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Zhao Mengji is relatively young, his thinking is more active, and his memory is relatively good, he seems to remember something, and suddenly said: "My lord, my subordinates remember, those colorful big spider mines, there seem to be some in the warehouse of Weizhen Fort. If the gear on it is not damaged, the subordinates may be able to see something when they go back and take a look. ”

Xu Xingxia was overjoyed and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure that there are really such mines in the warehouse of Weizhen Fort?" ”

Zhao Mengji said uncertainly: "It should be right, my subordinates have seen it several times." However, decades have passed, and these colorful spider mines should be unusable. If you want to use mines, you'll have to recreate them. ”

Xu Xingxia said happily: "It doesn't matter if the mines can't be used, I can't use them for the time being." The point is, how do you figure out how to reduce the scale of the gears and transfer them to the top of the firebolt? I need a firecracker that can also be fired on a rainy day. ”

Zhao Mengji nodded and said, "What the adults mean, my subordinates understand." Since there are ready-made ones to refer to, the subordinates think that they are still relatively quick to study. ”

Xu Xingxia said to Zhao Mengji expectantly: "Old Zhao, do you have this confidence?" ”

Zhao Mengji hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer. He had some confidence that he could study this flintlock pistol, but it was not appropriate to say it. He was worried that he would speak too much and that it would lead to the opposite effect. What if the research fails? Wouldn't they be held accountable from above? That's not a good thing.

Liu Guangliang suddenly interjected, and said with appreciation: "Lord Baihu, Zhao Mengji's Lao Tzu once worked in the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War, and he is the oldest qualified craftsman in the Ordnance Bureau, and Zhao Shizhen, the director of the Ordnance Bureau, also values it very much. When Zhao Shizhen introduced Lu Mi Gong, he Lao Tzu also participated in it, and personally imitated the first Lu Mi Gong, which was commended by Zhao Shizhen. It's a pity that his son later offended the ministers, and the whole family was sent to the border and arrived in our Ningxia Town. The subordinates thought that it was still possible for this flintlock pistol to be made. ”

Xu Xingxia suddenly looked at Zhao Mengji in surprise and joy.

Zhao Shizhen?

The name is a bit familiar.

The Ming Dynasty's imitation of the Lu Mi gun from overseas seems to have been invented by Zhao Shizhen! Since Liu Guangliang also said so, it is right. Among the several great inventors in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhao Shizhen should be regarded as one, and he is also a relatively early one. It's a pity that he died five years ago (1611 AD, the thirty-ninth year of Wanli).

The old craftsman in front of him is actually the descendant of Zhao Shizhen's subordinates? Yes, yes, Lao Tzu definitely picked up the treasure this time. With Zhao Shizhen's ability, he should leave a lot of relevant information. After he died, the people under him should get a lot of benefits. Those valuable research materials, his subordinates, should have preserved some of them.

As long as this information is collated and enough research funds are invested, it is certainly possible to make sharp firearms. With his own advanced theories and experienced craftsmen, if he can't make a more advanced musket, he is really ashamed of his identity as a traverser.

Xu Xingxia said slowly: "That...... Zhao Mengji, I have also heard of your father's name, and I hope that you can be as good as your father. ”

Zhao Mengji was encouraged by Xu Xingxia, his face turned slightly red, and he said a little excitedly: "My lord, my subordinates are willing to give it a try." ”

Xu Xingxia said with satisfaction: "Okay! You're still young, you have to have such a drive! ”

He happily took out four ingots of silver weighing about five taels, and each of them gave one ingot, and said slowly: "I know that everyone's family life is very difficult, and everyone will take these silver first, and improve the life of the family first." In the future, as long as everyone does their best to build weapons for Niujiaodun, I promise that I will not treat everyone badly. If you help me find out the firing mechanism of the flintlock pistol, I'll reward you. ”

When the four craftsmen got the silver, they were naturally happy, and Liu Guangliang was no exception. The key is not the five taels of silver, but the fact that Xu Xingxia has a long-term demand for weapons. This means that these craftsmen, for a period of time in the future, will have a little extra income, and they will no longer have to live a miserable life. That's certainly a good thing.

Xu Xingxia said again: "In addition to the flintlock pistol, there are some things that need to be troubled by you. ”

What he mentioned this time is the common equipment of the Ming army. Niujiaodun's weapons and equipment were indeed too poor, and they were basically thrown away as garbage by Xu Xingxia. However, after throwing it away, I have to add it. How can you fight a war without equipment? You can't let the soldiers fight the Tartars hand-to-hand with their bare hands, right? From Yu Lijun, Xu Xingxia got the information, don't rely on your superiors, be self-reliant, and have enough food and clothing. Otherwise, the above will definitely be another batch of rags. For this reason, Xu Xingxia decided to pay out of his own pocket.

Unconsciously, Xu Xingxia already regarded Niujiaodun as his own territory, and regarded the soldiers of Niujiaodun as his own family. The people and things here seem to have become his personal property. This kind of thinking is actually very normal, you eat me, wear me, use mine, don't they belong to my private property? If you don't rely on me, you will wait bitterly for the money and food to be distributed by your superiors, and you will not know that you will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey.

Xu Xingxia needs the equipment he paid for, what does he have? There are mulberry black lacquer bows, mulberry bow and birch hard bows, black lacquer shark skin edge bows and so on commonly used by the Ming border army. As for the matching bows and arrows, they are black eagle feather birch pole chisel iron arrows, black eagle feather bamboo pole horse shooting iron arrows, black eagle feather buckle armor breaking iron arrows, etc. These weapons are not used to take the initiative to attack the Tartars, but are mainly used to train the basic feel of the soldiers and defend the horn pier.

In addition, there are saddles, bridles, whips, bells, and other items used by horses, all of which have to be paid for out of their own pockets. There are thirty war horses in Niujiaodun, and it is not easy to equip them all neatly. But you can't do it without it, you can't expect the soldiers to equip themselves. If they had the ability, they wouldn't have come to you to be the housekeeper. There was no way, Xu Xingxia decided to take the initiative to pay out of his own pocket. If you wait, you don't know what year and month you'll have to wait, and what kind of you'll have to wait for.

In addition to weapons, there are also some other military supplies, which are also to be purchased. The army must have the appearance of an army, even if it is one's own family, it must have clear armor, be energetic, and look new. Armor and the like can be slowed down for the time being, but military uniforms must be purchased immediately. It has to be a brand new military uniform, and the rags are not needed.

The cotton flower battle suit worn by the Ming sergeant, called the Mandarin Duck War, has four colors: red, purple, green and yellow, and is generally made of fine and wide white cotton cloth. Each top is four feet six inches long, two catties of cotton velvet, and half a catty of cotton velvet for fat pants. There are also shoes that are nine inches and five minutes long, or up to one foot, or one foot and two minutes. There are also all kinds of military uniforms and equipment for sergeants, such as red felt, rain hats, rain cages, rain helmet cages, leather bags, spear bags, flags, belts, etc. These miscellaneous things add up to a lot of price.

"I wonder how many copies adults need?" Guo Fuquan said.

"Let's make thirty servings first." Xu Xingxia said.

Guo Fuquan carefully calculated the price, the bow and arrow are the most expensive, requiring five taels of silver, and the others are not worth much, but there are many items, all of which add up, and they also need eight taels of silver. In other words, one serving costs thirteen taels of silver. Thirty parts of weapons and equipment are close to four hundred taels of silver. For the craftsmen of Weizhenbao, this is a big order.

Xu Xingxia said again: "What I want is quality." When you are done, you must engrave your name on the weapon. If there is a problem in the future, I will look for you. ”

Guo Fuquan and the others suddenly hesitated a little, felt deep pressure, and stopped talking.

By stamping the name on the weapon, you will be held accountable, which is a tight spell for the craftsmen. In the past, the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and the Military War Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had implemented such a system to supervise the quality of weapons and equipment. At the beginning, the effect was still good, and the craftsmen did not dare to be sloppy in the quality of weapons and equipment. The quality of the weapons and equipment produced in the Ming Dynasty during that time was the best.

However, this good rule was later scrapped. Why? Nothing else, but it was resolutely resisted by the craftsmen. The craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau and the War Bureau had no money, and their food and salaries were often in arrears, so they naturally stopped doing it because they complained. Anyway, the barefoot ones are not afraid to wear shoes, they make trouble, and there is no good solution at the top, so they have to cancel this provision, and they still only look at the quantity, not the quality.

Of course, Xu Xingxia understands the basic reason, this is all caused by silver. It is impossible to want the horse to run, and to want the horse not to eat grass. If I were a craftsman, I wouldn't have done it. To be a human being, you have to empathize and understand the difficulties of others. If you want to ensure the quality of the weapons and equipment you get, in terms of price, you must raise it a little. He smiled and said, "Fifteen taels of silver a piece, to ensure the quality, is it okay?" ”

The four craftsmen glanced at each other and said slowly, "Okay! ”

When Xu Xingxia said this, it was equivalent to giving them a pure profit margin of two taels of silver for each piece of equipment. Such a profit amount, of course, is not small, and it is very attractive. In fact, the craftsmen can completely guarantee the quality, they are all old craftsmen, what should be done, what should not be done, they are very clear, the key is whether they have this attitude, whether they have this sense of responsibility, whether they are willing to do it.

When they don't have enough to eat and don't have enough clothes, it's impossible to expect them to consciously do their best. Even with a whip, it is impossible. However, if you can ensure their food, clothing, housing and transportation, and ensure their standard of living, they can also be happy to give you high-quality products. Again, if you want a horse to run, you have to give it grass. This is the premise of implementing the real-name system for building weapons and equipment.

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