Early the next morning, Guo Song went to Heigang with more than a dozen soldiers to guard the capture. Although there were still a lot of matters waiting for him to deal with in the government office, he was more concerned about the research and development of firearms at this time.
Not long after, a group of people arrived at Shouchuojuncheng on horseback. After hearing the news, Yang Jun came out to greet them.
"How is the development of new firearms going?" Guo Song asked.
"Envoy Qi, we are temporarily suspended for this period of time."
Guo Song was startled. Seeing Yang Jun's sad expression, he asked, "What happened?"
Yang Jun nodded, "There was an explosion, killing and injuring more than twenty brothers."
"When did it happen?" Guo Song asked.
"Half a month ago, the news was still blocked."
When Guo Song walked into the military city, he saw that the military city was deserted and the busy scene of the past was no longer visible.
"Tell me in detail what happened. Is it related to sesame oil?"
Yang Jun nodded, "After we got the sesame oil, we started to prepare it. We mixed the sesame oil and gunpowder together to turn it into a sludge. After drying it, we made it into granules. This is where terrible things happened. We usually use it first.
A blunt knife without a sharp edge cut the dried gunpowder into small pieces. As a result, the soldiers burned violently when they struck it, and exploded together with a dozen porcelain fire mines in the room. More than two dozen soldiers were killed on the spot.
Test mines at the Chao test site and escape with your life."
Guo Song did not expect such serious consequences. He only knew that adding castor oil can speed up the burning speed of gunpowder, so that the gunpowder can be completely burned out in an instant, thus generating at least twice the pressure of porcelain fire thunder. Iron shell fire thunder can
It was built, but an accident occurred, killing more than twenty soldiers. The consequences were indeed serious.
Yang Jun almost burst into tears, "The responsibility lies with me. It is normal for gunpowder to cause combustion accidents, but there should be no porcelain mines in the room. The system and requirements set by me are not strict. I am willing to take full responsibility. Please use me."
You will punish me severely!"
Only then did Guo Song understand his narrative. It was not the castor oil and gunpowder that caused the trouble, but the dozen or so porcelain fire mines in the room. The burning of the gunpowder caused the porcelain fire mines to explode, which led to the tragedy.
However, it is unlikely that the gunpowder will explode by simply knocking. It should be that sparks were accidentally knocked out and the gunpowder was ignited. This is actually an accident caused by irregular operation and lack of attention to safety production.
Guo Song waved his hand and said: "There are risks in everything you do. Hundreds of people die every year in the mines, so the mines will not be mined? Firearms themselves are dangerous work. It is normal for an accident to occur, but if you don't learn from the lesson, the same thing will happen one after another.
If there is an accident, then you must be held accountable. Now Anxi and Beiting are eagerly waiting for the iron fire thunder to come out, but you have stopped working. If I want to reprimand you, it is because of this."
"I understand, I will immediately call the soldiers back to work!" Yang Jun turned to leave.
"Wait a minute!"
Guo Song stopped him and asked, "How much sesame oil is there now?"
"There are still two barrels left, I only used three kilograms!"
"Don't worry about the iron fire mine for now. Let's do the combustion test first. You have to time it. What kind of ratio will make the gunpowder burn the fastest? You have to find the best formula. Do you understand?"
Yang Jun nodded, "I also discovered that when the porcelain fire thunder exploded before, there was actually a lot of gunpowder that was not burned to ashes. After adding flax oil, the gunpowder burned 30% faster, which can make all the gunpowder burn to ashes, so it is more powerful."
More than double.”
Seeing that he understood quickly, Guo Song said happily: "That's the truth, and when making gunpowder, don't use knocking at any time, use crushing. This is a lesson you must learn."
"Remember this humble position, we will definitely formulate the strictest system so that no more explosions will happen."
.........
After returning from Heigang, Guo Song returned to the government office. At the same time, he asked his soldiers to invite Shi Huan.
Dozens of important documents that must be approved by him were piled up on the official table. Guo Song sat on the wide chair that he had not seen for a long time. He didn't like to sit on his knees, so he made a two-foot-high couch so that his legs could hang down naturally.
The case also grew taller, wider and larger. The influence of the Jiedushi was huge. Soon, all the official rooms were transformed into the same tables and couches.
At this time, Zhang Qianyi walked into the room, handed an imperial edict to Guo Song and said with a smile: "This is the imperial edict sent ten days ago. Please take a look at it!"
"Chengdu or Chang'an?" Guo Song asked with a smile.
"Of course it's Chengdu. Chang'an is self-aware and doesn't want to get in trouble?"
Guo Song opened the imperial edict and actually named himself a Taiwei and his wife as the Princess of the County. He laughed and said: "I didn't expect that I am only thirty years old and I am already a powerful Taiwei. How many people will be unable to sleep at night.
"
"Everyone is discussing whether to address the envoy as His Highness or Taiwei from now on?"
Guo Song shook his head, "Others want to call me king and orphan, but I don't like it. You can just call me envoy or prince."
"I will tell you that Beitang is gone. Does your Majesty know that Beitang is gone?"
Guo Song was startled, "When did it happen?"
"A month ago, Li Song issued an edict to announce his abdication, and was sent to Chang'an by the Yuan family. Chang'an did not take him in, and sent his family to Chengdu. It is estimated that the emperor will not spare him."
Guo Song was not interested in Li Song. He was more concerned about the Yuan family. He asked again: "What about the Yuan family?"
"The Yuan family surrendered to Zhu Si, and Li Ji of Chang'an made Yuan Xuanhu the annexed king and allowed him to establish a vassal town."
"What else is important?" Guo Song asked again.
"Zhu Si occupied Luoyang and all the west of Zhengzhou was his territory. Li Baozhen and Ma Sui abandoned Hebei and crossed the Yellow River to Bianzhou. Currently, Li Baozhen is stationed in Yuzhou and Ma Sui is stationed in Chenzhou. The imperial court only has Hua and Bian in the Central Plains.
The five states of Song, Chen, Yu, Xiangzhou and Weizhou were occupied by Tian Yue, and the whole of Hebei and Hedong fell."
Guo Song sighed slightly, "As long as a person takes a step back, it will be difficult to move forward. When Li Shi decided to go to Chengdu, it was destined that it would be difficult for him to return to Chang'an. If he insisted on staying in Guanzhong or Longyou, maybe there would be
Turnaround."
"Your Majesty is right. I heard that the Emperor spent five million dollars to build the Chang'an Palace in Chengdu. It is extremely luxurious. Once he lives comfortably in Bashu, he will gradually lose his enterprising spirit."
Guo Song pondered and smiled and said: "I have something to discuss with you. Beiting Jiedu Mansion lacks a long history. Are you interested?"
Zhang Qianyi became excited in his heart and said quickly: "Of course I am willing to go to the humble position, but I am afraid that I will be lacking in talents and knowledge, and I will live up to the great trust of the envoy."
"You don't have to be modest. I know your abilities very well. To be honest, if Beiting wasn't too short of people, I wouldn't want to let you go."
"It seems that Zhao Sima has not come back this time."
"Zhao Wei, I asked him to serve as the governor of Xizhou. His side is also in chaos, and several counties are still paralyzed. You went to Beiting and served as the governor of Tingzhou at the same time. While stabilizing Tingzhou, you must also focus on
In Xizhou, once the enemy invades Beiting in a large scale and Tingzhou cannot stop it, Xizhou will be our last barrier."
"I understand the humble position!"
"You and Xiao Du will explain it to you. The day after tomorrow, you will set off with the people of Gaochang and take your wife with you to Tingzhou."
Zhang Qianyi nodded and retreated. At this time, the soldiers reported at the door, "Master Shi Dong is here!"
Guo Song rushed out and saw Shi Donglai and his son Shi Huan walking in.
Guo Song laughed and said: "Why is Master Shi in Zhangye?"
Shi Donglai smiled and said: "It is a big event to send your army to attack the Western Regions. Of course I have to come. Many big Sogdian businessmen from Chang'an have returned. Everyone is very concerned about the situation in Beiting."
"The war is over, Shatuo is gone, and you will have one less thing to exploit in the future."
Shi Donglai nodded, "Your Majesty is right. Shatuo's taxes are heavy, and a 10% tax is generally levied. Without Shatuo's exploitation, we are much more relaxed."
Guo Song invited his father and son into the official room. The two parties took their seats respectively, while Shi Huan stood behind his father. A tea boy came in and served them tea.
Guo Songxiao asked: "How is the situation in Chang'an?"
"Chang'an has basically stabilized, but it is not very prosperous, business is difficult to do, and ordinary people have difficulty finding jobs. There is a lot of competition for errands that cost twice a month. That is to say, Guangtong warehouse has a huge amount of grain reserves. Once Guangtong warehouse
The food supply in Tongcang is almost exhausted, and Chang'an's crisis is coming."
Guo Song nodded, took out a small bottle filled with castor oil from the drawer, handed it to Shi Donglai and said, "Is this kind of flax oil in stock in Zhangye?"
Guo Song believed that the Shi family would not buy castor oil specifically for Shatuo. They must have purchased it in large quantities and Shatuo bought part of it. Otherwise, the cost would be too high and the Shi family would not engage in such a loss-making business.
Shi Donglai smelled the bottle and said with a smile: "So that's it. Zhangye doesn't have any in stock, but Chang'an has 500 barrels in stock. How much do you want?"
Guo Song was overjoyed that there were five hundred barrels. He happily said: "I want them all!"