Each of the four arsenals in Handan City has its own types of work, and the assigned tasks are also different.
Among them: the left library casts armor, the right library makes chariots, the lower library makes crossbows, and Renku mainly makes knives, swords, spears, and halberds.
Zhao Guo had a surge in several international orders last year to meet the needs of Lou Fan and Lin Hu.
Starting from this year, the chariot workshop in Youku, Handan, has been fully devoted to the forging of armor, just like Zuoku.
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Renku is located in the southwest corner of Dabeicheng, far away from residential areas, and is also the closest arsenal to King Zhao City.
Rammed earth walls about one meter high are built around the perimeter of Renku.
There is a casting room in the middle that is similar to a later factory building. The casting room occupies a vast area and is rectangular in shape. There are many chimneys on the roof, and white smoke is billowing out.
There are more than a dozen short rammed earth rooms built around the foundry, which seem to be the living quarters of the craftsmen.
The master of Renku is called Ou Yebo, and it is said that he is a descendant of Ou Yezi. The ancestor of Zhao State spent a lot of money to dig it from Yue State.
Ou Yebo has been the master builder of Renku for more than 30 years now. He is best at forging short-hand weapons such as knives and swords.
As soon as Zhao Yong stepped into the door of the foundry, a heat wave hit his face instantly, and a series of tinkling, clanking, and knocking sounds came to his ears.
Before coming to Renku, Zhao Yong had already given an order. All work in the arsenal remained as usual, and the craftsmen did not need to welcome him.
War is imminent. Forging one more sword and forging one more knife may save the life of one more Zhao soldier.
At this time, Ou Yebo was still forging iron with his bare arms. When he saw Zhao Yong and his party, he hurriedly stepped forward to pay homage and said: "Old minister, I saw you in a disheveled manner. I am rude. Please forgive me."
"Master Ou Ye, there is no need to be polite, get up quickly." Zhao Yong hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
At the beginning of the year of Zhao Yong's reign, he promulgated a decree exempting senior citizens over the age of sixty from paying taxes in Zhao's territory.
This gray-haired old man has devoted his whole life to Zhao Guo and played a lifelong role. He deserves Zhao Yong's respect for him.
"How old is Master Ou Ye this year, and is his health okay?" Zhao Yong asked while supporting Ou Yebo and chatting.
The young eunuch standing beside him cleverly placed two Hu stools in front of Zhao Yong.
Nowadays, in Handan City, both nobles and common people seem to have long been accustomed to the convenience brought by Hu Shi.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat. I am now seventy-three this year, and I can still bring a few more good swords to the State of Zhao." Ou Yebo bowed and replied.
"Your Majesty, the old engineer is in good health. I heard that he often hangs out with his daughter." Anping Lord Zhao Cheng said jokingly to his former swordsmanship teacher.
After hearing this, the ministers of Zhao State couldn't help but look slightly sideways, as if they all knew something about Ou Yebo's character.
They tried their best to smile, and if Zhao Yong hadn't been there, they would have burst out laughing.
Zhao Yong glanced behind him. He didn't expect that his third uncle could be so unruly.
However, people really cannot be judged by their appearance. Zhao Yong did not expect that the octogenarian old man in front of him was still a romantic at heart.
It seems that he also has to hit the iron from time to time.
"Okay, okay. Master Ou Ye is fine, so I can rest assured." Zhao Yong agreed.
"Your Majesty, please don't listen to Lord Anping's nonsense..." Ou Yebo refuted hastily.
Ou Yebo seemed to want to leave a good impression on the young monarch, even though he came to Zhao State because of his beauty.
Zhao Yong waved his hand, and then said seriously: "What happened to the batch of new spears that I asked the arsenal to forge last time?"
Ou Yebo immediately stood up and said in front of him: "According to the king's order, the shu has been shortened by five feet, and the head of the shu has been shortened by five inches. Your Majesty, please take a look."
Ou Yebo said as he walked, leading the Zhao monarchs and ministers to a weapons rack.
Zhao Yong saw an alternative short sword displayed there at a glance.
The short tip of the flute is emitting a cold light at the moment, short and sharp, and there are red tassels strung between the tip and the pole, which is extremely conspicuous.
At this time, it shouldn’t be called Shu, it should be called Gun.
Zhao Yong took the spear and weighed it. It was much lighter than the one used in the military camp.
"Has this short letter been checked?" Zhao Yong turned around and asked.
"It has been submitted to the standing battalion for verification. The head of the sword has been shortened. The short sword is no longer suitable for chopping and slashing. Now it can only be used for single group stabbing, especially when the two armies are in close combat.
Especially this handful of red tassels is the finishing touch. In this way, when the enemy and our armies are fighting, our Zhao soldiers can avoid the dilemma of slipping their hands due to the enemy's blood slipping down the barrel of their guns. "Ou Yebo replied truthfully.
Most of the ministers behind him were generals who were skilled in battle formations. After hearing what Ou Yebo said, they naturally knew that although the appearance of this short tank had not been changed much, its actual application was already very different from the ordinary long tank. Different places.
They couldn't help but look at Zhao Yong with surprised eyes.
Zhao Yong nodded. In fact, there were two things Ou Yebo didn't say. Hongying could not only prevent the enemy from losing his grip, but also confuse the enemy's sight. It could also check the training status of the soldiers.
Ou Yebo also did not mention the long spear for cavalry verification. I'm afraid that in their eyes, spears are not something used by cavalry at all.
"How many such spears have been cast?" Zhao Yong handed the spear to the ministers behind him.
"One thousand pieces. This month, Renku, in addition to the necessary sword casting, has produced all these short swords in accordance with Xiangbang's order."
One thousand was already somewhat beyond Zhao Yong's expectation. You must know that making guns and halberds is not as simple as it seems on the surface.
Speaking of the gun barrel alone, Zhao Yong initially thought that the gun barrel was either made of copper or iron or wood. Later he learned that this thing was neither gold nor wood, but a 'composite material'.
Most of the gun shafts are made of beef tendon wood as the core, which is then covered with a layer of bamboo chips, and then tightly wrapped with a layer of copper wire. The purpose of this is to maintain the flexibility of the gun shaft while also Can maintain its rigidity.
Finally, a layer of raw paint is applied to the gun body for fixation and moisture-proofing.
From the production of a long spear to the finished product, the process is very complex. It is even said that making a short sword is more laborious than casting an iron sword.
Zhao Yong nodded and said: "These one thousand duns are enough. We will temporarily stop production and hand over all the existing duns to Beiying."
"Here!" Ou Yebo replied.
Zhao Yong waved to Chen Zhong, and Chen Zhong understood and handed the silk he had prepared to Ou Yebo.
On the silk silk is naturally a diagram of stirrups drawn by Zhao Yong.
Ou Yebo took the silk silk with both hands respectfully and looked at it carefully.
"How about it? Can Master Ou Ye share our worries?" Zhao Yong asked.
Ou Yebo replied with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, do you want to make a new saddle?"
Zhao Yong coughed awkwardly, but fortunately he had already expected it, and then he led the ministers towards the outside of the house.
