stubborn thief

Chapter 240 Seat Felt
Liu Chengzong rejected Razun's proposal, but said that Taiji would still stay in Juerwan.

Because the heavy snow blocked the mountain road to the south, Huoluochibu's babble could only stay in Juerwan temporarily.

For him, whether the proposal was accepted or rejected was within his expectations. After all, Liu Chengzong's army seemed capable of fighting, and there was really no need to attach Xiaola Zun.

Go back to Razun and prepare for the battle as soon as possible. He is just passing on the word.

In the final analysis, Taiji is not afraid of Liu Chengzong's sudden attack. After all, the terrain on the Xiaohetao side is much higher, and the most likely thing that will happen in the future is nothing more than fighting for some Xifan tribes in the bordering area.

Besides, if it didn't work out, he would take the tribe out of Xiaohetao and go nomadic in other places, so he didn't have to play with his younger brother.

In the reinforcement of the Chinese military account, Bai Yan also provided some advice to Liu Chengzong, so Liu Chengzong's treatment of Bai Yan Taiji is not too bad.

Divided into two nests, the five people in the master and servant's party are full of fried noodles, and they have coal for sleeping, so they live fairly well.

To put it bluntly, Taiji's attitude is also very correct. He doesn't ask if he doesn't ask for it. He hunts when he needs to hunt with his entourage every day, runs and plays when he should run in the valley, and returns to his nest when it gets dark. trouble.

It doesn't hurt to be tricked by Chen Shifo occasionally, or occasionally to spy on the military with counter-routines.

But what made Bai Yan puzzled was that for many days later, the camp with the smallest number of people among the five camps was learning the sixteen methods, and seemed to fall into a strange frenzy.

In the old land of Tubo, there were many feudal landlords using this set of laws, but Taiji had never seen anyone who could find fanatical emotions from this set of laws.

What's so crazy about this thing?

After being puzzled for a long time, Taiji learned from Chen Shifu that the camp with the smallest number of people was Liu Chengzong's cowardly army.

Master Chen is just talking nonsense.

In the Lion Army, Chen Shifo is a non-staff member, and he still doesn't know the operation mode of the Lion Army.

His daily main job now is to take advantage of his status as a lama to learn Chinese in his den to learn Chinese from the brightest young people in the seven tribes of Riyue Mountain.

Liu Chengzong promised him that next year he would open an academy in Juerwan or Haibei to teach Chinese.

The prospect of a student is also much better than that of a young monk in a temple. If you learn Chinese, you will be the leader of the Lion Army. If you have more time to learn Chinese, you will become a magistrate in the future.

Chen Shifu thought about his ability to do this, and listened to Liu Chengzong's opinion, in the future Qinghai will set up Liuguan, then his disciples and old officials will be all over Qinghai, wouldn't the old Chen family in Xining be very powerful?

Now seventeen students have been recruited, and the conditions are a bit tough. Chen Shifo's bed has been turned sideways to sleep, but there can only be room for five people.

Since there was really no room for it, Liu Chengzong even added two blankets to his Chinese army commander's tent. The four children studied with Chen Shifo during the day, and slept in the Chinese army tent at night.

In addition to teaching Xifan dolls, Chen Shifo's other task is to occasionally talk with Bai Yantaiji from Bajiao City.

Because he is the only one in the camp who doesn't understand the Lions.

Therefore, when he was sent to Baiyan Taiji for this information, Chen Shifo didn't have any psychological burden at all, he was very sincere, and he answered every question he had. Anyway, what he said was basically wrong answers.

But he was almost right about the fear of Xue Jun.

The frenzy of the Chinese Army Camp came from the combat formations recorded in the Sixteen Laws. These reserve officers spent all day studying how to quickly defeat Zangba Khan's army.

Most of the time, Liu Chengzong also mixed with the officers of the Central Military Battalion.

He needs to know everyone in the Chinese military camp. Future generals will have the experience of serving in the Chinese military camp. Studying tactics and being familiar with the commander are his original intentions for establishing the Chinese military camp.

Not long after the beginning of winter, Shi Cheng and I happily came to report that the two styles of the new bird gun had been prepared.

The Arms Bureau by the river is in full swing, covering a large area, but it is not densely populated. Currently, it is just a collection of simple workshops.

When Liu Chengzong arrived at the Military Weapons Bureau, he saw an infantry soldier carrying five blunderbuss out. During this period of time, he was experimenting with new-made blunderbusses, and the production of the old-style light blunderbusses for three-coin lead bullets did not stop.

According to Shi Chengwo's report, in the past one and a half months, counting the construction of the workshop, they made 230 light bird guns.

The average cost of each bird gun is two coins of silver and seven buckets of yellow noodles.

The cost is very low, but this low cost did not make Liu Chengzong very happy, but made him realize his own problems.

They were brought from the famine area. The artisans of the Lion Army have two standard rations. Apprentices have 24 catties of fried noodles and [-] dou of millet per month, while master craftsmen have [-] catties of fried noodles and [-] dou of millet per month.

Even apprentices are still full of rations, and some rice grains are given to buy and sell in exchange for non-staple food.

The master craftsman can even rely on this income to support three more people and make do with it.

In the fifth year of the severe drought in northern Shaanxi, I relied on work in exchange for food rations to feed three more people. Except for Liu Chengzong, I had to earn seven to eight taels of silver in northern Shaanxi to exchange for these grains.

Equivalent to half a year's income of a goldsmith in a normal year.

But when they came to Xining, this was not the case. They could buy their work food for only one tael or five renminbi.

In the past, three or six buckets of food were enough for them to exchange with the local people for all the necessities of life, but now this food is not enough.

How can there be happiness?

Liu Chengzong came out of northern Shaanxi and knew very well that under the extreme conditions of commercial collapse, the value of materials increases with the degree of scarcity, and money cannot bring much happiness.

And food can bring great happiness to people.

But in Xining, without money, there is no sense of happiness; without performance, there is no enthusiasm.

Liu Chengzong asked Shi Chengwo, "How many craftsmen do we have now?"

"There are more than [-] craftsmen of all kinds, and the remaining [-] are apprentices." Shi Cheng and I said, seeing Liu Chengzong's astonished expression, explained: "Many of them are from Pingliang, and there are many skilled craftsmen, we don't need them."

"Is there anyone who holds skills in his hands and cherishes them with a broom?"

"Hehe, Marshal, I can't get enough to eat, so I don't care what I cherish or not, there are." Shi Cheng and I shook our heads and said: "In Shanxi, Yan'an, and Pingliang, there are all of them, or you can show your skills Professor, or get out."

After that, Master Cheng said, "But it's not easy to teach apprentices. The masters in the camp are willing to teach, but the students may not learn well. The camp allows masters to have requirements for accepting apprentices."

"That's as it should be."

The two of them were talking, and they had already reached the edge of the river. Shicheng and I built a grass shed here, and there were three bird guns on the table, and a square wooden target and armor were placed far away on the other side.

The three-barreled blunderbuss have two specifications at first glance. The muzzle of one is a light bird blunderbuss that used to be used for three-dollar bullets. Its caliber cannot even fit a finger into it. Seven centimeters wide.

On the whole, the appearance of the three-barrel blunderbuss is very different. In terms of the barrel alone, the light bird blunderbuss is less than three feet long, and the other two are four feet five inches and one five feet.

However, the gun beds of the last two shots are rather strange. Instead of the handle of the original light bird gun, it is said to be the butt of the gun instead. It seems that it can’t reach the shoulder, which is very strange.

Shi Cheng, I am a craftsman who was born in making red barbarian guns. When I introduced it to Liu Chengzong, it was like introducing artillery: "These two new-made heavy guns use one-two-five-dollar projectiles for the short ones, and two-two-dollar bullets for the long ones. The caliber ratio is seven. ten times."

Liu Chengzong pointed to the gun support and asked: "What is this for? It seems that it can't reach the shoulder."

"A shoulder?"

Shi Cheng and I were stunned for a moment, and said pleasantly, "Yes, Commander, you can reach your shoulders!"

Then he explained: "The barrel of the new gun is too long and too heavy. The two guns are as light as seventeen and a half catties. It is heavier at the front and lighter at the rear. The original handle is unstable when shooting, so we added a wooden block as a counterweight."

After all, Shicheng, I was still immersed in the joy brought by Liu Chengzong's casual remarks, and said to myself: "It can be reached on the shoulder, yes, it can be reached on the shoulder."

"I'll draw a sample for you later."

Liu Chengzong said something with a smile, and then continued to point to the blunderbuss and asked: "Next, how much powder does it charge, how powerful is it, and how far is its range?"

"Normal charge of one or two charges, 150 steps to penetrate two layers of armor, more than [-] steps can also kill people, but the aim is not accurate."

Liu Chengzong laughed as he listened. He is a small archery expert, and he knows best what it feels like to aim at an enemy more than fifty paces away... Facing the situation where the arrow cluster is larger than the target, it depends on a feeling.

It's not metaphysics, but the intuition brought about by long-term practice. If the intuition can hit, then it can hit.

He picked up a buckshot weighing one or two cents and weighed it in his hand. Although it was not too big, just a round ball with a diameter of just over two centimeters, it was heavier than an egg. It can smash people's brains into a bag.

Shi Cheng and I nodded to him and said: "So I don't think this thing needs to be loaded with gunpowder. If you put two taels of gunpowder, it will only make it fall ten steps later."

As I said that, Shi Cheng, I took out a stacked long strip of paper, on which I drew densely packed equal-width squares, like a square drawn on a map, with distances and a falling ballistic trajectory marked on it.

This surprised Liu Chengzong and asked, "How did you measure the trajectory?"

"trajectory?"

Shi Cheng and I repeated the word, and then explained carefully while gesticulating, saying: "To measure the distance, two hanging ropes are two hundred steps long, and a piece of square paper is hung at every step, and the rubbing scale is printed on the paper. If it is straight, the height of the square paper is the same, put a gun through [-] sheets of paper, connect them one by one and you will know."

Liu Chengzong closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment, raised his eyes and gave Shi Cheng a thumbs up, and praised: "You are smart, this thing should be written down, Mr. Shi can compile a book, casting cannons and guns, amazing!"

After being praised by Liu Chengzong, Shicheng, I was a little embarrassed, and said with a smile, "Marshal, this is not a villain's idea, it is He Xin's idea when he saw the papermaker drying the paper."

"That's called the Ho ballistic method."

Liu Chengzong raised his hand and patted the table: "Sanlang, ask the carrier to deliver 30 taels of silver, and gather craftsmen in the afternoon to reward the silver in public."

Shi Cheng and I were startled, and then said: "Marshal, why does he always have an official position, this is just his job, there is no need to be so laborious, right?"

But Liu Chengzong thought for a moment very seriously before he said: "Mr. Shi, you used to be a great craftsman who cast cannons, and now you are the chief executive. I know that for each of us, an official position is not only a power but also an honor. Getting an official position is the greatest recognition."

"But this is invention and creation, and we must encourage invention and creation. I want all craftsmen to know, which of the things we use is not created by craftsmen? Those who are useful and meritorious will be rewarded."

Liu Chengzong said: "Invention and creation are meritorious deeds. On the snow-capped mountains, a craftsman's life is only worth a straw rope. Here, a craftsman can not only eat and clothe himself, but also get rewards and official positions."

"One day I want to let the whole world know that some people in this world don't respect craftsmen, farmers, and soldiers. They are the three pillars of my Liu Shizi, and I respect them!"

Having said that, Liu Shizi is still a lame man. Although there are quite a few people under him who can farm, they are all soldiers and there are no farmers.

Saburo led the order to find Chengyun. Liu Chengzong picked up a seventeen-and-a-half-jin bird gun. The tail of this gun needs to be modified, but it is already as high as his chin. The height of the heavy gun may be as high as him.

Shi Cheng and I proved that although the other gun has a larger caliber and a longer body, the increased power is limited. Compared with the increase in difficulty and time-consuming manufacturing, it is of little significance.

In order to stabilize the shooting, it was decided to add a wooden fork as a support to make aiming easier.

Therefore, the barrel that was finally decided was this kind of specification that weighed one or two five cents, which took half as long as the production of the light bird blunderbuss.

And it is a pity that soldiers using this heavy bird gun can no longer wear armor.

With wooden barrels pre-loaded with ammunition, the light bird blunderbuss can easily carry the ammunition for fifty shots, but the ammunition of this kind of bird blunderbuss weighs three or two, and carrying fifteen is close to three catties.

Counting the heavy gun itself, it already weighed over twenty catties.

It's an awkward weight.

If it is lighter, soldiers can wear cotton armor inlaid with iron sheets.

If it is heavier, Liu Chengzong's specification for carrying a gun is less than [-] catties. It is usually carried on the car with the team and used by two people. As a supplementary firepower, it will not bring too much burden to the soldiers.

But the huge power made him unable to give up, so Liu Chengzong decided to finalize this heavy gun and use it as a heavy gun for individual soldiers in the future.

At the same time, he also wanted to learn from me and put forward a request for light guns: "This is too heavy to be used by the whole army, so we need to make another one that uses six-dollar ammunition, less than twelve catties, three feet five to four feet Long light guns, muskets that are more powerful than bird guns and lighter than heavy guns."

Compared with the smooth finalization of the heavy gun, there was a small problem in the production of the gun, so that it was delayed for another two months.

The craftsmen had never made such a long gun barrel, and the caliper was not clamped tightly when drilling the hole, so that the drilled tube was a bit crooked.

They don't drill the gun barrels. When the gun barrels are forged and fit together, there are holes for the guns. They just need to be drilled and straightened. This is directly related to the accuracy of the guns, so it is the most technical process.

If the drill is crooked, the thickness of the two sides of the gun wall will be uneven, and the inaccuracy of the shot is still secondary. When the charge is large, it is easy to explode the chamber.

Liu Chengzong didn't say anything about it. This is not something that can be forced. He can only encourage the craftsman to continue to work hard so that he can see the gun as soon as possible.

But when he was playing with the heavy gun and waiting for the carrier to deliver the silver, Shicheng, I presented him with a two-foot-square blanket.

The blanket feels velvety and soft, with a blue unicorn pattern in the middle, silver in the gaps, and a golden circle around the edge.

"This is the seat felt that the craftsmen wove for the Marshal. It uses cotton as the warp thread, camel's hair and wool, silver thread for the interior, and gold thread for the exterior."

Shi Cheng and I finished the introduction, and said with a smile: "In the past, Shaanxi Weaving Bureau made crafts for Beijing and the palace. Weavers and gold and silversmiths were all recruited during the chaos in Pingliang. They wanted the commander to see their crafts."

Liu Chengzong held up the seat blanket and looked at it again and again. In his eyes, this glittering blanket was not a handicraft, but a luxury.

With a smile on his face, he put the seat rug aside, and said to Shi Cheng and me with a smile: "We can also set up a weaving bureau, backed by military force, and produced by skills, so as to catch all the wealth at both ends of the east and west!"

　good afternoon!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)