Adhering to the principle of looking down on the enemy strategically and valuing the enemy tactically, Wang Juan didn't put Ke Tuyu in her eyes. Even if Ke Tuyu was a small legend in Khitan, he was still considered a small legend.
After watching Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan leave the carriage, Li Longji picked up the glass full of wine and raised it to his mouth. He asked Gao Lishi, "I always feel that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are hiding something from me. What do you think?"
"I think so too." Gao Lishi echoed.
"If they want to hide it, then so be it. As long as they guard the northern part of Hebei Province and prevent me from being distracted, it will be a great merit. If it weren't for the fact that the two of them are still young and Xiao Bao hasn't taken the imperial examination, I really want to put the two of them in the imperial court."
Li Longji felt that he should have such a mind. At the same time, he looked forward to Wang Juan's words becoming reality and making the Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Office pay all the rent.
He didn't care how much they had to pay. Paying less and not paying at all were two different things. That was acknowledging the status of the imperial court.
Gao Lishi looked at the emperor from the side. After thinking for a while, he took out a heavy paper bag from his bosom. He had someone remove the grill and gently put it on the small table.
"What is this?" Li Longji asked doubtfully.
"A handgun, a handgun that can fire twelve bullets. Xiao Bao gave it to this official for self-defense. Your Majesty, please take a look." Gao Lishi opened the paper bag, revealing the gray gun inside. He also took out two magazines and showed them to Li Longji.
Li Longji didn't know what this gun was. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to think that it was the same as the gun used in the army. If it was given to Gao Lishi for self-defense, then it should be better than a sleeve arrow.
He reached out and took the magazines. While touching the cold shell, he watched Gao Lishi use a cloth to wipe the oil off the odd-shaped weapon.
"Your Majesty, the magazine in your hand can only be used when combined with the handgun. Like this." As Gao Lishi spoke, he picked up the other magazine and attached it to the pistol before passing it to Li Longji.
Holding the gun, Li Longji naturally placed his index finger on the hook and turned to look at Gao Lishi. "How do I use this?"
"Your Majesty, you can't use it here. It can kill people. When you want to use it, you have to open this' safety 'thing and pull the trigger at the person you want to attack. It's this hook. Then, it can shoot out bullets. It can shoot 12 times in a row and kill people within 30 steps."
Gao Lishi leaned to the side. He knew the power of this thing. He still had one on him. He had already tried it. It was not accurate, but he had a very intuitive understanding of the lethality of the bullet.
'The reason why Xiao Bao gave this to His Majesty is probably because Xiao Bao has something even better. I wonder how many more surprises I will be able to see in the future? '
Gao Lishi did not know why Zhang Xiaobao suddenly took out such a powerful thing, but he thought that his godson must have something better. Otherwise, he would definitely keep it a secret.
Li Longji did not touch the safety. He was also afraid that he would accidentally injure himself. He only used his hand to stroke the gun. He thought about what Gao Lishi said about killing someone within 30 steps. This was not surprising to him. If he used a bow, he could also kill someone within 100 steps.
The most important thing was that he could shoot 12 times in a row. If there were 100 people, and each of them had one, within 30 steps, wouldn't it become a land of death?
Thinking of this, Li Longji could not help but look at the sky. He ordered the troops to stop and walked out with Gao Lishi. Naturally, there were many people around them, including the ministers. They did not know why the Emperor stopped.
"Find a place for this Emperor to test the handgun." Li Longji ordered Gao Lishi.
The place was easy to find. Once the people were separated, a small area was formed. While Gao Lishi had people draw targets, he also explained to Li Longji how to use the pistol. He especially mentioned the recoil, otherwise, it wouldn't do if the Emperor's wrist was shaken.
After the targets were done, Li Longji raised the gun and aimed at them according to Gao Lishi's instructions. He glanced at Gao Lishi and said, "Lishi, shoot first."
Gao Lishi did not take the gun from the Emperor. He put his hands together and took out the gun from his sleeve. "People behind the target, move away."
With a whoosh, the people behind him moved away as fast as they could. They knew that this thing was called a target. Although they did not see a bow, they knew that it must be very dangerous.
The target was not placed 30 meters away, only 10 meters away. Even so, Gao Lishi raised his hand seriously and aimed at it again and again. Only then did he shoot a bullet.
There was a hole on the wooden target. There was also a mark on the thick wood behind the target. The bullet should have gone in.
"So this is what you call a hit?" Li Longji walked forward to take a look and asked.
"Your Majesty, this subject just got the handgun not long ago, so I couldn't hit the target accurately. I only got 6 points. I might be able to hit the body if I aim at it, but I can't hit the head." Gao Lishi was very embarrassed. His godson said that he must hit at least 9 points on the 10-meter target if he did not move.
Li Longji nodded and returned to his original position. He raised the gun and said, "This Emperor will also try."
He opened the safety and aimed with one eye. He made a three-point line. He looked at the target again. It was better than Gao Lishi. He got 7 points. He continued until all 12 bullets in the gun were fired. The best result was 8 points. The worst result … Looking at the 11 holes on the target, it was clear that this was definitely not a case of two bullets hitting one hole.
"Is anyone hurt? Look at the people around you. "Gao Lishi asked nervously.
Everyone looked and shook their heads. No one made a sound. Fortunately, it seemed that no one was hurt. It should have flown past the target and hit the wood behind it.
Li Longji shook his wrist that was numb and sore from the impact. He looked at the people around him and said, "Lishi, does this require frequent practice? Are the bullets expensive? "
"It should be so. This subject does not know if the bullets are expensive or not. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo gave this subject 500 bullets. When Your Majesty is done, let them send more. Your Majesty, the Khitans, Tubo, and Turkic people are also watching."
Gao Lishi replied and reminded him again.
"This Emperor wants them to see. They don't have this kind of weapon. I want to see if they are afraid." The reason why Li Longji came out to test the gun was to show others his strength.
As expected, his method was effective. The people around him moved closer to the wood to look. The bullets were embedded in it. Someone used a chisel to cut open the empty space. When they saw the depth of the bullets, they all secretly gasped. This was much more powerful than ordinary bows and arrows.
Most importantly, the speed of the bullets was very fast. If any army was equipped with this kind of weapon, who would be able to fight against it?
Zhang Shuo used his hands to dig out the bullets that were still warm. They looked like metal lumps. He approached Li Longji and asked, "Your Majesty, what is this? Was it made by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works? "
What he meant was why he did not know that there was a weapon that could be used continuously. If the metal lumps in his hands were to hit someone's body, what good would that person do?
"This is called a pistol. Xiao Bao and Cuckoo gave this Emperor something to play with. Someone, call Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan over." Li Longji removed the magazine and replaced it with another one. He was very satisfied.
Zhang Shuo had actually guessed that it was made by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He was angry that he did not know. He was the Prime Minister, but he had not even heard of a new weapon. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were too unreasonable.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were playing their roles in a children's play for Xiaobei and the others when they were called away by Luo Bin. Xiaobei and the others curiously followed to watch.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, over here." When Gao Lishi saw the two, he hurriedly waved his hand.
"Foster Father, I wonder if this child is here …?" Zhang Xiaobao walked over in confusion. When he saw the target in front of him, he understood. Test the gun.
Li Longji passed the gun over. "Shoot a dozen and see."
"Your Majesty, this subject has brought it with him. I have always brought it with me." Zhang Xiaobao did not take it. He reached for his waist, and a gun appeared in his hand. Wang Juan did the same. The two of them immediately squatted and stood, waiting for Li Longji to say "begin."
Li Longji did not question why Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had brought weapons to see him. After all, the two of them had been in charge of protecting him on the way here. He nodded and said, "That's enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the continuous popping sounds. When the popping sounds stopped, he looked at the target again. Only the middle part of the target, which represented the tenth ring, had a hole. The surrounding nine rings were all undamaged.
Li Longji was stunned for a moment. Only then did he go around the target to look at the wood behind it. He saw that there were two large holes not far from the top and bottom of the wood. It was a mess. He did not need to think too much to know that it was not Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan who had made the bullets miss, but that they had all passed through the tenth ring.
Because Zhang Xiaobao was squatting and Wang Juan was standing, the trajectory of the bullets was slightly off.
Li Shaogu, the nominal master of the Khitans, looked at the marks on the wood, then looked at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He finally knew what kind of ability his neighbors had.
If they were to fight with two people at a distance of more than ten steps, no one would be able to touch them.
"Is 30 steps okay?" Li Longji envied Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's accuracy and was prepared to increase the difficulty.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. He was already used to the gun in his hand. He and Wang Juan had already fired no less than a thousand bullets. In addition, the two of them were very familiar with each other, so they had already honed their skills.
A new target was placed 30 steps away. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan reloaded their magazines and looked at each other. Zhang Xiaobao fired first, and as soon as the first sound rang out, Wang Juan also fired.
The rhythm of the two of them was very stable, and their shooting speed was also very fast. In just a few blinks of the eye, there was a burst of movement. When they looked at the target again, this time, it was not at the tenth ring that was hit. Instead, it was at the next ring on the side. It was pulled horizontally from one end to the other. The entire target swayed twice and suddenly fell down.
If people at the time of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan saw this, they would definitely be frightened. The two of them used two pistols to shoot the effect of automatic rifles. Twenty-four bullets were pulled from one end to the other. It was like the box cannons placed horizontally many years ago. When two box cannons were used well, they could shoot the effect of sweeping fire.
Although the others didn't know what the effect of the strafing shot was, they understood that it wasn't that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't aim accurately and didn't hit the ten points. It was that they did it on purpose. Shooting horizontally one after another, it wasn't worse than hitting the ten points.
"Good, reward them." Li Longji was overjoyed. Looking at the frightened and shocked eyes of the people sent by other countries, he knew that they would be more obedient. If anyone was not obedient, he would send such troops.
The person who was most afraid was actually Li Shaogu. His Khitan was too close to Jili Province. Who knew how many pistols Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan would equip the troops there with?
Even though the shooting distance was not very far, in a real battle, unless one ran away immediately after hitting, who would be able to withstand the sudden appearance of a group of people armed with pistols when they were still twenty steps away from the other side and started attacking them?
Wouldn't one be invincible in a close battle?
He was right. When fighting with a bayonet, it was much safer to have a pistol in hand.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to reward us. It is just a small skill. We can master it with more practice," Zhang Xiaobao said modestly.
"Governor Zhang is right. The two of us are indeed good at practicing. When we go back, we will form a 1,000-man pistol battalion to protect our country and expand our territory." Wang Juan was also modest. The most important thing was the 1,000-man pistol battalion.
When Li Shaogu heard this, he trembled. What did Wang Juan want to do? 1,000 people to expand the territory? In which direction? Did his Khitan count as having finished expanding?
Li Longji knew that it was impossible for Wang Juan to form a 1,000-man pistol battalion. With one look, he could tell that the pistols were exquisitely made. Each pistol cost a few hundred strings of coins. If a thousand people were equipped, it would cost hundreds of thousands of strings of coins. They were not stupid.
She said this just to scare them. It seemed that they were frightened.
"We agree to this. Give me 10,000 more pistols for my use." Li Longji cooperated and gave the impression that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan could take out a lot of pistols at any time for free.
Other people had never even touched a pistol before, so how would they know the cost of a pistol? It felt like a kitchen knife. They could get it whenever they wanted.
"Uncle Emperor, I... this subject is also very accurate." The most lively and lively Xiaobei jumped out and also took out a pistol. It looked even more beautiful than the one in Li Longji's hand.
Li Longji was shocked. He was afraid that Xiaobei's pistol would suddenly hurt someone. After thinking carefully, he realized that something was wrong. It was impossible for Xiaobei to hold this subject's pistol so easily.
"Minister Zhang is also here? Let us see the pistol in your hand. "Li Longji did not know why he liked Xiaobei. Whenever he saw Xiaobei, he would feel happy.
"En, here, this subject will bring bullets for Uncle Emperor. This subject has brought a lot of bullets." Xiaobei passed the pistol over and took out a small handful of round wooden bullets from his pocket. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not dare to use the ball bearings on them. The power of a BB gun was not small. It could also blind people if it hit their eyes. Usually, Xiaobei and the others would have to wear helmets when they fought.
Li Longji knew that the pistol was made of wood. It was rosewood, which was relatively sturdy. He symbolically hit it twice and found that the bullets were not very close. He nodded and patted Xiaobei's head. He said to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, "Follow us back."
The group dispersed and the troops continued to move forward. However, there was a different feeling in everyone's heart.
The people of Great Tang were proud, but the people of Khitan, Tubo, Turkic, Xinluo, Nihon, and other countries were worried. Compared to Li Shaogu's fear, the people of Tubo were also not relaxed.
At this moment, the people of Tubo knew why their country could not recover. It was all because of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. Wang Juan had beaten their country until they lost their morale. Zhang Xiaobao was even more ruthless. Now, they had seen the power of another kind of war.
It seemed that they had to send people back as soon as possible to tell the people in the country to be more well-behaved, especially the east side of Jinchuan. Otherwise, if Wang Juan was happy, she would bring people to kill them. Who would be able to withstand that? They were already very powerful when they did not have pistols.
"Hand over a hundred pistols, we will use them as guards." Li Longji brought Zhang Xiaobao and the others back to the carriage and impatiently asked Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
Xiaobei and the others obediently stayed at the side. Luckily, the carriage was big enough, or else it would not be able to fit them all.
Since Zhang Xiaobao took it out, he would naturally prepare it for Li Longji. The second generation could already be produced, and the third generation was also being researched. There was no need to continue to keep the first generation a secret. Otherwise, if it was kept a secret for too long and Li Longji found out, the game might not be able to continue. Wouldn't life be too boring?
He agreed, "When we return to the capital, I will send over 150 pistols and 30,000 bullets. Your Majesty, this is not a small amount of money. A bullet costs more than 50 copper coins, and there are also guns. "
Li Longji played along and ignored Zhang Xiaobao's words. Instead, he hugged Xiaobei and asked, "Xiaobei, tell Uncle Emperor, what is the first line of Guan Ju in the Book of Songs?"
"Guan Ju Ju Jiu, in the land of rivers. A fair and virtuous woman, a gentleman's good mate. " Xiaobei answered very straightforwardly. He did not know the specific meaning, but he had memorized it. If he did not memorize it, there would be trouble listening to the story.
"Correct, I confer upon you the title of Tong Zhi Lang. Xiaohai, come here. I ask you, the length of the rope is 10 chi. Wrap around the tree, four chi after two rounds, one chi after three rounds. Ask the tree the length of the circumference."
Li Longji asked Xiaohai.
Xiaohai did not want to answer. It was too simple, but he had to say, "Three chi."
"Good, I also confer upon you the title of Tong Zhi Lang. Xiaoyuan, what does it mean by learning and practicing happily?" Li Longji continued to ask.
"It means that when learning, I often …" Xiaoyuan answered very straightforwardly.
"Xiaozhu, let me ask you …"
After a series of questions and answers, the group of little fellows were all promoted. Their official titles were the same. Tong Zhi Lang went from being a rank seven official to a rank six official.
"Your Majesty, I suddenly thought that if you want people to shoot more accurately, you will need a large amount of bullets. I am prepared to take out 90,000 bullets for Your Majesty's bodyguards to practice. I will also add 50 more handguns. Each of them will be equipped with two guns. After training hard, they can become like me and Cuckoo. They can shoot continuously with two guns."
Zhang Xiaobao looked like he had just realized something. He sincerely wanted to help Li Longji form the handgun bodyguards. He did not mention how much money he had to spend. He even took out a lot of bullets and guns.
Gao Lishi did not say anything. He knew that even if the Emperor did not promote Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, he would still promote them. However, it would not be fun to do so. He did not know why the Emperor treated Xiao Bao and Cuckoo differently from other people. He had to play this kind of boring game for others to watch.
If he took a little advantage or suffered a little loss, he would haggle over it and prepare to get it back next time. He conferred a bunch of rank six officials. It seemed like he wanted to give them more money. In fact, the amount of money that the Zhang Family and Wang Family took out every year for disaster relief was not even enough for a family's ten years of salary.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
