"Bang!"
A steel knife was placed heavily in front of Meton in front of the Firearms Surveillance Bureau.
Meton looked at the person who had come and said helplessly, "Don't tell me you've also come to chop me up because of Liang Shanbo's death!"
The person in front of him said coldly, "What do you think? Writing about Liang Shanbo made me shed so many tears. How do you think we should settle this debt? "
"How about I make you another weapon?" Meton asked cautiously.
"That's more like it!" Qin Huaiyu laughed and put away the steel knife, then hugged Meton tightly.
"Go away! I don't like men!" Meton pushed Qin Huaiyu away with a look of disgust.
Qin Huaiyu immediately said with an insulted expression, "Who was the one who was spread all over Chang 'an to like men?"
Meton's face stiffened, and he quickly changed the topic. He asked, "Haven't you already joined the army? How did you find your way to the Firearms Surveillance Bureau?"
Qin Huaiyu's expression immediately became serious. "I didn't leave my post without permission. I was ordered by the general to come find you!"
"The general's order!" Meton's heart trembled. He knew that Qin Huaiyu had joined the army directly under Li Jing's command.
Qin Huaiyu had personally come to invite Meton, so it was obvious that the person who had come to invite him was Li Jing.
Meton immediately got up and left with Qin Huaiyu after giving instructions to the Firearms Surveillance Bureau.
In the Sixteenth Guard Barracks.
Meton had always known about the Sixteenth Guard, but he didn't know that the Sixteenth Guard Barracks was in the Western Mountains on the edge of Chang 'an City. Almost all of the soldiers were training hard, and everywhere they went, there was a somber atmosphere.
"This is the main force of the Western Punitive Expedition!" Meton was deeply shocked.
To the side, Qin Huaiyu immediately nodded proudly and said, "That's right. Each of the sixteen guards has twelve thousand people, so there are close to two hundred thousand people in total. However, according to the imperial court's decree, only six of the guards will be taken. Among them, the Right Guard directly under General Li will definitely go. Of the other fifteen, only five will be taken. Brother Mo, you can imagine how fierce the competition will be."
The imperial court had already made a decision on this expedition to the west. They would only send out seventy thousand men from the six imperial guards, while the rest of the elite troops would continue to protect the capital. Other than that, they would also send out elite troops from various regions. A total of two hundred thousand soldiers would be sent to attack Tuyuhun.
It wasn't that the Imperial Court didn't want to send too many soldiers, but that the burden of rations was too heavy. Even with the convenience of brick roads, the rations consumed by two hundred thousand soldiers each day was still an astronomical figure.
Meton looked at the fully armed soldiers and could not help but feel his blood boil. He sighed inwardly. This is probably the most powerful army in the world!
"How can one be selected to go on the Western Punitive Expedition?" Meton asked. For the army, every battle was an opportunity to gain military merit. For the generals, military merit was a noble title. For the ordinary soldiers, military merit was a reward of land. Naturally, no guard would want to let go of this opportunity to gain military merit.
Qin Huaiyu proudly said, "Naturally, it's a military drill. Only the victors will have the opportunity to go on the Western Punitive Expedition."
Meton immediately sighed in admiration. Li Jing was truly worthy of the title of War God. In this way, not only could he select the strongest soldiers, he could also train the soldiers of the sixteen guards fiercely, greatly increasing their fighting strength.
Under Qin Huaiyu's lead, Meton walked without any obstruction and arrived at the central tent of the sixteen guards.
"Greetings, General. Marquis Merton has been invited!" Qin Huaiyu bowed toward the tent.
"Come in!" Li Jing's voice rang out from within the tent.
Meton lifted the flap and entered the central tent. Sure enough, he saw Li Jing sitting on the main seat. On either side of him sat sixteen generals. Among them were Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yuchi Jingde.
Meton's name was known throughout Chang 'an. Even the sixteen guards had heard of him. Seeing Meton enter, quite a few people looked at Meton curiously.
"Greetings, generals!" Meton did not dare to be rude and hurriedly bowed.
Li Jing laughed heartily when he saw this. "Don't worry. I didn't call you here today to have you change the ending of Liang Zhu."
All the generals immediately roared with laughter. Clearly, the news of the commoners of Chang 'an blocking the Mo Estate's gates and demanding that the ending be changed because of Liang Zhu had already spread to the sixteen guards.
Meton smiled awkwardly and hurriedly clasped his fists. "I will obey whatever orders you have."
Li Jing waved his hand and said, "Men, bring the items and the people here!"
Meton turned around curiously and saw Qin Huaiyu and the other two walking in. However, they were dressed in casual clothes and each of them carried armor and weapons.
"Do you know these three?" Li Jing asked.
Meton nodded.
Li Jing asked again, "Do you recognize the items in their hands?"
"These are weapons produced by the House of Mo," Meton admitted honestly.
"Do you know what your three good brothers have done with the weapons of the House of Mo?" Li Jing slammed the table and stood up.
Meton couldn't help but roll his eyes. He thought to himself, "What could it be? If it really was something big, Cheng Yaojin and the other two wouldn't be sitting there so calmly."
Meton immediately became serious and said, "General, please don't be merciful. These three are unbearably stubborn. If they have made a mistake, please punish them according to the law. I will have no complaints."
Qin Huaiyu and the other two immediately glared at him. If they weren't in the military tent, the three of them would have gone up and punched Meton. Of course, Meton would have no complaints if he punished the three of them.
Li Jing laughed and scolded, "I've always said that you are very slippery. I wasn't wrong about you."
All the generals immediately roared with laughter. To be able to reach such a position, they were naturally not pedantic people. Even Cheng Yaojin and the other two laughed heartily.
Meton immediately smiled apologetically and said, "That's because I know that General Li's military law is like a mountain. Pleading for leniency is naturally useless."
Li Jing looked at Qin Huaiyu and the other two and said, "These three people wantonly competed with the swords of the House of Mo in the army. In a month, countless swords were damaged! Even this General's sword was damaged. Little Mo, how do you think this debt should be settled? "
Meton looked at Qin Huaiyu and the other two in surprise. He suddenly understood. With the three's flamboyant character, they naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to show off after obtaining the swords and armors specially made by the House of Mo. Ordinary swords were naturally no match for the swords produced by the House of Mo. The matter became more and more serious. He didn't expect that in the end, it actually alarmed Li Jing.
Meton said helplessly, "Since the House of Mo's weapon damaged General Li's sword, I will order the Village of Mo to make a new sword as an apology to General Li."
"Then what about us? The swords used by the dignified generals of the 16 guards can't even compare to ordinary soldiers. That's not right, right?" Qin Qiong said without any trace of politeness. Not only did he ask for it, he also asked for it for everyone present.
He understood in his heart that even Li Jing's sword couldn't compare to the swords of the House of Mo. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a peerless divine weapon. Everyone had been coveting it for a long time, but they were too embarrassed to ask for it.
Meton had just entered the army. If he could build a good relationship with the generals by using a set of weapons, then the benefits for Meton in the future would be not just a little bit.
Meton said straightforwardly, "The steel used in this sword is a special steel produced by the House of Mo. If the generals like it, besides the swords, I will certainly send a full set of armor to you in the future."
"Little Mo is straightforward. In the future, if you are bullied in the army, the Old Man will vent your anger for you." Cheng Yaojin said straightforwardly.
The faces of the other 16 generals immediately lit up. As generals, who didn't love peerless swords and sabers? Qin Huaiyu and the other two wielded the swords and sabers produced by Village Mo and were invincible in the barracks. No other swords and sabers could compete with them. Who could refuse such weapons?
What's more, there was a full set of armor. On the battlefield, swords had no eyes. It was not an exaggeration to say that an armor made of special steel could save many lives on the battlefield.
"So, such swords can be mass-produced in the Village of Mo?" Li Jing finally showed his fox tail and asked.
Meton suddenly realized that the reason why Li Jing could specially invite him here was not just because of a sword. He nodded and said, "The conditions for the formation of this steel are very strict. The production is not much, but it is enough to make some swords. How many do you want?"
"One thousand sets!" Li Jing said with an exorbitant demand.
Meton shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Even the Village of Mo doesn't have that many materials after a year of accumulation!"
"Five hundred sets! I can't go any lower, or it will be meaningless. "Li Jing said. Obviously, Li Jing was going to use these weapons as vanguards.
Meton thought for a while and nodded, "Five hundred sets it is. But I have a condition."
Li Jing was very happy that he got what he wanted. He waved his hand and said, "Just say it. As long as I can do it, I will do it."
"On my way here, I saw a small valley not far away. I want to test some gunpowder weapons in this valley. I need the cooperation of the 16 guards." Meton said bluntly.
Gunpowder was a secret to ordinary people, but it was not a secret to the generals of the 16 guards. In addition, Meton's position as the Firearms Supervisor was well known.
"What's so difficult about that? That valley will belong to the Firearms Supervisor in the future! "Li Jing said nonchalantly.
Meton smiled. Since he had gunpowder, he naturally couldn't just charge up with it. Meton, who came from the future, would naturally make the best use of gunpowder.
Of course, it would be impossible to test gunpowder weapons in the Firearms Supervisor in Chang 'an City, and he was worried about the safety of other places. What better place than the 16 guards?
Li Jing thought that he had made a very good deal, but he didn't know how much he would regret this decision in the future.
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom! "
A series of loud explosions sounded throughout the valley. Even though it was blocked by the hills, the entire Right Guard could hear it clearly.
"So this is the gunpowder weapon Mo Jiazi mentioned!" Li Jing looked in the direction of the small valley and frowned.
"Reporting to the general! Right now, the Firearms Supervisor has sealed off the valley, and no one is allowed to enter, "the guard said with a frown.
Now that the Firearms Supervisor's production was on the right track, they only needed to follow the production process step by step. Meton only needed to check the process every day, and then he would immediately bring a cart of gunpowder over and begin testing gunpowder weapons.
"Boom!"
Another loud explosion sounded, and the entire valley shook three times.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Meton and Taoist Master Changsheng both walked out of the valley in a sorry state, their faces covered in soot.
"Merton, the gunpowder burned too fast. We didn't even have time to react!" Taoist Master Changsheng said with lingering fear. This time, if he hadn't run fast enough, he probably wouldn't have made it back.
Meton nodded, then suddenly slapped his thigh in realization. "That's right! How could gunpowder not have a fuse? "
"Fuse? What fuse?" Taoist Master Changsheng asked in confusion.
Meton explained, "A fuse is something used to ignite gunpowder. We can mix some impurities in the gunpowder to slow down the ignition speed. Then, we can use the slow-burning gunpowder to make a rope and connect it to the gunpowder. This way, after igniting the gunpowder, we'll have enough time to leave."
Taoist Master Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Merton is brilliant!"
The two of them left excitedly, and the sixteen guards finally quieted down.
However, everyone was only quiet for two days. On the third day, the two of them returned excitedly, and the entire valley began to rumble again, shaking the heavens.
"Kill!" The soldiers of the Right Guard roared in unison as they practiced.
"Boom!" A loud explosion came from the small valley.
"Stab!" The soldiers of the Right Guard roared again.
"Boom!" Another explosion came from the valley.
One person against ten thousand, and he didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.
The soldiers of the Right Guard finally finished their practice, and just as they were about to retreat, they heard a shrill squeal from the small valley.
Not long after, a domestic pig let out a mournful howl as it limped over from the direction of the valley. Behind it, the Mo Family's son was chasing after it with a few hundred riders.
Li Jing couldn't help but twitch his mouth when he saw this. He was about to signal the soldiers to attack, but he saw the leader of the hundred riders nock the longbow in his hand and shoot an arrow. The arrow hit the pig's eye and went through its brain.
"Good skill!" The soldiers of the Right Guard immediately cheered.
Li Jing's eyes lit up. Based on this skill alone, there were only a handful of people in the entire Right Guard.
"Xue Rengui of the Hundred Riders greets the general!" Of course, Xue Rengui was the only one who could have such skill.
"Xue Rengui!" Li Jing nodded in praise. "With this skill, you will definitely be famous in the army in the future."
Xue Rengui naturally knew that this person was the War God of the Tang dynasty, Li Jing. He quickly cupped his hands and thanked him. "Thank you for your praise, general."
At this moment, Meton ran over, panting. He hurriedly cupped his hands to Li Jing and immediately checked the injuries on the domestic pig.
Meton pulled out a piece of iron from the pig's stomach and shook his head. "We didn't use enough gunpowder, and there's also a problem with the iron!"
After Meton recorded the details, he cupped his hands to Li Jing and said, "I'm sorry for offending you these past few days. Today, this fat pig and the three goats in the valley will be the Firearms Supervisor's compensation."
"Good! Merton is generous! "
The entire Right Guard cheered. Although the Sixteen Guards were the elites of the imperial court and had enough to eat, they still rarely had meat. Although one pig and three goats weren't enough for the Right Guard, it was still rare to see meat.
However, this was only the beginning. In the next few days, the Right Guard's food greatly improved.
Almost every day, there would be meat delivered by the Firearms Surveillance Bureau. Some were fat pigs with their intestines exposed, some were whole goats that had no wounds on their bodies but were bleeding from their orifices. There were even many pieces of rotten meat that had been chopped into pieces.
There was even one time when they sent over ten cows that only had half of their bodies left. Although the wounds on the meat had a strange smell, it was not a problem for the soldiers. After cutting off the meat, the rest of the meat was not affected.
However, while the soldiers of the Right Guard were enjoying the rare meat, their eyes gradually changed as they looked in the direction of the valley.
Those thunderous sounds can take the lives of pigs, goats, and cows. What if it's used on people? "
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