"Don't worry, proprietor, my subordinates will seize the time to make a bayonet suitable for the rifle." Huang Zhong assured.
Liu Heng thought for a while and said, "You can make a sleeve-type bayonet."
Seeing that Huang Zhong didn't understand, he had no choice but to describe the sleeve-type bayonet he knew. As for how to do it specifically, he didn't know much about it himself, so he could only let the people in the Ordnance Bureau figure it out on their own.
Standing aside, Huang Zhong's eyes became brighter and brighter the more he listened.
He was a blacksmith by trade, so he didn't quite understand the word "sleeved bayonet" when he heard it. However, after his boss's explanation, he had a general outline in his mind. He believed that as long as he was given some time, he would be able to do it. Create a satisfying bayonet.
Huang Zhong said solemnly, "Don't worry, proprietor, within half a month at most, the Ordnance Bureau will be able to create a bayonet suitable for rifle muskets."
"Then I'll give you half a month." Liu Heng said, "I hope that in half a month, I can see that the bayonet made by the Ordnance Bureau can be equipped with the rifle rifle of the Tiger Flag."
"Yes." Huang Zhong responded seriously.
Liu Heng stayed in the Bingjia Workshop and looked around, and also saw the making of breastplates in the Bingjia Workshop.
Nowadays, the riders of the Tiger Flag Cavalry Team are not equipped with breastplates. Most of the riders who later joined the Cavalry Team did not wear breastplates and only wore cotton armor for training.
There is no shortage of fine iron in the Tiger Flag, and enough fine iron can be obtained from the iron yard at any time. But what the Tiger Flag lacks the most now is silver. Because of the lack of silver, whether it is a blunderbuss or a soldier's armor, They are all controlling the quantity.
The Tiger-Character Banner had previously been expanded to include a thousand-man team and a cavalry team. This thousand-man team and cavalry team alone had nearly tripled the Tiger-Character Banner's daily money and food consumption.
The largest number of apprentices in the Bingjia Workshop are apprentices. These apprentices have learned from the craftsmen. Although they are not up to the level of those craftsmen, they can still do some simple things on their own.
Things like hoes and iron pots were all made by apprentices from the Bingjia Workshop.
Nowadays, Bingjiafang in Zhaojiayu is no longer just a courtyard, but now occupies most of the street.
A dozen apprentices from the Bingjia Workshop stood in a row, building shovels in their hands. Beside them, there were craftsmen constantly patrolling, pointing out the apprentices' problems at any time and correcting them.
Situations like this can be seen almost everywhere in Bingjiafang.
There will be a craftsman for every fifteen apprentices, who will watch the apprentices make iron tools. If the things made are not up to standard, not only the apprentices will be punished, but the craftsmen will also be punished.
An ordinary apprentice earns eight cents of silver a month, while a craftsman oversees fifteen apprentices and earns one to two cents a month.
The craftsmen of the Armory are divided into different levels. Above the ordinary craftsmen, there are second-level craftsmen, third-level craftsmen... The craftsmen of the entire weapons bureau are divided into nine levels.
When a craftsman reaches the fourth level, he is called a craftsman. Such a craftsman is generally only responsible for making things such as armor and fire guns, and is not responsible for ordinary iron goods.
After coming out of Bingjiafang, Huang Zhong pointed to the construction site at the west end of the village and said, "There are no more houses in the village, so my subordinates asked people to build a row of houses on the open space at the west end of the village. In a few months, It’s almost ready for use. With these new buildings, the Bingjia Workshop can more than double its size and recruit more apprentices.”
Because of the relationship between Bingjiafang and iron products, carts would pull iron goods from Bingjiafang every day, bring them to Xujiazhuang, and sell them to the merchants who come and go.
Compared with the cannon-making workshop and artillery range, which are only accessible but not accessible, the Bingjia Workshop can bring a lot of money to the Tiger Flag.
There was a shortage of iron in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, and the farm tools used in many places were even made of wood. Therefore, no matter how many iron tools the Bingjia Workshop in Huzi Banner produced, they would be digested in the end, and there was no need to worry about not being able to sell them.
Many merchants came to Xujiazhuang specifically to buy some Tiger Flag iron goods to take back.
Compared with the gun range and gun-making workshop, Liu Heng supported the expansion of the Bingjia Workshop.
After the expansion, the Bingjia Workshop can recruit more apprentices, create more iron tools, and bring more income to the Tiger Flag.
The construction site at the west end of the village had nothing to see except blue bricks, wood, and some people doing work. Liu Heng only stayed for a while and then left with the people.
Not far from the west end of Zhaojiayu Village, there is a river. The large and small waterwheels on the bank are unusually conspicuous.
Many places in Datong have suffered from drought. Because of these waterwheels in Zhaojiayu, not only has the grain production in the fields not decreased, but it has actually been better than before.
"Let's go and have a look at the waterwheel." Liu Heng rode on the war horse that Zhao Wu brought over.
Several people following him also got on their horses.
However, Huang Zhong did not ride a horse because he could not ride a horse and usually came and went by carriage. The four-wheeled cart with the tiger character flag was built by his weapons bureau.
Liu Heng, who was riding on horseback, turned his head and said to Huang Zhong, "You don't have to follow me. Go back and think about how to make a bayonet suitable for walking guns. Also, don't forget to give away the rewards from the gun-making workshop."
"Yes, my subordinate will do it now."
Huang Zhong, who was hesitating about how to go with the past, saw his boss speaking and immediately agreed.
After talking to Huang Zhong, Liu Heng urged his horse and galloped along the dirt road towards the river.
When he reached the river bank, he pulled the reins and stopped.
Li Shuheng and others who followed behind also reined in their horses and stopped aside.
Liu Heng held the reins with one hand and pointed to the river in front of him with the other hand, saying, "The water flow in the river is too small. When Bingjiafang is expanded, more and more waterwheels will be used, and then water power will appear." If it’s not enough, the pace of building the Ordnance Bureau will slow down.”
Zhao Yutu said, "It's better to move Bingjiafang to Hutou Village. The river there is very strong, and no matter how many water trucks and hydraulic equipment it is, it can move it."
"What should I do with the Bingjia Workshop that is under construction?" Li Shuheng said, "Now that the Bingjia Workshop is being expanded to half of its size, if we give up like this, the money invested in the early stage will be wasted."
Zhao Yutu said, "The tiger-character flag's convoy will soon enter the grassland to do business with the Beibei. In the future, there will be no shortage of money. Moreover, when the convoy goes to the grassland in the future, more soldiers will be needed, and the team of soldiers will need to be expanded." , there is not enough water power to build armor, even if the team is expanded, the soldiers without armor or weapons will only become the target of horse bandits when they arrive on the grassland."
"This..." Li Shuheng choked.
He was reluctant to waste the half-built Bingjiafang, but he also knew that what Zhao Yutu said was true.
When doing business on the grassland, without enough strength to protect the convoy, the only outcome would be to be robbed.
"Okay, you two, stop fighting." Liu Heng raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Hutou Village and said, "This river is not far from Hutou Village. You can hire people to dig the two rivers. As long as these two Connecting the river will not only solve the water power problem, but also benefit Xujiazhuang and Lijiazhuang."
"This is a good idea." Li Shuheng's eyes lit up.
