"It's nothing."
"You said again..."
.........
"I have a rhinoceros. How about you help me make a suit of horse armor suitable for it when you have time."
Ou Yexia was heartbroken and asked carefully, "Sir, are you using bronze or iron?"
"Of course it's iron, only poor people use bronze."
Ou Yexia was about to cry but had no tears. "Sir, there is such a shortage of iron ore now. Building such a huge horse armor would really consume too much copper and iron."
Yang Qian stared at his performance blankly, his eyes showing the look of a clown, "Pretend, keep pretending, you will cry to me all day long, the copper and iron are not yours, why are you so stingy?"
"General Yang, I have also seen this rhinoceros. It is a rare rhinoceros, and it is extremely talented. It is only half-grown now. When it grows up, it will consume more copper and iron. Of course, if you use the steel filling method, it will be fine. You can accept it without any difficulty, if it is cold forging..."
Ou Yexia muttered with his eyes, swallowed his saliva and said carefully, "If it is a cold forging method, it will not only consume a lot of copper and iron, but also require all my apprentices here to exert their strength, which will delay the construction period. Don't pull the iron knife." ?”
Yang Qian was stunned.
That's right, the little rhinoceros has not grown up yet. When it grows up, although the mountain armor can be enlarged, the plate armor in key parts cannot be used again.
"How much steel does a set cost based on Xiaoxi's current body shape?"
"That's enough for hundreds of iron knives." Ou Yexia said displeased.
"Hiss~~~!" Yang Qian took a breath. It took him so long to get more than 500 iron knives. One Xiaoxi was worth less than half of the amount, or even more. This made He had some concerns and retreated.
After thinking for a while, Yang Qian smiled and said, "Master Ou Ye is right. Now we should go all out to forge the iron sword. We must accumulate enough weapons before the next war."
Ou Yexia breathed a long sigh of relief. She was not afraid of this kid's sudden whim, but was afraid that he would be in trouble if he had to use a huge amount of copper and iron.
"How much time do you have left for me?"
"Hmph, how do I know? It can be as short as more than a month, or as long as the end of the year." Yang intervened and estimated that the environment was created for them. It would be great if they could live up to their expectations and turn the world upside down.
Ou Yexia took out the notebook from the blacksmith shop, proofread it carefully, and said, "General Yang, we don't have much copper and iron. According to the current progress, it is estimated that we can only last about half a month."
Yang Qian's eyes narrowed and he sneered, "The military camp has been purchasing copper and iron for a while. The amount of copper and iron sold by Fujiko Jin alone is huge. How much did you swallow, old boy?"
Ou Yexia looked depressed and asked Master Ouye for help. If there was any problem, it would be the old boy.
"Baiyunguan is reinforced, almost every inch is made of steel, and the warehouse is almost covered with spider webs, so Sutie Dao has only forged more than 500 pieces."
Yang Gan patted his head. It felt so good when he used it. Who would have thought that iron would be consumed so much, but there was no place to buy it for a while.
You said, if you buy a little bit, the private sector still has some, but if you want to buy in large quantities, it is basically impossible for the private sector to have so much iron. Once they are taken out, wouldn't they tell the government that they have secretly hoarded iron ore?
After his face changed several times, Yang Gan suddenly had an idea when he looked at Ou Yexia. He was a blacksmith, and he must know the source of iron ore better than others. Yang Gan's face suddenly became friendly, "Master Ou Ye..."
"Stop it, stop it~~~ I can't be a master, it's better for you to call me old boy." Ou Yexia said with a look on his face. I have already seen through your expression.
Yang Gan was caught off guard, with a philistine look on his face, "Hey, Master Ou Ye is joking, what's your name, old boy? How could I forget that, as a famous blacksmith, you don't know where this iron ore comes from?"
“Iron ore is of course mined from iron ores.”
...........
"Nonsense, I just want to ask, are there any iron mines near here?"
"Of course there are, and there are quite a lot of them. Some small iron mines are in the hands of scholar-bureaucrats, and almost all large iron mines are in the hands of the government."
"General Yang is now the governor of a county. Isn't it easy to get iron ore? It's just that it's the busy farming season, so finding people to mine is a big problem."
Ou Yexia is very familiar with the nearby iron ore. The iron ore is produced in different places and has different contents.
To be honest, the iron ore in Yuntong County can only be regarded as poor ore, but it cannot support the large quantity. It is just that the fuel consumption of iron making is too high, and the yield is pitiful.
Yang Gan is not short of people now, but the money he earns from working in his coal mines belongs to him. Once some slaves are assigned to dig iron ore and provide iron ore for the army, won't he suffer heavy losses?
Although it is our own country, and although I am the son of the Xia Kingdom, the accounts are not calculated that way. Now there is an army of fifty thousand. In case of conscription, it will be one hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand, or two hundred thousand.
The iron cost of these armies alone can consume you to death. I remember in my previous life, many people said that they would buy luxury goods when they were rich.
What about being in love with V, what about being scolded by politicians, and even national rich people directly speaking publicly, yachts, luxury houses and the like are considered luxury goods.
Yang Qian now really understands what luxury is, and the army is a luxury. With his current wealth, it is not difficult to support an army of tens or hundreds of thousands, but what is difficult is their equipment.
To use the simplest comparison, if one iron sword weighs five kilograms, 50,000 soldiers will need 50,000. So based on the steel extraction rate of this steel filling method, at least 250,000 to 300,000 kilograms of iron ingots are needed. , equivalent to no less than 500,000 kilograms of natural ore, which is 250 tons of iron ore.
Yang Qian now estimates that there is not much iron produced in the country, but the steel filling method must be kept strictly confidential and must not be spread to the court, because he can control the border army.
Once it spreads to the court, there is no guarantee that it will be elaborated. If all the princely states use the steel filling method, wouldn't it be like shooting oneself in the foot.
After coming back to his senses, Yang Gan's eyes were sharp and he said calmly, "Master Ouye, I don't want those advanced technologies I came up with to come out from your subordinates' mouths. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, General Yang. All the craftsmen here are locals. They work in the army. We understand what should be said and what should not be said."
To be able to serve as the chief forging master in the army for a long time, he is definitely not a soft-hearted person. If it is leaked, the person who leaks will be executed in the least, and in the worst case, he will be imprisoned, so no one will betray the army for profit.
Not everyone could be a traitor in ancient times, and the core information was still in the hands of Yang Qian and Ou Yexia.
If someone could instigate rebellion or kidnap Ou Yexia under his nose, then Yang Qian wouldn't have to fight and would just settle down as a rich man.
The problem is, if Yang Qian is willing to live in a corner, then someone must be willing. I am afraid that many people will not believe it. With the king's favor, sometimes excessive love will not only kill people, but also make people jealous.
After putting aside everything here for the time being, Yang Qian found Tian Zong and told him to pay attention to the information from the grassland, because he was afraid that something important might happen to Fujiko Jin.
In the past, Yang Gan's job was very simple, but now it is different. As the commander-in-chief of the border army, he has to deal with many things.
Arriving at a small side room, which was where Ran Jing stayed, Yang Gan twitched his nose, shook his head and said to himself, "Sissy."
There is obviously a kind of fragrance here, which is not like a place where a man would live. It is just a baptism experienced in the previous life. There are many sissies, transvestites and the like. When he thinks of Ran Jing's special hobbies, Yang Qian can't help but shudder. Aversion to cold.
"Tap tap tap~~~!"
At this time, Ran Jing came in from outside wearing armor and said with a smile, "General, are you looking for me?"
"Well, that's right." Yang Qian found a case and sat down.
"Tell me, how is the cohesion in the army now?"
Yang Qianyi pointed out that the outline he compiled is easy to remember, listen to and understand. Even people who cannot read a single word can understand it as long as they are not idiots.
Why should you join the army? What benefits can the army bring to you? What would a country be like if it didn't have an army? What would it be like if the country was strong?
As long as the soldiers understand these principles, everyone's purpose will be consistent. When an army works up and down and has the same goal, it will be invincible and invincible. This is the soul of the army.
Think about it, what would it look like to have a multi-service joint army with highly unified actions, well-fed, well-sleeped and well-trained troops, and equipped with the steel weapons developed by Yang Gan?
Regardless of whether it is against the nomads or the vassal states of the Central Plains, the only outcome is a ~~~~ dimensionality reduction attack.
Imagine, when the enemy is holding bronze or iron weapons, and our side is all steel weapons, after the two sides fight, they are shocked to find that the weapons in their hands have been chopped off by the opponent's knife. Isn't it a dimensionality reduction strike?
"General, everything goes well. The amount of training for the 50,000-strong army is too much. However, I asked the Polu Army to explain everyone's doubts in private. Once integrated, it is unlikely that some unscrupulous people will appear in the larger environment. ." Ran Jing said respectfully.
Yang Qian naturally picked up the water glass from the table and drank it. This damn weather is really hot and makes people feel irritable.
"How about it? I'll give you the credit you applied for. Now you are also a captain."
"Thank you, General, for your cultivation."
Yang Gan waved his hand carelessly, "It's not that I cultivated you, but that your merits are enough to serve as a school captain. With good training, the troops you command in the future may far surpass the current frontier army."
When the superiors become more and more comfortable, Yang Qian naturally draws the pie. This is what every superior will do, but some superiors will fulfill their promises and some will not. Obviously Yang Qian will not be the latter. , he can afford it.
Ran Jing's heart trembled, and he unconsciously had the feeling that a person who is a confidant will die. "In the end, the general will have to devote himself to death."
"Ran Jing, make no mistake, your allegiance will always be to the country and the nation, not to me personally. I am going to go back to Yuntong. I am relieved about Tian Zong, but you still need to pay close attention to the training. Once caught, you must not relax, understand?"
"Don't worry, General!"
