In the study room of the Wei Palace, the prime ministers of the three provinces and the six Shangshu gathered together, and Cao Cao, who was at the top, tapped his fingers on the desk and said loudly: "Lone summoned you and others to come at this time, I think you have all received the news and have already understood what is going on." ”

"Your Majesty, in Chang'an, not long ago, General Le wrote to say that Chang'an is worry-free, why is it so fast that the army is defeated and retreats to Tongguan?"

On top of the news that Le Jin came not long ago, it also showed that Chang'an was not excellent, and he was confident that he could take advantage of the approaching winter to defend Chang'an this year, but today it was suddenly reported that Chang'an City was broken, and its retreat to Tongguan could be said to make all the people who got the news suddenly unable to turn their brains.

The question raised by Lu Su, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is not only his personal question, but also the question of the rest of the people, Xun You, the secretary of the Ministry of War, who is in charge of the Ministry of War, thought of other aspects, and said with a somewhat ugly face: "Could it be that there were spies in Chang'an, so that Chang'an was suddenly breached, and General Le had to retreat to Tongguan?" ”

As soon as Xun You's words came out, most of the people present nodded with ugly faces after thinking about it, after all, Chang'an is a strong city, and it was suddenly attacked by Ma Teng and others, and the only possibility is that it is a traitor.

If Cao Cao hadn't gotten a more detailed report from Jinyiwei, he might have thought it was because of the problem of spies, but it was because he knew better why Chang'an was breached that Cao Cao understood that this time the problem was not the spies, but external forces.

"Wenhe, tell me why Chang'an was broken by the enemy this time."

"On orders!"

At the same time, Jia Xu, who was still in charge of the Jinyi Guard on the bright face at this time, looked up at Cao Cao, who had an ugly face, and turned to the others and said: "The problem of Chang'an being broken this time is not in the body of the traitor, but because in the army of Ma Teng and others, a powerful catapult suddenly appeared, and its range is far beyond the range of our army's catapult, and the reason why General Le retreated to Tongguan. It was because of the five consecutive days of attack by the projection vehicles of Ma Teng and others, the loss of soldiers and horses, the people in the city were panicked, and even the city wall of Chang'an collapsed in some places. As a last resort, General Le retreated to Tongguan. ”

"This is impossible, the maximum range of the projection vehicle is already used by our army, how can it be strengthened again. It's absolutely impossible! ”

As soon as Jia Xu finished speaking, the other people didn't react, and Liu Ye, who was the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, reacted violently, but this is also normal, just like in later generations, when a person was a scientist, what he couldn't invent was invented by a person who didn't know who it was, and the mood would definitely not be any better.

What's more, Liu Ye is the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, he understands it very well. The reason why the Ministry of Industry can save zài is to help the Wei army manufacture advanced weapons or siege weapons, if this cannot be completed, it is only two to say whether the Ministry of Industry can save zài.

Of course, this point is actually what Liu Ye wants to say, it is impossible for Cao Cao of the Ministry of Industry to remove it, after all, the six ministries and the three provinces, that is, they have improved each other's ability to act, and colleagues are also restraining each other, and the disappearance of any one will lead to an imbalance in the distribution of power, which is not what Cao Cao wants to see.

Not to mention. Cao Cao knew very well in his heart that some things could not be made if he wanted to, and he had to look at other conditions, for the catapult with a longer range revealed in the news. Although Cao Cao had a trace of annoyance in his heart, he was angry with the Ministry of Works. But I'm more curious about who designed this catapult.

Could it be the inventor Ma Jun in the late Eastern Han Dynasty?

Thinking of history, the year of birth and death is unknown, but when he was an official of the Wei State, he made a guide car, and after it was made, he was ordered to make a hundred puppet shows. It is called "water turns to a hundred operas".

Then the weaving machine was transformed, the work efficiency was improved by four or five times, and the keel waterwheel (overturned), a tool used for agricultural irrigation, was also improved, and after that, even the Zhuge crossbow invented by Zhuge Liang was restructured, so that whether it was in the military or agriculture, people who have made great achievements can be called ancient scientists and inventors.

However, thinking of historical records, Ma Jun was still alive at the time of Emperor Wei Ming, and Cao Cao was not sure whether it was Ma Jun who made this projection car.

In any case, if it is possible, it is still necessary to bring this person back, consciously, and even be able to invent an improved catapult that cannot be invented by the entire Ministry of Engineering, such a person can only be killed if he cannot be used by Lonely!

Science and technology type of talents, if not their own, but the other party, what kind of consequences will it bring, not to mention the future generations, just say that at this time, it will be clearly presented, Chang'an was broken, and the person who invented the improved catapult has an unshirkable responsibility.

"Okay, there are so many hidden talents in the world, and it is not impossible to invent what the Ministry of Industry cannot invent, although it is few, but it is not impossible, but today's events can also be regarded as a reminder to your Ministry of Industry, don't be like usual."

Cao Cao turned to look at the Hubu Shangshu below and said: "Hubu Shangshu, how is the treasury stored, can it support my army to enter Chang'an west?" ”

After calculating in his heart with a frown, Hubu Shangshu frowned, and his face was sad: "Back to the king, our army has not long conquered the north, and most of the grain harvested in autumn today and the taxes for this year will be invested in the recovery work of the four northern states, and at this time, there is not much money and grain in the treasury to support our army to move westward." ”

Cao Cao's brows furrowed tightly, no money and food means that he Cao Cao Don't talk about the army, even if it is reinforcements, there is no way to send them out, and how long can Lejin, who has just experienced a big defeat, reduce Tongguan, Cao Cao does not have a degree in his heart.

"Can you scrape together 30,000 people for food?"

30,000 is the bottom line in Cao Cao's heart, if it is less, then there is no difference in the reinforcements sent out, according to the latest news, due to the breakthrough of Chang'an, the morale of Ma Teng and Dong Zhuo's remnants of the coalition army, but in one fell swoop reached 100,000 people, and on the other hand, in the hands of Le Jin, there are only 10,000 horses left in the piecework, 30,000 plus 10,000, it is only 40,000, no matter how low, the reinforcements sent out are equivalent to nothing.

"Your Majesty, it's not that the ministers don't want to, but the four northern states, especially Youzhou, have used up too much money and grain because of their restoration, and the money and grain left in the treasury, let alone 30,000 people, even 10,000 people are a little difficult to think about."

The treasury is empty, this word can be used to vividly describe the treasury of Wei at this time. (To be continued.) )