Zheng Quchi was sincerely disappointed with the current handicraft industry in Ye State, but found that he had not received any feedback or response.
She tilted her umbrella and looked up, only to see two guards looking at her with mosquito-repellent incense eyes after listening to her words, as if they didn't understand the mystery she was talking about.
The guards were engaged in security work, and they did not take part in the weapons manufacturing business.
"Is this gun standard in the official system, or is it exclusive to your guards?" Zheng Quchi asked curiously.
Even if the people in the government use these to scare thieves and thieves, the border guards can't treat them the same way, right?
The guards could understand it now, but after they understood it, they darkened their faces and said angrily and impatiently: "Where are you crazy people? You are talking nonsense here. If you don't want to leave, then we will just I can take action now.”
Seeing that they regarded him as a suspicious person, Zheng Huhu stepped forward to arrest him. Zheng Quchi held an umbrella and took two steps back. He quickly took out the gold seal from his sleeve pocket to identify himself, but failed to find it. The guard was scolded by a voice.
"stop!"
The guard stood under the eaves and was about to go down the steps. When he heard this, he immediately turned around. When he saw the person coming, he immediately put away his anger, stood at attention and saluted the person respectfully: "Beitang Iron Officer."
"Well, you two stay on guard and I'll handle this matter."
The guards looked at each other in confusion. Although they didn't know why, they still stepped aside obediently.
Zheng Quchi, who was halfway through taking out the bag, stopped and looked at the person walking towards her.
He must be in his thirties or forties, not very tall, short and fat, with a big round face, dark skin, a few folds on his eyelids, green and black under his eyes, and his eyes look like they are squinting. His eyes were not good, and he looked like he was tired from staying up late all year long and had no energy.
Iron official, what kind of official is he? An official who forges iron?
Zheng Quchi guessed in his heart.
"Madam, what did you just say?"
He wasn't afraid of getting caught in the rain. Although the rain was much lighter now, he didn't mind the drizzle falling like fine threads on his hair and clothes, slowly soaking them.
"Me? What did you just say?"
"You said..." Beitang Mu has a good memory, so he simply repeated what she said before: "The ratio of the blade to the handle is wrong. The angle of the blade's refraction shows that it is not sharp enough, and although it is blunt, it is not hard enough. The gun has a wooden body and lacks strength and toughness. It cannot achieve both sprint and lethality at the same time. Can't we choose a better material to make the gun body?"
After saying that, he tried his best to look at her with his squinting eyes, as if waiting for her to continue to say one, five, ten.
Zheng Quchi turned the umbrella handle in a circle, but instead of following his idea, he asked: "Why don't you answer me first? Other countries have long abandoned this kind of wooden gun shaft. It is still ordinary wood. At the end, it should be made of thick wood." Wood or composite wood. I heard that Hong Shengguo's gun body uses a composite material. It uses tendon wood as the core, then wraps it with bamboo slices, and then tightly wraps a layer of copper wire rattan. , to ensure the flexibility of the rod, and finally painted with raw lacquer, but why is the one used in Ye State still so primitive?"
Beitang Mu was amazed when he heard that she spoke so clearly about the formation of spears. The spears of Hongsheng Kingdom were indeed famous in the Seven Kingdoms, but he didn't expect that she not only told the key secrets in one sentence, but also other people's spears. The production techniques are all precious.
"... Madam, I don't know that Hong Shengguo's spear requires overloaded arm strength. Although our wooden spear is primitive and simple, it can be faster and lighter for sprinting." He could only talk nonsense to save the respect of himself and his colleagues. .
It can’t be said that our weapon makers in Ye country have little experience and no inspiration, so we can’t make as excellent and amazing weapons as other countries, right?
Zheng Quchi shook his head: "I think this idea is wrong. Lightness should not be the first consideration for a long-handled weapon. The priority for a long-handled weapon should be how to make the attack range wider. When a long-handled weapon is sprinting, it will The damage is concentrated on the tip of the gun, so sharpness can have excellent armor-breaking capabilities. Its penetrating power and killing power are the most important on the battlefield."
Naturally, the weapons used by the army and the weapons used by ordinary people cannot be considered in the same way. The former should focus on
To participate in a large-scale battle like the last battlefield, the latter simply requires a highly lethal and easy-to-carry weapon.
This brings up the point of the spear again... After silently writing down the key points she mentioned in making Hongshengguo's spears, Beitang Mu said with a wry smile: "What you said is insightful, but unfortunately it doesn't fit in with our Ye country's requirements." actual."
"How to say?"
"As the saying goes, it's hard to make a meal without rice. The iron forged from the bronze, iron, copper, white tin, black tin (lead) and other minerals we can currently use always fails to meet expectations, or it is hard enough, but cannot be maintained. Sharp. If it is sharp, it will break easily..."
She knew this in Fu County. The smelting technology in Ye State is still relatively new at present, but she can temporarily solve this problem by using the solid decarburization of cast iron into steel method. The advantage of this method is that it can produce steel with a huge output. She can then Use the steel filling method to achieve higher quality improvement.
"anything else?"
"...Our weapons supervisors are currently seriously short of capable people. Some old people want to make a suitable gun suitable for the battlefield. It is very difficult. Apart from learning from some other countries' sharp weapons and upgrading them, if we slowly It’s really difficult to grind and research, and most of the people in the Ordnance Supervision are just dawdling.”
Oh, in addition to technical problems, there are also talent problems, and even the problem of fishing at work. It sounds like this weapons supervisor is indeed a mess.
"Can I go in and take a look?" she asked.
Beitang Mu glanced at her, then suddenly bowed and said, "Madam General, may I ask if you have the Golden Seal of the Three Armies?"
The Ordnance Supervision is subordinate to the Shaofu. It is not only a first-level arsenal, a workshop specialized in manufacturing weapons, but also a subordinate unit of the central garrison. It is needless to mention how important it is. It must either have an imperial edict from the Holy One or have the golden seal of the three armies. Release.
Zheng Quchi raised his eyebrows. No wonder he was willing to talk to her about so many things. It turned out that he knew her identity early on.
"Is this what you're talking about?"
She held up a gold seal in her hand. When Bei Tang Mu looked up, his eyes widened. He didn't expect that she really had one...
After Bei Tang Mu glanced at her again, he stopped talking nonsense and turned sideways and said: "General's wife, please."
How come the general's wife has the golden seal of the three armies? Wasn't this something that King Ye gave to His Highness the Crown Prince? This matter has been reported to the Ministry of War. From this point of view, it can only prove that His Royal Highness has a good relationship with the general's wife... After some thought, Beitang Mu became more and more polite to Zheng Quchite and did not dare to neglect him.
As soon as he entered the Ordnance Supervision, Beitang Mu introduced to Zheng Quchi, who was not very familiar with the inside of the Ordnance Supervision, that in the Ordnance Supervision there were Left and Right Shang Fang, who were in charge of manufacturing weapons, and there were East and South Railway Officers, who were in charge of craftsmen and apprentices. Drum casting and weapons supervision are divided into two parts, one is the courtyard, and the other is the military warehouse. The former manufactures various types of military weapons such as bows, arrows, swords, and armor, and then all of them are filled in the latter's military warehouse.
After listening to his explanation, Zheng Quchi had an idea: "Can you go to the military depot first?"
"certainly."
Led by an insider, Zheng Quchi's itinerary could be described as "taking the wind to get the wind". No one came forward to ask for help, and they arrived at the military depot smoothly.
Zheng Quchi took a long breath, it was really grandma Liu's first experience in the Grand View Garden.
As a weapons storage center, the scale of the military warehouse is undoubtedly huge. After the guard pushed open the thick copper-nailed door, Zheng Quchi took a look and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Is this, so big?"
Beitang Mu nodded, followed her step by step, and introduced her: "The military warehouse is divided into east and north courtyards, and there are weapons warehouses in both the east and north courtyards. There are ten categories of rooms in the warehouse, and each warehouse in the military warehouse is stored according to categories. weapon……"
Zheng Quchi walked into the east courtyard first. She saw a large room, which was the weapons warehouse. The construction method of these warehouses, the size of the ramming nest, and the thickness of the ramming layer were all particular.
Different from the houses she usually sees outside, the walls of these warehouses are generally wider and thicker. In addition to being more demanding as load-bearing walls, safety considerations are more important. Some warehouse walls are even more unique than others. The walls of the site are twice as wide and thick, which shows that when the warehouse was built, it was intended to enhance its impact resistance.
There are four guards outside these warehouses, wearing armor and carrying swords. In addition to high wall protection and gates,
In addition to the guards, the warehouses and small warehouses inside are also guarded by dedicated personnel, which shows how secure the military depot is.
Walking around the outside of the warehouse, Zheng Quchi really felt as if she saw the most important "treasure house" in the entire Ye Kingdom displayed before her eyes. The weight of the military warehouse was enough to affect the combat effectiveness of an army. Of course she didn't Satisfaction only scratches the itch.
She demanded: "I want to go into the warehouse and take a look."...
Before, Bei Tang Mu was responsive to her requests, but now he was a little embarrassed: "This..."
"What's wrong? No?"
Pastor Beitang said: "I want to lure the general's wife in, but I don't have enough authority. Only Zuo Shangfang or You Shangfang has the key to open it."
Zheng Quchi understood: "Then go and call someone over."
A strange look suddenly flashed in Beitang Mu's eyes, and he hurriedly said: "Yes, let's go now."
Zheng Quchi didn't wait long when he saw a middle-aged man with a big belly staggering over. He walked a little eagerly with a flattering smile on his face. As soon as he got closer, he folded his hands and bowed his head: "Nan Gui has seen you before." General’s wife.”
As soon as Zheng Quchi saw the other party's behavior, he knew that a smiling tiger was coming.
When dealing with this kind of person, you cannot be polite or tactful to him, otherwise he will be more slippery and difficult to catch than anyone else.
"I'm here to check the armory for His Royal Highness, so please ask Zuo Shangfang to open a door."
"This, these are all matters under the personal supervision and jurisdiction of humble officials. Naturally, there can be no problems. Why did His Royal Highness suddenly ask the general's wife to come here?" The smile at the corner of his mouth froze.
Zheng Quchi looked cold and had no intention of following the tradition of not hitting the smiling person. He directly took out his trump card and said, "This is the golden seal of the three armies. I wonder if Zuo Shang can recognize it?"
Nan Gui took a closer look and immediately broke into a cold sweat. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He squeezed out a smile and said, "I know you know me. I'll open my humble position now."
Just open it. It is expected that a little girl like her would not be able to understand the quality of weapons. Zuo Shangfang thought darkly to himself. He did not think there would be a problem, so he did not cover it up in advance, but he was lucky in misfortune. , the person who came was not a professional.
Beitang Mu glanced at Nan Gui. He had been with Nan Gui for so long, so he naturally understood what he was thinking now. The corner of his mouth curled up, revealing an imperceptible smile.
Nan Gui, I'm afraid the final result won't be as you wish.
Zheng Quchi entered one of the warehouses. As soon as the door opened, a row of tall wooden shelves were filled with iron arrowheads of different thicknesses and lengths. There were also some copper arrowheads placed at the end. Most of them were square-shaped and pointed. She He picked them up and weighed them for a moment, then knocked them against each other and listened to their crisp sound.
She said nothing after reading it and said, "The next warehouse."
So, they moved to another warehouse.
This was a tool warehouse. As soon as the door opened, there was a dull feeling of stagnant air. She asked, "How do you inspect and maintain weapons on a daily basis?"
"This, this is the position of You Shangfang, but I don't care much about it. What's wrong?"
"You don't know how to store, use, and maintain weapons? For example, arrows and crossbows should be stored in a dry and ventilated place. Iron tools need to be checked regularly for rust and oil. Look at this weapon. It should be recovered after it is damaged. Yes, but now it is damaged and rusted like this, so why is it still in the arsenal without being repaired or reported as damaged?"
They didn't reply for a while, and the warehouse was quiet.
During the following inspection, Zheng Quchi only summarized one point.
"Weapons are often brittle, poorly made, and ineffective. They are a waste of people's energy."
The management of the military room is an important part of the army's combat effectiveness, but now Ye State's ruin starts from the root. These scraps of copper and iron, which others have replaced for many years, have become their mainstream. How can this happen? beat?
Others don't have to guess, they all know what weapons they will use. After Zheng Quchi saw the arsenal, his whole heart was filled with tears.
"General's wife, you don't understand this at all. What you say is an exaggeration."
He picked up Joe instead.
Zheng Quchi
She really didn't understand how they worked, but what she saw was that these weapons were simply out of date. If a war really broke out, what would happen if the soldiers of Ye State took these weapons to the battlefield? She just wanted to Just thinking about it gives me chills all over.
"I don't understand? OK, if I don't understand, I will go back and report the matter to His Highness. Don't worry, I will not exaggerate or add jealousy. I will tell the truth truthfully."
Zuo Shangfang suddenly said in an evil voice: "No! You can't even think of going back..."
欻——
A rusty iron sword was pressed against Zuo Shangfang's neck. Looking along the sword, he met a pair of eyes as cold as cold stars.
"Do you believe that if I kill you now, I can still walk out of here unscathed?"
"You, you don't dare..."
"Whose wife do you think I am? What am I afraid of?"
Whose wife?
Yu Wensheng, the only general in the Ye Kingdom.
"Yes, I'm sorry, Madam General, I'm just talking nonsense, please spare my life."
"Are you afraid that His Highness the Crown Prince will find out?"
His face froze, he squeaked, and remained silent for a long time.
