son-in-law

Chapter 812
In September, in the late autumn and early winter, when the mountains and forests far and near are gradually dyed gray, Jishan County ushered in the last lively moment of previous years.

The morning star flag on a black background fluttered in the wind, and a large-scale horse team gathered here. There were also rice merchants who came with the boat. Most of the bustling crowds were carrying long bows and swords.After several years of operation of Heiqi, I talked with the Ni people, and the several trade routes near Liangshan have been relatively peaceful, but for the merchants of the Wu Dynasty, the trade between Liangshan and the outside world is still a lack of courage and strength. A dangerous thing that cannot be done without the background.

With a horse team from the Wu Dynasty, most of them were food, cotton and linen, but also copper and iron. Those that were transported away were often mainly iron cannons, as well as exquisitely processed crossbows, swords and other items. Hundreds of packhorses brought in goods, several iron and wooden cannons, and some artillery shells—for the outside world, the Black Flag Army has exquisite craftsmanship. Although the iron cannons are expensive, they are now a sharp weapon that the outside army has to buy. , Even the original wooden cannon has been greatly increased in stability and durability after the Black Flag Army was "upgraded" with steel and many craftsmanship. win rate.

The three-year bloody battle at Xiao Canghe is the best publicity for the new type of weapon "cannon". Let's not talk about the confrontation with Jurchen for the moment. Thousands of people such as Puppet Qi, Tian Hu and others came one after another, and the artillery sounded immediately. There are countless soldiers lying on the ground and being scared to pee and pee. According to recent information, the artillery of the Jurchen side has also begun to enter the army. If anyone does not have this in the future, they will basically be eliminated in the war. .

In addition to the various forces of the Wu Dynasty, Liu Yu's regime in the north is actually one of the customers of Xiao Canghe's current transactions.At present, this line is relatively hidden, and the transaction volume is not large. The main reason is that the distance between resources is too long, the cost is too high, and it is difficult to ensure the smooth transaction. Qi's warlords have also sent caravans several times. Instead of transporting food, they are willing to transport strategic materials such as steel to Xiaocanghe in exchange for iron cannons, which can be exchanged for more.

Xiao Canghe pretended not to know the forces behind these transactions, but last year General Qi Guan Shihu sent an army of 500 people to bring iron ingots in exchange for twenty iron cannons. He directly joined the Black Banner Army.Guan Shihu was furious, and sent someone to secretly negotiate with Xiao Canghe to no avail, so he spread rumors in private. When the generals of Qi State heard about this, they laughed secretly, but the trade between the two sides still failed to normalize after all. In a state of scrapping and scrapping.

The trade with the Dali side is not only maintained on the weapons of war.

Although it was the strong attitude of the Black Flag Army that opened the door to Dali at first, the most attractive materials were these steel equipment, but soon after, the demand for military equipment in Dali declined, and the corresponding increase was a large number of Beautifully printed books, decorative objects, perfumes, glass containers, etc. that are almost "art" in this era.In particular, the "collector's edition" of Buddhist scriptures with excellent paper quality is in short supply in Dali's aristocratic market.

Although the upper echelons of Dali always wanted to close and restrict the trade with the black flag, when the door was knocked on, the merchants of the black flag lobbied and exaggerated in Dali, making this trade door impossible to close at all, and the black flag therefore Can get a lot of food to meet internal needs.

At this time, Jishan was already a city with a total of nearly [-] residents and troops. The city was distributed along the river in a long and narrow shape from north to south. There were military camps, fields, and residential areas in the upper reaches. The staff's office is located in the mountains to the west. There are concentrated workshops, iron smelting and gun factories with thick smoke. There are also some military, glass, paper and printing factories downstream. More than ten turbines are connected by the river. , the chimneys erected in various factories spew black smoke out, which is a novel sight that is hard to see in this era, and it also has an amazing momentum.

Since Ning Yi came to this era, he has experienced the coercion and baptism of war, from his own exploration of physical and chemical experiments to the research of craftsmen in small workshops. In more than ten years, Jishan today is the industrial foundation of Black Flag. where.

Due to the participation of residents from the northwest and refugees from the north, there are some small workshops and various catering shops operated by themselves, but most of them are the industries currently operated by Black Flag. In the years of war, Black Flag has ensured the survival of craftsmen and the assembly line. The division of labor has been skilled in many places, and it is no longer appropriate to call it a workshop. Piece by piece, it is already a factory.

Nearly [-] black flag elites are gathered here to ensure that the technology here will not be easily explored by the outside world. It also makes the guards, soldiers, and Nepalese who come to Jishan not dare to make trouble here, no matter what background they have. .

Over the past few years, although the specific technology has not been leaked out, the basic concept of Grid has been open to the outside world.In the market, booklets such as "A Preliminary Exploration of Objects" and "The Principle of Everything" originally compiled by Ning Yi and others are sold at extremely cheap prices. The prospect of all things in the world can be exhausted through the exploration of the world... These theories may have been extremely tortuous in the development of Europe, but in the East, there are not many taboos in the aspect of things. For example, the outside world can view these things more calmly.

These pamphlets flowed out from the secret. The Wu Dynasty, Dali, Central Plains, and Jurchen parties have conducted research in private, but the most important ones are probably Junwu's Gewu Academy, and the second is the Jurchen Wanyan Xiyin party.Dali is a peaceful country, and has little interest in making weapons. People in all parts of the Central Plains are struggling to make a living. Warlords have strong goals. Even if they take a few booklets of this kind and throw them at the craftsmen, the craftsmen who have no foundation will not be able to figure it out. As for martial arts. Many officials and Confucians in the dynasty often burnt to ashes after casually flipping through them. On the one hand, they feel that such fallacies and heresies are not good in the world.Therefore, even if Nanwu's literary style is prosperous, it is okay to abuse the country at many literary conferences, but the discussion of these things is still an outrageous thing.

In one place, the discussion of physical sciences within the Black Flag industrial system has already formed a trend. It was first exaggerated by Ning Yi, and later by the propagandists of the Political Department. Now, people have been standing vaguely at the source. See the future of physics.For example, building a cannon that can pierce a mountain with one cannon, such as the steam engine prototype that Ning Yi has envisioned and is currently the focus of the attack, a chariot that can run without horses in iron armor, a giant airship with increased size and guns Wait, wait, etc., many people have believed that even if it can't be done now, it will definitely happen in the future.

Located near the upper barracks, in the Jishan Grid Research Institute of the Huaxia Army Engineering Department, a discussion about grids is going on.At this time, the Huaxia Army Engineering Department included not only industry, but also agriculture, wartime logistics support, etc. The research institute of the Engineering Department was divided into two parts. Arranged in Jishan, generally called the lower house.

In the past few years, this is probably the most extraordinary seminar for the research institute. After several years, Ning Yi finally appeared in front of everyone.

"... Regarding the future, I think the most important node is an independent power system, as I mentioned before, the steam engine... We need to solve the problems of steel materials, casting cutting, lubrication problems, sealing problems... ...In the next few years, war may still be the most important thing for us at present, but we might as well pay attention to it. As a technical accumulation ... In order to solve the explosion, we must have better steel and a more reasonable carbon content, and in order to have a larger The power of the cannonball, the cannonball and the gun chamber should fit more closely. These things are used in the musket, the bullet of the musket can reach two hundred meters away, although there is no accurate head, but the big gun chamber that blows up, one or two failures , is the accumulation of technology in this area... In addition, in the application of waterwheels, we have improved a lot in terms of lubrication, and each link has been improved a lot..."

"...In addition to physics, in terms of chemistry, explosions are already quite dangerous. Everyone in charge of this area, pay attention to safety... But there must be a way to use it safely, and there must be a way to make it on a large scale..."

"...In terms of agriculture, don't always think it's useless. We have been running around in recent years. This aspect needs time to settle, and we haven't seen the actual effect yet, but I think it is the most important thing in the future. An important part of..."

The discussion meeting is basically the progress report of the current Huaxia Army research. After the report, Ning Yi made a conclusion in front.Most of the more than [-] people below were craftsmen. Many of them were not even literate at first. In the first few years, Ning Yi could only explain the task, but there was no need to discuss it. In the past three or five years, the initial enlightenment of objects has been gradually completed. Some of the young students Ning Yi personally taught were also included, and this kind of outlook was meaningful in the meeting.Some people below have bright eyes and big nods, and some people blink, trying to understand.

At the back of the auditorium, 13-year-old Ning Xi was sitting there, writing with a pen. Sitting next to her was Min Chuyi, a girl who was inseparable from Ning Xi after practicing martial arts with Hong Ti.She blinked her eyes, with an expression of "I don't understand, but I feel very powerful" all over her face. She seemed a little cautious about sitting next to Ning Xi.

Ning Xi had a pure and innocent temperament when she was young, and she often played with Min Chuyi. For a while, they were inseparable playmates.Seeing this situation, Ning Yi and others also thought it was a good thing, so Hongti accepted the first graders with good qualifications as his disciples, and hoped that Ning Xi would be surrounded by more protection.

As the age gradually grew, the personalities of the two gradually became different. Xiao Canghe fought for three years and everyone went south. After that, the news of Ning Yi's death came out. It was Ning Xi, and his family had never told him the truth.After her father "died", Xiao Ningxi was determined to protect her family and immersed herself in her studies, but she was much more silent than before.

Min Chuyi's family was poor at first, and her parents were honest people. Even though Ning Yi and others didn't care, gradually, she also regarded herself as a guard by Ning Xi's side.When she was twelve or thirteen years old, she had grown up and was taller than Ning Xi. Ning Xi took care of her brother's family and got along well with other children in the Black Flag Army, but she gradually felt uncomfortable with Min Chuyi by her side. Every now and then I want to throw the opponent away.In this way, although Tan'er quite liked the first day of the first year, and even had the idea of ​​making the two of them a baby kiss, but Ning Xi and Min Chuyi were currently in a rather awkward period of getting along.

Recently, when Ning Yi returned "suddenly", Ning Xi, who once thought her father was dead, was in a state of confusion.The last time he saw Ning Yi was four years ago. The state of mind when he was nine years old was completely different from the state of mind when he was 13 years old. He wanted to get close, but he was probably a little shy and annoyed at such a cramped situation.In this era, monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, and juniors treat their elders with a lot of etiquette. Ning Xi has already received this kind of education. Ning Yi treats children with a modern mentality in the past. They are relatively free and easy, and they can play together from time to time. The troublesome kind, at this time, he was a little at a loss for the awkward 13-year-old boy.Within half a month after returning home, the two parties could only feel the distance and let nature take its course.

Getting along with other children is relatively good. Ten-year-old Ning Ji is good at martial arts, and his swordsmanship and boxing are quite good. Recently, he has lost a few teeth. Resistant, he also admires his father - Ning Yi told the children at home about the deeds of killing Lu Tuo and others on the road:
"... He wanted to stand out because of his martial arts skills, but in the fight in the woods, they were already losing ground. Lu Tuo shouted: 'Go away, they can't leave me', wanting his henchmen to escape, He slashed through you Uncle Du and Uncle Fang with a few more knives. He is a big owl from the North, and he is very arrogant, but I happened to be here, so he couldn't escape... I blocked him and followed him. He changed two moves, and then slapped him on the head with a palm of his hand, his henchmen hadn't run far before they saw him fall... Hey, this time we caught a few..."

Ning Ji and the five-year-old Ning He heard their eyes sparkling with admiration. After that, Ning Yi told them about the Tianhu site in Beidi and the competition between Lin Yechan and Shi Jin: "That fat monk didn't dare to Come here, or make him look good" Yun Yun.

Eight-year-old Wenwen lives up to her name. She is good at writing but not martial. She is a quiet little girl who loves to listen to stories. She has been carefully taught by Yunzhu. Since she was a child, she felt that her father was the most talented person in the world, and she did not need Ning Yi to spread rumors again. Brainwashed.In addition, the five-year-old Ning Ke has a warm personality. The two sisters, Ning Shuang and Ning Ning, are only three years old.

On this day, Ning Yi came to Jishan to show up. Among the children, Ning Xi was the one who could understand and have some interest in Gewu. Everyone walked all the way. After the meeting, they walked around the streets of Jishan. .The market room not far away was looking lively. A group of traders were crowded at the former county office of Jishan. The mood was intense. Ning Yi took the children to the nearby teahouse to watch the excitement. The price increase was announced, which attracted everyone to inquire.

Black Flag's government officials are dispelling doubts.

"...At the beginning of July, everyone knew about the turmoil in Tian Hu's forces. After Tian Hu's change, the 'Hungry Ghost' launched an attack in the north of the Yellow River, and in the south, Xiangyang fought for the second time, and the Beiwei Army defeated Jin. , Qi Allied Army. Although the Jurchen rebuked Shen Chen, but so far there has been no action, according to the reaction of the Jurchen court, it is very likely that there will be a big move..."

"...Outside, you can say that the Wu Dynasty and the Huaxia Army are inseparable, but even if we kill the emperor, we still have a common enemy. If the Jurchen comes, we don't want the Wu Dynasty to fail miserably. Life has been ruined, the world has been overturned! In order to deal with this, we have decided that all workshops will work hard and start preparing for war regardless of wastage! The price of iron guns has risen by [-]%, and at the same time, our scheduled shipments have also risen by [-]%. Accept, when the fight is over, the price will naturally drop, and you can buy it again at that time—"

"... The current situation is critical, the decision to raise the price will not be changed within two years by the Black Flag, and the price of the iron cannon will only go up but not down! As before, the price may be adjusted, and everything is based on the agreement we made when we signed the contract. Whichever is the case. You go back and tell the adults behind you whether to buy or not, I am not forcing it…”

How can people accept this kind of explanation easily? The voices in front of them are noisy, some people scold Heiqi for sitting on the ground and raise prices, and some people say that in the past, people transported grain to the mountains, but now Heiqi has turned his face ruthlessly, and naturally some people are rushing to fight with Heiqi. When the flag signed the contract, the scene was noisy and lively.Looking at all this, Ning Xi frowned and asked after a while, "Dad, are you going to fight?"

"It's still early, don't worry."

"Yeah." Ning Xi nodded dully, after a while, "Dad, I'm not worried."

Ning Yi looked at the children beside him, suddenly smiled and understood.For a long time, the propaganda of Black Flag has been tragic and generous. Even children, not many are afraid of war, and I am afraid that those who want to fight are the mainstream.He patted Ning Xi on the shoulder: "This war may end after your generation has grown up, but don't worry, we will defeat those bastards."

"Yeah." Ning Xi nodded dully again.

Everyone looked upstairs for a while, Ning Yi said to Ning Xi, "How about you guys go out to play first?" Ning Xi nodded, "Okay."

"Take the first day of the first year to the market, you are a boy, you must learn to take care of people."

Ning Yi said with a smile.He said this, but Ning Xi became somewhat embarrassed. Twelve or thirteen-year-olds always seemed awkward to the girls around them. The two of them were originally a little troubled, but Ning Yi said this, but instead more obvious.Watching the two go out, he sent a few entourages beside him, and when the door was closed, only he and Hongti were left in the room.

There was still some noise outside the window. Ning Yi sat down on the chair and opened his hand to Hongti. Hongti just pursed his lips and came over and sat in his arms.Ning Yi did not stick to etiquette, and for the old couple, such intimacy had long been accustomed to.

During the two years that Ning Yi was away from Hedengsan County, Yunzhu, Jin'er, and others still took a look at him secretly. Only Tan'er and Hongti had not seen each other in four years.On the day they first got home, Ning Yi and Tan’er went to Su Yu’s tomb for a sacrifice, while Hongti led the people to further clean up the traitors. After the work was done, Ning Yi waited for her to come back and talked for a while until late at night. Whispered, and then willfully pulled her and Tan'er to sleep together.

Hongti and Tan'er did not refuse, but the three of them lay together, but they were not in a chaotic mood. They held hands and chatted in a low voice until the early morning, snuggling with each other and fell asleep. The next day, Ning Yi felt that It's more romantic to sleep separately.

The family has been separated for too long, and they have to adapt to each other. After Ning Yi came back, he was not idle either. In these days, he was doing things while watching the few people around him in the air-conditioning drama. He usually likes to see the shy and submissive appearance of this highly skilled wife, but sitting here today, he didn't do any small gestures between husband and wife. Listening to the voices outside, he poured himself a cup of tea and chatted with Hongti. While waiting for something to happen.

"I always feel that it will be a little bad to calculate my own child." Hong Ti put his chin on his shoulder and said softly.

"...Yes." Ning Yi took a sip of tea.

……

Ning Xi and Chu Yi walked through the street one by one. The 13-year-old boy was actually handsome, with his brows slightly furrowed. He also looked a bit calm and dignified, but his eyes were somewhat disturbed at this time.When passing through a relatively secluded place, the girl behind leaned over.

"You..." Ning Xi didn't want to walk side by side with her. In a sense, although he was considered the "Prince" of the Black Flag Army, he was actually not too squeamish - at least on the surface No - he is usually easy-going, likes to help others, and follows the suffering and the dead when everyone goes south, which makes him cherish the people around him very much. Many times when he helps with things, he is not afraid of hard work, and he is not reluctant to sweat. stop.

It's just that it's a different emotion for the girl next to her.He doesn't like that his peers always have the idea of ​​"protecting him", as if she is inferior to herself, and we grow up together, why should she protect me? What if she dies when she meets an enemy—of course, If other people follow, he usually doesn't have such awkward emotions, and the 13-year-old boy is still not aware of these things.

"Someone is following..." The first day lowered his head and said in a low voice.The boy's eyes calmed down and he looked at the alley in front of him, ready to shout out the first time he saw the patroller.

However, things happened faster than he thought.

The figure in the back suddenly bullied over, and Min Chu turned around and drew his sword: "Who—" The man's voice was hoarse: "Haha, Ning Yi's son?"

Figures staggered, and the girl who got the true inheritance of Hongti danced with sword light, but the man's fierce fist style knocked down a shed, and the wood chips splashed.Ning Xi walked forward and shouted, "Spy—Come on—" Picking up a stick on the side of the road, he turned around, Min Chu said, "Ning Xi, go—" Before he could finish his words, the man printed a sticker on the side of the road. on her shoulders.

Min Chu stepped back a few steps, almost hitting Ning Xi, and said, "Go!" Ning Xi shouted, "Take him!" The wooden stick was abruptly interrupted by a punch, and a huge force surged in. Ning Xi's chest felt tight, her hands hurt, and the man slammed the second punch.

Min Chuyi rushed up from the side, the long sword forced the fist back, Ning Xi took two steps back, Min Chuyi also exchanged two moves with the masked man in a hurry, the fist wind whistled like a rushing river, and he was about to fight. On Ning Xi's head.He has also been taught by famous teachers since he was a child. In terms of martial arts, the masters such as Hongti, Xigua and Chen Fan, even if they are not talented or interested in this area, are enough to see that the opponent's skills are terrifying. , At this moment, Ning Xi just waved the broken stick in return, Min Chu rushed over and hugged him, and then the two flew out, and blood was sprayed on his face.

"Come on..."

The girl's voice was almost moaning, and Ning Xi fell to the ground, her head blank for a moment.After all, he has not been on the battlefield, facing the crushing of absolute strength, how can he respond quickly at the juncture of life and death.At this moment, someone from the rear could only be heard shouting: "Who is—" "Stop!"

The sound of fighting sounded, and people came one after another. The assassin flew far away, and fled out of sight in a blink of an eye.Ning Xi sat up from the ground, her hands were shaking, he picked up the girl's soft body and watched the blood come out of her mouth, dyeing half of her face red. Everyone was dumbfounded, and tears flowed out: "Hey, hey, you... Doctor, come here..."

After a while, he tried his best to restrain his mind, looked at the girl's condition, hugged her, shouted, and ran out of the alley...

……

"...Yeah." Ning Yi took a sip of tea in the restaurant's room, "Unfortunately...there is no normal environment for him to grow up. There are some setbacks, so let's simulate it..."

Hongti looked at him for a while: "You are also afraid."

"Well, I'm very scared." Ning Yi held her hand and exerted strength, and after a while, "I'll tell him when he is 30 years old."

The sound of commotion in the distance came, Hongti stood up, Ning Yi nodded at her, the figure of his wife had already jumped out of the window, flying along the eaves and tiles, and disappeared in the distance after a few ups and downs. in the streets.

Ning Yi pushed open the door and walked out, frowning tightly. The people around him had already followed him, and they went down with him quickly: "What happened, tell everyone to hold their positions, why are you panicking..." The surroundings were already moving.

The sun in early winter hangs lazily in the sky, and Liangshan is like spring all year round, without extreme heat and cold, so winter is also very pleasant.Perhaps thanks to the weather, the assassination incident that day did not cause much damage. Min Chuyi, who was protecting Ning Xi, suffered some minor injuries, but he just needed a few days of rest before he would get better...

(End of this chapter)