NCCnovel Chapter 193 A big gamble.
Chapter 193 A big gamble.
Ye Kun walked out of the trench and took everyone to test the results.
There are no problems with the barrel and the base, and they can fully withstand the amount of powder charged just now.
According to the measurement by the tape measure, the point where the shell landed was about four hundred steps away, about six hundred meters.
The dry and hard ground was hit with a series of pits, from large to small.
Because when the shells fall on the hard ground, they will bounce in a series like a stone skipping on water.
Don't underestimate this kind of bounce. When facing dense enemy forces, this kind of bounce can kill a line of enemies in a row, raining blood all the way and taking away all the lives that are blocking the way.
Ye Kun was very satisfied.
A distance of six hundred meters is enough whether it is to storm the city gate or to kill the enemy in a field battle.
When the copper-cast shells were tested again, the range actually increased by more than 100 meters.
Because copper castings are more precise than stone shells and have better sealing properties.
Testing the impact power again, a large door panel 20 meters away, 10 centimeters thick, was blasted apart by a bronze cannonball!
The bronze shells hit the door panel and broke into pieces like rotten eggs.
Next, they tested shotgun shells and the red cannon. Their range and power were better than Ye Kun had expected.
The problem is that the accuracy is so poor that it is impossible to predict where the shells will land.
He Tiantian and Eunuch Huang and Eunuch Kang recorded all the data of each cannon's firing each time.
Ye Kun was also drawing a blueprint and called out to Lao He:
"Lao He, now we need to make gun carriages and gun carts to facilitate the movement of the cannons. I will design the styles of the two gun carriages and you can lead the craftsmen to perfect them."
Then he called the person in charge of the arsenal:
"The cannon is still a bit heavy. You should work harder on miniaturization and refinement to reduce the weight of the casting. I'll give you the specific dimensions later."
Guan Yafu was also watching the test and said with a smile: "Master Ye, with the cannon you made, we are no longer afraid of Jingzhou and Yizhou coming to attack us."
"It's still a long way to go before we can put the cannon into use. At least, we need to train a group of artillerymen, right?"
Ye Kun asked everyone to take back the cannons and returned to the city to prepare to select artillerymen.
Just then, a personal soldier came to report: "Master Ye, Jiaozhou Sima Yu sent an envoy to ask for peace!"
In the past few days, Xue Ju, Wu Xuan and others have recovered all the territory of Shiquanzhai and continued to invade Sima Yu's territory.
Sima Yu could no longer bear it and was frightened by the defeat, so he had to ask for peace.
"First, arrange for the envoy to stay. I will summon the envoy when we discuss matters at the county governor's mansion tomorrow."
Ye Kun first ignored the messenger and went straight to the military camp, summoned the generals, announced the selection and formation of an artillery company, and recruited the second batch of students for the Tanbing Hall.
The students of the first batch of Tanbingtang have graduated and are now starting their internship.
These people are educated, disciplined, and loyal to Ye Kun. They will become pillars of society in the future.
Ye Kun regretted that he enrolled too few students in the first phase; the number was simply not enough!
Therefore, Ye Kun decided to expand the Military Advisory Hall and open two classes this time, with 40 students in each class. Young junior officers with a certain cultural foundation can sign up and wait for selection.
Five students from the first batch of the Military Affairs Hall were selected to follow him to form an artillery company.
The next day was the day for the county governor's office to hold a meeting, and all the officials in charge of various departments were in place.
Ye Kun ordered to bring Sima Yu's envoy up.
The envoy came forward, met Ye Kun, and presented Sima Yu's letter of peace.
Ye Kun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Please, Mr. Messenger, read it to me, I don't need to read it."
The envoy blushed and read out loud Sima Yu's letter of peace.
In the book, Sima Yu was very sad, saying that he was confused for a moment and offended Ye Kun's divine power, which led to a great defeat. After returning home, he decided to seek peace. As long as Ye Kun did not fight him, he could pay tribute every year of 300 kilograms of gold sand, 1,000 kilograms of ivory, 200 kilograms of rhino horns, 50 sets of rhino armor and elephant skin armor, and a number of other local specialties, and also promised not to offend again and to ensure that the trade routes on his territory were unobstructed...
After Ye Kun finished listening, he looked at the officials from various departments and said with a smile:
"My Lords, I have just returned from my expedition against Sima Yu. Rumors are spreading across the land that I did not win the battle, but only ended up in a draw. Now, Sima Yu's envoy has arrived, and I have read the peace letter to you. Do you still have any questions?"
Everyone stood up and clasped their fists together: "Lord Ye is a master at using troops. We dare not doubt him."
Ye Kun nodded: "I dare not say that I am a god in commanding troops, but I will definitely have no problem protecting the country and the people. My lords, I hope you can focus on government affairs and don't worry about military affairs."
After returning from the victorious battle, some people were suspicious and privately said that Ye Kun killed the people in the south to take credit!
Therefore, Ye Kun asked Sima Yu's envoy to read the letter of peace himself.
The messenger was still at the steps, looking dejected, waiting for his fate.
Ye Kun took the letter of request for peace, read it again, and said to the envoy:
"Mr. Envoy, go back and tell Sima Yu that I will immediately issue an order to stop attacking you. However, the things he promised to me must be delivered immediately. It is impolite not to reciprocate. When Sima Yu's things are delivered, I will give him some porcelain gifts in return."
Don’t refuse a gift that comes to your door.
In Jiaozhou, there is a river that produces gold sand, which can be refined into gold.
The messenger completed his mission and left.
Ye Kun looked at the officials and said, "I don't want any of the gifts from Jiaozhou. I will put all of them into the treasury. As for the accounts, you gentlemen can supervise them."
Everyone bowed and said, "Master Ye is dedicated to the people. He is truly a role model for our generation."
Ye Kun nodded:
"The autumn harvest is about to begin. The first season of our double-season rice experiment has already begun. From today on, the agricultural officials will follow the orders of Lord Qin Chou and go to the countryside to guide production. The craftsmen's workshops should speed up the purchase of a batch of sickles, shovels and other farm tools.
The name of the craftsman's workshop and the blacksmith must be engraved on every piece of ironware. If large-scale quality problems occur, everyone will be held accountable.
In addition, we have notified all villages, pavilions and townships to purchase large quantities of hemp seeds, tea tree seeds, neem fruit, and other dried plant seeds in autumn. All seeds can be exchanged for one pound of grain. In autumn, we will increase the planting of brassica seeds, requiring each household to plant at least three mu of brassica seeds.
Guan Yafu asked, "What are sesame seeds and neem fruit used for?"
Even pigs won’t eat the fruits of the neem tree!
The only use of it is to make slingshots for children. Although Dading State did not have rubber bands, it still had slingshots, which were bow-and-arrow slingshots made of bamboo strips.
"Extract oil."
Ye Kun smiled faintly: "You may not know that almost all plant seeds can be used to extract oil. Hemp seed oil and tea seed oil can be eaten in small amounts. The oil extracted from neem tree fruit can be used to light lamps, as kerosene for defending the city, as an antiseptic, and as a pesticide to repel insects."
The agricultural official asked again, "Is three mu of rapeseed per household too much?"
"There are too few. I'm worried that people might resist, so I'm promoting it slowly."
Ye Kun looked at everyone in the hall and asked, "My lords, based on the population, including maids and servants, how much sesame oil does each person consume per year?"
Everyone thought about it, and some said they hadn’t calculated it, so if there was money, they would eat it, and if not, they wouldn’t eat it.
Some say that based on population calculations, each person can consume at most one kilogram of sesame oil per year.
Ye Kun sighed, "Listen, everyone. We officials can't afford oil, so how can ordinary people afford it? I used to live in the countryside, and the poor didn't know what vegetable oil was. Even the rich could only eat one or half a pound of oil a year. It's normal to run out of oil. Brassica is an oil crop, and its yield is much higher than sesame. We develop oil crops to improve the oil problem of ordinary people. If you don't eat oil, you won't get enough nutrition and you'll get sick.
I promise that starting next year, everyone in Dongba County, regardless of official or civilian, will consume more than three kilograms of incense oil per year!"
Guan Yafu said with a smile: "Master Ye, if you say you are good at fighting, I believe you; but if you say you can guarantee three kilograms of sesame oil per person per year, I won't believe it even if you kill me!"
The officials in the hall all laughed secretly.
"Master Guan, why do you always ignore my face?" Ye Kun couldn't help but smile, and stood up and said:
"Today I will make a bet with your Lord Guan. As long as every household in the territory can plant three mu of rapeseed, next summer I will distribute sesame oil to all the people in the county. By the end of the year, each person will get five kilograms of sesame oil! If you can't do this, I will take off my clothes and run three laps in Dongba City!"
The yield of rapeseed at this time is not high, but one hundred kilograms per mu is no problem.
The oil pressing technology is not very advanced, but it should be no problem to produce 25 kilograms of sesame oil for every 100 kilograms.
Each household has three mu of rapeseed land, and the oil yield is at least 70 kilograms. The average population of each household is about five people, and if it is distributed, each person will get more than 12 kilograms.
Combined with other oil crops, Ye Kun can easily achieve his goal.
Guan Yafu got excited and stood up quickly: "Master Ye, are you kidding?"
"I would like to issue a military order!"
"Okay, I'll make a bet with you."
Guan Yafu was like a chicken with blood, waving his hand and saying: "Bring paper and pen. If Lord Ye can complete the task next year, I will donate all my property!"