The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 495 You're so strong
Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "No need to be polite. This is not a fine horse. Every horse in our Northern Song Dynasty is this strong."

Yue Fei: "Huh? How did you raise it?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Scientific breeding methods, which focus on the nutritional balance of warhorses, can raise every horse without congenital defects to be strong and healthy. They will all be fine horses on the battlefield. However, there are not many modern improved generations yet. After a few more years of eugenics, Jin Wuzhu's Four-Hoofed Snow-Spotted Fire Dragon Steed will be able to outrun even the horses ridden by our soldiers."

Yue Fei was stunned, somewhat confused.

Yue Yun, standing nearby, laughed and said, "I understand, I understand. Just like the methods you taught me for raising chickens and pigs in Tongbai Mountain, it's not enough to just feed them. You also have to pay attention to the combination of various feeds. You also have to make sure the chicks don't move around too much to prevent them from burning off their fat... And raising pigs also requires regular bathing and so on. There are so many little things to consider."

Yue Wenxuan gave him a thumbs up: "That's right! These are some details of scientific breeding. We also had a set of theories for raising horses in the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the details are different from those for raising chickens and pigs, the general principle is the same: science! Science is the most important!"

Just then, a heavy rumbling sound came from a group of small carts carrying some enormous, heavy load, the kind that made the wheels creak and groan.

When the military officers heard the sound, they thought it was a grain transport vehicle, but when they turned around, they realized it was an artillery vehicle approaching.

A unique type of cannon carriage from the Northern Song Dynasty, with a large, thick, long, and hard cannon barrel supported by two large wheels.

Han Shizhong's eyes lit up: "I saw you use this thing in the Battle of Ye County. Once this thing was fired, it made the Jin traitors cry for their fathers and mothers."

Yue Wenxuan smiled and introduced, "All of you generals will be using this from now on, so let me introduce it to you. This thing is called a Red-Clad Cannon. Generally speaking, it is about 3 meters long, with a caliber of 110-130 millimeters, and weighs more than 1 ton. Meters, millimeters, and tons are all new units of measurement adopted by our Northern Song Dynasty, and you will gradually learn about them later. Let me translate it into the old units of measurement for you first: about one zhang in length, with a caliber between 3 and 4 cun, and weighing more than 2,000 jin."

The generals marveled at this.

Among these military generals, Han Shizhong was the one who knew the most about firearms.

He used "cannons" when he quelled the rebellion in Jianzhou, which were flammable objects made of bamboo tubes. Now that he saw cannons from the Northern Song Dynasty, he naturally had to make comparisons.

A comparison reveals that they are not even in the same league.

His cannons were made of bamboo tubes; how could they compare to huge iron tubes?
Even a bamboo tube isn't qualified to be the son of an iron tube!

Furthermore, he knew that the gunpowder of the Northern Song Dynasty produced a "boom," while his gunpowder produced a "sizzle," a significant difference.

Han Shizhong excitedly jumped to the cannon, took a shell from the basket, held it up in his hand, and laughed at Gao Chong: "General Gao, I heard you have superhuman strength! I'd like to know, if this thing flew over from two miles away and hit you, could you knock it down with your spear?"

Gao Chong's face changed upon hearing this: "Don't mess around! How could I possibly move this thing?"

Han Shizhong laughed heartily: "I saw that some of the Jin bandits wanted to try it, but they turned into a pile of minced meat with a 'poof' sound."

Yang Zaixing: "Oh? You dare to try even the Jin thieves? Then I'd like to try it too."

Gao Chong quickly covered his mouth: "Don't talk nonsense, you'll die."

Everyone laughed.

The group chatted and laughed as they followed the marching column. Along the way, these famous generals were studying firearms. The reason they became famous generals was because they loved to learn. People who didn't like to learn could never become generals of their rank.

The group touched the muskets and cannons from time to time, and also examined the hand grenades...

Upon reaching Chenliu, a scout reported that Zhang Yong's troops were about to join them. The renowned generals present quickly inquired with the soldiers and learned that Zhang Yong was a veteran general of the Northern Song Dynasty, formerly known as Zhang Dalang. He had followed Gong Erniangzi and Yue Gongzi since their early days, training them from the initial Mandarin Duck Formation to the latest firearms units. He was extremely experienced and had a thorough understanding of all the strategies, tactics, and firearms of the Northern Song Dynasty.

This piqued the interest of everyone present, who eagerly anticipated meeting this veteran general from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Soon, the two forces merged.

The renowned generals took a closer look and realized that Zhang Yong, this veteran general of the Northern Song Dynasty, was not old at all. He looked to be less than thirty years old, very young, and even had a cute smile on his face. Upon seeing Han Shizhong, he bowed deeply and said, "I have long admired Marshal Han's name. In the Battle of Huangtiandang, he defeated Jin Wuzhu's army of 300,000 with only 8,000 men. Today, I have finally met you. You are indeed a hero."

Han Shizhong laughed and shook his head, saying, "It's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning. It's nowhere near as sharp as the firearms of your Northern Song Dynasty."

Zhang Yong shook his head frantically: "Even if I had eight thousand musketeers at my disposal, I might not be able to defeat Jin Wuzhu's three hundred thousand troops. Strategically, there's no way to take care of so many enemies. I can't even imagine what I would do if so many enemies attacked from multiple directions at the same time."

When the Southern Song generals saw Zhang Yong's humility, they breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to themselves: We were a little worried that we would be ostracized by the Northern Song generals after we came here, but we did not expect him to be so generous.

Just then, a big, honest-looking man emerged from the crowd, carrying an enormous musket. He ran up to Yue Wenxuan and grinned foolishly, saying, "True Lord, it's been so long since I've seen you. I've missed you terribly."

Yue Wenxuan patted his shoulder with a smile: "Big Tree, it's been a long time! These past few years, my second wife and I have been fighting in the south while you stayed in the north. It's been quite a few years since we last met."

Zhang Dashu grinned broadly.

Han Shizhong immediately noticed the huge musket on Zhang Dashu's back. It was much larger than the muskets used by ordinary soldiers, and it was obvious to the naked eye that it was much heavier. It would be difficult to lift such a huge musket with both hands.

Han Shizhong couldn't help but ask, "Brother, the musket you're carrying is a bit different from the ones others use."

Zhang Dashu turned his head and grinned foolishly: "Hehehe, yes, yes, this is a heavy musket specially made for me by the blacksmiths. It's three points heavier than an ordinary heavy musket. It's specially used to hit iron pagodas. It hits one without making a sound."

Gao Chong held out a hand: "May I take a look?"

Zhang Dashu glanced hesitantly at Yue Wenxuan.

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "Let him see it."

Zhang Dashu then took down the specially made heavy musket and handed it to Gao Chong.

Gao Chong caught the heavy musket with one hand, and Zhang Dashu thought to himself: If you catch it like that, you might hurt your hand.

Just as he was thinking this, Gao Chong had already grabbed the heavy musket with one hand, played with it in his hand for a couple of moments, and then his face lit up with joy: "This weight is just right! I want one too."

Zhang Dashu: "Huh? You're so strong."

Gao Chong laughed, "You must be very strong to be able to do this."

The two naturally powerful monsters exchanged a glance, both seeing a mutual respect in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)