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There is a small city between Tuozhe City, the capital of Shiguo and Talas City in the north. It is called Baishui City. The city is small and has only hundreds of families. The residents in the city mainly make a living by pastoralism. Each family has slaves, most of whom are Han people. Since Li Qing repelled the Dashi Army, according to the agreement he reached with Mo Hedu, all the Tang slaves in Tuozhe City belonged to him. In order to prevent the slave family from being disturbed by his old master, Li Qing borrowed Baishui City and temporarily resettled the slave army and their family. The Doulu Army also legitimately stationed in Baishui City. This small city gradually became a base of the Tang Dynasty in Shiguo.

In late May, the weather in Shiguo began to get hotter. Li Qing has been extremely busy. Relocating tens of thousands of people is a systematic project. Food, clothing, housing and transportation must be arranged carefully. Fortunately, he brought two civil servants with the army, one was Zhang Xun, the former Dunhuang County magistrate, and the other was his aide Zhang Ji. They were all very capable, and all kinds of trivial matters were completed by them. Li Qing was responsible for coordinating his relationship with Shiguo.

On this day, a group of carriages drove ten miles away from Baishui City, with nearly a hundred cars. The carriages were loaded with food. The escort was a young officer with a very pretty appearance. Naturally, she was Princess Luo Lan disguised as a man. Since Li Qing left Tuozhe City half a month ago, Princess Luo Lan has never seen him again. Missing was like a seed of rooting, quietly arose in her heart. She was waiting for his arrival day by day, but every time she came and left in a hurry, like a gust of breeze. She had just arrived by Qingfeng, but Qingfeng had already walked away. Princess Luo Lan, who could no longer suppress her longing, decided to go on the road and escort the carriage that delivered food to Baishui City.

The city in the distance was already far away, and she suddenly felt panic and had a slight fever on her cheeks. She didn't know what to say when she saw him? You can't just ask for it and run away in panic! "No! I want him to know a little." Princess Luo Lan took a deep breath and grabbed the courage to escape.

"Everyone work harder! We're about to arrive in Baishui City."

Princess Luo Lan waved her hand back and loudly encouraged the coachman. He should at least be grateful to himself for sending him so much food with his father on his back. Love is blind, and Princess Luo Lan didn't even ask about Li Qing's marital status.

When he thought of his father, Princess Luo Lan's shy mood suddenly became heavy. People say that power is a touchstone for a person. This is true. After only ten days as a king, her father was like a different person. His past humility, gentleness and rationality were gone, and he became a suspicious, hypocritical and even a little cruel. In order to consolidate the throne, he had executed three nobles behind his back. Everything he did was a transaction, and even for himself, Luo Lan had a vague premonition that his father might have sent someone to Dashi.

Should I tell Li Qing this? A hint of pain suddenly flashed in Princess Luo Lan's eyes, and she lowered her head in dismay.

In the temporary military camp in Baishui City, the Dayuan army was training vigorously. The Dayuan army, also known as the slave army, was renamed. They were mixed in the Doulu army and carried out rigorous training, archery, fighting, and training with the regular army. There was no special point. A slight slowness or mistake was a whip. At this time, their identities had changed from slaves to military households and became absolute professional soldiers.

Accompanied by several senior officers, Li Qing walked through the barracks and came to an independent small schoolyard. The entrance of the schoolyard was closely guarded by soldiers, and no locals were allowed to approach it.

When Li Qing entered the schoolyard, he saw a flock of sheep bleating in a corner of the schoolyard. Aside from the sheep pen, more than 200 craftsmen gathered. They were high-level craftsmen selected by Li Qing from the slaves of the Tang Dynasty. They were responsible for the making of military products, such as crossbows, heavy stone throwers, etc. This heavy weapon is not easy to carry for a long distance. It is usually made by the marching Sima with patterns and is building on the spot. At this moment, the craftsmen formed a circle and were nervously watching the movements of an old craftsman. He carefully took out a ball of wet and greasy and greasy elliptical hemp balls dripping from a large wooden barrel. The black liquid was fierce turbulent oil. This was designed by them based on Li Qing's ideas and used to deal with the Dashi Heavy Cavalry. After igniting it, it was thrown out with a giant stone thrower.

But the key is not the hot tinder. The secret of this weapon is its core, which is a small pot filled with black gunpowder, filled with hundreds of tiny iron pieces made of poison. The pot is filled with a twist. When a ball of fire rises into the air, the twist inside will be ignited, and then an explosion occurs on the top of the head or when it lands.

The black gunpowder was discovered by Li Qing in a warehouse when Shule was preparing for war. There were ten large barrels and had been stored for more than ten years. It was bought by Tian Renwan, the guardian of Anxi, who sent someone to Chang'an. His purpose of using it was unknown, but Li Qing knew its function and brought it to the Shi Kingdom.

Li Qing has tried to use this kind of gunpowder these days. This black gunpowder is completely different from what he imagined. It is not burned enough, has weak lethality and is extremely unsafe. If you use it improperly, you will hurt your own people. This is probably the reason why gunpowder was invented in the Jin Dynasty but has not been used in military terms.

However, burning in a closed container will produce a large amount of gas, forming a certain shock wave. Although the gunpowder itself is not very lethal to the human body, those iron sheets that have been fed poison are different. It will cause a fatal blow to the horses of the Dashi Army.

The best way is to throw it out from a distance so that it explodes in the enemy formation. The craftsmen used the fierce tinder oil produced in the Western Regions. After more than a dozen failures, the craftsmen crushed the gunpowder more evenly so that it could burn at a uniform speed, thereby controlling the time when the twister burns.

"Everyone retreated two hundred steps away!"

The old craftsman put the hemp ball into the sheep pen and retreated a hundred steps away. At this time, a crossbowman lit the oil cloth on the arrow, and the flame suddenly ignited on the tip of the arrow. The crossbowman aimed at the black ball, and the bowstring gradually rounded. With a "swoosh!", an arrow with fire shot towards the black ball like lightning, and a ball of fire rose into the air. Everyone's hearts were raised to the throat. The fire became bigger and bigger, scaring the flock of sheep into a ball, and bleating and shaking.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the fireball was shattered, and a thick black smoke rose into the air, and soon covered the sheep pen. Hundreds of thin iron sheets burst out and swept across the four directions. The farthest piece flew a hundred steps away. The black smoke gradually disappeared. A group of sheep fell down most of the sheep, and the outermost ram was blown out like a sieve, with blood gushing out.

"Success!" The craftsmen burst into cheers in unison, and they hugged each other in surprise. The old craftsman stared at the sheep pen blankly. He kept looking at his hands, not believing that this powerful guy was made by himself.

Li Fei Yuanli's mouth was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth for a long time, "Governor, if this thing explodes in the cavalry team, be good, it's amazing!"

Li Qing smiled slightly, then turned around and asked Nan Jiyun, "Jiyun, what do you think?"

Nan Jiyun shook his head gently, "It's good, but it's enough, but it takes a lot of money. We have too little gunpowder and there is not enough raw materials here to control ourselves. When the war starts, the effect of killing enemies will be unsatisfactory."

"You are right. This does not have large-scale killing effect and can only be used at critical moments. Its shocking effect on the enemy is far greater than its lethality. This is my purpose."

After saying that, Li Qing greeted everyone again: "Let's go! Let's take a look at the catapult."

At this moment, a personal soldier shouted loudly at the school gate: "Governor! The grain team in Tuozhe City is here, Lord Luo Lan will see you!"

The last sentence made all the officers laugh ambiguously. Nan Jiyun stepped forward and hugged Li Qing's shoulder, squeezed at Wu Xingsu, and laughed and said, "You guy is desperate to be a peach blossom. You provoked Awan when you were in Nanzhao. Now you have three wives at home and are not satisfied. You have a romantic encounter when you come to Shiguo. Let's see how you explain it when you go back."

"Where are you guys thinking? It seems that I need to set up a camp prostitute so that I can avoid itchy when I see women."

While laughing, Li Qing walked towards the gate. When everyone saw him walking in panic, his laughter became louder. Li Fei Yuanli simply shouted at the top of his throat: "Let's talk, who misses women the most?"

Among the people, Duan Xiushi did not laugh. He looked at Li Qing thoughtfully, but a strange look flashed in his eyes. While no one was paying attention, he quietly slipped out of another door of the schoolyard.

Li Qing is not a fool. How could he not know that Princess Luo Lan is interested in him? He has to admit that this woman's amazing beauty does have a strong temptation to him. If it were an ordinary good woman, it would be fine if he had to enter the room, but she was the only heir to the throne of the Shi Kingdom, with an extraordinary identity. Now her prospects are unclear and should not be arbitrary. Political considerations have made him feel a little more concerned.

"Governor, take a step slowly."

Li Qing turned around and saw Duan Xiushi chasing him from behind. He couldn't help but stop and wait for him to step forward.

"What's up?"

"Does the governor really want her?"

Duan Xiushi scratched her scalp and said with a little difficulty saying: "I mean Princess Luo Lan!"

Li Qing stared at him in surprise. Duan Xiushi has always been serious. Why did he suddenly mention this? He suddenly laughed and punched him gently on the shoulder, "What? Do you like her?"

"No! No!" Duan Xiushi was so scared that he waved his hands straight. Seeing that Li Qing's confidants were all on the left, he stepped forward and whispered to him: "Have the governor thought about taking the Shi Kingdom and replacing it?"

Li Qing glanced at him. This person really had a vision and saw the matter very thoroughly. He simply did not hide it from him and said in a low voice: "The key is how to explain to the court? And Gao Xianzhi's side, how can he tolerate this? This matter must be discussed for a long time."

"But there is an opportunity in front of you." Duan Xiushi looked at the gate and saw Princess Luo Lan put her hand in front of her chest, looking at Li Qing with excitement.

Duan Xiushi sneered and said, "She is the only heir of Shi Kingdom. If she marry her and then get rid of Mohedu, won't the Shi Kingdom get it? At that time, the governor used Shi Kingdom as the base and the Tang Dynasty as the backing, and then took over the nine kingdoms of Zhaowu in one go, completely cutting off the ambition of expanding the eastward food, and finally solving the hidden dangers of the Tang Dynasty's Western Regions. He killed two birds with one stone, so why not do it?"

The idea is good, but the consideration is too simple. Gao Xianzhi is about to arrive, and the army of black-clad food is about to come. The situation is critical. Now is not the time to consider this matter/
Chapter completed!