Chapter 475: More Brotherly Love and Respect

Tongxuan Taoist had no objection to Li Shimin's request, and he could even be said to be quite dedicated.

First, now that the Taoist temple has been changed into an office, his mentality is naturally different after he has an official position.

Second, although His Majesty does not come often, it is obvious that he cares about the Wulei Office.

He destroyed the forbidden garden, sent the imperial army, and responded to all requests for materials, which can be said to be attentive.

Although the dispatch of materials in the office requires the approval of the imperial army leader Li Junxian, and every time the gunpowder and weapons are tested, the imperial army accompanies them to confirm the consumption of gunpowder, Tongxuan can only control a part of the Wulei Office.

But in fact, he is also quite satisfied. After all, if His Majesty gives him control of such a thing that is so ingenious, Tongxuan may even worry about whether he can sleep well.

Without the need to report, Li Junxian soon came here to ask for an audience. With the agreement of the two, the Wulei Office slowly unveiled its mysterious veil in front of Chu Suiliang.

The sound of the cannon shook the sky, and one shot made the rammed earth wall shaky, which frightened Chu Suiliang greatly.

The thunder-throwing pottery pot was simple and easy to use. The broken pottery pieces were used as blades like a rainstorm, and armor and leather were pierced, which made Chu Suiliang exclaim.

Then some things that the Wulei Office had tried to make were displayed.

"This thing, I call it a bamboo cannon."

Tongxuan held a piece of thin bamboo tube to show the two people. At first glance, this thing can be called ordinary, just a bamboo tube with a leather rope around it.

The inside is penetrated, and the bottom is sealed like a cannon. Tongxuan carefully poured gunpowder into the bottle with a narrow neck, and then stuffed a few stone balls into it.

After straightening it out, it was lifted up flat, and then a guard stepped forward and carefully lit the fuse at the end.

With a dull explosion, thick smoke and open flames rushed out of the bamboo tube for nearly twenty steps, full of momentum.

However, Li Shimin saw more clearly that there were several obvious pits on the leather armor in the direction of the bamboo tube, which were caused by the impact of the stone balls. However, these pits were scattered. If they could be concentrated in one place, the momentum would be stronger.

"This thing... may be of great use to elite cavalry."

Li Shimin keenly noticed where this thing was more suitable for use.

It can be operated with one hand, which is more convenient than a bow; the sound of the fire and smoke is terrifying, which is even more powerful than a crossbow.

If this bamboo tube is difficult to reuse, then prepare a few more on the horse, so that when the cavalry encounters the enemy, they can fire these fine cannons one by one. The prestige alone may be enough to cause the enemy to collapse.

But if so, a group of good horses that are not afraid of fire and smoke and shocking sound need to be trained.

After thinking about it carefully, Li Shimin could only tell Li Junxian about this idea and let the Five Thunders Department try it.

After this bamboo cannon, the Five Thunders Department has demonstrated many things.

For example, in order to make the cannon lighter, they simply tried to use pine wood for the cannon body and wrap it with leather iron. The advantage is that it is extremely light and does not require horses to pull it. Two strong men can carry it on their shoulders and walk briskly. The disadvantage is that even with the iron, it can only fire five or six shots at most before it cannot be used.

For example, in order to make the cannon more powerful, the craftsmen of the Wulei Office drew a sketch to take a 20,000-jin copper three-meter giant cannon, but this design is still in the stage of debate. After all, how to move and load such a giant cannon is a problem, and it is difficult to predict the power of it. If it is not satisfactory or explodes directly, wouldn’t it be a waste of people’s efforts?

And Li Shimin directly rejected this design that was still in the draft - let’s not talk about how much money it costs, and it’s really hard to think of what kind of enemy needs such a giant cannon to subdue it after counting the enemies of the four barbarians on the earth.

Compared with these messy cannons, Li Shimin is more satisfied with the various improvements to the mine throwing.

For example, a pottery pot contains caltrops to increase its power, or a clay mine made of yellow mud mixed with wood is cheaper.

Li Shimin came suddenly and left decisively. After taking Chu Suiliang to look at it and adding some rewards to the Five Thunder Office, he set off again to return to the palace.

Seeing Chu Suiliang, who was still dizzy, Li Shimin smiled and said:

"Dengshan's mind was taken away by gunpowder?"

Chu Suiliang was riding on a horse, thinking about the various smoke, fire, and vibrations he had just seen, as well as the collapsed earth walls, the pierced leather armor, and the iron armor that was vulnerable to artillery. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and said:

"What Taoist Tongxuan said is right. This thing is really a clever way to win the power of heaven. Your Majesty, with this thing, will definitely build the foundation of our Tang Dynasty for eternity."

This compliment was sincere. Chu Suiliang didn't understand the art of war, but he could intuitively see that this thing was an unmatched weapon for the army.

"Ten thousand generations... Hey, there is no such thing as a dynasty that will last for ten thousand generations."

Li Shimin sneered:

"I only hope that the younger generation will have less fratricide and more brotherly love and respect..."

This word made him silent for a while, then he shook his head and said:

"If the Tang Dynasty can prosper for 500 years longer than the Han Dynasty, then I can say that I have no regrets."

Chu Suiliang pondered for a while, and still wrote down everything he had just seen and heard as he was responsible.

And your majesty's words suddenly reminded Chu Suiliang of Cao Pi.

The Emperor Wen of Wei once said: "From ancient times to the present, there has been no country that has not perished."

This statement is somewhat similar to what your majesty said, but there are many differences when you think about it carefully.

Cao Pi is good at poetry and prose, and likes to talk about it without fear. This statement seems to be a loss of temperament.

Your majesty conquered the world on horseback, liked to charge into battle and lead the army, and rarely sighed. This sigh was full of worry, and it seemed that he was worried about the future of the Tang Dynasty.

So Chu Suiliang could only advise:

"The ancients said that the way comes from heaven, and the affairs are up to people. Now your majesty is diligent in governing the country, and the people are not taxed more, and you have defeated two bandits in succession to resolve the border troubles."

"The prestige of our Tang Dynasty is growing, and the four barbarians respect your majesty as the Khan of Heaven, which shows your prestige. If you can behave yourself and follow the right path, you can still expect to be called a sage king."

Li Shimin laughed so happily that he raised his whip and pointed at the Xuanwu Sect in front of him:

"Can a person who kills his brothers and forces his father also be called a holy king?"

Chu Suiliang suddenly got stuck, his face turned a little red and he didn't know how to continue.

It is inevitable that there will be all the complaints in my heart: Why can't Your Majesty get around this Xuanwu Gate?

The two of them stayed away when they returned, so they didn't have to worry about shocking the world.

Li Shimin couldn't bear to embarrass Chu Suiliang. He rode in front and returned without stopping. At the same time, he said slowly without looking back:

"Since Deng Shan has the intention to fulfill his responsibilities, he should not say anything in a low voice. He should remember directly the matter of the Xuanwu Sect's killing of his brothers."

Chu Suiliang's hand suddenly shook, and the hard pen scratched a mass of ink on the book in his hand. Although he was in a hurry, he still raised his ears and tried not to miss a word:

"Dengshan should also accompany me, record my Zhenguan achievements, see the wonders of future generations, and record them faithfully, so that future generations can see what the upper limit of an emperor is!"

If he didn't know his name in future generations, he might have done something like Zhou Gong's murder of Guan Cai Jiyou and Jiu Shuya to cover up for himself.

But now that I know that future generations will never sleep in Chang'an, and hear that future generations praise the emperor for eternity, it is no longer difficult to care about the Xuanwu Sect.

Chu Suiliang couldn't help but feel excited. The confidence revealed in such words impacted his mind, and he gradually understood why his father said that His Majesty has the mind of Chinese language and the courage of Han Dynasty.

However, the upper limit of the emperor sounds very unfamiliar, not like the elegant words of the Tang Dynasty.

After leisurely crossing the Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin turned back and said with a smile:

"In another half month, Dengshan can visit the sightseeing curtain with me and your ministers."

"Since Aiqing has the ability to take shorthand, I can bring a pen and paper with me at that time and just write down the notes straight away."

Chu Suiliang was suddenly filled with questions.

Li Shimin chuckled. Since this common man could memorize words so quickly, it would be a pity not to put them to good use. After all, the light curtain couldn't be busy with Du and Du's copying every time, right?

This was definitely not revenge for Chu Suiliang disturbing his dreams, absolutely not.