"The last general, Wang Ping, has met the king."
In the past few years, Wang Ping's official career has changed and he has become much more confident. At least when he first met Feng Yong, he no longer felt as hasty as when he was a rich man from the countryside entering the city.
At the same time, he was also much more tactful, which can be seen from the way he said "junhou". He only mentioned Feng Yong's title and not his position, thus avoiding embarrassment.
"General Wang is here!"
When Feng Yong saw Wang Ping, his eyes lit up. Whether the Northern Expedition could gain credit would be an important help.
So Feng Junhou came down enthusiastically, personally led Wang Ping to his seat, and then took out a letter from his arms, "This is a letter from Zushi to General Wang. He is far away in Yuexi and cannot come in person this time, so he entrusted me to
I brought a letter to General Wang."
Wang Ping quickly stretched out his hands to take it, with a surprised smile on his face, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Wang Ping and Wang Xun are a very interesting father and son pair.
Wang Ping was illiterate. In order to let Wang Xun become literate and study with Feng Yong, he almost emptied his family's wealth.
Later, Wang Xun followed Feng Yongdong around, and he never failed to read and write. Whenever there was news to be sent to Wang Ping, in addition to having someone deliver a verbal message, he also had to write a letter.
Since Wang Ping became the prefect of Zhu Ti, he learned from others and built an ancestral hall. I heard from Wang Xun that all the letters he wrote to adults were placed on the altar table in the ancestral hall. I don't know whether they are true or false.
Now seeing Wang Ping hiding something so precious and precious in his arms, Feng Yong felt that this was most likely true.
After returning to his seat and sitting down, Feng Yong explained to Wang Ping, "Yue Xun is busy with things, and I need Zizhi to be there to help keep an eye on it, so I can't let General Wang and his son meet this time. I hope General Wang won't be surprised.
"
"The Lord is doing this for the sake of the dog. How can I be a person who doesn't know good and evil? Speaking of which, I would like to thank the Lord."
Wang Ping said quickly.
Now that the Wang family is no better than before, there is no need for father and son to fight on the battlefield at the same time. What Feng Yong did was for the Wang family. How could Wang Ping not know?
"Zi Shi is my brother. Our two families have grown apart just by saying thank you. Speaking of which, I should call you uncle in private."
Feng Yong waved his hand.
If Zhao Guang was the first person to be bound to Feng Yong, then the Wang family was the first to be bound to the Feng family.
Before Wang Ping became the leader of the army, Feng Yong was the Wang family's greatest support.
Even after Wang Ping became the leader of the army, as long as he did not reach Feng Yong's height, the Wang family would still be Feng Yong's loyal allies.
"How dare you do this to Ping An?"
Wang Ping was so frightened that he stood up quickly.
"Uncle, please sit down."
Feng Yong clicked his tongue, "It's not a military meeting at this time, so why should we be so formal? When Wenxuan was in Nanzhong, he called you uncle. Didn't Governor Li agree?"
After Wang Ping sat down, he looked a little anxious and uneasy. The rich man who came to the city for the first time appeared again.
"Can the three thousand people my uncle brings this time be able to serve as soldiers?"
As soon as Wang Ping heard Feng Yong mentioning business, he immediately replied, "I got the order from the prime minister to draw the best from the five captains to form a flying army. I also got the help of my nephew, so I don't lack the money and food needed to train the army."
"
"These three thousand people are elites carefully selected by someone. Everyone can be a soldier."
A smile appeared on Feng Yong's face and he gave an excited high-five, "Great!"
There was some hesitation on Wang Ping's face, "It's just that when the five captains first established the flying army, the prime minister only gave them two thousand soldiers, and the remaining one thousand were considered auxiliary soldiers. The weapons they held were all short-bladed.
There are long soldiers and strong crossbows."
From this we can see how much power Zhuge Liang really delegated to Feng Yong.
Both were the chief officials of the same county, so Wang Ping could only have two thousand soldiers in his hands, but Feng Yong had several times as many soldiers as Wang Ping.
"It doesn't matter. When you get here, you won't be afraid of not having weapons, but you will be afraid that there will be too few elite soldiers."
Feng Yong said eagerly.
After Nanzhong was pacified, Zhuge Laoyao established five captains, coerced the wealthy families of Nanzhong to pay, and tried to recruit barbarians to form an army, but now most of them can only be regarded as local armies.
The Feijun in Wang Ping's hands was the first recognized professional mercenary army of the Yi people. They could receive monthly rations and pensions if they died in battle. Because they were good at walking on mountain roads and walked as fast as flying, they were called the Feijun.
Wang Ping was born as a Taoist, and the barbarians did not reject him much. Moreover, he could share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He was cautious by nature and rigorously trained. It can be said that he was the best general candidate for this army.
But Wang Ping is not Feng Yong. He does not have that much face in front of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Moreover, this army can only be regarded as an experiment in the eyes of Zhuge Lao Yao, so there are only three thousand people, and only two thousand people are allocated to the military standard.
arms.
Three days later, Zhang Ni arrived with his rear army. Feng Yong ordered him and Ju Fu to guard the camp, and he took Li Yi, Huang Chong, Wang Ping and others on horseback to Nanxiang.
Two months ago, Hanzhong cut off the Yishi market from outside, and also blocked all intersections in Hanzhong.
Nanxiang, on the other hand, entered a state of martial law a month ago. Rest breaks have been canceled in ranches, workshops, and mines in the mountains, and personnel must be guaranteed to be on duty at all times.
At the same time, outsiders are not allowed to enter the inner city of Nanxiang.
Without the consumption support in the inner city and the absence of caravans from outside, all the shops outside suddenly became depressed, and many shops even closed down.
The tense atmosphere in Hanzhong made everyone realize one thing: there was going to be a war.
One day, a deep and distant bell rang in the inner city of Nanxiang.
Many people in the outer city are a little strange. Over the past month, the bells in the inner city have been ringing from time to time, and they don't know what happened.
Li Mu, who was lowering his head to settle accounts, raised his head and sat there steadily, listening attentively.
Soon, there was a "dong" sound, and the second sound came after three breaths.
Then the third sound...
As the bells rang more and more often, Li Mu's heart beat faster and faster.
Nine blasts! Nine blasts!
The bells in Nanxiang have never rung so many times!
Li Mu dropped the pen in his hand, stood up suddenly, and shouted, "Here comes someone!"
The assistant hurried in and was about to salute, but Li Mu immediately gave the order, "Send the order to the workshop immediately, and all the managers will come and gather. No one will be left behind!"
As she said that, she pulled up her chair, rushed to the bookshelf next to her, pulled out a stack of paper, and hurried toward the door.
A shrill whistle soon sounded in the workshop, and Li Mu's assistants ran to each workshop, "Ms. Mu has an order, all the managers must assemble quickly!"
The stewards from each workshop rushed out and hurried to where Li Mu was sitting.
After a while, they all ran back to the workshop, each holding a piece of paper in their hands, and shouted to the female workers, "Everyone, gather outside!"
The female workers had rehearsed this situation countless times in the past few years. They silently stopped what they were doing, trotted out, and quickly formed a line.
"Those whose names are read out later must stay. Those whose names are not read out will be sent home immediately after being dismissed. They are not allowed to go out at will. They must be there when called. Anyone who does not obey orders will be removed from the membership!"
The steward shouted sternly, "Remember, you are deregistered and put into hard labor!"
When all the female workers heard this, their expressions were tense, and many of them felt a little relaxed: Is it finally here?
They couldn't help but keep their mouths shut, their faces solemn, they even tried to control their breathing, and stared at the steward closely, for fear of missing a word.
"This is a critical moment. You all must work together to overcome this crisis! In the past few years, Feng Langjun has given us a family, enough food and clothing, and our children can read and write. There is no other place in the world except Nanxiang!"
The steward waved his arms and said impassionedly, "Feng Langjun is our reborn parent. Without him, we would not be here today. Now he needs our help. Whatever he asks for, we will risk our lives to accomplish it!"
"promise!"
Although it was a woman's voice, the shouting out in unison was extremely sonorous and powerful, and the fighting spirit soared to the sky.
The state of emergency in the inner city soon spread to the outside. Police officers in black hats and black clothes blew whistles and ran on the streets, waving their arms rapidly to ask pedestrians on the street to return to their houses.
At the same time, teams after teams of paramedics rushed out from the inner city and cleared every corner of the street.
The rangers who have been warned long ago must rush back to Zhongyi Temple as quickly as possible, otherwise they will be regarded as miscreants and killed on the spot if they wait beyond the time limit.
The sound of horse hoofbeats came from far and near, and a group of knights came galloping, like a gust of wind, passing the Zhongyi Shrine at the intersection and rushing onto the deserted street without restraint.
The people peeking through the crack in the door exclaimed, "Who are those people? How could they make everyone in Nanxiang give way to them?"
"I heard that Prime Minister Zhuge is in Nanzheng. Could it be that he is here?"
"Definitely not. Looking at the leader, he is not very old. I guess he belongs to some powerful family. There are also those followers who look like rare elite soldiers. He should be a leader."
"Then it should be Zhao Erlang who is stationed in Ju County."
"When Erlang Zhao comes here, Nanxiang County needs to clean up the streets? I don't think so."
"That's true. Mrs. Zhang doesn't even get such treatment..."
Speaking of Miss Zhang, one person has to be mentioned.
So someone asked carefully, "Could it be him?"
"Nine times out of ten."
"What is it, nine out of ten? I think it must be!"
Someone slapped his thigh and said, "Ah! He is actually my close friend who wrote "Xia Ke Xing"! I have admired someone for a long time, but I didn't expect to miss him in person!"
"I heard that he is a descendant of a master, so he may not be able to like us..."
"You know what a donkey egg is! How many of those masters from the pre-Qin and pre-Han Dynasties were knights? Guo Jing and Zhang Wuji, which one is not a knight-errant?"
Someone yelled and cursed.
"That's right. I can't say that his master is a knight-errant, maybe he is a knight-errant! Otherwise, why would he write the article "Xia Ke Xing" specifically for the knight-errant?"
"That's the truth!"
…
Feng Yong and his men rushed directly to the county government office and then pulled the horse's head.
"Xi Yu Yu!"
The tall horse neighed loudly and stamped its hooves heavily on the ground.
"Brother!"
Li Qiu didn't wait for the horse to stop before he stepped forward and shouted excitedly.
Feng Yong got off his horse and hurried forward, "Xinhou!"
When brothers meet, they have some emotions.
"I've met my brother."
Li Mu then stepped forward and bowed Yingying.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work these past few years."
Feng Yong nodded.
"What did you say, brother? It's not hard for me to sit here in Nanxiang. But it's hard for me, brother, to travel north and south, or to go to places with plagues like Nanzhong."
Li Mu dressed up carefully. She did not wear the usual tight clothes and narrow sleeves. She wore formal clothes, a bright moon ring, and a jingle. Her eyes flashed, she stared at Feng Yong, and said softly.
"Don't talk about this, we all have our own duties."
Feng Yong waved his hand and then asked Li Qiu, "Where is Jianling Huo?"
"I'm waiting for my brother at Han Zhongye's workshop."
"Time is pressing. Madam Mu, please go back immediately to make arrangements for the woolen cloth workshop. I'll go to Han Zhongye's workshop first."
Li Mu nodded, "I understand."
Most people from outside have the illusion that the inner city is the core of Nanxiang. In fact, this is wrong.
The real core of Nanxiang is the textile workshops and Hanzhong Metallurgical Workshops behind the inner city, as well as the kilns that are always emitting black smoke.
Of course, speaking on a large scale, it should also include the pastures at the foot of Bashan Mountain and the mines in the mountains.
They are the real pillars of Nanxiang.
Feng Yong led everyone to the Hanzhong Metallurgical Workshop, where Huo Yi had been waiting, "I have seen the prince."
"No need to be polite, Inspector Huo, are you ready with what I want?"
"Going back to Junhou, I have prepared 30,000 iron bars and 300 craftsmen, waiting for the horses to arrive to install the horseshoes on the spot."
Huo Yi welcomed Feng Yong in and said, "Each of these craftsmen has worked for Nanxiang Ranch and shoed the horses of Dongfeng Express. Their skills are not unfamiliar."
As Dongfeng Express business continues to grow, the utilization rate of horses is also increasing, and more and more horses are reported damaged due to excessive wear of the hoofs.
Since Feng Yongping moved to Yuexun, built a pasture, and had a real source of horses, he began to install horseshoes on the horses used by Dongfeng Express, which was considered a small-scale experiment.
This Northern Expedition required a large number of horses to help transport grain. Feng Yong brought 5,000 horses from Yuexun in one go, and they all needed to be shoed within ten days.
"That's good." Feng Yong nodded, "What about the others?"
"Your Majesty, please follow me."
Huo Yi took Feng Yong to an open space, where several tables were set up. There were several strange-looking things on the tables, but they could still be seen to look like crossbows. There were a few soldiers waiting there.
.
"General Wang, the weapons you need are right here."
Feng Yong walked to the table, picked up a crossbow, and handed it over.
"Is this a pedal crossbow?"
Wang Ping took it and felt that this crossbow was really weird.
"It is indeed a foot-operated crossbow, but it is more convenient than ordinary foot-operated crossbows and can be used by ordinary soldiers."
The foot-operated crossbow, as the name suggests, is a powerful crossbow in which the arms of the crossbow are placed on the feet, and with the help of the power of the legs, the crossbow is straightened and kicked with both hands to pull the string. It has a long range and great power.
Even for a light crossbow that only uses arm strength to string, the stringing speed is much slower than that of a bow. This kind of foot-operated crossbow is slower and slower, and it requires relatively high strength from the user.
But the pedal crossbow in Wang Ping's hand was added by Feng Yong with a pull rod that could be pulled back and forth. The lever principle could be used to achieve the effect of winding with less effort, while also increasing the winding speed.
On the front of the crossbow, a collar is specially added, similar to a stirrup, which is convenient for stepping on when winding.
Feng Yong signaled, and soon a soldier came forward to demonstrate. He stretched the string, loaded the arrow, aimed, and buckled the hanging knife. The straw man two hundred steps away shook, and there was a crossbow arrow on it.
Excluding those sharpshooters and the theoretical maximum range, the effective killing range of ordinary archers in the army is generally about one hundred steps, and the optimal killing range is sixty steps.
But training an archer is very expensive and difficult. Not only does it require talent, but it also requires long-term and continuous training.
Moreover, for crossbows, bows and arrows have a short aiming time, cannot be charged for a long time, and require high arm strength.
The crossbow is different. It is very simple to use and does not require special skills. Crossbowmen can be quickly trained in the army.
More importantly, because the crossbow uses arm strength, waist strength, and leg strength to cock, the range of the crossbow ranges from far to near, from two hundred to twenty steps, all within the crossbow's killing range.
It can also store power and be used as an auxiliary aiming device such as a mountain to improve accuracy.
The crossbows in the army are basically pedal crossbows, which have a longer range than ordinary bows and arrows. The effective killing range is about two hundred steps, and one hundred and fifty steps is the optimal distance.
The disadvantage is that it is difficult to wind.
Therefore, why the imperial court banned crossbows but not bows? It was because crossbows were powerful but easy to use, and normal people could exert their power.
Feng Yong's improved pedal crossbow, while maintaining its power and range, added a collar to make it easier to string, and installed a lever to make it easier to string. Its firing rate is much faster than that of ordinary crossbows.
"nice one!"
Wang Ping's eyes lit up, he stepped forward to grab it and couldn't put it down.
"Compared with the crossbows in the army, this kind of crossbow can fire at least one more arrow when facing a mounted army at a distance of 150 steps. A skilled person can fire it twice."
"One time is enough!" Wang Ping praised, "One more shot for three thousand people. As long as they dare to charge over, at least two to three hundred more people will be killed or injured. If it is an infantry, then it can be three or four more times, at least
One or two thousand people fell."
"The more important thing is to save effort. The more effort you have than the opponent, the greater your chance of survival and the greater your chance of winning."
This kind of foot-operated crossbow is not much different from the crossbows used in the army today. Ordinary crossbowmen can almost use it if they have it in their hands.
The reason why Feng Yong reacted so much to Jiang Bin's disruption of Hanzhongye's production order was that he wanted to take advantage of the autonomy of the Yuexun Prefecture to let Hanzhongye build him new weapons in preparation for the Northern Expedition.
Of course, it was only after the incident of Jiang Bin's inferior sword that Feng Yong thought of fighting for it from the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty first, so as not to cause trouble for him again.
Zhuge Liang wanted to take Feng Yong with him on this Northern Expedition. The purpose was to let him gain insights and gain some experience at the same time, so he had no objection to his plan to test new weapons among the Yuexun soldiers.
Only the number of new weapons was limited to less than 5,000 people.
At the same time, the court only provided half of the money and food, and the remaining half had to be paid for by oneself.
As for a luxury item like the Purple Lightning Sword, when the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty knew the cost, he directly said, "You have to take care of it yourself. The court has no money and no food!"
In the past two years, Feng Yong has been developing new weapons at Yuexi Infrastructure and Hanzhong Metallurgical Engineering Co., Ltd., and he has continued to spend money and food, which has completely emptied the Feng family, including his mother-in-law's dowry.
At the same time, they also emptied the Wang family, Zhao Guang’s wife’s book, and Li Yi’s private money...
It can be said that this Northern Expedition was a huge gamble for Feng Yong. If he lost, he would almost lose everything.
Just as Feng Yong was preparing to test the new weapons of the Northern Expedition, there was another rumble at the intersection in Nanxiang, and a herd of horses that could not be seen on the road was rushing towards this direction.
At the same time, the seals on all the warehouse doors of Nanxiang Workshop began to be torn off, and then the doors were pushed open and the materials inside were counted.
Wooden boxes of different sizes, different sizes, but uniformly nailed together were brought out. They might contain woolen cloth, arrow feathers, or even crossbows, swords...
The various stewards took the account books, checked their own numbers, and then waved their hands, and the people below began to move them to the designated location.
In all the warehouses in Nanxiang, men and women are like hard-working worker ants, going in and out, busy.