I’m The King Chapter 586: : weapon

In June, three thousand soldiers from Yuyang County arrived at Xinhui County, which borders Hejian County. In Anlu County, there are many sentinels and scouts on both sides, and small frictions appear frequently. It seems that the two sides are already at war, and they may start fighting at any time. It seems that there are many soldiers in Yuyang, but everyone knows that those soldiers who conquered the Eastern Army cannot fight with ordinary troops. In fact, in a real fight, it is really hard to say who will win and who will lose.

However, under the military confrontation, there is another storm hidden. The salt and iron in Yuyang County, the weapons and war horses in Liaoxi, are constantly communicating with each other from these two places. An army, not so much against each other, but rather as an **** for these transactions, while keeping the secret at the same time.

Of course, with such a large transaction volume, it is naturally difficult to keep it completely secret for a long time, but in the eyes of both parties, even if these people are known to the world, the face must be maintained.

In addition to these strategic material transactions, private caravan exchanges are getting closer and closer. Xinhui and Anlu, which were originally on the edge of these two counties, have gradually become prosperous, and the gathered population , There are more and more business stacks.

The imperial court of the Kingdom of Yan controls the release of strategic materials from Hejian and Liaoxi. It is extremely difficult to inflow salt and iron. In addition to self-production, it relies on smuggling. For their own needs, despite the efforts of bold merchants from the Yan Kingdom and the Four Seas Commerce and Trade, they cannot guarantee an endless supply. Once the court is ruthless, this road will be cut off, and it is a long way from Zhao Guodai County. Although this line has never been broken, it will cost too much. After getting through the Yuyang County line, Gao Yuan temporarily got rid of this worry.

But this is not a long-term solution. Throwing his lifeline to an ally who might bite him at any time is not what Gao Yuan wants, and in front of Gao Yuan is to take down Donghu. The land of Liaodong is rich in mineral deposits, and Donghu people are in Baoshan without knowing it, or they know it. However, due to the lack of technical force, it is impossible to cultivate a large amount of land.

Fighting Donghu is not only because the two sides are hostile, but also because Gao Yuan must control this area. Only by winning Liaodong can Gao Yuan really have the capital to compete in the world.

It was precisely for this reason that Gao Yuan did not hesitate to use weapons and war horses to ensure that Yuyang County would send these strategic resources in an endless stream before he and Donghu decided the outcome.

Each side takes what it needs.

Jiang Xinliang and Gao Yuan are both very busy.

Jiang Xinliang is busy strengthening the army. He knows very well that as long as the 30,000 Yuyang army in his hands becomes a strong army like the Zhengdong army. Even if he can't rule the world like Gao Yuan, he can still become a pivotal force in Yan State, enough to control the situation of Yan State. Otherwise, even if you hug your thigh, you may be kicked away by this thigh at any time.

Not to mention. He is now independently supporting Zaiyu, which borders Zhao State. With Jing Rufeng's victory at Hangu Pass, Zhao State's external military pressure has been greatly relieved. Then he will focus his eyes on the east again. He had to defend.

And Gao Yuan is also busy. Very busy. The battle with the Donghu people was imminent, and he had to make preparations in all aspects. Last time, it was Yan Guo who put all his strength into fighting the Donghu people, but this time, it was him who supported him independently. Last time, all parties dispatched more than 100,000 troops, but this time, he was fully engaged, with only 30,000 troops. This has to be added to Xu Yuan's outstanding tricks in Pioneer City. As a result, the Northern Field Army expanded to 20,000 in just half a year. In the direction of the Eastern Group Army, He Lanxiong currently has only over 10,000 people under his command, including all non-combatants.

This is not a battle of equal strength.

Grain storage, transportation, ordnance manufacturing and distribution are all headaches.

Jishi City in June is much hotter than other places. When the breeze was still blowing outside the city, the inside of the city felt a little breathless, and this was because of the countless workshops gathered in the west city.

West City is home to refined iron refineries and various weapon factories. Numerous furnaces are burning brightly, and heat rises from these factory buildings one by one, slowly permeating the whole city.

Walking in this block made up of countless factory buildings, even if you are outside, you can still feel the roiling heat wave. In a short while, Gao Yuan felt sweaty and heavy.

"With such a high temperature, how can craftsmen endure long-term work? In this regard, do you have any solution?" Looking back at Wu Kai, the governor of Jishi County who accompanied him, and Fan, who was in charge of all military production Dengke said, "Although the mansion is in a hurry to be destroyed now, it should not cause accidents to the craftsmen."

"Dengke, explain it to the governor!" Wu Kai said.

"Yes, the county guard!" Fan Dengke was originally from Langya, a senior housekeeper of the Ye family, and was married to western Liaoning along with more than ten thousand craftsmen, but now he is Sima in Jishi County. The most important task is to manage the military workshop in the west city.

"Captain, in order to improve work efficiency, we have divided the workers into three shifts. Under normal circumstances, there are shifts every four hours, and people don't rest. Even at night, they are still working. The weather is getting hotter these days. , The factory building is extremely hot, so it has been switched to a two-hour shift, and at the same time, in the factory building, there are plenty of herbal tea, mung bean soup, and the decoction soup prepared by the medical officer."

"Well, if you want to be more thoughtful, even so, you can't be careless. It's better to have a few more medical officers here to stand by at any time." Gao Yuan nodded.

"Yes, I will deal with this matter immediately when I turn back."

"In addition, according to the requirements of the soldiers in front, how are the changes to some weapons going?"

"In addition to the inventory produced before, the latest production has been changed according to the response of frontline soldiers, such as the iron helmet with eaves, the spear blade and short dagger. It is extremely simple to open blood slots on weapons, etc., and as soon as I received suggestions for improvement, I immediately changed all the previous production methods.”

"What about the others?"

Fan Dengke looked embarrassed, "Commander, the problems reported by the soldiers such as the bulky bed crossbow, too slow rate of fire, and the short range of the crossbow are difficult to solve for a while, but the subordinate officer is organizing manpower. Groping."

Gao Yuan stood still, "Our enemy right now is the Donghu people. The Donghu people are mainly cavalry and archery. If we can strengthen the strike capability of long-range weapons, we can reduce the number of soldiers who use their flesh and blood to attack the cavalry. Therefore, research in this area needs to be strengthened. How about this, you organize experienced master craftsmen to set up the Zhenshang Research Institute, and the capital will be allocated by the Dudu Mansion. The job of these master craftsmen is to manage the research on how to improve weapons. Performance, including bed crossbow, riding crossbow performance improvement, but not limited to these, these craftsmen, as long as they make achievements, the Dudu Mansion will not only reward them, but also bestow officials.

Fan Dengke cheered up and awarded officials to craftsmen. Find a way."

"Research Institute, don't be afraid to spend money!" Gao Yuan looked up at the rising smoke, and said, "No matter how much money you spend on research, it can't compare with the precious lives of the soldiers in front. , There are not many soldiers, but they are all ranked as one against ten. Fan Dengke, don't underestimate your work. Every time you develop a military weapon, you may be able to save the lives of countless soldiers on the front line. The outcome of this battle!"

"I understand, even if I don't eat, drink, sleep or rest, I will definitely solve the opinions raised by the frontline soldiers in the shortest possible time, and take out a weapon that the governor is satisfied with."

"Haste makes waste!" Gao Yuan shook his head, "To do this, you have to calm down first."

"Yes!" Fan Denko replied respectfully.

"Captain, let's go to the warehouse to have a look. With the improvement of our iron smelting technology, our weapons are getting sharper and sharper." Wu Kai said.

"Okay, go and see!"

About the distance from the workshop area, there are rows of tall and large warehouses of the same shape standing majestically. In front of the door, guards stand upright. Open the door of a storeroom, and there are huge wooden boxes stacked from the ground to the roof. On the open space of the storehouse, soldiers are neatly putting huge shields into the wooden boxes. When they are full, they nail the wooden boards , and lifted it to the stack on one side.

He picked up a shield casually and danced it a few times, but Gao Yuan let out a sigh, "It's much lighter than before?"

"Yes, Dudu, with the improvement of our iron smelting technology, the quality of the refined iron produced is getting better and better. In the past, wooden shields were covered with iron sheets, and their ability to resist blows was poor, and they couldn't stop the cavalry's heavy weapons. , and the iron shield is too heavy, and it is extremely inconvenient for soldiers to use, but now, the iron sheet made of newly smelted refined iron is covered on the wooden shield. So now this kind of shield is mainly produced.”

Fine iron, in Gao Yuan's eyes, is steel, but the quality of the current steel is obviously far inferior to that of the steel in his era, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. This shield still weighs more than ten kilograms, but compared to the previous iron shields that weighed tens of kilograms, even though a small amount of protective power was sacrificed, it greatly increased the combat power of the soldiers. In between, but gain more.

In this warehouse, there are all kinds of shields, including half-human shields for infantry, large shields for formation, and small round shields for cavalry. Compared with the previous ones, they are much better in quality. , has indeed made great progress.

Walking through a few warehouses in succession, Gao Yuan finally stopped when he saw the warehouse full of weapons. The Northern Army suddenly increased by more than 15,000 soldiers, which was unexpected before , so that the weapons reserve of the Northern Army suddenly ran out. In the past few months, they have been transporting weapons there. When these weapons arrive at the Prophet City, the Northern Army will really have a certain strength.

Donghu's move to increase troops to Hetao has never stopped. The pressure Sun Xiao faces is increasing day by day. He has no reinforcements to send there, so he can only use weapons to solve their worries.

The Battle of Hetao, is it finally about to start?