Zhao Yu's enthusiasm made Xu Shu's heart warm again, but as a courtier, he came to Jizhou this time to meet the lord, not just to enjoy it, so he refused at the moment: "Xu Shu is a subordinate, how can the lord of labor bother so much."
Although it is a little far along the way, Xu Shu is not tired, this time he came to one specifically to apologize to the lord, and the other is to deliberately want the lord to visit. ”Zhao Yu stepped forward and held up Xu Shu's arms and said, "Haha, what do you apologize for, although you are not tired, but your sister-in-law and nephew are tired."
For the time being, you will enter the council chamber with me to discuss important matters, while your sister-in-law and nephew will go back to the mansion I have arranged to rest. ”Seeing that Xu Shu wanted to thank him again, Guo Jia on the side interjected: "Long ago, my lord concluded that Mr. would definitely stay here when he came to my Xuzhou, so he prepared a mansion for Mr. in advance, and arranged several maids and guards.As long as you are in the land of my four states, please rest assured, sir, no one can hurt a single hair of sir. ”Guo Jia's explanation not only warmed Xu Shu's heart, but even his wife was quite moved, seeing that there was such a master in the world who took a fancy to his husband, as a wife, he was also very happy in his heart.As if he was afraid that his husband would postpone it again, he hurriedly pulled Xu Hao to bow slightly to Zhao Yu, turned to Xu Shu and said: "Since the lord has something important to discuss at the moment, then I will wait for my wife to retire for the time being, and I hope that my husband will serve my lord well and show his ambitions." ”Of course, Xu Shu understood the meaning of his wife's words, and nodded slightly at him.Seeing this, Zhao Yu waved to a guard outside the door, only to see a person rushing over in a hurry, and said to Xu Shu's wife: "Madame, please get in the car, the mansion is not far from here, please let the little one lead the way for Madame." ”Seeing this, Zhao Yu pulled Xu Shu and led everyone back to the house to continue to discuss the previous important matters.Knowing that Zhao Yu wanted to improve the archers' combat power and equipment, Xu Shu couldn't help but stand up and said: "My lord, regarding the matter of improving the archers' equipment, Weichen has a small suggestion, but it is quite complicated, I don't know whether to talk about it or not. ”Zhao Yu hurriedly said when he heard this: "Oh, Xu Shu has nothing to say." ”Xu Shu said unhurriedly: "Xu Shu was looking for the surrounding cities in Jingzhou, and he accidentally found that the longbows of some farmers in Yizhou were much better than those in Jingzhou, not only the bow body was strong and elastic, but the range was ten steps away. ”"If there is such a thing, you can see why there is such a difference."
After hearing Xu Shu's words, Tai Shici on the side couldn't help but be surprised, not to mention how the Nayi Governor's long bow is strong and elastic, but the fact that this range is far ten steps away from the range of ordinary bows and arrows is enough to be exciting.Ten paces is not close, but it is very likely to change the fate of the archers, perhaps one more round of bow shooting, or with this ten paces distance, they can withdraw from the front line in advance to ensure the safety of their lives.Looking at Tai Shici and the eagerness of everyone, Xu Shu hurriedly said: "According to Xu Shu's observation, I found that the difference between this Yizhou longbow and other local longbows lies in its wooden materials. ”"The land north of the Central Plains has a drier texture, and the trees that grow are also easy to dry because of the texture and environment, while the adjacent waters in the south of the Central Plains have a humid environment, and the wood that grows is also more moist than the wood in the north due to water quality and geological reasons, and it is not easy to dry out and crack, and it is not easy to break or break.In the land of Yizhou, there are many deep mountain forests, and there are thick wooden forests all year round, and the wooden material is better, and the longbows made of these woods are far better than those in the northern land. ”Xu Shu explained to everyone in detail.After Xu Shu said this, everyone suddenly realized, and couldn't help but admire Xu Shu's wisdom and mind.Unexpectedly, this was originally a very important channel in the armies, but it has never been taken seriously, and this time I was able to learn about it from Xu Shu's mouth, which can be regarded as knowing the blessing and misfortune in advance.Now that we know it, we must make up for this omission as soon as possible.Feng Ji said curiously: "Sir, do you know what good wood there are in Yizhou and Jingzhou" "Xu Shu once observed that the bows and crossbows held by the soldiers in Jingzhou and Yangzhou were mostly made of mountain mulberry wood, and the mountain mulberry germinated early, matured quickly, hardened early, and was suitable for a large number of products, and even the guns and spears of some sergeants were made of mountain mulberry. ”After Xu Shu finished speaking, he paused and continued: "The bow and crossbow in Yizhou can be said to be second to none, and the wood used is the unique mahogany talent of Yizhou, the branches and branches of the mahogany tree are tall, up to more than forty feet, the texture is oblique and staggered, the structure is fine and uniform, extremely resistant to corrosion, strong durability, hard and heavy material, high strength, and it is the best wood for making bows and crossbows and weapons. ”"I see, it's mahogany."
Hearing Xu Shu's words, Zhao Yu couldn't help but shoot the case, his eyes flashing.Chen Gong asked curiously: "How can the lord know about this thing?"
"Well, I have heard of this wood, and I have also seen this thing when I went to Yizhou with Guo Jia before, and the mahogany got its name because of the redness of its limbs.Moreover, its stem is straight and thick, and even the roots and branches are thicker than ordinary branches, and it is extremely capricious, and it is indeed the best material to make bows and crossbows and spears. ”Zhao Yu's mind was spinning rapidly as he spoke, as if he was thinking about something."
Does the lord have any plans" Guo Jia on the side saw Zhao Yu's expression, his eyes were over, and he knew that he had a plan in his heart, and couldn't help blurting out asking."
Now I have absolutely powerful cavalry and infantry and naval army, but in terms of armament and equipment is inferior to other princes, this is absolutely impossible, since ancient times weapons and equipment is the life of the soldiers, a good weapon can bring more opportunities for the soldiers to live."
After Zhao Yu finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the crowd: "In order to train the world's first crossbow soldier, both training and weapons are indispensable.Passing on my order, some people in the army pretended to be merchants and went to other states and counties to buy all the mahogany and mulberry on a large scale, and they must buy all of them by all means, and collect as much as they can. ”Tian Feng couldn't help but stand up and said: "Lord, the minister has something unknown, although this mahogany and mountain mulberry are more valuable than other woods, and only Jingzhou and Yizhou have them.But there is no shortage of such timber in the hands of merchants in Jizhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and even Youzhou, why does the main guild go far away to purchase these timbers?"
These high-quality timber are purchased from Yizhou and Jingzhou, and now our army and the princes of all walks of life have the possibility of war at any time, and at any time, negotiation and trade has been carried out normally, and we should take advantage of the war at this moment to buy some foreign timber as soon as possible.Once the war starts, we will not have a chance to buy it, and the price will be doubled. ”After Zhao Yu finished speaking, he looked at everyone's thoughtful expressions, pursed his lips and smiled and said again: "What's more, if we buy these timbers from our own state city first, we will definitely attract the attention of others.When the time comes, those merchants will see that the mahogany and mulberry in their hands are in short supply, and the price of goods will likely be raised in an instant, and even the other enemy scouts will find out the news in our army that these timbers are used to make bows and crossbows. ”"Once we have purchased a large amount of mahogany and mulberry, the merchants in the surrounding cities will inevitably wonder about our approach, and when they want to sell the timber in their hands to us, they will have to sell it at a low price, and they will not dare to sell it at a high price.Because we have enough timber in our hands, we will save a lot of money by buying this timber through them. ”After listening to the lord's words, the judge on the side couldn't help but stand up and said: "The lord is really smart, with this trick, not only those traders are confused, I'm afraid even those scouts and princes from all walks of life will be puzzled by this."
However, there is one point, which makes Weichen a little worried, in time we have successfully purchased these timbers, so how to explain it to the outside world Sooner or later, the world will know that the reason why the lord purchased mahogany and mulberry is for the manufacture of weapons. ”"Don't worry about this, the lord only needs to say to the outside world, purchase good wood to build a mansion, and also want to build a sea garden on the sea, and the general large wood is not easy to soak in water for a long time, so only fine wood such as mahogany and mountain mulberry can be used."
Without waiting for Zhao Yu to answer, Guo Jia on the side spoke.As soon as Guo Jia opened his mouth, Zhao Yu immediately attracted a burst of appreciation, and even the generals on both sides nodded in approval."
Okay, this matter will be handed over to Xun Yu, Tian Feng, Feng Ji, and the judge, and the four of you must do a good job in this matter.Once the timber has been procured, it is transported to the naval base for construction, which does not have to be too secretive, otherwise it will only arouse suspicion, and everything can be carried out with great fanfare.In addition, you are to collect a large number of cows, sheepskins and tendons for me in the land of Mobei.After my father's research, cowhide is a wear-resistant thing, and the elasticity of the cow tendon is excellent, it is the upper layer of the bowstring, the cow and sheep skin is peeled and wrapped around the body of the wooden bow, and then in a certain amount of exposure, so that the cow and sheep skin and the bow body are integrated, and the willfulness of the bow body is increased, so that the range of the bow in our army can be more than two layers farther than before. ”After Zhao Yu finished speaking, he smiled at everyone."
The purchase of timber in large quantities, the purchase of cattle and sheep, and the building of bows and arrows, I am afraid that this will be a considerable expense, and I am afraid that the treasury will be empty again before it has been subsided after the construction of the navy."
Tian Feng couldn't help but shake his head and sighed."
Tian Lao don't worry, if the treasury is overflowing, and our army is not well-fed, the people are not well fed, and they will not be able to resist the enemy's attack.Only by strengthening our soldiers, arming our soldiers, giving the soldiers a strong faith, and letting the people see the security barrier so that the army and the people can be united, even if the treasury is empty, it is worth it for me Zhao Yu to eat only dry rice and white noodles and no meat and vegetables for a few meals a day. ”: