Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 199 Recovering the Three States
"Oh!"

In the afternoon, when Liu Jilian led more than a hundred elite cavalrymen to the gunpowder factory in Phoenix Mountain, they saw a stone fort rising from the ground and constant knocking sounds coming from inside.

The circumference of the stone fortress is three hundred steps. The fortress wall is ten feet high and ten feet thick. There is only one fortress gate, which is guarded by fifty armored soldiers on duty.

"Come on!"

Seeing Liu Jilian coming, the armored soldiers at the door saluted and bowed. Liu Jilian nodded and exchanged a few words of greeting. Then he left the armored soldiers outside the door and walked into the fort with only two elite cavalrymen.

The houses in the stone fortress are all built along the city wall, with a courtyard covering several acres in the middle, and the gate is guarded by armored soldiers.

Liu Jilong walked into the courtyard and immediately summoned the secretary of the gunpowder factory.

"Come on!"

The chief officer of the gunpowder factory was a rank eight official, and his person was Chen Jitong, a former veteran soldier of Shandan.

When Chen Jitong was retaking Linzhou, the foreign troops cut off two of his fingers, leaving him disabled.

After the three prefectures of He, Lin and Wei were recovered, Liu Jilong appointed him as the director of the gunpowder factory, which was a disguised promotion of him five levels, from a team leader of the ninth rank to the director of the gunpowder factory of the eighth rank.

"How are you these days? Does the wound still hurt on rainy days?"

After Liu Jilong got off the horse, he asked Chen Jitong about his health, which warmed Chen Jitong's heart. He smiled and said, "It's just sore, but it doesn't hurt!"

"Okay." Liu Jilong patted his shoulder and then walked into the yard with him.

In the courtyard, many craftsmen were crushing sulfur, and the houses not far away were filled with sulfur ore mined from Minzhou.

"There are three yards here, each separated for pounding charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur."

"I have stored these things separately as you instructed. You can use them now."

Chen Jitong introduced everything about the gunpowder factory and took Liu Jilong to see the charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur in the warehouses in the three courtyards.

"Send someone to get two pounds of saltpeter, four pounds of sulfur, and six pounds of charcoal."

"Remember, put the three things in separate bamboo tubes, and take another bamboo tube that can just hold 12 kilograms of sand."

Liu Jilong instructed Chen Jitong, and Chen Jitong immediately asked someone to do it.

There are bamboos in Fenghuang Mountain, and Chen Jitong even ordered people to transplant them to the vicinity of Shibao, so it is not difficult to obtain bamboo tubes.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Chen Jitong had prepared everything, and Liu Jilong asked him to get a two-foot-long sesame oil wick.

With everything ready, Liu Jilong took Chen Jitong and these things out of the gunpowder factory and walked into the mountains along the path.

After walking for seven or eight miles, Liu Jilong stopped his horse and came to a stone wall. He patted the stone wall with his hand:
"Cut it open so it's big enough to fit the big bamboo tube."

"Yes!"

Two elite riders dismounted from their horses and, under the gaze of everyone, stepped forward and used chisels to cut a hole in the stone wall.

At the same time, Liu Jilong spread linen on the ground and carefully poured out the powder in the bamboo tube. After stirring it, he put the wick into the large bamboo tube and poured the dust into it.

Two quarters of an hour later, the soldiers chiseled out a hole large enough to fit the large bamboo tube, and Liu Jilian fixed the bamboo tube in the hole, and then lit the wick that protruded about a foot.

After lighting the fuse, he hurriedly rode back to the team: "Let's go!"

He led his men to retreat several dozen steps and stopped, and all he could hear was a "chi chi" sound coming from the stone wall...

"boom!"

“Hiss!!”

A muffled sound was heard, and as smoke rose, there seemed to be a sound of something shattering and collapsing.

The horses were frightened and neighed continuously, while the elite riders tried their best to pull and calm the horses.

"This power isn't very strong..."

The smoke and dust had not yet dissipated, but Liu Jilong was frowning.

When he was young in his previous life, he could hear the sound of mining in the mountains from time to time in his hometown.

Whenever there is blasting in the mountains, the sound can be heard from miles away.

Although this was due to the echo in the mountains, the sound was still fresh in his memory.

In comparison, although he did not see what the stone wall looked like, he had already guessed the outcome of the insufficient power of gunpowder.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Liu Jilong and the others rode forward.

Sure enough, a hole three feet in diameter and about a foot deep was blown open in the middle of the stone wall, and there were dense cracks around the hole.

Liu Jilong tried to hit it with a pickaxe and was able to easily chisel open the broken stone wall.

"This is black gunpowder. Originally, its power should be greater, but I guess I didn't get the formula right, so it's a little less powerful now. But it's fine for mining and blowing up city walls."

Liu Jilong felt somewhat helpless when he said this. "One nitrate, two sulfur, and three charcoal" was the formula he could remember, but he was not sure about the specific ratios, and he did not have the time to study it.

In short, the explosive power of the black gunpowder in his hand was not as great as he imagined, and was even less powerful than the gunpowder bag used by Yang Xingmi when he attacked Huainan in the late Tang Dynasty.

Because the power was not that great, although everyone was surprised, they did not find it incredible.

"General Jie, this is definitely much more powerful than a trebuchet when used for siege."

Chen Jitong touched the stone wall of the hole with his hand and couldn't help but sigh:
"If the stone wall can be blown apart, then the stone wall will definitely not be able to withstand it."

"Hmm!" Liu Jilong nodded, and then said: "This power is not as great as I expected. I will write out the formula later. You can study it carefully when you go back to see if you can increase the power."

"Yes!" Chen Jitong bowed quickly, and Liu Jilong also repeatedly reminded:

"You have seen the power of gunpowder. Remember that no fire is allowed in the gunpowder factory. Everyone will go home at 17: and no torches are allowed in the factory."

"With the thousands of kilograms of raw materials stored in the city, if an explosion occurs, there may not be any living creatures within a mile."

Liu Jilong had no idea what the scene would be like if thousands of kilograms of black gunpowder exploded, but he could only exaggerate it so that Chen Jitong and the others would know everything.

"Don't worry, Commander Jie, I understand!"

This was not the first time that Liu Jilian reminded Chen Jitong. Although he had strictly followed the instructions before, he did not know that gunpowder was so powerful.

In fact, the Huainan area had already begun to use gunpowder in fireworks research. It was for this reason that Yang Xingmi was able to raise a large amount of black gunpowder decades later to recapture Huainan and attack Yuzhang.

However, Liu Jilong did not know this. He was currently worried that the black gunpowder in his hands was too weak and produced too little, and it seemed to be of little use in military operations.

After much deliberation, he instructed Chen Jitong on his way back to the gunpowder factory to stockpile the raw materials and test the power of black powder with various proportions.

Of course, these proportions cannot deviate too much from the "one nitrate, two sulfur, three charcoal" given by Liu Jilong.

If it really cannot be improved, Liu Jilian will have to use the gunpowder to mine, or wait until the attack on Hehuang and bring enough gunpowder to blow up the city wall.

For the Longyou army, as long as there was no obstacle of the city wall, with the same number of people, they could quickly defeat the foreign troops guarding the city.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong also took Chen Jitong back to the gunpowder factory and then ordered:
"In a few days, I will ask Gao Changshi, Cui Canjun, Zhang Chang and others to come to the gunpowder factory. Then you will follow the formula and bring black gunpowder to show them the power."

"In addition, I will let Zhang Chang leave dozens of brothers here to practice using black powder to attack the city and blast the mines. The black powder will be provided by you."

"Yes!" Chen Jitong bowed in response. Liu Jilong took his hand and looked at the mutilated palm with the ring finger and little finger cut off.

"You are about the same age as me. I will ask Zhang Chang to find you a marriage partner in a few days. You can also get married and have children soon and enjoy a peaceful life."

"Yes!!" Chen Jitong stood straight with a smile on his face.

Liu Jilong hugged him tightly, then let go of his hand, turned around, mounted his horse and left.

Chen Jitong just stood there until Liu Jilian disappeared at the end of the road. Then he turned around happily and walked into the stone fortress.

A few days later, Liu Jilong told Gao Jinda, Cui Shu and Zhang Chang about the black powder one after another, and asked them to go to the gunpowder factory to test the power of the black powder.

When they returned, they were curious about the power of black powder, but not very surprised.

Afterwards, Gao Jinda and Zhang Chang arranged for twenty soldiers to go to the gunpowder factory to practice blasting, and the following days were no different from usual.

On June 17, Shang Duoluo sent a victory report that the army had recaptured Lintan County, Taozhou.

Taozhou only had one county, Lintan, with a population of over ten thousand in the city and tens of thousands of acres of cultivated land outside the city. Before there was enough time to register and count the specific numbers, the army turned to attack Diezhou in the south.

On June 25, Changfen County of Diezhou was captured, Hechuan County surrendered, and the entire Diezhou was recovered. More than 8,000 captives were captured, including more than 3,000 foreigners.

On the 28th, the army set out for Songzhou, which belonged to Jiannan Road.

There were only 5,000 people in Songzhou, so Shang Duoluo left 1,000 soldiers to garrison Taozhou and another 600 soldiers to garrison Diezhou. In addition, he left more than 400 wounded soldiers in the army to recuperate in Diezhou, and ordered Hu Siguang to lead more than 800 elite cavalry, 2,000 armored soldiers, and 7,000 civilians to rush to Songzhou.

On July 15, Huk Siguang led his army to recapture the two counties of Jiacheng and Jiaochuan in Songzhou. The entire territory of Songzhou was recovered, and the three states began to register and measure the land. After the victory report of the three states was sent back, Liu Jilong was relieved and ordered Shang Duoluo to stay in Taozhou, Cuoben to stay in Diezhou, Huk Siguang to stay in Songzhou, and Li Ji to return to defend Minzhou.

The three states established Taozhou Town, Songzhou Town, Diezhou Town, and Songzhou and Diezhou Town.

The two towns each retained 1,000 veteran soldiers and recruited 800 new soldiers, and the rest of the troops returned to their respective towns.

As a result, there were nine towns, twenty-seven armies and eighty-one regiments under the jurisdiction of the Longyou Protectorate, with a total of 16,200 soldiers, including 4,000 elite cavalry.

After the expansion of power, good news also came from the south.

On July 22, Cao Mao and Yu Conghui recruited 4,000 hungry people from Sanchuan, and entered Wuzhou in Longyou via Lizhou on the Shannan West Road.

Liu Jilian settled these 4,000 starving people in Hechuan County, Diezhou, to enrich the population of Diezhou.

At the same time, Bai Minzhong, the governor of Xichuan who was in Jiannan Road, only learned in early August that Liu Jilong had recovered the three states and extended his hand to Jiannan Road.

"Fine brocade!"

"Don't miss this newly arrived southern barbarian slave, gentlemen!"

"Indian spices are on sale today!"

"Don't……"

Chengdu Prefecture, as the Nanjing of the Tang Dynasty, has inherited the reputation of the Land of Abundance from Guanzhong since Li Bing governed the Minjiang River.

Later, the Zhengguo Canal in Guanzhong fell into disrepair, but Zhuge Liang appointed weir officials and weir soldiers to maintain the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Successive dynasties continued the weir official system, which enabled the people of Chengdu to live and work in peace and contentment.

By the Tang Dynasty, Chengdu had gained the reputation of "the place that promotes prosperity in the world".

After the An-Shi Rebellion, Jiangnan and Bashu, which were not affected by the war, became even more prosperous. Today, they have become the most luxurious cities besides Yangzhou.

In Chengdu County, the beautiful market unfolds like a picture scroll.

The vendors' shouts could be heard one after another, and the dazzling array of goods attracted customers from all directions.

Merchants from Nanzhao, Pyu and India were walking hurriedly among the crowd, their eyes sharp and focused, as if they wanted to pocket every business.

Nearly one million people live in Chengdu Prefecture, and nearly half of them live in Chengdu city.

The vast and magnificent city is a bustling commercial city with many markets, such as the North City, South City, West City, New Taipei City, New South City...

In addition, the city had more professional commodity trading markets than other cities in the Tang Dynasty, such as the silkworm market, medicine market, brocade market, and flower market...

These markets not only existed within the city, but also extended to the towns and villages outside the city, giving rise to grass markets and night markets.

Although the Tang Dynasty had a curfew system, the night markets on both sides of Jieyuxi River near Daci Temple in Chengdu were very famous.

Thousands of merchants shuttled back and forth in the city, selling Xichuan's brocade, silk, gauze, lacquerware and grain to various countries.

The pressure of being in charge of Chengdu is no easier than that of being in charge of Chang'an.

Similarly, Chengdu’s wealth is no less than Chang’an, and may even be slightly better.

"Oh!"

"Liu Jilong has recovered the three states a long time ago, why did he send the news only now?"

Inside the Protectorate, Bai Minzhong coldly questioned the dozen civil and military officials in front of him.

Faced with his questioning, these officials hesitated and were unable to speak for a long time.

Looking at their incompetent appearance, Bai Minzhong finally understood how the Xichuan troops became useless.

He took a deep breath, knowing that it was useless to pursue responsibility, and all he had to do now was to strengthen the defense of the northwestern states of Xichuan.

"How is the Mule Army training?"

He questioned several military officers, who hesitated. Finally, Yang Fugong, the military supervisor, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Six thousand mule soldiers have been training for three months, but they still don't have orders. In addition, we are still short of 2,437 mules and horses."

"Ridiculous!" Bai Minzhong's anger, which had just subsided, was aroused again.

"The government has allocated nearly 70,000 yuan in grain and silk. You are so incompetent, do you want me to ask for an imperial decree to kill you before you will put in the effort?!"

"Please forgive me, Sikong..."

The generals bowed one after another. Bai Minzhong naturally knew that he could not do anything to them. After all, they were all Beisi's trusted confidants left in Jiannan Road.

Even if he is incompetent, you cannot kill him.

Thinking of this, Bai Minzhong looked at Yang Fugong and said, "From now on, the Mule Army will be under the command of Supervisor Yang for training!"

"I obey your command." Yang Fugong bowed and responded, and then made a promise: "If mules and horses can fill the gap, I will definitely organize a mule army."

Hearing this, Bai Minzhong frowned slightly, and at this time the official next to him also bowed and said: "Sikong, there are only more than 300 pieces of brocade and more than 7,000 pieces of silk left in the palace."

Obviously, what the officials meant was that there was no more money or grain in the Chengdu treasury, and if they wanted money they would have to wait until after the autumn harvest and tax collection.

In this case, Bai Minzhong will have to wait for more than a month.

However, Chang'an also urged him several times to escort the taxes to Chang'an after the autumn harvest. The national treasury might have been empty, and this matter could not be delayed.

If all the taxes were escorted to Chang'an, there wouldn't be much money or grain left in Xichuan. If they wanted to continue training the mule army, they could only increase the taxes or buy cheap mules and horses.

Everyone present had thought of this question, but Yang Fugong was the first to bow and ask: "Sikong, why don't we send someone to Longxi to buy mules and horses from Liu Jilong, the governor of Longyou?"

"Is he willing to sell it?" Bai Minzhong frowned. After all, Xichuan had previously obeyed the imperial court's order and competed with Liu Jilian for the two states of Wudang.

Although Liu Jilian eventually recovered the two states of Wudang first, the feud was created.

In response, Yang Fugong volunteered: "I am willing to take the remaining brocade and silk in the treasury to Longxi to persuade Liu Jilong."

"Okay!" Bai Minzhong nodded, then looked at the official and said, "Transfer all the brocade and silk in the treasury to Yang Jianjun."

After that, he looked at Yang Fugong again and said, "If this is accomplished, it will be credited to General Yang!"

"Then I will go down and prepare." Yang Fugong bowed and was about to leave, but was interrupted by Bai Minzhong: "Wait a minute."

Yang Fugong stopped and looked at Bai Minzhong in confusion, only to see Bai Minzhong said:

"Liu Jilong will definitely seek credit from the imperial court after recovering the three states. Among them, Songzhou belongs to our Jiannan Road."

"According to your opinion, should I ask the court to take back Songzhou?"

Bai Minzhong was well aware of the importance of Songzhou, so he didn't want Songzhou to fall into Liu Jilong's hands.

But the problem is that they need Liu Jilong's help now, and if they start fighting again, it will probably only deepen the resentment.

Because of this, Bai Minzhong wanted to see the attitudes of these remaining officials from the Northern Division.

In response, Yang Fugong did not say anything, but the other officials and generals shook their heads.

"Sikong, Liu Jilong is very powerful. In just three years, he recovered eleven lost states and repeatedly thwarted the imperial court's military plans."

"Right now we need help from Longxi. If we leave Longxi, it will be hard to get cheap mules and horses, and we won't be able to train a mule army."

"Besides, Liu Jilong has a strong army and the court is trying to appease him. If we offend him and cause a war, we will be the ones to be punished."

The terrain of Longxi is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is located in a high position overlooking Jiannan Road.

What's more, the imperial court was short of money and grain, and was unable to suppress a powerful vassal like Liu Jilian. Even if Bai Minzhong petitioned, the imperial court would not agree.

Bai Minzhong also knew about this, so he was not planning to take Songzhou, but just wanted to see what the attitude of these Northern Division officials was.

Since the officials of the Northern Department did not support the recovery of Songzhou, the emperor would not blame himself.

Thinking of this, Bai Minzhong nodded and said, "If that's the case, let's just leave it at that."

“General Yang will need to put more effort into the mule and horse issue.

After Bai Minzhong finished speaking, Yang Fugong bowed, and the other officials sent by the Northern Department breathed a sigh of relief.

Before everyone could leave, hurried footsteps were heard outside the main door.

Soon, a light cavalryman came trotting to the main hall with an urgent document: "Sikong, urgent delivery to the capital!"

"Bring it here!" Bai Minzhong's pupils shrank and he quickly stretched out his hand.

Seeing this, Yang Fugong quickly stepped forward, took the urgent report, and passed it to Bai Minzhong.

Bai Minzhong quickly opened it and soon saw the urgent content, the content of which made his pupils shrink.

(End of this chapter)