Unexpectedly, Du Jia waved his hand disapprovingly and said: "General Ling, please sit down, what you said just now is very good, and this king is also very knowledgeable, so what are the shortcomings of these artillery?"
Ling Zhen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that Du Jia was not surprised, this time he didn't dare to say more, and replied simply: "Your Highness, there are three main shortcomings of this artillery now, one is that it is not flexible in movement, and it can only play a role in defensive battles; The second is that it is susceptible to the weather, and the power of gunpowder is much less when it is wet, and the success rate will be greatly reduced; In addition, the cost is too high, so there are few applications at this stage, and more just fireworks and trumpet guns. ” Speaking of this, Ling Zhen couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, he was the first gunner in the prosperous era of the Song Dynasty, so he had the title of Thunder, for which he and his ancestors had paid countless efforts and even disregarded their lives to study, his father was trying to increase the explosive power of gunpowder and accidentally broke his legs, and later died of serious injuries, but in reality, he was not taken seriously at all, so with the credit accumulated by their family for many years, it was just a small steward from the sixth grade.
Du Jia also sighed, he nodded and said, "Then is there a way for General Ling to improve these three shortcomings?"
Ling Zhen suddenly perked up when he heard this: "Yes, yes, naturally there is, but the lower officials dare not hide it from His Highness, this may require a lot of financial and material resources, and it is not a short time to produce results." ” Du Jia immediately asked: "How much money is needed, General Ling has reported it." ” Ling Zhen was overjoyed in his heart: "This is at least 30,000 guan, oh no, 20,000 guan is fine, in addition, you also need some ore, saltpeter, sulfur and other things, and you have to allocate twenty or thirty people to the lower officials." ” Le He, who was obedient next to him, asked: "20,000 guan still needs so many materials and manpower, I'm afraid it will add up to 50,000 guan, just for a trumpet cannon, aren't you fooling us?"
Ling Zhenyi was shocked and said: "The lower officials don't dare, the lower officials don't dare, if the adults think that more than 10,000 guan is barely enough, the lower officials can find some from the people, but the material can never be saved." ” Du Jia waved his hand and said: "How can such an important thing be perfunctory, 30,000 guan is too little, let's allocate 50,000 guan first, how can ordinary people do this kind of professional thing, I specially asked the court this time, and the technicians of the more than 100 gunpowder bureaus are also under your command, in addition, you should give as much as you want for saltpeter ore, sulfur and other things, Le Shilang, this matter will be handed over to you, if you let me know who dares to deduct or even embarrass General Ling in this matter, don't blame this king for turning his face and being ruthless." ” Le He, who was once Du Jia's personal adjutant, had already touched Du Jia's character, and he immediately saw that Du Jia really attached great importance to this matter, although he didn't know it, so he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart, and hurriedly bowed down to receive the order.
Then he saw that Ling Zhen was still standing on the side, and couldn't help but nudge him lightly and said, "General Ling, what are you thinking, our Highness is so supportive of your cause, don't you thank you for it." ” Ling Zhen was actually stupid with joy, he never expected to get even a thousand yuan of support in this matter in his life, this time he was interested in Du Jia, he thought he could get ten thousand yuan, but in the end Du Jia gave him more than 100,000 yuan, when he heard Le He speak, he first gave himself a slap in the face to confirm that it was not a dream, and then he happily knelt down and kowtowed, and his snot and tears flowed down excitedly.
Du Jia smiled faintly and said: "Even if you put forward the money and things, the king of time will not give you restrictions, there is only one thing I want, that is, to make the strongest artillery for my Datang, remember, what I want is not a salute cannon, but a powerful weapon that can exert its power on the battlefield." ” Le He couldn't help but sigh with envy when he heard the words, this project without time and money and manpower restrictions is simply everyone's dream, this Ling Zhen's luck is really good, in fact, he doesn't know, no matter which dynasty or country, the most important thing is talent, and unlike the orthodox scholars who paid too much attention to it at that time, in fact, talents in all aspects are extremely important, and Ling Zhen, as the first person in contemporary gunpowder and artillery, is actually worth this price in Du Jia's mind, money and things can be found, But Ling Zhen may not have a second.
Ling Zhen couldn't say anything excited, he kowtowed his head again and said: "Thank you Your Highness for your kindness, Xia Guan is a rough man, he is stupid and can't speak, but even if he dies, he can't repay His Highness's great kindness, please watch Your Highness's actions." ” He was just about to leave when he was stopped by Du Jia: "What position did General Ling hold in the imperial court?"
Ling Zhen touched his head and said ashamedly: "The lower official is incompetent, he only serves as the deputy gunner of the armor storehouse, or relies on the Meng Yin of the ancestor." ” Du Jia said lightly: "It's not that you are incompetent, but that the court of the Great Song Dynasty is incompetent, Shangguan doesn't know how to appreciate talents, what do you do with this kind of petty official, you might as well come to my Tang Dynasty, as for the position, you will temporarily serve as a member of the Ministry of Labor, and it is also convenient for you to command your subordinates to do things, and then reward you when you do your achievements." ” Ling Zhen was stunned again, Du Jia not only gave him the opportunity to conduct professional research, but also promoted him from a marginal petty official of the sixth rank to a dignified position of the fourth rank in a word, this foreigner generally speaking, as long as there is no big mistake, he can be a third-grade waiter in the end, this is already a real court member, this is something he never dreamed of before, but he didn't expect it to be realized in advance.
He couldn't speak at all at this time, knelt down and knocked his head three times before turning around and going out, when he left and when he came, the momentum was completely different, it was like being reborn, he had already made up his mind to come out even if he was tired to death, so as to live up to the grace of King Tang.
Looking at the puzzled looks of everyone around him, including Le He, Du Jia didn't explain much, and now it is useless to explain, just smiled lightly: "You all wait and see, this money will not be in vain, General Ling will definitely give you a surprise, hehe, such a talent will not be used, it is completely a loss for the imperial court." ” Le and them naturally nodded again and again, and then Du Jia said: "The military horses of the imperial court have also expired, so it's time to check them well, and let them see the strength of our Tang Kingdom, and announce it, tomorrow morning, all the troops on the school field, don't forget to inform Su Taiwei and others to also participate." ”: