Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

The Privy Council organized the "Hedong Qianying Military Mansion" by order, and the large-scale war between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Han Dynasty was a foregone conclusion and inevitable. Wang Pu is still the chief of the military government, which is a sign of the imperial conquest. Like the shogunate during the Southern Tang War, the military government mobilized officials to establish divisions to sort out military information, merits and demerits, and provide suggestions for the Chinese army. It also had a complete system for issuing military orders. In addition, the number of officials who were going to be sent to the army at various levels to collect and organize and assist generals in issuing written military orders was the largest.

Li Gu was ordered to take charge of the preparation and mobilization of military supplies.

The main reason is that grain and grass were transferred from various places to Jinzhou, Liaozhou, Luzhou and other places for hoarding. In addition, strong craftsmen were recruited to mine stone quarries near these counties and counties to make round stone bullets.

The Howling Cannon is scheduled to be mobilized to the north after the spring of next year... The imperial court chose the time for dispatching the army at the beginning of next year. Because of the consideration of reinforcements from the Liao army; the cavalry horses of the Liao army are the fattest in autumn. The grass on the prairie bears seeds in autumn and can grow fat. At this time, the horses on the prairie are the most powerful, and it is also the time when the nomadic army is the strongest. Therefore, there has been a saying of "autumn defense" throughout the ages. The court of the Great Zhou Dynasty took the initiative to attack, and of course it did not choose autumn when it took the initiative to choose the time, because the war horses in the Central Plains mainly rely on grain to fatten up, and there is almost no seasonality.

There is also the preparation of gunpowder. The howling cannon is far more powerful than the catapults used by Zhou Jun before, but the efficiency of using gunpowder is not high, and a large amount of gunpowder is consumed. Charcoal is not a problem; Li Gu urged Zan Jurun to send people to supervise the sulfur mines in Hebei, Hedong, Shandong and other places. In addition, Guo Shao also sent people to send a letter to Chen Jiali, asking them to help them buy sulfur from Dali and store it... Most of the sulfur mined in the mainland is impure and of low quality, so it can only be used. At this time, the best sulfur is imported by sea merchants from Japan in small quantities.

Only saltpeter mines are in short supply, and open-pit mines with high output can only be found in Hanzhong, and there are also in the Western Regions, but they are not within the control of Da Zhou.

Li Gu first collected and mobilized saltpeter from Hanzhong and other places, and the method used for storage was: use dung to pile up saltpeter. He first set up a pile of nitrogen tanks in Guantian Manor on the outskirts of Tokyo, and some of the dung trucks coming out of the city would be transported here.

Li Gu used the method of alchemy. First, he made a large clay vat and covered it with straw. Then he piled manure into the vat, mixed it with rotting animals and plants, slag, lime, plant ash, and covered it with straw. After that, every time the urine and water are used to irrigate and ferment, some nitric acid frost can be scraped on the straw.

Then, using the purification method created by Guo Shao, the saltpeter with impurities is melted into water, cooked, dried in the sun, and screened with a sieve to obtain relatively pure crystallized saltpeter.

... Everything is being prepared. Although Guo Shao did not personally handle it, he has been paying close attention to the progress of various matters. Even what Fu Zhaoxu, who was stationed in Liaozhou, did and how he got along with the generals, were all recorded by the civilian officials who accompanied the military envoy.

Guo Shao put down the paper in his hand, got up and went to the wall to look at the map.

This is the Hall of Grace Grace, a small courtyard to the west of the imperial palace. Guo Shao is not very satisfied with this place, because he always feels that the surroundings are full of palace buildings, and it is very closed and boring here, but he still chooses this place as a place where he often rests and sleeps.

Because of the big palace like the Long Live Hall, Guo Shao always has a feeling of "public place". In fact, the palace maids and eunuchs there are indeed the places where the main halls are on duty. Their job is to manage the property of the palace, clean it, and serve the emperor's daily life.

That's why Guo Shao chose the Hall of Gathering Grace. This small courtyard is at least like a private space. After a busy day, Guo Shao wants to return to a place where he can relax mentally.

At this time, Yulian came over to clean up the messy table that Guo Shao had turned over just now. Guo Shao turned his head and said, "Those things are related to official business. Tomorrow morning, you will hand them over to the eunuch who will pick me up, and ask him to send them to Jinxiang Palace's study room for secret storage."

Yulian responded with a "hmm". When Guo Shao lived here, he usually let Yulian take care of the daily life, even when she wasn't supposed to be sleeping. Yulian is not very literate, she doesn't care what Guo Shao is doing, especially she doesn't know much about state affairs... This makes Guo Shao very relaxed. Moreover, Yulian is someone he trusts very much, and some personal items are also kept by her.

Yulian also wouldn't interfere with him doing his own thing, she picked up the teacup to replace the cold tea for him after she finished packing. If there was one person who would not affect Guo Shao if he lingered in front of him, it would be Yulian...not ignoring her, but being too familiar and close.

Guo Shao stood in front of a map on the wall of the study, looking at the territory above, he could really feel what he had.

At this time, his mood is not mainly greedy, wanting more, but wanting to keep and worrying about losing. He won the Great Zhou Jiangshan, but the Jiangshan is far from being stable and safe, and he is not at ease with what he has in hand.

For example, the land in Hedong. Since ancient times, there has not been a dynasty with a stable national defense, and a hostile force hangs over the capital... From the east of the river to the Yellow River, the Yellow River is the only fragile natural barrier, not to mention the support of the Liao Kingdom behind the Northern Han Dynasty.

Guo Shao understands that even if he wants to enjoy peace, now is not the time, unless someone who is stupid to a certain extent has no sense of crisis.

After two days of tapping his fingers on the east river, he put his hands behind his back and walked back and forth in the room for a few steps.

...

Until October, a group of scholars and common people with an accent from the east of the river came to Tokyo. They were sent to the inner city and gathered on the Imperial Street to appeal for an order.

People in ancient times could not get together casually, so there was generally no talk of petitions (for fear of gathering together to rebel), not to mention that these people actually entered the inner city... But they scolded the Northern Han Dynasty and called the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty a saint, so they were not driven out by force.

At that time, the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Han Dynasty were originally enemy countries and the relationship was tense. There were even ranger raids and small-scale battles on the border. The Northern Han Dynasty sent a large number of scouts to the territory of Dazhou to inquire about news. Although they were not spies, they found out some obvious things clearly; although the local government captured some, they couldn't prevent this kind of spy at all.

The Zhou army frequently mobilized a large amount of food and grass, and the towns had to mobilize town soldiers to participate in the battle, and the signs were very obvious; there were also some quarries that were mined to make cobblestones, which seemed to be used to attack the city.

In short, such large-scale war preparations cannot be hidden by neighboring countries at all. The Jinyang court has been shrouded in the cloud of war.

... There is a small matter in Jinyang, the matter of Yang Ye exchanging his mount for a beauty, as an anecdote, it was spread as an interesting story in the circle of generals. Because Yang Ye was a celebrity in the Northern Han Dynasty, he easily attracted attention.

It's just buying a concubine, the process of buying is just a bit more interesting, Yang Ye doesn't care.

But one day when he was ordered to inspect the fortifications of Jinyang City, he met Zhao Kuangyin, but Zhao Kuangyin mentioned it to his face.

There is no gap between Zhao Kuangyin and Yang Ye. Although Yang Ye's brother is a military general in Zhou State, Yang Ye doesn't care about what is right and wrong in Zhou State; naturally, he has no opinion on Zhao Kuangyin, even because Zhao Kuangyin is also a famous general, so it is relatively easy to talk to. (Zhao Kuangyin made several meritorious deeds in battles such as the Battle of Gaoping and the Battle of Huainan, and his use of troops is a good story, especially the fact that he single-handedly captured a general of the Southern Tang Dynasty in Huainan's attack on Chuzhou is more famous.)

Zhao Kuangyin mentioned the anecdote first, then suddenly his tone changed, and he said seriously: "The general will have a word of advice at the end, women should not be trusted."

Yang Ye felt that this remark was strange, so he asked casually, "What does Brother Zhao mean by that?"

Zhao Kuangyin hesitated to speak, pondered for a while and said: "The last general just sighed, especially those women whose origins are unknown, you have to be careful."

His words were clouded. Yang Ye had a good taste, because at first they were talking about buying a concubine, and then they suddenly mentioned that a woman of unknown origin should not be trusted. Yang Ye guessed that Zhao Kuangyin meant that there was something wrong with the concubine he bought.

But Zhao Kuangyin's situation at this time was equivalent to being under the fence of others, and the woman was in Yang Ye's house. Zhao Kuangyin probably understood that it was not good to speak too harshly, so he did not continue. Yang Ye didn't ask too much.

Yang Ye inspected the city defense for a long time, and went home in the afternoon, and went to Hong Ying's room as usual. He is not married at this time, but has three concubines, Hongying is one of them... This woman is obviously much more beautiful than the other two concubines, and she is also good at serving people, Yang Ye prefers to come here.

Seeing Hong Ying's attentive and gentle appearance, Yang Ye thought of Zhao Kuangyin's words again. So he quietly asked the businessman who sold her the details and where he was. Hong Ying answered fluently, with a very clean smile on her face, without the slightest hint of scheming.

She just said aggrievedly: "I know I have a bad background and I am disabled, but do you think I look like a bad person?"

Yang Ye shook his head as he thought of the past few months of getting along. There are not many literate women in this world. This woman can play piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. It is possible to say that she has been degraded. If she is a bad person... What bad things can a young woman do?

Hongying said softly: "Your benefactor has spent all his money, so don't dislike me. My concubine is nothing in Yang's mansion, she is just a slave at the benefactor's disposal, and even walking is difficult, what else can I do?"

Yang Ye was relieved when he heard this and thought about it. In fact, what she said was quite right. The only woman who can influence him is his wife. A concubine or a slave is just like a thing, and there is nothing to dislike. He will be more cautious in marrying a wife.

But because of Zhao Kuangyin's words, Yang Ye still found an old slave who had been there for many years, and asked him to inquire and confirm what Hongying said according to his history.

The servant went out in a carriage and returned in the evening. He had inquired that the merchant's family that sold Hongying did exist, and he also admitted that he had sold a disabled girl from a debtor's family. And that shop has been in Jinyang for many years, and most of the staff are from Jinyang, and the people around say the same, there is nothing strange about it.

When Yang Ye got the report, he no longer doubted it. Because he really couldn't think of what Hongying could get from him as a concubine. After getting along day and night for these few months, he felt that Hongying had a good character, and he never asked for extra rewards, and she was very modest in giving her things.

Over time, Yang Ye also developed some affection for Hongying. As he said by accident, even a stone can be warmed up by holding it in his arms for a long time.

!!