Liu Chengzong rejected Lazun's proposal, but pretended that Taiji would still stay in Cowan.
Because heavy snow closed the mountain road to the south, Huoluo Chibe's pretext could only stay in Juerwan for the time being.
For him, whether the proposal is accepted or rejected is expected. After all, Liu Chengzong's army seems to be quite capable, and there is really no need to attach himself to Xiao Lazun.
Go back to Lazun and prepare for war. He is just a messenger.
After all, Taiji is not afraid of a sudden attack by Liu Chengzong. After all, the terrain over Xiaohetao is much higher. What is most likely to happen next is nothing more than fighting for some Xifan tribes in the bordering area.
Besides, if it really didn't work out, he would just take the tribe out of Xiaohetao and go nomadic somewhere else, as long as he didn't play with his younger brother.
During the reinforcement of the Chinese military commander's tent, Baoyan also provided some suggestions to Liu Chengzong, so Liu Chengzong's treatment for Baoyan Taiji was not too bad.
There were two huts in the house, and the five of them, the master and the servant, had enough to eat and had coal to burn, so they lived reasonably well.
Taiji's attitude is also very upright. He doesn't ask for anything if he can. Every day he takes his followers to hunt when they need to, and when they need to run around in the river valley, they go back to their dens when it gets dark. trouble.
It doesn't hurt to be tricked by Chen Shifu occasionally, or to spy on the military situation by counter-phrasing.
But what puzzled Wei Yan was that for many days afterwards, the entire camp with the smallest number of people among the five camps was studying the Sixteen Dharma, and seemed to be caught in a strange frenzy.
In the old land of Tubo, there were many feudal landowners using this set of laws, but Taiji had never seen anyone who could find such fanatical emotions in this set of laws.
What's so crazy about this thing?
After wondering for a long time, Bai Yantaiji learned from Chen Shifu that the camp with the smallest number of people was Liu Chengzong's cowardly Xue army.
Master Chen is just talking nonsense.
In the Lion Army, Master Chen is just a non-staff member, and he still doesn’t know how the Lion Army operates.
His main job every day now is to use his status as a lama apprentice to attract the smartest young people from the seven tribes of Riyue Mountain to learn Chinese in his lair.
Liu Chengzong promised him to open an academy for him in Juerwan or Haibei next year to teach Chinese.
The prospects of students are much better than those of becoming a young monk in a temple. If they learn Chinese, they will be the pioneers of the Lion Army. If they still have enough time to learn Chinese, they will become local officials in the future.
Chen Shifo thought about his ability in this matter. Hearing what Liu Chengzong said, Qinghai will set up floating officials in the future. If his disciples and former officials are all over Qinghai, wouldn't the old Chen family in Xining be powerful?
Now there are seventeen students enrolled, and the conditions are a bit tough. Master Chen's dormitory has been turned over to sleep, but it can only accommodate five people.
There was really no room left, so Liu Chengzong added two felt beds to his military tent. The four children studied with Master Chen during the day and slept in the tent at night.
In addition to teaching Xifan dolls, Chen Shifo's other task is to occasionally chat with Baiyan Taiji from Bajiao City.
Because he is the only one in the whole battalion who doesn't understand the Lion Army.
Therefore, when he was sent to tell the story about Taiji, Chen Shifo had no psychological burden at all. He was very sincere and answered every question he asked about the statement. Anyway, the answers he gave were basically wrong.
But he was almost right about being timid about Xue Jun.
The fanaticism in the Chinese military camp originated from the battle formations recorded in the Sixteenth Method. These reserve officers spent all day outside studying how to quickly defeat Zangba Khan's army.
Liu Chengzong spent most of his time hanging out with the officers in the Central Military Camp.
He needs to get to know everyone in the Chinese Military Camp. The future generals will have experience in serving in the Chinese Military Camp. Studying tactics and getting familiar with the coach is his original intention of establishing the Chinese Military Camp.
Not long after the winter started, my teacher came to me with great joy to report that the two styles of the new bird gun had been prepared.
The Ordnance Bureau by the river is in full swing. It covers a large area, but it is not dense. At present, it is just a collection of simple workshops.
When Liu Chengzong arrived at the Ordnance Bureau, he saw an infantry battalion soldier carrying a five-rod bird gun out. During this period, he was experimenting with new bird guns, and the old lightweight bird guns fired with three-cent lead bullets also stopped making.
According to Shicheng's report, in this month and a half, including setting up the workshop, they made 230 light bird cannons.
The average cost of each gun is two coins of silver and seven dou of yellow noodles.
The cost was very low, but this low cost did not make Liu Chengzong very happy, but made him realize his problem.
They were brought from famine areas. The craftsmen of the Lion Army had two standard food supplies. The apprentices had twelve kilograms of fried noodles and three dou of millet per month, and the master craftsmen had twenty-four kilograms of fried noodles and six dou of millet per month.
Even as an apprentice, he was given adequate food rations and was given some rice to trade in exchange for non-staple food.
The master craftsman can even support three more people with this income.
In the fifth year of the severe drought in northern Shaanxi, people had to work in exchange for food rations to feed three more people. Except for Liu Chengzong, one had to earn seven to eight taels of silver in northern Shaanxi to exchange for this food.
It is equivalent to half a year's income of a goldsmith in a normal year.
But when they came to Xining, this was no longer the case. They only needed one or two or five yuan of silver to buy their food and work.
In the past, three or six bushels of food were enough for them to exchange all the necessary living materials with local people, but now this food is not enough.
How can this still bring happiness?
Liu Chengzong came out of northern Shaanxi and knew very well that under the extreme conditions of commercial collapse, the value of materials increased with the degree of scarcity, and money could not bring much happiness.
Food can bring great happiness to people.
But in Xining, without money, there is no happiness; without performance, there is no enthusiasm.
Liu Chengzong asked his master Chengwo: "How many craftsmen do we have now?"
"There are more than 800 craftsmen of various types, and the remaining more than 1,200 are apprentices." After I finished speaking, I saw Liu Chengzong's shocked look and explained: "Many of them come from Pingliang, and there are many skilled craftsmen who we can't use."
"Is there anyone who has a skill and cherishes it?"
"Haha, Marshal, you don't even have enough to eat. Why do you care about whether you cherish yourself or not? There are some." Shichengwo shook his head and said: "They are all in Shanxi, Yan'an, and Pingliang. Either show your skills." Teach it or get lost.”
After that, Master Chengmei said: "But it is not easy to teach apprentices. The masters in the camp are willing to teach, but the disciples may not learn well. The masters in the camp are allowed to have requirements for accepting apprentices."
"That's as it should be."
As the two of them talked, they had already walked to the edge of the river. Master Cheng and I set up a straw shed here. There were three muskets on the table, and a square wooden target and armor were placed far away on the other side.
The three-rod blunderbuss can be seen as having two specifications. The muzzle of one blunderbuss is a light bird blunderbuss that used to shoot three-dollar bullets. The caliber cannot even fit a finger into it. The caliber of the other two blunderbuss is much larger. Liu Chengzong looked at it as having at least Seven minutes wide.
Overall, the appearance of the three-rod blunderbuss is quite different. Speaking of the blunderbuss alone, the light bird blunderbuss is less than three feet, while the other two rods are four feet and five inches in length and five feet in length.
However, the gun rests of the last two shots are rather strange. The handle of the original light bird gun has been abandoned. Instead, it is called a gun holder. It does not reach the shoulder at all. It is a very strange thing.
Master Cheng, I am a craftsman who has made red barbarian cannons. When I introduced Liu Chengzong, it was like introducing artillery: "These two newly made heavy guns, the short one uses one, two and five qian projectiles, and the long one uses two liang, and the caliber ratio is seven." ten times."
Liu Chengzong pointed to the gun holder and asked: "What is this used for? It doesn't look like it can reach the shoulder."
"Shoulder?"
Shicheng and I were stunned for a moment, and said in surprise: "Yes, Marshal, it can reach your shoulders!"
Then he explained: "The new gun barrel is too long and heavy. The lighter of the two guns weighs seventeen and a half pounds. It is heavy in the front and light in the back. The original handle is not stable for shooting, so we use heavier wooden blocks as counterweights."
Having said that, I was still immersed in the joy brought by Liu Chengzong's casual words, and said to myself: "It can reach the shoulder, yes, it can reach the shoulder."
"I'll draw it for you later."
Liu Chengzong smiled and said something, then continued to point at the gun and asked: "Tell me, how much powder is it loaded with, how powerful is it, and how far is its range?"
"With a normal charge of one tael, it can penetrate two layers of armor at eighty paces. It can kill people at more than one hundred and fifty paces, but it won't be able to aim accurately."
Liu Chengzong laughed while listening. He was an expert in archery and knew best what it felt like to aim at an enemy more than fifty steps away... When facing a situation where the arrow cluster was larger than the target, he relied on a feeling.
It's not metaphysics, but the intuition brought about by long-term practice. If the intuition can hit, then it can hit.
He picked up a lead bullet that weighed one to two and a half cents and weighed it in his hand. Although it was not too big, just a ball with a diameter of just over two centimeters, it was heavier than an egg. Even if he were to throw the ball, it would still be heavy. It can smash people's brains into pieces.
Shichengwo nodded to him and said: "So I think this thing does not need to be forced to be loaded with gunpowder. Putting two taels of gunpowder will only make it fall ten steps later."
As I said that, I took out a long piece of folded paper, on which densely packed equal-width squares were drawn, like the planned squares on a map, with distances and a falling trajectory marked on it.
This surprised Liu Chengzong and asked: "How did you measure the ballistics?"
"trajectory?"
Teacher Cheng, I repeated the word, and then explained it very seriously while making gestures, saying: "To measure the distance, two hanging ropes are two hundred steps long, and a piece of square paper is hung at every step. The scale is rubbed on the paper, and the rope is pulled If they are straight, then the square papers are of the same height. Just put a blunderbuss through 200 pieces of paper and connect them one after another and you will know."
Liu Chengzong closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then raised his eyes and gave a thumbs up to his teacher, Chengwo, and praised him: "You're so smart. You need to write this thing down. Master, you can compile a book, forge cannons, and make muskets. It's awesome!"
After being praised by Liu Chengzong, I felt a little embarrassed and said with a smile: "Commander, this is not a villain's method. It was He Xin's idea when he saw the papermaker drying paper."
"Then it's called He's ballistic measurement method."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and slapped it on the table: "Sanlang, ask Cheng to deliver thirty taels of silver. In the afternoon, we will gather the craftsmen and reward the silver in public."
Master Chengmei had a look of astonishment on his face, and then said: "Commander, why does he always have an official position? This is just his job, so he doesn't have to work so hard, right?"
Liu Chengzong thought very seriously for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Shi, you used to be a great craftsman who made cannons, and now you are President Qian. I know that for each of us, official positions are not only power but also honor, and the ability to Receiving an official position is the greatest recognition.”
"But this is invention and creation. We must encourage invention and creation. I want all craftsmen to know that everything we use is not created by craftsmen. Those who are useful and meritorious will be rewarded."
Liu Chengzong said: "Invention and creation are merits. According to the law on the snowy mountains, a craftsman's life is only worth a straw rope. Here, craftsmen can not only have enough food and clothing, but also get rewards and official positions."
"One day I will let everyone in the world know that there are people in this world who do not respect craftsmen, farmers, and soldiers. They are the three pillars of my life, and I respect them!"
Having said that, Liu Shishi is still a lame man. Although there are many people under him who can farm, they are all soldiers and there are no farmers.
Sanlang took the order to find a carrier. Liu Chengzong picked up a seventeen-and-a-half kilogram bird gun. The tail of this gun still needs to be modified, but it is already as high as his chin. When he finalizes the specifications of the gun holder, it may be possible. The height of the heavy gun may be as high as his body.
I have proven that although the caliber of the other gun is larger and the barrel is longer, the increased power is limited, which is of little significance compared to the increase in manufacturing difficulty and time-consuming.
In order to stabilize the shooting, it was decided to add a wooden fork as a support to make aiming easier.
Therefore, the final blunderbuss tube was designed with a bullet weight of one to two and a half cents, which took half as much time to manufacture as the light bird blunderbuss.
And unfortunately, soldiers who use this heavy gun can no longer wear armor.
Using pre-loaded ammunition in wooden tubes, light bird gun soldiers can easily carry ammunition for fifty shots. However, this kind of bird gun weighs three ounces of ammunition per round, and carrying fifteen pieces weighs nearly three kilograms.
Counting the heavy gun itself, it already weighs just over twenty pounds.
It's an embarrassing weight.
Even lighter, soldiers can wear cotton armor inlaid with iron plates.
If it is heavier, Liu Chengzong's specification requirement for carrying the gun is that it is less than 40 kilograms. It is usually mounted on the vehicle with the team and used by two people. As a supplementary firepower, it will not bring too much burden to the soldiers.
But the huge power prevented him from giving up, so Liu Chengzong decided to finalize this heavy gun and use it as a heavy musket for individual soldiers in the future.
At the same time, he also wanted to make me a request for a light musket: "This one is too heavy and cannot be used by the whole army, so we need to make another one that uses six coins of ammunition, weighs less than twelve kilograms, and is three to five to four feet tall." A long light blunderbuss, a musket more powerful than a bird blunderbuss and lighter than a heavy blunderbuss.”
Compared with the smooth finalization of the heavy gun, there was a slight problem in the production of the lifting gun, so that it would be delayed for another two months.
The craftsmen had never made such a long blunderbuss tube. When drilling the blunderbuss hole, the caliper was not clamped tightly, so that the tube was drilled a little crookedly.
They do not drill the gun barrel. The gun barrel has a gun hole when it is forged and fitted. It just needs to be drilled and straightened. This is directly related to the accuracy of the gun, so it is the most technically demanding process.
If the drill is crooked, the thickness of the two sides of the gun wall will be uneven. The accuracy of the shot is still secondary. When the charge is large, the chamber is prone to explosion.
Liu Chengzong didn't say anything about this. This was not something he could force. He could only encourage the craftsman to continue working hard and strive to see him raise the gun as soon as possible.
But while he was playing with the heavy gun and waiting for the delivery of silver, I presented him with a two-foot-square blanket.
The blanket feels velvety and soft, with a blue unicorn pattern in the middle, the gaps decorated with silver, and a circle of golden light around the edge.
"This is a seat rug woven by craftsmen for the Marshal. It uses cotton as the warp thread, camel hair and wool, silver thread for the interior, and gold thread for the exterior."
After the introduction, Shicheng I said with a smile: "In the past, the Shaanxi Weaving Bureau made crafts for Beijing and the royal palace. The weavers and gold and silversmiths were recruited during the Pingliang chaos. They wanted the commander to see their craftsmanship."
Liu Chengzong held the seat rug and looked at it again and again. In his eyes, this glittering golden blanket was not a handicraft, but a luxury product.
With a smile on his face, he put the mat aside and smiled at Shi Chengga: "We can also set up a weaving bureau, with the backing of force, the output of skills, and the wealth from both ends of the world can be captured in one go!"
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