The next morning, Li Siye got up and walked around in the courtyard of his new mansion. The general's mansion was not built strictly in accordance with the Central Plains specifications. The main courtyard only had the main house and a side house. The greening in the courtyard was good, and there were also adobe walls under the courtyard.
There are some vegetable gardens. To the north of the yard is a courtyard where the family members live, and further back is the backyard with several wing rooms and stables.
No matter in his previous life or now, he was not a person who pursued the quality of life too much, and he did not have high requirements for houses. There were many houses in this house now, and his family and his servants could not live in them all.
At this time, a group of craftsmen had gathered at the gate of the governor's residence, whispering among themselves, and guessing what the Shule governor general had called them to do.
When the side door opened with a creak, the craftsmen quickly gathered around.
Yan Xiaosi walked out of the side door and asked, "Have you got everything done?"
"Don't worry, Lord Jun. I have them all with me. Yes, I have them with me."
"Okay," Yan Xiaosi coughed and said, "Go in later and listen to my general's greetings. Do whatever he asks you to do."
Everyone was surprised. This work was actually done by the general himself. Could it be making a crossbow to be installed on the top of Shule City, or making a trebuchet? They were a little excited for a while, and they were gearing up.
A group of people entered the house and went to the steps of the main hall in the front yard. Li Siye took out the draft he had drawn yesterday and showed it to everyone. He told them the principles of the drum cart, and then the craftsmen discussed with each other what improvements could be made.
The carpenters began to divide the work and cooperate. Each two people were responsible for one component, from the wheel hub, axle, chassis, wooden gear, to the drum player device. They all tried their best to compete with each other on the same stage, and they continued to improve during the assembly.
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Li Twelve Niang ordered the maid at home to boil tea and bring it to the craftsmen to drink. She was still looking at it expectantly, thinking she was making a screen frame for her, but she patiently saw that it turned out to be a strange carriage.
He couldn't help but feel very disappointed. He glared at Li Siye who was sitting on the steps, turned around and left depressedly.
Li Siye didn't know that Twelve Niang had so many psychological activities, so he thought she was tired of seeing the new things, so he left her alone.
After the drum cart was successfully built, it still needed preliminary testing. Li Siye deliberately chose an open place and let the drum cart walk for a while. He specially sent people to measure the length of the interval between the two drum sounds. In the end, the difference was six steps.
This should not be a problem with the wheel, but an error in the gear. The carpenters removed it again, carefully measured the diameter and number of teeth, re-made the chisels, put it back on and tested it again. If there were any errors, they tried again. During the test, once
Reduce the gap step by step until the error is within an inch for one mile, which is completely acceptable.
Li Siye also had a compass installed on the vehicle that was more accurate than Sinan's to correct the vehicle's direction of travel.
Li Siye was very happy when the drum cart that had the functions of both a compass and a diary was successfully built. In addition to giving generous rewards to the craftsmen, he also specially ordered Mrs. Wu to kill a few more sheep in the kitchen to celebrate and treat the carpenters to a feast of mutton from a water basin.
liquor.
Madam Wu has long been promoted to the housekeeper of the general's residence. She has not only the Sogdian maids under her, but also dozens of people with different divisions of labor. Naturally, there are several maids responsible for cooking in the kitchen.
Meat for several people is not a problem.
When lunch was not ready, Li Siye and the carpenters squatted under the shade of the tree in front of the hall, chatting casually. Li Siye spoke without the airs of a general, and he did not use those intimidating words, and he chatted in a friendly manner.
Everyone also relaxed a lot.
An older carpenter kindly reminded Li Siye: "General Li, while there is still time, we might as well make some dowry, a bronze mirror stand and other furniture for the wife. You can concentrate on making this carriage for the father. Madam."
Most likely he is unhappy."
Li Siye asked: "How do you know my wife is unhappy?"
The carpenter smiled but said nothing, but his stomach was growling. You couldn't tell it. When he first came to the yard, the lady laughed at Yan Yan, and even sent her maid to make tea and bring it to you. It turned out that you were doing this kind of thing.
, his expression did not change at that moment, but things were different. Not to mention the hot tea, not even a sip of cold water was given to him. Isn't this because he was angry?
Li Siye scratched his head and said with a smile: "In that case, how about doing a few random things and coaxing her over?"
The carpenter's eyes suddenly glanced upward and he said sternly: "You can't just make it casually. The furniture your wife wants will naturally have to be made carefully, and it will take a lot of thought."
Another carpenter added: "How can you walk, walk, and work if you just say you can't move?"
The carpenters rushed to the work site with understanding and began to saw boards and dig out mortises and grooves. Li Siye felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange. He looked up slightly and saw Twelve Niang folding her hands in front of her lower abdomen with a cold and unconcerned expression. He
He quickly pretended not to see anything and said loudly to the craftsmen: "Yes, the dowry my mother-in-law wants should be finer. There should be five or six drawers in different sizes, and they should be painted with tung oil inside and outside. Don't you guys?"
To fool me."
Twelve Niang smiled, raised her chin slightly, and told the maid behind her: "Go and make some hot tea for the carpenters, and take it with you to see if the food is ready in the kitchen."
At this time, there are basically two meals a day, usually one in the morning and one before dark. Basically, by the time the sun sets, the three-legged iron cauldron and stove have been cleaned. In the era of living by oil lamps, everyone
The dinner was all finished before dark, and the same was true in the general's mansion. The light in the main room was dark, so Li Siye ordered his servants to carry the dining table to the courtyard, get the futon and let the carpenters eat on the table.
Where have craftsmen ever enjoyed this kind of treatment, whether they were at home or working at the master's house for dinner? Eating according to the table is the style of rich people. We, as a small family, usually just find a place to sit down with a big bowl in our hands.
Pull it into your mouth.
Although they were a little restrained, when the mutton was served, they were attracted by the delicious food and forgot about their restraints. General Li's house was really generous. There were a few peppercorns in each basin. They held the basin with both hands and put it in their mouths, waiting to eat.
With their bellies fully rounded, they helped each other and left the General's Mansion one by one. Even if they returned home or talked about it in the future, they would always think of the sumptuous meal they had at General Li's Mansion that day.
After recording that the drum cart had been built, Li Siye sent Yan Xiaosi to inform the deputy army envoy Zhao Chongxun that he would set out tomorrow to inspect the Tang troops stationed in Shule Town.
The next day, Zhao Chongxun had brought five or six soldiers waiting outside the general's mansion. Li Siye only brought Yan Xiaosi, Feng Changqing, and a few of his soldiers, and everyone went to inspect the military camp in the city first.
There are three battalions in Shule City, each battalion has five to three regiments. The three battalions stationed are Tiaodang Battalion and Zhanfeng Battalion, as well as the City Defense Battalion. The City Defense Battalion has a total of one thousand people and is responsible for the defense of the four gates in the city.
The number of the front troops and the Tiaodang camp each totaled 600, and they were all transferred from the banks of the Baima River in Kucha by Li Siye.
The city defense camp had two regiments for cavalry and three regiments for surprise soldiers, equipped with horizontal knives, crossbows and spears. When they passed by the camp gate in the west of the city, the army happened to be training. Li Siye stopped to watch and felt the combat capabilities of these soldiers.
Not low, and not inferior to the eighth group, a powerful force in the city.
Zhao Chongxun proudly said to Li Siye: "These are the first batch of Long March athletes recruited by the Tang Dynasty to come to the Western Regions. Most of them have families in the area. They fought bravely and won first prizes many times."
Li Siye nodded in agreement. People, especially a group of people together, can tell the pros and cons at a glance from their energy.
After seeing the military camp, Zhao Chongxun crossed his hands and asked Li Siye: "We have seen the garrison in the city. Do you think we should go out of the city? Which state city should we go to first?"
"There's no rush." Li Siye waved his hand: "First come with me to pay homage to the sages and Geng Gongjing."
Geng Gong's Well is located in a low-lying area in the southeast corner of the city. There are two mulberry trees near the edge of the well. Although it looks thick and strong, it certainly does not have as long a history as this well, nor does it have the tragic heroic deeds behind this well that can be praised.
Just where they stand, in the Eastern Han Dynasty a thousand years ago, Wuji Colonel Geng Gong led more than a hundred warriors to defend the city against the attacks of the Northern Huns. The Xiongnu Chanyu led his army to besiege the city three times, with Geng Zhong on top of the city.
Using crossbows to fire poisonous arrows to drive away the enemy, the Huns cut off the river water flowing into the city, cutting off drinking water in the city. Geng Gong personally led his men to dig a well, which was fifteen feet deep, but there was still no water. The soldiers were so thirsty that they could only squeeze horse dung.
Come and drink. In this lifeless and desperate situation, the tragic hero knelt down to worship and shouted: "I heard that the general of the second division in the past drew his sword and stabbed the mountain, and the flying spring gushed out. How can the gods of Han Germany be poor now?"
As soon as Geng Gong finished speaking, a clear spring gushed out from the dry well. The soldiers were thirsty and poured water on the city in celebration. The Huns thought that the Han army was protected by gods, so they had to retreat.
This story is not over. The Huns came back again. Geng Gong led the Han army to hold on in the city for more than eight months. They ran out of food and could only boil armor leather and bow strings for food. The Huns persuaded him to surrender and sent envoys to make him white.
Geng pretended to be the king of the house and rewarded him with a beautiful wife. He invited the envoy into the city, killed him with a knife on the city wall, and roasted the envoy's flesh with a knife.
Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty learned that the Tang army was still defending Shule in the Western Regions, so he sent more than 7,000 soldiers to the Western Regions to rescue Geng Gong and his subordinates from the isolated city of Shule. When they finally returned to Yumen Pass, they stayed with him at Yumen Pass.
There are only thirteen comrades left in the Western Regions. This is the story of the thirteen soldiers who were full of passionate and loyal souls and returned to Yumen.
Li Siye stood by the well and was filled with emotions. This was more than just expressing his feelings on WeChat. Today, he has also integrated into history. Having similar experiences to the sages, he can more and more empathize with them.
"An ancestral hall should be built here to worship Duke Geng."
Feng Changqing stood by the well, he couldn't help but be fascinated, and began to recite a poem: "Swearing to order Shule to fly out of the spring is not like Yingchuan empty wine."
After paying homage to the ancients, both life and work had a sense of ritual. Li Siye raised his arms and turned around, got on his horse and said to Zhao Chongxun: "First go east to Seoul, then south to Benchengzhou, then to Manchuria and Yanduzhou, and then randomly
Choose two beacons for on-site inspection.”
"Here!"
Everyone crossed their arms and saluted him at the same time, then got on their horses and walked out along the east city gate.