Nanming Engineer

Chapter 98 Gunpowder
Wang Huan was not very happy when he heard this, and asked with some disappointment, frowning: "More than 500 catties?"

Ma Wannian and Xu Goudan were stunned for a moment with their complacent faces, and there was a "click" in their hearts, worried that the errands were not done well, so they got up quickly and said, "My lord, this is a lot, and the court's Shenji camp lasted for a year." Only [-] catties of gunpowder were allocated, and folk gunpowder has always been strictly controlled, except for what is needed for mining, it is strictly forbidden to keep gunpowder privately, and it is not easy to get so much.”

Wang Huan noticed the difference in the expressions of the two of them, waved his hands, smiled and said: "I don't blame you, you two have tried your best. Gunpowder is a banned item of the imperial court. It is hard-earned. You can make it in such a short time." For finding so many, both of you deserve a lot of credit."

Hearing what he said, Ma Wannian and Xu Goudan breathed a sigh of relief, dropped their buttocks back to their seats, and smiled at each other.

Wang Huan sighed secretly in his heart. More than 500 catties of gunpowder sounds like a lot, but it is the most primitive black gunpowder. Compared with the yellow dynamite and smokeless gunpowder of later generations, the explosion effect is several orders of magnitude worse. It is very difficult to use it to blow up mountains.

It seems that it is necessary to establish a gunpowder production plant as soon as possible and train talents in this field, Wang Huan said heartily.As a top student in the mining industry, Wang Huan has a lot of experience in making flammable and explosive items such as nitroglycerin. What he lacks are raw materials and refining equipment. They have to use local methods to develop them, which doubles the risk. If one thing is not done well, it can easily be destroyed. If your own life is involved, then the gain outweighs the loss.

At the moment, the firearms troop has not even had a horoscope. Qin Liangyu's white soldiers are mainly cold weapons. They don't have firearms, and they don't even have a bird. They are not in a hurry.

Wang Huan praised Ma Wannian and Xu Goudan a few words, making them feel complacent, and then turned his attention to Chen Ergou who was sitting in the hall.

Chen Ergou was tied to a stake by Xu Qianli's men and whipped with a riding crop. His whole body was bruised and bruised. Although his muscles and bones were not injured, he lay in bed for half a month before leaving the room to move around. There is still a scar on his face, from the right side. His eyebrows extend all the way to the base of his ears, making his face even more sinister.

Now he was sitting on a chair, staring at Wang Huan, waiting for his order.

Wang Huan looked at Chen Ergou and suddenly realized that he didn't recognize him. The tall and childish novice monk in the small temple in Yangzhou had grown into a rough and heroic man, a man who was not in line with his biological age. The vicissitudes of life are clearly revealed on the face, and at first glance, one would think that this is an adult warrior.

Current events are tricky, if it wasn't for running thousands of miles and surviving in danger, Chen Ergou might not have matured so quickly, why not himself and Xu Goudan?
Sighing in his heart, Wang Huan said to Chen Ergou: "Brother Chen Xiang, is your injury still hindering you?"

Chen Ergou grinned, twisting the scar on his face: "There is no hindrance, it is joyful!"

Chen Ergou's real name is Chen Xiang, he is the second child in his family, nicknamed Ergou, Wang Huan feels that Longevity City is gradually on track, Chen Ergou is his right-hand man, one of the most trusted people, and Ergou Ergou's Calling it inappropriate, he and Xu Goudan's titles were changed to their real names.

It's just that Xu Goudan's name is Xu Tiezhu, which doesn't quite match his short stature.

Wang Huan smiled gratifiedly and said, "That's good, I have a task for you to complete."

Chen Xiang stood up abruptly, clasped his fists and roared, "Master Counselor, please give me an order!"

After following Ma Xintian for so many days, he has learned a lot of the rules of the general, and he is tall, about the same as Li Yan, and he is full of momentum when he is serious.

Sitting in the hall, Ma Xintian nodded repeatedly, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

Wang Huan said seriously: "It has been nearly [-] days since we intercepted the envoy from the Chongqing Mansion. Calculating the time, Zeng Ying should have received information from our side. This person is defiant, and it is impossible to suffer this loss." Let it go now, plus the heart of peeping at the silver mine will not die, sooner or later you will march into my Longevity Valley, and you will bring twenty people to sneak into the Chongqing Mansion, and you must report to me as soon as his army and horses set off, can you hear me clearly?"

Chen Xiang raised his eyebrows, and replied in a rough voice: "This subordinate takes orders!"

In the hands of Chen Xiang, there are twenty people selected from the residents of Longevity City. They are all clever men. They are trained by Chen Ergou to teach them the knowledge of going out in the market, and they are ready to be used as spies.

Wang Huan pondered for a while, then asked Ma Xintian, "Mr. Ma Qian, how about we take a trip to Heishan Valley when we are free these two days?"

Ma Xintian stood up and replied blankly: "Yes!"

Early the next morning, Wang Huan, Ma Xintian, and Chen Xiang led more than a dozen personal guards and twenty of Chen Xiang's subordinates, rode out of Longevity Valley on horseback, and galloped along the official road.Behind the horse team, followed three two-wheeled carriages. The carriages were tightly covered with tarpaulins, without a single gap, and it was unknown what was loaded. The drivers were cautious and cautious, and their speed was faster than Wang Huan and others. People are much slower.

There are many mountains in the east of Sichuan, and the terrain is different from the mountains in the west and north of Sichuan. Pingchuan is a smooth road, either on the Panshan Road or on the plank road erected in the mountains. Therefore, the counties in Eastern Chuanzhou are basically poor and backward minority tribes with few people.

Riding on their horses, Wang Huan and Ma Xintian talked about the upcoming Chongqing soldiers and horses.

"This road is so difficult. Would Zeng Ying not take the dry road, but take the water road, follow the Yangtze River directly to the shore at Xituo Town, and then take the back road of Wanshou Valley and attack from the direction of Shizhu?" Wang Huan looked at it? He touched his chin and asked, amid the endless stretches of deep mountains and dense forests on the roadside.

Ma Xintian's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Probably not. If he dares to do this, it will be equivalent to directly attacking our chieftain city. Now Qin Zongbing and he are both members of the Ming army, and their ranks are about the same. Qin Zongbing is even more expensive." For the order of the second rank, suppressing him and attacking my stone pillars is tantamount to directly raising the flag to rebel, although the momentum of the Ming court is weak, he Zeng Ying must also take care of it."

Wang Huan was overjoyed, but he couldn't believe it. He frowned and said, "Is he really so disciplined?"

Ma Xintian thought for a while, and replied without blushing: "Not necessarily."

Wang Huan felt a pain in his heart, and almost fell off the horse. Holding the horse's neck to hold back a mouthful of old blood, he stared at Ma Xintian, opening and closing his mouth, but couldn't speak.

You poker face, if you are not sure, don't make assertions about the existence of the old gods, it will make people's hearts thump and thump!

Ma Xintian looked at Wang Huan's constipated expression with some surprise, and said blankly, "Because I believe that Zeng Ying dare not provoke Qin Zongbing. He will just go straight to Longevity Valley from the dry road."

Wang Huan swallowed his saliva, and said with difficulty: "Is there any difference between beating us and beating Tusi City? We are also under the jurisdiction of the Shizhu Propaganda Envoy. If we are in trouble, won't the mother-in-law come to rescue us?"

"Rescue is bound to come, but General Qin can't come." A rare expression appeared on Ma Xintian's face, which was a touch of worry. It can be seen: "The battle against Zhang Xianzhong the year before last, the governor Chen Shiqi did not listen to Qin Zongbing's good advice, abandoned the pass, and mobilized all the soldiers in Sichuan to fight Zhang Xianzhong. He was defeated. Qin Zongbing alone rescued Kuizhou with 500 soldiers. Old illnesses were caused during the battle, and due to advanced age, medicine stones are useless, and you can no longer march out, otherwise your life will be in danger."

Wang Huan suddenly realized that Qin Liangyu was plagued by illness in his later years and could no longer leap on horseback to fight, but this was not mentioned in the history books.

But it's normal to think about it. No matter how fierce a person is, under the living and medical conditions of this era, at the age of 70, he can still live tremblingly.

(End of this chapter)