Steel Dynasty - Chapter 515

[Chapter 515 Coercion]

“It really makes sense for my father to send you to this palace.”

Empress Zhao showed a smile. She looked at herself in the glass mirror. Now she is no longer as beautiful as she used to be. There are crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes, and her hair is A white thread actually appeared on it.

At this time, Wang Xi picked up a gold hairpin and cradled Empress Zhao’s head. He said: “Your Majesty, you have praised me. This old slave is just a little smart. How can he compare with your Majesty’s intelligence? It’s just your Majesty. The King of Qi is now guarding this place.” In Shanhaiguan, the troops under his command are good at fighting. This is really a hidden danger. Maybe the King of Qi will not dare to take the risk of raising an army to rebel because of the petition, but there is no guarantee that his heirs will not rebel.”

“I am also thinking about this matter. , The reason why King Qi defeated the barbarians twice was because of firearms. I believe that the court should focus on developing firearms now. If King Zhao’s army and the imperial army are all equipped with firearms, what money does Xiao Ming have to fight with the court? This barbarian tribe What’s there to be afraid of?” Queen Zhao said thoughtfully.

Wang Xi laughed twice when he heard this. He walked up to Queen Zhao and said as if he wanted to take credit: “Your Majesty, this old slave has brought you the method of forging firearms for your Majesty.”

“What!” Queen Zhao exclaimed, she looked at Xiang Wang Xi said: “Now is not the time to talk nonsense.”

Wang Xi said seriously: “Empress, this old slave is not talking nonsense. As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under a big reward. During this time, the old slave has been asking the blacksmith to study The forging method of this matchlock gun really allowed a craftsman to find a way to make a matchlock gun.”

“Really.” Queen Zhao looked shocked.

Now Xiao Ming has a monopoly on all firearms trade in the Chongqing Kingdom. This huge profit makes everyone red-eyed, so the imitation of firearms has not stopped since the emergence of firearms.

In fact, many vassal kings purchased weapons from Xiao Ming with ulterior motives. One was to equip the army, and the other was to imitate them.

“My dear, I don’t dare to talk nonsense. This craftsman has really forged a matchlock gun. Although it is not as powerful as Qingzhou’s matchlock gun, it looks basically the same, and it can still kill people after being loaded with gunpowder.” Wang Xi said.

Queen Zhao was excited and said, “Does anyone else know about this?”

“No, only the old slave knows.”

“Very good, now you immediately hand over the method of forging this matchlock gun to me. His father asked him to imitate it. Nowadays, there are many forces in Chang’an City. In the end, I am afraid that only my father can lead troops into Chang’an to stabilize the crown prince’s throne.” Empress Zhao said.

“Yes, empress.” Wang Xi nodded. He had already seen an imitation matchlock gun with his own eyes. According to the craftsman, he used two pieces of rolled iron to forge the barrel. There was a layer of rolled iron on the inside and a layer of rolled iron on the outside. iron.

The iron rolling ports are staggered to prevent gunpowder from leaking. However, the production of this matchlock gun is very slow. A barrel needs to be forged repeatedly, and it takes a month to produce a matchlock gun.

It had been more than half a year since Xiao Ming last sent the matchlock gun to Chang’an. Now that the imitation was successful, Empress Zhao was convinced.

Although he didn’t say it, Xiao Ming was now a serious problem for her. If Xiao Ming was not eliminated, the crown prince’s throne would be unstable.

“There is no problem with the matchlock gun. If this artillery can be imitated, we will no longer be afraid of Xiao Ming.” After being excited, Queen Zhao suddenly sighed slightly.

Regarding artillery, Wang Xi also had a headache. Last time, Xiao Wenxuan also sent someone to imitate the matchlock gun, but the final result ended in failure.

King Zhao also asked craftsmen to imitate the artillery, but the cost of the artillery was even higher than the cost of the purchased artillery. Moreover, the imitation artillery was not as powerful as the Qingzhou artillery.

Therefore, after careful consideration, all the vassal kings decided to purchase Qingzhou artillery. After all, it saves money and effort.

“Empress, there is nothing I can do about this artillery slave, but if the firearms revenue is returned to my command, won’t we have enough artillery?” Wang Xi said.

Queen Zhao deeply believed it, but she said: “It’s just that the current leader of the Firearms Camp is Luo Hong. If Luo Hong is touched, wouldn’t it offend Luo Quan and Luo Xin’s father and son? Moreover, Luo Quan and King Qi have always been on good terms, and they will “Offending King Qi.”

“Mother, as long as we get the firearms camp and our matchlock guns, what’s so scary about King Qi? Before the prince ascends the throne, we must eliminate King Qi’s influence in Chang’an and leave no hidden dangers. Yes.” A hint of sinisterness flashed in Wang Xi’s eyes, “Not only King Qi, but also the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince’s influence must be removed one by one. In order for the prince to successfully ascend the throne, the empress cannot have too many worries. “

Empress Zhao was a little moved by Wang Xi’s words. She just thought for a moment and immediately warned: “Other princes are fine, but if King Qi allows the barbarians to enter the country, the world will be conquered by the barbarians.”

After saying this, Wang Xi smiled proudly and said, “Your Majesty, you are too worried. His Highness King Zhao sent someone to bring the news. He has sent an envoy to the barbarians. The Tian Khan of the barbarians promised King Zhao that as long as the annual tribute is restored after His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, , they will help

His Royal Highness conquer the world. “Barbarian! Isn’t this going to lead the wolf into the house?” Queen Zhao’s face suddenly became extremely ugly.

Wang Xi said calmly: “Your Majesty, this is wrong. How did the emperor ascend to the throne back then, and how did he get rid of King Kang with the help of barbarians? If the emperor did it, why couldn’t the prince do it? It was just that back then King Kang has now become the current King of Qi. Although the people are different, the things are always the same.”

“No, the emperor has been feeling guilty about this since he ascended the throne. If he had not made a mistake, he would not have allowed the barbarians to seize Youzhou. The land has been on tenterhooks ever since. I don’t want the prince to grovel to the barbarians like the emperor.”

“My Lady, the world is more important than the temporary face. What the barbarians want is just some land in the north. So what if we let them. The country of Dayu is vast and rich in resources, this little land is nothing, and when the crown prince’s position is stable, we can also take it back with the help of firearms.” Wang Xi advised that when King Zhao sent him to the palace, staying with Queen Zhao was just a pass. news, and at the same time made suggestions for Queen Zhao.

For him, his master is King Zhao, not Queen Zhao. Everything he is doing now is for the Zhao family to take over the Central Plains, and this is something the Zhao family has been planning for generations.

Now that King Zhao finally saw hope, how could he change because of Queen Zhao’s thoughts?

So he continued: “His Royal Highness King Zhao said that the empress must cooperate with his plan, so that the crown prince’s position can be stable, otherwise the empress and the prince will ask for their own blessings.”

After Wang Xi’s words fell, Empress Zhao’s face suddenly changed. Frankly, she said angrily: “Are you trying to intimidate me?”

(End of Chapter)