Chapter 1413 Surprise (2)
"Master Xiao Zhu, please. The bowl-mouth cannons and fire guns in the warehouse were sponsored by my godfather to train the regiment under Master Xiao Zhu." Xiao Xizi led Zhu Ping'an to the warehouse He came forward, took out the key, opened the door, bowed and said to Zhu Pingan.
"Thank you for your thanks, father-in-law." Zhu Ping'an bowed his hands and thanked her, and walked into the warehouse with Xiao Xizi's courtesy.
The bowl-mouth cannon is an old-fashioned artillery piece from the Yuan and early to mid-Ming dynasties. Zhu Pingan has seen the real thing in the Modern Museum. The barrel is as thick as the mouth of a bowl and weighs about one hundred kilograms. It is considered a light artillery piece. , easy to carry and haul.
Zhu Ping'an knows that in a few years, the bowl-mouth cannon will be replaced by the Folan machine gun, the Tiger Crouching Cannon, etc., but currently this bowl-mouth cannon is still one of the popular firearms in the military ("Ming Dynasty" "Huidian·Arms and Uniforms" records that it was established before Hongzhi that the Ordnance and Saddle and Bridle Bureau made 3,000 cannons every three years), although their status was not as good as that of large, medium and small general cannons.
However, this era is still the era of cold weapons, and the deterrent effect of artillery is still very strong. With the bowl-mouth cannon, the firepower of the regiment training can be increased by several levels. With a few shots, it can not only kill the enemy from a long distance, demoralize the enemy, but also boost the morale of one's own side.
So, Zhu Ping'an was still looking forward to the Wankou Cannon. As soon as he stepped into the room, his eyes eagerly looked into the room.
With just one glance, Zhu Ping'an froze on the spot, keeping one foot in the room and keeping the other foot off the ground. His eyes were wide open in disbelief. He blinked and confirmed again.
That’s right.
Four bowl-mouth cannons, or four bowl-mouth cannons! Not the two bowl-mouth cannons as promised before, but a full four. In addition, there are two large boxes full of brand-new firecrackers, and eight large boxes full of lead.
The lead contained in these boxes was the cannonballs. Ancient artillery shells were not like modern ones. Ancient artillery was loaded with gunpowder first, then put the wooden horse, then put the earth, then put the lead, etc., then put the earth again, then put the lead, etc., and started over and over again until it was full. Of course, stones can also be used as lead. However, it is still difficult to find stones of suitable size on the battlefield, so lead stones are usually prepared in advance.
Xiao Xizi couldn’t help but raise her orchid fingers to cover her mouth when she saw Zhu Ping’an’s appearance, and let out a string of muffled laughter, “Hehehehe, Mr. Xiao Zhu is a little surprised, isn’t this a gift from his godfather? Mr. Xiao Zhu’s surprise.”
It’s indeed a surprise!
Zhu Ping'an was overjoyed and thanked Xiao Xizi, "Thank you so much, Eunuch He, and thank you Eunuch Xi."
"Haha, it's enough for Mr. Xiao Zhu to thank his godfather. No reward for no merit, but I can’t afford it Thank you, Mr. Xiao Zhu.” Xiao Xizi covered her mouth and smiled, “Yesterday after my godfather came back, he specially asked people to dig three feet into the ground at Baoyuan Bureau and found two bowl-mouth cannons, a hundred fire guns and eight boxes. Send the lead to Mr. Xiao Zhu”
"Eunuch He is not feeling well, but he still thinks about Ping An. Ping An is really grateful." Zhu Pingan thanked him again.
"Haha, my godfather said, compared to Mr. Xiao Zhu's life-saving grace, these are just trivial matters." Xiao Xizi said with a smile, and then leaned into Zhu Pingan's ear and whispered, "And..."
Anything else?
Zhu Pingan was all ears.
"Besides, Mr. Xiao Zhu, don't you know that last time you beat Xiao Qianzi in Jingnan, your godfather was also very happy when he heard the news." Xiao Xizi leaned against Zhu Ping An whispered in his ear.
Um? !
Strange, don’t you have a grudge against Qianxu? ! I beat Qianxu, why would my father-in-law be so happy?
"Haha, Mr. Xiao Zhu doesn't know something. The reason why Xiao Qianzi often has a grudge against me is actually because Xiao Qianzi's godfather - Chen Hong, that old dog, doesn't deal with his godfather. So. , we won’t deal with it either,” Xiao Xizi explained in a low voice. "When he was in the capital, that old dog Chen Hong once played a dirty trick and stole the errand of his godfather's clerk's office, causing his godfather to go to Zhidian to supervise and sweep the palace. Fortunately, godfather had another opportunity later, and it was a blessing in disguise that he is what he is today. Last month, that old dog Chen Hong went out to Beijing to buy gold, treasures and pearls. He came to Yingtian and, relying on the reputation of being on official business, he kept showing off in front of his godfather. , the godfather respected and loved the saint the most, but in order not to affect the saint's errand, the godfather endured his anger. Mr. Xiao Zhu beat Xiao Qianzi, and the godfather took advantage of this and became very angry. Chen Hong's old dog face looked like he was gritting his teeth, and he was so angry. "
Uh, okay, it turns out there is such a thing. When Zhu Pingan heard this, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth speechlessly.
"Oh, by the way, I remembered this. I just reminded Mr. Xiao Zhu to be careful of the little dog Xiao Qianzi, but I forgot to remind Mr. Xiao Zhu to be careful of the old dog Chen Hong. Mr. Xiao Zhu Be careful of this old dog Chen Hong in the future. This old dog Chen Hong is much more vicious than Xiao Qianzi's puppy." Xiao Xizi reminded.
Zhu Pingan nodded slightly.
"Sir Xiao Zhu, I'm not afraid of your jokes. People like us are physically weak and mentally abnormal." Xiao Xizi smiled at herself, raised her orchid finger and said leisurely, "But with Chen Hongxiang Compared with that, that is nothing compared to a big witch, that It’s no big deal. Chen Hong is a complete pervert. He once said that he admires the two people most in his life. Do you know who they are, Master Xiao Zhu?”
Zhu Ping’an naturally shook his head. , how do I know who the two people Chen Hong admires the most are.
“The two people he admires most, the number one one is undoubtedly Gong Chengshu.” Xiao Xizi revealed the answer.
Gong Chengshu? ! I don't seem to have any impression of who this is. Zhu Ping'an searched his mind and found nothing.
"Gong Chengshu was a great eunuch in the Southern Han Dynasty." Seeing Zhu Pingan's confused look, Xiao Xizi explained.
South Han Dynasty!
Zhu Ping'an immediately had the impression that this was one of the regimes during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, located in the current Guangdong and Guangxi provinces and northern Vietnam. The most prominent feature of this regime was its emphasis on eunuchs, which was later destroyed by the Song Dynasty.
“Actually, even the young ones don’t know about Gong Chengshu. Chen Hong once told us young eunuchs after he was drunk. He said that when Gong Chengshu was a eunuch, the emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty he served was Liu, and Liu had no ambition. , the most fond of sex, arrogance and lewdness, Gong Chengshu changed his tricks every day to please Liu, and he obeyed everything. As long as Liu looked at him, Gong Chengshu would Chengshu understood everything and arranged everything in Liu's mind. He was favored by Liu and made Liu feel that the eunuch was practical, reliable, unambitious and easy to control. One day, Liu thought that he was neglecting the government like this. What to do if an official becomes rebellious? Gong Chengshu slandered the court and asked the Chinese civil and military officials to castrate them first before they could become officials. If he is unwilling to be castrated, he cannot be an official and must resign and go home. He explained to Liu that after eunuchs are castrated, they will have no offspring. Even if those civil and military officials succeed in their rebellion, their empire will be fought for others. Why risk their lives to rebel? This way they won't take the risk of rebelling, and then the Holy Spirit will never have any second thoughts. Worry, you can enjoy it with peace of mind. When Liu heard this, he was overjoyed and accepted the advice. It is said that all the civil and military officials in the Southern Han Dynasty were eunuchs, and their number reached more than 20,000. The old dog Chen Hong often said that Gong Chengshu was the best in his life. The person I admire even said that he wanted to learn from Gong Chengshu. Do you think he is a pervert?"
Xiao Xizi said leisurely. (End of chapter)