Dapanbao.
After Liu Yan led everyone back to Dapanbao, he arranged for the small flag officer Wang Yue to prepare meals and set up three tables of wine and food in the main flag hall. The small flag officers Miao Shao and Wang Yue accompanied him. Liu Yan also specially brought Tan Xiao Da and Zhao Zhen were also called over to eat and drink with Xu Le and other craftsmen.
At this time, it was cold and windy outside the General Flag Office, but the atmosphere inside the house was warm.
Xu Le and the other craftsmen's eyes widened when they looked at the table full of wine, meat and dishes. They wished they could pull off their heads and put the delicious food directly through their necks!
Miao Shao, Wang Yue, Tan Xiaoda, Zhao Hao and others kept toasting, especially Tan Xiaoda and Zhao Hao, who got along well with Xu Le. The three of them sat together and talked and laughed, as if they had not seen each other for a long time. Like old friends.
After everyone ate and drank for a while, Xu Le burped, wiped the corners of Youhuahua's mouth with his sleeves with satisfaction, clasped his fists in embarrassment and said: "After eating this rice dumpling, it's worth dying for me! What's the matter? If you are of service, please give me orders, Commander A!"
Liu Yan picked up the wine glass and said to everyone: "It's just a meal of food and wine. As long as you do a good job, I can guarantee that from now on, you can have food and wine like this every day!"
Xu Le and others were even more excited. To everyone, such a day was like a fairy day, something that no one had dared to imagine before.
Everyone was a little scared afterwards. Liu Yan treated everyone so well. Will there be any traps waiting for everyone in the future?
However, Xu Le and others immediately laughed dumbly. They were now like beggars. What was the purpose of setting a trap for them?
After Liu Yan made a promise to everyone, he said: "Okay, now that we have eaten the wine and meat, let's talk about business through this meal of wine."
Xu Le and others cheered up and waited for Liu Yan to give orders.
Liu Yan said: "Although our Dunjun in Dapanbao are now equipped with a lot of armor, such armor is just an iron vest at best, and the quantity is not enough. So I set aside a house in the fort. The Armor Supervision and Manufacturing Office is set up to be responsible for smelting iron, making weapons and armors in the fort. At this stage, the main task is to make armors, supplemented by weapons."
Having said this, Liu Yan looked at Xu Le and said, "The heads of the Weapon Supervision and Manufacturing Office are you, Xu Le and Mr. Xu!"
When Xu Le heard this, he stood up in shock. He couldn't believe his ears. Liu Yan actually used him so highly. How could he repay him?
Xu Le said tremblingly: "Since the commander values the villain so much, the villain will definitely try his best to build enough high-quality armor for the commander. If he cannot do it, the villain will die to apologize!"
"Ha ha!"
Liu Yan laughed loudly and said, "That's serious! Let's eat and drink to our heart's content today. Early tomorrow morning, I will take you to the armor supervisory office to talk more about the armor."
Early the next morning, Liu Yan took Xu Le and more than 20 craftsmen and apprentices to the door of the Bingjia Supervisory Manufacturing Office.
The courtyard of the Armor Supervisory Manufacturing Office is right next to the Firearms Supervisory Manufacturing Office. It is a courtyard with two entrances.
After Liu Yan led everyone in, Xu Le saw more than eighty military men gathered in the yard.
Liu Yan pointed at the men from the military household and said with a smile: "These people were selected by me in advance. From now on, they will follow Chief Xu to build armor."
"Are these all designated for me?"
Xu Le was a little excited, but also a little nervous. He was worried that he could not do well. After all, his temperament was like this. When he was in Wangjiazhuang, he could not get along with everyone. Now that Liu Yan has entrusted so many people to him, it is really Can you manage it well?
Liu Yan naturally saw Xu Le's worry and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Xu. You just need to make excellent armors and weapons. As for other things, you don't need to be distracted. If you have anything, you can come to me directly. I will I will make the decision for you!"
With Liu Yan's guarantee, Xu Le was so excited that he almost cried. Although he was stubborn, it didn't mean he was ungrateful, so he swore a promise to build excellent armor for Liu Yan.
Liu Yan then asked people to settle down the rest of the craftsmen and apprentices first. The backyard of the Bingjia Supervision Office was their residence, and the front yard was the blacksmith shop and other places, as well as supporting facilities such as warehouses.
The more than eighty military men also went to the backyard to settle down. Whatever they did next, they had to wait for Xu Le's arrangements.
After everyone was settled, Liu Yan called Xu Le to the office room in the front yard, which will be Xu Le's office in the future.
"Okay, now let's talk about the armor."
"yes."
Xu Le cupped his fists and asked, "I wonder what kind of armor the armor commander wants to build?"
Regarding the issue of armor style, Liu Yan had his own considerations.
The Ming Dynasty was a transitional dynasty from the era of cold weapons to the era of mixed use of cold weapons and firearms, so the styles of Ming army armor also gradually changed.
In the early Ming Dynasty, cold weapons were mainly used, and the armor style was mainly metal armor; in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the use of firearms gradually increased, and the armor was mainly light cloth armor and chain mail.
Since armor in the Ming Dynasty could only be made by officials and stored in government arsenals, private possession of armor by individuals was a serious crime and suspected of treason. Therefore, the armor equipment of soldiers in the Ming Dynasty could only be uniformly allocated and distributed by the national arsenal during wartime.
However, it was already the end of the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court was already overwhelmed with dealing with the army of bandits and slaves. It also had no control over the private manufacture of armor by the Ming army in various places, so Liu Yan would not worry about this.
At this time, among the Ming army, due to the heavy metal armor, only cavalry were issued it. Infantry officers who need to march long distances still mainly wear cloth armor and chain armor, while ordinary soldiers only have uniforms or simple cloth breastplates.
With the current financial resources of the imperial court, it is basically impossible to equip ordinary soldiers with armor. The most they can do is equip armors for servants in the army and some people who dare to die.
That's why Xu Le asked this question. It would be easier to make cotton armor. After all, it is not difficult to make, which means it takes a little longer. After all, cotton needs to be beaten, soaked, and dried continuously, which takes time.
But if you want to build iron armor, Xu Le needs to use his special skills.
In fact, Liu Yan's original intention was to create a straight body armor in the style of a Jin Yiwei, equipped with a hat and a hat. This would not only make the military look more eye-catching, but also provide considerable defensive power.
In addition, Liu Yan also knew that there would be problems with equipping Jinyiwei's straight-body armor. First, such armor was too conspicuous and would probably cause unnecessary trouble. Secondly, such armor was too expensive. Even though he had some money, he couldn't help it. Consume it this way.
So after careful consideration, Liu Yan proposed that Xu Le make ordinary half-length armor and bright iron helmets. When the development becomes bigger in the future, he would then build full-body armor for the entire army.
After hearing this, Xu Le thought for a moment, and then said: "It seems that the armor commander has thought carefully and is very familiar with the various types of armor equipped by our army."
At this point, Xu Le changed the topic and said: "It's just that my subordinates feel that this half-body armor is not suitable. We should build a full-body armor instead."
Liu Yan asked doubtfully: "Why? Isn't it more difficult to make full-body armor?"
Xu Le said with a smile: "The armor commander doesn't know. In fact, compared with half-body armor, the difficulty of full-body armor is not much different, and the cost of half-body armor does not save much, so my subordinate's suggestion is not to equip full-body armor directly. "
Liu Yan thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh and said, "Okay! I'm going to wear full body armor."
Then Liu Yan and Xu Le took it together and decided to follow the example of the Ming Dynasty's frontier army and equip it with Zhajia.
This kind of armor is not the kind of mountain armor equipped by the generals of the Ming army, but the all-iron and cowhide mixed armor equipped by the elite border troops.
Of course, this kind of armor is rare among today's frontier armies. After all, the current imperial court simply cannot afford the consumption of such equipment.
"Chief Jia Mingjian, this type of armor proposed by my subordinates consists of skirt armor, armbands, arm guards, iron breastplate, shawl, cloth waistband, cloth shawl, and bamboo hat."
Although Xu Le is stubborn and taciturn, once he talks about the making of armor, he becomes very talkative.
“Each part of this kind of armor is made of armor pieces connected in series with tough strings supported by leather, and then fixed on cooked cowhide of corresponding size. This not only has higher defense, but also provides a certain degree of warmth. effect."
As Liu Yan listened to Xu Le's explanation, this style of armor emerged in his mind, which was the traditional armor of the Ming Dynasty that was often seen in later generations.
"This kind of armor can be considered heavy armor. It must weigh at least thirty kilograms, right?"
Xu Le thought for a moment and said, "It should be around thirty-five pounds."
Liu Yan shook his head when he heard this and said: "It's too heavy! This will affect the mobility of the army, and the cost is too high."
Xu Le thought for a while and then said: "In this case, I can change the arm guards and arm shields from iron to leather. This can reduce the weight of several kilograms. The weight of a pair of armor can be controlled within thirty kilograms. . If the weight is further reduced, the armor's defensive power will be greatly reduced, and my subordinates will feel that the gain outweighs the loss."
Liu Yan said: "Okay, let's do it like this. In addition, how much does such a pair of armor cost approximately?"
Xu Le made some calculations while writing on the side, and then said: "A finished piece of armor weighs about thirty kilograms, but the fine iron consumed in making it is about forty kilograms. Now every hundred kilograms of fine iron costs four pounds of silver. Two or five cents, so the iron cost of a pair of armor is about one to two or eight cents."
"In addition to the cost of leather and other materials required to make a pair of armor, which is about one tael, plus the craftsman's wages, I calculate that the cost of a pair of armor is about five taels of silver. If The finished armor also needs to be painted with raw lacquer, and the cost will be increased by eight cents of silver."
Liu Yan nodded. The cost of the armor was far lower than he expected. A pair of armor could be made for just a few taels of silver. Most people would definitely think it was a very good deal.
But that’s not how the ledger is calculated.
Take Dapanbao as an example. After the Dun army expanded to more than 1,100 people, all the equipment was worth more than 6,000 taels of silver, which was already a huge amount. And this is still in peacetime. Once in wartime, the armor will be damaged at any time, which means that the armors in the supply army must be continuously produced. These are consumables, and the pressure on the finances is also huge.
Liu Yan thought for a long time and then said: "The style of the armor has been decided. As for the raw paint, it must also be painted. Otherwise, the armor will be easily rusted and damaged, and the silver will be wasted inside and outside."
Xu Le said: "Jia Chang Ming Jian."
Then Liu Yan asked: "In Chief Xu's opinion, how many armors can the Armor Supervisory Department produce each month?"
This is what Liu Yan is most concerned about.
Xu Le said: "That's right. The craftsmen and apprentices who come with me are all skilled. Each of the other eight craftsmen can make armor independently. Each of them can make a pair of armors with their apprentices every month."
Liu Yan was a little dumbfounded and said, "In other words, eight pairs of armors can be made in a month?"
Xu Le also felt a little guilty and said hurriedly: "My subordinates will spend about two months teaching the craftsmanship to the more than eighty men. These more than eighty men can make armor pieces, leather linings and other parts. By The craftsmen are responsible for splicing, production and quality control, and their subordinates will start all apprentices as soon as possible. In this way, after two months, we can guarantee that at least seventy pairs of armors will be produced every month."
Liu Yan originally set up the Armor Workshop and Weapon Workshop under the Armor Supervision Department, but now it seems that it is better to put all the manpower in the Armor Workshop first.
The production of seventy armors per month, based on the current shortage of nearly nine hundred armors, would take at least thirteen months, which is more than a year, to complete.
Although Liu Yan is not very satisfied with this speed, considering that it is not easy to make armor, this is the only way for now.
"Okay, let's do it like this. In addition, Mr. Xu just needs to remember one thing: in the armor manufacturing department, the production of armor is the first priority. Whether you want people, goods or money, I will agree to it. As long as you want A large number of excellent armors can be made as soon as possible."
Xu Le said solemnly: "Please rest assured, Commander A, my subordinates will go all out!"
