Although Cao Wei had accepted the petition earlier, he knew that Kou Zhun and the others would sooner or later disband the Xiang army in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and he also knew that the warriors would not be able to escape this disaster.
But when things come to an end, it is inevitable that some sadness will arise in my heart.
I think back when the Song Dynasty was founded, the Wuxun family was so glorious.
Who among those civil servants should not bow their heads when they see them?
How could those scholars be as aloof as they are today? They were like servants, stopping them in the street, kneeling in front of them, and submitting their articles.
As long as they show a smile, those scholars will be happy and confused.
How is it like now, when martial artists have no glory, but they are suppressed and targeted everywhere.
"Farewell..."
Cao Wei stood up, cupped his hands, and left the Kou Mansion in some dejection.
Kou Ji looked at Cao Wei's leaving figure and sighed secretly.
No matter how miserable other martial artists were, he would not feel any pity in his heart.
But facing Cao Wei, he couldn't be hard-hearted.
Cao Wei is a famous general who has fought for the Song Dynasty for decades.
He is different from those proud soldiers with meritorious service.
Ever since he became an official, he has been working hard and working hard for the Song Dynasty like an old cow.
Even if you are seriously ill, there is no time to stop.
Still in accordance with the order of the late emperor Zhao Heng, he was stationed at the border.
If Kou Ji's appearance hadn't disrupted the original trajectory of the Song Dynasty, he might have been running for the Song Dynasty until his death.
"You are obviously not suitable to fight for power, but you are forced to participate in the fight for power. It is also difficult for you..."
Kou Ji sighed secretly, stood up and left the side hall.
Cao Wei got the news from Kou Ji and discussed it with Li Zhaoliang after returning.
The Cao and Li families immediately waved their flags.
No more fighting with Zhu Neng.
Without the support of the Cao and Li families.
Wu Xun's voice shouting in the court hall was obviously weaker.
Ma Yuanfang took this opportunity to write to the imperial court, asking the imperial court to depose the generals as supervisors of the power to forge ordnance, which dealt a painful blow to the military heroes.
Don't wait for the martial arts heroes to react.
The civil servants in the court followed suit and petitioned to depose the general from his power to oversee the forging of ordnance.
For a time, everyone in charge of the prison was shouting to be beaten.
Kou Zhun and the other three did not give the warriors a chance to fight back. With the condemnation of the officials, they deprived themselves of the power to supervise the casting of ordnance and handed it over to the Ministry of Industry.
Kou Ji got his wish and got the power to supervise the casting of ordnance.
There was great joy throughout the Ministry of Works.
In the prison, the general was wailing all over the place.
After the general's power to forge ordnance was taken away.
The superintendent was hanged in his house by order of the school.
Regarding this.
No one shows mercy, both in the government and in the public sector.
The struggle for power has always been bloody.
It will not stop because of the life or death of an insignificant person.
The warlords were defeated miserably in the battle for power as generals and supervisors, and they hid in their houses one by one and refused to go out.
The civil servants celebrated as if they had won a battle.
However.
They haven't been celebrating for long.
Ma Yuanfang once again petitioned the court to depose the general as the supervisor, return the power of the right school office and the Zhen office to the Ministry of Works, and transfer the power of the left school office to the Shaofu supervisor.
He will be the right school office in the prison and the official office in Zhen, both of which are in charge of casting, and they are in charge of casting related to people's livelihood.
The powers of the Zuo School Office are somewhat overlapping with those of the Shaofu Superintendent, and they are in charge of the casting of certain necessities in the palace.
Ma Yuanfang's petition can be considered reasonable.
However, this move touched the interests of some civil servants.
How could the civil servants agree?
The civil servants had just defeated Wu Xun and were in the limelight.
Facing Ma Yuanfang's petition, he decisively wrote a letter to refute it.
Seeing this, the martial artists decisively wrote in support of Ma Yuanfang.
If they were harmed while they were in prison, how could they let those civil servants enjoy the benefits of being in prison?
Although Ma Yuanfang submitted a letter, it harmed the interests of the martial artists.
But this does not prevent them from helping Ma Yuanfang to deal with civil servants.
For a moment, the civil and military officials in the court were in a knot again.
hurting each other.
But Kou Ji, the instigator, had no intention of paying attention to their fight.
The Ministry of Industry has obtained one of the core powers of forging ordnance. Now that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are at loggerheads, Kou Ji can take the opportunity to implement the power of forging ordnance.
The forging iron workshop in Ruisheng Village has been working day and night since it received permission from the inner court to extract iron materials from the Third Division.
During this period, more than a dozen blast furnaces were built.
In addition to being supplied to the Ministry of Industry for making farm tools, most of the forged steel is stored in the warehouse in the workshop.
Under the guidance of Chen Jing, the door of the warehouse where the steel materials were stored was opened.
Zhu Neng, who was standing at the door, was stunned.
"This...this...so many..."
Looking at the neatly stacked steel in the warehouse, which looked like silver ingots, Zhu Neng secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said in shock.
Kou Ji stood next to Zhu Neng, looking at the steel in the warehouse, and said with a hint of disgust: "It's still too little..."
Zhu Neng stared at Kou Ji and growled: "With this warehouse, your Ruisheng Village has ten forging iron workshops. All of them can be forged into weapons and armor, which can equip two hundred thousand people."
Soldiers and horses.
Is this enough for you?"
Kou Ji stared at Zhu Neng and corrected him seriously: "It's the Ruishengzhuang Forging Steel Workshop!"
"What's the difference?"
Zhu Neng asked.
Kou Ji nodded and said: "Of course there is a difference! Although steel is made of iron, it is already out of the category of iron. We can't always let you keep calling for new materials.
In order to distinguish it from other iron materials, I call it steel."
Zhu Neng waved his hands and shouted: "What do you want to call it? You answer my question first."
Kou Ji laughed softly and said: "Steel is very useful. It can not only be used to forge weapons and armor, but also other things. The amount is naturally large. So I say that the steel stored here is not enough.
Just for the two Dragon God Guards under your command, half of their stock will be used to replace the armaments this time.
Not to mention the other imperial guards of our Song Dynasty."
When Zhu Neng heard this, he stared at Kou Ji warily and said, "We agreed in advance that when you can use these new materials to make weapons and armor, you will first help my Dragon God's two guards to make them."
Kou Ji nodded and said with a smile: "Of course... I will take you to see the place where weapons and armor are made."
Zhu Neng nodded without hesitation.
Kou Ji took Zhu Neng and walked around the warehouse to the forging workshop by the Wuzhang River.
As soon as I arrived outside the workshop, I saw two shirtless men dragging one person around to the back of the forging workshop.
"This is……"
Zhu Neng asked Kou Ji with some doubts.
Kou Ji smiled lightly and said nothing.
Chen Jing said with a smile on the side: "Since the steel forged in our steel forging workshop became famous in Bianjing City, people have often spied on it. It's just that the Ministry of Industry has always been very strict about the methods of forging steel, so those who peep
People have never been able to get it.
In addition, the imperial court has issued new laws, and the method of forging steel has been classified as a secret.
So for those who peek, it becomes even more difficult for them to peek.
Some of them gave up on the idea of forging steel and settled for the next best thing, focusing on making tools out of steel."
Hearing this, Zhu Neng squinted his eyes and pondered: "Do they want to learn how to use steel to make tools from Ruishengzhuang, and then buy the plowshares from the people, re-melt them, and forge other things?"
Chen Jing nodded slowly.
It has been several months since spring plowing, and the number of plows promoted by the people has increased instead of decreasing.
Half of the people in Ruisheng Village knew what was fishy about it.
Chen Jing first discovered the clues about this matter and sent someone to tell Kou Ji.
After Kou Ji sent people to investigate, he confirmed Chen Jing's statement.
So a ban was placed in the forging workshop, and more than a dozen people with ulterior motives were found.
The man who was taken away by two shirtless men just now was obviously also a man with ulterior motives.
The people in Ruisheng Village are not complicated, almost all of them are disaster victims.
As early as when they entered the village, Kou Ji registered them and recorded their past.
There are also some people who are craftsmen from Kou Mansion, Cao Mansion, and Liu Mansion.
All three mansions have their birth documents.
With careful comparison, people who sneak in later can be easily detected.
Such people have already been tracked down.
Now, those who have been traced are those people from Ruisheng Village who received illegal money and were instigated to rebel.
Chen Jing, out of shame, just explained the reason to Zhu Neng, but he couldn't say much.
It can be said that Kou Ji was as kind as a mountain to the people in Ruisheng Village.
Now that we have such ungrateful people, how can we go around and spread the word?
Chen Jing wouldn't say much, and Kou Ji wouldn't say much either.
Kou Ji led Zhu Neng into the forging workshop and saw thousands of tall, muscular men inside, shirtless, shouting slogans, and forging weapons and armor.
Seeing the heated scene, Zhu Neng's eyes lit up.
"If you can give me these people, I can definitely train them into strong soldiers."
When selecting talents in the military, they always prefer to select those who are tall and very bulky.
Only in this way can one be able to carry the heavy shield weighing tens of kilograms, wear the walking armor weighing several dozen kilograms, and fire the extremely powerful crossbow.
Zhu Neng had two major hobbies in his life.
One is delicious.
The second is a very brave soldier.
Kou Ji heard Zhu Neng's words and shook his head decisively: "That's not possible. These are the craftsmen who help the Forbidden Army forge armor and weapons. If they are given to you, who will forge the armor and weapons for you?"
Zhu Neng thought for a while, nodded and said: "That's true..."
After a pause, Zhu Neng suggested again: "Why don't you send them to my command before they finish forging the weapons and armor for the Dragon God's two guards under my command, and I can help you train them?"
As soon as Zhu Neng said these words, Kou Ji understood what he was thinking.
His pity is true.
But he also had other thoughts.
After these craftsmen helped the Dragon God Erwei forge armor and weapons, they went to Zhu Neng for training. I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to come back within a year.
During this period, Zhu Neng's Dragon God Second Guard was the second army, besides the Tiger-Character Army, equipped with steel helmets and steel knives.
Zhu Neng can completely use his armor to help the Dragon God Guards return to the top of the Forbidden Army.
Zhu Neng just mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect that Kou Ji actually nodded in agreement.
"If Uncle Zhu thinks they are really talented, it wouldn't be a bad thing to send them to you for some training."
After Zhu Neng heard this, he stared at Kou Ji in astonishment.
Kou Ji laughed softly and said: "After all, I have to let my family take advantage of it."
Hearing this, Zhu Neng burst into laughter, patted Kou Ji on the shoulder and said, "You are right, you must let your family take advantage."
Zhu Neng only felt that Kou Ji was very good to him.
Find out his thoughts and think about him.
Looking at Kou Ji for a moment, he felt even more satisfied.
Hearing that Kou Ji liked to raise iron beasts, he was considering whether to send someone to catch a few more and let Kou Ji keep them for fun.
However.
How could he know?
In Kou Ji's eyes, the ordnance forging workshops in Bianjing City were nothing at all.
As early as a year ago, the ordnance forging workshop located in the mountains of Baozhou had reached the scale of the forging ordnance workshop in Bianjing City.
And in distant Leizhou, a workshop that is no smaller than the forging workshop in Bianjing City is being built in the hands of the thieves in Leizhou.
The thieves and bandits in Leizhou are quite comfortable roaming the sparsely populated land of Leizhou.
However, they were equipped with patrolling horse guards who were secretly dispatched. Within a month, they were all reduced to prisoners and became a labor force in the hands of Kou Ji.
Help Kou Ji build a warehouse for storing money, and help Kou Ji build a workshop for forging weapons.
With the sins they carried, they would probably have to work themselves to death.
Leizhou is a secret base for Kou Ji.
Kou Ji will never tell anyone.
Don't let anyone leak the news.
Kou Ji accompanied Zhu Neng and tested the newly forged weapons and armor in the workshop.
Amid Zhu Neng's satisfied laughter, he led Zhu Neng away from the ordnance forging workshop.
After leaving the workshop, I walked dozens of feet.
Zhu Neng was slightly stunned when he saw a small workshop made entirely of bluestone, independent of the entire Ruisheng Village.
His keen sense of smell told him that there was something good inside.
Zhu Neng asked Kou Ji without any hesitation.
"What's in there?"
Kou Ji didn't hide anything and said calmly: "Big firecracker?"
Zhu Neng said in shock: "Firecrackers?"
Kou Ji nodded.
Zhu Neng pondered: "You want to use gunpowder on the battlefield?"
Kou Ji still nodded.
Many people feel that after the ancients invented gunpowder, they used it for entertainment but rarely used it on the battlefield.
Actually it is not.
Gunpowder was used on the battlefield as early as the Tang Dynasty.
"Nine Kingdoms" written by Lu Zhen of the Song Dynasty records that during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty, King Zheng led his army to attack Yuzhang and "sent out fire" to burn down the Longshamen of the city. This may be the earliest record of using gunpowder to attack the city.
It's just that gunpowder has a limited effect, and a huge amount of gunpowder is needed to cause damage to the enemy.
So it has never been taken seriously.
It wasn't until the emergence of artillery and muskets that people slowly paid attention to them.
By coincidence, Zhu Neng had seen a craftsman using gunpowder on the battlefield.
Zhu Neng frowned and said: "When I was young, in Jizhou, I saw Shi Pu, the training envoy of the Jizhou regiment, using gunpowder to make rockets, fireballs, fire caltrops and other objects to demonstrate martial arts to the late emperor.
The scene is very spectacular, but its effect is very limited.
Hard to break through heavy armor.
It can injure the enemy's horse's legs and feet, restricting the enemy's cavalry attack.
But compared to the bed crossbow and the heavy crossbow, it is not as good.
So it is rarely used on the battlefield."
Kou Ji naturally knows what Zhu Neng said.
Since the emergence of gunpowder, ancient people have been trying to apply gunpowder to warfare.
From the Tang Dynasty, it was applied to trebuchets to make "engine flying fire", and then to the rockets, fireballs, fire caltrops, thunder cannons and other objects that appeared in the Song Dynasty, this is clear evidence.