Wheat harvest in May and summer planting in June.

In these two months, they had to be busy collecting grain taxes, organizing farming, and other things, and the time for the Mo family gathering was postponed to August.

It's not just a busy issue, but the high-level people within the Mo family are also arguing about how to go in the future, and try to make the problem as clear as possible.

By the time July arrived, the situation in the world had begun to become clear, and the clouds of war had finally fallen the first raindrops in the Central Plains.

In May, the Zheng people besieged Yuguan, and Yangchengjun defended Yuguan to the death, waiting until the Chu people's support troops arrived, and fought with the Zheng people, but they were defeated.

Yangchengjun fled by bicycle, the Chu people were defeated, Jing Jia and Shu Gong's two Chu ministers died in the chaos of the army, and were cut off by the Zheng people, Wuyang City was merged into Zheng State, the Chu army died more than 10,000 in battle, and the defense in the direction of Wuyang completely collapsed.

At the same time, Zheng Guo's ruling Si Ziyang announced that he did not recognize the legitimacy of the king of Chu at this time, believing that the prince Dingcai really had the right to inherit, and said that Zheng Guo would maintain the rules at any cost and send the prince to Chu to ascend the throne.

In the same month, Wei and Han also came forward to say that they did not recognize the legitimacy of the king of Chu, and said that Wei, Han, and Zheng would unite and join the prince.

Zhao expressed verbal support, but did not send troops, and Wei was forced to stop pursuing Zhao troops due to time constraints: Zhao did not gain much benefit after the war, and Chu could not threaten Zhao at all, and the difficulty of the three Jin joint troops against Chu was already infinite.

The following month, Qin Jun personally visited Chongquan to mobilize Qin soldiers and vowed to recapture Xihe, while speaking out in support of the legitimacy of the throne of the King of Chu.

Wei Xihe guarded Wu Qi and prepared for war with the Qin people.

While expressing neutrality, the Tian clan, the ruler of Qi, also immediately sent an envoy to Chu to express support for the succession of the Chu king Xiong to the throne, but because of the defeat of Xiaqiu a few years ago, the Xiangziniu rebellion, the dispute between the Tian brothers and other reasons, they could not send troops.

The Song State stated that this matter had nothing to do with the Song State, and ordered Emperor Yin's father, Zang, to declare the Song State neutral, refuse to send troops to help the Wei, Han, and Zheng coalition forces, and also refuse to help the Chu people, and strictly forbade the warring countries to borrow roads from the Song land...... Of course, it was impossible for the warring countries to borrow roads from the Song State, because the main battlefield only had two directions: Wuyang Daliang and Luguan Fangcheng.

The interior of the Chu State seems to be quite stable for the time being, but in fact, there is also an undercurrent.

The prince must dare to run to Zheng, which means that there are enough supporters in the country, and the king of Chu Xiong is also very clear, and he understands that those nobles who oppose his accession to the throne are still dormant, as long as the Chu division is defeated, they will immediately rebel.

Several important feudal monarchs who really supported his accession to the throne were Lu Yang Gong, Ping Ye Jun, Yang Cheng Jun, Shaoliang Jun, and some of the remaining feudal monarchs, the King of Chu could only appease but did not dare to use them.

On the one hand, he sent people to Sanjin to tell the rules of "mourning without felling", and on the other hand, he organized the defense of Fangcheng Luyang and other Chu Great Wall directions, as long as it was stuck here, the essence of Chu was still there.

Chen Cai's direction, the county magistrates there did not support him to ascend the throne at all, they have always been friendly with the prince, and this time the assassination of the king of Chu also has an inexplicable relationship with them.

In the direction of Wuyang and Daliang, the king of Chu has decided to hand over Yangchengjun and others to be temporarily fully responsible for the defense, as long as the defense line of the Great Wall of Luguan is not lost, the state of Chu still has strength, and Daliang and other places are sandwiched between Han and Zheng, if they can hold it, they will defend it, but if they can't hold it, there is no way for Chen Cai's division to go to support.

In addition to these things, the king of Chu also knew some details of the battle of Shangqiu, and was also full of desire for gunpowder, a weapon with excellent effect in defending the city.

He sent Zhao Zhiai to Pei County with gifts, wanting to buy a batch of gunpowder and machinery for defending the city from the Mo family at a high price, and at the same time expressed his attitude: he would abide by the covenant signed by his father and the Mo family.

Of course, in fact, he can't do it if he doesn't comply, because the state of Chu is now in a full-scale crisis, and there is no strength to react against the unjust war.

And Lu Yanggong, Yangcheng Jun and other feudal monarchs who supported Xiong Su's accession to the throne were mostly friendly with the Mo family, even if they opposed some of the Mo family's reasoning, but they did not oppose the king of Chu marrying the Mo family.

As a last defense, the king of Chu even hoped that the Mo family could come forward to help improve the city defense of Yingdu as the final battlefield.

There is an undercurrent in the country of Chu, the king of Chu is already a little unable to hold on, the relationships that can be used have also been used, and the reinforcements that can be invited have also been invited, but in the end, it is the defense line of Luguan Fangcheng that determines the outcome of the battle, and if the defense line of the Great Wall is not broken, his throne can still sit safely.

It can only be said that fortunately in misfortune, the Song State had a coup d'état in the Battle of Shangqiu before, and reached a neutrality agreement with the Chu State, and it was not reached by the monarch and nobles, but after "asking the public", otherwise with the precedent of the Song State's repeated betrayals, this time it may not be impossible to send troops.

The most reliable ally, the State of Qi, is still breathing, and the hope that the outside can bring is that the State of Qin will recover Hexi this time, defeat Wu Qi's soldiers, and let the State of Wei fully defend ......

This is too slim, Wu Qi is guarding the West River, and the king of Chu knows that the Qin people may not have a chance this time, and it will be considered a victory if they can take away a few cities of the Wei people.

It can be said that at this time, the world is already in chaos, and the chaos is even more powerful than before the Mo family called on the Central Plains to kill soldiers.

However, when the world was in turmoil, the Mo family, who had been trying to prompt the Central Plains to kill the soldiers, suddenly disappeared and hid in Pengcheng, Pei County, expressing the Mo family's absolutely neutral attitude this time, it seemed that they no longer cared about the affairs of the world.

The Mo family is not concerned, but is still discussing how to manage it.

In July, the top leaders of the Mo family gathered in Daze, outside Pei County, where gunpowder was displayed a few years ago.

Since we want to manage the stability and disputes in the world, we must have means, and the truth is the means, and the weapons are also the means.

The Mo people who support this faction recognize the sword of the world, and the invitation of the high-level leaders of the Mo family to gather this time is also to show the weapons that can make this sword of the world sharper.

Next to Shi, standing in Gongzao, there is a one-year carriage behind it, with some boxes on it, and the contents of Mozi are only roughly known.

Since before the start of iron smelting, Shi has been talking to the Mo family about how to use gunpowder.

Defending a city and throwing gunpowder mines is a great weapon, but gunpowder brings more changes than that.

A few years ago, a bamboo pipe had already shown a possibility, a possibility to replace a bow and crossbow.

Bronze smelting technology was fully qualified at this time, even beyond the needs of the manufacture of primitive tubular gunpowder weapons. The smelting technology of pig iron and wrought iron also ensured the possibility of large-scale application of primitive gunpowder weapons.

A few years ago, Gongzao was thinking about the kind of tubular weapon that Shi was talking about.

Before smelting iron, blacksmiths hired from all over the world to forge sponge iron were also asked about some forging techniques from the beginning.

All of this is done in secret, and the public casting is fully responsible, and it is strictly kept secret from the outside world, and everyone inside just wants to see the kind of real thing that Shi said.

Shi walked over to the wooden box of the carriage, opened it, and took out a heavy, long tubular weapon weighing about fifteen or sixteen pounds.

The workmanship is very beautiful, except for the most difficult iron pipes, the carpenters of the Mo family have excellent skills, and the butt guards and other accessories are perfect.

It's a simple ...... A musket, not even an arquebus with a snake hook ignition.

The caliber is huge, more than half an inch, and the projectile weighs about one or two.

I've tried it before, and the rate of fire of this thing can be described as extremely slow, from reloading to shooting, it takes at least one and a half minutes, that is, it can shoot up to thirty-four times in an hour.

However, this is a gun.

Just like a baby born with a croak, it now looks much shorter than its older siblings named Bow and Crossbow, but it has the most potential.

The large gun, which was more than one person high, looked extremely heavy, and the wooden fork used as a support was inserted into the ground, and it was suitable to take out the gunpowder and reload it, and then put the projectile in, and pounded it firmly.

Thirty paces or so ahead, there was a heavy plank of wood, thick enough to replace most of the armor at this time.

The distance of thirty paces is also the limit of what you think you can shoot, and the iron pipes that many craftsmen spend time building are hammered out by the most primitive process, and they cannot be too smooth.

Mozi pointed to the gun and asked, "This is what you call a weapon that can replace a bow and crossbow?" ”

Shi nodded and said, "I've tried it a few times, but this time I'll let you take a look." ”

Everyone was already familiar with the gunpowder and knew that there would be movement, so they retreated.

Shi Shi took out a burning wood from the fire next to him, lit the fuse left at the fire door, and struggled to hold the heavy musket with both hands, aiming it at the plank in front of him.

Bang......

A cloud of white smoke rose up, and after a loud bang, one or two heavy buckshot bullets directly shattered the wooden plank thirty paces away, making a trembling sound.

Shi's shoulder was also shaken to a severe pain, and he couldn't see the situation in front of him clearly under the thick smoke, and put down the fifteen or sixteen-pound musket with both hands.

Gong Zaoye and the others came forward to check, they had already heard about this kind of thing, so they were not surprised by the thing itself, but by the power of this thing.

With the experience of those who have been in battle for a long time, they give a sufficiently accurate judgment.

Gong Zaoye said: "It can be used by a single person, and it is not as powerful as a transfer machine, but it is not worse than an ordinary crossbow." It's just that it's slower to shoot than a crossbow, let alone bend a bow. ”

Shi smiled and held out five fingers.

"First, how long does it take to practice a bow to have a slick archery? Even if it doesn't, can a peasant soldier be able to draw a bow in three months? This thing can make the peasant soldiers shoot in three months. Peasant soldiers bend bows, need to train for a long time, the gift of village archery winter martial arts with the reform of crops is no longer realistic, who dares to say that three months can train an archer? ”

"Second, the crossbow needs to have strong arms, waist and abdomen, if it is weak, it can't shoot, as long as this thing has a hand, it can shoot."

"Third, feather arrows are expensive and not easy to manufacture, so they need diaphragm, feathers, wood, and arrowheads. All you need for an arrow from this thing is lead, a fire, and an iron spoon, and you can make it yourself. ”

"Fourth, this thing can directly kill the impact of the horse chariot, so that the horse quickly loses the power of the impact. The Mo family is good at foot combat, negligent in chariot warfare, and this thing is better than a bow and crossbow. ”

"Fifth, the future. Now it's just a child, but one day it will grow up. I have seen real sharp weapons in my two masters, and they shoot several times faster. The limit of the archer is nothing more than Yoyuki, how many arrows can he shoot a day without exhaustion? A pine seedling that has just grown and a corn that has matured, can't it be inferred who will be taller in the future? ”