After the intelligence department was on track, Zuo Mengeng called Zuo Fu and Zuo Gui.
"That Xu Yaqing will not be willing to remain silent. There is no telling when she will come to our door. We cannot wait passively. So I plan to let you two go to Dongping."
Zuo Fu and Zuo Gui were all shocked when they heard Zuo Mengeng mentioned the White Lotus Saint again.
The enemy on the surface is never scary.
Even if the enemy is very powerful, just fight with real swords and guns.
But the poisonous arrows in the shadow are the most terrifying.
You don't know when she will give it to you.
Zuo Mengeng is right.
The best way to prevent danger from happening is to nip it in the bud.
However, Dongping is far away from Linqing and is not our own territory, so we have to be careful when doing things.
Intelligence, still intelligence.
Only by obtaining specific information about Xu Yaqing and Dongping Water Village can we formulate specific plans.
Zuo Fu thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll bring some good seedlings there."
He planned to use this action as a training opportunity.
Zuo Mengeng naturally had no objection.
"There is only one requirement. It doesn't matter if you can't find any clues, but you must not expose them."
Face to face, Xu Yaqing is definitely no match. Zuo Mengeng was afraid that he might scare a snake, so he made her run away.
In that case, it would be extremely difficult to find it again.
Zuo Fu and Zuo Gui took the orders. This matter will really take some time.
Zuo Mengeng found Chen Zhi again.
After long-term observation of this outstanding scholar, Zuo Mengeng had new ideas on how to use him.
"I plan to let you take charge of Zhuangzi. Old Uncle Qin is old after all, and he has no knowledge. It's okay to manage a small village, but he is a little unable to handle this big Zhuangzi with tens of thousands of people."
Chen Zhi was quite surprised when she heard that she was asked to work for Zhuangzi.
"Qianza, shouldn't I go to the battalion headquarters?"
Zuo Mengeng explained his thoughts.
"Here in the military camp, the relationship between superiors and subordinates is relatively simple, and the affairs are relatively simple. Even if there are not enough talents, it is always possible to cultivate them slowly. But over there in the Zhuangzi, where men, women, old and young, and parents are incompetent, they must be managed by capable people."
Chen Zhi thought about it quietly, but she was actually very moved.
He is a scholar, and his greatest wish is to obtain fame and become an official and pastor. No matter what, the nature of the literati is there.
Although he liked the military camp, he always felt out of place.
When I went to Zhuangzi, although I was just a steward of a village, the overall feeling was very similar to being a civil servant.
Zuo Mengeng also said: "Although it is just a Zhuangzi, there are always ten thousand people inside and outside. If you can manage these people well, you will be more than enough to be a prefect outside."
He really wasn't exaggerating.
Although many prefectures and counties have a population of hundreds of thousands, as a county magistrate or magistrate, it is not certain whether they can actually manage a population of more than 10,000.
The vast majority of officials, except for the Spring and Autumn Taxes, are actually very far away from the local government.
The more than 10,000 people Chen Zhi was supposed to manage were actually more than 10,000 people, and they all had to obey his management.
If he can do this job well, there will be absolutely no problem in serving as a prefect-level official in the future.
Chen Zhi also understood and readily agreed.
But he also has a condition.
"Qianzuo, can you ask Jiang Wei to come over and help me? After all, I'm only one person, so I'm afraid I won't be able to do it all."
Zuo Mengeng didn't agree.
"Jiang Wei wants to go to the Industrial Bureau, and he has a lot of things to take care of. You can only rely on yourself here. In addition, after the school has trained talents, you will be able to choose first."
Zuozhuang Academy not only teaches children, but also adults.
However, Zuo Mengeng does not need to take action in teaching the adults, it is the responsibility of others.
People who are taught by this kind of people will not have very solid knowledge, but they are still enough to be used as helpers. Maybe in the future, through practical training, some talents will emerge.
Although there are currently more than 100 scholars, there is still a huge talent gap.
Zuo Mengeng had no choice but to drive these people away like donkeys.
Although Chen Zhi was very distressed, she still took office because she could realize her wish to become an official.
At the same time, Zuo Menggeng integrated his industrial departments and established an Industrial Bureau for unified management.
Smelters, gunsmiths, glass factories, clothing factories, and gunpowder factories were all under the Bureau of Industry.
Zuo Menggeng, the first director of the Industrial Bureau, selected Jiang Wei.
Compared with other scholars, Jiang Wei has one very good quality.
That means you can get along with anyone without having a condescending mentality. He also has a certain interest in industrial manufacturing and is willing to delve into it in depth.
A leader in charge of industry who knows nothing about industry will definitely fail.
Jiang Wei had no idea that he would become the leader of a large department just because of his personality.
Zuo Menggeng's regard for him is truly profound, and he is very attentive to management.
"Boy, how do you arrange this for me?"
Bi Maokang cleared his mind and began to ask for help.
It was too late for Zuo Menggeng to offer sacrifices to this powerful man.
"Mr. Dongjiao, you are always a firearms expert, so you still have to take care of the manufacturing of muskets. What do you think the director of the gun factory is like?"
Bi Maokang blew his beard and stared.
"Am I worse than that scholar Jiang Wei? I actually let a junior sit on my head."
Zuo Mengeng smiled bitterly and had no choice but to explain.
"Jiang Wei is just an administrative official and is only responsible for the daily management of the Industrial Bureau. He doesn't know how to make muskets. You are different. You are the best firearms expert in the Ming Dynasty. Why should you use all your talents?"
Having said this, Bi Maokang's face became a little brighter, and at the same time he felt a little regretful.
"Hey, the musket you made is so ingenious that it is unparalleled in the world. When I go, I will just follow the rules and pick up the wisdom of others."
This kind of unprogressive thinking is unacceptable.
Zuo Mengeng hurriedly said: "Mr. Dongjiao, the flash cap gun is far from perfect. There is still a lot of room for improvement."
He took Bi Maokang to a workshop.
There are not many people here, it is very quiet, only a few craftsmen are thinking about something.
"These were craftsmen who used to make chain armor. Because our army does not need armor, I asked them to try making a new thing."
Bi Maokang saw these craftsmen trying to draw the red-hot steel into wire, but they tried and failed and never succeeded.
"What is the use of this thing?"
Talk to experts, drawings work best.
Zuo Mengeng drew the appearance of a breech-loading gun on the paper.
"You have seen the reed, which has great elasticity and can provide driving force for the firing hammer. The junior is thinking, can elastic steel be made like this? If it can be made, it will be Can’t we just change the loading method?”
Zuo Mengeng took out a bullet and gestured: "At that time, we can put the flash cap in the bullet, load the bullet from the position where the bolt is pulled, and then use the spring-driven firing pin to fire the bullet? What if? If it succeeds, will the shooting speed be faster than today's flash cap guns?"
Bi Maokang held the drawing in his hand, his whole body trembling.
When he saw the flash cap gun, he thought that this was the end of all firearms in the world.
But he didn't expect that Zuo Mengeng would once again open his eyes.
There is no need to pour gunpowder from the muzzle, and there is no need to use a purge rod to feed the bullet into the bottom of the barrel.
Just pull the bolt, put the bullet into the chamber, push the bolt up and shoot directly.
This is actually three times faster than the firing rate of a flash cap gun...
He already understood the structure of the gun bolt.
It's very simple, and it's not impossible to make.
There is only one difficulty, and that is the spring.
When these craftsmen made chain mail in the past, they drew wrought iron and then woven it into armor.
Although they are both wire drawing, wrought iron wire drawing and fine steel wire drawing are completely different.
They've been experimenting with this for over a month and it keeps failing.
Fortunately, Zuo Mengeng has always been supportive and will give him whatever he wants, so that these people can continue the experiment with peace of mind.
Unlike craftsmen, Bi Maokang is a man of culture.
He knew that since the reed was elastic, the spring drawn by Zuo Mengeng must also be elastic.
As long as it is built, the flash cap gun can be further upgraded.
This prospect made Bi Maokang's blood boil. Without saying a word, he took over the workshop and was personally responsible for the development of springs.
Seeing Bi Maokang rolling up his sleeves and getting together with a group of craftsmen, concentrating on drawing threads, Zuo Mengeng showed a smile that showed his scheming was successful.
Lovely weapon master, no matter how many doubts you had before, from now on you can only swim in the ocean of innovation provided by this young master.
Do you think you're done after making the spring?
Want to get a metal bullet casing?
Do you want to get the repeater after getting out the metal bullet casing?
The weapons were so complicated and far away that this old man would probably be stuck in them for the rest of his life.
However, Zuo Mengeng didn't have much time to pay attention to Bi Maokang's progress.
Good news came from the glass factory. After more than two months of construction, the opening day was finally here.
This company, which has been given high hopes, is related to the fate of many people.
As his biggest financial source, Zuo Mengeng did not dare to neglect it. I specially took a few days to personally take charge of the preparations for the opening of the glass factory.
