In the hall of Prince Yan's Mansion, three slaves stood cautiously in the center of the hall. Zhao Bin sat on the leader's seat and looked at the three people standing below and asked: "What are your names and where are you from?"
One of them, a middle-aged man in his forties, said tremblingly: "To tell you what the prince is saying, my name is Sun Fu'an. These two are my sons. The eldest son is called Sun Wen, and the younger son is called Sun Wu."
Zhao Bin originally thought that these three people looked somewhat similar, but he did not expect that they were actually a father and son. "You are a carpenter and a skilled person, how could you end up selling yourself into slavery?"
"My hometown was once captured by the Huns, and I had no choice but to flee to Guanzhong. My wife got sick and died on the way. Later, I found a job in Chang'an, making furniture for the nobles. I accidentally damaged the precious wood of the nobles. The nobles I asked Xiao to compensate, and he paid all his belongings, but it was still not enough, so he had no choice but to sell himself into slavery."
"What kind of wood is so precious?" Zhao Bin asked curiously.
"It's golden nanmu."
"Okay, it's really not cheap." Zhao Bin touched his nose and said helplessly.
"I have said before that as long as you serve me for three years, I will give you your freedom, give you household registration, and allocate you fields and cattle and sheep. Here are some drawings. You can see if you can build it. "Zhao Bin handed the dismantled blueprint to Wang Wu who was standing aside. Wang Wu walked up to the man and handed the blueprint to the man.
Sun Fu'an carefully took the drawings, looked around and said, "Back to my lord, these things don't look difficult. As long as you are given small tools, they can be made."
"Okay, I have one more thing. There are hundreds of people coming with you. I want you to teach them how to do these things. Can you do it?" Zhao Bin continued.
Sun Fuan pondered for a while and said, "Back to the prince, the prince treats the little people well. The little ones will definitely try their best to teach them, but the little people can't guarantee that they can all learn."
Zhao Bin smiled and said: "I understand what you mean. You mean there must be some people inside who are stupid and cannot learn, right?"
When Sun Fu'an saw Zhao Bin's smile, he felt like a spring breeze, and his cautious demeanor at first became more relaxed: "Xiao Ren is not saying that they are stupid, but I think people are different. Some people Some people are suitable for blacksmithing, some are suitable for being carpenters, some are suitable for farming, and some are suitable for raising horses.”
Listening to Sun Fu'an's words, Zhao Bin became more and more interested in him. He could now conclude that this person was definitely a thoughtful person, and his words were actually the theory of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude.
"First teach me as much as I can about these people. Once you have taught me, I will let you be the leader of these hundreds of people. As for those who really can't learn, you can arrange other things for them. Anyway, you carpenters are not just It's technical work, but also physical work, right? As for what tools are needed and how many are needed, you can tell Mr. Cao later and let him prepare it for you."
When Sun Fu'an heard that he was going to be the leader, he was a little surprised but also a little panicked: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will try my best to do it, and I will not let you down."
"In addition, your two sons, let them be responsible for leading the women to make this kind of wooden pole." Zhao Bin threw a one-foot-long wooden pole to the man. "Remember, the sizes must be the same."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, my two children have been helping villains since they were young. I have also taught them seven or eight points about this carpenter's man. But it is against the rules for a woman to be a carpenter," Sun Fu'an said.
Cao Li interjected from the side: "What the prince says are the rules. You can do whatever the prince asks you to do."
At this time, Sun Fu'an knew that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed and said, "Yes, yes, please forgive me, please forgive me. I know I was wrong."
"Get up, I don't know what the rules are for you carpenters, but I want to know, based on your experience, whether a woman can make this kind of wooden pole." Zhao Bin said slowly.
Sun Fu'an stood up slowly, looked at the wooden pole in his hand carefully, and then said: "This wooden pole is smooth and straight, but it is not too difficult to make, so there shouldn't be any big problems."
"As long as the problem is minor, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me at any time. Okay, you guys go down first. Make a sample of these things on the drawing today, and show it to me later."
"It's your lord, I'll take my leave." After saying that, Sun Fu'an and his two sons exited the hall. Under the leadership of the guards, they came to the courtyard next door where the rakes were previously built. In the courtyard, there were wood, saws, chisels and other tools. . Sun Fu'an looked at the drawings in his hands, and then started working with his two sons.
After Sun Fu'an and his son left, Zhao Bin looked at Cao Li and asked, "Old Cao, how is the production of components at the smelting plant going?"
Cao Li put down the tea cup in his hand and replied: "Your Majesty, after the casting of farm tools is completed, all parts have begun to be stepped up production. There should be more than a hundred sets produced now, and each piece has been checked for size, and the unqualified ones have been re-made. It’s been recast.”
"First cast five thousand sets as spares, and we'll talk about the rest later. I'll have someone bring two sets over later."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Cao Li responded.
"In addition, inform Wei Xiang and Zhou Hu that they should bring all the people back two days before the New Year's Day. The New Year's Day is coming soon, so let everyone celebrate the New Year first. These minerals should be enough to support them for a while. The rest will be discussed after the holiday. .”
"It's the prince. I'm humble enough to send someone to deliver the message." Cao Li responded and went out to explain the matter to an attendant.
After working hard for two hours, Sun Fu'an and his son next door finally built all the wooden structural parts that Zhao Bin wanted. Sun Fu'an looked at the parts in front of him and knew from his experience that these parts needed to be assembled. Together, he came to the guard guard and whispered: "Master Jun, please inform the prince, everything is ready."
The guard took a look at the various components on display and said, "Okay, just wait a moment, I'll report to the prince right away."
The guard trotted all the way back to the palace from the next door: "Your Majesty, the three carpenters have made what you asked for."
Zhao Bin was overjoyed and said, "Let them bring the things over."
"Yes" the guard trotted to the next door again.
After a while, several things were placed on the table in front of Zhao Bin: rack, crossbow, operating rod, arrow box, and arrow string. As a man of science and engineering, Zhao Bin easily assembled several items together, while Wang Wu, Cao Li and others watched curiously.
"My lord, these are different from the crossbow arrows usually used in military camps." Wang Wu asked curiously.
"Of course it's different. This one is called Zhuge Liannu. Let's try it in the backyard." Zhao Bin led a few people to the backyard.
Wang Wu ran into the room and took out the ten arrows he had prepared earlier. Zhao Bin took the arrows and put them into the quiver one by one.
Zhao Bin picked up the crossbow. It felt a little heavy and the stability was not very good. Zhao Bin tried his best to keep his balance and faced a big tree in the courtyard where he often enjoyed the shade. He pushed the operating rod continuously. In two or three breaths, ten arrows shot out quickly. Although the accuracy of shooting is only 30%, on a real battlefield, accuracy is not needed, large-scale coverage is important.
"Holy shit, your lord, this crossbow is so powerful, it can actually fire ten arrows in a row." Wang Wu exclaimed with a look of surprise on his face. In fact, this is not Wang Wu's fault. Although the arrows he had seen in the army had a relatively long range, they had a big flaw in the stringing and arrowing. Because ordinary crossbows are more willful, when pulling the bowstring, you need to place the crossbow on the ground, step on it with both feet, and then pull the string with both hands. The crossbow string can get stuck on the trigger, and then pick up the crossbow. Aim and launch. After some operation, the shooting speed is not as fast as that of ordinary bows and arrows. However, although ordinary bows and arrows shoot faster than crossbows, it takes at least three months to train an archer, while crossbows can be used by almost ordinary people, and their accuracy is relatively high. The function of the repeating crossbow not only reduces the time to reload the arrow, but also greatly increases the shooting speed. The only disadvantage is that the accuracy is insufficient, but when facing the enemy's large-scale siege, the accuracy is not important.
Cao Li also said excitedly: "Your Majesty is really powerful. With this repeating crossbow, even if we face ten times the number of people attacking the city, it shouldn't be a problem."
In fact, Zhao Bin knew in his heart that Zhuge Liannu only added a defensive method, and relying solely on Zhuge Liannu could not guarantee the safety of the city. To be truly powerful, you still need to make firearms, but it cannot be completed in a short time, so you can only start with simple ones.
Zhao Bin handed the serial crossbow to Wang Wu for him to try. Wang Wu rubbed his hands, took the serial crossbow with excitement, reloaded the arrows into the quiver, and fired again at the big tree.
Ling'er looked at Zhao Bin with a longing expression and said, "Your Majesty, I also want to try this."
Looking at Ling'er's eager look, Zhao Bin could only agree, but Ling'er was a girl after all, and her hands were not that strong. The repeating crossbow still had a certain weight. Wang Wu and others saw that the repeating crossbow that Ling'er raised was shaking. , couldn't help but feel scared, and hurriedly took a few steps back. Zhao Bin saw this and said, "You guys go to the front hall first." After hearing this, Cao Lihe and Wang Wu wisely left the backyard.
Zhao Bin stood behind Ling'er, raised one hand to support Ling'er's arm, and held Ling'er's other hand with one hand to push the operating lever.
"Swish, swish, swish" After a few operations, the arrows were shot out from the quiver one by one.
"How about you want to try again?"
"Don't try it, it's too heavy."
"I'll have someone make a simple, smaller one for you later." Zhao Bin said and kissed Ling'er's neck lightly.
Ling'er felt itchy, and subconsciously shrank her neck and said coquettishly: "Your Majesty, please stop making trouble in broad daylight."
The two of them murmured a few words in a low voice and then walked towards the front hall.
In the front hall, Sun Fu'an and his son stood waiting. Zhao Bin took Ling'er back to the front hall. Zhao Bin said: "Master Sun, I am very satisfied with what you made today. This tael of silver is a reward for you. During this period before the New Year's Day, you will teach others How to make these wooden pieces.”
Sun Fu'an knelt on the ground, and his two sons, Sun Wen and Sun Wu, also knelt down and said, "I thank the prince for the reward, I thank the prince for the reward."
"Get up, you don't have to kneel all the time in the future, I don't like it, and it's hard for me to talk to you like this," Zhao Bin said with a smile.
"Yes, I will obey the prince in everything." Sun Fu'an stood up and said. After Zhao Bin explained some other matters, Sun Fu'an and his son resigned.
