In the Chongzheng Palace, Emperor Zhao Zhen said: "Yesterday, under the city of Beizhou, Du Zhongxiao brought new artillery, and in one afternoon, all the female walls on the city wall were destroyed. The generals under the city estimated that the city could be broken in only five days. The Privy Council tried artillery a few years ago, isn't it useless? ”

Xia Zhu praised the wat and said: "Your Majesty, the music from Ming Ho said that the newly cast cannon is ten times larger than the original cannon, and the power is naturally different. It is said that a cannon was fired, and the female wall collapsed with the cannon. Without the female wall, the city wall cannot be climbed. ”

Chen Zhizhong said: "The artillery was originally made by Du Zhongxiao, and when he was in Tanglong Town, a few cannons scared the looting Khitans away, how could it be useless?" Others are just casting in the shape of the Volcano Army, and they don't know the reason, so they naturally can't exert their power when they use it. ”

Jae Zhi saw the recital sent by Ming Ho, and Zhao Zhen had Li Jihe's secret recital, and when the two were compared, they knew that they had underestimated the power of artillery before. The women's wall was not as thick as the wall, but it was also unusually strong, and it could collapse with a single shot, and they really couldn't imagine how powerful it was.

After discussing the situation on the front line in Beizhou for a while, the battle situation was optimistic, and the atmosphere became relaxed.

The Privy Counsellor Gao Rune said: "If the cannon is so powerful, it is a sharp weapon of the country, and it cannot be easily displayed." After the Shangyuan Festival, the Khitan envoy wanted to return north through Beizhou, and ordered Ming Hao and others not to let the Khitan people see the artillery. ”

Xia Zhu said: "This is reasonable! At the same time, he instructed the embassy to accompany the envoy to prevent the Khitans from spying on the military situation in Beizhou. ”

The Great Song Dynasty has always been at a disadvantage to the Khitan, and what it relies on is Jiancheng. If the Khitans were allowed to learn this kind of siege weapon, the threat faced by the Great Song Dynasty would not be comparable to before. Over the years, the Khitan envoys will spy on intelligence and have to guard against it.

The officials discussed together, and the two governments took measures at the same time to prevent the leakage of information from the cannons. As for the small iron cannon in the past, because they didn't pay attention to it, they didn't know how much the Khitans knew, so they couldn't care about it now.

Cannons and gunpowder are not complicated to say, but in this era, it is not easy for technology to spread, and the Khitan can't learn it for a while if they want to. After hundreds of years of exchanges, and under the rule of the Han people in the sixteen states of Youyun, the technical level of the Khitan is still a lot worse than that of the Song Dynasty.

Song Zhen said: "Du Zhongxiao is a person who has outstanding achievements when he was on Hedong Road. Although he is not good at literature, he knows everything about miscellaneous studies, in addition to making artillery, he also made a large cart for pulling goods, and there are thousands of them on Hedong Road in a few years. With this car, the supply of grain and grass on Linfu Road is much calmer. Everyone has their own strengths, and this person is also a talent. ”

Chen Zhizhong said: "He can really break through Beizhou City, and he needs to be reused when he comes back." I heard that the car and boat of the official system of Han Tui in Kaifeng Prefecture were also made by him and Du Zhongxiao, and this person has a lot of experience in the machine. ”

Several others said yes. Zhang Fangping, the third envoy, said: "When Du Zhongxiao was in the Volcano Army, he set Tanglong Town as a place of free trade. At first, he didn't know his intentions, but for more than a year, he set up a cabinet shop there and made countless profits. In the remote place of Tanglong Town, the income is more than that of the field on Hebei Road. Now the money and grain on Hedong Road, thanks to Tanglong Town, are exempted from the transfer of the capital. ”

In the past, Du Zhongxiao did a lot of things, scattered, and everything was eye-catching, but it was not an earth-shattering achievement, and it was not in the eyes of the deacons. Beizhou City used artillery to attack the city, compared with other things, Yu Du Zhongxiao himself, in fact, is the simplest. But this war was watched by the court, and all the officials were staring at it, but a small meritorious camp made the important ministers in the court notice him. The previous bits and pieces of credit add up, and suddenly people feel radiant, and they are no longer the young petty officials who tried to drill camps everywhere for the pavilion.

It was only at this time that Zhao Zhen had an impression of Du Zhongxiao. recalled his remarks when he went to Hedong Road, and the last time he returned to Beijing to demonstrate guns, he didn't remember much vaguely. What he said at that time, Du Zhongxiao replied, but he didn't remember a word. Fortunately, these official meetings are recorded, and when I go back and look through them, it is necessary to get acquainted with this young man again.

Du Zhongxiao, who was under the city of Beizhou, knew nothing about the affairs of the court and China, and conscientiously commanded the siege. He knew in his heart that only by breaking through Beizhou City could he get his credit, otherwise everything would be in the mirror.

In one morning, all the female walls within 30 zhang east of the city gate were blown down, and the city walls became bare.

Wang Ze ordered his soldiers to shoot bows and crossbows for a while, and fired a stone cannon, seeing that there was no threat to the Song army outside the city. Calm down, no longer do these useless work, urgently recruit manpower, and build a temporary bunker with bamboo and wood in the western section that was bombed yesterday.

The situation was clear that if there was no cover on the walls, the advantage of the defenders would no longer exist. In the face of ten times the number of officers and soldiers, the city could not be defended no matter what. Not to mention that Qucheng had no chance to burn down, the Song army, under the cover of bows and crossbows, could not prevent it from going directly to the city.

At this time, the usefulness of the iron cannon became apparent.

Du Zhongxiao only moved half of the iron cannon to the east side of the city gate, and more than 100 gates were still retained on the west side, and they kept bombarding the city wall. Without the female wall, how could the bamboo and wood shield block the artillery? The defenders paid a great price, and the bamboo and wooden bunkers were destroyed as they were built, and they could not be built at all.

Ming Ho and Li Jihe have been watching the battle under the city, and after seeing the situation at the head of the city, they said to Li Jihe: "There have always been artillery in the army, but no one knows how to use it, and they have wasted a month under the city." As soon as Master Du arrived, the power of the artillery was fully displayed, and the city could be broken in a few days! ”

Li Jihe sighed a lot: "The official family sent me to the city of Beizhou, and when I was leaving, my tone was stern, and I was extremely dissatisfied with the war. However, hundreds of soldiers rebelled against the city, the army besieged the city, and it was impossible to attack it for more than a month. As soon as I arrived, Master Du arrived and set up a cannon, and the city was like paper. Looking at it now, what's so hard about breaking the city? ”

Myeongho nodded: "Yes, there are many things in the world, and you can understand what you can do." I can't do it, I want to break my head, and I don't know what to do. The musket and artillery were originally made by Master Du, and there was no one in the world who knew how to use them better than him. ”

As long as the city of Beizhou is captured within the time limit, for Myeongho, the previous setbacks will be like a cloud of smoke. When it comes to war, the most important thing is the result. It's easy to say that you have won everything, and the previous setbacks are just jokes in the future. If you can't win the war, no matter how clever you are, you will be a defeated general in the eyes of others. Don't talk about credit, it's good not to be punished.

Wang Ze, who was at the head of the city, saw that the city walls on both sides were all bare, his face was gray, and said to Buji: "Privy, the female walls on both sides of the south gate have been smashed, and tomorrow the officials and troops will seize this city gate." How do we hold on? ”

Where is there any way to do it? After thinking about it, he said: "The only way to do this is to gather the elite soldiers in the city on this section of the city wall and fight to the death with the enemy!" ”

Wang Ze shook his head: "How to fight to the death?" Look at the city wall in the western section, the official and military cannons outside are non-stop, how many people died today? So many people died, and they couldn't even build a war tent. Without a female wall and a war tent, how can you resist the bows and arrows of the officers and soldiers? ”

Buji was silent. At this time, anyone can see that tomorrow the Song army will attack the city, and it will be difficult to resist. What to do? It is impossible to surrender, what they have done in front of them is too extreme, and surrender will also save the capital crime, only stubborn resistance to the end. The only way out now is to be able to escape tomorrow when the Song army enters the city.

Bu Ji is in this mind, why not Wang?