Li Jingnan saw Hua Qingxue's expression change and immediately became nervous, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the weapon?"
Hua Qingxue was silent for a while and told him: "Some time ago... some Liao soldiers sneaked into the military camp and kidnapped our craftsmen."
When Li Jingnan heard this, his eyebrows almost stood up! "Liao soldiers sneaked into the Qingzhou camp?! Where is Fu Tingye? He didn't notice it?!"
"The other party was disguised as a seriously injured Qi soldier and was sent to the barracks without the general knowing." Hua Qingxue did not mention that she was almost kidnapped, and only sighed quietly, "The Liao soldiers came well prepared, and we can't guard against it, general." There’s no way to take care of everything.”
Li Jingnan slapped the table angrily! The teacup from which I drank the winter melon tea also shook a few times.
"These Liao dogs! I will kill them all sooner or later!"
Li Jingnan has grown up in the shadow of the Liao soldiers' invasion of Da Qi since he can remember, and his hatred for the Liao people is deep-rooted.
As for Hua Qingxue, she didn't really have much feelings for these two countries at first, but as her relationship with Fu Tingye and Li Jingnan became closer and closer, and she lived here again, she gradually developed feelings for Daqi.
Correspondingly, she also began to have feelings of resistance towards Daliao, especially after what happened to Liu Tiejiang. Although Hua Qingxue was not from Qi, her position was basically the same as Qi's.
Hua Qingxue's voice was muffled: "The Liao soldiers are standing still now. They must be rushing to make new weapons. Once the weapons are completed, they will attack again."
Li Jingnan's face darkened, and the good mood just now was gone.
Although he is young, he also knows very well that Da Qi's national power and military strength are too weak compared to Daliao, and taking the initiative to attack is tantamount to hitting an egg against a stone! But it is really frustrating to passively wait for the other party to knock on your door!
Hua Qingxue finally made a new weapon. He thought he saw hope, but after just one victory, the Liao soldiers kidnapped the craftsman who made the new weapon!
Could it be that the world of Daqi really cannot be defended
"Okay, stop frowning. If you frown every day at such a young age, you may get old quickly." Hua Qingxue didn't want Li Jingnan to be too burdened, so she tried to keep her tone light, "Don't worry about the military camp, General." We are already stepping up training of a group of archers to reinforce the army's long-range attack capabilities. That's what I mean too. The Liao soldiers scare neighboring countries in the name of cavalry, so we don't need to go head-on."
Li Jingnan thought of Hua Qingxue's bow with a range of 400 steps, and his mood improved slightly. He nodded in agreement, "Yes, we should develop our own advantages in the future. If we can't beat the cavalry, we will fight the long-range archers!"
After he finished speaking, he looked worried again, "But... the Liao people are very good at riding and shooting. If they figure out this kind of bow one day, then we... "
"It's a matter of time." Hua Qingxue said.
Li Jingnan was stunned and looked at Hua Qingxue blankly.
"Once on the battlefield, there will be damage. As long as the Liao soldiers capture a few of our bows and arrows, dismantle the structure, and find craftsmen to figure it out for a few days, they will definitely discover the mystery." Hua Qingxue's voice was still soft, and she said it The words were extremely cruel, "So it is only a matter of time before bows and arrows are copied. We cannot place all our hopes on the bow. It may help us win once or twice, but it will never be permanent."
After hearing this, Li Jingnan's face tightened and she pursed her lips in silence.
Hua Qingxue knew how much he wanted to give the Liao soldiers a heavy blow, so she couldn't bear to see Li Jingnan like this...
"Come here, I'll show you something." Hua Qingxue stood up and took Li Jingnan to the west room.
Xiaodouzi, the eunuch who was close by, also followed with lowered eyebrows and lowered eyes.
However, Hua Qingxue seemed to be very shy and said to Xiaodouzi, "Just wait outside first."
Xiaodouzi was stunned for a moment, then went to see Li Jingnan.
He always served him closely, even when Li Jingnan was squatting in the hut, he never left even half a step away!
Besides, the emperor didn't say anything, so why should she? !
Unexpectedly, Li Jingnan almost didn't think about it and waved his hand in disgust, "Wait outside."
"..." Xiaodouzi lowered his head and stood neatly under the eaves.
Hua Qingxue immediately closed the door.
"What do you want to give me? It's so mysterious..." Li Jingnan walked into the room curiously and saw that the entire wall was covered with wooden shelves! It was filled with handmade soaps and I was immediately amazed!
"Wow!... You did it all by yourself?!"
"Yes, after I become proficient, I will make two pots every day." Hua Qingxue casually took a piece and handed it to him, "Have you used up the ones I gave you last time? Stop using it and use this new batch of soap. , better than the original.”
Li Jingnan nodded repeatedly without being polite to her, "Then you can pack more for me, and I'll give a few pieces to the queen mother."
When Hua Qingxue heard this, she realized that the Queen Mother also used her handmade soap? This feeling is really amazing!
She laughed and said, "Okay, then I will give you more decorations for everything. You can reward the minister's women to help me advertise!"
"What does advertising mean?" Li Jingnan looked at her inexplicably.
"It's just for publicity and promotion."
After reading the handmade soap, Hua Qingxue walked to a table, picked up a handful of papers with various strange patterns on them, rummaged a few times, pulled out a few papers and handed them to Li Jingnan.
"I haven't shown the new weapon to the second person yet." Hua Qingxue said with rare pride, "If it is made, I can guarantee that even if it is stolen by the Liao soldiers, they will not be able to make it. come out."
When Li Jingnan heard this, he didn't dare to look down upon him and looked at it seriously.
But he looked left and right, but he couldn't see what was drawn on the paper...
"What is this?" He turned the paper over in his hand and looked at it. "It's a round ball. It can't be chopped or cut. How can it be used on the battlefield?"
"It must be used in conjunction with these." Hua Qingxue handed him another few pieces of paper.
Li Jingnan still couldn't understand it.
He was a little discouraged, "Just tell me directly, what is the use of this thing?"
"This is called gunpowder. You can understand it as a firecracker that is a hundred times more powerful than fireworks." Hua Qingxue placed all the drawings in front of him and explained them one by one, "Once the gunpowder is made, we can start making rockets, muskets, Artillery, every weapon has powerful destructive power!"
"A hundred times more powerful than fireworks?" Li Jingnan found it a bit unimaginable, and his expression turned into a wrinkled ball.
Probably because... In this Qi Dynasty, the power of fireworks and firecrackers was too weak, and the people could only hear the sound.
Hua Qingxue felt that the problem should be in the purification process, as a result, the saltpeter did not play its due role.
In fact, during the Song Dynasty, gunpowder weapons were already very developed. Not only were the prototypes of muskets, but thunder and thunder cannons were also born in the Song Dynasty.
It's a pity that although the Qi Dynasty was close to the Song Dynasty in all aspects, its military strength... is really hard to describe.
The original ancient gunpowder, which was a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal, did not attract people's attention for its power and was difficult to apply on the battlefield. However, after improvements, potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal were combined in a certain proportion. Extremely powerful! Almost the same as postmodern dynamite!
Hua Qingxue's biggest headache now is not the production of gunpowder, but the selection of materials for the lead part. They must be flammable, have uniform speed, and have certain moisture resistance.
The most conservative method is to use cotton thread to make a thick thread. The disadvantage is that it is too easy to get damp and is very likely to burn out in the event of bad weather.
The fuse does not work, and no matter how powerful the artillery is, it cannot exert its power.
Hua Qingxue is still thinking of ways to refine sodium chlorate.
- Sodium chlorate will release oxygen when heated. Oxygen is the best combustion aid. As long as it is mixed into cotton thread, all the problems she worries about can be solved.
These questions were too difficult for Li Jingnan to understand, and Hua Qingxue could only give a rough explanation.
"... Anyway, the general has agreed to me setting up a firearms battalion, and he has sent people to assist me. If everything goes well, we will have the first batch of artillery troops soon." Hua Qingxue put away the drawings she had recently drawn, with a look in her eyes. Yearning, "They will definitely become the most brave group of soldiers in Daqi."
"But he didn't even report this matter to the court!" Li Jingnan frowned, a little worried.
Even if such a big thing is to be done, it must be reported to the court first!
"The general may be worried about me..." Hua Qingxue smiled sheepishly, "He was afraid that I would be punished if I failed, so he helped me with it and reported it to the court. Didn't he have to wait for the court to approve the funds? ? It’s going to be a long wait again.”
Li Jingnan reluctantly accepted this explanation and said somewhat unhappily: "Don't worry, as long as it is beneficial to the country and the people, I will definitely approve it! But... it is really not fast to allocate silver from the national treasury. My father has always reduced the amount when he was in power. Taxes, recuperation, and recuperation, so these years... the treasury really doesn’t have much money.”
Hua Qingxue nodded to express her understanding and said in a sincere tone, "The late emperor is a good emperor."
It was a simple and plain sentence, but for some reason, Li Jingnan felt a little sore in his nose after hearing it.
It had been so long since the late emperor passed away, but he had never heard anyone commenting on his father like this... Even the queen mother had a look of disapproval when she mentioned her father.
He deliberately raised a big smile, trying to cover up his red eyes, and said, "I happen to be on a private visit incognito. I'll stay with you for the next few days! How about seeing how you make new weapons?"
Hua Qingxue smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll let you see it. If you're satisfied, remember to go back and allocate money to me. Although the general said he was rich, I'm a little worried that he's trying to make a fool of himself. After all, this thing really needs to be mass-produced." It’s not a matter of overnight, nor is it a matter of tens of thousands of taels of silver…”
Li Jingnan already raised his head proudly, "Then you are looking for the right one. Fu Tingye, a great general, how much salary can he get every year? Even if he is granted the title of king, he can collect taxes and make money under his own name, but he is a newly crowned king this year and cannot save much. Money! No matter how empty the treasury is, it will definitely be richer than Fu Tingye!"
Hua Qingxue couldn't help laughing when she heard Li Jingnan show off his wealth.
Li Jingnan saw her smiling and smiled himself.
He couldn't explain why he trusted Hua Qingxue so much.
Maybe it was that short period of time when it was difficult for Qiu to live alone? ...Maybe it's because Hua Qingxue always comes up with strange theories
She is full of magic, just like those soaps on the wooden shelf, she just made it.
Many incredible things seemed to be easy for her to do.
so…
Li Jingnan looked at the stack of drawings on the table and thought: She will definitely be able to do it this time.