"General General, there is something strange in the direction of the Xiongnu!"
Meng Tian, who was watching the steelmaking in the blast furnace, suddenly heard a report coming from a distance, and couldn't help but frown slightly: "We haven't taken the initiative to attack them, but they came first!"
"Haha, maybe he looked at our towering black smoke and mistook it for the smoke of a wolf!"
Fusu smiled slightly, then raised his hand and pointed upward.
Meng Tian was stunned and couldn't help but laugh: "These barbarians are really vigilant!"
"Isn't this just right? Anyway, we plan to clear the way for Zhongxian and the others, and we will use a trick to make them mistake the black smoke for a signal that we are about to launch an attack on them."
Fusu said thoughtfully: "In the future, when we make steel, they will be even more tense. When they are no longer tense, we will give them a fatal blow!"
"Wonderful!"
When Meng Tian heard this, his eyes suddenly shone with light, and he brushed his beard and said, "Young Master's wonderful idea, I admire you!"
"Haha, then General Lao Meng will deal with them!"
"Don't worry, young master, I will go meet them right now!"
Meng Tian said, and immediately said to the messenger Sima: "Call my generals, beat the drum to gather the generals!"
"Here!"
The messenger promised and went to deliver the order without stopping.
Soon, tens of thousands of troops gathered in the city in an orderly manner and slowly advanced towards the Huns.
In the following period, Meng Tian commanded the army and fought several battles with the Xiongnu, with both sides winning and losing, and the casualties were not very large.
Fusu, on the other hand, supervised the refining of steel day and night.
About half a month later, the steelmaking square that was opened separately was filled with five-meter-long steel rails.
Fusu walked to the rails, reached out and knocked, and the crisp clanking sound was particularly pleasant to the ears.
Not only was Fusu satisfied, but the craftsmen around him also smiled with joy.
It was obvious that they had finally succeeded in making steel in this blast furnace.
Seemingly still a little worried, Fusu carefully measured the size of the rails. Except for some flaws at the edges, the other places were exactly the same as marked on the drawing.
After all, it is poured from a unified mold, so the errors are relatively small.
Of course, even if there is a slightly larger error, it doesn't matter. Anyway, sleepers need to be placed under the rails. Once the height is adjusted, it should be ready for use.
After checking the rails, Fusu patted the dust on his hands, then stood up with satisfaction and said to the craftsman on the side: "Huang Zhonghou, you have worked hard during this time. These rails are good and fully meet my requirements!"
"You're welcome, eldest son. This is a matter that belongs to the old minister. Since it meets the young master's request, the old minister can rest assured!"
Huang Zhonghou smiled and bowed humbly to Fusu, and then said with emotion: "I have been serving as the young master for decades, but I have never heard of this method of making steel. This steel is really a good thing!"
As a master craftsman in the army, Huang Zhonghou was in charge of weapons production and had high attainments in iron and copper smelting.
But this is the first time I have seen this steel.
Moreover, he never thought that one day he would witness the birth of a new material.
This material, like iron, melts into molten iron, then flows out of the furnace and is poured into a mold. After cooling, it forms steel.
After the first rail cooled, Huang Zhonghou carefully studied it step by step. The steel produced in this way was better than bronze in terms of quality and hardness.
"Sometimes, veterans wonder if they are getting old and can no longer serve the Qin Dynasty. Without the innovative weapons of the Qin Dynasty, where will they go in the future?"
"Huang Zhonghou is overthinking. You are not yet fifty years old and have served Great Qin for a long time. Although the steel has been refined, you are still needed to make steel weapons!"
Seeing that Huang Zhonghou was a little melancholy, Fusu stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, smiling and comforting him.
Although things like steel can be shaped using molds, steel weapons still require craftsmen to polish and forge them.
Therefore, these craftsmen who make bronze weapons are still very important.
Huang Zhonghou's idea is purely unfounded.
"You're not old at fifty? How old do you have to be?"
Huang Zhonghou thought Fusu was teasing him, so he asked in displeasure.
After all, longevity in this era is only around fifty years old, and there are generally very few elderly people in their sixties or seventies.
However, Fusu did not intend to talk to Huang Zhonghou and directly changed the subject: "For the laying of rails, I plan to lay a transportation route from the ore veins to here. It will take about 800 rails. How long will it take to complete it?"
"perhaps."
Huang Zhonghou thought for a while and said: "It will take about five or six days. If the eldest son is anxious, we can do it more at night. Four days should be no problem!"
"We have just started making steel in this blast furnace, and we are not familiar with many details. There are no problems during the day, but it is too dangerous at night!"
Fusu shook his head and said seriously: "If someone accidentally falls into the furnace, it will be more than worth the loss. My brother Hao said that craftsmen are the future of Great Qin, and none of them can be wasted. Let's do this, six days will be six days , protect the lives of craftsmen!”
"The eldest son is benevolent"
Huang Zhonghou was moved and quickly bowed to Fusu. He raised his head and looked into Fusu's eyes, full of gratitude.
In the past, he had never met a Shangguan who was so considerate of craftsmen.
Even when some craftsmen were injured, the superiors didn't even look at them.
Most of the time, craftsmen can only suffer the injustice, knock out their teeth and swallow it in their stomachs, thinking that they are unlucky.
How could someone like Fusu not let them take even the slightest risk?
It is said that the eldest son is benevolent and his reputation is well-deserved.
Just when Huang Zhonghou was full of gratitude, Fusu continued: "Since the rails have been cast, the road leading to the mineral vein should also be cleared;
Including the stones in the river, they must be crushed and the foundation laid, so that more iron ore can be pulled in to make steel! "
"Don't worry, eldest son, this veteran will make arrangements immediately."
Huang Zhonghou bowed his hands, then suddenly thought of something, and said with a troubled expression: "But..."
"But what?"
Fusu, who was in a good mood, suddenly frowned when he heard Huang Zhonghou's embarrassing words.
But I heard Huang Zhonghou explain: "Back to the eldest son, it's like this. Originally, there were many guardsmen in the city who were building the Great Wall. Later, the eldest son said that they wanted to mine, so General Meng sent them to mine. Later, it was necessary to build the blast furnace. General Meng also transferred some people from the upper counties to serve as soldiers;
Now iron ore mining requires people, and graphite mining also needs people, and the blast furnace still needs people. If we continue to lay railroad tracks, I'm afraid there will be a shortage of manpower."
At this point, he tentatively said, "In my opinion, should we stop mining carbon dioxide? Use charcoal instead. Anyway, we have a lot of charcoal in the city."
"The charcoal cannot be used. It is reserved for the people and the army in Jiuyuan to spend the winter. Carbon mining cannot be stopped. What will the blast furnace be burned if it is stopped?"
Fusu shook his head and refused, but Huang Zhonghou's words made sense.
At present, manpower is needed everywhere, and it is impossible for him to report to Ying Zheng and ask for more soldiers.
With his mind spinning, Fusu suddenly cast his gaze on a Qin soldier. His eyes lit up and he smiled, "Carbon mining cannot stop, iron ore mining cannot stop, nothing can stop, but I have a Do you think this method will work?"
"Eldest Young Master, please tell me!"
"It's like this. At present, our Jiuyuan area has implemented a military farming system. Many soldiers who have not participated in the war are reclaiming wasteland and farming. I want to use them to lay railway tracks;
Anyway, the spring plowing is over, and they happen to have some free time, so we might as well use them to lay railroad tracks for us! "
"this"
When Huang Zhonghou heard Fusu's words, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly and he said to himself, eldest son, you have changed.
I praised you for your kindness just now, why have you become so cunning now?
Is this your true nature?
"Go back to the eldest son, this is a good idea, but those soldiers have no experience in laying railroad tracks, so they are afraid of messing up the matter."
"You don't have to worry about this. We'll send a few craftsmen to watch over it and make sure nothing goes wrong!"
"But."
Huang Zhonghou hesitated for a moment and then said: "The harvest from land reclamation is subject to tax. How should we deal with the laying of railway tracks?"
Fusu thought for a while and said, "How about calculating the wages?"
"In your opinion, how much salary is appropriate?"
"I don't know this either"
Fusu smiled awkwardly, and then asked curiously: "Generally, in the private sector, how much does it cost to hire workers per day?"
"This varies from place to place and the price varies."
Huang Zhonghou explained: "Generally among the people, such as working in Xianyang, hiring a laborer costs at least 30 yuan a day. If it is in other places, it usually costs 20 yuan or more than a dozen yuan."
After hearing this, Fusu thought for a while and said: "Soldiers are not workers. It is not good to give too much, and it is not good to give too little. I think so, let's not give more, just forty yuan a day, plus another A meal of meat, and the length of the track is not long anyway, so it won’t take long!”
"OK!"
When Huang Zhonghou saw that Fusu had made arrangements, he didn't refute and just nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The convoy of the First Emperor's eastward tour was diverted to Shangjun along the newly built straight road from east to west.
At this moment, Ying Zheng was reviewing the memorial in the carriage, with an unspeakable worry in his heart.
Although the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms and ended hundreds of years of war, the situation in the six kingdoms did not improve much because of the cessation of war.
In order to completely integrate the people of the six countries quickly, the roads connecting the six countries must be completed as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the people of the six countries to further integrate due to geographical restrictions.
In this way, the people of the Six Kingdoms will still be the people of the Six Kingdoms, Qin will still be Qin, and everything done before will lose most of its meaning.
This was also what Ying Zheng was most worried about during his eastward tour.
Now, he could only pray that the engineering team led by Zheng Guo could build a straight road to South Vietnam before the Qin Dynasty conquered Baiyue.
"His Majesty."
Tang Sui rode his horse to the side of Ying Zheng's carriage, shouted loudly, and then threw a piece of cloth through the window.
Ying Zheng, who was originally worried, became furious when he saw this situation. He was about to get angry when Tang Sui said again: "Your Majesty, please calm down and look at the banner first!"
"snort!"
After hearing this, Ying Zheng snorted coldly, raised his head and glanced at Zhao Gao beside him, frowning and said: "Zhao Gao, what is the crime for disturbing the emperor's carriage?"
"Your Majesty, I should be cut in half!"
Zhao Gao replied without thinking.
Tang Sui's eyes widened, he looked sideways at Ying Zheng, and said quickly: "No, Your Majesty, are you serious?"
"Come here, pull Tang Sui down. The stick has thirty spines!"
"No, Your Majesty, please take a look at the banner first. The news brought by the old minister is enough to atone for your sins!"
"oh?"
When Ying Zheng heard this, he immediately became interested, then picked up the cloth and unfolded it to look at it.
It's okay if you don't look at it. When you look at it, you suddenly turn your head and stare directly at Tang Sui: "Is this true?!"
"My veteran has sent someone to verify it, it's absolutely true!"
Tang Sui cupped his hands and replied.
"This bastard!"
Ying Zheng casually slapped the cloth strip in his hand on the table. The bright red cinnabar liquid splashed all over him, and most of the memorials on the table were stained red.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Didn't I just say a few words to you and arrange for you to go to Jiuyuan for training? You found a magnetite vein that was enough to change Da Qin, and you actually wanted to hide it from me?
And what about blast furnace steelmaking? You didn’t even tell me about such a big thing?
Meng Tian is the same, Fusu is ignorant, you, a general in the army, are also ignorant? It really makes me angry!
According to the news Tang Sui received, Fusu was smelting steel in Jiuyuan City, and he also made strange-looking railway tracks. He didn't know what their use was.
However, in Ying Zheng's eyes, no matter what Fusu did with this kind of steel that surpassed bronze, it was not as important as weapons.
Da Qin is in urgent need of reforming new weapons, such as the fire blunderbuss in his hand. If everyone has one, wouldn't it be awesome?
In Ying Zheng's heart, cold weapons are about to be eliminated, and hot weapons are the future of Great Qin.
Now that Fusu has refined steel, he should immediately make thermal weapons.
As for anything else, it's all a waste.
"Zhao Gao!"
"The old slave is here!"
Zhao Gao responded respectfully.
Although he did not see the content on the banner, anyone who could make Ying Zheng so angry would not end well.
He was a little curious now, who made Ying Zheng so angry?
But Ying Zheng said with a stern face: "Inform Wang Ling that we will not go to Shangjun and go straight to Jiuyuan County!"
"ah?"
Zhao Gao's expression froze.
If we go straight to Jiuyuan County, doesn't that mean we go directly to see Fusu?
Could it be that the person who made Ying Zheng angry was Fusu?
Thinking of this possibility, Zhao Gao was overjoyed and quickly said 'yes'.
However, before he could be happy for too long, Tang Sui outside the car suddenly thought of something and said tentatively: "Your Majesty, I have one more thing, I don't know whether to talk about it or not."
"If you have something to say, just say it. When did I ask you to stop saying it?"
Ying Zheng glanced over with a cold look, obviously in an extremely bad mood.
Tang Sui did not dare to hesitate and said quickly: "Your Majesty, Ying Ziying was executed in public by Young Master Hao."
"Um?"
Ying Zheng frowned: "What happened?"
"Back to Your Majesty, Ying Ziying colluded with foreigners and assassinated Young Master Hao. He was caught by the Security Bureau, tried by the Tingwei Mansion, and sentenced to death by hanging. All other foreigners were cut in half!"
"snort!"
Ying Zheng snorted coldly and said: "It is not a pity to die for colluding with foreign tribes. There is no need to report such things in the future. Kill them if they deserve it!"
"Here."
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(End of chapter)
