The construction of residential buildings in Jiangzhou was in full swing, and Song Yang's gramophone was also in the research and development stage.
After a lot of hard work, a letter was finally delivered to Zhangye, the capital city of Ganzhou.
After the Liangzhou War last year, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Guazhou, Shazhou, and the Western Region in the west of Longyou became the sphere of influence of Song Xi, the king of Ganzhou.
There is no war this year, but Suzhou and Shanzhou are still firmly controlled by Luo Xin's forces.
The messenger had to go through several large circles to escape Luo Xinjun's blockade.
Looking at the letter with the words "My Brother's Personal Respect" written on it, Song Xi rubbed his temples.
The last time I met my brother Song Han was five years ago.
After the natural disaster, I thought about my brother and sent him a letter.
I got the good news that my brother is still alive.
I originally thought that the two brothers would develop together.
As a result, Luo Xin bandits broke out; Fangzhou experienced several more wars.
Instead of getting together, the two brothers were completely separated.
Nowadays, you have to be careful when sending a letter.
This letter from King Fangzhou was sent at the end of last year.
It took half a year to deliver the result to the king of Ganzhou!
The messenger also had a frustrated look on his face. If he hadn't grown up in the palace, he wouldn't have had the perseverance to deliver the letter, and he might have died on the way.
Open the letter.
First came Song Han’s greetings.
The relationship between the two brothers is really good.
Song Han also missed his brother Song Xi very much.
After talking about family ties, Song Han began to talk about things in Jiangzhou.
The King of Fangzhou went to Jiangzhou in the first half of last year.
He stayed in Jiangzhou until the autumn harvest was approaching before returning to Fangzhou.
Although it was only for a short period of three or four months.
But these three or four months completely overturned his understanding.
Jiangzhou's level of development astounded him.
It is simply unimaginable that Jiangzhou could recover to the level of Jiangzhou in just two years after the natural disaster.
Then there is the steam engine.
The boat can move without any human effort, and its speed upstream is not slow at all.
Steam spinning machines are far more efficient than manual labor, or even twice as efficient!
(At that time, Gu Fang’s improved steam spinning machine was still in progress and was not as efficient as it is now.)
Cement is used extensively and the city is clean and tidy.
The wharf is bustling with business and the factory is busy and efficient.
What surprised King Fangzhou the most was the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
Put those things in a row, and with the sound of bombardment, any enemy will be destroyed like a stone.
In the letter, King Fangzhou gave a detailed description of the Crouching Tiger Cannon, and explained its power, range, and rate of fire.
This thing is not the top secret in Jiangzhou, and Song Yang will not carry a Fangzhou king who has surrendered to him.
So it was easy for King Fangzhou to obtain these data.
In addition, in addition to artillery, there are also muskets.
Hundreds of muskets beeped and crackled, sending grass clippings flying from the scarecrow.
If this happened to someone, he would have to be beaten into a sieve.
"Tiger crouching cannon, musket!"
After reading this letter, Song Xi frowned and repeated these two words in a deep voice.
He didn't understand this, so he called his confidants to ask.
As a result, none of the trusted generals knew.
Everyone has only heard of muskets, but not muskets.
Not to mention the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
And judging from the description, it's not the same thing.
Song Xi fell silent. Song Yang had mastered an unknown weapon, which was his biggest trump card.
According to his younger brother Song Han, the squatting tiger cannon and muskets are enough to change the situation of the battle.
Continue reading the letter.
Song Han also mentioned some things about Jiangzhou's economy, education, military strength and other matters.
Except for two unknown weapons: the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Musket.
Song Xi gradually felt more relieved.
Although Jiangzhou's total military strength is nearly 150,000.
But they are scattered in various state capitals.
In peacetime, the number of troops mobilized for combat is only thirty or forty thousand at most.
And he, Song Xi, had an army of 60,000 men, not counting the Western Expeditionary Army.
If the Western Expeditionary Army is included, it would exceed 100,000.
And most of them are elite.
With these family assets, Song Xi regained some confidence.
Continue reading the letter.
Song Han said that Song Yang had swallowed up the power of the King of Suzhou, and the entire Jiangnan was in Song Yang's hands.
He also persuaded him to join Song Yang as soon as possible, and then together they could defeat Luo Xinbuchen.
Song Xi read the letter patiently.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then sealed the letter again.
"Here comes someone."
"Send this letter to Luntai to General Zhengxi!"
Song Xi summoned his cronies and gave instructions.
Now General Zhengxi's Mansion has shrunk to Luntai.
Suiye was only used as the westernmost border town and was guarded by 20,000 troops from the Western Expedition.
The reason why we withdrew was because there were signs of rebellion in the two small countries of Yingsuo and Shatuo in the Western Region last year.
In order to stabilize the Western Region and protect the area east of Suiye, Song Hui withdrew his main force to Luntai, some east of the Western Region, after repelling a Xiongnu attack.
Of course, it is also closer to the Central Plains, and the connection with Songxi in Ganzhou is much more convenient than in Suiye.
It's said to be convenient, but in fact the two places are nearly three thousand miles apart.
However, several transit stations in the middle, such as Gaochang, Yizhou, and Guazhou, have been opened and garrisoned.
The two places contacted each other quickly and it could be delivered within half a month.
Sending a letter in half a month sounds terribly slow.
However, compared with the fact that it took half a year to send a letter from Fangzhou to Ganzhou, this also shows that the connection between Ganzhou and Luntai is relatively close.
Sent a messenger.
Song Xi closed his eyes and leaned on the seat again, meditating.
He believed what his younger brother Song Han said.
Because they have a good relationship as brothers, there is no need for Song Han to lie to him for Song Yang.
The younger brother Song Han could speak about tiger squatting cannons and muskets, and praised Song Yang to everyone, which shows that he sincerely surrendered to Song Yang.
Now that his younger brother is persuading him to join Song Yang, he has to think carefully.
In fact, as early as the beginning of last year, King Fangzhou wrote a letter to Song Xi before he went to Jiangzhou.
At that time, he persuaded Song Xi to seek refuge with Song Yang.
After all, Song Yang is the direct heir to the great cadres.
But now this letter contains more content, and it even says that Song Yang's power in Jiangzhou is unmatched.
"Tiger Crouching Cannon...is it really that powerful?" Song Xi Didi said to herself.
He was always undecided about whether to seek refuge with Song Yang.
He had the support of the Western Army.
If it were before, he would definitely not have thought of taking refuge in Song Yang.
Just like the previous letter.
And now.
Song Han mentioned the Tiger Crouching Cannon as an artifact, and Song Xi couldn't help but ignore it.
The city walls have collapsed, is the cavalry really useful?
Song Xi couldn't make up his mind, so as soon as he read the letter, he sent it to Song Hui in Luntai.
Song Hui has rich combat experience and his grasp of the situation is more accurate than him.
How to face Song Yang later, we still need to listen to Song Hui's opinion on this matter.
Song Hui is his staunch supporter and will definitely help him fight for it if something can be done.
Of course, if it is not possible, he will definitely be allowed to follow the general trend.
After all, Song Yang is also a member of the Song family.
He is the orthodox direct descendant of Da Qian, even Song Yang who finally took refuge in him.
At least my current status is guaranteed.
At the end of July, after a month of waiting.
Song Hui's reply arrived.
But it's not a letter.
"Old minister Song Hui, pay homage to the prince!"
Song Hui, who received Song Han's letter, came back from Luntai in person!
"Why is the old general back? Could it be that something happened in the Western Region?"
Song Hui ran back by himself, which surprised Song Xi.
He thought the Huns were coming.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, there is nothing going on in the Western Region. I came back because of my faith."
Song Hui said and took out the letter from his arms.
"Ah...this..."
Song Xi was stunned, but he didn't expect Song Hui to pay so much attention to it.
"Your Majesty, the Crouching Tiger Cannon mentioned in the letter should be a firearm similar to the Burst Musket. But it is larger and more powerful." Song Hui looked solemn.
After traveling thousands of miles, he didn't even take a break when he arrived, and went straight to the topic, which shows how much Song Hui attaches importance to this.
"The sudden musket? I know it. It seems that there is one in the army, but the power of that thing is really average." Song Xi said in confusion.
There was a master in the Ganzhou army who knew how to make gunpowder, but his gunpowder ratio was entirely problematic.
It's not realistic to kill someone with this kind of gunpowder.
"My lord, I don't know. When the old minister and the late king followed the late emperor to fight against the barbarians in the southwest, they met a Taoist priest in Chengdu."
"The Taoist priest also knows the art of gunpowder. The Taoist priest once said that the formula of gunpowder is not perfect. If a perfect gunpowder formula can be made, it will definitely be able to exert great power."
Song Hui recalled the past events and told them bit by bit.
Gunpowder itself is also a product of Taoist alchemy.
So many Taoist priests understand this.
The Taoist priest Song Hui and the others met in their early years was one of the best.
"The Taoist priest said that he had devoted himself to research for many years and developed a new gunpowder that is much more powerful than the gunpowder we use now!"
"Old general, where is that Taoist priest? Why didn't you see more powerful gunpowder used in my army later?" Song Xi asked urgently.
If he could get that kind of gunpowder, it would be possible to make something like the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
"Dead! Alas! The rebellion in the southwest was extremely tense at the beginning. In order to quell the rebellion, the late emperor had no choice but to let the Taoist priest listen to the order in Chengdu."
"But there was a plague in Chengdu that year. By the time His Majesty put down the rebellion and returned to Chengdu, the Taoist priests had already died of the plague..."
Song Hui recalled with regret.
"Dead? Oh, that's such a pity." Song Xi also felt depressed.
"So Your Majesty! Lao Chen suspects that Jiangzhou may have obtained the Taoist priest's formula, or there may be similar capable people who have improved the gunpowder!" Song Hui suddenly raised his head and looked at Song Xi and said.
"Ah?" Song Xi was stunned, not expecting this.
"Your Majesty, if the power of the Crouching Tiger Cannon is really as stated in the letter, it must have increased the power of the gunpowder!"
"This weapon... is almost impossible to match!"
Song Hui is worthy of being a veteran of the battlefield, and his knowledge of thermal weapons far exceeds Song Xi's.
So when he learned that Jiangzhou might have mastered this amazingly powerful weapon, he immediately ran back to Zhangye from Luntai, thousands of miles away.
"Then...then what should we do now?" Song Xi was a little panicked.
If Song Yang really possesses this kind of murder weapon, then he really has no chance of winning, and his original ambition to peek at the artifact has turned into a fatal disaster.
"Your Majesty, the top priority is to send people to make a detour to Jiangzhou to find out the reality of Jiangzhou. If there is really an invincible weapon... Your Majesty, you will always be the Prince!"
Song Hui stared at Song Xi and said.
If given the opportunity to help Song Xi rise to power, Song Hui would be very willing.
But if nothing can be done, Song Hui must keep Song Xi's current status.
At that time, they will join Jiangzhou with the Western Army.
With the support of the Western Expeditionary Army, Song Xi would definitely gain great benefits.