Hearing that the wealthy nobles in Qingzhou wanted to reconcile with Xu Wei, Wang Gai smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's difficult! Our ruling willpower is so firm that it exceeds everyone's imagination. If he was willing to accept us, the world would have been his." Yes. But he just believes that our noble clan is a great harm to the world and wants to uproot us from the land of the Han Dynasty! I don’t know that he has such hatred for us. The people who offended him were clearly eunuchs. , Logically speaking, he should have a deep hatred for the eunuchs!"
In fact, Xu Wei said it very clearly, and Wang Gai and the others also understood it very clearly, but it was definitely impossible for them to admit that they were the biggest danger to the Han Dynasty!
Linghu Chong also said helplessly: "Now Lei Gong is getting stronger and stronger day by day, and his power is getting stronger day by day. At the beginning, he only occupied Mayi and wanted to wipe us out, but now there is no power in the world that can If he resists Thunder God, he will even less want to reconcile!"
"Unless you, like us, let your disciples and former officials retire from official careers, and the family members will not join the army, and the fields will be distributed to ordinary people, then you will have no threat to Dagan at all!"
Kong Yu was dissatisfied and asked: "What is the difference between this and defeat and surrender?"
Cui Yi was surprised and said: "Didn't you come to surrender?"
Kong Yu said irritably: "Of course not, we are here to negotiate peace, and we are not defeated yet!"
Liu He said: "It is because you have not been defeated yet that you have this condition. At least your family property is saved, and your children can also take the imperial examination and re-enter the official career. There is no need for the defeated people like us to completely cut off the way forward. You can become like a merchant!"
Cui Yi also said helplessly: "Look at us, we are losers. Now even if we lose everything, we still want Lei Gong to lift our ban. If Qingzhou is captured by Da Gan, we may be your role model!"
Guoyuan said: "We want to ask to see Master Xiangkai, and we also ask Brother Cui to help inform us of Master Xiangkai's whereabouts!"
Cui Yi said: "Master Xiangkai is coming to Jixian soon. When he comes, I will inform my brother!"
Guoyuan cupped his fists and said, "Thank you so much, Brother Cui!"
Then Cui Yi thought for a while and asked: "My clan brother, how is Cui Yan doing in Qingzhou?"
The Cui family was originally the leader of the wealthy gentry in Hebei. After Xu Wei occupied Jizhou, the Cui family had to split up. Side branches like Cui Yi stayed in Hebei to observe the situation. Cui Yan, as a direct descendant of the Cui family, should have defected to the Xiangyang court, but They did not expect that Cao Cao would force Cui Yan to stay in Qingzhou because of the gunpowder problem. But after Cui Yan's gunpowder was manufactured, Cao Cao was even more reluctant to let Cui Yan leave, even in the name of protecting Cui Yan's safety. Send troops to monitor Cui Yan!
Originally, Cao Cao's approach would have aroused criticism from the scholars, but now under the pressure of Xu Wei, all the noble families in Qingzhou knew Cui Yan's importance to Qingzhou. Even Kong Rong allowed Cui Yan to stay in Qingzhou in the name of an old friend. Give them a hand!
And his senior brothers also came to persuade him to stay! Cui Yan saw that his old friends had persuaded him in this way, what else could he do, he could only stay in Qingzhou to help Cao Cao cast cannons!
Guoyuan said: "Senior brother is highly appreciated by Caozhou Mu in Qingzhou, and his status in Qingzhou is only lower than that of Xun Yu and Guo Jia. Brother Cui doesn't have to worry about senior brother's safety!"
Cui Yi has no choice but to survive in these troubled times!
Qingzhou, Beihai County! Pingshou County, Gun Foundry!
Cao Cao brought Xun Yu, Guo Jia and other cronies to the cannon foundry!
The entire factory was filled with flames and hot air! Cao Cao and the others were already sweating profusely after less than half a stick of incense after entering the place! But he was still happy to see the cannons taking shape!
"How many cannons can the artillery factory cast each month?"
Cui Yan said: "There are no technical difficulties in making 20 cannons from bronze. Casting a cannon weighing a thousand kilograms is not as difficult as casting a cauldron weighing tens of thousands kilograms."
When Cao Cao heard this number, he frowned and said: "In other words, there are only 240 gates cast in a year, which is enough! Lei Gong has thousands of gates, and our number is still ten times short of Lei Gong. If we go to the battlefield, we will
The artillery will definitely be suppressed by Lei Gong's artillery again. Brother Ji Gui, you have to find a way to improve the efficiency of the artillery factory. If you can cast hundreds of guns a month, then we can meet the needs of our Qingzhou!"
Cui Yan said: "This is already the limit, and it is difficult to improve. Every time a bronze cannon is cast, a model must be cast first. It takes half a month for these models to dry in the shade. If the time is short, the water vapor in the mold will enter the cannon.
If the artillery has trachoma, the artillery will not be usable! Moreover, raw materials and skilled bronze craftsmen are all problems. If we want to speed up the efficiency of cannon casting, the cost will rise sharply, and I am afraid Qingzhou will not be able to bear it! "
Xun You said strangely: "The process of casting artillery is so complicated. Where did Lei Gong come from so many artillery? It is impossible that Lei Gong had already developed artillery when he was in Mayi. It took him ten years to accumulate this kind of artillery."
Thousands of artillery pieces?”
Cui Yan also felt strange and said: "This is also what makes Yan feel strange. Although artillery casting is not too difficult, it is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming. Logically speaking, these thousands of artillery must have taken several years.
The accumulation of time, but we all know that artillery has not appeared on the battlefield for more than 5 years, and most of the thousands of artillery in Lei Gong's hands were cast in the past few years. After all, he cannot leave such a weapon of war unused!"
Guo Jiadan said indifferently: "What's so strange about it? Daqian must have some cannon-casting skills that we don't know about, so his cannon-casting speed is more than ten times that of ours. You must know that Lei Gong values the most.
He is the craftsman, and he values craftsmen even more than the noble families in the world! In Daqian, the master-level craftsmen are the ones with the highest status and the best treatment. It is said that each of them can have a monthly salary of millions of dollars every year. I
None of the great generals in the DPRK are treated so well!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Leigong also played an obvious role in improving the treatment of craftsmen. Daqian's weapons and equipment have always been the most sophisticated, and there are also elevated structures in Daqian.
Aqueducts, waterwheels, windmills, rail carriages, as well as new textile machines, spinning machines and other machinery can make the country rich and powerful!"
Cui Yan thought of so many new machines in Daqian and said helplessly: "What brother Feng Xiao said is really possible. Lei Gong should have mastered the new artillery casting technology, otherwise they would not have so many artillery!"
After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao asked Guo Jiadao: "Can we find a way to go to Hebei and lure a few cannon-making craftsmen? As long as they are willing to come, even if they are marquises, Cao Cao is willing to help them recommend them to the court!"
Guo Jia smiled bitterly and said: "The treatment of such cannon-making craftsmen in Daqian is not much worse than that of marquis. There are several marquises in the Han Dynasty who can earn millions of dollars a month!"
Cao Cao said calmly: "Then can you bring a few master craftsmen here? As long as they can hand over new cannon-casting skills, you don't have to worry too much about the means!"
Guo Jiadao: "We can give it a try, but we don't have much hope. Daqian's cannon-casting factory is in Ji County, which is thousands of miles away from Qingzhou. With such a long distance, even if we kidnap the cannon-casting craftsmen, it will be difficult to bring them back to Qingzhou." !”
When Guo Jia said this, Cao Cao also knew that he was fanciful, so he could only continue to inspect the cannon foundry, but he soon discovered that his cannon foundry only cast very small cannons, such as those of Daqian. There are no giant cannons that can fire shells weighing 100 kilograms or even 100 kilograms!
He immediately asked: "Why are there only such small cannons, big cannons and giant cannons being cast, but not a single one is seen?"
Cui Yan said helplessly: "Cannons and giant cannons not only consume more bronze, but are also more troublesome and time-consuming to cast. We have cast several cannons, but for some reason, these cannons always have cracks. Everyone doesn’t know what’s going on. Now we can only stop casting large artillery pieces and only cast 10-pound cannons and 20-pound cannons!”
Cao Cao was dissatisfied and said: "How can this work? On the battlefield, big cannons are better than small cannons. If we only have these 10-pound cannons and 20-pound cannons, we will have to be passively beaten when facing Daqian's giant cannons!"
The larger the caliber of the artillery, not only the greater the power, but also the farther the range. Seeing the small cannon in front of him, Cao Cao could imagine that the next time he fought with Lei Gong, he would set up an artillery position. Under the attack, he was completely wiped out, but he had no power to fight back!
Cui Yan wondered: "Ming Gong, my subordinates have nothing to do. We only have these old craftsmen in the artillery factory. There will be no problems in casting small cannons, but not to mention the losses in casting huge cannons, more time will be wasted. Now the artillery It is already very difficult for the factory to produce 20 cannons. If we continue to produce giant cannons with immature technology, I am afraid that the number of these 20 cannons will not be maintained. The bronze consumed in casting one giant cannon is worth several small cannons!"
But Cao Cao still said firmly: "That's not okay. We must have what Lei Gong has!"
Cui Yan simply said: "Ming Gong forgives me for being unable to do anything. You'd better hire another Gao Ming!"
After all, Cui Yan is a famous scholar in Hebei Province. Not to mention that he has been turned into a craftsman by Cao Ah Man. Now he is still so picky. He really thinks that Cui Yan has no temper! If not for Kong Rong and his brothers, even his teacher Zheng Xuan persuaded him If he stayed, he would have left Qingzhou, a place of right and wrong!
When Cao Cao heard this, he was furious and said, "Cui Yan, you piece of shit, you really think I don't dare to kill you!"
Cao Cao thought he was worthy of Cui Yan. As soon as he came here, he became the governor of the Prefectural Mufu. He ranked second among the civil servants, only below Xun or Xun. After that, he had a small banquet every three days and a big banquet every five days.
During the banquet, he invited Kong Rong to speak, and then he was allowed to stay. However, even if Cui Yan stayed in Qingzhou, he had no intention of returning. He was not even willing to call himself lord!
Now his behavior of abandoning his son has angered Cao Cao even more!
When Xun You saw that the two sides had broken down, he immediately comforted him and said, "Brother Ji Gui, don't be angry. Everyone wants to deal with Lei Gong!"
Guo Jia also pulled Cao Cao aside and said: "My lord, Cui Yan is the most familiar with artillery in Qingzhou. If you kill him, who will cast the cannon for you!"
Cao Cao snorted coldly: "Now that the craftsmen here have obtained the formula of gunpowder and know how to cast artillery, the worst case scenario is that Zhongde will take over the artillery factory!"
Guo Jiadao: "My lord, my lord! You are thinking too well. Not to mention whether Zhong De can manage the artillery factory well, even if he manages it well, he will definitely not be as familiar as Cui Yan. If we still have time to let Zhong De
We are familiar with the affairs of the artillery factory, but now our millions of troops are about to cross the Yellow River, so we have time to waste!
Not to mention that the person who is most familiar with artillery in Qingzhou is Cui Yan. If you want to get a giant cannon, you can only rely on Cui Yan! If even someone like Cui Yan, who has been working with artillery for several years, cannot cast a giant cannon,
Does the Lord want Zhongde, a layman, to build a giant cannon?"
After Guo Jia said this, Cao Cao calmed down. He understood that if Qingzhou wants to build more and bigger artillery, Cui Yan is indispensable! Naturally, the desire to kill him was relieved. For Cao Cao, the person who is useful to him is
He is still willing to lose face to please!
On the other side, Cui Yan also complained to Xun He: "Wen Ruo, you know me well. When I compared myself to Guan Zhong, I wanted to show my ambition to govern the country and stabilize the country, but now I am imprisoned in Qingzhou by Caozhou Mu.
, I am the governor of Qingzhou in name, but in fact I am just a craftsman. I, Cui Yan, have studied the classics of governing the country and ensuring peace for decades, just to be a craftsman making artillery here!"
Xun You persuaded: "Brother Ji Gui, you are casting cannons now not only to govern the country, but also to save the Han Dynasty. Only brother Ji Gui can handle such an important task! Even if we want to cast cannons, we don't understand the meaning of it."
Principle, now Ji Gui is better than 10 Xun or!"
Cui Yan felt much better after being praised by Xun Yu, but he still said: "Brother, it's not that I don't know the importance of artillery to Qingzhou and the Han Dynasty, but Minggong can't guide laymen to experts. Don't I know the importance of artillery to Qingzhou and the Han Dynasty?"
The importance of cannons, but a giant cannon not only consumes ten times as much bronze as a small cannon, but also takes several times longer to cast. It is also prone to cracking, causing the cannon to fail."
"In this way, we can cast small cannons every time, but when we cast large cannons, if one out of ten can pass the standard, Haotian will bless us. If we really follow Ming Gong's idea, our artillery factory will only be able to cast 100,000 cannons in a month.
One or two giant cannons, what is the use of such output? Moreover, the price of cannons cast in this way is probably more than 1 million yuan. How can we in Qingzhou afford such expensive cannons? It is better to find ways to cast more small ones.
Artillery, enhance the strength of the Qingzhou Army!"
After listening to Cui Yan's words, Xun You also knew that it was not easy to cast a cannon, but he still said strangely: "Since a huge cannon is so difficult to cast, how did Lei Gong succeed in casting it? In this Central Plains War, Lei Gongguang's 100-pound cannon was 300. According to Ji Gui, even if Lei Gong consumes all Da Gan’s money, he would not be able to cast so many cannons!”