"Emperor, the official understands, so I go to discuss this matter with Song Changping."

Lu Tong looked a little excited, but this kind of fire hat made him very interested.

Xiao Ming nodded. Overall, the current level of firearms in Qingzhou is basically no different from that in Europe. Both sides use flintlock rifles, small batch rifled guns, field guns and other firearms.

If Xiao Ming used the same weapons to fight with Western armies, he would basically have no advantage and would likely fall into a protracted war of mutual consumption.

So any progress is needed at this time. If the fire hat is successfully manufactured this time, he will be slightly better than Europe in terms of firearms.

Just as Lu Tong was about to leave, Xiao Ming suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, you should communicate frequently with Lin Wentao, Song Changping, Chen Qi and others, so that you can communicate with each other. Maybe what Lin Wentao makes is also what you need, and what you create is also what Lin Wentao needs. In this way, Qingzhou's technology can be improved as a whole, instead of whether you beat your drum or he beat his gong."

"Yes, the emperor, the subordinates remember it." Lu Tong bowed.

After talking about this, Xiao Ming asked Lu Tong about the chemical industry, and then he left.

Now the north is about to unify, and after this unification, it will be a stage of rest and recuperation and upgrading industry. Now he is preparing for this matter.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Niu Ben and others. Now the war in the north is in their hands, and he just hopes to end soon.

After all, the situation is constantly changing, and the longer it drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for them.

Gyeongju.

After the Battle of Juyongguan, Niu Ben concentrated most of his troops in Qingzhou. At the same time, he asked the King of Huainan and Chen Xinran to leave 20,000 troops to station Juyongguan, and the Western Expedition Army also left 20,000 troops to cooperate with them in battle.

On the day when they defeated the Zhao army, the barbarians chose to retreat. The barbarians were not fools, and they would only suffer greater casualties when they continued to stay.

"In the battle of Juyongguan, Zhao's army was seriously injured and could no longer fight with us in the field. They could only block us by relying on natural dangers. Overall, the offensive and defensive momentum has changed. Now we should take the initiative to attack and completely solve the King of Zhao."

Niu Ben said in the tent.

The King of Huainan nodded, "General Niu said very well. The Juyongguan barbarians and Zhao army were in a suffocation that day. It can be seen that the barbarians were willing to take the opportunity to make profits. If the war continued to be dragged on, I am afraid that the barbarians would be more difficult after the intervention."

"General Niu, just give the order. Soldiers are very fast. As long as you capture Hulao Pass and Chang'an, the world of Dayu Kingdom will be settled." Chen Xinran said that the only remaining rebellion in Dayu Kingdom is King Zhao.

Although the King of Chu was still entrenched south of the Yangtze River, he had already resigned to Xiao Ming.

Niu Ben nodded after hearing this, "This is also the reason why I will call you all here today. From now on, the army will set off. We will definitely take down Hulao Pass and Chang'an in one fell swoop and pacify the north."

"Yes, general." The generals looked excited, and they were waiting for the day to ride a horse in Chang'an.

The King of Huainan and Chen Xinran looked at each other and asked the generals to gather soldiers to prepare to leave the city.

Three days later, the coalition forces appeared in front of Hulao Pass.

This Hulao Pass is a powerful pass in the east of Luoyang. If you conquer this pass, you can occupy Luoyang. If you use the Luoyang stronghold to conquer Tongguan, you can directly take Chang'an.

This time, with the determination to capture Chang'an, Niu Ben ruthlessly bombarded the walls and gates of Hulao Pass.

During the battle of Juyong Pass, King Zhao almost suppressed all the elites of the Zhao army. The guards left by Hulao Pass were just surrendered ministers who were loyal to him when Chang'an was captured.

The generals of Hulao Pass had never seen such a formation, and their legs were trembling immediately by the cannon.

If he could beg for mercy from King Zhao, the guard of Hulao Pass could naturally beg for mercy from Niu Ben. During the fourth round of artillery attacks, the guard of Hulao Pass ordered people to open the city gate and go out to welcome Niu Ben in person.

"Chen Guodong, you are a fence-bearer." Luo Hong was familiar with the generals of Hulao Pass, and at this time he couldn't help but speak sarcastically.

Chen Guodong is a man of medium figure and dark complexion. When he saw Luo Hong and Niu Ben, he immediately looked humble and said, "General Niu, General Luo, although the lower official is in Zhaoying, his heart has always been with the emperor. Because of this, the lower official will take the initiative to go out to receive surrender. I hope the general will understand it."

When Niu Ben and Luo Hong learned that the Hulao Pass was still Chen Guodong, they decided to bombard him and scare him. They both knew Chen Guodong and knew very well that this person was very cognitive about the current affairs.

"I won't mention this matter for now. I will only ask you how many people and soldiers there are in Luoyang City?" Niu Ben asked.

Speaking of this, Chen Guodong sighed and said to Niu Ben: "General Niu doesn't know anything. Luoyang has now become an empty city!"

"Empty City!" Niu Ben was shocked.

Chen Guodong nodded, "Just ten days ago, King Zhao suddenly ordered the people in Luoyang City to drive into Tongguan and burn the entire Luoyang City. All the people who refused to leave were brutally killed. Moreover, King Zhao said that if the general attacked Tongguan, he would burn Chang'an and drive all the people back to Zhao."

"It's outrageous!" Niu Ben was furious and cursed: "What's the difference between this guy and Dong Zhuo?"

Chen Guodong looked sad and said, "It is precisely because he is unwilling to join the King of Zhao that his subordinates refused to go to Tongguan and wait for the general to arrive here."

"Fuck! King Zhao must be looking down on you and keeping you in this Hulao Pass to work hard for him. You are saying beautifully." Luo Hong snorted.

Chen Guodong's words also made him angry. There were his relatives in Chang'an City.

When Luo Hong scolded him, Chen Guodong didn't dare to say anything again, and his body was so scared that he shivered.

Lu Fei said to Niu Ben at this time: "General, King Zhao is forcing us to withdraw our troops. If he falls into his treacherous plan, I am afraid that the war will be difficult once the barbarians come. At least we must take down Tongguan. In this way, the barbarians must break the pass if they want to come in."

Niu Ben's eyes gradually became firmer, and he said, "You are right. You can't mess up the righteousness because of Xiaoren."

He looked at Chen Guodong and said, "If you want to save your life, you have to listen to me now. Now you can take off your soldier's uniform immediately."

"Take off your military uniform?" Chen Guodong said in confusion.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Luo Hong scolded.

Chen Guodong seemed to be a little afraid of Luo Hong and immediately asked his soldiers to take off their armor.

At this time, Niu Ben ordered the Qingzhou army to take off his military uniform and replace it with Chen Guodong's soldiers' uniforms.

"Chen Guodong, this is your chance to survive. If you can help me take down Tongguan without knowing it, I will say a few good things to you in front of the emperor."
Chapter completed!