Chapter 784: Qu Sheng's Breakthrough

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"This time, I have summoned you for the matter of the southward expedition. You are to order the Prince's Personal Army to prepare; it is time to unify the Great Song Dynasty." Looking at the Great Song Map of Mountains and Rivers hanging on the wall, Zhao Xu said slowly.

Regarding this southward expedition, he held the advantage in both timing and moral justification.

First, the timing: the core of the Eastern Land Alliance is Dongying.

Just like in the war against Gaoli, among the entire Eastern Land Alliance, only Dongying is capable of sending troops to support Wu.

This is why he decided to move south only after annihilating the British Fleet and crippling Dongying.

For one, with the British Fleet gone and Dongying trapped by him, it is impossible for them to transport soldiers to Wu or provide any other support.

For another, the Yanzhou Fleet has seized maritime hegemony, which is equivalent to cutting off the trade routes between Wu and Britain, severing their blood transfusion pipeline.

Although Britain has realized this problem and colluded with the Franks, preparing to export firearms to Wu by land.

But after all, the road conditions in this era are extremely poor, and transportation is extremely inconvenient.

In the past, they could provide ten parts of support; now, it would be good if they could provide thirty percent.

As for moral justification, he once had an agreement with Wu through his private army to divide the river and rule, neither side infringing on the other.

Although this was merely his delaying tactic, it was Wu that tore up this tacit understanding first.

Therefore, he also occupies the high ground in terms of moral justification.

Moreover, he represents the Imperial Court of the Great Song and is the orthodox Royal Clan.

"This general has been pondering that it is time to take action against Jiangnan." Hearing this, Chang Wei clapped his hands and laughed.

After a pause, he said, "Your Highness, to put it crudely, Jiangnan is currently like the testicles of the Great Song exposed outside; anyone can give them a squeeze. If we don't pull them back into our trousers, we will continue to suffer."

Zhao Xu nodded; Chang Wei's words were crude but the logic was sound, and this was also his own thought.

Unlike the traditional internal strife of feudal dynasties in the past, where there was no interference from external forces.

He just happened to encounter this era where great powers run rampant.

So he knows deeply that if he cannot take Jiangnan now, wanting to take it later,

will only become increasingly troublesome.

Because this is also a critical period transitioning from the First Industrial Revolution to the Second Industrial Revolution.

With the advancement of technology, the cost of war will also become greater and greater.

"Then what are we waiting for? Go back, mobilize the troops, and take Jiangnan back for this Prince!" Zhao Xu said loudly.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chang Wei gave a military salute to Zhao Xu and strode away.

After Chang Wei's figure disappeared, Zhao Xu ordered someone to send an order to Zhou Yi.

Before the Prince's Personal Army moves south, he intends to first slap Liang Kai in the face and take the northern part of Yizhou.

As for the south, he will decide based on the attitude of the Franks.

If the Franks join the British camp against him, he will naturally have to capture this city of Malka.

If they do not join the British camp, after he settles the score with Britain in the Dongtu, he will give them a buffer period to allow them to withdraw from the Eastern Land colonies with dignity, but he will allow them to continue normal trade in the Dongtu.

Of course, Zhao Xu's attitude toward the Franks is actually full of pessimism.

During the Opium War, there was not a single Western country that supported the Qing.

Even in the contemporary era, on the issue of containing the great Eastern power, Western countries often maintain consistency.

After all, during the era of Xitu Guo monarchs, the royal families of various countries often intermarried, and there was more or less some blood relationship.

When it comes to their own internal conflicts, they will bite each other like dogs, but when facing a completely different civilization, they often band together like jackals and wolves.

Furthermore, the territory of the Franks is in the Western Lands, too far from the Dongtu; I fear they will ultimately be unable to withstand the pressure from other countries in the Western Lands.

However, this does not matter.

In the process of him leading the rise of the Great Song, he is bound to compete with the Xitu Guo for colonies.

This is the essential contradiction, which cannot be reconciled.

He is temporarily unwilling to cross swords with the Franks; he just wants to place a piece strategically to see if this piece can play a role.

Just as he was thinking, Feng'er returned to report that Qu Sheng requested an audience.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu was stunned; ever since Qu Sheng buried himself in researching and manufacturing mercury fulminate, he had not seen him for a long time.

At this moment, Qu Sheng requested an audience, and he vaguely guessed something; he could not help but feel a burst of joy and immediately let Qu Sheng in.

Before long, Qu Sheng in a green shirt entered.

Although he was much thinner than in the past, Qu Sheng's face was excited, and there seemed to be light in his eyes.

Seeing Zhao Xu, he said, "Living up to Your Highness's expectations, this subject has successfully researched and manufactured mercury fulminate; we can now transition from the Laboratory to the Workshop for production."

"You have worked hard; you have made a great contribution this time." Zhao Xu stood up and patted Qu Sheng on the shoulder.

This mercury fulminate is the earliest detonating explosive, born in 1814.

In this regard, Yanzhou is lagging behind the Western Lands; Fei Wen had mentioned to him that the current British Army is equipped with a small number of percussion lock rifles, replacing the flint lock.

Because the flint lock has a misfire rate, while the percussion lock is more stable.

The main component of this percussion cap is mercury fulminate.

With mercury fulminate, Yanzhou can not only manufacture percussion caps but even go a step further, achieving a leap in firearms, such as manufacturing breech-loading rifles.

In contemporary history, relying on the percussion cap, the first breech-loading needle-fire rifle was born in 1836.

Therefore, with Yanzhou's current industrial level, producing this kind of rifle is absolutely no problem.

And in the blueprints he gave to Wang Ying, there was indeed a design for such a breech-loading needle-fire rifle.

It was just because there was no

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percussion cap, even if Wang Ying built it, it would have no meaning.

But now the conditions are ripe, and the Armament Department can begin the research and manufacturing of the breech-loading needle-fire rifle.

In addition, there was another reason why he was so happy.

That was because when fighting against the powerful clans and Dongying, the secret of the Conical Bullet could not be hidden.

Whether it was the British or the people of Sam Country, they had certainly obtained the Conical Bullet.

At a time when industrial levels are comparable, the gap between the weapons of both sides is sometimes just a matter of an accidental flash of inspiration.

Precisely because of this, in the contemporary nineteenth century, in the First World War, and even the Second World War, once one side appeared with a certain type of Weapon, the other side would immediately imitate it.

Therefore, he could be certain that once they verified the benefits of the Conical Bullet, it would not take long for the Xitu Guo to set off a revolution in firearms.

Armies would be equipped in large numbers with Rifled Musket similar to those of the Prince's Army.

By then, their advantage in muskets would be weakened.

In order to deal with this problem, the research and manufacture of percussion lock guns were imperative.

"This subject only feels ashamed that it took so long to master the synthesis of Mercury Fulminate," Qu Sheng sighed.

He had always been competing with Wang Chong, but now he felt he was becoming less and less of a match for him.

Zhao Xu saw through Qu Sheng's thoughts and said, "Do not think that way. You and Wang Chong are equally important; it is just that the things Wang Chong works on are more eye-catching, so he appears to have a greater reputation, while the things you produce often remain behind the scenes and appear inconspicuous. In fact, in every trade and industry, none can do without you."

Upon hearing this, Qu Sheng nodded slowly, his heart suddenly warmed.

Only Yan Wang understood them like this.

Zhao Xu patted Qu Sheng on the shoulder again, "This time, I will reward your Chemical Laboratory with ten thousand taels of Silver; keep up the good work."

Mercury Fulminate and many other chemical reagents are highly toxic.

It is not easy for Qu Sheng and his team, and as industry progresses in the future, there will be an increasing need for various types of chemical reagents.

They should be valued and given the same treatment as the Physics Laboratory.

After chatting with Qu Sheng for a while longer, Qu Sheng departed.

Zhao Xu then ordered someone to go to the Armory Bureau to tell Wang Ying this news, and at the same time ordered Wang Ying to begin the research and manufacture of the Breech-loading Rifle.

Dear reader, this chapter is finished, I wish you a pleasant read! ^0^