When the people from the Five Lakes Chamber of Commerce sent people to look for fish, the people that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan arranged started to follow behind. They wanted to find the source of these fish. When the time came, it would be time for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to strike back.
"Xiao Bao, I thought of an idea, but I don't know if it will work." Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were thinking of ideas for Li Xun, gathered together again. Wang Juan sat there and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
"Okay, tell me, what's the idea?" Zhang Xiaobao was also curious. He didn't know what Wang Juan thought of.
Wang Juan thought for a moment and said with uncertainty, "Actually, it's just making weapons. Let Li Xun make the weapons here. That way, I believe that the people from the court will send people over to help. They won't call Li Xun away directly. The weapons will be water mines, made with our gunpowder. What do you think?
Actually, ever since we made those fireworks, the people from the court have been thinking about making those fireworks into weapons. It's just that it's not easy to make those shells. Otherwise, they would have made cannons a long time ago. They still don't fully understand how to use the gunpowder, so they're still experimenting.
Since they know about it and didn't restrict others from using firecrackers, it means that they think that it's very difficult to make these things into weapons. We can think of a way to remind them, so they shouldn't be so anxious to arrange things for Li Xun. What do you think? "
After hearing Wang Juan's words, Zhang Xiaobao thought about it. After a while, he shook his head and said, "I don't think so. The fireworks we made were originally for fun. Even if the people from the court know about the power of the explosions, they won't think that we made them for weapons.
Once we say that we want to make weapons, the first thing that the people from the court will do is send a large number of soldiers to protect us and make us cooperate with them to make those weapons. They won't have any freedom, and Li Xun will also be involved. Even if he's a member of the imperial family, there are too many children of the imperial family.
Li Xun can even make a move on his own family, let alone someone like Li Xun who isn't very close to him. We can't do that. We can research weapons, but we can only do it ourselves. Right, we can do it now. There are a lot of small islands over there. We can't wait any longer.
You don't have to worry about Li Xun's matter. You know a lot about this. You'll be in charge of the structure of the gun and the various uses of gunpowder. As long as it's successful, we'll secretly make more. It's not easy to make a gun, right? Then we'll just make cannons. There aren't that good. Just use copper. It'll be best if we can make a bomb and not an ordinary iron ball. "
When Zhang Xiaobao heard Wang Juan mention weapons, he suddenly remembered that he had the conditions to make them. Moreover, he didn't need to worry about other people knowing about it. He could just let the people from the inner court occupy an empty island and experiment with it however they want. This was much better than when they were in Beijing.
Wang Juan stared for a moment, then she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll think of a way. The cannons are easy to deal with. The main problem is the bullets. Guns are simple, they use copper. It's fine if they're heavy. But the gunpowder in the bullets needs to be fired. This will take a lot of effort. I need to think about it.
We were talking about Li Xun. Why are you talking about Li Xun? What are you going to do about Li Xun? You don't need to worry about the weapons. I'll have people make some good springs first. There aren't enough springs to make a sofa, but to make a gun, no matter how much money is spent, we need to find a suitable metal. "
As Wang Juan spoke, she realized that the two of them had gone off-topic. She complained to Zhang Xiaobao and took over the task of making weapons. This was relatively simple for her. The structure of the gun and the function of each part were relatively simple for her. If she didn't know, it would be a big joke.
If Zhang Xiaobao hadn't brought up the matter of making weapons, she really wouldn't have thought of this. In war, of course, guns were more useful than bows and arrows. Especially after the spring was created, there was no need to manually fire a bullet again and again.
She was going to use good metal to make two pistols, one for each of her and Xiaobao. When the time came, she would carry them with her. As long as someone had any ideas about the two of them, she would make that person regret being born in this world. She believed that with her and Xiaobao's marksmanship, it was basically a matter of getting rid of a person with one bullet.
When the pistols were made, they would start to make long guns and slowly adjust them. As long as it could hit a distance of 800 meters, it could be used as a sniper rifle. At least in this era, that kind of gun was an existence like a divine weapon.
As for the cannon, it was simple. They would make a cylinder out of copper, then put gunpowder and a large iron ball. When it was ignited, it would be fired. As for the cannonballs that could explode, they would have to wait until the bullets were made.
Thinking of this, Wang Juan was relieved. She was ready to fight. Now, she was waiting to see what kind of idea Zhang Xiaobao could come up with to help Li Xun stay in this place.
Zhang Xiaobao's idea was actually not perfect, but it had to be said. This time, it was not a small matter. She hoped that nothing else would happen when the time came.
Seeing that Wang Juan was waiting, Zhang Xiaobao gently knocked on the table with his hand and said, "In fact, it's very simple. The way to divert some attention is to start a war. I'm going to start a war with one of the small tribes next to us. Of course, I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to make them pay tribute. Some of the small tribes here haven't paid tribute to us.
And the most important thing is that they haven't been fully civilized. We have to help them educate the people. This matter naturally needs to be done by someone with a high status. It's too late for other people to come over. Let's have Royal Li Xun go over. Find a tribe, the one on the other side of the sea, or the one in Vietnam in the future. But there are too many mountains over there, so it's not easy to deal with.
In that case, let's set a smaller target and send people to trade with them first. Then, let's tell them that we have better things to trade with them. What do you think will happen when the time comes? Let's set the price of our goods at a high price and lower the price of their goods at a low price.
For example, all the goods on their side can be exchanged for a hundred catties of goods on our side. Then, what we need to do is to send a thousand catties of goods to them. As long as they accumulate some goods, we can use the goods on our side to exchange with them. This way, they can clearly see our goods. However, we have to use their good goods to exchange. "
"You, you want them to take the initiative to attack? You want to use those things to tempt them? "
When Wang Juan heard Zhang Xiaobao's idea, she knew what he was thinking. This was too immoral. Thinking of this, she suddenly said, "Then what about the people we send over there to exchange things with them? Are you going to sacrifice those people to achieve a political goal?
I don't agree. Our people can't die like that. Otherwise, I will feel uneasy for the rest of my life. I absolutely can't do this kind of thing that takes the initiative to send people to their deaths. No one can go. Think of another way. This is rejected. "
Wang Juan considered some things. In order to find an excuse to start a war, some countries clearly knew that their people would be hurt, but they pretended not to know, so that they could use this as an excuse to start a war.
Although sometimes, as a general, she had to send out some bait to lure the enemy, so as to achieve a strategic goal, Wang Juan wasn't going to do this now. After all, she was going to make a new weapon. In the face of absolute strength, there was no need to use other schemes.
"It's not what you think." Seeing Wang Juan's reaction so big, Zhang Xiaobao quickly explained, "In fact, after our people go over, we have to sit on the boat, a certain distance away from them, and then hire the local people to help guard the temporary warehouse.
Let our people be more careful, as long as they don't let others touch the boat. During the day, we send a few people over there to exchange things, and they will return to the boat at night. In this way, they will naturally choose to attack at night. Whether they kill the people over there or not, we have a reason to attack them.
Of course, this kind of thing is not very moral, but it's better than our people dying, right? What's more, we just gave them a little push to kill. If they are not greedy in their hearts and can be united with the local people, we can't find such an excuse even if we want to. "
When Zhang Xiaobao was thinking of this idea, he kept asking himself whether he was an invader, an enemy of human peace. Should he be written into textbooks at some point in the future and let people belittle him?
No matter what excuse he used, this behavior was an invasion, and it broke the original life of people. Even if there were wars between the various tribes of those people, and even if there were killings in the same tribe, it was their own business after all.
The only thing Zhang Xiaobao could calm himself down was that since there were wars between the tribes, then they should treat the earth as a bigger tribe. Everyone was a part of this big tribe, and everyone was involved in internal wars.
After hearing Zhang Xiaobao's idea, Wang Juan thought of the same problem, which was invading war. However, she was a soldier, so she immediately put this aside and said, "Okay, let's do it. If we don't take those resources, they will be taken by others in the end. The heavy responsibility of world peace will be left to others to take care of, and we will not be the executioners.
For the sake of our country and for the sake of our own lives, when some people call us devils, I believe that we will be written as heroes in our history books. I agree. You go and arrange it, and then find a way to ask your father to make a notice.
It will say that the locals who were hired by us now belong to the Tang Empire, and they are part of it. As long as they are attacked, we will use this as an excuse to deal with them. Let's split up. I will make the cannons, and you will do this. Let's go. "
The two of them split up to do their own things. Zhang Xiaobao first asked someone to go to the mountain over there to call Li Xun and his family's guards back. This action required their participation. Then, he went to find his father and told him the matter. Of course, Zhang Xiaobao did not say that there would be a war at this time. He only said that he would send a ship to take a look over there.
If they had good things that they needed here, they could use the goods here to exchange for them. He also mentioned that the people over there should be some minor officials or something, and they should be given a place of origin. Zhang Zhong could not be given a major official. It was up to the imperial court to decide. If he was really given a major official position, he would not be able to stay here anymore. He would be arrested and sent to the capital.
The imperial court would not say anything if he were to give a minor official with no power and a salary that did not need to be paid by the imperial court. After all, Zhang Zhong was in charge of a province. He needed people to do things for him, and it would be easier for him to get a place of origin. No one would care about this.
After these things were arranged, Zhang Xiaobao took the blank thing that his father had stamped and left. This preparation would start when they arrived at the other side. Zhang Xiaobao had also thought about the place. It was a little far, but since the people from Japan could come here, with the help of the ships here and his and Wang Juan's familiarity with the ocean currents and the monsoon, he believed that the fleet would be able to get there.
This place was Luzon Island, which was relatively close to Hainan Island. Of course, it did not have such a name yet. After all, it was not the Song Dynasty. It was a good place. Zhang Xiaobao planned to use a few months to build a dock that could be used to disembark at any time.
The dock on Lu Zhou's side was a little too far at this time. He needed to discuss with the people on Hainan Island and ask them to build a dock there. If it really did not work, he could occupy a few places on those islands so that they could go back and forth to support each other.
When Wang Juan heard about this place, she nodded. "It's fine here. Fight and make as many ships as you can. Send more people there and occupy that place. That place is very important strategically. If we don't get it in Tang, we'll be letting down our chance to come here."
"I think so too. This time, we'll go all out. Life on the sea is not so easy. If we could go there in the Song Dynasty, then logically speaking, we should be able to go there now. Our shipbuilding skills are not bad. Why hasn't anyone been there before?"
Zhang Xiaobao was relieved when he saw that Wang Juan did not object. However, he was puzzled why no one had gone there at this time. As long as they walked close to the sea, they should be able to reach many places. Of course, there were still dangers, but it would be wrong not to go there.
When Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiaobao had to ask this, she said, "What's the point of going there? The country can't go there. Can you go there alone? Can you go there alone? Can you have such a big ship? Most importantly, it takes a long time to sail. If you don't know that there is such a place, how can you float in the vast sea just to see if you can find land?
Not to mention the current ships, even the ships of the Three Kingdoms era can go there without any problem, especially at the critical time when they are connected with iron chains. Then they can go back and forth. But people always have a purpose when they do things. Maybe some people here have been there before, but something happened. Maybe no one has ever thought of looking for another land on the sea.
Who knows? Anyway, we are ready to do it this time. As long as we succeed this time, we can continue to build ships. Then, Li Xun will represent Tang to talk about this matter. Just thinking about it makes me excited. In fact, I want to go to Africa the most. There are many good things there. "
"Well, don't worry about that. This time, don't use the ship to go back to the capital. Use it to go to the sea directly. Prepare good things for them. Bring enough fresh water. If it's not enough, make something that can be used for distillation. Steam it with seawater, but the taste is a little worse.
"I've tasted the seawater before. After the seawater is distilled normally, if you don't use other methods to process it, it will still have a special taste. I'm not used to drinking it." Also, bring them fruits too. Bring dried fruits, especially those oranges. Make them into powder and let them drink it with water. I don't want them to all get sick when they come back.
Also, bring some dried vegetables, dried meat, and so on. Bring more rice and dried dates. When the time comes, let them cook Eight Treasures Porridge. That's it. I will arrange it immediately. "
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan decided on something, they would not change it. Wang Juan thought for a while and decided to make powerful fireworks for the people who were going to sea. At this time, the fireworks would be filled with pure gunpowder. At the critical moment, it could be used to scare some whales that would take the initiative to attack.
It could also intimidate the people in that place. People were always full of curiosity and fear towards the unknown. If there really was a conflict the moment they arrived, then they would first use this thing to kill a few people and let the local people think that it was thunder from the heavens. They believed that it would be effective.
Zhang Xiaobao also had to consider some specific matters on the other side. They could not provoke a tribe that was too big. They had too many people. When the time came, they would hide in the mountains. It would be difficult to deal with them. Even if they sent troops who had been trained for a period of time to fight in the jungle, it would still not work.
The lives on his side were valuable. It was not worthwhile to use one to exchange for ten of the other side's lives. He had to think of a safe way.
The horses sent to find the people were faster. When Li Xun was still running halfway, two people on horses caught up with him. When he knew that Zhang Xiaobao had thought of a way, Li Xun thought for a while and followed the person who sent the order to go up the mountain first. Then, he came back with his guards and the people of the Zhang family.
On the way, Li Xun asked the person who sent the order what Zhang Xiaobao had thought of. However, the person who sent the order did not know. Let alone him, Zhang Zhong only knew a little of the whole plan. How could he understand the meaning of this trip?
This trip seemed to be to help Li Xun stay here for a few more days, but it was the beginning of a new era. The era of navigation was coming. No one knew what kind of consequences this would bring to the Tang Empire. It could be endless wealth, or it could be that those who would not have come here came early and caused a war.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not worried at all. Even if some people came along that route, what could they do? They could let them see the power of the Tang Empire. At the same time, they could start trade. This was the prerequisite for the people of the Tang Empire to live a good life in the situation of undeveloped productivity.
In particular, those special grain crops could be planted in many places. Since they were here to do business, they might as well set the prerequisite conditions for these things that might be obtained.
At the dock, the Zhang family's boat began to be modified according to Zhang Xiaobao's idea. There was really a distillation device and a mirror on it. This mirror was not to be exchanged with the people there. It was used to help with the distillation when they were not burning firewood. Although it was a little slow, it was better than having no water.
There was also a lot of firewood and alcohol on the boat. When the time came, not only could the alcohol be drunk, but it could also be used to light the fire. The most experienced old man also went with them. Zhang Xiaobao asked people to take good care of the old man no matter what. This was a fortune. Respect for the old man was respect for his knowledge. At the same time, it was also respect for himself.
When the Zhang family was busy, it seemed to be different from before. Although it was not obvious on the surface, some familiar people felt that something was wrong. Old Man Pi and Old Man Chang felt it now.
The two sat by the river, fishing and drinking tea. While eating the fried melon seeds, they talked about the Zhang family's recent actions.
"I say, why do I feel that the Zhang family is not going back. It seems like they want to go somewhere else. Otherwise, why would they put the distillation device on the boat? Could it be that they want to go somewhere else to make the wine? "
Old Man Chang had lifted the empty pole four times in a row, but he did not catch a single fish. He simply put the melon seeds on the pole. After eating one, he put the skin of the melon seeds in a special place for garbage. It was not allowed to casually throw things here.
Old Man Pi had been fishing for a long time and was very experienced. In a short while, he had caught three fish. He was very happy. When he returned, he asked the chef at Sea Cloud Cottage to make it. The two of them ate it with wine and dishes.
After hearing Old Man Chang's words, he nodded and said, "That's true. In the past, they would not put so much food on the boat, unless they were specifically transporting food. This time, they actually put so many kinds of food on the boat. There are all kinds of dried fruits and even the oranges were ground into powder. I really don't understand what they want to do.
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