Xu Zizhen was shocked by what Master Zhong said. He stared at He Liangliang with his eyes wide open, and after a long time he said in amazement: "Liangliang, this artillery rocket was...did you make it? When did you become so good at playing with gunpowder?
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He Liangliang said a little coyly: "When I stole the gunpowder that time, I didn't give it all to you. I kept some for myself and planned to make some firecrackers. Then...then you left, and I just thought about it when I had nothing to do.
The fire gourd you made is something new."
Meng Du also laughed and added: "This new thing scares us. I, Old Meng, have never seen explosive iron bombs, let alone exploded feather arrows."
Xu Zizhen was surprised and happy. He Liangliang was really talented. He could figure out explosive shells at this age. As for the rocket, although it was still a bit crude, it was extremely powerful for a poor boy like him who was born as a thief.
Rarely, he went to the fort out of curiosity, wanting to see with his own eyes what the structure of the bomb was.
As soon as he reached the key point, he was stunned by the scene in front of him. The door was in a mess, and there were charred and burned traces everywhere. Needless to say, this was naturally the ultimate artillery of the Xixia Army, which is what Xu Zizhen said.
What was strange about the consequences of the fireball truck was that although the ground was covered in charred black, the long line of artillery in the distance was unharmed.
He took a closer look and saw that the gun barrels and gun mounts of the artillery were tied with sacks. Some of the sacks were damaged, revealing the thick yellow sand wrapped in them. At this moment, he suddenly woke up and couldn't help but clap his hands.
Praising: "What a great move, who came up with this?"
He Liangliang said with some embarrassment: "It's me too... One time I almost set fire to the forest next to my house when I was playing with gunpowder. There were no rivers or wells nearby. In a hurry, I made a dustpan of sand and threw it at it.
, and later I learned that sand can put out fires and is more effective than water pipes."
Xu Zizhen was really surprised this time. He Liangliang even figured out how to use sand to put out fires. In his opinion, he was really a genius playing with fire. He laughed and said: "Oil is very powerful, you have to think about it."
If you come up with this method to extinguish the fire, if you just pour it with water, it can't be extinguished. If you don't become an artilleryman, your talent will be wasted."
He spoke smoothly, but the grower next to him heard it clearly and asked unexpectedly: "Is that called oil? I don't know how you got it?"
"This..." The corner of Xu Zizhen's mouth twitched. This little kind of husband is really difficult to deal with. You have to be careful when talking to him, otherwise he will hear something. Thinking of this, he quickly said, "Haha."
I just heard about it when I was in Xixia... Where are the cannonballs? Let me take a look first."
The master looked at him with a half-smile but did not ask any more questions. Xu Zizhen breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly to the cannon. A soldier had already handed him a cannonball.
As soon as Xu Zizhen took the cannonball, he couldn't help being surprised again. The cannonball was still a round iron lump, but there was a hole the size of a copper coin on the surface. The eye was sealed tightly with yellow mud, and there was a long stick hanging outside.
Fuse, obviously the shell is hollow and contains gunpowder.
He held the cannonball for a long time, and already understood the principle of explosion. He Liangliang used a simple method, which was to use the barrel of the cannon to eject the cannonball, and light the fuse of the cannonball while firing. In this way, it would be easy to wait for the cannonball to land.
It's almost ready to explode.
He had seen that rocket outside the customs. Although it was a crude method, it was still ingenious. He sincerely praised: "Liang Liang... How did you get this shell?"
Wen Chengyan smiled and said, "Did you forget Blacksmith Tang?"
Xu Zizhen suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "There really is no iron weapon that my Uncle Tang can't hit. I'll have to have a few drinks with him later." After saying this, he turned around and winked at Bu Fen, "Brother Bu, my...
Uncle Tang is the one who made the fire gun. I will introduce you to him when the time comes... Hey, Brother Bu, how about I let Uncle Tang work harder and give each of the brothers a shot for fun?"
Bu Fen looked at him with a smile but not a smile: "If you keep your word, my brothers and I will follow you from now on."
Xu Zizhen was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "Brother Bu, are you serious?"
Bu Fen proudly said: "I, Big Beard, tell the truth, and no one on the northwest road knows it."
Xu Zizhen clapped his hands: "Then it's settled, at worst, I, Uncle Tang, will be so tired that he vomits blood!"
Han Shizhong suddenly said: "How unlucky are your relatives? Then I don't dare to be your fifth brother."
Everyone burst out laughing again. Wen Chengyan had already arranged the meal. Xu Zizhen and others arrived at the Guanhou Camp talking and laughing. Wen Xian was very considerate and returned to Lanzhou City early without disturbing Xu Zizhen and everyone's gathering. This couldn't help but
Xu Zizhen was moved again.
War can start at any time, so no wine was prepared for this meal. Even Han Shizhong rarely mentioned this. Before everyone sat down, Xu Zizhen suddenly waved his hand and said seriously: "Wait a minute!" He picked up the teapot on the table and filled his mouth with wine.
He poured a cup all over the floor and said in a deep voice, "I will use tea instead of wine to pay tribute to those brothers who failed to enter the customs!" After saying this, he turned over his hand and slowly sprinkled the tea on the ground.
There was a sudden silence in the camp. In the battle outside the pass, Bu Fen's horse thieves brothers lost more than 70 people, and Han Shizhong's 3,000 Song cavalry also lost more than 100 people. Although the Xixia people paid a higher price, in Xu Zizhen's view,
These are all brothers, brothers who sacrificed their lives to save him.
Bu Fen was the second to pick up the tea cup, poured the tea on the ground, and said softly: "Brothers, have a safe journey, my brother will avenge you!"
Han Shizhong's eyes were red and he said nothing. He also poured a full cup and sprinkled it on the ground. Liu Fengsui, He Liangliang, among the cultivators, Wen Chengyan... everyone stood silently, with solemn expressions.
The officers and soldiers outside the camp all heard it clearly and were all moved by it. Three thousand Song cavalry dared to charge directly at the army outside the pass, and the horse thieves even copied it directly from the rear of the Xixia army. This courage and courage made them admire them extremely.
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Xu Zizhen picked up the teapot and took a sip. Suddenly he strode outside the camp, pulled out the blunderbuss, lit the fuse, fired a shot into the sky, and shouted to the sky: "Brothers, have a good journey!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly bent his legs and knelt down on the ground, and kowtowed three times in the direction outside the pass.
The officers and soldiers in Guan Nei witnessed this scene. They all knelt down on one knee and shouted in unison: "Brothers, have a good journey!"
The roar was as loud as the sky and spread to the sky in the whistling north wind. At this moment, everyone felt that a wave of hot blood was pouring out from the depths of their hearts and flowing to every corner of their bodies.
Xu Zizhen stood up in excitement, turned back to look at Wen Chengyan, and said word by word: "Sir, I want to lead the troops!"