Xu Shu read the "Book of Five Wheels" and gradually became focused. This concentration naturally relaxed. As soon as he relaxed... he directly put his feet on the chair, as if he was on the street, sitting half-crossed and half-legged.
After drinking some tea, he slapped the table and said, "Okay! Your Majesty, this sentence is exactly what I thought!"
Then he hurriedly remembered the current situation, and stood up in embarrassment to apologize to Bai Tu...
"It doesn't matter, Yuan Zhi is a man of true temperament... Now our country of Chu is in the ascendant at home, and is surrounded by tigers and leopards outside. It is the time when we are thirsty for talents. I want to sweep a peaceful and prosperous age for the people of the world, and bring peace and prosperity to the world.
I want to find a place to show my talents, I wonder if Yuan Zhi is willing to join Chu and serve as an official?" Bai Tu took advantage of the situation and extended the invitation.
"I was young and ridiculous, but I can't say I have any regrets if I can live up to myself. Later, I received many good teachers and friends who would not give up on me. I achieved a small success in my studies. Now I am supported by your Majesty, who will not give up on me. I hope that the rest of my life will be worthy of the world!" After hearing this, Xu Shu stood up from his chair.
Get up and bow formally.
Xu Shu had always been interested in Bai Tu, otherwise he wouldn't have shown up before.
Later, he and Bai Tu had a harmonious relationship and accepted Bai Tu's gift of a book. At this time, there was no reason to refuse.
"Okay! Since Yuan Zhi has the ability to break formations on the battlefield, he was naturally appointed by the Privy Council. In addition... I have a private task that I want to give to Yuan Zhi." Bai Tu said seriously.
When Xu Shu heard about the Privy Council appointment, he was told by one word, but he specifically emphasized the latter. Even if he didn't mention the official title, he knew that this was a real important responsibility!
"I would like to share your worries for the king." Xu Shu said with high morale.
"The Ministry of Industry...this task involves the confidentiality of the Ministry of Industry. Does Yuan Zhi have any family members to arrange for?" Bai Tu asked in a prompt manner.
Xu Shu also heard that the Ministry of Industry is the most confidential department in Chu State, and if it involves some secret projects, the participants must have close relatives in Chu State.
In comparison, even the generals leading the army under the Privy Council are not as particular as the Ministry of Works...
"My mother is still at Yingchuan Changshe, but I don't know if she can be brought back now." Xu Shu was worried when he mentioned his mother.
After all, this was the Eastern Han Dynasty, and transportation on the road was extremely inconvenient, especially during troubled times. There might not necessarily be rebels and bandits in any mountain or valley. Ordinary people could not just move far away.
Xu Shu hoped in his heart that after serving in Chu State, he could take his mother back to Chu State to enjoy her old age in peace, but...
"Yingchuan Changshe? Don't worry about that. You can write a letter to your court later, and I will contact King Wei for the rest." Bai Tu nodded clearly. This was something Bai Tu had already prepared for.
After all, Xu Shu's most well-known deed is not that he defeated Cao Ren, but that because his mother was in the hands of Cao Cao, he had to say goodbye to Liu Bei and was not reused after entering Cao Cao's camp.
Two of them are: one is that during the Changbanpo Great Escape, Xu Shu’s mother was captured by Cao Jun because she was walking behind with the people; the other is that Xu’s mother never came to Jingzhou with Xu Shu from the beginning, so she was a “single blessing”
Xu Shu's identity was discovered by Cheng Yu, a fellow countryman of Xu Shu, so Cao Cao used the name of Xu Shu's mother to kidnap Xu Shu back.
No matter which way you say it, Cao Cao did something very low-status. In terms of the mainstream values of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it seemed very low-status to threaten the civil and military relatives who were under his control and under the command of other princes.
After all, nowadays, it is also the case that brothers, even father and son, serve different princes respectively.
Especially for aristocratic families, it is very common for them to surrender separately. This kind of threat breaks the rules.
The State of Chu has special regulations only for the most confidential departments of the Ministry of Industry. All personnel involved must have close relatives in the State of Chu to reduce the risk of leaks.
The only way Cao Cao could hide his shame in doing this was that he was representing the imperial court in conquering Xu Shu.
But now Bai Tu is not worried that Cao Cao will not give him this face...
Not to mention Cao Cao's current situation, it is decided that he will be much closer to Bai Tuhui now. Besides...Cao Pi is still in Jinling now!
Bai Tu was still very righteous. He was about to send Cao Bang, who was his brother-in-law and sworn sworn brother, back to Xu County. Cao Cao would never detain the relatives of Chu officials at this time.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your success... I just don't understand. According to the Ministry of Industry, they should all be skilled craftsmen or knowledgeable people, right? I don't seem to have any expertise in this area..." Xu Shu sighed in relief, but also felt a little puzzled.
asked.
"Hahaha, naturally Yuan Zhi is not asked to serve in the Ministry of Industry, but the Ministry of Industry will develop some new armaments in the future, which are different from ordinary swords, bows and crossbows. At that time, someone will be needed to give these new armaments new tactical positions." Bai Tu
He said it in general in a vague way.
Not only muskets, but also cold weapons such as heavy cavalry - once the stamping machine appears, and with the current steel production, plate armor can be directly mass-produced. By then...even if it will eventually be eliminated, it can be exported to the outside world.
Chu State will not fight any major wars in the next five years... Unless the situation changes drastically, small-scale conflicts may break out at the ports of Qingzhou and Youzhou, and even on the Seafood Peninsula, with hundreds or thousands of people killed.
Heavy cavalry can be used as a decisive force.
As for whether it will be wasted?
Bai Tu felt that before he eliminated the heavy cavalry, he could easily sell plate armor and the like to others.
Moreover, heavy cavalry is different from muskets. If someone imitates Chu's heavy cavalry, Bai Tu will be very happy that they go astray - to Chu, three or two thousand plate armor is just a sprinkle of water, even if it is just for "misleading"
The effect is also profitable, not to mention that although plate armor is powerless against breech-loaded guns, breastplate-type body armor appeared in Germany during World War I, which can be regarded as a continuation of plate armor...
Muskets are merely used as an upgraded version of bows and arrows, or armored heavy cavalry is used as an upgraded version of cavalry, both of which fall into the category of "doing twice the result with half the effort".
Like muskets, heavy cavalry also has its own tactics...
Just like the Liaodong cavalry in the middle and late Ming Dynasty - Li Chengliang did not conquer Liaodong with military techniques and battle formations.
If the heavy cavalry is really used as an enhanced version of the cavalry, it will not be able to exert its power.
Not to mention that the Ministry of Industry also has many magical gadgets...
After Qi machines gradually became practical, various trial and error products emerged one after another, and some of them may not be practical.
Because of the differences in Cheng Ji's world, Baitu also encourages this kind of "trial and error".
In addition to the big projects led by Pang Tong, Yu Ji, and Huang Yueying, there are also many "interesting" small projects in operation.
However, in order for this kind of trial-and-error innovation to be more reliable, Baitu also needs some trusted generals who can provide targeted opinions to the Ministry of Industry in terms of tactical command. After all, most of the skilled craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry do not understand the real battlefield.
Although Bai Tu spoke vaguely, Xu Shu could tell that he was being asked to be a tactical pioneer. It was easy to imagine the heavy responsibility and trust involved, and he was even more moved and moved.
"As for the arrangement of the Privy Council... I won't get involved for now. Later, when Privy Envoy Lu comes back, Yuan Zhi might as well present it himself." Bai Tu had the idea in his mind of letting Xu Shu simulate the battlefield with Lu Bu.