bookcurios Chapter 153 Mayday
Chapter 153 Mayday
Mayday in Beijing.
The spring breeze is full of vigor and the horse's hooves are galloping...
Zhao Hengzhen had not attended court for a long time, but an imperial decree was issued from the palace, stating that the left and right prime ministers would assist in government affairs, Zhao Wei and Zhao Jing would participate in politics, and Zhao Kang would listen to government affairs but not interfere.
So Zhao Kang brought a stool to the court and sat next to the dragon throne, with Zhao Wei and Zhao Jing on his left and right.
Next in order were the two prime ministers on the left and right, and then the civil and military ministers.
Zhao Kang said nothing about anything.
Zhao Wei and Zhao Jing participated in politics and affairs.
In the end, Wei Rong had a veto power, Fan Wenyuan wrote the document, and the eunuch Wu Wei took out the jade seal to stamp it.
On the surface, everything seems harmonious.
In fact, among the three princes, the eldest prince has no say, the eighth prince dare not speak, and only Zhao Wei is in charge.
Wei Rong has the power of veto. He agrees with everything Zhao Wei says, but he will veto anything others say if he is not satisfied with it.
But since Fan Wenyuan refused to write it down, no matter what Wei Rong said, it was useless.
If the left and right prime ministers disagree, Wu Wei will not stamp his seal.
"Uncle, this Fan Wenyuan is too abominable. Find a way to get rid of him."
Zhao Wei had a face full of resentment. Every time he wanted to do something, he was intercepted by Fan Wenyuan.
"You just can't keep your cool. It seems the emperor is still alive, but you're just showing off by having a third son reign over the throne. I haven't had time to report Zhao Kang's affairs to the emperor yet, so Zhao Kang is basically deposed."
"You mean, you have evidence?"
"Does it take evidence to depose a prince?"
"Do you need it?"
"Hahahaha..." The two looked at each other and laughed together.
Zhao Hengzhen was no longer in the palace at this time.
Thirty miles away from the capital.
In the Huaishugang Royal Forest Garden, there are 5,000 imperial guards. Zhao Hengzhen lives here with his trusted confidants.
Every day, Wu Wei would send eunuchs here to deliver information.
As early as a year ago, Wu Wei began secretly training personal eunuch guards under the pretext of recruiting eunuchs for the imperial palace. These people basically carried out missions at night.
"Wu Wei, you've trained about five hundred people, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"These people are all in the Royal Forest Park. We can't do any winter hunting this year, or they will be exposed."
"Does the Emperor wish to hunt in winter?"
"Oh! Forget it, let's clean up that place. Next spring I'll go and implement our plan. To be honest, I don't think the boss will do well."
"Your Majesty, although these five hundred men are all eunuchs who have had their eggs removed, they are not actually on the eunuch register. This..."
"They need a title, right? Well, let's call them the Guards. We'll establish the Guards Division and put it on par with the Dark Cavalry Division."
"I would like to thank the Emperor on behalf of these guards!"
From then on, the emperor had a group of people around him, who were better than the imperial guards. These guards were only responsible to the emperor and carried badges from the inner palace.
May is also the season when everything blooms in Dingzhou.
After Zhao Sheng had made the wine through deep distillation, he basically did not use the military grain reserves in Dingzhou.
Given the current manufacturing conditions, the Schleder Enfield rifle is already the limit and is far superior to the legendary flintlock rifle.
The artillery is not imitated from the British, but a kind of rear-loading artillery made by Murata.
Each shell is like a thermos with a handle on it. You put it on the gun mount and rotate it to reveal a firing device. It will fire after the hammer hits.
This is Murata's earliest infantry gun. It has a small caliber but extremely strong lethality.
"Sir, this little cannon you're talking about cost five hundred. Have you seen enough?"
The person who spoke was Master Lu.
"Master Lu, we've known each other for so long, why don't you tell me your name and where you're from?"
"What? Do you feel bad when you call me Master?"
"I don't suffer any loss, I just feel weird."
Mr. Zhao actually knew a little bit that the surname Lu in Master Lu was not real.
"My last name is Lu, my name is Shi, and my courtesy name is Fu."
"If I really believed it, would I be a complete idiot?"
"Why? You gave me the name? Can't I choose it myself?"
"Okay, I'll count on you!"
"My surname is Lu, from the Mohist school. What do you think my surname should be?"
Master Lu’s words made Zhao Sheng speechless. Yes, what should be the last name?
"How many large-caliber 110mm guns have been produced?"
Mr. Zhao changed the subject.
"Ah, a large caliber would require too much material. For one thing, the barrel would have to be lengthened, which would cause problems with the rifling. You know how the rifling of small cannons is made these days. It would be too much trouble to do that with a large cannon."
Master Lu was very troubled by the rifling of large-caliber cannons.
Large-caliber artillery not only has requirements for power, but also range. The gunpowder under explosion must not only balance the chamber pressure, but also the airflow. Even if it is a smooth bore, it is very easy to explode without rifling.
"Master, can you use three different milling cutters, each with a different depth and width, and mill in three layers?"
"Hey! What you said seems to make sense. I'll go back and try it."
Having said that, Master Lu stood up and was about to leave.
"Are you in such a hurry? Have lunch before you leave. I have something to tell you."
When Master Lu heard that there was something else, he stopped and said.
"Say!"
"For cavalry, relying solely on digging horse pits is too slow. I plan to make trigger-type mines."
"What is trigger?"
"Uh! The grenade has a time delay. The mine is larger than the grenade. Turn on the safety and it will explode when triggered."
"I see..." Master Lu seemed to understand something.
"Don't worry about it. I have the blueprints. It uses a lever-type ignition method."
After Zhao Sheng finished speaking, he went to get a blueprint, which contained a diagram of a landmine and a lever-type triggering device.
"The reason for manufacturing them separately is that they can not only be fired by pressure, but also by tripwires and other methods."
"It's amazing that a mine can explode in so many ways."
"Battlefield conditions are ever-changing, and we must adapt to local conditions, and the same applies to landmines."
Just kidding, Zhao Shengke has watched the later movie "Landmine Warfare" several times. It can be said to be a textbook-level movie. How could he not imitate it?
Guangchang County has iron ore from Huaian Town. Although it is open-air ore, the iron content can reach at least half, which is rare.
Secondly, these ores also contain other rare metals, so that the steel smelted from them is particularly strong.
"This batch of steel ingots was sent to Jing County, where such high-quality materials are needed."
Gong Hu Yu was learning how to govern the county in Guangchang County, but he spent a lot of time in the workshops, especially the metallurgical plant, which he cared about particularly.
"Okay, Mr. Gonghu." The people in the smelter saw a teenager commanding them like an adult, and they didn't feel any resentment in their hearts. They all got used to calling him Mr. Gonghu.
These ores were sent to Wangjiatun by troops from Weizhou under the pretext of patrol.
Bring a cart of food when you go, and bring a few carts of ore when you come back.
The patrolmen not only rode horses, but also drove carriages. Even if they encountered passers-by or spies, they had no idea what was in the carriages.
After Chen Zaocao and Wangcai became residents of Dingzhou, Dingzhou quickly gathered young and strong men from the only three remaining villages in Huaian Town and gave them bows, crossbows, swords and guns so that they could protect themselves.
The people on the border were suffering, and the government suddenly gave them food and weapons, allowing them to defend themselves. These people were grateful and were determined to defend their homes at all costs.