After obtaining a large amount of labor, Xu Xingxia planned to build two steel-making blast furnaces to produce crude steel in large quantities. With the technical conditions at that time, it was absolutely impossible to directly produce steel of very good quality. However, after the crude steel is forged, it can be turned into 100 steels relatively quickly to meet the needs of the moon gun barrel. Generally speaking, wrought iron of good quality can be turned into stainless steel after repeated forging.

In fact, strictly speaking, in the world at that time, there was no possibility of mass production of steel. The so-called steel, in fact, belongs to the scope of iron, and must be repeatedly forged by hand before it can become real steel. Such steel, the yield is small. The real mass production of steel will not be until after the Industrial Revolution. It seems that the Uzi steel used in Damascus knives is actually such an excellent surname after repeated forging.

This is doomed, and it is simply impossible to produce steel from direct blast furnaces on a large scale. Honestly producing iron and forging it into steel is the king. But in this way, the demand for labor is great. At the same time, the output of steel will also be severely limited. The steel produced must be used in the military. If you want to use steel as a building material, I am afraid that in Xu Xingxia's lifetime, you will not be able to see it.

According to the original plan, these freed slaves would first be used in military affairs. This consists of two parts. Part of it is to join the army directly and become a member of the White Army. The other part is to work in the craftsman's workshop and produce weapons and equipment for the white army. Among them, the latter requires the most labor.

The first to be selected was naturally the white-clothed army. Some of the sturdy young military families who were basically in good health joined the white-clothed army after a simple assessment. Soon, the number of musketeers in the White Army expanded to 1,120. In addition, the number of Eagle Cavalry has also steadily increased. The personnel of the tank battalion and the artillery battalion have also been greatly enriched.

In fact, you don't need to be very strong to make a musket, as long as you can complete normal training subjects. In addition to the Eagle Cavalry, the other white-clothed musketeers valued obedience to discipline more. The volley of the musketeer, the requirements for discipline, are very strict, and must be ordered and prohibited in order to exert maximum lethality. At the same time, their will to fight is also very important. Even in a dangerous situation, without an order, there must be no retreat.

Of course, it goes without saying that these redeemed military households hate the Tartars. If possible, they could even tear the tartars all into pieces and eat them raw. The vast majority of them, the whole family died at the hands of the Tartars, and only themselves survived. They have had the lessons of blood, they have had the most painful experiences, and they know best the importance of survival and freedom. With a little training, they are the best fighters.

Under the domination of hatred, there is basically no need to worry that they will easily retreat without a fight on the battlefield. From this point of view alone, they fully meet the requirements of the White Army. As long as the musketeers of the White Army do not retreat, the Tatars will certainly not be able to hold out. The losses caused by the moon gun to the Tartar cavalry were absolutely unbearable for the Tartars.

"I've given you a direct chance for revenge!"

"It's up to you whether you can kill the Tartars and avenge your loved ones!"

Xu Xingxia gathered all the selected military households and said to them concisely. The age of these selected military households is basically around 30 years old. Why not pick a twenty-year-old lad? The reason is simple, there are no twenty-year-old lads at all! When the Tartars exchanged hostages, they also kept a hand, and all the young men in their twenties were detained. Those who were put back were all old, weak, sick and disabled.

However, Xu Xingxia felt that the age of the military household did not matter much. Thirty is also a good age for musketeers, they are more stable. It doesn't take much skill to make a musket, and it doesn't require a very flexible mind, as long as you can reflexively follow the instructions. At the age of 30, they can concentrate more on training. In terms of abiding by the discipline of the troops, he is not as impulsive as the offspring.

"Swear to die for the Thousand Households!" The soldiers replied aloud.

After the white-clothed army has selected enough fighters, it is the craftsman workshop that will be followed by the selection. The most important thing that a craftsman workshop needs is a craftsman who knows some basic crafts. It's best to get up and running quickly after a day of training. After three days of practice, you can basically reach the level of proficiency. As the shadow of war gradually shrouded, the weapons and equipment needed by the white-clothed army, especially the number of Yueyue guns, were too much.

Among the military households taken away by the Tartars, the number of artisan households is actually quite large. The Tartars also knew the important surnames of the artisans, and every time they plundered, they made the artisan household the focus of their raids. Tartars love to kill, with the exception of artisans. If it is not necessary, the artisans will basically be preserved and then brought back to the Tartar tribe. It's a pity that the number of craftsmen who were put back this time is not much. Many craftsmen were still detained by the Tartars and were not put back. In this respect, the Tartars are also cunning and cunning.

Since there are not enough craftsmen, only military households with better physical fitness and strong comprehension ability can be selected. In order to increase the production of the moon gun, the number of military households to go to the craftsman's workshop is much more than that of the white-clothed army. Liu Guangliang was about to leave thousands of people in one breath. These thousands of military households were put into the craftsman's workshop, and the output of the moon gun could be increased to 20 per day. In a month, there were 600 pieces.

After the white-clothed army and the craftsman workshop have selected the suitable military households, the remaining military households will be handed over to the steward committee for distribution. They will be randomly assigned to various farms for the most basic production and cultivation. The first 30 farms to be established in Zhenshuobao Thousand Households required a large population. A farm will cost six or seven hundred people, and thirty farms will cost nearly 20,000 people. The more than 20,000 military households can just be apportioned.

Of course, with the arrival of so many military households, Xu Xingxia will definitely not get all the benefits, and the price he needs to pay is also quite large. Not to mention anything else, the food pressure Xu Xingxia is facing alone is very great. The more than 20,000 military households consume nearly 40,000 catties of grain every day. In a month, it is 1.2 million catties. That's six or seven thousand stone of grain. If it is converted into silver, it is tens of thousands of taels of silver for white flowers!

If there was no special financial resources, Xu Xingxia really couldn't afford to support so many people. Fortunately, he had hoarded a large amount of food through various means, and the silver on hand was temporarily enough. As long as his father Xu Fuqing produces glass, it is estimated that in the future, the profit from the sale of glass will be the most important income. As long as it lasts until three years, and all 300 farms are productive, his life will be better.

"There are still three years to go......" Xu Xingxia muttered to himself silently.

He, the generation of thousands of households in Zhenshuo Fort, is almost comparable to the Ningxia Metropolitan Division in terms of the number of military households under his jurisdiction. There are 50,000 or 60,000 registered military households under the jurisdiction of the Ningxia Metropolitan Division. However, after deducting the number of military households who have fled, the maximum is more than 30,000, which is certainly not enough for 40,000. If it continues to develop at this rate, in three years, the number of pure military households under his command may really be more than the current Ningxia Dusi. According to the original rule of whoever has the biggest fist is the boss, at that time, he will be the de facto number one person in Ningxia Town.

Of course, these are beautiful visions in three years' time. At present, the biggest task is to stop the Tatar cavalry from moving south and keep their territory. If you can't do that, everything will be in vain. For this reason, Xu Xingxia has paid very close attention to all aspects of war preparedness. The training of the white-clothed army and the production of the moon gun in the craftsman's workshop, he has to ask every day.

On this day, Xu Xingxia was busy and in full swing, when he suddenly received a report that Huyan Aobo was coming. His brow suddenly furrowed. The more times he dealt with Huyan Aobo, the more Xu Xingxia felt that Huyan Aobo could not be trusted. This guy from Yarkand doesn't know his true identity, who he is, and what role he plays in Qingwangfu. He tried his best to win himself over, and he didn't know what the purpose was. Anyway, everything feels weird and not very normal.

Subconsciously, Xu Xingxia actually didn't want to meet Huyan Aobo again. He felt that every time this guy came to him, nothing good happened. Don't look at the other party's bold appearance and no scheming, in fact, every time he dug a pit and waited for himself to jump. If you are not careful, you will be cheated by him. This time, it is estimated that it will not be an exception.

However, it doesn't seem good for someone else to visit in person and hide from it. If you're not careful, others will misunderstand that they are afraid of each other. Paralyzed, I'll see it, I'm really afraid that you won't make it? After thinking about it, Xu Xingxia said slowly: "Call him in!" ”

Soon, Huyan Aobo appeared in front of Xu Xingxia in great strides. I saw him salute with a smile and said enthusiastically: "Xu Qianhu, congratulations, congratulations." You have been appointed as a thousand households by the governor of the three sides, and I, the elder brother, have not congratulated you yet! ”

Xu Xingxia said quietly: "Congratulations are forgiven, let's talk about something!" ”

Huyan Aobo didn't care about his unfriendly attitude, and said with a smile: "My brother is here to send you an invitation, an invitation to the palace's New Year garden party." ”

After that, he took out a red gilded invitation from his arms and sent it to Xu Xingxia with both hands. Xu Xingxia looked down and found that it was really an invitation to Qingwangfu, which was genuine. He took the invitation, opened it and looked at it, and found that what was written on it was really a New Year garden party. He couldn't help but look at Huyan Aobo suspiciously, feeling that his smile was even more dangerous. At this moment, invite yourself to participate in the New Year garden, this is ...... Does anyone have a fever?

(To be continued)