Li Shimin was somewhat speechless.
But then, he suddenly thought of Niu Jianhu and asked in surprise, "Right, speaking of Little Tiger, how come I haven't seen Little Tiger for a long time?"
The others were also dumbfounded.
They had not seen Niu Jianhu since the last time they saw him. They had only heard that he was recuperating at home and that he could walk a few steps now.
But no one knew the exact details.
Zhang Feng also said curiously, "Not to mention Xiaoniu, I don't know where Old Niu has gone these days. I haven't seen him."
"He's gone to Qiuci City. Last time, he delivered a batch of ballistae. After all, the situation on the border has changed, so we had to take action. Moreover, we've contracted for the production of these ballistae, and Old Cow is very familiar with the roads in Qiuci, so I had him personally arrange them."
Li Shimin took this opportunity to ask.
This was something he had wanted to ask for a long time.
Now that the internal problems had been dealt with, foreign threats still existed. Moreover, he had heard that the Qiuci side had reached a point where they had no choice but to fight. The Turks and Indians had gathered a total of more than three hundred thousand soldiers and were already stationed at Qiuci City. Meanwhile, the production of weapons was still going on.
Although the task of smelting steel had been handed over to the people at the foot of the mountain, and the Ministry of Works at the foot of the mountain had gathered at least one thousand people to work day and night, they could only produce five hundred ballistae a day.
Moreover, this was in accordance with the rules that Zhang Feng had laid down.
Although these people were working very hard, the repeated production of weapons for an army of one hundred thousand was still a drop in the bucket. Moreover, this place was very far from Qiuci City. Just transporting this batch of goods would take five days, and they would not rest or sleep for five days. When they arrived at a provincial capital, they would immediately dispatch local soldiers to take over the goods and escort them to the next provincial capital. The previous delivery person would then return, and so on.
Even so, the production continued every day. In just a few short days, they had produced more than five thousand ballistae and thirty thousand spears that could be used by soldiers.
Compared to the enemy army of more than three hundred thousand, this was truly a drop in the bucket.
Thinking of this, Li Shimin couldn't help but ask, "Feng Zi, last time you said that gunpowder and cannons, are they ready?"
This was what Li Shimin thought of when Zhang Feng asked about Niu Jianhu, and it was also the question he wanted to ask the most.
Although he didn't see any cannons, from Zhang Feng's description, he vaguely felt that this thing seemed to be the key to victory or defeat in a war.
That was why Li Shimin asked this question.
In truth, he had wanted to ask about this for a long time, but because of the matters in the court and the Tang Clan, there were simply too many problems. Thus, when he learned that the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Bureau of Works were steadily producing five hundred crossbows every day, he didn't worry too much.
Even though it was five hundred a day.
Only five thousand for ten days. ,
This number was a little small, but it was better than nothing!
Hearing this, Zhang Feng slapped his forehead and said, "If you didn't mention it, I would've forgotten all about it. The cannons aren't urgent. This thing is actually very easy to make. Wait until I'm done with the waterwheel …"
"Don't say that!"
Li Shimin was shocked and hurriedly said, "You don't know that the war on the border is imminent. If we don't have a few things to serve as a front and deter the enemy, Qiuci City will definitely be defeated in less than ten days!"
"The Tang Dynasty hasn't won a big battle for a long time. This time, we have to win a good one. So, Feng Zi, can you … "
Seeing Li Shimin like this, Zhang Feng was a little speechless.
But he still said, "Then … I'll give it a try?"
"Let me say this first. I can only say that I'll find time, but I'll definitely give you an answer in less than three days. But first, have someone send me twenty carts of iron ore. Otherwise, I won't be able to make the cannons."
Hearing this, Li Shimin immediately shouted outside the door, "Guizi!"
"Quickly ask someone to send twenty carts of iron ore to the mountain. No, send two hundred carts. They must be sent here by tonight!"
After that, Li Shimin didn't care whether the person outside the door heard him or not. He asked, "Is two hundred carts enough?"
Zhang Feng was a little speechless.
"Maybe, it's enough to make ten cannons."
When Li Shimin heard this, his eyes widened to the size of a copper coin.
Two hundred carts of iron ore could only make about ten cannons?????
Was he eating iron?
Li Shimin was a little speechless, but he asked expectantly, "This thing, can it …"
Zhang Feng pondered for a long time and didn't hear Li Shimin at all. He said, "I'm thinking that if these ten cannons can be made, it'll be enough to repel the enemy! And as for the ballistae, if I can improve them, no matter how many people they send in this battle, our ten cannons and thirty ballistae will be enough. "
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.
