Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

When Li Chengqian heard what Du He was going to do, a look of confusion immediately appeared on his face.

He knew how to smelt fine steel. After all, the imperial court had a military equipment supervisory department that specialized in forging weapons and armor.

But what is gunpowder?

Li Chengqian asked curiously, "Du He, what is gunpowder?"

Du He thought about it, and then explained the functions and uses of gunpowder to Li Chengqian in detail.

After listening.

Li Chengqian asked in astonishment, "Du He, can the power of gunpowder blow up the city walls?"

"Can you also make hidden weapons and shoot enemies from a thousand steps away?"

Unbelievable!

If the Tang Dynasty had gunpowder that could blow up city walls, and 1 such hidden weapons, it should be able to easily conquer the countries in the Western Regions, right?

At that time, there will be no need to use any strategies at all, because there will be no opponent at all.

Du He nodded and said, "Your Highness, if we want to make gunpowder, we need to recruit a large number of Taoists with experience in alchemy."

"Especially those Taoist priests who often break their alchemy furnaces. They are the most suitable personnel."

Although he knew that gunpowder was composed of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal, he did not know the specific proportions.

Let these Taoists keep trying, and I believe that there will be results soon.

When we have smelted fine steel, we can start developing the Equality Device for All Beings.

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian nodded, then spoke with a slightly excited tone.

"Du He, please write a memorial for smelting fine steel first. I will then ask the artisans from the Military Equipment Bureau to work with you."

"How much money do you need? I'll ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate it."

Although the national treasury expenditure has been relatively large in the past two years, the financial situation is still relatively abundant.

Once the Eastern Turks, Xueyantuo, Western Turks and other vassal states are conquered, the Tang treasury will be replenished and there will be no need to worry about not having enough money to spend.

There was a pause.

Li Chengqian continued, "I will pay for all the expenses related to the development of gunpowder."

"Starting tomorrow, I will send people to recruit Taoist priests and have them accept your command."

If the power of gunpowder is really as Du He said, then it can only be controlled in our own hands.

If it were obtained by the Prince of Jin's Palace and the Prince of Chu's Palace, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Du He bowed and said, "Okay."

Then the two chatted for a while before Du He left the East Palace.

After returning to the Ministry of Industry.

Du He first listened to the recent situation report from Yu Chang, the Minister of Works, and then chatted with Xiao Kai for a while before he immersed himself in writing the memorial on smelting fine steel.

The smelting technology in the Tang Dynasty is very advanced at present. The main reason why fine steel cannot be produced is that the temperature of the flame is not high enough.

As long as the temperature problem is solved, fine steel can be smelted.

At noon, Du He handed the written memorial to Li Chengqian.

In the afternoon, Du He was summoned by Li Chengqian to the Eastern Palace for a meeting. Also present were Zhangsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Fang Xuanling and Zhang Jian, the chief officer of the Military Equipment Supervisory Office.

Inside Mingde Hall.

Li Chengqian told everyone about Du Heshang's plan to smelt fine steel, and then asked them to read the memorial again.

After everyone had finished reading, Li Chengqian spoke loudly.

"The smelting technology that Du He is preparing to innovate will allow the imperial court to forge high-quality steel in large quantities!"

"Weapons and armor forged with refined steel will be sharper and tougher!"

"Farm tools made of fine steel are not only sharp and easy to use, but also not prone to rust or damage."

After hearing Li Chengqian's words, the other four people stared at Du He with strange eyes.

It was not difficult to tell from their expressions that they were very shocked.

Is that human being?

How come you know everything?

Fang Xuanling was surprised and said, "Minister Du, you even know the art of smelting?"

The purpose of his asking this question was to confirm whether the technique of smelting fine steel came from Du He.

If the technology was submitted by other craftsmen, it would be understandable.

Du He smiled and said, "I understand a little bit."

this...

The others looked at each other with their mouths open.

It’s really Du He’s work!

Hou Junji, Fang Xuanling, Zhang Jian and Changsun Wuji stood up and spoke together.

"I fully support Minister Du's innovation in refined steel!"

Innovating the technique of smelting fine steel would not cost much money and would bring many benefits to the court, so there was no need for them to refuse.

"Okay!" Li Chengqian nodded with a smile, then said, "Since everyone agrees, then we will fully cooperate with Du He!"

Everyone chatted for another two hours before ending the discussion.

...

For more than a month, Du He handed over the affairs of the Ministry of Works to Yu Chang, and he spent most of his time in the Military Equipment Bureau.

Zhang Jian, the chief military officer, followed Du He half a step behind him and reported in an excited tone.

"Korean Lord, coal is indeed better than charcoal, and the iron smelted from it is purer."

"But we still need to continue testing that high-temperature iron furnace."

Then he reported the latest experimental situation to Du He.

Du He smiled and praised: "You have achieved such a big breakthrough in just one month. You have done a great job!"

Zhang Jian quickly said, "It's all thanks to Han Guogong's good teaching."

After spending some time with Du He, Zhang Jian also understood the benefits of being with the right person.

Because Du He was responsible for the innovation of smelting technology, the court has been allocating funds continuously these days and they have no shortage of money at all.

Only when they had enough money did they dare to experiment freely.

He had been the Chief of Arms for so many years, but he had never fought such a prosperous battle.

Just as Du He and Zhang Jian were talking, Qin Huaidao came jogging over, his face full of anxiety and said.

"Duke Hanguo, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince summons you to Mingde Hall!"

"There's a major military event!"

When Du He saw Qin Huaidao's anxious expression, his heart skipped a beat.

Is it bad news?

Thinking of this, Du He said a few words to Zhang Jian, and then he and Qin Huaidao hurried to the East Palace.

On the way, he asked what happened, but he didn't expect that Qin Huaidao didn't know the inside story.

East Palace.

Inside Mingde Hall.

When Du He walked in, he found that Li Chengqian, Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Hou Junji, Li Jing, Zhang Shigui and others all had extremely solemn expressions.

Because no one was talking, the atmosphere was rather depressing.

Du He walked to the center of the hall and bowed to Li Chengqian.

"See His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian forced a smile and said, "Sit down first."

When Du He sat down, the eunuch handed him a battle report.

"By the end of July, Li Ji's troops had annihilated over 7 Turkic main forces, Xue Wanche's troops had annihilated over 3 Turkic main forces, and Niu Jinda's troops had annihilated over 2 Turkic main forces."

"In early August, the three armies of Su Dingfang, Xi Junmai, and Wang Jun'e jointly annihilated 8 Xueyantuo main forces."

In the first battle, both armies won great victories with relatively small casualties.

After reading it, Du He was full of doubts.

"This is a good thing!"

"Why is everyone so sad?"

At this moment, the eunuch brought over two more military reports.

After reading it, Du He finally understood why everyone was worried.

"The Khitan, Xi, Xun, and Mohe tribes are sending massive troops to attack Liaodong Road!"