Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 234: The Same Banquet, Different People's Hearts
Although he had shown off his wealth in front of his colleagues, Pang Tong was not happy...
There are actually quite a few new weapons and equipment being developed, but only these basic ones can be shown off, otherwise special tactics might be exposed.
There were originally three types of equipment to be displayed, and one was a replica of the Shenbi crossbow - it needed to be foot-operated to string the bow, had a range of over 200 steps, and an effective killing distance that was more than twice that of the existing standard crossbow, and even exceeded that of the longbow!
Compared to the longbow, the crossbow itself is a medium-to-short-range weapon. At close range, the crossbow is faster and more powerful, but... because the crossbow arrow cannot be equipped with a tail fin, even if the initial velocity exceeds that of the bow, it is far from comparable to the longbow in terms of range.
It's like a dart - if you remove the tail of the dart, even if the force is twice as strong, it will still be difficult to hit the dart on the target.
The current Shenbi crossbow of the Ministry of Works uses a foot-operated winding method, which is equivalent to converting more force into potential energy. It is weaker than the Shenbi crossbow of the Song Dynasty, probably because the material has not yet formed an industry.
Even so, the range and power are already terrifying...
However, the appearance of the repeating crossbows in Huang Zu's army during the previous battle at Jiangxia made Pang Tong unwilling to display the Divine Arm Crossbow.
Although in comparison, the two should have their own strengths - the penetration and range of the God Arm Crossbow are far from comparable to the Repeating Crossbow, but it is true that on the battlefield, the Repeating Crossbow is more dominant than the God Arm Crossbow at medium and short ranges.
Especially when the samples were obtained, the Ministry of Industry was unable to imitate them. The most important mechanism part had many settings that would damage itself if opened improperly.
Under such circumstances, Pang Tong, who was always striving for perfection, was unwilling to take out the Divine Arm Crossbow...
At the same time, Pang Tong also took the opportunity to suggest to Bai Tu that he should further recruit more talents in government agencies.
"Yes, it is precisely because of these heavy weapons that our generals can have fewer casualties and less waste of manpower! This time we won a great victory in Jiangxia, relying on the three armies to fight and the commander to lead the troops, but the enemy's crossbows also caused us a lot of trouble...
From now on, the Ministry of Rites will cooperate with the Ministry of Works to increase the recruitment of talents from the Ministry of Science and Technology in the selection of talents and the recruitment of talents. This should be done not only in Yangzhou... but also in Jingzhou and the Central Plains! If there are suitable people, they can also be recommended. The training of reserve talents cannot be relaxed. The water conservancy and other civil projects to be promoted in the future will also require talents from the Ministry of Science and Technology. Corresponding professorships should also be opened in county schools and above. "Bai Tu said.
This was something that Bai Tu had already planned for a long time. It was even one of the original intentions of establishing the system of selecting talents through examinations, township schools and county schools...
If it had been proposed at the very beginning, there would have been considerable resistance, so the Ministry of Rites had always focused on Confucian enlightenment in education.
However, the time is now more and more ripe. Not only has the resistance of the past been reduced a lot, but more and more supporters are emerging for the livelihood projects of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the military industry of the Ministry of Industry.
Bai Tu also began to promote the transformation of the township and county school systems in due course…
Even if some people discover that this transformation starting from the educational foundation will bring about changes over time and are resistant to it, it will not be able to shake the trend that is gradually forming.
After the three hundred Tiger Guards changed their uniforms, not only did the blades in their hands look more handsome, but their armor also opened up "three modes".
After entering the fully armed state, the torso of the gilded armor also became more complex and thicker. At first glance, it looked like a golden jade armor...
Of course, it is only "like". In fact, due to the increase in weight and the impact on flexibility, when fully armed, all the performance of the armor except for defense is completely reduced.
However, the defense will not be weaker than the bonus effect of the gold and jade armor...
To some extent, the Infantry Armor and the City Princess World Armor are a perfect match. There is no problem of difficulty in transportation, and the equipment can be changed in one second!
At this moment, more military intelligence was delivered, and Taishi Ci delivered it to Bai Tu alone - although no messenger was seen, the fact that it was delivered to Bai Tu at this time was obviously important military intelligence.
But after reading it, Bai Tu didn't say anything. He just informed Taishi Ci and handed him his official seal... It was obvious that he wanted him to go to Cheng Ji Mansion to pass on the order on his behalf!
Many people noticed this scene, but since Bai Tu did not mention it, no one would dare to ask about it.
…
Later, during the banquet, Sima Lang took advantage of the clinking of glasses to get closer to Jian Yong.
Jian Yong was Liu Bei's ace diplomat. He had a good temperament and appearance, and was good at conversation. As long as he was there, no matter how many people were in the conversation or what their status was, they would not feel left out.
Kong Rong deliberately did not let Ni Heng come today, otherwise Jian Yong might have met an opponent - if Ni Heng deliberately wanted to provoke him, would Jian Yong fall into his trap?
Sima Lang was also a man of good words, and he was a perfect match for Jian Yong. After they had exchanged flattery with each other, Sima Lang began to inquire openly and covertly about Xuzhou's attitude towards the General's Mansion.
In Sima Lang's opinion, Bai Tu's weapons and armor could only be sold to Xuzhou and the Prime Minister's Mansion...
However, Jian Yong showed no effort and did not follow Sima Lang's hint to mention the matter of mutual notification and price reduction between Xuzhou and the Prime Minister's Mansion and the "transaction with the General's Mansion". He also did not directly reveal whether Xuzhou Mansion had any transaction plans.
After Sima Lang tried several times, he finally understood - the staff of Xuzhou Prefecture were now very wary of the Prime Minister's Mansion because the Prime Minister invited Liu Xuzhou to Xudu!
Even though the relationship between Xuzhou Prefecture and the General's Mansion is no longer as harmonious as before due to the issue of bestowing the Nine Gifts, but... it is still closer than the relationship with the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Bai Tu, who was sitting on the main seat, was slightly tipsy and whispering something to Lu Lingqi, as if he wanted her to sit next to him, but... he only got a cold stare in return.
In fact, Bai Tu had already mentioned to Lu Lingqi whether they should try a different way of getting along, such as...
But there was no example. Lu Lingqi directly refused. After Fu Hao of the Shang Dynasty, there were no female generals from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty.
Under the current customs and system, female generals only exist in the "anti-bandit" camp.
Previously, Lu Bu's army was a group of scattered soldiers. As Lu Bu's only daughter, it would not be a problem for her to hold an independent military rank.
But... now Bai Tu's General's Mansion is already the top vassal in the world and has its own rules.
Bai Tu was already under a lot of pressure by letting Lu Lingqi be the head of the guard at this time. If she was replaced by the "Lady of the Marquis of Chu", she would probably only be able to take care of her husband and children in the mansion and would not have any freedom.
Although Lu Lingqi had many strange reasons for her refusal, Bai Tu could actually feel that Lu Lingqi felt that the position of captain of the guard was much better than "the wife of Marquis Chu". Not only could he lead the troops, but he could also spend more time with the Marquis Chu. The captain of the guard also exceeded any other wife.
Let Bai Tu be left to her for now. After all, food must be eaten bite by bite. No one would pay attention to him if he just shouted "Women hold up half the sky".
…
At this time, in the backyard of the General's Mansion, on the way to Cheng Ji's Mansion, a man in green was seen walking stealthily, looking left and right from time to time, seeming very nervous.
But the more you fear something, the more it will come... Suddenly, a figure spoke behind him: "General, today's banquet is in the courtyard, and there are places to relieve yourself near the courtyard. Did you take the wrong way to come here?"
"Ah! I... yes, I went to the bathroom, cough cough, I seem to be a little drunk, thank you for showing me the way." The man in green was startled and hurriedly explained.
When I turned around, I realized that the person who spoke should be a woodcutter, judging from his appearance and the bundle of firewood tucked under his armpit. Although his voice was hoarse, he was very young.
The man in green heaved a sigh of relief when he saw it was just a woodcutter, but at the same time he blamed himself in his heart - was it because he was too close to "revenge" that he lost his mind?
A woodcutter holding firewood was so close to him that he didn't even hear any footsteps behind him!
The woodcutter stared at him, then nodded and walked towards the woodshed.
"Huh? General Ling, you are the protagonist today, why are you hiding from the alcohol here?" Taishi Ci was coming from the direction of Cheng Ji's mansion. After seeing the man in green, he smiled and teased.
Yes, the man in green was no one else but the young general Ling Tong, who had made great contributions in the Battle of Jiangxia and participated in the banquet as a representative of Sun Ce's army!
Seeing Taishi Ci, Ling Tong's heart skipped a beat. He tried to relax his face, lowered his eyelids to block his gaze, and said drunkenly, "General Taishi, please stop teasing me. I was just fooling around for a while. How can I deserve this credit?"
“Hahaha, if you dare to charge when you need to, you can be considered a brave general!” Taishi Ci said as he patted the young man on the shoulder.
But he didn't see that, with his eyelids lowered, Ling Tong's eyes revealed even stronger hatred after hearing this. He tried his best to control himself and said only one sentence: "Yes, it's difficult to charge when you need to... After all, the first one to reach the top will have nine deaths out of ten achievements!"
Taishi Ci thought he was thinking of his comrades, so he said, "It seems that the young general is really drunk. I will take you back to your residence... Let's go around the courtyard to avoid you being caught and forced to drink again."
"No, I just need some fresh air..." Ling Tong refused, but followed Taishi Ci.
good.
Both Taishi Ci and Bai Tu had vague memories, and even... Sun Ce neglected a story!
Before, when Bai Tu came to Shucheng to support Lu Kang, and Sun Ce was attacking the city and Bai Tu and others were defending the city, there was a general in green armor, about thirty years old, with a slight beard, also gilded, and also the first general to climb the city wall... As a result, after three or five rounds of fighting, Taishi Ci stabbed him in the chest with a spear and pinned him to the city wall.
That person was Ling Tong’s father—Ling Cao!
Although they were enemies on the battlefield and served different masters, it was the revenge for the murder of his father after all, and Ling Tong never let it go. Moreover... not long after that, Sun Ce joined Bai Tu's army, and Ling Tong never mentioned the matter openly, so Sun Ce forgot to pay attention to this relationship.
Ling Tong joined the army two years after his father's death, that is, last year. Thanks to his elders' kindness and his own courage and bravery, he quickly became a captain and won the honor of being the first to reach the city in the battle of Echeng...
There has never been a moment when Ling Tong felt that the opportunity for revenge was so close to him - Taishi Ci was walking in front of him defenselessly, with his back completely exposed to him!
Ling Tong adjusted his breathing nervously. On one hand, he could see his father's figure and the voice urging him to take revenge. On the other hand, after killing Taishi Ci, not only would he be captured, but the entire Sun Ce army would also be implicated. Some would be demoted, some would be disbanded , and some would be put on ice...
Although Taishi Ci heard it, he thought it was because of drunkenness, and instead chatted: "General Ling is so promising at a young age, your parents must be very pleased, right?"
When Ling Tong heard Taishi Ci mention his father, his originally conflicted expression turned even colder.
"My father was also a lieutenant in the army, but he died in battle... If he were still alive, he would probably do that!"
