Chapter 79: The Ninety-Sixth Holy Ruler

  The musket in front of me is vastly different from the fire gun in my memory, it's like a half-iron and half-wooden fire stick. Upon closer inspection, the ignition device is a fuse inserted into a small hole at the rear of the barrel, ignited by the musketeer using a tinderbox. The fuse is stored in a specially made cowhide bag, varying in length, requiring the musketeer to adjust according to the enemy situation, if the enemy retreats, the fuse will be extinguished.

  Zhao Xingde turned the fire lance over several times, but couldn't make sense of it, so he put this "fire club" aside. He turned around and saw a long knife leaning against the wall beside him, with several notches on the blade. When he walked up to take a closer look, he found that the knife was even taller than a person, with a handle as long as three feet and a blade of equal length. If someone with great strength were to wield it, perhaps even three or five ordinary people wouldn't be able to get close. Although Song Dynasty allowed the sale of knives, swords, bows, and arrows, Zhao Xingde had never seen a long knife like this before, probably because it was a banned sharp weapon among civilians.

  "Is this a Mo Dao?" Zhao Xingde's first thought upon seeing the ferocious shape was of the Mo Dao, which had been extremely popular during the Tang Dynasty.

  "No, the Mo Dao's blade is three feet longer than this Maza Knife. Now it can only be found in the Xia State Army." Qi Lu glanced at Zhao Xingde, not expecting that this disciple of the Taishi would actually call out the long-lost name of the military knife, "This is a Maza Knife, also known as a Horse-Killing Knife. The Imperial Guard's young whippersnappers were full and idle, saying they wanted to practice their skills, using it to kill an old horse, but ended up chopping into bone, damaging the blade, and needing to repair it."

  "I heard that the soldiers of the war array are one inch strong, and this Maza knife is three feet shorter than the Mo knife. Isn't it a disadvantage?" Zhao Xingde asked in doubt.

  She Lu replied, "The principle of 'one inch longer, one inch stronger' is not wrong, but the blade becomes more prone to breaking with each additional fraction of an inch. The Maza knife can kill a horse and its manufacture is already difficult, let alone a six-foot-long Guandao. The Guandao is extremely expensive and easily broken, so only those with exceptional strength and physique can wield it, which is why the imperial court has replaced it with the Maza knife." What She Lu didn't say was that if one were to use high-quality steel and carefully craft a six-foot-long blade, it could indeed be durable and long-lasting. However, forging such an excellent knife would be too labor-intensive and expensive, making it impossible to mass-produce as a standard-issue weapon for the imperial guards.

  "Why is it that the Xia Kingdom's army still uses the Mo Dao, could it be that the Xia people's metalwork skills are even more exceptional?" Zhao Xingde asked in puzzlement.

  She Lu smiled wryly and said, "Although the Military Arsenal of Xia Guo has its own secrets, good swords are all made through a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements. As for saving labor costs, it's not necessarily better than our internal eight works. Why does the Xia Guo army always use Mo Dao? I'm not clear about that either."

  Song An said, "Yuan Zhi doesn't know this, but it's actually related to the military system of Xia Guo. In the Xia army, bravery and strength are valued, with soldiers competing for the position of Shi Fu Zhang through hand-to-hand combat. Shi Fu Zhang is the starting point for a military officer, if one can't pass this level, then being promoted to Bai Fu Zhang, Xiao Wei, or even becoming a general is hopeless. The weapon used by Shi Fu Zhang in competition is personally chosen, and this Mo Dao is a top-notch sharp blade, capable of both long-range and close combat, making it the favorite among Xia Guo's tall and powerful infantrymen when competing for Shi Fu Zhang. Many soldiers who won competitions with Mo Dao have become famous, so naturally, its popularity has endured."

  This section is still about the same doubts that Song An had, just like a candidate taking an exam, who would go to great lengths to get the best pen, ink and paper. This martial arts competition was a matter of great honor or shame for one's whole life, so even if this sharp knife was expensive and cost a lot, it couldn't compare to the benefits of winning the competition and getting the official position. In Xia country, some families passed down precious objects, which were a cold light shining broadsword. High officials and nobles also enjoyed collecting precious swords, and it's said that the imperial family of Xia still kept the broadsword used by Li Siye, the general who led the Tang army to conquer Anxi.

  Zhao Xingde nodded slightly, but in his heart he thought that although the shape of the Maza knife and the Mo knife were similar, on the battlefield when encountering a strong enemy, it would take countless lives to make up for the difference between the three-foot-long blades.

  As Xing De was hesitating, it seemed that he was afraid that Zhao would underestimate the craftsmanship of Shi Ba Zu. So, Shi Lu took the initiative to lead Zhao in front of a dark and heavy iron ball-like object, introducing it with great pride: "As the saying goes, he has flying pigeon post, I have urgent foot delivery, he has iron bucket cannon, I have thunderclap. This is the city-guarding device - Thunderclap."

  Zhao Xingde gazed intently, only to see that the surface of the cast iron ball had dozens of small grooves crisscrossing each other, forming numerous small protruding squares. It seemed that since it was called "Thunderclap", it must be filled with gunpowder inside, and once it exploded, it would shatter into fragments flying everywhere. On an inconspicuous part of the iron ball, there was a small hole for installing the fuse, which was now sealed tightly with oil and paper. If this Thunderclap, weighing over 200 catties, were to be ignited and thrown down from the city wall when the enemy was swarming to attack, the area below would surely become a scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere.

  Zhao Xingde laughed and said: "Indeed formidable, I wonder what that iron bucket cannon is?"

  She Lei said: "The iron barrel cannon is a fire cannon, just because it is shaped like a giant iron bucket that is placed obliquely, so it is called an iron barrel cannon. On the outer city wall of Bianjing, there are horse-faced war sheds every hundred steps, and defensive warehouses every two hundred steps. A total of 120 iron barrel cannons were installed on the outer city wall, which are normally stored in the defensive warehouses. In case of emergency, they would be taken out and placed in the horse-faced war sheds, where the defending troops would operate them to bombard the enemy army. If you want to see it, Zhao Gongzi can go and take a look for yourself. However, in order to be extra cautious, there are no iron barrel cannons installed on the palace city and inner city walls."

  Zhao Xingde found it somewhat strange and said, "The current dynasty has always adhered to the strategy of guarding the inner city and emptying the outer city. Why is it that these useful cannons are present in the outer city, but not in the inner city or palace?"

  Yu Lei was taken aback, this reason is obvious, but he didn't dare to speak out of turn, and could only look at Song An with a bitter smile. Song An patted Zhao Xingde's shoulder, made a gesture of turning the cannon barrel with both hands, and said in a serious tone: "Isn't this for the sake of being prepared for all eventualities? Besides, there are still spare iron bucket cannons in the inner city arsenal, if it's really necessary, they can be moved to the top of the city wall at any time."

  Zhao Xingde suddenly realized that in this way, the officials lived under the city wall where the cannons were set up every day, and it was indeed a bit difficult to handle. Who would dare to mention this casually? Probably need to be exiled three thousand miles first. This board doesn't hit lazy people, nor does it hit busy people, it specifically hits those who don't know how to behave.

  Just as Zhao Xingde was visiting the Hanlin Academy, Shen Yun, a official of the Imperial City Garrison, was coldly watching three Liao Dong barbarians who were excitedly gathered in front of an iron barrel cannon in the armory. The Prince of Jing Wang, Zhao Ji, the third son of the emperor, had ordered the armory to provide twenty iron barrel cannons, five hundred cannonballs and one thousand catties of gunpowder to the Jurchen people under the pretext of containing the Liao State. These Jurchen people were here to inspect the goods in advance. Although the officials might not be aware of this matter, Shen Yun knew that the imperial court had been planning to launch a northern expedition against Youyan for some time, and since it was the order of the third prince, Shen Yun naturally did not dare to disobey. Moreover, he had a stack of IOUs in his pocket, which had been handed over by Bai Wuxin, although they were a bit thin, it was enough to show that the barbarians were not unfamiliar with the rules of the Central Plains.

  Wanyan Zongbi stroked the beautifully cast floral patterns on the outside of the cannon, as if caressing a girl's smooth skin. Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Xiyin beside him also looked like they were drooling. Wanyan Zongbi ran his hands all over the cannon several times, then tapped it twice with his hand, furrowing his brow slightly. He turned to look at Shen Zigui, who had a stern expression that was not easy to get along with.

  Wanyan Zongbi forced a smile, walked to Bai Maixin's side, and said in a low voice: "Bai, isn't it agreed that you would provide top-grade cannons? Why do I see that these cannons are not cast from copper?"

  Bai Maoxin's face changed slightly, and he looked at Shen Yun with a hint of embarrassment, not responding. Wanyan Zongbiao secretly cursed this person for taking the gold but not doing anything, following his gaze towards Shen Yun.

  Shen Yun hummed softly in his nose and said, "That copper-cast cannon is simply made with money, one penny for one penny's worth of goods. With the little gold you have, do you still want a copper cannon?" What he said was not unreasonable. The Song Dynasty circulated copper coins, and the price of copper was getting higher and higher, so copper cannons were equivalent to a pile of money. Now, the shortage of money in various places is becoming more and more severe due to the lack of copper for minting coins. The Three Departments and the Mint have already jointly petitioned the court to suggest that only iron cannons be cast, while copper cannons should be purchased from Xia Guo, which is rich in copper and good at casting cannons, with silk, tea leaves, etc.

  Wanyan Zongbi was stabbed by this eunuch with a sentence that was neither clear nor ambiguous, and he wanted to argue back, but felt his sleeve being pulled twice. He turned his head to look, and under the wide sleeve of Bai Maixin's robe, his index finger and thumb were slightly rubbing against each other, and then pointed to Shen Daren, who didn't even glance this way.

  Wanyan Zongbi had not been in Bianjing for long, and this gesture was already familiar to him. He suppressed the anger in his heart and took out a stack of IOUs from his pocket, remembering that their total value was over 10,000 guan. With a forced smile, he approached Shen Yun, plucked up his courage, stretched his hand into Shen Yun's wide sleeve, and handed over the IOUs.

  Shen Gong had never looked at him straight, and Wanyan Zongbiao was even a little afraid that he wouldn't accept it and let the Jiaozi fall, but didn't dare to stand close to him for long, so he retreated with his hands still holding on. Shen Jun slightly shook her sleeve, skillfully and nimbly glanced at the Jiaozi's surface, which was worth 1,000 guan, and after pressing it to estimate its thickness, she roughly knew that this time the tribute would be over 15,000 guan. She hummed and said: "Since Prince Jing has spoken, I won't stand in the way either, so let these barbarians take advantage of it." After saying that, she led them to another iron barrel cannon.

  This cannon and the one just now are almost indistinguishable at first glance, Wanyan Zongbi looked at Bai Maixin with some confusion.

  Bai Maoxin smiled slightly and said: "Wanyan Third Prince, take a look at the muzzle of that cannon. Is it different from before?"

  Wanyan Zongbi looked at the muzzle of the cannon and finally let out a sigh of relief. The mouth of this bronze cannon was much larger than that of the cast iron cannon earlier, and the wall of the cannon was also thinner. The Wanyan tribe had also tried to cast cannons when attacking the cities of Liao State, although they were not successful. However, Wanyan Zongbi knew that the thinner the barrel, the harder it was to cast. On the other hand, if a well-cast bronze cannon with a thin barrel could withstand the explosive force of gunpowder, then it would be a truly superior cannon.

  "Look here again." Bai Maoxin seemed to want to prove that the three thousand taels of gold he had spent on this thing was worth it, and pointed at a dragon pattern on the copper cannon, saying: "This is a copper cannon cast by the Summer Country's Military Arsenal. The Summer Country's copper cannons are the most sharp, light in weight and not easy to explode. He also pointed at the nearby wooden barrel filled with gunpowder, saying: "Even this gunpowder is specially configured for this cannon, one shot uses one packet of powder, I have also opened it up to inspect it before, this powder is both pure and even, and does not easily become damp. It's a rare good thing even in our Imperial Army."

  Wanyan Zongbi glanced at Bai Maoxin, he wasn't very clear about how to distinguish the good and bad of gunpowder either. But since this Mr. Bai who had received 3,000 taels of gold said so, there must be some truth to it. He nodded his head and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Bai Maoxin: "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Bai."

  Bai Maoxin felt that although he had accepted the barbarians' silver, he had also helped them with their affairs. He waved his hand and smiled, saying "Alright, alright."

  Shen Yun coldly watched as Bai Shaowei chatted intimately with the three princes of the Beidi Manzi female Zhen tribe, thinking to herself: "I wonder how much silver he's taken, to be so enthusiastic." But her mouth was icy as she said: "If you've decided, after handing over the money, we can transport the cannons and medicine to Shandong, then take the sea route to Liaodong."

  Three Jurchen men thanked and bid farewell, and when they came out, Wanyan Zonghan looked around and saw that there was no one else nearby. He spat on the ground and cursed: "Greedy dog officials." But Wanyan Xiyin smiled and said: "If it weren't for these greedy officials, how could we have bought such excellent firearms?" He added with a lingering fear in his heart: "If the tribal chief hadn't sent someone to deliver 100,000 guan of silver and other gifts, I'm afraid we wouldn't have gotten the best bronze cannons."

  Wanyan Zongbi thought to himself, "Once these firearms and the armor, bows, and arrows from the military equipment bureau arrive in Liaodong, with the bravery of my Jurchen warriors, taking down Liaoyang Prefecture will be a mere trifle."

  He was excited in his heart, but his face didn't show any change, and he pondered as he took out a half-old medicine bottle from his bosom.

  Wanyan Xiyin saw this and asked, "Is he going to the Zhao Chancellor's residence?" After a pause, she murmured, "I don't know if Mr. Han's plan will succeed."

  Wanyan Zongbi's eyes flashed, and he said, "Well, let's try anyway." He raised his head to look at the clear blue sky in the north. "I've been stuck in the south for too long. I just want to go back early and fight with the Khitan people."

  "Right!" Wanyan Zonghan said, clenching his fist beside him, "Take down Liaoyang Prefecture, then take the capital city!" The three of them were speaking in Jurchen, and Wanyan Zonghan's loud shout attracted the attention of passersby on the Bianjing Road, who looked at them with strange eyes.