personally leading troops to Korea, the court meeting ended.

Seeing that the officials were about to leave and the crown prince was sorting out the memorials on the table, Lu Dongzan was very confused.

This is the court of Tang Dynasty, and he knew that he could only listen and not speak.Just listening, he even thought that his understanding was wrong.

2000 people?Are you sure it's not 2 people?No, 2 people may not be able to fight against the country of Korea, right?In Lu Dongzan's understanding, Koryo is a very powerful country, and the former Sui million army in the Central Plains failed to conquer it. How can such a country be confronted with 2000 people?

With doubts, he finally waited for the prince who came out.

Although he knew that it was impolite to ask about other countries' internal affairs, Lu Dongzan clasped his hands and asked, "Your Highness, your Tang dialect may not be very good. When you just presided over the government, what did you say? 2000 people? Two copper coins amount?"

Li Chengqian nodded: "You heard me right, there are 2000 people. Gu recently made a new weapon, which is used in the military. It is invincible. Since Goryeo offended Datang, he will suffer the consequences. Repaying hatred with virtue That's a saint, since Gu is also an ordinary person, he naturally admires the enemy's benevolence and our injustice."

After finishing speaking, Li Chengqian strolled towards Taiji Gate, intending to leave the palace through Chengtian Gate, leaving Lu Dongzan alone in a mess~

Chapter 258

Strength is called strength only when it is shown in front of others. Always keep the hole cards in your hand. Who knows you have the hole cards?

Li Chengqian didn't know how to comment on the statement that the eight-ox crossbow could not be used in military affairs. It is estimated that after the power of gunpowder is displayed, some people will still judge this thing as harmful to peace.

Because of this, Li Chengqian did not tell the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty about gunpowder.In the eyes of Fang Xuanling and others, the prince just made a mistake that smart people would make - being too confident.If the prince personally leads the defeat, they have reason to deprive the prince of the power to command the army.After all, the crown prince with [-] troops under his command was the only exception in the court.

"Hehe, I will let you know what it would be like to combine the strongest soldier with the strongest weapon."

With a mutter, he walked out of Chengtianmen, got into the carriage, and set off towards Cheng's restaurant.

Since he specially ordered courtiers who have no official duties not to go to court, many people in the military have continued to be otaku.This is something that can’t be helped. If it weren’t for the Great Court Meeting, many people from the military would just take a nap when they went to the court.Du Ruhui's holding on to the position of minister of the Ministry of War was a reminder from the emperor to the generals.In the future, the development of civil servants will surpass that of military generals. As long as there is no war on the border, if you want to seek merit, you can only start with government affairs.

However, correspondingly, the title award was also canceled by the emperor.It is a new rule that it is difficult to be knighted without military merits.

The carriage arrived at Cheng's restaurant soon, and the soldiers led by him had already entered first and controlled the audience.

Li Jing, as the inviter, greeted him at the gate with the generals who were still in the capital.They did not resist the request to personally lead the soldiers to search the body.These are all rules, inviting royal people to eat and drink is no different from hanging their heads on a kite.

"Your Highness can take the time to come, I am extremely grateful."

Taking a look at Li Jing's gesture of cupping his hands, Li Chengqian sighed and bowed back.

As soon as he entered the restaurant, Li Chengqian turned his head and said to Li Jing and the generals who followed: "If you have something to say, just say it directly. Does it take so much effort?"

Niu Jinda chuckled: "Now I have no excuse to go to court, and if I want to discuss things with you, I can only invite you out of the palace."

Li Jing and Niu Jinda, as Li Chengqian's masters, are the main lobbyists today.

After entering the box and taking their seats, Li Chengqian said straight to the point: "I believe you all know that the orphan will send the crown prince to go to the Koryo border to inquire about the crimes, and I will help everyone."

"Your Highness, there are only more than 2000 people in the army, including the army Sima, etc. How can more than 2000 people fight against the [-] troops on the border of Korea? Isn't it more embarrassing?"

Zhang Gongjin's reaction was the same as that of the ministers in the court. As a general, he was very aware of the advantages and disadvantages of numbers, and sometimes equipment could not make up for it.Although the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were good at winning more with less, but when the disparity in strength was so great, any equipment and any tricks would be useless.

After thinking for a while, Li Jing said: "The proficiency rate can be regarded as the old man who has been trained. He is proficient in various battle formations and proficient in the proficiency rate of various formation changes. 2000 people are already the limit against 1 people, and there will be big problems. Damage. One hundred thousand, totally impossible!"

Li Ji even brought a map with him, pointing to several cities on the border of Goryeo, and said: "Your Highness, don't look at the scattered forces of Goryeo. In fact, they used the terrain to form a killing formation very skillfully. The entire army may be devoured by their cooperation, and if they want to deal with it, unless the city is pulled out one by one. The cities of Goryeo are not much weaker than the cities of our Tang Dynasty. Your Highness, your personal rate is only 2000 people, how can you break it? city?"

Surprisingly, Lee Hyo-gong was there too.Li Xiaogong took Li Ji's map and said to Li Chengqian: "You fool, what I'm waiting for is to advance the progress of dispatching troops to Goryeo. Now that the national treasury is empty and there is a catastrophe in the local area, we still understand the reason why we can't send troops. So the fear of persecuting the group of civil servants is that they will gradually erase the hatred of the people of the Tang Dynasty towards Goryeo over time."