Chapter 683
Behind the "Fengyu Posthouse Robbery" is the hidden line that the Jin Palace h
When the sun's shadow slanted across the steps outside the Chengyun Hall, Zhu Gang's thumb unconsciously rolled over the reverse scale of the jade pendant Chilong.
It was the Hetian seed material that Empress Ma tied around his waist herself. The dragon's head was slightly raised, with the dragon ball three-quarters held in its mouth.
The carving was based on the ancient system in Kaogong Ji, which states that "half a jade tablet is made into a sceptre, and a dragon sceptre is used for worshiping mountains."
Zhu Gang remembered that when he was thirteen years old and accompanied Empress Ma to an audience with the emperor, he saw that the jade pendant of the same shape on Zhu Yuanzhang's desk had a slight chip on the corner.
At that time, Empress Ma smiled and said, "Your father's jade was knocked on the battlefield, and it is always said that it is not as good as our mother and son's."
At this moment, his fingertips touched the shallow and fine lines on the dragon ball, as if he was touching the thin calluses on the palm of Queen Ma in his memory.
The pattern of sea water and river cliffs on the Danbi Stone was cut into two halves of light and dark by the sun's shadow.
Zhu Gang suddenly noticed that the dragon tail of his jade pendant was curled to the left, while the dragon tail of the one on his father's desk was curled to the right.
This was the secret mark used by the Shangbao Division in the early years of the Hongwu reign when jade was made for the emperor, empress, and princes: the left tail was "承" (cheng), and the right tail was "制" (zhi), which together formed the two words "承制" (cheng zhi).
When Empress Ma gave the twin jade beads to him and his elder brother Zhu Biao, she said in the warm room of Kunning Palace, "The dragon gave birth to nine sons, each with his own position.
Only when the leader and the tail take care of each other can we protect the country."
At this moment, the direction in which the Chilong swallowed the pearl was exactly the same as the current situation of the father and son: the tail of his jade pendant was pointing to the left, which coincided with the direction of Shanxi, the fiefdom of King Jin.
And my father’s jade tail was pointing to the right, facing the direction of Yingtian Prefecture.
At this moment, the jade is so cool that it penetrates the bones, just like Zhu Yuanzhang's scrutinizing gaze.
The cinnabar circle on the map clearly illuminated Zhu Gang's inner thoughts.
"Jining Road?"
Just as Zhu Gang leaned over, the "miles and miles" grid on the Guangyu map was right in front of his eyebrows.
This was originally a replica of the "Guangyu Map" drawn by Luo Hongxian during the Jiajing period, with twenty-four types of legend symbols hidden between the ink lines.
Among them, the triangular flags representing the garrisons and the inverted horse stakes of the post stations were densely packed like ants at the intersection of Jining Road.
His fingertips brushed over the tiny calligraphy "Song Yanzhang" next to the cinnabar circle, and Zhu Gang suddenly felt that these three words were like three steel nails, nailing his plan to leave Beijing by sending a general to the map.
"Third brother, look at this Rouge River."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly spoke, and Zhu Gang was surprised to find that his father had been standing behind him without him noticing when.
The "Guangyu Map" on the imperial desk was densely circled with red marks. The nine important towns from Xuanfu to Datong were all connected with cinnabar, but the red circle on Jining Road was particularly abrupt.
"The Ministry of War investigated the Fengyu Posthouse robbery case seven times last month, but they still couldn't find out the number of robbers."
Zhu Yuanzhang tapped the map with his fingertips, causing cinnabar powder to fall.
"Old Third, tell me, is this because of the rampant bandits, or..."
"Your son is willing to follow your order and conduct a thorough investigation."
Although Zhu Gang's knees were slightly bent, he did not kneel down completely.
He caught a glimpse of the jade pendant hanging from Zhu Yuanzhang's leather belt, which contrasted beautifully with the dragon pattern on his own waist in the candlelight.
Suddenly Zhu Gang remembered that Empress Ma had held his hand and said, "Brothers fighting is the most harmful to the body."
"Investigating the case?"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly sneered, turned around and pulled out a military report from the desk.
"Li Meng, the secret agent of the Hidden Dragon Guard of the Prince Jin's Mansion, is probably already at Fengyu Posthouse."
Zhu Gang's pupils suddenly shrank. Li Meng's whereabouts were actually known to his father!
He recalled Li Meng's secret report last night: the shell of the three-eyed magic gun was found at the scene of the Fengyuyi robbery.
How could this kind of firearm, which should have been equipped by the Shenjiying, end up in the hands of the common people?
"Chang Mao from the Firearms Institute has been having a huge fight with Gong Shuqi recently."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly changed the subject and pushed a report from the Ministry of Works in front of Zhu Gang.
Zhu Gang glanced at the memorial on "improving the firing rate of muskets" and suddenly the sound of the quarrel in the Firearms Institute the day before rang in his ears.
"The three-barreled gun is too slow to load, and the double-barreled gun consumes too much gunpowder!"
Chang Mao's voice could be heard through the triple doors, "Gong Shuqi, you are an old stubborn man, the breech-loading method of the falconet is the correct way!"
"Chang Mao is right."
Zhu Gang considered his words carefully, "But the continuous firing of the musket."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly turned around and stirred the ashes in the gilded Suanni incense burner, making a rustling sound. Immediately after his voice, green smoke mixed with ambergris slowly floated over.
“The improvement of firearms should be based on actual combat.
Before leaving for Datong, go to the Firearms Institute and tell Chang Mao.
If he fails to come up with a plan to improve the Portuguese cannon, he will be sent to Longzhou to guard the ancestral tomb."
When Zhu Gang left Chengyun Hall, the dusk had dyed the steps blood red.
He clenched the jade pendant at his waist, and suddenly found that next to the cinnabar circle on the map, there was a phrase written in tiny tiny calligraphy: "Former subordinates of the King of Jin."
These four words were like a blunt knife, sawing back and forth in Zhu Gang's heart.
It turned out that Zhu Yuanzhang had already known that behind the "Fengyu Posthouse Robbery" was a secret operation that the Prince of Jin's Mansion had been operating in Shanxi for many years.
At this moment, the furnace in the Firearms Institute illuminated half of Shangyuan County in red.
When Zhu Gang turned over and got off his horse, he heard Chang Mao's roar.
"Gongshu Qi! You old bastard, you clearly want to kill our brothers!"
"General Chang, please look at this gun barrel."
The sound of the public transport was like a file scraping across an iron plate. "The breech loading of the current falconet gun may seem clever, but the iron casting process is not up to standard, and the burst rate is ten times higher than that of the three-barreled gun!"
He raised a bronze gun covered with cracks. "Last month, the Shenji Camp conducted a test firing, and two of the three falconets were blown up, causing twelve casualties!"
"fart!"
Chang Mao picked up the goose-feather knife at his waist and said, "The Japanese bird gun has a range of 200 steps, while our three-barreled gun only has a range of 50 steps!
Do you let your brothers go to war with fire sticks?"
The knife flashed across Gongshu Qi's nose, frightening the old craftsman so much that he took three steps back.
"Master Chang!"
Zhu Gang strode into the workshop, "When improving firearms, safety should be the first priority."
Then he pulled out a report from the Ministry of Industry from his sleeve, "Father said that if the jamming problem of the musket can be solved, it can be mass-produced."
"His Royal Highness King Jin!"
Chang Mao threw down his goose-feather knife and said, "This old man Gongshuqi doesn't understand actual combat at all!"
Then he grabbed the sample of the musket on the table and said, "This thing needs to be cleared after every three shots. Who has the time for that on the battlefield?"
"General Chang, do you know that the three-eyed magic gun was found at the Fengyuyi robbery scene?"
Zhu Gang suddenly lowered his voice and said, "The robbers used the standard firearms of the Shenjiying Camp."
"what?"
Chang Mao and Gong Shuqi changed color at the same time.
Zhu Gang glanced at the workshop and saw more than thirty craftsmen eavesdropping with their ears perked up.
He turned around and took down a falconet from the iron stand. "Who carved the rifling of this cannon?"
"Yes, your humble servant."
The public transporter moves forward half a step, "but the depth of the rifling needs to be increased by another three points."
"No need."
Zhu Gang suddenly drew out his sword and split the gun barrel in half.
"What the emperor wants is a cannon that can be mounted on a vehicle and moved around, not a piece of metal placed on the city wall as a decoration."
He stared at the solidified lead in the rifling and said, "Convert the falconet into a muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon and build a prototype within three months."
"Your Highness!"
Gong Shuqi's beard trembled with anxiety, "The muzzle-loading cannon fires even slower."
"Then improve the gunpowder ratio."
Zhu Gang threw half of the gun barrel on the ground and said, "I want this firearms department to produce a new firearm with a range of 300 steps and a reload time less than the three-barreled gun within a month."
He glanced at Chang Mao and said, "Mr. Chang, if you can help Lord Gongshu, I will ensure that your second brother Chang Sheng returns to the Shenji Camp."
(End of this chapter)