There are more than a hundred craftsmen, which is not a small number. Including the apprentices he brought with him, the scale was considerable.
Although it is still far away from Zuo Mengeng’s expectations. But he also knew that this was the maximum that Hou Xun could do.
Because according to common sense, these craftsmen are enough to supply a town's weapons and equipment.
Who would have thought that these craftsmen were only prepared for one battalion, and it was not enough.
After Zhang Jimeng left, Zuo Mengeng came to the craftsmen.
They are all poor people, and everyone is very nervous when they come to a strange place.
After all, life and death are decided by people, and there is no choice.
Zuo Mengeng didn't show any kind attitude.
After all, he still doesn’t know what the character of these craftsmen is. Putting down your airs hastily can easily make these people lose their awe.
Whether it's an army or an organization, authority is very important.
"Who is the blacksmith?"
Actually, there was no need to answer, as several very burly people came out.
The leader said: "Master, we are from Luanzhou Iron Smelting Works. There are a total of twelve blacksmiths and twenty-two apprentices."
It can be counted as thirty-four blacksmiths, which is a good number.
Zuo Mengeng asked them to step aside and asked, "Who is the gunsmith?"
There were not many people this time, a total of four gunsmiths and four apprentices.
Among craftsmen, gunsmiths have the highest technical requirements, so they are very precious.
These gunsmiths are from the Bureau of Arms.
"That year, Wang Gong's factory exploded, causing heavy casualties. Since then, the court has stopped working. Official, our craftsmanship is good, and we promise not to play tricks."
After the explosion at Wang Gong Factory, the Ming court was frightened.
Since then, the scale of Wang Gong Factory has never been restored, and the Duibingzang Bureau has also followed suit to reduce production.
Especially after the incident at Chaoguan Wharf, Chongzhen recalled eunuchs, tax supervisors, and mining supervisors from all over the country, and at the same time dismissed the errands of various departments and bureaus in the palace.
This gave Hou Xun a chance. After bribing the eunuch, he brought out four gunsmiths from the Military Staff Bureau.
"If you work hard at my place, you will never be short of food and money."
Several gunsmiths were grateful and went aside.
A medicine maker is a person who makes gunpowder.
Most of them come from Wang Gong Factory, as well as from pharmacies in various places.
Although the quality of black gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty was not good, it was not difficult to prepare it, so it was easy to train pharmacists.
Among the craftsmen who come here, the largest number of craftsmen make cold weapons.
After all, it is a craft that has been passed down for thousands of years, and it is also the most in demand part of the Ming Dynasty's army, so there are an overwhelming number of such craftsmen.
Facing these people, Zuo Mengeng spoke openly and honestly.
"I have no use for you and others here."
Just one sentence frightened those craftsmen.
"My lord, I am the best at making armor. Even the generals wear the mountain armor I made."
Zuo Mengeng thought for a moment and asked, "Then can you make chain armor?"
Not only this person, but also several craftsmen nodded their heads for fear of being abandoned.
"Do you know how to draw wrought iron?"
A few of them stood up, less than a third. But this already made Zuo Mengeng very happy, and he said to these people: "Then you guys can keep them, I will be of great use."
As for the remaining craftsmen, Zuo Mengeng did not intend to waste them.
"You have two places to go. One is to learn other skills, and the other is to follow the arrangements and work elsewhere."
The place that needs craftsmen here is not just the army, so Zuo Mengeng is only worried that there are not enough craftsmen, and he is not afraid that he will not be able to arrange it.
The craftsmen made a fuss for a while, but they all chose to stay.
They all came to Linqing from other places and were not familiar with the place. What they feared most was being separated.
Then there will be no friends.
Stay here, everyone joins the group to stay warm, and if anything happens, we can discuss it.
Zuo Mengeng didn't care.
Although the choice of these craftsmen disrupted his plan, it would be better to recruit them later.
The arrival of the blacksmith was what Zuo Mengeng needed most.
After all, if he wanted to make glass, he needed to build a furnace. The blacksmith is an expert in this area and can be of great help.
The other craftsmen were led by Huang Zongxi, Zhou You and others to allocate residences. Zuo Mengeng was the only blacksmith left behind.
"What do you call me brother?"
The leading craftsman was startled and bowed repeatedly.
"I don't dare to ask as an official. The younger one is called Yang Gui, and the older ones call me Yang Mazi."
This man was not tall, his length and width were almost the same, and his whole body was full of tendons. From the first glance, he looked like he had been doing manual labor all year round. The pockmarks on his face are also the source of his nickname.
"I have worked at the Luanzhou Iron Smelting Works for thirty years, and my craftsmanship is quite good, and everyone can trust me."
This Yang Gui was neither well-developed limbs nor simple-minded. On the contrary, he was quite smart. He explained everything Zuo Mengeng wanted to know in just a few words.
Think about it, even being the leader of a blacksmith requires a certain amount of ability and sophistication.
Anyway, they were just some craftsmen, and Zuo Mengeng was not afraid of their tricks, so he said: "Well, from now on, Brother Yang will be the director of the iron smelting institute."
The blacksmiths were greatly surprised, and Yang Gui was even more frightened.
"Master, I don't dare. We craftsmen are just working, so we just have to obey."
There is no doubt about Zuo Mengeng.
"I don't trust the people I employ here, and I don't trust the people I suspect. If I really get an official here, but he doesn't know how to make iron, what's the use besides getting in the way?"
The blacksmiths who said this all had tears in their eyes and were extremely heartbroken.
In the past, when working elsewhere, what was the difference between these people and slaves?
Those officials bossed them around, shouting and reprimanding them lightly, and scolding and punishing them was commonplace.
Even if their wages were tainted, they had nowhere to complain.
I originally thought that when I came here, it would be the same as before, just work.
As a result, the young official did not put any management on them, but let them manage by themselves.
This alone made the blacksmiths relax and fall in love with this place.
Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Zuo Mengeng talked more.
"I don't have many rules here, but they are very strict. First, you must pay attention to confidentiality. No matter what happens in the iron smelting plant, you are not allowed to talk to outsiders."
The blacksmiths looked at each other, wondering what a place where iron was made should be kept secret.
But their fate is in Zuo Mengeng's hands, and they can only obey their orders.
"Don't worry, Lord, I will watch carefully. Whoever dares not to take the Lord's words seriously, I will be the first one not to do so."
Zuo Mengeng regarded him as a military order, and continued: "There are not many things here, you just have to work. Of course, if you do well, you will be rewarded."
The blacksmiths were very happy to hear this.
It's really not a big deal. In the past, it was common for them to be ordered by officials to do private work.
Since Yang Gui is in charge, he has to stand up for everyone.
"My lord, we brought our families here and lost all our belongings. I don't know..."
This is asking for settlement fees, and it is also testing the authenticity of Zuo Menggeng's rules.
Zuo Mengeng waved, and Zuo Rong came over with a wooden box and opened it in front of everyone. It was filled with silver.
When had the blacksmiths ever seen so much money? The sound of swallowing could be clearly heard.
When Zuo Rong handed out the silver, Zuo Mengeng said: "The settlement fee of ten taels per person is just for your expenses. As for food, clothing, housing and transportation, everything has been prepared here. You can move in directly later. If there is a shortage again, report it to Yang Gui, and Yang Gui will talk to me."
In a few words, the rules were set.
All the blacksmiths were very happy and took the silver and put it away carefully.
They got a sum of money before they even started working, which made them completely fall in love with this place.
"You are here, you are paid one tael of silver per month, and you are responsible for food and shelter."
Explain the remuneration clearly first, so that the craftsmen can feel at ease.
Sure enough, everyone was very satisfied with this treatment.
The salary of one tael of silver is actually not high, but there is no additional cost for food and accommodation here, which saves a lot of money. If the officials here don't withhold money anymore, it will be a day like a fairy.
Next, is the issue Zuo Mengeng is most concerned about.
"Can the furnace you built be used to make steel directly?"
When they heard this, even though they knew it was disrespectful, the craftsmen couldn't help laughing.
Another craftsman, Chen Erzhu, was quick to talk.
"My lord, how can you make steel directly in a furnace? You may not be able to get steel once even if you make it a hundred times."
Zuo Mengeng understood.
The temperature of the iron smelting furnaces in this era could not be reached, so steel could not be obtained through smelting.
In other words, what is smelted in the furnace is generally wrought iron.
"What if we built a furnace that could make steel?"
With just one word, the blacksmiths exploded.
"How is that possible?"
"The official is joking. Steel can only be produced by hard work. Molten steel comes out of a furnace. That is the magic trick of the gods."
Among the crowd's confusion, Zuo Mengeng's expression was extremely serious.
"This is the secret that I said."
The craftsmen stopped laughing and lost all the function of language.
Zuo Mengeng's expression told them that he was not joking.
But if this is true, and the technology can be used to smelt steel, what is the concept?
They blacksmiths understand the value too well.
For the sake of this technology, it would not be an exaggeration to destroy the entire nation.
