Let's not talk about Zhao Hongrun's side. Wen Qi, one of Zhao Hongrun's appointed think tanks, was humiliated by Lu'er, the chief steward of the palace, in Prince Su's palace.
On that day, Zhao Hongrun came to the Metallurgical Bureau early because the craftsmen of the Metallurgical Bureau had successively translated the contents of "The Secret Record of Lu Gong".
Secondly, the Smelting Bureau researched and made a quite terrifying war weapon. Zhao Hongrun ordered this war weapon to be a "sniper crossbow".
The sniper crossbow, as the name suggests, is a long-range powerful crossbow used to snipe specific targets. It sacrifices a certain amount of loading time, but the range and power are greatly improved.
If this war weapon were popularized and used to shoot enemy infantry, it would be unrealistic and inconsistent with the original intention of the design, because the original intention of the design was to snipe enemy commanders and generals.
Although this move is despicable, there is nothing despicable on the battlefield. As the saying goes, the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy. In order to win the Wei army, Zhao Hongrun did not mind using any means.
However, the only fly in the ointment is that the prototype sniper crossbow presented to Zhao Hongrun was almost as big as a small bed crossbow, which made Zhao Hongrun very dissatisfied.
After all, sniping is all about concealment, aiming to kill the enemy's commander by surprise in a battle.
If such a huge thing was being carried around, how could the enemy commander not notice it if he was not a fool?
However, since this was the initial test sample, Zhao Hongrun didn't say anything more.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun and his team were standing in the empty school grounds of the Metallurgical Bureau, a place specially used by the Metallurgical Bureau to test the power of long-range weapons.
In the distance, a dozen craftsmen from the Smelting Bureau had erected a wooden man as a target.
It is said to be a wooden man, but in fact, this wooden man is wearing a set of armor. I believe that the soldiers and generals of the Sixth Battalion of the Garrison would go crazy if they came here, because this set of armor is exactly what the Sixth Battalion of the Garrison wore last year.
The new armor has just been replaced.
Yes, all the war weapons of the Metallurgical Bureau are tested with the country's latest weapons and equipment as imaginary enemies. It is no wonder that the Metallurgical Bureau has been listed as a key protection target by the military, because once this kind of thing spreads,
It will inevitably pose a great threat to Wei's army.
After getting ready, more than a dozen craftsmen retreated one after another, leaving only one of them. After waving the red flag in his hand vigorously a few times, this person quickly retreated to both sides.
"Your Highness."
Wang Fu, director of the Metallurgical and Manufacturing Bureau, who accompanied Zhao Hongrun to the test, bowed his head and asked Zhao Hongrun for instructions.
Zhao Hongrun raised his head and glanced into the distance. Seeing that the dozen craftsmen had quickly moved away from the wooden man, he nodded and said, "Let's get started."
"Yes!" Wang Fu cupped his hands.
Seeing this, the two craftsmen operating the sniper crossbow skillfully loaded the crossbow arrows made of fine iron. The time required to load the crossbow arrows made Zhao Hongrun secretly shake his head.
"Aim...shoot!"
With the slogan, the first attempt begins.
However, the result was a huge disappointment to Zhao Hongrun, because the crossbow arrow did not touch the edge of the wooden man at all, but fell deeply into the school paddock, a full three to four feet away from the wooden man.
"There are still some problems with accuracy..."
Wang Fu, director of the Metallurgical Bureau, explained to Zhao Hongrun with a stern expression.
Shaking his head secretly, Zhao Hongrun said expressionlessly: "Continue."
Therefore, the two craftsmen who operated the sniper crossbow spent a lot of time loading the crossbow arrows. Zhao Hongrun estimated that the time was more than twice that of loading the crossbow arrows for the serial crossbow.
This eliminates the possibility of using this item as an "anti-war weapon", and its effect is far behind that of Lu's mechanical crossbow box.
Fortunately, the weapon in this matter was not a "weapon against soldiers" but a "weapon against generals". Otherwise, Zhao Hongrun would have walked away long ago.
"Bang--"
On the second try, the sniper crossbow's arrow still failed to hit the target, but its power made Zhao Hongrun's face look a little better.
After all, in these two rounds of shooting, the two crossbow bolts were firmly embedded in the solid brick wall in the distance after flying more than 300 steps.
Director Wang Fu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and urged the two craftsmen to load the crossbow arrows again.
In fact, not only was he anxious, but all the craftsmen and officials of the Metallurgical Bureau who were watching were extremely anxious. After all, today they were testing the new weapons of their Metallurgical Bureau in front of His Highness. If they did not perform well, how could they be worthy of His Highness?
Strong support for the Smelting Bureau?
Perhaps everyone's prayers had an effect, so that in the third round of testing, the crossbow bolt fired by the sniper crossbow really hit the target. There was only a loud bang in the distance, and the sniper crossbow that was erected on the
The wooden figure on the ground was completely knocked away, as if it had been hit by a giant hammer, flying back three to five feet.
"So powerful..."
Zhao Hongrun's eyes lit up and he immediately ordered the test to stop and walked towards the wooden man in the distance.
The bystanders who were watching the test immediately followed.
When he came near the wooden man, Zhao Hongrun saw at first glance that the armor on the wooden man was actually penetrated by the crossbow arrow, but for some unknown reason, the crossbow arrow was stuck in it.
Zhao Hongrun was not surprised by this. After all, there were several very "despicable" designs on the crossbow arrow, one of which was a barb.
In other words, an enemy general who is hit by such a crossbow bolt should not even think about pulling out the crossbow bolt from the front, unless the opponent can endure the intense pain and pull the crossbow bolt out from behind.
However, in the melee, the enemy general who was hit by this crossbow bolt had no way to pull out the crossbow bolt from his back alone. Therefore, in a sense, this design also increased the fatality rate——
Another "despicable" design of the bleeding groove on this crossbow arrow will quickly weaken the general and lead to death.
"It's...successful!"
"Succeeded..."
The craftsmen and officials of the Smelting Bureau behind Zhao Hongrun celebrated in a low voice, and couldn't help but show a bit of joy on their faces.
Because they noticed that the originally expressionless face of His Highness Prince Su in front of them gradually showed a hint of satisfaction.
Indeed, Zhao Hongrun was very satisfied. After all, this new weapon was really powerful. In front of it, the new armor that Wei had just updated last year was as fragile as paper.
The military armor of the Wei State is still like this, let alone other countries?
Looking at the whole world, only Qilu can surpass Wei in the smelting technology of military armor. Even South Korea in the north is inferior, let alone Chu.
Killer weapon!
That sniper crossbow is definitely a killer weapon on the battlefield!
The only problem is that the accuracy of this weapon is not high enough, but Zhao Hongrun doesn't care. After all, this is just the initial test sample. As long as there is enough time, the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau will gradually develop the second generation.
The accuracy of the third-generation sniper crossbow will naturally improve gradually.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun said with satisfaction: "All participants will be rewarded with three months' subsidies!"
"Whoa whoa!"
Hearing Zhao Hongrun's words, the nearby craftsmen and officials couldn't help but cheer, not only because they had received extra rewards, but also because they had received the affirmation of His Highness Prince Su.
After finishing the test of the sniper crossbow, Zhao Hongrun returned to the front yard of the Smelting Bureau and checked the translation of "The Secret Records of Lu Gong".
To be honest, there are not many war weapons recorded in the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" that Zhao Hongrun can see. In fact, there are only a dozen items. After all, too many of these war weapons have been eliminated long ago.
What Zhao Hongrun values is only the test data of various weapons in "Lu Gong's Secret Records", the classification of ores, and some scientific basis that the contemporary world has not yet summarized and classified.
For example, the principle of leverage and the labor-saving principle of gears are the real essence of "The Secret Records of Lu Gong".
However, it is worth mentioning that in the "Utensils Chapter" of "Lu Gong Mi Lu", there are many civilian designs that interest Zhao Hongrun, such as plows for plowing, bucket water trucks, etc.
Zhao Hongrun believes that these civilian agricultural tools should be vigorously advocated. After all, the craftsmanship and technology of Wei's agricultural tools is more than decades behind Lu's.
Now that there is a better design of farm tools, Zhao Hongrun naturally wants to vigorously advocate it.
The problem is that most of Wei's farming technology is still at the level of manual hoeing. Those poor farmers may not be willing to spend money to buy plows. After all, the value of a set of plows is not high for them.
Philippines.
Furthermore, the number of cattle in Wei State is also a problem. Even if sheep from Sanchuan are introduced to increase the number, it will not be enough to promote it throughout the country.
Of course, the biggest problem is that with Zhao Hongrun's current influence, he cannot get county magistrates across the country to follow his initiative and change Wei's original human farming method.
"How about promoting it in Shangshui County first?"
Zhao Hongrun bared his teeth and secretly took a breath of air.
Because he knew that he was going to lose money again.
Just when Zhao Hongrun was thinking about this matter, Zongwei Gao Kuo hurriedly came out, cupped his hands and said solemnly: "Your Highness, something big has happened."
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Gao Kuo in confusion, frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"
Gao Kuo took two steps forward and whispered in Fu'er's ear: "Master Zhou Yan, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, is missing."
"What?" Zhao Hongrun looked at Gao Kuo with shock on his face, and there seemed to be a line written on his face: Are you kidding?
"It's true." Gao Kuo whispered: "According to Mr. Zhou's wife, Zhou Shangshu never returned to the mansion two days ago. Mrs. Zhou originally thought that Mr. Zhou was visiting a friend's house, but after waiting for two consecutive days
After not seeing her for two days and nights, Mrs. Zhou became anxious
So he sent people from the government to the Ministry of Justice to inquire. As a result, he learned that Zhou Shangshu had not been to the Ministry of Justice in the past two days and had lost his whereabouts... At present, His Majesty has ordered the closure of all the gates of the capital and ordered soldiers to guard them.
The guards went from house to house searching the whole city."
"..." Zhao Hongrun was dumbfounded and had a vague premonition in his heart, but after thinking about it, he shook his head to deny the speculation in his heart.
You must know that Zhou Yan was the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and a veritable important minister in the court. Who would have the courage to harm such an important minister in the court?
However, this time, Zhao Hongrun guessed wrong.
At dusk that night, a team of soldiers found the body of Zhou Yan, the Minister of Punishment, in a canal in the west of the city.
After learning about this incident, Emperor Wei was furious and immediately ordered the governors of various city gates in Daliang to blockade the royal city, and ordered several government offices including the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Bingwei Mansion, and General Mansion to jointly track down the murderer.
After all, in the past hundred years of Wei State, no minister-level official had ever been killed.