After leaving the military camp, Qin Mubai returned to Princess Gaoyang's residence in Xiangcheng and saw that she was still sleeping soundly. So, he left a letter and immediately left Xiangcheng with Yin Yang and others, and went to Xiangyang to take care of military and political affairs.
Pang Fei, with his troops from Xiangzhou Military Mansion, was still stationed at Xinye Military Port. Despite the general's orders, they never retreated. Even after they knew that Xiangcheng had been breached, they remained stationed here. Even though they knew that Li Ji's tens of thousands of troops were ahead, they did not retreat without authorization.
Now, this army seems to have become his die-hard loyalists.
Qin Mubai ordered the entire army to withdraw to the Xiangyang garrison. While on the ship, Qin Mubai temporarily handed over the affairs to Pang Fei and asked him to temporarily act as the captain of Zhechong. If anything happens after returning to the court, Chang'an will automatically issue a letter.
At this time, Qin Mubai didn't know whether he would really go to the border to fight; if he would go, then the position of Captain of Xiangzhou Zhechong cannot be neglected. After all, Xiangzhou is also a small "base area". At least, Wu Meiniang is still doing business here, so she needs someone to take care of her. Keeping Pang Fei for the time being is a good foreshadowing.
The army arrived at the military camp. Qin Mubai and Pang Fei cooked in the military camp for a while, then left for Xiangyang County. He went to the governor's office first, and Zhibu stayed with the governor Quan Wanji.
Li Ke indeed left a letter. Qin Mubai looked at it with confidence, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
It's true that heroes have the same idea. Li Ke also thought of this level - draw a clear line and temporarily cut off contact.
Qin Mubai has always believed that the prince Li Ke is more mature and wise than himself in many aspects. Right now, Fang is the best proof. It was only through Li Ji's prompting that he finally came to his senses, but Li Ke might have thought of this a long time ago. It was just out of affection that I never said it clearly. It is also a good thing to take advantage of Li Ke's incident to speak out clearly now.
It also saved Qin Mubai a lot of trouble. In this case, it is indeed a clear statement that it is inconvenient to eat noodles. He left a brief letter to explain that the two of them had been close friends for a long time and could naturally communicate without saying anything, and no other unhappiness or misunderstanding would arise.
After leaving the Governor's Mansion, Qin Mubai went to the countryside, where he also had his own "secret private property" - a "scientific research" institute.
When the prince left last time, Tu Youdu, who was supervising the left school office, stayed with the "help" of Qin Mubai on the pretext of illness and continued to think about Fan Zhu of the red cannon. For several months, this skilled, sincere and pragmatic craftsman finally succeeded in casting this cannon, which had never been touched before, with only a piece of drawings and text by Qin Mubai!
Niu Wuzhi's three old apprentices fulfilled their mission and worked together with Tu Youhai to process and improve the "Five Finger Divine Thunder" to make it more suitable for use in cannons. Now, the probability of the barrel exploding has been reduced to an extremely low level, and the cannon's accuracy can gradually be controlled by humans. Although it is still unable to hit where it points like today's advanced military artillery, the error rate has gradually narrowed.
The situation is gratifying.
When Qin Mubai arrived, the four of them went out to greet him. Everyone chatted for a while about the progress of the cannon's craftsmanship, and then trial-fired two cannons for Qin Mubai to see.
The results are indeed good.
The test target was a few continuous trees on a wilderness beach two hundred paces away. The first shot missed it by seven or eight steps, and the second shot, which was adjusted, successfully destroyed it.
"General, this cannon has probably been successfully made. However, the person who operates the cannon may have to go through many proficiency and exercises before he can successfully master the shooting method. Otherwise, it is easy to be accidentally injured." Tu Youhai Said, "Also, this cannon cannot be cast in large quantities now. Because just polishing the barrel is an extremely fine work. It requires an experienced craftsman like me to work day and night for thirty or forty days. It can be done.”
"Well, thank you for your hard work." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled and said, "Now, King Wu and I are leaving Xiangyang and rushing to the capital. However, the promise I made to you before will still count. If you are willing to stay in Xiangyang If you want to be a minister of a certain department, I will take action immediately after returning to the court to ensure that you are fulfilled. Of course, you can also choose to go to Beijing with us, and it will not be difficult to recommend you to be a Beijing official. "
"Oh, the general and King Wu... won't go back to Xiangzhou in the future?" Tu Youhai said in surprise and a little disappointed.
"It's hard to say," Qin Mubai said, "Maybe I'll come back, maybe I won't. Even if I come back, I'll have to wait for a while. What do you think?"
Tu Youhai thought about it. If King Wu and Qin Mubai are here together, he was "promoted" by Qin Mubai, and there is someone above him who can be an official. This is of course a great good thing. But these two people have left, leaving me alone to "struggle" here. It's hard to say what the future is. I might as well go back to Chang'an and continue to serve as my left school bureau chief!
"As a humble post, I am willing to go to Beijing with the general!" Tu Youhai said decisively.
"Okay, then prepare yourself and set off in two days." After Qin Mubai finished speaking, he said to the three old men, "Three masters, I once promised to take care of you until you die. Now I want to leave Xiangyang The date of return is uncertain. Please come with me to Chang'an!"
The three old men were very hesitant and discussed for a long time. They said that when people return to their hometowns, they will return to their roots. They are old and do not want to leave Xiangyang, where they were born and raised. They want to stay here to keep filial piety for Niu Wuzhi, who had no children during his lifetime. If they need to prepare gunpowder, the three of them's personal disciples have obtained the true instructions and can do it for them. If you want to provide for your retirement, just give it some money, there is no need to spend a lot of money.
These words were exactly what Qin Mubai wanted.
The three old men called their disciples over. A young man in his twenties, who was an abandoned baby since childhood, was adopted by them and treated as their own son.
"General, he has no name or surname. We all call him 'Shi'er'. He has been tinkering with gunpowder with us since he was a child. Now he is dark and ugly, and he is also deaf like us. He only knows how to make gunpowder. If his craftsmanship is always with us, if we die, he will probably lose his livelihood." The three old men said, "He is younger and smarter than us, and his craftsmanship is better. Just be hungry. If the general doesn’t give up, please accept him!”
Shi'er was born very strong and honest. As they said, he was dressed in black and ugly. After hearing what the three old men said, he fell to his knees and burst into tears, unwilling to leave the three old men.
The third elder comforted her for a while, and Shi'er finally stopped crying.
Qin Mubai felt that this Shi'er was kind-hearted, affectionate and righteous, as well as talented. Such a person was the most qualified subordinate.
"Shi'er, if you are willing, I will give you a name, how about 'Qin Shi'?" Qin Mubai said.
The three old men were immediately overjoyed: "Shi'er, why don't you thank the general quickly? The general has accepted you! You have a name! From now on, you will be the general's servant!"
Shi'er wiped away her tears and bowed down in a dignified manner: "Qin Shi kowtows to the general!"
"Okay, get up!" Qin Mubai smiled, "From now on, you will be my Qin Mubai's pupil. No one will call you around except me."
"Qin Shi kowtows to the general!" But he only focused on his head, which made a thumping sound on the ground.
Leaving Tu Youhai and Qin Shi here for the time being, Qin Mubai returned to Xiangyang County to say goodbye to Wu Meiniang.
There was a military turmoil in Dengzhou, order in Xiangyang County was slowly recovering, and Qinxian Pavilion had not yet officially opened for business. Wu Meiniang and a group of women are still hiding at home, and the few Baiqi who stayed here are still guarding and protecting them.
Wu Meiniang must have heard about the incident in Dengzhou. When she saw Qin Mubai come in, she frowned a little and said worriedly: "Mubai, are you okay?"
"Isn't this good?" Qin Mubai smiled.
"Hmm... where is Princess Gaoyang?"
"Not bad." Qin Mubai took a long breath and said with a slightly apologetic smile, "Meiniang, I may make you angry."
Wu Meiniang smiled calmly: "Why?"
"I'm here to say goodbye." Qin Mubai said.
Wu Meiniang's expression did not change, she just raised the corners of her mouth slightly and nodded: "I know."
"You know?" Qin Mubai was surprised.
"Of course you guessed it." Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "If such a big thing happened, you must go back to Chang'an to meet the king and explain everything. Also, King Wu had also been here before, saying that he went to Chang'an with his party first. . At that time, I was guessing that you would definitely be called to Chang'an."
"I'm sorry, Mei Niang." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "You just arrived, and I haven't even spent two days with you properly, but I have to leave."
"Business matters, don't worry and go." Wu Meiniang said with a smile, "If a man has ambitions all over the world, why should he hang around a woman? Didn't you tell me before, 'If the love lasts for a long time, what's the point? Morning and evening'? I'll just wait for you."
Qin Mubai nodded gratefully and gratifiedly: "Won't you go to Chang'an with me?"
"No." Wu Meiniang said very softly, but she was very sure, "At the beginning of everything here in Xiangyang, everything big and small has to be taken care of. Didn't you give me hundreds of thousands of stones and grain and grass? I want to exchange it for real gold and silver. , so that we can live without worries for the rest of our lives.”
Qin Mubai looked embarrassed and said sourly: "Why do I feel like I'm a pretty boy who's eating soft rice?"
"What?" Wu Meiniang had probably never heard these words, but she understood the meaning of Qin Mubai's words, and said with a smile, "Don't think wrongly! I call it a big river with water and a small river with fullness. If you weren't able to do it, I would Can you survive today? Let us women take care of the trivial matters. You can go about your big and serious things with confidence!"
"Yes." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, "We will set off in three days."
Wu Meiniang also smiled, but there was a hint of reluctance in her smile, a bit regretful, but she smiled calmly: "Go and stay with Gao Yang. Now, she needs you more than me."
For a moment, Qin Mubai didn't know what to say. They held Wu Meiniang's hand, stared at her, and said word by word: "A mistress's mind, everyone's style!"
"Hee hee!" Wu Meiniang was amused, "You are the sweetest at this time. Even though I am a million times unhappy, how can I resist your sweet words? Well, it's been a simple journey. , take a quick bath in the fragrant soup, then sit down and have a drink with me, and rest for a while before leaving?"
Qin Mubai smiled and said, "If I have a beautiful lady to accompany me, it won't hurt to rest until tomorrow."
"Fantasy sky... a disciple!"
In the evening, Qin Mubai, who was slightly drunk with wine, left Xiangyang on horseback, with Tu Youhai, Qin Shi and others, accompanied by Pang Fei and Yin Yang.
Wu Meiniang's faint body fragrance still lingers on her body, and she seems to be able to feel her gentleness and mellowness between her lips and teeth. Qin Mubai looked back at the familiar Xiangyang City in the distance, breathing in the familiar air with the smell of water and grass in the river port, and said to himself: When will I revisit my old place
Farewell, Xiangyang.