Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 173 What is this Iron Bone Flower
Yang Puxiong's detailed introduction immediately sobered up Xu Shouhui and Peng Yingyu, and at the same time, they became even more embarrassed.

Of course Peng Yingyu wanted to directly divide and win over the factions. Among the three factions in Luzhou, the generals of the Chaohu faction could be won over. Even though there had been conflicts between them before, they had rebelled together after all. With this friendship, the two sides at least had a basis for dialogue.

Then there are the factions that Lu Jin recruited himself. These generals should not be in high positions now. As long as you are willing to offer them high positions and generous salaries, it is not impossible to win them over.

Finally, there are the surrendered generals from the Yuan court. Almost every force will absorb surrendered generals. The key is that the surrendered generals under Lu Jin have killed Peng Yingyu's female apprentice. This is bloody, and it would be best to kill them secretly. If not, they can be driven away. Yes, I am talking about Zhu Liangzu.

For people like Zhang Huan and Ye Sheng, it doesn't matter. It's okay to accept them. They can be used as horse bones to buy for a lot of gold.

As for the civil servants under Lu Jin, Peng Yingyu didn't take them seriously at all. He knew too well the character of literati. They were just like the surrendered officials of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. They would still be officials after surrendering, so changing their master was no big deal.

Xu Shouhui was different. He certainly wanted to subdue Lu Jin. It would be even better if Lu Jin could be loyal to him, but this was obviously difficult. As for the fact that the generals under Lu Jin had conflicts with Peng Yingyu's faction, that was even better. He needed such conflicts to achieve internal checks and balances.

In fact, Xu Shouhui’s thoughts were relatively simple. After all, he was an ancient man, and his fundamental thinking mode was different from that of Lu Jin, the time traveler.

According to the logic of the ancients, what was the purpose of rebellion? Either to become a king or to become an emperor. But to be honest, in the ancient environment, only a few people dared to dream of becoming an emperor. Most people were content to be crowned kings.

Xu Shouhui felt that Lu Jin was ambitious. With an army of 100,000 under his command, he dared to bargain with him. At the same time, he was a little timid and fearful, for example, he did not dare to take sides between Xu Song and Han Song.

So in Xu Shouhui's impression, Lu Jin is a person who is capable and ambitious, but his vision is not high enough. If such a person is promised a throne, maybe this person will really be loyal.

Xu Shouhui was willing to give the title of king. As long as it allowed him to become the emperor, there was nothing he wouldn't give. Besides, he restored the country's name to Song, and there was a precedent of conferring titles of kingship on people of different surnames in the early Song Dynasty. For example, Wang Anshi had the title of king. So as long as Lu Jin was willing to join him with an army of 100,000, it would be nothing to give him the title of king.

However, Xu Song is just starting out now. Even his entrepreneurial partners, Zou Pusheng, Ni Wenjun, and Peng Yingyu, do not have the title of king. Why should an outsider like Lu Jin be given a title?

So this is difficult.
It's not that he is reluctant to give it, but he can't do it now. Xu Shouhui is also very worried now. He is not quite sure how to win over Lu Jin, but there is one thing he is very clear about, that is, he can't let people from Peng Yingyu's faction contact Lu Jin anymore. If Peng Yingyu sends her disciples over, they might really poach Lu Jin's people. By then, he might not be able to get rid of Peng Yingyu's control, but instead make things easier for Peng Yingyu, and by the way, he would also create a big enemy like Lu Jin.

Therefore, for the next negotiation with Lu Jin, I must send someone I trust.

So I listened to what Xu Shouhui said.

"Military Advisor, I think we need to think about this matter carefully. We should not push Lu Jin too hard. Otherwise, what was originally a good thing may end up becoming an enemy, which is not good at all."

Peng Yingyu nodded when he heard this. He also knew that this matter could not be rushed. Even if he wanted to divide and win over the two parties, he had to understand the situation clearly before sending people to contact them separately. So he asked, "Then how does Your Majesty plan to deal with it?"

Xu Shouhui said immediately, "I think there is no need to rush this matter. Now is the time when our army is winning battles one after another and expanding our territory. We should focus on expanding our territory.

"Especially Military Advisor and Pu Xiong, you two should not delay too much on this matter. Now is the time to make achievements. You two should make more military achievements and not be outdone by your fellow apprentices. As for diplomatic affairs, you can find other people to handle it."

As soon as these words were spoken, Peng Yingyu frowned, but before he could speak, Xu Shouhui spoke again.

"Besides, Lu Jin is now very powerful, commanding an army of 100,000. He is arrogant and self-righteous, and will not take us seriously. Even if we negotiate, there will be no result. It is better to delay it for a while.

"I think the Yuan court will definitely launch a massive attack from the north this year, and even Xuzhou Zhima Li may not be able to stop them. It is also unknown how much the Lu brocade is worth. It is better to let the Yuan court fight them first to see the quality of the Lu brocade.

"First, if he loses, he will definitely surrender when we rescue him. Second, even if he doesn't lose, he will be seriously injured after this battle. But our army is different. We will take this opportunity to expand our territory and recruit soldiers. In the future, we will definitely have more soldiers than him. When we talk to him again, he won't dare to be too arrogant."

Peng Yingyu originally thought that Xu Shouhui wanted to avoid him and win over Lu Jin alone, and he was a little unhappy. However, Xu Shouhui's subsequent words stunned him. He nodded secretly, thinking that it might not be a bad idea to delay it for a while.

What Xu Shouhui said was very right. The Yuan court would not just ignore it and would definitely send a large army south to suppress the rebellion. By then, the Zhima Li of Xuzhou and the Lu Jin of Luzhou would definitely be the first to bear the brunt.

As the saying goes, it is better to help someone in need than to add icing on the cake. Let Lu Jin fight to the death with Yuan Ting first. When that ignorant guy gets taught a lesson by Yuan Ting, he will know what is good for him.

And if I show some favor to you, won't Lu Jin bow down to me?

Peng Yingyu immediately praised, "Your Majesty is wise. Let him be arrogant for a few days. When our army is strong, even if he is unwilling, he will have no choice but to submit in front of the sword."

Xu Shouhui was secretly proud when he heard this. This Peng Yingyu was just like that. This was just what he had planned. He first tricked them into diverting their attention and asked them not to continue paying attention to this matter. After the storm died down, he would send his trusted confidants to contact Lu Jin. Maybe he could recruit this group of people for his own use by then.

So Xu Shouhui immediately expressed his attitude, saying that he would put the matter aside for the time being and focus on military affairs.

As the saying goes, "If you are too eager to help someone, it's not a good deal." If you keep asking for Lu Jin, maybe that guy will ask for a higher price. Two days later, Xu Shouhui brought Peng Yingyu and Yang Puxiong to the front line. Zou Pusheng had already cleared all the Yuan troops outside Wuchang, and Wuchang City had been surrounded by him for several days.

However, Wuchang was an important city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and was not easy to capture. Zou Pusheng did not want to attack by force and was trying to bribe the Mongol nobles in the city to open the city gates.
Don't think it's outrageous. When a city is under siege, it is inevitable that people inside the city will have different thoughts. Not to mention accepting bribes, it is not impossible for them to surrender voluntarily.

At the Wuchang front, Xu Shouhui was supervising the battle while secretly looking for reliable confidants. He was ready to leave Peng Yingyu aside and contact Lu Jin alone. Although the throne could not be given to him for the time being, he could make a big promise. As long as he could get Lu Jin's troops and get rid of his identity as a mascot, everything was negotiable.
At the same time, Lu Jin in Luzhou in the north has not been idle recently. After arranging the reorganization and training of the combined brigade, he went to the Feixi Iron Factory and spent half a month making two thousand sets of cloth armor. Without waiting for a regiment to be assembled, he immediately asked Ye Sheng to send this batch to Haozhou, and by the way, he also escorted a batch of arrows to enhance the firepower of the city defense.

A new 100mm caliber eight-pound cannon was also cast. The barrel is 16.5 meters long and the caliber is 480 times. After testing, the range is indeed more than meters, which is enough. The gun weighs kilograms, which is no more than kilograms. Although it is much heavier than the six-pound cannon, it is still acceptable.

Lu Jin immediately ordered the mass production of eight-jin cannon as the main equipment for medium-caliber field artillery. Jiang Yue, Jiang Xuan, and Shen An, the three iron foundries, were making iron molds for mass casting of artillery, and together with Lu Jin, they developed a set of iron mold casting technology.

In history, the method of casting cannons with iron molds was a technology developed in the late Qing Dynasty, but there is no technological gap between now and then. It is just a matter of thinking, and Lu Jin was able to point it out in advance.

However, the iron mold casting method is not all advantages. Although the casting speed is fast and the iron mold can be reused, its disadvantages are also obvious. That is, it cools too quickly and easily casts white cast iron. White cast iron is very brittle and prone to bursting. In addition, sand holes are easily formed when it cools too quickly. These are serious defects that cannot be tolerated in artillery.

In order to fully utilize the advantages of using iron molds to cast cannons, the key is to solve the problem of heat preservation during casting. So after discussing with several people, Lu Jin asked them to dig a pit on the ground and lay bricks on it to make a half-underground, half-above-ground furnace.

When casting a cannon, you first need to preheat the iron mold, then assemble it vertically in this furnace. After the mold is assembled, light a fire under the furnace to heat it, and pour hot sand on it. This can not only fix the mold, but also keep the iron mold warm.

When everything is ready, molten iron is poured in, and then the heating is continued for two days. The cannon cast in this way is a wrought iron cannon, which is light and strong, and it is also "malleable iron" and will not be as brittle and easy to break as white cast iron.

The problem of casting artillery was solved, but the problem of artillery shells was also a problem. Solid bullets were easy to deal with. Lu Jin proposed a method for making a ball grinding machine. The craftsmen only needed to cast the corresponding model of grinding wheel. However, the production of hollow artillery shells and grenades was more troublesome.

The problem was not the casting of the hollow shells, but the problem of the fuse. How to ignite the hollow grenade in the barrel and explode it in the enemy group after firing? If the fuse was not safe enough and it exploded in the barrel, it would be a tragedy.

As for the grenade, when Lu Jin actually started making it, he found it was not that easy. He just made it into a hollow iron ball and filled it with gunpowder. How could he ignite it and throw it?

The two problems finally became one: developing a safe fuse.

The first thing Lu Jin thought of was the green slow-acting fuse used in fireworks. This type of fuse was safe enough, had a stable burning speed, and the detonation time could be set by cutting the length of the fuse. Unfortunately, he didn't know the formula, and it was highly likely that the chemicals needed for it could not be produced at present.

So I finally used the simplest method.

After completing this step, make a new type of gunpowder.

Britain once developed a kind of gunpowder with a low burning rate for muskets, which was called brown powder because of its color. The main difference between this gunpowder and black powder is the charcoal component. The charcoal in black powder is completely carbonized and then ground, while the charcoal in brown powder is semi-carbonized and retains some of the original color of the wood.

It took several days to make brown gunpowder, and then I made a fuse that was as thick as a toothpick and had the most basic waterproof function.

After several experiments, we found that as long as the process flow is strictly controlled, the burning speed of the fuse can be controlled, especially the ratio of brown gunpowder. With a reliable fuse, the two types of hollow ammunition were finally produced.

The hollow grenade fired from a cannon is mounted on a wooden support base. The diameter of the grenade is slightly smaller than the diameter of the barrel, with an error of less than two millimeters. The airtightness is mainly achieved by the wooden support below. Wood is very easy to turn, which can control the clearance to within one millimeter, so the airtightness is still no problem.

The fuse of the hollow grenade is placed at the junction of the shell and the wooden support base. There will be a gap formed by the angle between the iron ball and the wooden support. The fuse is coiled into a circle and fixed on the wooden support, and a layer of tung oil paper is pasted on it to prevent moisture.

When using, first take out the shells from the ammunition box and put them to the muzzle. Before loading, tear open the oil paper packaging, check whether the fuse is intact, then use the fuse to ignite the fuse on the shell seat, and then quickly push the shells into the chamber, ignite the propellant, and complete the launch.

This process was dangerous, but before the advent of breech-loading guns and fulminate of mercury, it was the only way to launch a grenade.

After experimenting with an 8-jin cannon, it was found that the reliability of this grenade still needed to be improved. Only six out of ten shots could successfully explode after firing. Two of the remaining four were due to fuse failure, one was due to the iron ball falling to the ground before detonation, smashing the iron shell and scattering gunpowder all over the ground, resulting in failure to detonate, and one was due to the warhead separating and disintegrating from the wooden support.

After finding the problem, we continued to make improvements, thickening the iron shell to increase the strength of the shell and making it less likely to break prematurely. Also, the connection between the wooden support and the iron shell was not only fixed with pins, but also glued with fish bladder glue. Finally, the fuse was thickened and made waterproof. Only in this way could the reliability of the grenade be increased to more than 80%.

After solving the technical problems of artillery-launched grenades, the successful experience was directly applied to hand grenades. Therefore, when Xu Da of the grenadiers' battalion saw this new weapon, he could not help but exclaim in surprise.

"Is this the grenade the Marshal was talking about? Why does it look like a short-handled iron grenade?!"

(End of this chapter)