“According to your majesty’s instructions, the production process of gunpowder has been separated. The craftsmen here have only mastered part of the technology, and the final process is carried out in the deep mountains outside the suburbs.” Yuan Tiangang said respectfully.

As a top alchemist, how could Yuan Tiangang not notice gunpowder? He discovered the power of gunpowder a long time ago. This thing is a by-product of alchemy.

The gunpowder in Chang’an City and the Longquan treasure was buried by him many years ago, but it had never been used. After the Longquan treasure, Yuan Tiangang ordered people to retrieve all the gunpowder and transport it to Luoyang.

At the same time, he also told Su Ming about this powerful weapon, but Su Ming understood the power of gunpowder better than him, and it was too late to make a musket now.

But it is quite easy to make a copper cannon. The manufacturing process of this thing is really simple. As long as the craftsman opens his mind, he can make it.

Of course, after becoming proficient in making copper cannons, one can slowly transition to iron cannons, because the cost of copper is too high, and even if Su Ming obtained the Longquan treasure, he could not afford such a huge consumption.

These things are the secret weapons of the imperial court and will be of great use in facing the Khitan in the future.

Chapter 288: Five Hundred Thousand vs One Hundred Thousand, the Advantage is in My Hands

Since Yuan Tiangang knew the power of gunpowder very early, why didn’t he hand it over to the court and make it a powerful weapon that would shock the world?

The reason is very simple. The Tang Dynasty had collapsed at that time, its economy collapsed, its system collapsed, and its people’s hearts were lost. The emergence of gunpowder not only failed to save the Tang Dynasty, but even accelerated its demise.

Once this thing is studied in depth, it will be a groundbreaking force.

No matter how good the technology is, it has to be used by people. Without a unified country or a strong power, the spread of such technology will only lead to disaster.

For example, the Shenbi bow of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the Liao Dynasty also had the corresponding technology, the cost of manufacturing it was several times higher than that of the Song Dynasty, which was not worth the cost.

On the contrary, the Northern Song Dynasty gathered the whole country’s strength and reduced the construction cost to a very low level.

Gunpowder is much more harmful than the Shenbi bow. The grassland cavalry is already difficult to deal with, and if they are allowed to master the technology of gunpowder, the Central Plains will be in trouble.

Now, the time is ripe and there is already a centralized dynasty in the Central Plains. Gunpowder at this time will become a powerful weapon for the court.

The fire gun is a bit useless. The fire gun of the later Ming Dynasty had become a relatively mature technology, but it still could not gain the upper hand against forces such as the Oirat and Tatar.

In comparison, the flintlock rifle is a truly epoch-making thing. It has a long range and a fast rate of fire, and can create a generation gap against the grassland forces.

Even if Su Ming knew about this thing, it would take more than a few months to manufacture it and equip the entire army. The training of musketeers was no worse than that of soldiers in the cold weapon era.

Moreover, the emergence of gunpowder will also increase the pressure on logistics.

Therefore, the only weapon that can be used at present is artillery.

……

Mobei Royal Court.

Yelu Abaoji sat on the throne, with Queen Yingtian Shulido beside him.

“Today, I have summoned you all. I believe you all know the news from the Central Plains.” Yelu Abaoji glanced at everyone and announced a shocking news.

“The emperor in the south has unified the Central Plains. Qi, Jin, and Shu have all surrendered to the Tang. I’m sure you know what this means.”

“What? The Central Plains is unified?”

“How is this possible? Li Siyuan surrendered so quickly?”

……

After hearing the news, some people remained calm, obviously already knowing about it, but there were many tribes on the grassland, and not every tribe was well-informed, so many people were kept in the dark.

“Your Majesty, as long as you give the order, the men of my tribe and I will immediately follow you to the battlefield and fight with those people from the Central Plains!” Then someone immediately expressed his loyalty.

When the others saw Yelu Abaoji’s gloomy expression, their hearts sank suddenly. They knew that this matter was not easy to get away with and they had to express their stance today.

“Your Majesty, the people in the Central Plains are quite strong. Do we really have to fight them?” At this time, someone stood up and objected.

“Humph, you are only trying to boost others’ morale and destroy your own prestige. The little emperor of the Central Plains hasn’t even grown all his hair yet, how capable can he be? Maybe our troops have just arrived in Youzhou.”

“He will be so scared that he will piss his pants and run over to apologize to the king.” Someone said unconvinced.

……

Next, everyone spoke out their own opinions. Some were in favor of sending troops, while others wanted to talk to the people in the Central Plains first.

Seeing that everyone was arguing non-stop, Yelu Abaoji frowned and asked them to stop talking, “Okay, be quiet!”

“Since you are all here, the Emperor of Central Plains deceived us. Two years ago, I sent my daughter to marry him with good intentions, but he actually betrayed us and got involved with Li Siyuan.”

“You also took advantage of the trade to plunder a large number of war horses from the grasslands. This is really excessive. I have decided to personally lead the army to the south to attack the Central Plains and give you justice.”

War requires a just cause, whether it is invasion or something else, there must be a reasonable reason for declaring war, but the grassland people did not care about this in the past.

However, after being influenced by Han culture for a long time, once a unified force emerges, it will also do this, which is what Yelu Abaoji is doing now.

“Yeah, last time I only exchanged those sheep for a few dozen kilograms of salt and iron tools.” Someone said indignantly.

“I heard that the Central Plains is rich, we can grab some this time.”

……

As the founding monarch, Yelu Abaoji’s opinion was almost the final word. When the tribal leaders who did not want to fight heard him say this, they immediately lost their desire to object and could only agree.

“My lord, how many troops do you plan to bring this time?”

“Five hundred thousand!” Yelu Abaoji waved his hand and said proudly, “I will lead an army of five hundred thousand to conquer Luoyang, capture the little emperor and interrogate him, and make him kneel before us and plead guilty.”

“I guess he, as an emperor, can’t even muster an army of 100,000. 500,000 versus 100,000. The advantage is on me!”

Upon hearing this number, everyone present fell silent. The next moment, the same emotions surged again. Khitan, are they already so powerful?

As tribal leaders, they only knew the situation in their own tribes and did not have a clear understanding of the overall situation of the Khitan. Now when they heard this number, they were deeply shocked.

Five hundred thousand, that’s a lot of people.

For a moment, everyone was ready to go, and they couldn’t wait to gather their men and head south to the Central Plains to do something big.

On one side of the throne, Shulido felt the warm atmosphere in the hall and the excited expressions of the crowd. Her ominous premonition became stronger and stronger. Although she did not know the phrase “arrogant soldiers go before a fall”, she understood a similar meaning.

She knew that the current state was definitely not a good one for fighting. If she went to the battlefield with such a mentality, she would most likely suffer losses.

But Shuliduo was a strong woman in politics, and she would not pour cold water on others at this time. This was not a smart move. In the end, he could only force himself to calm down and watch it all with cold eyes, planning to find an opportunity to remind Yelu Abaoji later.

Just as the royal court of Mobei was gradually filled with the heated atmosphere of war, Luoyang, thousands of miles away, was also slowly setting off a wave of war.

War can always divert conflicts at any time.

The Central Plains was unified without a major war, and all the civil and military officials in the court were gearing up to fight a war to annihilate the country and gain promotions.

Except for a few people, no one knew that the court was preparing for war against the Khitans in the north.

“Your Majesty, after a year of military preparations, the Imperial Guards are now fully armed and ready.” Shi Yao knelt on the couch, reading the memorial softly.

“Another memorial requesting war?” Su Ming half-lay on the couch without even lifting his eyelids.

“Yes, one third of the officials are asking for battle.”

“Shi Yao, remember all these people. If there is any promotion in the future, suppress them first.” Su Ming opened his eyes and said lightly.

Chapter 289 Khitan People’s Actions

“Shi Yao understands.” Shi Yao nodded slightly and answered respectfully.

Then, Su Ming asked, “Are you and Jing Xin Mo used to being in the court? The court is no easier than being in the Bad People.”

Shi Yao was silent for a few seconds, then replied, “Mirror Heart Demon is in the Jinyiwei like a fish in water, and is establishing Jinyiwei stations in various places. Shi Yao handles memorials beside Your Majesty every day, which is quite relaxing and saves him from the pain of running around.”

“I have promoted many of the people on the list of bad people you compiled. After the expansion of the various departments in the court, they are still in order without any chaos. These people are indeed the elites among the bad people and they adapt quickly.”

“Your Majesty has a keen eye. Shi Yao admires you very much. In the whole world, only Your Majesty can make the best use of their talents and maximize their value.” When he said this, a ripple appeared in Shi Yao’s cold eyes.

“The Bad People have been passed down for hundreds of years, and they are full of talented people. Wouldn’t it be a pity if they were buried? The Khitans are powerful, and the court can only win this war if they work together. We should make full use of everyone, first north and then south, to have a better chance of accomplishing this mission.”

Zhao Kuangyin and his brothers did a good job, but they took the path of conquering the south first and then the north, which was to start with the easy and then the difficult. The army had made great achievements and had enough food, so who would be willing to risk their lives?

Not to mention that Zhao Kuangyi withheld rewards, causing the soldiers to run around in a hurry, so it would be strange if they didn’t lose.

No one would risk their lives to keep their current wealth and splendor. After so many years of fighting, the world is now unified. Isn’t it okay to enjoy life and death? There is no need to fight the Khitans to death.

If Zhao Kuangyin had not laid a good foundation, the Song Dynasty army would probably have mutinied, and would not have been chased and beaten by the Khitans on the battlefield.

On the contrary, an army that has not made any achievements is like a hungry wolf, always ready to use its claws to catch prey. On the contrary, if it is full, it is too lazy to move unless facing a life-and-death crisis.

Today’s imperial guards are like a hungry wolf. The imperial court conquered Qi, Jin and Shu without bloodshed. They have no chance to achieve success and are now in a state of high morale and extreme hunger.

……

“Yuan Tiangang, I plan to divide the imperial cavalry into two armies, one is the Shen Ce Army, and the other is the Xuan Jia Army. I will lead the Shen Ce Army myself, and you will command the Xuan Jia Army.”

In the military camp, Su Ming said as he walked.

Still with that hoarse voice, “I will follow your Majesty’s orders.”

After saying that, Su Ming turned back and stared at Yuan Tiangang’s mask, and smiled, “You have worn this mask for too long, it’s time to change it. In the past, Gao Changgong, the Lanling King of Northern Qi, wore an evil ghost mask on the battlefield to intimidate the enemy. You can follow his example, my dear.”

Since you have to wear a mask anyway, you might as well change the style. Not to mention Gao Changgong who wore an evil ghost mask in the past, Li Cunxu in the recent past had hundreds of different masks to change.

Yuan Tiangang was silent for a while, but finally responded, “Your Majesty has ordered, and I will obey.”

“Each of us will lead a group of elite cavalrymen, and we can serve as a sharp knife to cut through the battlefield. Li Cunxu has already done this before. No matter how many Khitans there are, they are just a mob. No matter how elite their soldiers are, they are no more numerous. With “fierce generals” like us, no army in the world can withstand the charge.”

“Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right. The Khitans claimed to have an army of 300,000 at the beginning, but in reality, they only had a few hundred thousand available combat forces, and only tens of thousands of elite troops. Li Cunxu used 7,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard, using speed to defeat the slow, first breaking the Khitan vanguard, and then fighting a decisive battle in a special terrain, thus winning the battle.” Yuan Tiangang had obviously studied Li Cunxu for a long time.

Khitan was destined to be Li Cunxu’s enemy in the future, so how could he not be curious about why he won the battle?

“Yes, we won a great victory in one battle, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough manpower to chase and kill the enemy. Otherwise, at least half of the 300,000-strong army would have to stay in the Central Plains.” Su Ming sighed as he recalled the records of this battle.

At that time, the State of Jin was under siege, and it was a miracle that Li Cunxu could win the battle. How could he have any extra troops to chase after the defeated Khitan army?

Although the battle was won, the Khitans were not completely defeated.

Su Ming has been using all kinds of means to accumulate strength in order to hurt the Khitan. This time, he can’t keep all the people they came, but at least half of them can be kept.

……

Although the people of the grassland are simple, this only refers to the lower-level herdsmen. Their higher-ups are not stupid, but rather very smart. Although they have different opinions, they all know one consensus: once the Central Plains completes its unification, they will definitely deal with the Khitan.

They did not record history, but the history books of the Central Plains people recorded it clearly, from the Xiongnu, to the Xianbei, to the Turks and the Tibetans in the northwest.

Once the Central Plains becomes strong, they will either be fighting or on the way to a fight. It would be fine if the grasslands were not unified, but once they are unified they will surely face the iron fist of the Central Plains.

They are the only ones who can be the bosses in this land! No country more powerful than them is allowed in this land!

Yelu Abaoji showed a slight smile on his hard face, “Okay, let’s stop here today. When you go back, you should prepare your troops and horses. When the food and grass are ready, we will go south together to rob!”

“Goodbye, Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

……