Tibet

Five days later, Li Ye returned to Xiangyang. He immediately summoned Qiu Xuan. After adjusting his duties, Wang Changling was put in charge of supervision and prisons that were more suitable for him, and the external intelligence system was handed over to Qiu Xuan.

Qiu Xuan was about fifty years old. He was once one of Li Linfu's three most powerful aides. He had been loyal to Li Linfu for fifteen years. He was good at conspiracy. He planned the Wei Jian case and the Du Youlin case.

Li Linfu also knew that several of his staff had too many enemies, so before his death, he handed three of his staff to his grandson Li Ye.

Li Ye did not treat them badly. He first took them to Suiye, and four years later he took them to Xiangyang and continued to use them.

To be able to become Li Ye's intelligence chief, Chou Xuan is of course Li Ye's confidant, but Qiu Xuan is very low-key, very low-key, and doesn't talk much. People tend to ignore him, but it doesn't mean that Li Ye ignores him. On the contrary, Li Ye has always attached great importance to him. He is responsible for handling many of Li Ye's important documents, and he also drafts the work report to the court. This is actually a sign of trust in him.

Another staff member, Yang Shaohua, is also very low-key. He serves as Deputy Sima and Farm Foundry Envoy, responsible for logistics. The manufacturing, farming, and breeding of the army are all his business. He was responsible for this in Suiye, and picked up the industry in Xiangyang. , very handy.

Qiu Xuan hurried to Li Ye's official room, bowed and saluted, "See you, Your Highness!"

Li Ye was standing in front of the sand table, smiling and nodding: "Counsellor Qiu, please come over!"

Qiu Xuan walked to the sand table, and Li Ye pondered for a while and said: "Next, I plan to launch troops to the southeast. It will take about two months, but I want to ensure the safety of Xiangyang. Will the Yan army attack again during my move south? Attacking Xiangyang, the situation in Xiangyang is closely related to the situation in Luoyang, and the situation in Luoyang is closely related to the situation in Guanzhong. The whole world is a chess game, so the intelligence from various places is too important. By summarizing the intelligence from various places, I know the situation of An Lushan Strategic intentions, we will know An Qingxu’s next move.”

Qiu Xuan nodded and said: "Beizhi understands that His Highness attaches great importance to the intelligence network. He has been spreading it quickly after taking office. Beizhi also knows that the Yan army in Luoyang will definitely attack Jingxiang again. According to reliable information obtained by Beizhi, the Yan army is in the Yellow River." Training water ghosts and building a new type of pontoon bridge. The specific type of pontoon bridge is unknown, but one thing is certain. They will not be able to complete it within two months. In addition, Beizhi also received news that An Lushan is negotiating an alliance with Tubo. .”

This news surprised Li Ye. Historically, Anlushan did not form an alliance with Tubo. Only the Tang army introduced the Uighur army. If the Tubo army intervened in the Tang-Yan war, it might change history.

Li Ye asked urgently: "Is the news accurate?"

"The news was brought by Li Yu. His father, Li Xiu, was appointed Taichang Qing. Li Xiu has been leading the alliance with Tubo."

Li Yu fled to Xiangyang when Li Ye inspected Hanyang. Qiu Xuan used to be Li Yu's master. When Li Ye was away, he placed him under Li Yu.

Li Ye just came back two days ago and has not had time to meet Li Yu. Now there is a problem. Li Yu has a reputation as a patricide. If Li Ye openly uses him now, it will really damage his reputation. He can only be given to him later when the imperial court is liquidated for treason. Rehabilitate.

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said: "The alliance between An Lushan and Tubo must be investigated in depth. No matter how much money is needed, exact information must be obtained at all costs. The matter of An Qingxu's building of the pontoon bridge must also be investigated in depth. They have built the pontoon bridge." At this time, it is the time to attack Jingxiang, so we must keep an eye on this time."

"I understand the humble position!"

After a pause, Li Ye continued: "Li Yu will stay in the staff room and serve as secretary-general. Please take more care of him and let him keep a low profile for the time being, and then find a way to bring his wife and daughter to Xiangyang."

Qiu Xuan nodded, "I will definitely do as I am humble!"

Qiu Xuan bowed and left. At this time, Huang Zaixing, a member of the Record Office, said at the door: "Your Highness, Yang Sima and Hu Canjun have sent people to report. They are ready."

Huang Zaixing was a Jinshi in the twelfth year of Tianbao. He had previously served as a minister in Xiangzhou. He was very knowledgeable, shrewd and capable. Li Mi recommended him to Li Ye to join the army in the recording office. Joining the army in the recording office is a confidential secretary. This position is very important and he can control secrets. .

Huang Zaixing was also the direct grandson of the Huang family, the most famous family in Jingxiang. Li Ye reused him in order to win over the Huang family in Jingxiang. In fact, the best way to win over was through marriage, but Li Ye had not yet realized this.

Li Ye thought that he was indeed going to Kai Caosi today, so he nodded, "Prepare the carriage, I'll go now, and call Li Changshi by the way!"

There are many departments under Jiedu Mansion that are responsible for specific affairs, called Zhucao, such as Gong, Bing, Fa, Cang, Shi, Huliucao. In addition, Kaicao, Mucao, Tuncao, etc. are added as needed.

Kai Cao is the Arms Department, the department that develops and manufactures weapons. The chief officer is Kai Cao Shen Military. The name of Kai Cao Shen Military in Hanjiang Jiedu Prefecture is Hu Jiuling. He was the director of Luoyang Ordnance Supervisor and Nufang Office. When Luoyang fell, he took his wife with him. His son and mother fled to Xiangyang for refuge. Just when Li Ye issued a recruitment order, he volunteered himself. The Jianghan Army was most in need of such professionals who understood technology and management. Li Ye immediately appointed him as Kai Cao to join the military.

Hu Jiuling's wife, children and mother had already settled down, so Hu Jiuling devoted himself wholeheartedly to the preparations for the establishment of Kaicaosi.

Hu Jiuling's immediate boss was Deputy Sima Yang Shaohua, and Yang Shaohua was in charge of the three caos of Kaimu Tun.

Currently, Kai Caosi's building is located in the south of the city. It is a large courtyard covering an area of ​​fifty acres. It is the official iron foundry of Shannan East Road. It has complete facilities and various official rooms.

The layout of Kaicaosi is very interesting. It looks like a plum blossom from a high altitude, with the government office in the middle, and five courtyards around it, namely the Crossbow Courtyard, the Armor Courtyard, the Sword Courtyard, the Mechanism Courtyard, and the Firearms Courtyard. In fact, there is also a ship building. The courtyard is not here, but on the banks of the Han River.

Yang Shaohua and Hu Jiuling were already waiting for His Royal Highness King Lu in front of the government office. Li Ye and Chief Shi Li Mi came out of the carriage.

Yang Shaohua and Hu Jiuling hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "See you, Your Highness, see Chang Shi!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Has it been completed?"

Yang Shaohua nodded: "We have already done a test and it has reached the burning level of Yan Guo's gunpowder. Please take a look, Your Highness!"

What Kai Caosi wants to show today is gunpowder. Gunpowder in the Tang Dynasty was very difficult to make. It took Feilong ten years to make 400 kilograms of gunpowder. The main reason was that it was too difficult to obtain the raw material saltpeter ore. Feilong specially sent people to the toilet and The stables collected nitrate soil. It was not until later that Liefeng learned that natural nitrate soil was produced in Laojun Mountain, Mianzhou, Jiannan Road, but the yield was also very low.

The reason why Anlushan's firearms inspectors only made a hundred Juntian Lei was that Feilong's gunpowder was used up by them, and their own gunpowder had not yet been made. For the same reason, there was too little saltpeter.

The Yan State could not find a specialized production area for saltpeter, so they had to scrape it from the saline land. After one winter, a layer of yellow stuff would grow on the saline-alkali land. This is the saltpeter soil. It must be swept away before the spring rain and then boiled. Nitrate, the amount of nitrate produced is too little.

Historically, the development of firearms has been slow. One of the important reasons is the low output of gunpowder. It was not until the large supply of nitrate mines in India and Chile that the quality and intensity of gunpowder were rapidly improved.

Li Ye's gunpowder business was also very difficult. He sent people to Mianzhou to buy nitrate. It took him half a year to buy 3,000 kilograms of nitrate. However, this was only nitrate. After repeated boiling and purification, 100 kilograms of nitrate Only five or six pounds of pure saltpeter can be produced.

Li Ye followed Hu Jiuling to the Firearms Academy.