"Master Xiao Zhu, please. The bowl-mouth cannons and muskets in the warehouse were all sponsored by godfather for the militia under Master Xiao Zhu." Xiao Xizi led Zhu Ping'an to the warehouse, took out the key to open the door, and bowed to Zhu Ping'an.
"Thank you, Eunuch Xi." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude, and at the invitation of Xiao Xizi, he walked into the warehouse.
The bowl-mouth cannon is an old-style cannon from the Yuan and early to middle Ming dynasties. Zhu Ping'an has seen the real thing in a modern museum. The barrel is as thick as the mouth of a bowl and weighs about 100 pounds. It is considered a light cannon and is easy to carry and transport.
Zhu Ping'an knew that in a few years, the bowl-mouth cannon would be replaced by the Portuguese cannon, the tiger squat cannon, etc., but at present this type of bowl-mouth cannon is still one of the popular firearms in the army (according to the "Ming Hui Dian Military Equipment and Military Uniforms", it was a rule before the Hongzhi period that the Military Equipment and Saddle and Bridle Bureaus would produce 3,000 bowl-mouth cannons every three years), although its status is not as good as the large, medium and small general cannons.
However, this era was still the era of cold weapons, and the deterrent power of artillery was still very strong. With the bowl-mouth cannon, the firepower of the militia could be increased by several levels. After a few shots, it could not only kill the enemy at a long distance and hit the enemy's morale, but also boost the morale of its own side.
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an was still very much looking forward to the bowl-mouth cannon. As soon as he stepped into the room, his eyes could not wait to look into the room.
After just one glance, Zhu Ping'an was stunned where he was, with one foot stepping into the room and the other almost off the ground. His eyes were wide open, and he blinked in disbelief, then confirmed again.
That's right.
Four bowl-mouthed cannons, four bowl-mouthed cannons! Not the two bowl-mouthed cannons agreed upon, but four in total. In addition, there were two large boxes full of brand new muskets, and eight large boxes of lead bullets.
The lead bullets in these boxes are cannonballs. Ancient cannonballs are not like modern ones. Ancient artillery first loads gunpowder, then puts in wooden horses, then puts in soil, then puts in lead bullets, then puts in soil again, then puts in lead bullets, etc., over and over again until it is full. Of course, stones can actually serve as lead bullets. However, it is still difficult to find stones of the right size on the battlefield, so lead bullets are usually prepared in advance.
When Xiao Xizi saw Zhu Ping'an's look, he couldn't help but cover his mouth with his orchid finger and let out a series of muffled laughter, "Haha, Master Zhu, are you a little surprised? This is the surprise that godfather gave to Master Zhu."
What a surprise!
Zhu Pingan was overjoyed and bowed to Xiao Xizi to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Eunuch He, and thank you, Eunuch Xi."
"Haha, it's enough for Master Xiao Zhu to thank Godfather. I have done nothing but accept the gift, so I can't bear Master Xiao Zhu's thanks." Xiao Xizi covered his mouth and laughed, "After Godfather came back yesterday, he specially asked people to go to Baoyuan Bureau to dig three feet deep, and looted two bowl-mouth cannons, a hundred muskets, and eight boxes of lead to send to Master Xiao Zhu."
"Even though Eunuch He was not feeling well, he still thought about Ping An. Ping An is really grateful." Zhu Ping An thanked him again.
"Haha, godfather said that compared to Master Xiao Zhu's life-saving grace, these are just small things." Xiao Xizi said with a smile, and then leaned close to Zhu Ping'an's ear and whispered, "And..."
Anything else
Zhu Ping'an listened attentively.
"Also, Lord Zhu, you may not know this, but the last time you beat Xiao Qianzi in Jingnan, godfather was also very happy when he heard the news." Xiao Xizi leaned close to Zhu Ping'an's ear and whispered.
Um?!
Weird, don’t you have a grudge against Qianxu? Why is Eunuch He so happy when I beat Qianxu
"Haha, Master Xiao Zhu, you don't know that the reason why Xiao Qianzi has always been at odds with me is actually because Xiao Qianzi's godfather, Chen Hong, that old dog, doesn't get along with Godfather. So, we don't get along with him either." Xiao Xizi explained in a low voice. "When we were in the capital, Chen Hong, that old dog, used a trick to steal Godfather's job in the secretarial office, causing Godfather to go to the palace to sweep the palace. Fortunately, Godfather later had another opportunity, and it was a blessing in disguise that led to today... Last month, Chen Hong, that old dog, went out of the capital to buy Jinbao Pearl and came to Yingtian. Relying on his reputation as an official business, he kept showing off in front of Godfather. Godfather respected and loved the emperor the most, so in order not to affect the emperor's job, Godfather had to endure a lot of anger. Master Xiao Zhu beat Xiao Qianzi, and Godfather took this opportunity to embarrass Chen Hong, that old dog, and saw him gritting his teeth and swallowing, and he let out a lot of anger."
Uh, well, so there is such a thing. Upon hearing this, Zhu Pingan couldn't help but pull the corner of his mouth speechlessly.
"Oh, right, now I remember that I just reminded Lord Xiao Zhu to be careful of the little dog Xiao Qianzi, but I forgot to remind Lord Xiao Zhu to be careful of the old dog Chen Hong. Lord Xiao Zhu must be careful of the old dog Chen Hong in the future. The old dog Chen Hong is much more vicious than the little dog Xiao Qianzi." Xiao Xizi reminded.
Zhu Ping'an nodded slightly.
"Master Xiao Zhu, I'm not afraid of you laughing at us. People like us are physically impaired and mentally abnormal to some extent." Xiao Xizi laughed at himself and said leisurely with his orchid finger raised, "But compared with Chen Hong, we are nothing. Chen Hong is a complete pervert. He once said that he admired two people the most in his life. Master Xiao Zhu, do you know who they are?"
Zhu Ping'an naturally shook his head. How would I know who the two people Chen Hong admired the most
"The two people he admires most, the first one is Gong Chengshu." Xiao Xizi revealed the answer.
Gong Chengshu?! Who is this? I don't seem to have any impression of him. Zhu Ping'an searched in his mind but found nothing.
"Gong Chengshu was a high-ranking eunuch in the Southern Han Dynasty." Seeing Zhu Ping'an's confused look, Xiao Xizi began to explain.
Southern Han!
Zhu Ping'an immediately had an impression. This was one of the regimes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, located in the present Guangdong and Guangxi provinces and northern Vietnam. The most prominent feature of this regime was that it valued and used eunuchs, and was later destroyed by the Song Dynasty.
"In fact, I don't know Gong Chengshu. Chen Hong told us young eunuchs about him when he was drunk. He said that when Gong Chengshu was a eunuch, he served the Southern Han emperor Liu Bei. Liu Bei had no ambitions and loved sensual pleasures and extravagance. Gong Chengshu flattered Liu Bei in various ways every day and obeyed him in everything. As long as Liu Bei gave him a look, Gong Chengshu would understand and arrange everything to Liu Bei's heart. He was deeply favored by Liu Bei and made Liu Bei feel that eunuchs were down-to-earth, reliable, without ambition, and easy to control. One day, Liu Bei thought about how he was neglecting government affairs. What if his civil and military officials had rebellious intentions? Gong Chengshu slandered him and asked the civil and military officials of the court to One must be castrated before becoming an official. If one is unwilling to be castrated, then he cannot be an official and must resign and return home. He explained to Liu Bei that eunuchs would have no offspring after being castrated. Even if those civil and military officials succeeded in their rebellion, their kingdom was fought for others. Why bother risking their lives to rebel? This way, they would not risk rebellion, and the emperor would no longer have any worries and could enjoy his life in peace. Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was overjoyed and accepted the advice readily. It is said that all civil and military officials in the Southern Han Dynasty were eunuchs, and the number reached more than 20,000. This old dog Chen Hong often said that Gong Chengshu was the person he admired most in his life, and said that he wanted to learn from Gong Chengshu... Do you think he is a pervert... "
Xiao Xizi said slowly.